By Dr Bernhard Schwartländer, WHO Representative in China
As thousands of delegates will converge on Beijing for the annual meetings of China’s National People’s Congress (NPC) and Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) this week, health is likely to feature prominently in the discussions. There are few issues that could be more important to the national political agenda than the health of China’s 1.36 billion people. Without health, nothing else matters.
Good health is important for individuals to live long and happy lives. This is a goal which every society aspires to for all of its citizens. Good health also means a productive workforce and a strong economy. A healthy economy is a strong economy.
This year, we hope to see NPC and CPPCC members tackle the need to break China’s deadly addiction to tobacco.
Some NPC members have proposed that this year’s meetings be 100 per cent smoke-free. This would be an excellent step in the right direction. It would send a strong signal that China is finally getting serious about tobacco control.
China is the largest tobacco producer and consumer in the world. Nearly one-third of the world’s one billion smokers are Chinese men. Every minute, two people in China die as a result of an illness caused by tobacco smoking. The very high rates of tobacco smoking in China, especially among men, are not consistent with the aspiration for all Chinese people to live long and happy lives. The scientific and health evidence is unequivocal. If you smoke, you will most likely die an early, and probably very painful, death.
The good news, though, is that there is a suite of policy measures which have been proven to reduce tobacco use around the world. These polices are contained in the World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC) – the world’s first health treaty. They include making all indoor public places smoke-free; warning people about the dangers of tobacco smoking – both through mass media campaigns and large, graphic warnings on tobacco packs; enacting and enforcing comprehensive bans on tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship; offering cessation support to smokers to quit; and increasing taxes in order to raise prices on tobacco products to make smoking less affordable, especially to young people. 2015 is the tenth anniversary of the WHO FCTC coming into force, as well as the 10th anniversary of China ratifying the treaty. But not enough progress has yet been made in China on implementing it.
There is strong evidence from around the world that implementing the measures included in the WHO FCTC can have a massive effect for the health of people. Since a tobacco control law containing many of these policies first came into effect in Russia in 2013, the number of smokers in Russia is reported to have dropped by as much as 17 per cent in just one year. Russia is a country with an even higher smoking prevalence rate than China, and they are showing that it can be decreased.
We at WHO have been greatly encouraged to see progress on some of these policy areas in China over the last year. A draft national regulation to ban smoking in all indoor and some outdoor public places, and requiring stronger warning labels on tobacco products, is before the State Council. The NPC Standing Committee is currently considering changes to the national Advertising Law to strengthen restrictions on tobacco advertising.
Now, strong political commitment is needed, along with steely determination to stare down interference from the vested interests of the tobacco industry. This will translate the promise of progress into strong, well-enforced tobacco control policies which save lives.
I hope to see political leaders from across the country discussing how they can work together to achieve this during the two national meetings this week. And I hope to see them doing this in a 100 per cent smoke-free environment.
During last year’s NPC meeting, Premier Li Keqiang famously declared a “war on air pollution” – to the Chinese Government’s great credit, as air pollution is a well-documented, and very serious, problem in China. Our hope is that 2015 will be the year China declares war on the tobacco epidemic, so that all Chinese people stand a better chance at living a long and happy life.
About the World Health Organization
WHO is the directing and coordinating authority for health within the United Nations system. It is responsible for providing leadership on global health matters, shaping the health research agenda, setting norms and standards, articulating evidence-based policy options, providing technical support to countries and monitoring and assessing health trends.
For more information please contact
Ms WU Linlin
WHO China Office
E-mail: wul@wpro.who.int
Office Tel: +86 10 6532 7191