New ban on tobacco ads ‘must apply to shops’
Print Edition
Legal and health experts have urged China’s regulators to fully implement a ban on tobacco advertisements at retail outlets.
In April, the country’s top legislature adopted an amendment to the Advertisement Law, banning tobacco ads in public places and the distribution of all forms of promotional materials to minors. The new law will take effect on September 1.
According to Yu Xiuyan, a research fellow at China University of Political Science and Law, it is essential that retail outlets are covered by the new restrictions on advertising.
“Tobacco retail stores are unquestionably public places,” he told a seminar on Tuesday.
Angela Pratt, project leader of the World Health Organization’s Tobacco Free Initiative in China, agreed.
“Shops are obviously public places that anyone can walk into. Any reasonable definition of ‘public place’ must include retail settings,” she said.
According to a study by the tobacco control office of China’s Center for Disease Control (CDC), 49 percent of middle school students said they had seen tobacco advertising in the past month, while 41 percent said they had seen it inside a shop.
As the world largest tobacco consumer and producer, China has more than 5.4 million registered tobacco retailers, according to a 2013 report.
The number of smokers in the country reached 350 million last year.
According to figures from the CDC, about 1.5 million people die from smoking-related diseases every year in China.
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