Note: World Lung Foundation united with The Union North America. From January 2016, the combined organization is known as “Vital Strategies.”
(Beijing, China) –– More than 50 per cent of Chinese men smoke cigarettes, placing hundreds of millions at serious risk for heart disease, cancer, other lung diseases, and many more serious illnesses, according to the American Cancer Society (ACS) and World Lung Foundation (WLF), co-publishers of The Tobacco Atlas – 4th Edition. Representatives from China Centers for Disease Control, the World Health Organization and the Chinese Association on Tobacco Control joined WLF and ACS in the release of the Chinese version of the Atlas.
The Tobacco Atlas, and its companion website, TobaccoAtlas.org graphically detail the scale of the tobacco epidemic, progress that has been made in tobacco control, and the latest products and tactics being deployed by the tobacco industry – such as the use of new media, trade litigation, and aggressive development of smokeless products. It also outlines steps governments can take to reduce deaths from tobacco use, such as increasing tobacco taxes, warning people about the harms of tobacco use, protecting people from secondhand smoke and banning tobacco advertising.
The World’s Largest Consumer and Producer of Tobacco
According to The Tobacco Atlas, 38 per cent of all cigarettes consumed in the world are smoked in China, more than the other top four countries combined. 50.4 per cent of all men smoke, meaning that approximately 340 million people are at significant risk for death from tobacco-related diseases. Tobacco use is already responsible for 12 percent of all deaths among men in China, and that number could rise significantly.
China also produces 41 per cent of the world’s cigarettes, and 43 per cent of the world’s tobacco, which is more tobacco leaf than the other top nine producing countries combined.
Exposure to secondhand smoke is also a significant cause of mortality in China. According to The Atlas, 600,000 people die in China every year from secondhand smoke exposure, most of them women and children. In China, 47% of youth ages 13-15 are exposed to secondhand smoke in the home, further increasing the risk of tobacco related diseases and death for this generation.
Recent Progress in China
Despite its huge tobacco epidemic, advances have been made in China, particularly in protecting people from secondhand smoke: several major cities, such as Harbin, Tianjin, Guangzhou, Lanzhou have passed smoke-free laws. And Shenzhen recently passed a 100% smoke-free law which will come into effect on March 1, 2014.
Impact assessments have also been carried out in several cities, including Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Tianjin, to assess the implementation of smoke-free legislation in workplaces, public places and public transport.
China has also begun evaluating economic costs of widespread tobacco use. The China Central Party School recently released “Legal and Economic Thinking on Smoking Control.” Recent research published in the American Journal of Public Health, showed that farmers at three sites in a crop substitution project in Yuxi, Yunnan increased their annual income by 21 -110 per cent when they grew something other than tobacco. This is encouraging news for tobacco farmers, especially if other efforts are made to reduce tobacco production in the country.
“China has made progress, but even a national smoke-free law is not nearly enough,” said John R. Seffrin, PhD, chief executive officer of the American Cancer Society. “With more than 300 million smokers, a staggering death toll and economic cost looms China. We urge the government to implement evidence-based policies that increase the price of cigarettes by raising tobacco taxes, warn people about the harms of tobacco and restrict advertising, promotion and sponsorship.”
Peter Baldini, chief executive officer, World Lung Foundation, said. “Tobacco kills more than 50 per cent of the people who use it which, in China, adds up to one of the biggest health crises in the history of mankind. With the publication of this Atlas, we are placing into the hands of governments, journalists and advocates a blueprint to help reduce the massive wave of death and disease that is coming should no actions be taken. We urge leadership and political will to follow this blueprint before it is too late.”
Judith Mackay, Co-author and Senior Advisor, World Lung Foundation noted, “The costs of tobacco use to Chinese society are only now really being understood, and they are alarming. Pockets of progress in cities are encouraging, but only a concerted effort from the national government can truly save the many millions at risk.”
About the Authors
The three authors of The Tobacco Atlas bring a deep knowledge of the tobacco epidemic and its solutions. Michael Eriksen, Sc.D., is a professor and founding director of the Institute of Public Health at Georgia State University. He has been a senior advisor to the World Health Organization (WHO), and was director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Office on Smoking and Health. Hana Ross, Ph.D., is an economist and managing director of international tobacco control research at the American Cancer Society. She has published more than 70 articles and independent reports on issues related to tobacco taxation, cigarette prices, costs of smoking, illicit trade and other economic aspects of tobacco control. Judith Mackay, a medical doctor, is a Fellow of the Royal Colleges of Physicians of Edinburgh and London, and a special advisor at World Lung Foundation. She is also a senior policy advisor to the World Health Organization (WHO) and a director of the Asian Consultancy on Tobacco Control.
About the Fourth Edition
The Fourth Edition of The Tobacco Atlas was launched in English on March 21, 2012, at the World Conference on Tobacco OR Health in Singapore, a decade after the publication of the first edition. The Atlas presents the most up-to-date information on tobacco and tobacco control available in a highly graphic, easily understandable format. Data contained within the Atlas is gathered from multiple sources and validated to ensure it presents a holistic and accurate picture of tobacco and tobacco control across the globe. The updated version is also available online at TobaccoAtlas.org, where policy makers, public health practitioners, advocates and journalists may interact with the data and create customizable charts, graphs and maps.
About the American Cancer Society
The American Cancer Society is a global grassroots force of more than three million volunteers saving lives and fighting for every birthday threatened by every cancer in every community. As the largest voluntary health organization, the Society's efforts have contributed to a 20 percent decline in cancer death rates in the U.S. since 1991, and a 50 percent drop in smoking rates. Thanks in part to our progress nearly 14 million Americans who have had cancer and countless more who have avoided it will celebrate more birthdays this year. As we mark our 100th birthday in 2013, we're determined to finish the fight against cancer. We're finding cures as the nation’s largest private, not-for-profit investor in cancer research, ensuring people facing cancer have the help they need and continuing the fight for access to quality health care, lifesaving screenings, clean air, and more. For more information, to get help, or to join the fight, call us anytime, day or night, at 1-800-227-2345 or visit cancer.org. For more information on our global programs, visit global.cancer.org and follow @ACSGlobal on Twitter.