Editor's note:

Five years have passed since the World Health Organization's Framework Convention on Tobacco Control came into force in China in 2006 and the country pledged to make all public places smoking-free zones before January 2011.

But the reverse seems to be happening despite the government took up the ambitious project of making public places smoke-free in five years. The country has witnessed no decline in smoking, but has 200 million more people suffering from the effects of secondhand smoke over the past three years.

No wonder, the efficacy of the tobacco control measures has come under fire, with some media outlets jumping the gun when they said the authorities have failed to curb the use of tobacco because of weak regulations.

But we should also bear in mind that healing the world from the effects of smoking, or at least making public places truly smoking-free areas, involves too much, which will need not only the government’s efforts, the tobacco industry’s compromise, but most importantly, the whole society’s awareness.

China fails pledge on indoor smoking ban

China's pledge to ban smoking indoors looks set to go up in smoke as the Jan 9 deadline set five years ago approaches.

Despite the promise on entering the World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control in 2006, China has witnessed no decline in smoking, but has 200 million more people suffering from the effects of second hand smoke over the past three years.  [Full Story]

More likely to die from tobacco in China

It is estimated about 3.5 million Chinese will die each year from tobacco-related illnesses by 2030, according to a report issued Thursday.

The health consequences of the tobacco epidemic are very serious in China and smoking has become the top killer of the Chinese population. [Full Story]

Smoking cost outweighs benefits

A new report said Thursday that the medical and economic costs of smoking-related diseases in China had outweighed the financial benefits provided to the country by the tobacco industry.

The reduction in the number of smokers in China has been negligible, said the report, "Tobacco Control and China's Future," by Yang Gonghuan, deputy head of the Chinese Center of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Hu Angang, head of the Center for China Studies of Tsinghua University.

The number of smokers between the ages of 15 and 69 declined by 0.08 percent annually from 2002 to 2010, much less than the 0.87 percent from 1996 to 2002, according to the report. [Full Story]

Smoking industry harming economic health

Lost productivity from smoking-related health problems will hamper China's economic growth, and related costs incurred by smoking far exceed the tobacco industry's contribution in terms of profits and jobs it generates, an international panel of experts warned on Thursday.

They also warned that China's addiction to huge revenues from the State-owned tobacco monopoly is hindering anti-smoking measures, potentially costing millions of lives in the country with the world's largest number of smokers.

The warnings, issued in a report prepared by a group of prominent public health experts and economists, came amid growing calls for the government to give stronger support to tobacco-control measures. [Full Story]

Project aims to curb smoking

A foreign-funded tobacco control project was launched in 10 Chinese cities on Tuesday, following public outcries for stronger political will from top leadership to protect people from the deadly smoking epidemic. [Full Story]

Tobacco industry blocks anti-smoking campaign

China's tobacco industry is to be blamed for the government's failure to honor its commitment to a World Health Organization (WHO) treaty that calls for strong tobacco control measures -- including a complete ban of smoking in all indoor public places -- a report said Thursday. [Full Story]

NGO calls for tough action on tobacco control

Concrete action on tobacco control at State level is far too rare on the Chinese mainland, according to a report released by a non-governmental organization on Tuesday. [Full Story]

Beijing hopes to stub out smoking

Beijing is working on making all public spaces - including work sites and transportation options - tobacco-free by the end of 2015, the Health Bureau revealed. [Full Story]

City's smoking ban gets watered down

Local legislators in an East China city have watered down a smoking ban previously touted as China's toughest, reflecting the tremendous challenges tobacco control efforts face in China, the country with the largest number of smokers. [Full Story]

The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) gained a historical high authority in regulating the tobacco industry when President Barack Obama signed a tobacco control bill on June 22, 2009, according to Xinhua News Agency.

The Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act, with the primary focus of stopping cigarette companies from aggressively marketing to children, makes it illegal to sell candy-flavored and fruit-flavored cigarettes and use terms such as “l(fā)ow tar,” “l(fā)ight” or “mild” -- so-called light cigarettes make no difference to a smoker’s health.

Switzerland’s new smoking ban took effect on May 1, 2010. The law is aimed at protecting non-smokers in public spaces, including schools, hospitals, shopping malls, restaurants and cinemas. It sets minimum standards and allows authorities to introduce stricter rules but also includes exemptions.

South Korea will ban all indoor and outdoor smoking in public places starting in 2011, to substantially reduce the country’s smoking rate, the Ministry for Health, Welfare and Family Affairs said. [Full Story]

Greece bans smoking, again

Greece banned smoking in all indoor public places again on Wednesday in yet another effort to persuade Europe's heaviest smokers to kick the habit.
[Full Story]

Smoking still too common in movies, CDC says

The number of US movies showing people smoking has declined since 2005, but cigarettes still feature in far too many films and could be influencing young people to take up the habit. [Full Story]

New labels of cigarettes target addicts

Corpses, cancer patients and diseased lungs are among the images the federal government plans for larger, graphic warning labels that would take up half of each pack of cigarettes sold in the US. [Full Story]

WHO says 600,000 die from passive smoking

Around one in a hundred deaths worldwide is due to passive smoking, which kills an estimated 600,000 people a year, WHO researchers said. [Full Story]

Efforts to ban smoking

Our restaurants, workplaces, hospitals and public transport are supposed to be smoke free from Jan 9. On that day, five years ago, China ratified the World Health Organization's Framework Convention on Tobacco Control. [Full Story]

Controversy clouds debate on toughest smoking regulation

Lawmakers in an East China city are close to voting on the country's toughest law to ban smoking in offices, restaurants, bars and all indoor public places, officials said on Wednesday, months after the draft was shelved because it proved too controversial. [Full Story]

Smoke and be dammed

Tobacco-related diseases can be prevented more easily than many other diseases if the young generation is educated and made aware of the harmful effects of smoking, and public smoking areas are reduced and prices of cigarettes increased. [Full Story]

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