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.

    为了保护人们免受二次烟暴露的危害，中国的7个城市将迈出立法第一步，禁止在公共场所和工作地点吸烟。

    为了响应中国疾病预防控制中心（CDC）和国际抗结核和肺病联合会（UNION）共同推出的项目，天津、重庆、沈阳、哈尔滨、南昌、兰州以及深圳将在公共场所和工作地点实行吸烟禁令。

    目前，一些地方允许在公共场所吸烟，专家指出，吸烟禁令的执行情况比较差。

    在周五的项目推介会上，中国疾病预防控制中心主任王宇指出，"该项目将制定严格的立法，确保烟公共场所和工作地点百分之百无烟，制定出可行的工作机制执行禁止吸烟的法规。"

    王宇主任同时指出："只有获得试点城市市政府的支持和制定法规，人们才能最终享受无烟的环境。"

    根据官方统计数据，中国是世界上最大的烟草消费国，拥有3.5亿烟民。同时，5.4亿的非烟民也遭受二次吸烟的危害。

    在中国，每年1亿人死于吸烟引起的各种疾病，同时，还有100000死于二次吸烟导致的疾病。

    国际抗结核和肺病联合会成员Sinead Jones 博士指出，"该项目如果得到实施，将大大降低烟草的消费，减少二次吸烟，从而挽救成千上万人的生命。

    王宇主任指出，"将来，该项目将推向全国，保护远离吸烟的危害。"

    中国政法大学谢志勇教授指出，"通过权衡烟草带来的收益和危害，中国在吸烟和烟草控制方面迈出了勇敢的一步。"

    官方统计数据显示，全国吸烟造成的医疗费用、火灾、环境污染的费用高达520亿元（370亿美元）,远远超出烟草行业产生的税收收入。

    谢教授指出，"要在公共场所禁止吸烟，首先要制定立法，而执行是关键环节。"

    他同时还指，"目前，卫生部负责执行禁止吸烟的法规，但是卫生部人手不足。"

    谢教授还告诉我们，"此外，烟草行业是部分地方政府的主要税收来源，加上烟草公司都是国有企业，这将使得烟草控制更加困难。"

    谢教授补充指出，"吸烟控制是烟草控制的第一步，需要政府决策者、立法机关和媒体的共同支持。"