BOSTON (AP) Twenty-five Massachusetts residents die from smoking-related causes each day, according to a new report from the Department of Public Health.

The report also found that smoking costs the state nearly $4.4 billion a year in lost productivity and health care costs. ''Tobacco addiction is a public health catastrophe,'' said Dr. Howard Koh, the state's public health commissioner. The department used the release of the report to launch a new program, QuitWorks, designed to help health care providers and doctors treat patients who smoke by referring them to a range of state-sponsored anti-smoking programs. Other highlights of the report include: Every pack of cigarettes sold in the state in 2000 cost an estimated $7.65 in health care expenses. Smoking costs $12 million per day in health-related economic losses and medical expenditures. A total of 9,277 people died from smoking-related diseases in Massachusetts during 2000 (5,033 men and 4,244 women). Adult smokers in Massachusetts lost an average of 13 years from their life because they smoked. As many as 12 infant deaths per year may be associated with maternal smoking. About $20,000 per day, or a total of $7.3 million, was spent during 2000 on neonatal expenses due to maternal smoking, about 2 percent of all neonatal expenses.

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