300m smoke in China, thousands die inhaling it

A man smokes in Xiamen, South China's Fujian province in this May 31, 2007 file photo. [Photo/Asianewsphoto]

More than 300 million people smoke in China, while about 740 million are exposed to second-hand smoke, according to the National Health and Family Planning Commission (NHFPC).

China, the world's top producer and user of tobacco, is also one of the biggest victims of smoking, said Yao Hongwen, a senior official with the NHFPC, on Wednesday.

Twenty-eight percent of citizens above the age of 15 are smokers and about 1.37 million people die of smoking-related diseases every year, Yao said. Another 100,000 die of diseases caused by second-hand smoke.

To tackle the threat of nicotine on public health, the country will study and take related measures, such as increasing the tax on tobacco and prices of tobacco products, Yao said.

The country's tobacco tax rate, now standing at about?40 percent, is still too low as compared to the world average.

To cut down tobacco consumption effectively, the World Health Organization suggests that the tax rates on tobacco products should be above 70 percent, Yao said.