Global Epidemic
China
Consumption
- Approximately one-third of adults in China smoke (28 percent).
- Smoking rates are much higher among men than women; an estimated 53 percent of men and 2 percent of women smoke.
- Among 14 year olds, 11 percent of boys and 3 percent of girls smoke.
Health Consequences
- In China, approximately one million smokers die each year from tobacco-related diseases, and approximately 100,000 people die each year from exposure to secondhand smoke.
- If current trends continue, China’s death toll from tobacco will reach 2 million per year by 2020.
Tobacco Industry
China is the world’s largest producer and consumer of tobacco. The Chinese tobacco market is dominated by the government monopoly China National Tobacco Corporation (CNTC). CNTC holds 98 percent of the Chinese market. CNTC sold more than 2.1 trillion cigarettes in 2008.
Illicit Trade
China is the largest source of illicit cigarettes in the world, producing an estimated 400 billion counterfeit cigarettes every year. Ninety-nine percent of the United States illicit cigarette market and up to 80 percent of the European Union’s illicit cigarette market is supplied by China.
FCTC Status
China ratified the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control on August 28, 2005 and the treaty went into effect on January 9, 2006.
Tobacco Control Policy Status
Smoke-free environments: China has no national smoke-free law. Local laws include many exceptions and enforcement is inadequate. In May 2009 civilian and military authorities ordered the health bureaucracy and half of medical facilities nationwide to go completely smoke-free by the end of 2010, with remaining medical facilities required to follow by the end of 2011.
Advertising, promotion and sponsorship: A national law bans tobacco advertising on movie, television, radio, and in newspapers and magazines. Local jurisdictions have the authority to regulate outdoor tobacco advertising and some have banned it. Tobacco companies can advertise their products at point of sale, through sponsored events and branded schools, on billboards, online, and through extensive advertising of affiliated companies with the same names as tobacco brands.
Warning labels: Health warnings do not effectively warn smokers about the dangers of smoking. They are text only on a background that is the same color as the rest of the pack, use small type, and communicate just two, nearly identical, rotating messages, which do not spell out specific health consequences of smoking: "Smoking is harmful to your health; quit smoking reduces health risk" and "Smoking is harmful to your health; quit smoking early is good for your health." The messages are printed in Chinese on the front and in English on the back of the pack, although English is not a main language of China.
Tobacco taxes and price: Tobacco taxes remain low and the most popular brands of cigarettes are cheap. Government increased tobacco taxes in May 2009 but ordered the tobacco industry to absorb the increases, so prices have not risen and the tax increase has not produced public health benefits.
Updated: February 2012