Stop smoking.

That's the signal Costa Rica has been sending over the past several months. The government will ramp up that message this weekend in honor of International Say “No” To Smoking Day on Monday, May 31.

The Costa Rican Social Security System (Caja) released a study Tuesday highlighting the effects of tobacco on Costa Ricans, which showed that the tobacco habit hurt Costa Rica both health-wise and financially. As a result, more public places are being encouraged to provide smoke-free environments.

In addition, thousands of school children in Cartago gathered Wednesday at “Fello” Meza Stadium – one of the stadiums to ban smoking recently – to unite against smoking.

The Institute of Alcohol and Drug Addiction also hosted a “Quit and Win 2010” contest on Thursday. Four lucky winners will win cash prizes and possibly a trip to Guatemala. The awards will be given on No Smoking Day.

Restaurants in the capital also are banning smoking. In late January, the popular chain Spoon banned smoking at seven locations. Peruvian chain Chancay and Italian restaurants Il Panino, Il Ritorno and Tre Scalini also banned the practice, along with the enormous Multiplaza in Escazú.

Other efforts to lessen the impact of smoking in Costa Rican include clinics in hospitals designed to aid persons in quitting smoking. The clinics are expanding, the most recent opened in April at Hospital Guardia Calderón in San José.

Adolfo Ortiz Barboza, medical advisor for the CCSS, said that at least 50 percent of deaths in Costa Rica are related to sicknesses attributed to tobacco, such as malignant tumors or cardiovascular disease.

From 2005-2009, 37 percent of malignant tumors (13,544 cases) are directly related to tobacco. In 2009, the CCSS invested $109 million dollars for treating patients with diseases related to tobacco – an increase of $17 million from the previous year.