[Smoking and alcohol abuse in the Hungarian population]

The mortality rate of middle-aged (55-64 years old) men in Hungary today is higher--even in absolute terms--than it was in the 1930s. Within this age-group the death rate is extremely high among the lower socio-economic classes. The odds ratio of the incidence of death is 1.8 times higher among males aged up to 74 years with no high-school education than the same age groups with higher education. Some 40% of these differences can be accounted to the self destructive behavioral risk factors (alcoholism, tobacco smoking) being more prevalent in the lower socio-economic groups. According to the results of the presented national representative survey counted in Hungary among 12.640 subjects in 1995, 45% of the males and 26.6% of the females smoked. Among the male and female cohorts under 45 years of age, 47.9% and 31.9% smoked respectively. Among the males the number of daily cigarette consumption and the volume of daily alcohol intake was inversely related to the educational level. This negative correlation was not so clear among the female probands. The health promotion programs can only achieve their goals if they are to target the psychological and motivational background of the self destructive behavioral risk factors.