Medical staff in public hospitals should play a leading role in anti-smoking efforts, a senior expert suggested.

Zhao Ping, president of the Cancer Institute and Hospital (CIH) under the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, made the remarks at the launching ceremony of the smoke-free hospital at CIH in Beijing on April 17.

Zhao said a smoke-free environment is crucial for hospitals - particularly for CIH, a national center for advanced cancer research and treatment and one of the collaborative centers with the World Health Organization (WHO) for cancer research in China.

Zhao said lung cancer normally takes many years to develop. Statistics show that current or former cigarette smokers make up approximately 90 percent of lung cancer patients.

China has more than 300 million smokers, the most in the world, with more than two trillion cigarettes sold in the country every year. More than half of Chinese male doctors are smokers, which undermines their credibility when they advise patients and the public to stop smoking.  

"We had made anti-smoking efforts at our hospital for more than five years, but they didn't work very well," Zhao said. "We hope the launch of the campaign will act as a catalyst and also a mirror for our medical staff."

The campaign was launched in conjunction with the 16th national Cancer Awareness Week for the Prevention and Treatment of Cancer, which ran from April 12 to 17.

The China Cancer Foundation (CCF), a non-profit organization, organized the first Cancer Awareness Week in 1995. The entire health community, from the Ministry of Health to city-level health departments, participates in the nationwide campaign. During Cancer Awareness Week, leading cancer institutes and hospitals provide free check-ups and screening for early detection of cancer as well as health seminars to educate the public on how to prevent cancer.