Nearly a third of China’s 130 million 13- to 18-year-olds have tried smoking and 15 million of these have become addicted, state media reported, citing the 2008 China Tobacco Control Report. The number of addicts equates to nearly four times the total population of New Zealand. Between 66% and 68% of those that have tried tobacco products smoked their first whole cigarette before reaching 13 years of age. China’s 350 million smokers make up one-third of the world’s smokers, according to official statistics. Yang Gonghuan, deputy director of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, blamed tobacco advertisements that target young people and the glamorization of smoking on television for the rise in young smokers. The report also places the blame on low cigarette prices and a failure to enforce a ban on selling tobacco to those under 18.
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