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Long and tough battle ahead to snuff out smoking in China
Source: Xinhua |
January 31, 2009, Saturday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
Despite knowing all the harms of smoking, Li Pingping, who lives in Shanghai, still decided to buy two cartons of cigarettes as presents for her father who lives in southwest China's Chongqing.
"When you pick up gifts for the elders during festivals, cigarettes are a nice choice," she said.
Li will take the cigarettes with her on the three-hour-flight to her hometown in Chongqing.
It's Chinese tradition to give cigarettes when meeting new friends or visiting relatives, either to show friendliness or respect. But the tradition has stood in the way of efforts by the government and an anti-smoking organization to discourage smoking.
Xu Guihua, deputy director of the Chinese Association on Tobacco Control, said "the lack of understanding and support" has made its job difficult.
The truth is, in China, not only are the smokers exchanging cigarettes as gifts, nonsmokers are also fanning the flame by buying cigarettes for their friends and families and are unwittingly exposing themselves to second-hand smoke.
Li said her father is the only smoker in the family of four, but no one minds him smoking when they spend time together, nor do they mind when he meets with chain-smoking guests in their apartment.
"I always buy cigarettes for elders, they could send those cigarettes to their friends even when they quit smoking. It is a practical gift and, most often, they like it," she said.
Sudden death
But it is not easy to break the habit of smoking.
Yang Xu, a doctor at the Cardiovascular Institute of Fuwai Hospital, said, "A small percentage of heavy smokers face the potential danger of sudden death as abrupt smoking cessation can cause many health disorders."
The Chinese anti-smoking authorities are aware of this problem.
Yang Gonghuan, director of the National Tobacco Control Office, has called for more effective publicity to help people understand the hazards of smoking.
And just days ahead of the Spring Festival, the Ministry of Health, the World Health Organization, and the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention jointly launched a program to distribute 200,000 anti-smoking posters across the country.
"You have sent your friends both blessings and respiratory problems such as lung caner; you have sent your colleagues both respect and cardiovascular diseases such as heart disorders and stroke; you have sent your family love, care and death," a poster reads.
Non-governmental organizations and individuals are also joining the fight against smoking advertising.
Wu Yiqun, deputy director of the Thinktank Research Center for Health Development, a Beijing-based non-governmental organization, often asks anti-smoking experts to write complaint letters to health authorities.
His proposals included banning tobacco companies' sponsorship in Shanghai's Formula One, highlighting warning signs on cigarette packs and dissuading tobacco companies from attending quake relief charity awards.
Despite all the endeavors made, the result is far from satisfactory.
According to the annual smoking control report by the Ministry of Health, the number of young smokers are on the rise.
The ministry data show that about 350 million people smoke in China, or almost 36 percent of the population aged above 15, and about 1 million die of smoking-related ailments annually. Young smokers age 13 to 18 numbered 130 million in China.
The difficulty in curbing smoking is that "it's part of Chinese custom to send cigarettes as gifts," said Yang Gonghuan. "Sending cigarettes is planting dangers."
Chen Wei, 36, a primary school teacher who has smoked for 20 years, still expects cigarettes from his friends. "If someone gave me cigarettes as a gift, I would save some money."
"When you pick up gifts for the elders during festivals, cigarettes are a nice choice," she said.
Li will take the cigarettes with her on the three-hour-flight to her hometown in Chongqing.
It's Chinese tradition to give cigarettes when meeting new friends or visiting relatives, either to show friendliness or respect. But the tradition has stood in the way of efforts by the government and an anti-smoking organization to discourage smoking.
Xu Guihua, deputy director of the Chinese Association on Tobacco Control, said "the lack of understanding and support" has made its job difficult.
The truth is, in China, not only are the smokers exchanging cigarettes as gifts, nonsmokers are also fanning the flame by buying cigarettes for their friends and families and are unwittingly exposing themselves to second-hand smoke.
Li said her father is the only smoker in the family of four, but no one minds him smoking when they spend time together, nor do they mind when he meets with chain-smoking guests in their apartment.
"I always buy cigarettes for elders, they could send those cigarettes to their friends even when they quit smoking. It is a practical gift and, most often, they like it," she said.
Sudden death
But it is not easy to break the habit of smoking.
Yang Xu, a doctor at the Cardiovascular Institute of Fuwai Hospital, said, "A small percentage of heavy smokers face the potential danger of sudden death as abrupt smoking cessation can cause many health disorders."
The Chinese anti-smoking authorities are aware of this problem.
Yang Gonghuan, director of the National Tobacco Control Office, has called for more effective publicity to help people understand the hazards of smoking.
And just days ahead of the Spring Festival, the Ministry of Health, the World Health Organization, and the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention jointly launched a program to distribute 200,000 anti-smoking posters across the country.
"You have sent your friends both blessings and respiratory problems such as lung caner; you have sent your colleagues both respect and cardiovascular diseases such as heart disorders and stroke; you have sent your family love, care and death," a poster reads.
Non-governmental organizations and individuals are also joining the fight against smoking advertising.
Wu Yiqun, deputy director of the Thinktank Research Center for Health Development, a Beijing-based non-governmental organization, often asks anti-smoking experts to write complaint letters to health authorities.
His proposals included banning tobacco companies' sponsorship in Shanghai's Formula One, highlighting warning signs on cigarette packs and dissuading tobacco companies from attending quake relief charity awards.
Despite all the endeavors made, the result is far from satisfactory.
According to the annual smoking control report by the Ministry of Health, the number of young smokers are on the rise.
The ministry data show that about 350 million people smoke in China, or almost 36 percent of the population aged above 15, and about 1 million die of smoking-related ailments annually. Young smokers age 13 to 18 numbered 130 million in China.
The difficulty in curbing smoking is that "it's part of Chinese custom to send cigarettes as gifts," said Yang Gonghuan. "Sending cigarettes is planting dangers."
Chen Wei, 36, a primary school teacher who has smoked for 20 years, still expects cigarettes from his friends. "If someone gave me cigarettes as a gift, I would save some money."
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