--FILE--un Chinois fume une cigarette qu'il s'accroupit sur l'accotement à Beijing, Chine, 30 juillet 2014. La Chine est un des principaux consommateurs de tabac
--FILE--A Chinese man smokes a cigarette as he squats on a roadside in Beijing, China, 30 July 2014. China is one of the major consumers of tobacco in the world. The country is home to hundreds of millions of smokers, leading to widespread concerns about the impact of smoking on public health. Cigarette smoking affects not only those who smoke, but also other non-smokers by exposing them to second-hand smoke, which is estimated to affect around 740 million Chinese. Furthermore, more than one million people are losing their lives every year due to the ill-effects of tobacco consumption such as lung cancer, according to World Health Organization (WHO) estimates. Against this backdrop, pressure is mounting on the Chinese government to step up its efforts to tackle the smoking problem of the population. As part of the measures, a draft national regulation banning smoking in all indoor and some outdoor public places, and requiring stronger warning labels on tobacco products, is before the country's State Council. The government, however, wants to go even further and is mulling a host of policies to curb smoking. The issue of public health is also likely to be one of the main topics of discussion at the ongoing annual meeting of China's National People's Congress (NPC), the country's legislature. The Standing Committee of the NPC is currently considering changes to the national Advertising Law to strengthen restrictions on tobacco advertising.
