SAVE YOUTH FROM SMOKING

On May 29th 2014， National Health and Family Planning Commission of the PRC and Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention released a Survey Report on Tobacco Use among Chinese Youth 2014， which is the first of the same kind that is nation-wide and also the result of the largest-scale survey in this field in the world. To everyone's shock， the smoking rate (smoky tobacco) among Chinese junior school students already exceeded 6%， which means that， six of every hundred junior school students are smokers…

2014年5月29日，中國國家衛生和計劃生育委員會、中國疾病預防控制中心發布了《2014中國青少年煙草調查報告》。這是中國首個具有全國代表性的青少年煙草調查國家報告，也是全球青少年煙草調查史上最大規模的調查。然而令人觸目驚心的是，中國初中生現在吸煙率(有煙煙草)已經超過了6%，這意味著，每100個初中生中，就有6個是煙民……

Youth smoking: a severe problem

青少年吸煙問題嚴重

Since 1990s， smoking became more common and prevalent among Chinese teenagers. China Tobacco Control Report 2008 showed that， four million Chinese youth among their 130 million peers have already tried their first cigarette. However， for youth， occasional smoking could easily decline to addiction. Till 2014， the number reached 9.4 million， one third of who have become tobacco users. Among the students who have tried cigars， 82.3% started this experimental behavior before the age of 13.

The 24-year-old Chen already has a 14-year-long history of smoking. Now， he at least carries 2 packs of cigarettes with him every day， not only satisfying him but also others. He started smoking at 10 years old. He first contacted cigarettes by buying a cheap pack of cigarette with a couple of his friends in his village， which was shared by the group. “At that time， we thought smoking quite cool， as a symptom for maturity.” His experience is quite typical.

20世紀90年代以來，吸煙現象在中國青少年中不斷蔓延并呈加重趨勢。《2008年中國控煙報告》中顯示，中國1.3億青少年中嘗試吸煙者約為400萬。然而對青少年而言，即使只是偶爾抽煙也可能很快成癮。到了2014年，這一數值已經達到了940萬，并且其中的三分之一已經成為煙草使用者。在嘗試吸過卷煙的學生中，82.3%的嘗試行為發生在13歲及之前。

今年24歲的陳某已有14年的煙齡。現在，他每天至少要帶兩包煙，不光自己抽還得分給其他人。陳某從10歲開始吸煙，第一次接觸卷煙時，他和同村的四五個小伙伴掏出零花錢湊在一起，買了一包廉價香煙，每人分了幾支。“當時學抽煙就覺得是一件很酷的事，是成熟的標志。”他的經歷十分具有代表性。

Smoking among female teenagers is worth the same alert. The Survey Report 2014 showed that， smoking rate among girls in second-year and third-year junior school are respectively 2.1% and 2.2%. Now the smoking rate of junior school girls in eight provinces already surpassed that of women at and above the age of 15.

Abundant research indicates that， rare people start smoking or become habitual smokers after adolescence. With strong curiosity， youth are less aware on the chronic harm of tobacco to health， and once starting smoking， most of them would become life-long smokers. Half of Chinese daily smokers started smoking before 20. Nearly nine out of ten adult smokers started smoking before 19. At this age， a majority of youth who smoke are becoming or in the process of becoming habitual smokers. Once smoking becomes a habit and an addiction， smoking control and prevention requires tremendous efforts and strength.

女性青少年吸煙問題同樣值得警醒。根據《2014中國青少年煙草調查報告》顯示，初二和初三女生的現在吸煙率分別為2.1%和2.2%，全國有8個省份初中女生現在吸煙率已經超過了15歲及以上女性的吸煙率。

大量研究顯示， 現在很少有人是在青少年期以后開始吸煙或成為習慣性吸煙者。青少年好奇心強，不易建立對長期慢性健康危害的認識，一旦開始吸煙，大部分會成為終身吸煙者。中國一半以上的每日吸煙者在20 歲以前開始吸煙。美國幾乎十分之九的現今成年吸煙者是在19歲以前開始養成的吸煙習慣。在這個年齡，大多數要吸煙的青少年已經成為或正處在變成習慣吸煙者的過程中。吸煙一旦形成習慣和產生煙癮，要想控煙和戒煙，就需要花費巨大氣力。

External factors should

not be ignored

外界影響不容小覷

Youth are the hope of a nation. They should be provided with a benign smokeless environment for their growth and learning， but outside factors which seduce youth to smoke are present everywhere.

Tobacco adverts and promotions are ubiquitous. According to a survey， 48.5% of Chinese students are exposed to tobacco adverts and promotions through at least one channel. Tobacco products are easy to come by. Despite the prohibitions in China like “Do not sell cigarettes to youngsters” and “No cigarettes packs can be sold at the nearby of school”， 80.5% of students under 18 are not declined when purchasing cigarettes; 64.3% can buy cigar at the whereabouts of their schools. Beyond campus， tons of tobacco adverts can be seen everywhere. Worse still， 2% of students obtained free cigars at the promotion campaigns of tobacco companies. U.S. experts pointed out that， the U.S. tobacco industry spend 8.8 billion US dollars (one million per hour) every year to promote products which are lethal and highly addictive into the market and ceaseless rounds of new products to seduce youth， including sweet， cheap and electronic cigarettes.

