The China report cited a review of eight popular television series and 10 movies conducted by the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention in 2003. The review found that each TV series had an average of 165 scenes involving tobacco, and an average of 47.5 minutes of total airtime for tobacco products. The 10 movies each had an average of 26 tobacco scenes with a total duration of about six minutes.

A survey conducted in Beijing indicated that on average, there were two cigarette venders near each primary or high school and that nine out of 10 students can find sales points within 200 meters of their homes. Nine out of 10 students also said they had never been refused when attempting to purchase cigarettes.

Fresh efforts

To help people kick the habit, the WHO has established a package of the six most important and effective tobacco control policies, namely, raising prices, banning advertising, promotion and sponsorship, protecting people from secondhand smoke, warning about the dangers of tobacco, offering help to people who want to quit, and carefully monitoring the epidemic and prevention policies.

The Chinese Government has also published several laws and regulations to control tobacco, including the Advertisement Law, Interim Measures for Administration of Tobacco Advertisements, the Law on Tobacco Monopoly, the Law on the Protection of Minors and the Law on Prevention of Juvenile Delinquency. These laws prohibit tobacco advertisements, and sales of tobacco products to minors.

Loopholes still exist in the implementation of these laws. For instance, although studies suggest banning tobacco advertisements can reduce tobacco consumption, a complete ban is not easy to implement. Tobacco companies often disguise the promotion of their products and brand name as anti-smoking advertisements. Rather than deterring young people from smoking, these advertisements often allude that smoking is cool, and associate smoking with positive things such as success and maturity.

More vigorous efforts against smoking were implemented in China after Beijing won its bid for the Olympic Games. Since then, Beijing has taken a number of strong measures against smoking in public places. It banned smoking in restaurants in April 2007, and in taxis in October 2007. Starting from May 2008, smoking was banned in most public areas in Beijing, including medical facilities, kindergartens, schools, cultural institutions such as cinemas, museums and archives, the service halls of banks, post offices and other commercial facilities, public transportation and ticket rooms, as well as indoor platforms, stations for public transportation, stadium, gyms and fitness centers, and offices and meeting rooms of government and public institutions.