China promises a 'non-smoking' Olympics

Other sports News

China promises a 'non-smoking' Olympics

Beijing, May 30 (Xinhua) China, with about a third of the world's smoking population, has vowed to put up a 'non-smoking' Olympic Games.

Zhang Bin, an official with the Ministry of Health (MOH), said Monday that smoking will be banned at all hospitals, which specifically cater to the Games, by the end of 2007.

The ban in China, which has around 350 million smokers, will extend to public transport and public buildings, Zhang said.

In his meeting with WHO Director-General Lee Jong-Wook in 2004, Premier Wen Jiabao said a non-smoking Games is on top of the agenda for China's preparations for a green Olympics.

The ministry has learned from the practice and experience of previous Games hosts, Zhang said.

The concept of a 'non-smoking' Olympic Games, initiated in 1988, was put into practice in Barcelona in 1992.

The largest tobacco producer and consumer in the world, China reports about one million deaths from smoking each year, and the figure is expected to reach three million by 2050.

The spread of smoking results in the heavy burden of providing medical treatment for illnesses like lung cancer, said Yang Gonghuan, deputy director of the China's Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Tobacco control needs the participation of NGOs and people from all walks of life, she said. She called for quick implementation of the national action plan on tobacco control with priority placed on teenage education and publicity.

The expert also appealed for promulgating national laws to ban smoking in public places and to beef up early detection and treatment of lung cancer.

Unfortunately, China is still slow in detecting lung cancer and most patients do not receive the necessary surgery in time, said Qiao Youlin, researcher with the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, who specialises in cancer treatment.

'The high cost of early detection methods of lung cancer prevents early diagnosis, especially in rural areas,' he noted.

'Therefore, China's treatment of lung cancer still lags far behind developed nations,' said Qiao, adding that the five-year survival rate of lung cancer patients in developed nations is 15 percent, but less than 10 percent in China.

Latest News

Star stuff

China promises a 'non-smoking' Olympics