World No Tobacco Day: China's efforts on controlling smoking

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Europe

02:25

Today marks World No Tobacco Day. One fact China is finding increasingly harder to breathe in is the significant rise in female smokers from 2010 to 2015. Take a look.

The cigarette. To many, a symbol of masculinity. Their claim: Nicotine helps relieve pressure and stress. These days, more women are picking up the bad habit.

"I think it's quite common for women to smoke in nowadays, even if they don't smoke in public. Society has become more competitive, and people have to deal with more pressure. Smoking, to a certain extent, can help ease that burden. But smoking is more harmful to women than men. They need to control that."

"I think there will be different situations for women smoking. Some of them will smoke when they feel depressed and stressed. I used to smoke a lot when I broke up with my boyfriend before."

In China, the number of women that are lighting up has tripled. This has spurred the development of some female-friendly tobacco products.

XU JIAHUA, SENIOR CONSULTANT CHINESE ASSOCIATION ON TOBACCO CONTROL "Compared to Western countries, the number of female smokers in China is much lower, although China has the higher rate for male smokers. Not all of those female smokers are under a lot of pressure to smoke. They want to look cool. But the fact is smoking is more harmful to a woman's health than to men."

China has the most smokers in the world. Out of the nation's 1-point-3 billion people, about 315 million are smokers. The country consumes more than a third of the world's cigarettes. The Chinese government has been working hard to keep the habit from getting out of hand.

XU JIAHUA, SENIOR CONSULTANT CHINESE ASSOCIATION ON TOBACCO CONTROL "Several policies have been implemented. For example, there are already 22 cities banning smoking in public. And all the tobacco advertisements have been banned. Also, the tobacco tax has been increased. All these policies help to control tobacco consumption."

Despite these efforts, the number of Chinese smokers continues to rise. It's clear, experts say, that more needs to be done. CGTN Chuck Tin-te, Beijing.