|
 More than 300 million people have made cigarettes part of the social
fabric in the world's biggest producer and consumer of tobacco, and
another 740 million are exposed to second-hand smoke, state media
have reported.
Revisions to the national advertisement law, passed in April, ban
tobacco advertisements in mass media, public places, on public
vehicles and outdoors.
Anti-smoking advocates praised the changes, but warned that some
parts of the law could be abused by the country's powerful tobacco
monopoly, which they say has pushed back against a series of
ambitious anti-smoking measures.
"They can't stop it, but they can create a headache," said Bernhard
Schwartländer, the World Health Organisation's representative in
China, referring to the country's anti-smoking campaign.
"The problem is the language that has been chosen, the
interpretation of those words sometimes opens room for discussion,
which the tobacco industry will try to use," he added.
China's powerful State Tobacco Monopoly Administration, until
February run by the younger brother of Premier Li Keqiang, had
lobbied intensely to water down proposed restrictions on
advertising, sources told Reuters last year.
The state tobacco monopoly, which controls the bulk of the domestic
market, wields extraordinary power because it provides an estimated
7 percent to 10 percent of government revenue, or as much as 816
billion yuan ($127 billion) in 2013.
But many big cities, including Beijing, already have tougher curbs
on smoking than rural areas, and billboards promoting cigarettes are
seldom seen in the capital.
[to top of second column] |
The revised advertising law also includes harsher punishments for
false advertising, prohibits advertising in schools or on
educational materials, and bars endorsements of products by children
younger than 10.
Health officials and anti-smoking campaigners said the changes
particularly targeted smoking among the young.
In an interview, Liang Xiaofeng, deputy director of China's Center
for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), said he expected the
government to further hike taxes on tobacco, since teenaged smokers
are more price-sensitive.
"We believe that hiking prices will impact minors in large part
because they don't have their own income," he added.
(Reporting by Megha Rajagopalan; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)
[© 2015 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2015 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
 |
