China National Tobacco fined, outdoor poster removed

(ECNS) -- An outdoor poster designed by state-owned China National Tobacco was recently removed from a supermarket at Beijing West Railway Station after anti-smoking campaigner Tian Guifeng publicly accused the supermarket of breaking Chinese advertising laws in August.

The removal was a landmark in China's handling of tobacco advertising, said Wu Yiqun, a public health expert and founder of the Think Tank Research Center for Health Development, on Thursday.

However, there is still a long way to go before a comprehensive ban of such advertising, which experts like Wu are calling for with the aim of reducing the number of smokers.

China is considering stringent curbs on tobacco ads as the world's top consumer of cigarettes looks to kick the habit. The National People's Congress (NPC), China's top legislature, is weighing up an amendment to the country's advertising law that would protect minors from harmful adverts. If the amendment is approved, all such advertisements would be banned except those posted in tobacco shops, Xinhua said, citing an official of the NPC law committee.

Tobacco advertising at retail points of sale has now become an increasingly important form of marketing for tobacco companies in China, Wang Ke'an, director of the Think Tank Research Center for Health Development, commented.

Anything short of a total ban will simply not work, Tian mentioned. She noted that if tobacco advertising at retail outlets continues, it would be hard to enforce the law.

In addition, tobacco producers and sales companies are not forbidden to invest in other industries, and therefore promote the business as a whole instead of focusing on tobacco to avoid being punished by regulators, Wu explained, adding that would also affect teenager attitudes towards smoking.