|
|
|
|
Curing the doctor in
China
By Antoaneta Bezlova
BEIJING - If one in five Chinese doctors
smokes, how can China's army of 350 million
smokers be persuaded to kick the habit?
China, the world's biggest producer and consumer of tobacco,
marked the 18th annual "World No Tobacco Day" on Tuesday
by announcing the first batch of national
no-smoking hospitals and calling on medical personnel to
quit smoking. The theme of this year's event was "health
professionals and smoking control". More than 23%
of Chinese doctors smoke daily, only about 1%
lower than the average rate of the population. As
many as 57% of Chinese male medical professionals
smoke, and in some areas of the country, less than
half of doctors truly understand the medical
dangers of smoking, or techniques to help people
quit smoking. These alarming facts were revealed
in a survey carried out by the Tobacco Control
Office of the Chinese Center for Disease Control
and Prevention.
After the Chinese
government signed a landmark international
convention on tobacco control in 2003, officials
have shown more determination to address a
mounting public health crisis, but they appear to
be ill-equipped to deal with the problem. "If
there are large numbers of smokers among doctors,
teachers and government officials, that makes it
even more difficult for common people to drop the
habit," said Jiang Yuan, an official from the
Tobacco Control Office.
China's
anti-smoking campaign faces an uphill battle, with
the number of smokers estimated to be growing by
2% a year. Nearly 70% of China's tobacco addicts
are male but an increasing number of women - some
20 million now - are picking up the habit too.
Overall, China burns 1.7 trillion cigarettes a
year.
Smoking is believed to kill about
1.2 million people in China every year. By 2050,
the World Health Organization estimates that
figure could rise to more than three million,
putting an even greater burden on China's
overburdened health care sector. Official figures
show that economic costs to China from early
deaths, lost productivity and rising health care
bills as a result of smoking now account for
nearly half of the tobacco industry profits. In
2000, China's tobacco industry generated 105
billion yuan (US$12.6 billion) in pre-tax profits.
The same year, economic losses caused by
tobacco-related illnesses totalled 48.6 billion
yuan.
The government's vested interests in
the tobacco industry have long frustrated efforts
to curb smoking in the country. The state has a
monopoly on tobacco production and distribution
and the industry represents the single-largest
source of state revenue. In the south-western
province of Yunnan, where some of China's major
tobacco growers are located, tobacco taxes account
for 70% of government revenues.
China
became a signatory to the World Health
Organization's Convention on Tobacco Control but
has delayed ratifying it for fears that
restrictive measures prescribed by the agreement -
covering the advertising, marketing, pricing and
taxation of tobacco - would disrupt the ongoing
reshuffle of the tobacco sector. "The purpose of
the reshuffle is to help domestic tobacco
companies deal with mounting competition from big
foreign corporations," said Hu Xinhua, an official
with the State Tobacco Monopoly Administration
(STMA). Competition between domestic and foreign
tobacco companies has heated up since China
entered the World Trade Organization in 2001.
China's tobacco administration plans to establish
30-50 key enterprises through mergers and
acquisitions in three years, and foster the
development of big cigarette brands.
The
WHO's convention on tobacco control, which took
effect on February 27, calls for the governments
to increase taxes and prices over a three-year
period, ban cigarette advertising within five
years and, among other steps, put more detailed
warnings on products. But government officials
openly admit that WHO curbs on smoking would have
little immediate effect on China. "Although it is
required by the treaty, I see no price or tax
increase in the near future," Zheng Fugang,
general secretary of the China Tobacco Society
told the media recently. "The Chinese law on [the
government] tobacco monopoly states that the
industry has to ensure financial income for the
nation, while protecting the rights of consumers."
Nevertheless, the Chinese government has
pledged to ratify the convention within one year
of it coming into effect. "We have received clear
signals from the government that they are aware of
the magnitude of the health crisis and committed
to work toward ratifying the convention," said Wu
Yanwei, an official with the WHO's mission in
Beijing.
China's new top leaders,
President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao, have
portrayed themselves as health-conscious and clean
living. Unlike their predecessors, communist
founding fathers Mao Zedong and Deng Xiaoping,
whose chain-smoking images dotted the country in
the 1980s, Hu and Wen are never seen on television
or in newspaper photos smoking. It is perhaps this
personal example that health officials are seeking
when calling on Chinese doctors to stop lighting
up.
But curbs alone are unlikely to
persuade the nation's millions of tobacco addicts
to quit smoking. The habit is deeply ingrained in
the Chinese society. Lighting up cigarettes for
others is a show of courtesy and offering
cigarettes is seen as a demonstration of
friendliness.
(Inter Press
Service) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
All material on this
website is copyright and may not be republished in any form without written
permission.
© Copyright 1999 - 2005 Asia Times
Online Ltd.
|
|
Head
Office: Rm 202, Hau Fook Mansion, No. 8 Hau Fook St., Kowloon, Hong
Kong
Thailand Bureau:
11/13 Petchkasem Road, Hua Hin, Prachuab Kirikhan, Thailand 77110
|
|
|
|
