The World Health Organization (WHO) applauds the Beijing Municipal Government for passing a new law which will make all indoor public places in Beijing 100% smoke-free from 1 June 2015, and pave the way for strong action on tobacco at national level.
“We are thrilled to see the Beijing 100% smoke-free law pass, with no loopholes and no exemptions. When implemented, this new law will permanently bring clean air to all of Beijing’s indoor public places – in doing so, protecting Beijing’s more than 20 million residents from the deadly effects of exposure to toxic second-hand smoke,” said Dr Bernhard Schwartländer, WHO Representative in China.
“We congratulate the Beijing Municipal Government for taking this strong and determined step to improve the health of Beijingers. Beijing has now set the standard for the adoption of a strong set of tobacco control policies at national level. The Beijing Government’s action will save lives,” said Dr Schwartländer.
“The Beijing authorities have the WHO’s full support as they now look to the critically important task of implementing and enforcing the new smoke-free law. We look forward to working with the Beijing authorities on this important next phase of work,” Dr Schwartländer said.
Also this week, the Legislative Affairs Office of China’s State Council published a draft national tobacco control law. If adopted, the national regulation will make all indoor and some outdoor public places in China smoke-free; ban tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship; and require graphic health warnings covering half of all Chinese tobacco packets for the first time.
“Through the actions of the Beijing Government and the State Council this week, China is poised to take a quantum leap forward on tobacco control,” said Dr Schwartländer.
“If the draft national regulation is adopted, this will represent unprecedented progress towards China meeting its obligations under the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), and most importantly – dramatic progress towards reducing the epidemic of tobacco-related illness and preventable death in China,” Dr Schwartländer explained.
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 – around 3000 people every day. In addition, over 700 million people are routinely exposed to second-hand smoke, which kills approximately 100,000 people every year.
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.
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Ms WU Linlin
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