The incidence of smoking-related diseases has sharply decreased after France enacted tough anti-smoking laws, the Health Ministry said in a report released Saturday.

According to the report, the incidence of myocardial infarction and cerebrovascular diseases dropped by 15 percent in recent two months.

It will be further proved in the next two months that anti-smoking laws will bring significant and instant benefits to the health of the French people, said the report.

French has banned smoking in companies, government offices and shopping centers since Feb.1, 2007. From the beginning of this year, smoking are banned in all public places across France, including bars, cafes, restaurants and discotheques.

The French government has said the measures, widely supported by the public, are aimed at cutting the number of annual deaths caused by smoking, the leading cause of preventable deaths in the country.

(Xinhua News Agency February 25, 2008)