Smoking Control Must Start with Social Attitudes

At Chaoxia Primary School in Hefei, Anhui Province, "smoke-free" ambassadors create anti-smoking promotional signs and conduct smoke-free campaigns at the school gate during dismissal time. (People's Daily, September 23)

It is well known that smoking is harmful to health. According to authoritative data, there are as many as 316 million adult smokers in China, with nearly 1 million deaths each year due to smoking-related diseases, highlighting the severity of the smoking control situation in the country. Due to the addictive nature of smoking and the high number of smokers in China, smoking has become a social norm influenced by the prevailing culture, making it difficult to achieve effective results in smoking bans, and those attempting to quit often relapse.

I believe that when elementary school students engage in smoke-free campaigns during their free time, it may only evoke a momentary sense of guilt in smokers, prompting them to quit out of empathy for the children. However, this feeling is often short-lived, and they quickly return to their smoking habits.

The government has implemented a series of measures for smoking control. On December 29, 2013, the General Office of the Central Committee issued a notice regarding the prohibition of smoking in public places by leading officials, requiring leaders at all levels to refrain from smoking in schools, hospitals, and other public venues, while promoting smoke-free party and government agencies. Since June 1, 2015, the "strictest smoking ban in history," known as the Beijing Smoking Control Regulations, has been officially implemented, prohibiting smoking in indoor areas of public places, workplaces, and public transportation. Since the implementation of these measures, the smoking behavior of leading officials has significantly improved, and public satisfaction with smoking control in Beijing has also risen markedly.

Media outlets such as newspapers, television, and the internet have increased their efforts to promote the dangers of smoking. Public service advertisements, interview columns, and smoking cessation forums have somewhat reduced smokers' enthusiasm. The influence of family members on smokers is also significant; since the concept of "secondhand smoke" has been widely disseminated, "smoke-free" has become a new norm in households.

However, the smoking control situation in China remains grim, with an increasing trend of younger smokers. Smoking has become a trend among young people, posing significant health risks to adolescents, hindering normal development and leading to various diseases.

I believe that to truly reverse this negative trend, we must break the "hard currency" attribute of cigarettes. In China, cigarettes have seemingly acquired the hard attributes of currency. When acquaintances meet, offering cigarettes is the best way to enhance relationships; during business dealings, cigarettes can serve as a "door opener," providing convenience; during holidays, cigarettes are a popular gift exchanged among people; receiving cigarettes can easily be converted into cash. Cigarettes not only become favored in social interactions but can also serve as substitutes for monetary transactions, demonstrating their liquidity.

It is precisely because of this hard currency attribute that cigarettes are ubiquitous in people's lives. Whenever one goes out for business or social interactions, cigarettes are always on hand. Friends meeting often involve "smoke clouds" as well. Under the influence of these factors, cigarettes become a medium for exchanging interests, emotions, and goods. Over time, people subconsciously regard cigarettes as essentials. Even if one gathers the courage to quit smoking, they still find themselves closely tied to cigarettes in work and life. Just as water can wear away stone and iron rods can be made into needles, smokers can resist the temptation of cigarettes as a means of exchange but find it difficult to resist the emotional connections associated with smoking. Once their willpower weakens, they may fall back into the trap, making it hard to escape.

Breaking the "hard currency" attribute of cigarettes requires a strong determination to cut ties. While cigarettes bring considerable profits, they do so at the expense of smokers' health. In the new era of building a moderately prosperous society in China, public health is a strong guarantee for sustainable development, and youth are the cornerstone of national development. If this trend is not effectively curbed, it will lead to a lack of driving force for development. Relying solely on mandatory policies and personal emotional factors to ban smoking will ultimately fail to eradicate the pervasive presence of cigarettes. Only by returning them to their original status as ordinary consumer goods can we fundamentally solve the problem once and for all.