One in six deaths caused by tobacco in the world happens in China

One in six deaths caused by tobacco in the world happens in China

The WHO (World Health Organization) said on Monday in Beijing that China, the biggest consumer and producer of tobacco, concentrated one-sixth of six million smoking-related deaths worldwide.

"Tobacco use is the leading cause of death worldwide and in China. Each year, one million people die from diseases related to smoking," said the WHO representative in China, and Michael O'Leary.

Related evils, in this case are heart attacks, cancer and lung diseases, among others, not including the huge number of passive smokers, including children represent 25% of the total, said O'Leary.

For this reason, WHO called on Monday the Chinese government to seize the state monopoly in tobacco industry to prevent the continuous increase of deaths from smoking in a country with more than 300 million smokers - a higher number of addictsnicotine on the planet - and that leads the world production of cigarettes.

"The Chinese tobacco industry is 100% state. And that means a tremendous opportunity for the government to put under control," said Dr. Sarah England, the WHO in Beijing, noting that on Tuesday (31) will be celebrated World No Tobacco Day.

According to the latest WHO data, more than 60% of men's most populous country in the world are smokers, with an estimated consumption in 2009 of 2.3 million cigarettes, a 40% increase over 2002.

Although China ratified in 2003 the WHO's Framework Convention for Tobacco Control (FCTC, the acronym in English), its implementation depends on a working group that includes the State Tobacco Monopoly, the regulatory institution responsible for clearing the Corporation Tobacco China, the largest cigarette manufacturer in the world.

Speaking to news agency Xinhua, "Dr. England said" the Chinese tobacco industry is acting against the principles of public health, and the FCTC guidelines make clear that the tobacco industry should not have influence over policies control "of smoking.

In this regard, a report by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention of China said in January that limited progress in tobacco control in the Asian country is due to interference from representatives of tobacconists in the implementation of official policies.

The tobacco sector in China generates 7% of annual revenue from the government, but experts assure that this number is obscured by low productivity and medical costs entailed by the deaths and illnesses caused by smoking.