A surge in the number of female smokers in China was entirely possible if the government did not intervene, said a report Friday, as tobacco companies have targeted women through marketing campaigns.

The 2010 China Tobacco Control Report was released by the Tobacco Control Office of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention ahead of the 23rd World No-Tobacco Day which falls on May 31.

In China, tobacco companies have shifted their focus to women as raising the already high smoking rate among men has proved difficult, said the report.

Smokers account for 66 percent of men and 3 percent of women in China, it said.

Following the example of their foreign counterparts, Chinese tobacco companies began spending heavily on advertisements that associated tobacco use with beauty and liberation, it said.

To persuade women into smoking, the companies also sold "light" and "fruit-flavored" cigarettes, which were in fact no less harmful, it said.

The low-income and less-educated women were more vulnerable to such campaigns, said Yang Gonghuan, head of the Tobacco Control Office.

Compared with male smokers, female smokers suffer more consequences, such as increased risks of premature senility, menstrual disorders and breast cancer, said the report.

The government should take action and impose restrictions on tobacco advertising and promotion targeting women, thus prevent the prevalence of smoking among women, Yang said.