China's health officials are pushing for new regulations requiring photos or other graphics on cigarette packs depicting the hazards of smoking.
Currently, there is only a discreet warning on the side of cigarette packs that says "Smoking is harmful to your health." "An effective warning is very important," Yang Gonghuan, director of the National Tobacco Control office and deputy director of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, was quoted as saying Monday on the popular Web portal Sohu.com. Sohu is hosting the official Web site of the effort, part of a campaign called "Toward a smoke-free China."
The site will collect online signatures and opinions, which will be presented to legislators ahead of next month's annual meeting of the National People's Congress. In 2005 China ratified World Health Organization rules that urge it, within three years, to restrict tobacco advertising and sponsorship, put tougher health warnings on cigarettes, raise tobacco prices and taxes, curb secondhand smoke, prohibit cigarette sales to minors and clamp down on smuggling.

 Today in Asia & Pacific Pakistan makes a Taliban truce, creating a haven Taliban threats in Pakistan are heard a world away Trial of senior Khmer Rouge figure begins The center said new rules on tobacco packaging were introduced last April but they still did not meet international standards. No details were given. It was not immediately clear what effect the signature drive will have and may end up being an incremental step toward better tobacco control in a country where cigarettes are tightly woven into everyday life. They're an icebreaker, a way of greeting a friend, and a means of bribery.

The government relies heavily on revenues from state-owned tobacco companies, which made $53.6 billion in 2007. China is currently home to 350 million smokers — a third of the global total — and almost 2 trillion cigarettes are sold every year. The government estimates 1 million Chinese die of smoking-related deaths annually and the figure is projected to double by 2020. The center said that most Chinese still don't realize the harmful effects of tobacco. Many refuse to quit and still follow the traditional practice of offering them as gifts during holidays and other special occasions. So far, government efforts to control smoking in some cities have included a ban on tobacco billboards and fines for taxi drivers caught smoking in their vehicles. In Beijing, a ban on cigarette smoking in most public places was imposed before it hosted the Olympic Games last summer. It was modeled after efforts in major North American, European and Asian cities. Implementation and enforcement have met with various degrees of success.