Yan Zhuoxun, 17, a student in Wuhan, the capital city of Hubei Province, began smoking at age 13 after he came across the alluring home page of China’ State Tobacco Monopoly Administration while he was surfing the Internet. The site -- as well as the other 24 websites linked to it -- convinced the youth that smoking was something elegant that would enhance the quality of his life. He subsequently tried all 24 brands of cigarettes.
Today a heavy smoker who suffers from both lung and stomach problems, Yan under the infringement of a minor’s right to information is taking to court 24 tobacco companies in 16 provinces and municipalities under China’s State Tobacco Monopoly Administration, the Beijing Youth Daily reported on June 25.
Yan is not asking money damages. His only demand is that tobacco companies put warning labels on their homepages such as: “Smoking is harmful to one’s health,” “Selling cigarettes to minors is illegal” and “Primary and middle school students are forbidden to smoke.” He also asks that no less than 10 percent of the contents on each websites of the tobacco companies publicize the harm caused by smoking.
“That the webpages lack warnings is the key point of this lawsuit,” said Dong Lihua, a lawyer acting on Yan’s behalf. “According to Chinese law, the plaintiff as a consumer has the right to the real information on the products he buys or the services he uses.
“The defendants, as responsible business people, have an obligation to inform consumers of the dangers of tobacco and smoking. They also have an obligation to adopt measures forbidding selling cigarettes to minors at their outlets to guarantee minors are safe from the harms of tobacco. It is a pity that the defendant was not accorded these protections,” Dong added.
A study of smokers – half of whom died from illness associated with smoking – showed most started in their teens while few took up the habit after 18.
According to a World Health Organization estimate, some 200 million of today’s Chinese children and teenagers will become smokers, and at least 50 million of them are expected to die from smoking-related diseases.
(China.org.cn 06/25/2001)
