China to Make National Smoking-Control Action Plan

It is learned from the China 21st Century Smoking-Control Strategy Symposium that China's health authorities will formulate a national tobacco-control action plan to effectively reduce the health problems and economic losses brought about by smoking.

In the Tobacco or Health Action Plan (2000-04), the West Pacific region of the World Health Organization (WHO) requires its member states, including China, to make a national action plan for controlling tobacco by the end of next year and publish effective laws and regulations by the end of 2003, so as to stop and control the use of tobacco.

China is the biggest tobacco-producer and consumer in the world. Sixty-three percent of the male adults and 4 percent of the female adults smoke, forming a total of more than320 million people.

Researchers with the Chinese Academy of Preventive Medical Sciences, the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, the Oxford University of the UK, and the Cornell University of the United States have conducted two world-largest surveys on the relationship between smoking and death. The result shows that there are 2,000 persons who die from smoking everyday in China. If the current situation goes on, there will be 8,000 persons who die everyday from smoking in 2050. The total number will reach 3 million deaths each year.

Officials in charge of health education under the Ministry of Health admits that smoking-control is very difficult in China for various reasons, for example, the lack of a good social environment, the close relationship between the production and consumption of tobacco and the national economy, the promotion of brand-name cigarettes by transnational tobacco corporations and smuggling.

At the symposium jointly sponsored by the Ministry of Health, the WHO, the Chinese Academy of Preventive Medical Sciences, and John Hopkins University of the United States, Chinese and foreign experts will discuss China's smoking-control policy, raising tobacco tax, juvenile smoking, smoking-control in schools, and the social losses brought by tobacco consumption. On the World Non-Smoking Day two days later, the organizers will hold a reward ceremony for the international quit-smoking contest.

People's Daily Online --- http://www.peopledaily.com.cn/english/