青少年是國家的希望，本應給其創造一個良好的無煙成長和學習環境，然而鼓勵并吸引青少年吸煙的外部因素卻廣泛存在。

煙草廣告和促銷隨處可見。調查顯示，一個月的時間內，48.5%的中國學生至少通過一種渠道看到過煙草廣告或促銷。煙草制品方便易得。雖然中國有相關法律法規要求“不向未成年人售煙”“學校周圍不得賣煙”，但調查顯示，80.5%的吸煙學生在購買卷煙時沒有因為不滿18歲而被拒絕；64.3%的吸煙學生可以在學校周邊買到卷煙。校園外，大量的煙草廣告促銷隨處可見。更為惡劣的是，還有2%的學生從煙草公司的促銷活動中免費獲得卷煙。美國專家也曾指出，美國煙草行業每年花費88億美元（每小時100萬美元）用于市場推廣其致命且上癮的產品，還在不斷推出新產品來引誘青少年，包括甜味、廉價香煙和電子香煙等。

Influence of portents and teachers in this aspect cannot be underestimated. Director of Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention Wang Yu said， over half of the students’ fathers are smokers and it exerted great impact on youth. Substantial research show that， compared with those kids with non-smoker parents， kids with smoker parents are more likely to become smokers. And teachers also play a part in this aspect. Research shows that， in the past week， 72.9% of students saw people smoke at home and public space at doors or outside. 57.5% claimed that at least one of their parents is smoker， and 13.3% saw their teacher smoke at school almost every day.

Tobacco is cheap and quite available. In China， one pack of cigarette usually costs 5 RMB， which gives an easy access to youth. Compared with other countries， 80% of Chinese students are not declined when purchasing cigarettes on the grounds of under 18-year-old. Moreover， due to the cheap price of tobacco， about one fourth of junior school students buy cigarettes by “piece”， and over half of the students are exposed in second-hand smoking environment in campus.

另外，父母和教師吸煙對青少年的影響不可低估。中國疾病預防控制中心主任王宇說，一半以上的學生父親是吸煙者，由于從小耳濡目染，對青少年的吸煙行為有很大的影響。大量研究表明，與父母不吸煙的孩子相比，父母吸煙的孩子更容易成為吸煙者，教師的行為對孩子也有明顯的示范作用。根據調查顯示，過去一個星期內，72.9%的學生在家、室內外公共場所見到有人吸煙。57.5%的學生聲稱自己的父母至少有一方是吸煙者，13.3%的學生幾乎每天在學校見到教師吸煙。

煙草價格低廉，門檻較低。在中國，5元就能買到1包香煙，相對低廉的價格讓青少年有了購買能力。與其他國家相比，中國80%的學生買煙時沒有因為不滿18歲而遭到拒絕。且煙草價格低廉，約1/4的初中生是按“支”購買卷煙，超過一半的學生在校園里暴露在二手煙中。

Keep teenagers from

the harm of tobacco

保護青少年免受煙草危害

May 31st， 2014， is the 27th World No-Tobacco Day with the theme of “Raising the Tobacco Taxes to Protect the Next Generation”. According to the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) of the World Health Organization (WHO)， price and tax are effective and important ways for reducing tobacco consumption: if tobacco tax is rose by 10%， the tobacco consumption would be reduced by 4% in high-income countries and by 8% in most medium and low income countries. According to the demand elasticity theory， if the cigarette consumption tax is added for 1 RMB each package， it would affect the consumption of 10% teenagers.

Theoretically， there are three functions for decreasing teenager tobacco consumption through raising cigarettes’ price by tax: some teenagers would drop smoking; some would reduce the quantity and others would never start their first cigarette. Hu Dewei， professor of University of California said that， to raise tobacco price by tax is the most effective way for smoking control， especially when targeting teenagers. At the beginning of 2013， Obama proposed that the congress must improve the enforcement of federal taxes on tobacco remarkably and constantly carry out the media campaign of promoting lower rates of smoking… These effective management and measures made the teenager smoking rate fall to a new low in 2013 to 9.6% from 10.6% in 2012.

2014年5月31日是第27個世界無煙日，主題為“提高煙草稅，保護下一代”。按照世界衛生組織《煙草控制框架公約》，價格和稅收是減少煙草消費的有效和重要手段：如果煙草稅提高10%，在高收入國家會減少大約4%的煙草消費，在大多數中、低收入國家會減少高達8%的煙草消費。根據需求彈性理論，如果卷煙消費稅每包增加1元錢，就會影響10%青少年的煙草消費行為。

理論上， 通過稅收增加香煙價格來減少青少年煙草消費有以下3個作用：一些青少年將停止吸煙；一些青少年將減少吸煙數量；一些將永不吸第1支煙。美國加州大學胡德偉教授表示，煙草提稅加價是所有控煙措施中最有效的，尤其是對青少年人群更為有效。奧巴馬在2013年初提議國會必須顯著提高對聯邦煙草稅的征收力度，降低吸煙率的媒體宣傳活動持續開展……透過完全開展相關工作，這些有效的監管和措施使得美國青少年吸煙率在2013年降至新低，從2012年的10.6%降到了9.6%。

