On World No Tobacco Day 2016, the World Health Organization (WHO) congratulates Beijing on one year of successful implementation of its smoke-free law, and is calling on China’s lawmakers to adopt a similar law to apply nation-wide.
“In the last 12 months, it has been great to see Beijing’s smoke-free law in action: enforcement is good, compliance is good, public support is high, and Beijingers are breathing easier as a result. We applaud Beijing for its very strong leadership,” said Dr Bernhard Schwartländer, WHO Representative in China.
The WHO is celebrating World No Tobacco Day by joining national and Beijing government leaders in an event to mark the 1-year anniversary of the Beijing smoke-free law at the iconic national Olympic stadium (the Birds Nest), where giant banners featuring the smiling faces of people who have benefited from the Beijing smoke-free law will be displayed.
Beijing’s smoke-free law is the strongest tobacco control legislation adopted in China to date, and is fully compliant with Article 8 of WHO’s Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC) – which calls for a complete ban on smoking in all indoor workplaces, public transport, indoor public places, and as appropriate, other public places. There is no safe level of exposure to second-hand smoke, so there can be no exceptions to this requirement. China ratified the WHO FCTC in 2005, and it came into legal force in 2006.
“Beijing has shown it can be done – we now have very solid ‘proof of concept’. It is time to extend the same protection from second-hand smoke Beijingers now enjoy to the rest of the country, through the adoption of a strong national smoke-free law,” Dr Schwartländer said.
“However, I am sorry to say that a range of very problematic loopholes in the draft national smoke-free law have now appeared – for example, which would allow smoking in individual offices. Exempting leaders in single offices would introduce a culture of privileges, putting the health of others at risk,” Dr Schwartländer explained.
In addition to exemptions for individual offices, under the revised draft smoking would also be permitted in a range of hospitality venues including restaurants, bars and hotels.
“A weak national smoke-free law would be inconsistent with China’s international legal obligations as a Party to the WHO FCTC, and it would fail to protect China’s people from exposure to second-hand smoke, at a very cost for both individuals and the economy. We call on lawmakers to resist any attempts to water down the national smoke-free law. On World No Tobacco Day, we owe this to the people of China whose health it is our job to protect,” Dr Schwartländer said.
The global theme for this year’s World No Tobacco Day is Get Ready for Plain Packaging.
“Plain packaging is fast becoming a global trend. There is an opportunity for China to take a step in the right direction towards plain packaging with the adoption of a strong, comprehensive national smoke-free law which includes the introduction of graphic health warnings. We hope Chinese lawmakers will not pass up this chance,” Dr Schwartländer said.
China is the world’s largest producer and consumer of tobacco products. There are approximately 315 million smokers in the country – with 28% of adults, and more than half of all adult men, regular smokers. Among 13-15 year olds, 11% of boys smoke. More than 1 million people die from tobacco-related illness every year – around 3000 people every day. In addition, over 700 million people are routinely exposed to second-hand smoke, which kills approximately 100,000 people every year.
Note to editors: about World No Tobacco Day
On 31 May every year, the World Health Organization (WHO) marks World No Tobacco Day, a day to highlight the health risks associated with tobacco use and advocate for policies to reduce tobacco consumption. Tobacco use is the single most preventable cause of death globally, currently responsible for approximately 6 million deaths each year.
The global theme for this year’s World No Tobacco Day is Get Ready for Plain Packaging.
Plain packaging is tobacco packaging without tobacco company logos, colours, brand images or promotional information other than the brand and product names displayed in a standard font size and colour. Plain packaging reduces the attractiveness of tobacco products and removes the ability of tobacco companies to use the tobacco packet itself as a marketing tool.
Australia became the first country in the world to implement plain packaging of tobacco products in 2012. Ireland, France and the United Kingdom have passed laws to begin implementing plain packaging from May 2016, and many other countries are considering following suit.
For more information about World No Tobacco Day and plain packaging, see:
About the World Health Organization (WHO):
WHO is the directing and coordinating authority for health within the United Nations system. It is responsible for providing leadership on global health matters, shaping the health research agenda, setting norms and standards, articulating evidence-based policy options, providing technical support to countries and monitoring and assessing health trends.
For more information, please contact:
Ms WU Linlin
WHO China Office
E-mail: wul@who.int
Office Tel: +86 10 6532 7191