China Moves to Ban Cigarette Advertising

November 26, 2014
NACS Online
In attempt to reduce smoking in the world’s top cigarette market, proposed rules introduce numerous restrictions.
​BEIJING – The Chinese government is looking to reduce the nation’s 300 million smokers by banning all forms of tobacco advertising, sponsorship and promotion of tobacco products, according to news reports.
Draft legislation has been published detailing a proposed ban that would prohibit smoking in indoor public places and “outdoor living spaces” in schools, colleges, women’s and children’s hospitals, and fitness venues. Smoking outdoors would be allowed only in designated areas. The proposed legislation also bans the sale of cigarettes to minors through vending machines and would eliminate some smoking scenes from movies and TV shows.
The Asia-Pacific region is the largest market in the world for tobacco products, both in terms of volume and revenues, and China is the leading contributor to those sales, totaling $205 billion last year, nearly 10-times the $27 billion spent on cigarettes in the second-largest market, Russia.
Although the country signed the World Health Organization’s framework convention on tobacco control in 2003, which requires a “comprehensive ban on all tobacco advertising, promotion, and sponsorship,” China has long delayed adoption of stricter prohibitions.