"Non-smoking and more sports lead to a healthy life" has become the
conviction of people who attended a national anti-smoking campaign
Friday that celebrated the 15th World Non-smoking Day.
Responding to the World Health
Organization's (WHO) global campaign -- dubbed "Tobacco-Free
Sports: Playing it Clean" -- various regions of the country have
held public education activities, urging people to kick tobacco out
of sports events and their lives.
While Beijing is the host to the 2008 Olympic Games, China produces
and consumes the largest amount of tobacco in the world.
China forbids tobacco advertisements on radio and TV, in newspapers
and magazines and in public places such as waiting rooms, cinemas,
and at sports events however, investigations have shown that 80 per
cent of the country's youngsters are exposed to tobacco
advertisements, especially foreign tobacco advertisements.
Supporting sports activities has become a key way for tobacco
makers to broadcast their products.
These advertisements attached to sports activities have strong
power in alluring people to smoke, especially young people who
usually have strong interests in sports.
China will make more efforts to draft a national tobacco control
strategy and focus on preventing smoking among young people in
public places and second-hand smoke, Song Qingsheng, vice-minister
of the Ministry of Health, said yesterday at a public education
activity held at the Beijing University of Physical Education.
At
the event, the WHO honored Zhang Faqiang, vice-director of the
State Sport General Administration, and Li Yongbo, head coach of
China's National Badminton Squad, for their achievements in the
anti-smoking campaign.
Many countries, including China, and international organizations
have joined the WHO in its efforts to persuade people to drop
smoking habit.
The Federation International de Football Association has decided to
ban smoking by spectators at the World Cup finals, which kicked off
Friday in South Korea.
(China
Daily June 1, 2002)