"China's longstanding high prevalence of tobacco addiction deserves the same level of concern as an outbreak of SARS or H1N1," Michael O'Leary, the head of the World Health Organization in China told AFP on Tuesday.

According to data released on the same day by the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, 52.9 percent of men in China smoke and China has a total of 301 million smokers -- down from a previous high of 350 million.

A total of 13,354 people across China took part in the survey which also revealed that 70 percent of non-smokers were exposed to second-hand smoke each week. China is the world's biggest consumer of tobacco and up to one million people in the country die every year from lung cancer or other smoking-related diseases.