China – the Largest Cigarette Market
Published on March 24, 2009 8:07 AM
In China quarter of the population are smokers. This is a very bad news, that’s why it is needed for a strict tobacco control for to reduce smoking prevalence. Even Chinese lawmaker press for a more severe smoking control.
"The country should initiate a tobacco control program as soon as possible to cut down tobacco supplies and demands, and protect people's health", said Ma Li, a deputy to the National People's Congress.
China now has more than 350 million smokers, more than 26 percent of its total population, according to a recent study. And with an annual sale of two trillion cheap cigarettes, China is the world's largest cigarette market.
Nearly half of China's male health workers smoke, cigarette packages sold in China bears only minimum warning slogans or pictures, and in China it is common practice to give cigarettes as gifts. All these increased smoking in China.
"Should the current smoking prevalence continue, two million Chinese would die from, and six to eight million would suffer, tobacco-related diseases by 2030," Ma added.
China joined the World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control in 2005, but has not yet had a national program for tobacco control so far.
Tobacco control in China is of great importance now because only it will safeguard the health of the Chinese people.
Ma urged the Ministry of Health to outline a five or ten-year-program to keep tobacco production and sales under control, and gradually encourage tobacco growing areas to shift to change substitution.
The Health Ministry from China should set up a new law on the prevention of tobacco harms as soon as possible.
