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Today was the 26th World No Tobacco Day, and the theme this year was banning tobacco advertising,
promotion and sponsorship. Our reporter Song Wenjing talked to smokers, non-smokers and
one city legislator, and found they all see loopholes in the current reuglations.
A typical pack of cigarettes made in China has one line printed on it that says "Smoking
is bad for your health." That's the only warning. Some of the people buying cigarettes at this
downtown store say they weren't even aware of World No Tobacco Day, and even some who
were, didn't care.
"To be honest I don't think it really help or make a difference. If you smoke, no smokers
read those things because you see you see it every day, and you become so oblivious.
That doesn't really have an effect any more. I think it's a lot more liberal here, and
in Shanghai I can smoke in a lot more places than back home in Germany. For example, I
can smoke in restaurants, bars. I even have people smoking in my fitness center," said
Peer Ischreyt.
"In England you're still allowed branding on cigarattes, but there's a movement which
is trying to ban branding. They want just plain packaging. But now you have branding,
but they also show rather unpleasant pictures of people with diseases, or cancers and growths
and so on, to try to discourage people from smoking," said Colin Hardy.
Shanghai lawmaker Li Ming has been researching smoking control here for years. He says he
did see a change in the years after the country banned tobacco advertising. Now there are
almost no outdoor ads on billboards along intercity highways. But he says indirect advertising
still exists in TV dramas, films, and on the Internet, as well as at sporting or charity
events. He says China's advertising laws still need to be tightened.
"The current advertising law was established more than 10 years ago. It's too backward.
It doesn't include all those kinds of indirect advertising. But all those are actually strictly
banned by the World Health Organization's convention on tobacco control. Besides, China
also has a price limit of no more than 100 yuan for a pack of cigarettes. That's just
the opposite of many foreigners, who have raised tobacco prices as a way of discouraging
people," Li said.
The Shanghai disease control center says nearly four percent of the city's middle school and
primary school students are smokers, and says 13 percent of them have tried smoking. Some
research suggests that youngsters are three times more likely as adults to be affected
by advertising. But Li says many officials are not eager to push for change. Tobacco
taxes accounted for as much as 10 percent of government tax revenues
in 2011.