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Time to kick nation's smoking addiction
2006-04-29
China Daily
China is the largest consumer and producer of tobacco in the world. The 350 million who light up in China account for 32 per cent of the world's total, while China's output of 2 trillion cigarettes a year makes up 42 per cent of global production.
Out of Chinese over 15 years old, 60 per cent of all men and 4 per cent of women smoke.
As a result, about 600 million Chinese are exposed to second-hand smoking, making them also susceptible to a slew of health problems, such as lung cancer, cervical cancer, breast cancer and respiratory diseases.
Every year, about 1.2 million Chinese die of smoking-related diseases, compared to 5 million who die in the world annually. The World Health Organization predicts that 100 million young men in China will die prematurely of smoking-related ailments. And, with each new year, at least 3 million join China's goliath army of smokers.
Sales by the China National Tobacco Corporation, a government monopoly, account for one-third of the global market's sales.
The resulting health costs are also alarming, easily wiping out the huge tax revenue from the tobacco industry.
This bleak picture calls for effective measures to tackle the health hazards.
China, over the past few years, has demonstrated its resolve to deal with the smoking issue. In late 2003, the nation joined the United Nations Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, which requires China, over a period of five years, to ban advertising and sponsorship promoting tobacco products, forbid sales to minors, force companies to print larger health warnings on cigarette packs and use taxation to reduce consumption.
Just two months ago, China reiterated its ban on building any new tobacco factories, including any possible joint ventures.
Laws on tobacco monopoly sales, advertising, the protection of minors and the management of public places have also been formulated to help curb the growing smoking population.
The Formula 1 Grand Prix in Shanghai has less of a cigarette stench than it did a few years ago, as tobacco billboards on the circuit were strictly banned. But advertisements on racing cars and racers' jerseys still leave much to be wanting for a sport that should promote health.
While these signs are encouraging, they are far from enough as the battle continues against tobacco producers and the smoking population continues growing.
Smoking is still an ingrained habit in China and cigarettes are still widely offered as gifts to friends and guests as a social courtesy, rather than an ugly and uncivilized habit.
The majority of smokers still believe the activity has little effect on their health, or is even good for them.
Although many Chinese cities have banned smoking in public places, progress has been slow due to weak law enforcement. Minors can still easily buy cigarettes in stores, despite laws forbidding this.
China's tobacco tax rate, only half of the world's average, has not served to curb the rising number of smokers, as proved in other countries.
Anti-smoking campaign efforts are also weak and poorly funded, compared with wealthy tobacco producers, who attempt to bypass government regulations to recruit young smokers.
China's anti-smoking campaign is set to be an uphill battle considering 50 per cent of Chinese doctors are smokers themselves, according to a survey by the China Centre for Disease Control and Prevention in 2004.
We can no longer pay lip service and turn a blind eye on a hazard that is killing and hurting the health of millions of Chinese.
Scotland last month introduced a sweeping ban on smoking in pubs, restaurants and workplaces.
This month, England decided to ban smoking in bars, clubs and restaurants starting in 2007.
Even China's neighbour, the Himalayan nation of Bhutan, banned cigarette sales across the country a year ago.
China simply needs to show an even stronger resolve.
The Chinese Government should no longer depend on tobacco income for its economic growth, as tobacco tax now contributes to about 10 per cent of the nation's coffer.
Tobacco income and the subsequent huge medical bills paid by patients for smoking-related diseases all contribute to the growth of the nation's gross domestic product (GDP), but this sick contributor to the GDP is certainly something we want to get rid of.
Instead, the government should earmark more money to fund anti-smoking campaigns. Anti-smoking campaign should not be just a once-a-year fanfare on the World No-Tobacco Day on May 31.
We should introduce programmes to help young people and medical doctors kick the habit.
The government should also help tobacco farmers and local governments that depend on the tobacco economy to earn a living in healthier industries.
More importantly, the government should strictly enforce relevant laws and regulations, banning smoking in public places and banning tobacco advertisements of any kinds.
While telling people not to smoke in public places, we should also hold administrators of public facilities responsible for violations in their places. Stores found selling cigarettes to minors should be severely penalized.
We should also be tough on tobacco multinationals that conduct aggressive marketing in China while they face hard times in other places. China should no longer be the jewel in the crown for any domestic or foreign tobacco companies.
The thousands of deaths in China's coal mines are shocking news to the 1.3 billion Chinese, who ignore the 1.2 million deaths that occur every year from smoking-related diseases.
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