Xu Guihua, deputy director and secretary general of the Chinese Association for the Control of Tobacco, said at a meeting on the implementation of the World Health Organization's Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, that China would completely ban tobacco advertisement and relevant promotions and sponsorships from January 2011.
Xu said that China's tobacco control work lags behind other countries and this is mainly because of a lack of laws and regulations on forbidding smoking in the public places. Xu says only 45.7% of Chinese cities have laws on smoking, and the no-smoking areas usually are limited to cinemas, theaters, libraries and meeting areas. What's more, the clauses in the existing laws are ambiguous and not so effective for clear implementation.
WHO's Framework Convention on Tobacco Control is the first international convention on tobacco banning. China began to adopt the Convention in January 2006.
Statistics published by local media show that tobacco related diseases account for 12% of the total deaths in China, and they have cost about RMB48.59 billion in medical expenses. It is estimated that the number will reach 33% by 2025 when medical costs for curing tobacco-related diseases will be higher than the profit than the tobacco industry contributes to the Chinese economy.
