An anti-smoking campaign, "Toward a Smoke-free China", has been
launched to get people to give up the habit which could be harmful
to health.
The campaign was launched in Beijing on Friday with a fund of
$125 million. The money was donated by the New York City Mayor
Michael Bloomberg.
The two-year campaign will be run by the Chinese Center for
Disease Control and Prevention (China CDC), Peking Union Medical
College and the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public
Health.
"The joint scheme will refine and optimize tobacco control
intervention in China," said China CDC director Wang Yu, calling
for special attention to the problem of young people smoking.
Covering about 20 pilot provinces, the project aims to help
combat tobacco use in China by creating smoke-free environments and
boosting anti-smoking education.
Among China's 350 million smokers, a staggering 100 million are
under the age of 18, according to the Ministry of Health.
To redress the situation, China initiated a nationwide
tobacco-free-school campaign in 2003. Both students and teachers
are strictly prohibited from smoking, Wang said.
International experiences show that tobacco taxation is one of
the most effective ways to reduce tobacco use, said Susan V.
Lawrence, head of China programs of the Campaign for Tobacco-free
Kids, a US-based youth smoking intervention organization.
Today's children are tomorrow's future and they deserve top
attention and care under the tobacco-free scheme, Lawrence
said.
A WHO survey shows that tobacco consumption by young people
drops by 14 percent when cigarette prices are put up 10
percent.
Lawrence said under the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control,
ratified at the end of 2005, China is currently considering
introducing strong warning labels on the use of tobacco
products.
(China Daily April 7, 2007)