Photo: VCG

Over 1 million people die of tobacco-related diseases in China every year, and this number will rise to 2 million per year by 2030 and 3 million by 2050, a recent report on the health hazards of smoking in China shows. 

The China Report on the Health Hazards of Smoking 2020 jointly released by China's National Health Commission and the World Health Organization (WHO) China Office on Wednesday lists the most recent global research evidence on the relationship between smoking and secondhand smoke exposure and four chronic diseases: chronic respiratory diseases, malignant tumors, cardiovascular diseases and diabetes. 

According to the report, there are over 300 million smokers in China. Among the Chinese population aged 15 or above, 26.6 percent are smokers. Besides, the proportion of Chinese male smokers has reached 50.5 percent. 

"Compared with the current base of smokers in China, the figure of people who died from tobacco-related diseases every year is still a small proportion. But based on the huge total number of smokers who will probably eventually get sick or die due to smoking-related causes, this number will increase in the next few years, even though we have been implementing nationwide control measures on smoking," Chen De, director of Tobacco Control and Behavioral Intervention Department of Shanghai Health Promotion Center and vice president of Shanghai Smoking Control Association, told the Global Times on Wednesday. 

Therefore, apart from smoking bans, publicizing the hazards of smoking among juveniles is essential to bring down the number of people who die of tobacco-related diseases, Chen noted. 

The report also pointed out that there is ample evidence that e-cigarettes are unsafe and also pose health risks. 

Given the hazards of e-cigarettes, many cities across the nation have solicited the public's opinion on the legislation of the ban of e-cigarettes in public venues.