In terms of preventing minors smoking， Japan has formulated and implemented the Prohibiting Minors from Smoking Law， stipulating: people under the age of 20 cannot smoke; it is not allowed to sell cigarettes to minors; parents would be fined if they do not stop their minor children smoking; people would be fined 500，000 yen if they sell cigarettes， matches and lighters to minors. The vending machine can be seen everywhere in Japan. In order to prevent minors from buying cigarettes， the Japanese government issued an electronic card this year which can only be applied by adults， so that it needs to confirm the identity card when buying cigarettes on vending machine. This measure successfully put an end to the cigarettes-buying of teenagers in this way.

Singapore launches anti-smoking campaigns for adolescent smoking problem. On the “World No-Smoking Day” in 2010， the Singapore Health Promotion Department held an activity on Wujie Road， the most prosperous street. 1200 high school students and college students danced in designated movements and waved stimulated money to convey the message of no-smoking is good for health and saving money. On that day， more than 400 cigarette retailers promised to stop business and called for adolescents to love the life without cigarettes. Since those activities in 1970s， the Singapore government has carried out anti-smoking actions like maintaining high taxes on tobacco and providing smoking cessation counseling and it also publishes photos of yellow teeth and black lung on the cigarette case to warn the harm of smoking.

在防范未成年人吸煙方面，日本已經制定并實施《禁止未成年人吸煙法》，規定未滿２０歲者不能吸煙；不準向未成年人販賣香煙；父母知曉未成年子女吸煙而不加以制止的，將被處以罰款；向未成年人出售香煙、火柴和打火機等相關器具者，將被處以５０萬日元罰款。在日本，自動售貨機隨處可見。為防止未成年人購買香煙，日本政府今年發行了一種電子卡片，此卡只有成年人才能申請領取，在自動售貨機上購買香煙時需要刷卡確認身份。此舉有效杜絕了青少年通過自動售貨機購買香煙。

新加坡針對青少年吸煙問題推出反吸煙運動。在2010年“世界無煙日”當天，新加坡保健促進局在新加坡最繁華的商業街道烏節路上舉行活動，1200名中學生和大學生在街道上按指定動作跳舞，揮動模擬鈔票，傳達不吸煙既有益健康又省錢的信息。此外，當天還有超過400家香煙零售商承諾停止營業，倡導青少年熱愛“無煙”生活。自上世紀70年代新加坡開展反吸煙運動以來，政府采取了維持高煙草稅、提供戒煙輔導等反吸煙措施，并在煙盒上刊登牙齒發黃、肺發黑的照片來警示吸煙的危害。

In China， there are more and more preventive and controlling strategies that are planned and implemented. On June 1st， 2007， the revised Law of Protection Minors was practiced officially. Selling tobaccos to minors is prohibited and the operators should set the sign of not selling cigarettes and alcohols to minors at an outstanding place; for those cannot be told whether are adults or not， operators need ask them to show their ID cards.

However， Cui Li， Deputy Director of China’s National Health and Family Planning Commission， said that， to further protect teenagers from the harm of tobaccos， besides the comprehensive measures including raising tobacco taxes， it also needs to mobilize all social forces.

在中國，越來越多的預防和控制策略正在計劃和實施。2007年6月1日開始正式實施修訂后的《未成年人保護法》規定，禁止向未成年人出售煙酒，經營者應當在顯著位置設置不向未成年人出售煙酒的標志；對難以判明是否已成年的，應當要求其出示身份證件。

然而，中國國家衛生計生委副主任崔麗指出，進一步保護青少年免遭煙草煙霧危害，除了要采取包括提高煙草稅在內的綜合性措施以外，還需要動員全社會的力量。

Postscript

后記：

It is a long-term， complicated and arduous project of profound affects to control youth smoking， which should be realized by starting from teenagers themselves， families， schools and societies. Since family is an environment that they contact most and the behavior of parents has great influence on their healthy actions， so to create a healthy family environment is especially important for safeguarding healthy growth of teenagers. Other measures like prohibiting the promotion and sponsor of tobacco advertisements， forbidding selling cigarettes to minors and strengthening the smoking-control work of schools are all effective for reducing adolescents smoking rate. We hope that， in the near future， 300 million teenagers in China and their counterparts around the world can study and grow up in a safe， healthy and smokeless environment.

控制青少年吸煙是一項長期、復雜、艱巨且影響深遠的工程，要從青少年自身、家庭、學校和社會多方位入手共同實現。由于家庭是青少年接觸最多的環境，父母的行為對青少年的健康相關行為影響巨大，因此，營造一個健康的家庭環境對于維護青少年的健康成長尤為重要。此外，禁止煙草廣告促銷和贊助、禁止向未成年人售煙、加大學校控煙工作力度等措施多管齊下也可以有效減少青少年吸煙。我們希望，在不久的未來，中國三億青少年以及世界其他各國的青少年都能在安全、健康、無煙的環境中學習并成長！