Report: Smoking reduction in China long way to go

A new report says China still has a long way to go in the battle to reduce smoking.

Smoking remains one of the leading causes of cancer in China.

The report was published by the Beijing-based NGO - ThinkTank Research Center for Health Development.

It mainly focused on what China has done, and what it should continue to do to reduce tobacco use.

It said there are now more people in the country aware of the dangers of smoking than a decade ago with a big reduction in the number of tobacco commercials.

It also highlighted regional regulations in eighteen Chinese cities, including Shanghai and Beijing that were aimed at banning smoking in public places.

But Wu Yiqun with the research center suggested all of these are still far from being enough.

"Local smoking bans can protect the health of no more than 10 percent of the country's population from passive smoking in public places, while recent surveys show over half of restaurants, homes, workplaces and government buildings across the country remain a grey area in terms of smoking bans. Therefore, a nationwide law is urgently needed."

At the same time, the report warned that despite legislation and public education, China has seen little progress in curbing tobacco use, and smoking prevalence remained the same as it was five years ago.

China is the world's largest producer and consumer of tobacco and also its biggest victim.

A survey by the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention found that close to 28 percent of adults in the country smoked last year. The number of smokers had climbed to 316 million, up 15 million since 2010 with each person smoking more than 15 cigarettes a day on average.

A new study by a group of Chinese researchers, published in a U.S. medical journal, has suggested smoking remains one of the leading causes of cancer in China.

The report by the research center proposed several measures, and said the priority lay in pushing forward nationwide legislation.

The legislation process began three years ago and Mao Qun'an with the National Health and Family Planning Commission said a national smoking ban law will be coming soon.

"A three-year tobacco control plan has been well implemented in past years, while a nationwide law to ban smoking in all public places has been in the pipeline and is expected to be completed within the year."

The ThinkTank's report also called for warning pictures to be printed on cigarette packs.

Graphic health warnings on cigar packs are a requirement in 85 countries and regions around the world. They are considered the best way to persuade smokers to quit.

Wang Ke'an, also from the ThinkTank research center, agrees.

"Graphic warnings are simple yet efficient. If every cigar packet had such a small picture on its surface, considering the huge number of smokers in China, there would be no better way when it comes to anti-smoking promotion."

The report also suggests tax should be increased to cut cigarette consumption.

It said the WHO recommended that at least 70 percent of the retail price of cigarettes in China should come from taxes, compared to the current 55 percent.