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Over 1 mln die of smoking-related diseases every year in China
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Sunday will mark the fifth year of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control. As a ratifying nation, China must meet a series of related commitments. But Thursday's publication of the China Tobacco Control report reveals that more efforts still need to be made, in order to reach those goals.
Standing out as both the world's largest producer and biggest consumer of tobacco, China's commitment prospects may not be too optimistic. The new report shows that the nation has now more than 300 million smokers, and more than a million people die of diseases related to the habit every year.
In addition, more than 700 million people are suffering from the harmful effects of secondhand smoke. The chief editor of this report, Professor Yang Gonghuan, feels that efforts aimed at fostering change are being held back.
Yang Gonghuan, deputy director of Chinese Center for Disease Control & Prevention, said, "From 2002 to 2010, the number of smokers in China has remained nearly the same, along with the amount of people suffering from secondhand smoke. This means even though adjustments are being made for comprehensive tobacco control, the effects were counteracted by pro-smoking forces."
The report finds that relevant authorities have given some attention to tobacco control practices in the past five years, but there is still a considerable gap between the overall implementation efforts, and FCTC requirements.
Yang Gonghuan said, "First of all, China is doing poorly in implementing the FCTC, with a performance score of just 37.3 out of a possible 100 points. Secondly, a lack of government leadership underlies these poor results in tobacco control."
Jeffrey Koplan, Emory University's Vice President for Global Health, felt confident the tobacco control situation in China will be better off as time goes by. He pointed out that the change in social norms, and the change in policies, reinforce each other.
Dr. Jeffery Koplan of Emory University VP for Global Health, said, "In the past, the local community in the US was very tolerant of smoking but it's now no longer the case. The same will happen in China too."
The world is watching and waiting with hope that China will take strong steps to end the tobacco epidemic. With all the recommendations proposed by this report for comprehensive tobacco control, what kind of measures will be taken by the Chinese government? To which extent will China fulfill its treaty obligations? These are still questions to be answered.
