In China quarter of the population are smokers. This is a very bad news, that’s why it is needed for a strict tobacco control for to reduce smoking prevalence. Even Chinese lawmaker press for a more severe smoking control.
“The country should initiate a tobacco control program as soon as possible to cut down tobacco supplies and demands, and protect people’s health”, said Ma Li, a deputy to the National People’s Congress.
China now has more than 350 million smokers, more than 26 percent of its total population, according to a recent study. And with an annual sale of two trillion cheap cigarettes, China is the world’s largest cigarette market.
Nearly half of China’s male health workers smoke, cigarette packages sold in China bears only minimum warning slogans or pictures, and in China it is common practice to give cigarettes as gifts. All these increased smoking in China.
“Should the current smoking prevalence continue, two million Chinese would die from, and six to eight million would suffer, tobacco-related diseases by 2030,” Ma added.
China joined the World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control in 2005, but has not yet had a national program for tobacco control so far.
Tobacco control in China is of great importance now because only it will safeguard the health of the Chinese people.
Ma urged the Ministry of Health to outline a five or ten-year-program to keep tobacco production and sales under control, and gradually encourage tobacco growing areas to shift to change substitution.
The Health Ministry from China should set up a new law on the prevention of tobacco harms as soon as possible.
Tobacco Facts
Tobacco is an annual or bi-annual growing 1-3 meters tall with large sticky leaves that contain nicotine. Native to the Americas, tobacco has a long history of use as a shamanic inebriant and stimulant. It is extremely popular and well-known for its addictive potential.
Nicotiana rustica leaves.
Nicotiana rustica leaves have a nicotine content as high as 9%, whereas Nicotiana tabacum (common tobacco) leaves contain about 1 to 3%
A cigar is a tightly rolled bundle of dried and fermented tobacco which is ignited so that its smoke may be drawn into the mouth. Cigar tobacco is grown in significant quantities in Brazil, Cameroon, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Honduras, Indonesia, Mexico, Nicaragua, Sumatra, Philippines, and the Eastern United States.
Tobacco is an agricultural product processed from the fresh leaves of plants in the genus Nicotiana. It can be consumed, used as an organic pesticide, and in the form of nicotine tartrate it is used in some medicines. In consumption it may be in the form of cigarettes smoking, snuffing, chewing, dipping tobacco, or snus.
Cigarettes are smoking products consumed by people and made out of cut tobacco leaves. Cigars are typically composed completely of whole-leaf tobacco. A cigarette has smaller size, composed of processed leaf, and white paper wrapping. The term cigarette refers to a tobacco cigarette too but it can apply to similar devices containing other herbs, such as cannabis.
