The relationship between these two variables indicates that around 17% of the cross-country variation in cerebrovascular mortality can be explained by smoking prevalence. Higher smoking rates are also associated with increased CVD mortality, although this relationship is not quite as strong as with cerebrovascular disease. The decision to pursue such behaviours is determined by a complex set of factors, including the perceived costs and benefits, prices, income and information (Lundberg and Shapira, 2014).