It is known to all that smoking is harmful to health. It is the most serious public health problem in the world.

The smoking problem is even more severe in China. According to some studies, it is estimated 35.8 percent of the people aged 15 and above are smokers in China, and the rate for males is as high as 57 percent. The number of smokers has reached 350 million at present, the largest in the world.

The smoking population also shows a trend of being younger compared with the 1980s. The average age of those starting smoking has declined from 22.4 to 19.7 years old.