A puff of smoke has taken on the might of a giant cloud. But the gargantuan Chinese tobacco industry has the power to snuff the wisp. For, it's a big tax contributor; last year its gross revenue being 105 billion yuan (US$12.6 billion).
　　The wisp is a teenage chain smoker, who sued the tobacco industry in June 2001, alleging big companies had failed to warn the public of the dangers of smoking.

Wu Zhuoxun is a 17-year-old resident of Central China's city of Wuhan. He started smoking at the age of 13. And his suit names the State Tobacco Monopoly Administration (STMB) and 24 Chinese tobacco manufacturers as accused parties for not carrying warnings on their websites against the dangers of tobacco.

Wu's father, Wu Yuxiang, acting as the boy's legal representative, says: "We have long been troubled by my son's smoking. None of my family members, except him, smokes. We didn't know he was a smoker till it was too late. He smoked as many as two packs a day, and all behind our backs."

Wu Sr said he was handling the interviews connected with the case because he didn't want his son to get too much media exposure.

"He (Wu Jr) is ridiculed at school by those who don't smoke and has developed an inferiority complex," Wu Sr said. "Since he has smoked for only four years, there isn't much convincing medical evidence of the physical harm, except for his constant cough and stomachache, we decided against suing for compensation."

Wu Jr, a regular web surfer, has checked STMB homepage, linked to the sites of the 24 cigarette factories named in the lawsuit. When Wu found that the websites were generally designed to mislead people by giving the impression that smoking was "sexy and sophisticated", he and his father resolved to sue the firms for failing to inform consumers about health hazards.

In their suit, they have demanded that STMB and tobacco firms' websites carry warnings about the dangers of smoking. The websites, they demand, should warn primary and high-school students against smoking and vendors against selling cigarettes to minors. Also, at least 10 per cent of their web content should be on the harmful effects of smoking.

Crusading lawyers

The Wus' suit probably would have been tossed out of court but for a group of crusading lawyers who announced they were soliciting cases and evidence from the general public and youngsters under 18 to launch action cases against the tobacco industry.

Tong Lihua, director of Beijing Zhicheng Law Firm, is the leader of the team of the 10 crusading lawyers from across the country. He said tobacco production and consumption in China was four times higher than that in the United States, making it the highest in the world. He cites statistics to prove that three-fourths of China's one million deaths every year are tobacco-related.

"Because of our belief in and respect for the law, we decided to file suits against the tobacco firms and companies that issue tobacco advertisements, and to get compensations for youngsters whose health has been damaged by tobacco. This is the most direct and effective way to draw the attention of the whole society," said Tong, who is also director of the Centre of Legal Research and Assistance for Children.

But so far, the plan hasn't worked. The suit was rejected by the People's Court in Beijing's Xuanwu District, which on June 27 said: "It does not belong to the scope of cases accepted by the people's court."

On July 4, Tong appealed to a higher court in Beijing but had not yet received a reply.

"I think there is a discrimination against us because of who we are and where we live. This case pits a consumer against the administration - the defendant and the plaintiff are not on an equal footing. Besides, we're in Wuhan and the court in Beijing. These factors have put us at a disadvantage," complained Wu Sr, whose chances of winning the case are slim.

Attorney procurator Tong, however, isn't ready to throw in the towel. "The progress of the case has been slow, but that was to be expected," he said. "The key problem is that judicial circles and the society as a whole have not realized the negative impact of tobacco on the youth. Collecting evidence is not a problem; but it is hard to find legal precedence because of the loopholes in China's legislation on barring minors from smoking."

Legal loopholes

There are about 20 regulations in China on tobacco control. The Tobacco Monopoly Law passed in 1991 rules that the packaging of cigarettes must say "smoking is harmful to health" and that primary and middle-school students are prohibited from smoking. The Law on the Protection of Minors issued in the same year stipulates that no one should smoke in school classrooms, dormitories or other places where minors are concentrated.

In 1987, the State Council issued Regulations on Public Health Management, which state that smoking in public places is forbidden. More than 80 cities in China have issued their own regulations on smoking in public places. Moreover, more than 20 cities say they have banned tobacco advertisements from the media.

In 1998, the government of South China's city of Shenzhen, the country's first special economic zone, went a step further in its anti-tobacco fight by banning sale of cigarettes to minors and pregnant women. Those violating the ban were to be fined 3,000 yuan (about US$363) by the local public health administration.

