The Associated Press predicts that China s commitment to ban smoking in all public indoor facilities by January 2011 will go up in a puff of smoke. Unlike the U.S., China which suffers at least one million smoking-related deaths annually ratified a World Health Organization anti-tobacco treaty requiring public places to go smoke-free. Smoking is more deeply entrenched in Chinese culture than in the U.S., with tobacco companies sponsoring Chinese schools. World Lung Foundation senior advisor Dr. Judith Mackay tells the AP the tobacco industry has traditionally been central within [Chinese] government and really very important. It s a really serious problem.
ACSH's Dr. Elizabeth Whelan pointed out that "Smoking-related issues take on a whole new meaning in the context of the huge Chinese population. It's scary to realize that smoking is linked to over one million deaths each year in China, and the problem is growing. Sir Richard Peto estimated years ago that unless the smoking habits of the nation changed, one in three Chinese men would die from smoking. Something dramatic has to be done to stop that."