Smoking-related illnesses result in 4,300 deaths each year in Mongolia, according to the country's National Center for Public Health, Paralel.Az reports citing Xinhua.

Over 70 percent of the deaths due to smoking-related illnesses were reported in people under the age of 70, the agency said in a statement on Wednesday.

Additionally, at least a quarter of Mongolia's 3.5 million population are smokers, with approximately 97 percent of them smoking daily.

Smoking is the leading cause of preventable non-communicable diseases, including cardiovascular diseases, cancer, chronic respiratory diseases, and diabetes, which are the primary causes of death both in Mongolia and globally, the center said while urging the public to quit smoking.