All these legislative efforts, however, have paled against the mighty advertising campaign of tobacco manufacturers and a growing smoking population that believes in the 'gotta-have-it' lifestyle promoted by advertisements.

No wonder, the Shenzhen public health administration says it hasn't received any fines from shopkeepers or vendors for selling cigarettes to minors in the past three years. Its officials put the blame on the lack of supervising staff, saying it's impossible for them to patrol the streets every day in search of underage smokers.

"When teachers and parents are puffing away around them, what message will the youngsters get?" says Tong. What's more, he says, the laws or regulations are impractical, for they have little room for efficient enforcement.

On the eve of the World No-Tobacco Day, on May 31 2001, the State Tobacco Monopoly Bureau issued a circular to the national tobacco industry demanding that all cigarette retailers and wholesalers display on their sales counters warning signs that read: Elementary and high-school students are prohibited from smoking; sell no cigarettes to minors.

Sun Baoyi, STMB's information office chief, said that was a self-disciplinary act by the tobacco industry. "Banning smoking among the youth is not our responsibility alone but also that of the whole society," he said.

True picture

But a walk around town presented a different picture.

Mr Liu, who runs a grocery in downtown Xuanwumen, pointed at the health warning sign in his shop and said: "To be honest, saying we won't sell cigarettes to minors is just a lie. It (the sign) is a mere formality. If you refuse to sell them cigarettes, they'll just buy them somewhere else."

One shop owner was asked whether she would sell cigarettes to minors. Her reply: "Yes, of course. I have to earn money. I'll keep selling unless all the tobacco companies go bankrupt." The warning sign was nowhere to be seen in her outlet.

Tong welcomes STMB's new move as "a positive reaction", but says it is "far from enough".

"What if tobacco retailers sell cigarettes to minors?," he says. "The existing laws do not specify punishment for law violaters, and hence have little binding force."

Yang Gonghuan, a professor at Chinese Academy of Preventive Medicine, has similar worries. "I once spotted some vending machines in Jinsong (Chaoyang District, Beijing), from which minors could buy cigarettes freely," she said.

"The Advertisement Law only bans tobacco advertising in the traditional mass media, but what about those on the Internet and outdoors?"

The Tobacco Free Initiative of the World Health Organization (WHO) conducted a survey last year jointly with the United Nations Children's Fund involving about 12,000 students from 186 schools in Tianjin, Chongqing, Shandong and Guangdong.

Results showed that 32.5 per cent of the boys and 13 per cent of the girls in the 13-15 age group had tried smoking. The average age for taking the first puff was 10.

"Though 92 per cent of the students polled knew smoking was harmful to health, 22 per cent of the boys and 4 per cent of the girls said they might or certainly would smoke in the future," lamented the survey organizer, Sun Jiangping, a youth health specialist in Beijing University's Medical Division.

More than half of the students were being exposed to passive smoking at least once a week, and 80 per cent of them knew it was hazardous.

"Teenagers who begin smoking at a young age are more likely to become regular smokers and less likely to quit smoking," Yang Gonghuan said.

A joint task

Statistics show there are about 320 million smokers in China - more than the entire US population - 50 million among whom are youngsters. Cigarettes claim 2,000 lives every day in China, and the figure may climb to 8,000, or 3 million a year, by 2050 if the present trend continues, says 1998 study on tobacco-related deaths in China.

"While adults know what they're doing when they choose to smoke, the youngsters don't. They are unaware of the diseases smoking can cause. Therefore, we must do something for the kids," says Tong.

Wang Ke'an, president of the Chinese Academy of Preventive Medicine, says: "We must curb smoking among China's youth through legislation, administrative measures and education."

WHO is working on a global plan of action to tackle the smoking problem. It will take an anti-smoking resolution by the end of 2003 which would be binding on all member-countries. China, as a member state, too will need to draft effective legislation to deter people from smoking.

"China should play an important role in checking smoking. But for that government sectors have to make all-out efforts," said Yang.

Hou Peisen, a Ministry of Health official, conceded: "Anti-smoking campaigns in China still face many difficulties and challenges." He was referring to the lack of social support for checking tobacco use, a close link between the national economy and tobacco production and consumption, and the promotion and smuggling of cigarettes produced by multinational corporations.

But, said Tong, "the time is past for discussions on whether we should oppose smoking or not; it's time to find solutions. I know it's impossible to put an end to the issue overnight. The anti-smoking campaign will be a long process... But after all, someone has to start it."
　　
　　
　　From ChinaDaily.com.cn