The Chinese government attaches great importance to tobacco
control and has taken a lot of measures in this respect, according
to a senior Chinese diplomat in Geneva yesterday.
"China attaches great importance to the health of people and
tobacco control," Sha Zukang, Chinese ambassador to the UN in
Geneva, said at a tobacco control conference of the World Health
Organization (WHO).
"We have established a legal framework for tobacco control and
public health development with statutes including the Law on
Tobacco Monopoly, Advertisement Law, Law on the Protection of
Minors, Law on the Prevention of Juvenile Delinquency as well as
State Council's Regulation on Public Places Hygiene Management,"
Sha said.
He added that the Chinese government is also trying its utmost
to make the 2008
Beijing Olympics tobacco-free.
The WHO opened the conference Monday in an effort to promote the
implementation of the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control
(FCTC), which was adopted in June 2003 and came into force on
February 27, 2005.
The conference, which will go through into next week, is
expected to make decisions in technical, procedural and financial
matters relating to the implementation of the FCTC.
"China supports the international community in adopting tobacco
control measures," Sha told the conference.
"We have actively participated in and promoted the development
of the FCTC," he added.
(Xinhua News Agency February 8, 2006)