Most smokers in China have no plans to quit, study finds

Most smokers in China, the world’s largest tobacco consumer, have no intention of kicking the habit and remain unaware of some of its most damaging health effects, Chinese health officials and outside researchers said on Wednesday.

An estimated 316 million people smoke in China, almost a quarter of the population, and concerns are growing about the long-term effects on public health and the economy.

The vast majority of smokers are men, of whom 59 per cent told the survey they have no plans to quit, according to a decade-long study by the Chinese Centre for Disease Control and Prevention and Canadian researchers with the International Tobacco Control project.

Such numbers have prompted efforts to restrict the formerly ubiquitous practice. Major cities including Beijing and Shanghai having recently moved to ban public smoking, with Shanghai’s prohibition going into effect in March. The central government approved a modest nationwide cigarette tax increase two years ago.

But Chinese and international health officials argue that more is needed, including a nationwide public smoking ban, higher cigarette taxes and more aggressive health warnings.

Such actions are “critically important,” Yuan Jiang, director of tobacco control at the Chinese Centre for Disease Control, said in a statement released with Wednesday’s study.