China and its Regions Strengthen Tobacco Control Measures

According to a report on December 21 by the Central People's Broadcasting Station website, the China Tobacco Control Association recently held a tobacco control exchange event in Shanghai, involving the mainland, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macau regions. During the event, tobacco control workers and academic experts from Shanghai, Hong Kong, and Macau shared their experiences and achievements in tobacco control, with the aim of collectively promoting the construction of a healthy China.

The implementation of the "Shanghai Initiative" in tobacco control aims to improve life expectancy. Since the implementation of smoking regulations in public places in Shanghai since 2010, the city's tobacco control efforts have been strengthening social governance, forming a "six-one" model of tobacco control promotion, supervision, and law enforcement. This model includes one system, one mechanism, one guideline, one graphic, one network, and a series of working methods, and has achieved remarkable results.

The adult smoking rate in Shanghai has shown a continuous downward trend for 12 consecutive years, with the smoking rate in 2022 reaching a record low of 19.4%. This represents a significant decline of 7.5 percentage points since the implementation of anti-smoking legislation in 2010, and is considerably lower than the national average smoking rate of 24.1%. Moreover, Shanghai has achieved the targets set under the "Healthy China 2030" initiative ahead of schedule. Furthermore, according to the results of the 2021 National Survey on Tobacco Use among Youth, the prevalence of cigarette and e-cigarette use among middle school students in Shanghai is the lowest among all 31 provinces in the country.

Over the past decade or so, Shanghai has consistently provided a replicable and scalable "Shanghai model" for tobacco control efforts nationwide and urban governance. The first mainland tobacco control law legislated by the National People's Congress in 2007 has served as a great guiding force and support for the overall process of tobacco control legislation in the country.

Hong Kong and Macau also shared their achievements in tobacco control during the event and discussed new strategies to tackle dual challenges. Currently, tobacco control efforts are facing challenges from both new tobacco products and traditional tobacco products. Experts at the conference stated that future tobacco control work will continue to focus on aspects such as smoke-free legislation, smoke-free environments, tobacco monitoring, warning about tobacco hazards, smoking cessation services, smoking-related diseases, youth tobacco control, tobacco taxes and prices, banning tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship, as well as e-cigarettes. These efforts aim to promote social governance in tobacco control and contribute to the construction of a healthy China.