To protect people from exposure to secondhand smoke, seven cities in China will take the first steps in creating legislation on stopping smoking at public venues and workplaces.

    Under the project, jointly held by the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention （CDC） and the International Union against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease（UNION）, the cities - Tianjin, Chongqing, Shenyang, Harbin, Nanchang, Lanzhou and Shenzhen will implement a smoking ban in public and in workplaces.

    Currently, smoking is allowed in certain areas in public places, and experts said the enforcement of smoking bans is poor.

    "This project would create strict legislation to guarantee 100-percent smoke-free public venues and workplaces and figure out a feasible and forceful working mechanism to enforce the smoking ban," said Wang Yu, director of China CDC at the project launch Friday.

    "Only with the support of the pilot cities' municipal governments and legislatures can the people there finally enjoy smoke-free environments," he noted.

    The largest tobacco consumer worldwide, China has 350 million smokers, official statistics show. Also, 540 million non-smokers are exposed to the hazards of secondhand smoke.

    Apart from 1 million smoking-related deaths each year in China, passive smoking causes around 100,000 deaths annually in the country.

    "In that regard, the project, if realized, would help save millions of lives through lowering tobacco consumption and reducing secondhand smoking," said Dr Sinead Jones with UNION.

    "The project would be scaled up to cover the whole nation in the future to protect more people from smoking," said Wang.

    Xie Zhiyong, professor with the China University of Political Science and Law, said by weighing the benefits and risks of tobacco, the country should take bolder steps in smoking and tobacco control.

    Official statistics show smoking costs the nation more than 252 billion yuan （$37 billion） each year in medical costs, fire and environmental pollution, far beyond the tax revenue generated from the industry.

    "For smoking bans in public places, legislation comes first, with implementation the key link," Xie said.

    At present, health administrations are in charge of enforcing smoking bans in public places, which are usually poorly staffed, according to Xie.

    Besides, some local governments count heavily on the local tobacco industry as a major source of tax revenue, which as a result makes smoking more difficult to control, he said, adding that tobacco companies are all State owned in China.

    Smoking control might be the first step towards tobacco control, which needs support from the decision maker, the legislature and the media, he added.

    為了保護人們免受二次煙暴露的危害，中國的7個城市將邁出立法第一步，禁止在公共場所和工作地點吸煙。

    為了響應中國疾病預防控制中心（CDC）和國際抗結核和肺病聯合會（UNION）共同推出的項目，天津、重慶、沈陽、哈爾濱、南昌、蘭州以及深圳將在公共場所和工作地點實行吸煙禁令。

    目前，一些地方允許在公共場所吸煙，專家指出，吸煙禁令的執行情況比較差。

    在周五的項目推介會上，中國疾病預防控制中心主任王宇指出，"該項目將制定嚴格的立法，確保煙公共場所和工作地點百分之百無煙，制定出可行的工作機制執行禁止吸煙的法規。"

    王宇主任同時指出："只有獲得試點城市市政府的支持和制定法規，人們才能最終享受無煙的環境。"

    根據官方統計數據，中國是世界上最大的煙草消費國，擁有3.5億煙民。同時，5.4億的非煙民也遭受二次吸煙的危害。

    在中國，每年1億人死于吸煙引起的各種疾病，同時，還有100000死于二次吸煙導致的疾病。

    國際抗結核和肺病聯合會成員Sinead Jones 博士指出，"該項目如果得到實施，將大大降低煙草的消費，減少二次吸煙，從而挽救成千上萬人的生命。

    王宇主任指出，"將來，該項目將推向全國，保護遠離吸煙的危害。"

    中國政法大學謝志勇教授指出，"通過權衡煙草帶來的收益和危害，中國在吸煙和煙草控制方面邁出了勇敢的一步。"

    官方統計數據顯示，全國吸煙造成的醫療費用、火災、環境污染的費用高達520億元（370億美元）,遠遠超出煙草行業產生的稅收收入。

    謝教授指出，"要在公共場所禁止吸煙，首先要制定立法，而執行是關鍵環節。"

    他同時還指，"目前，衛生部負責執行禁止吸煙的法規，但是衛生部人手不足。"

    謝教授還告訴我們，"此外，煙草行業是部分地方政府的主要稅收來源，加上煙草公司都是國有企業，這將使得煙草控制更加困難。"

    謝教授補充指出，"吸煙控制是煙草控制的第一步，需要政府決策者、立法機關和媒體的共同支持。"