The World Health Organization (WHO) wholeheartedly congratulates the Government of China on its move towards a national tobacco control law, and welcomes the opportunity to provide comment on the draft Regulations currently before China’s State Council.
“Tobacco use in China is a public health crisis – every day, 3000 people in China die from smoking. The policy measures proposed in the draft Regulations on Smoking Control in Public Places will be a giant step forward for China in addressing this crisis,” said Dr Bernhard Schwartländer, WHO Representative in China.
Dr Schwartländer made the comments following a submission by WHO to the State Council Legislative Affairs Office on the draft Regulations this week. In November, the Legislative Affairs Office issued a call for comments from the public on the draft Regulations.
The draft Regulations on Smoking Control in Public Places, drafted by the National Health and Family Planning Commission (NHFPC), include a broad package of tobacco control measures:
- all indoor public places, workplaces and public transportation facilities, and many outdoor public places, will be required to be smoke-free;
- tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship will be banned;
- graphic or pictorial warnings will be required on all tobacco packages;
- there will be more support for public awareness campaigns about the harms of smoking, and more cessation support for smokers to quit; and
- measures designed to protect young people from the hazards of addiction to tobacco – including stronger enforcement on prohibition of sales to minors and school education programs about the harms of smoking.
In its submission, WHO highlights the requirements of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC). China ratified the WHO FCTC in 2005, and the treaty came into legal force in China in 2006.
“WHO commends the NHFPC and the Legislative Affairs Office on the inclusion of a broad package of tobacco control measures in the draft Regulations. If adopted, these regulations will represent unprecedented progress towards China meeting its obligations under the WHO FCTC,” explained Dr Schwartländer.
“The policies included in the draft Regulations will reduce smoking rates in China, and if fully enacted, will make an enormous contribution to addressing the growing epidemic of non-communicable disease (NCDs) in China and its massive health, economic and social costs,” Dr Schwartländer said.
“The WHO’s advice to the State Council Legislative Affairs Office is therefore clear: if the draft Regulations are adopted in full and without delay, the public health benefits for China will be substantial. Any attempts from groups with vested interests to weaken or dilute the key provisions of the draft Regulations should be resisted. This law, if adopted in full, will save many millions of lives,” concluded Dr Schwartländer.
China is the world’s largest producer and consumer of tobacco products. There are more than 300 million smokers in the country – with 28.1% of adults, and more than half of all adult men, regular smokers. More than 1 million people die from tobacco-related illness every year. In addition, over 700 million people are routinely exposed to second-hand smoke, which kills approximately 100,000 people every year.
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