China May Ban Tobacco Advertising, Restrict Exposure on TV, Film

Nov 24, 2014 01:45 PM EST

(Photo : Reuters) A man, dressed as a woman in a traditional costume, smokes as he uses his mobile phone at a break of a Chinese folk art performance in Beijing. China is drafting strict new anti-smoking laws.

The Chinese government is reportedly considering a ban on all forms of tobacco advertising, sponsorship and promotion, including limiting smoking scenes in TV shows and movies.

According to a draft regulation that was published on the website of the State Council's legislative affairs office, the strict new regulations would ban smoking in many indoor public places and outdoor spaces, including schools, colleges, women and children's hospitals, and fitness venues. Smoking in outdoor space would only allowed in designated smoking areas.

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The proposed laws would likely hurt cigarette sales for tobacco companies. Not only would Chinese firms be hit by this, but foreign tobacco companies will likely not welcome the proposed laws. Although overseas cigarette makers like Altria (MO), Philip Morris (PM) and British American Tobacco (BTI) make up only 3 percent of the Chinese tobacco market, that still translates to 51 billion cigarettes a year.

Vending machines that make it easy for minors to buy cigarettes would also be outlawed according to the draft proposal. A child smokes a cigarette at Dayingpan Village in Sichuan province.

(Photo : Reuters) A child smokes a cigarette at Dayingpan Village in Sichuan province.

China is the world's largest tobacco producer and consumer, with approximately 300 million adult smokers and more than 700 million regularly exposed to second-hand smoke, according to The Economist. Some 100 million Chinese are expected to die from tobacco-related illnesses this century.

Without some kind of concerted effort to curb the country's tobacco addiction, the economic toll on the country could reach in the tens of billions of dollars, particularly as health-care costs continue to rise exponentially.

The government is looking toward civil servants, teachers and medical staff to take the lead in tobacco control, according to the draft, which also said teachers and medical workers are forbidden from smoking in front of students or patients.

In 2003, China signed the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control. It requires signatories to "comprehensively ban all tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship," but still does not have a specific law regulating smoking in public places.

TagsChina May Ban Tobacco Ads Smoking in TV Films Public Places, tobacco ban, cigarette sales, Altria, Philip Morris, British American Tobacco