May 31 marks World No Tobacco Day. Experts highlight health professionals' leading role in reminding people to quit smoking, as the number of Chinese people who have nicotine addiction has hit a hundred million.

A 2021 report released by China's National Health Commission said there are 300 million smokers in China, and according to National Center for Respiratory Medicine, more than half of them have a nicotine addiction.

"Over 180 million people have nicotine addiction in China," said Wang Chen, specialist on respiratory disease and critical illness.

"Compared with common smokers, it's about three times harder for people who have nicotine addiction to avoid tobacco use," Wang continued, adding that they need help from doctors as the essence of nicotine addiction is a chronic disease.

China has made a concerted effort to control tobacco use within the country.

In 2016, President Xi Jinping announced the Healthy China 2030 plan, which made public health a key benchmark to assess economic and social initiatives. The initiative set a goal of reducing the rate of smokers aged 15 and older to 20 percent by 2030.

During this process, doctors are given greater responsibilities.

"Doctors should be the leader in people's healthy life," said Zhang Jianshu, president of Beijing Tobacco Control Association, adding that the number of smoking doctors is still high.

"If doctors smoke cigarettes themselves, it's difficult for them to advise others," said Zhang.

To better control cigarettes, doctor representatives from across the country have united to help achieve the anti-smoking target for a healthy China.

Local governments have also strengthened tobacco control.

Beijing has adopted its strictest-ever regulation on smoking in public areas since June 2015. At least 20 cities have approved stricter tobacco control rules so far.