My father began smoking when he was a freshman in college. His friend passed him his first cigarette. He has now been smoking for more than 30 years.

It's a classic example of how a young person is introduced to cigarettes, except that nowadays smokers develop their habit at an even younger age. Effective tobacco control targeting adolescents has become increasingly urgent. The Chinese Association on Tobacco Control surveyed 38,839 junior and high school students in 11 provinces in 2011 and found that 22.5 percent of the students surveyed had tried smoking and 15.8 percent of them smoke regularly. Both figures were higher than the results of a survey in 2005.

The most effective way to reduce the number of smokers in the country is to persuade young people not to start smoking in the first place. International practice shows that increasing the price of cigarettes by imposing taxes is an effective way to reduce the number of young smokers, as adolescents have limited money to spend on cigarettes.