SMOKING STATISTICS

Smoking Statistics in China

1. In China approximately two thirds of men smoke, however, only 4% of women smoke.

2. 33% of the the total number of cigarettes smoked each year are smoked in China, making China one of the world's largest consumers of cigarettes. Given China's population, the number of smokers in China is estimated to be above 300 million, which is approximately the United States population.

3. 3,000 smokers or past smokers in China die every day from tobacco related causes. This number could increase in 2050 to 8,000 people dying each day from smoke related health problems.

4. While large American tobacco corporations have been trying to sell their cigarettes due to the obvious demand, China itself is the world's largest producer of tobacco.

5. Smokers in China may spend as much as 60% of their personal income on buying cigarettes. Tobacco is believed to be a causative factor in a majority of the five leading causes of death in China.

6. Most smokers in China receive little preventive information about the dangers of smoking.

7. The number one cause of mortality in China is lung cancer.

8. The cigarettes industry in China is a state owned and state run enterprise which generates more than $30 Billion for the government. For this reason, attempts to ban smoking in public places and even banning advertising are seen as dangerous changes by the government in China. Tobacco related diseases cost $5 Billion a year, in addition to lost productivity.

9. Beijing's first smoke-free restaurant, Meizhou Dongpo, opened in October 2007.

10. China has made some progress banning smoking in taxis in Beijing. However, the smoking rate in Beijing among women is up as 10.4 of women in Beijing smoked in 2004, compared with only 8.76 percent in 1997. Most of the new smokers were young students, businesswoman, and women involved in entertainment.

11. Only in China is the national government also the tobacco industry.

12. China consumes a third of world's tobacco, however, China has only one fifth of the world's population.4%,

13. There is no age limit on the sale tobacco products in China. And cigarettes are often given as gifts.

14. Over one million people die each year in China due to tobacco related deaths. China has the largest number of smoking related deaths in the world. In 2050, researchers estimate that 3 million people a year could be dying from smoke related health problems.

15. As the percentage of women who smoke in China is relatively low at 4%, a large increase from this percentage could mean a greatly incidence of tobacco related deaths.

16. While tobacco causes many heart disease deaths in the United States, in China many of the tobacco related deaths are due to lung diseases such as tuberculosis, emphysema, and of course lung cancer. As more people in China adopt a western diet, this could lead to an increase in cardiovascular disease due to a combination of smoking and a poor diet.