China fumes over nation’s heavy smokers
BEIJING – China is determined to take on the nation’s smokers – with new legislation on the way before the Beijing Olympics.
As many as 540 million Chinese are exposed to second-hand smoke, of which 180 million are under the age of 15, says a national tobacco control report, quoted by the Xinhua news agency.
The number of smokers in China has reached about 350 million, the highest in the world. And about 100,000 of the one million Chinese who die due to smoking-related diseases each year are passive smokers, says the report.
With the public becoming increasingly aware of the problem, Chinese leaders are now thinking of creating a totally smoke-free environment.
Beijing has been in the forefront of the fight against smoking. It has promised to make the 2008 Olympics a “smoke-free Games”.
In late April, the municipal government issued a notice, ordering all Olympic-designated restaurants and seven other public places to be made smoke-free zones. It urged all restaurants to follow the example.
Locals say the smoking problem is so great in China that authorities have little chance of successfully applying new regulations.
Ian Jarrett
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