High prevalence of smoking in Northern Greece.

Aim: To investigate the prevalence of smoking in the general population and in specific population sub-groups in Northern Greece.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted during the period 1999-2001 on a 5% sample (23,840) of those people aged between 21 to 80 out of a total general population of 653,249. 21,854/23,840 general population subjects were interviewed.

Deaths from neoplasms and detection of radionuclides in excised human lungs in the Eordea Basin, Greece.

Lignite contains various trace-metal natural radioactive contaminants. In the Eordea Basin, the most important lignite field in Greece, the authors conducted a proportional mortality ratio (PMR) study that compared the mortality rates of individuals who lived in the basin vs. a control group who resided in the city of Kilkis, over a 30-yr period.