Smoking among Beijing women has increased in the last decade, though there is a decline in the average smoking rate.
The smoking rate among women in Chinese capital was around 10.4 percent in 2004, compared with 8.76 percent in 1997, according to a research sponsored by Think Tank Research Center for Health Development, a government-backed tobacco control organization based in Beijing.No update was given in its report published on Friday, though Think Tank did say "the smoking rate among Beijing women was still rising,” the Xinhua news agency reports.
Most of the women smokers were businesswomen, actresses, singers and young students who think it's cool to light up a cigarette.
Beijing's overall smoking rate, however, saw a 11.5-percent decline in the past decade, according to the report, based on a 10-year-long research carried out by Beijing's Capital Medical University.
It said the smoking rate among Beijing residents was around 23 percent at the end of last year, compared with 34.5 percent in 1997.
"Beijing's anti-smoking efforts have proven as effective as those of New York City," the report said, "with an annual 1.08 percent decline in smoking rates since a regional smoking ban in public areas took effect in 1995."
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The 1995 ban put hospitals, nurseries, primary and secondary schools, theaters, libraries, stadiums, museums, banks, post offices, shops and all means of public transport as smoking-free areas.
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In the survey, which tracked 5,270 health workers, food and beverage industry employees and men in the street, 60.2 percent of the respondents suggested university campuses should also be off-limits to smokers and 51.4 percent said smoking should be banned in Wangfujing Street, Beijing's city center pedestrian face a fine from 10 to 50 yuan (1.4 to 7 U.S. dollars), while 71 percent suggested the government should impose higher taxes on tobacco.
The Chinese are among the world's most enthusiastic smokers, with a growing market of more than 320 million, making it a magnet for cigarette companies and a focus of international health concerns.
Beijing's first smoking-free restaurant, Meizhou Dongpo, reported business declines after it enforced a smoking ban in October.
The chain restaurant serving the spicy fare of southwest Sichuan province, had trained its waitresses how to discourage people from lighting up, but met resistance from customers who would locked staff out of private dining rooms to sneak a quick puff.
Beijing has yet to issue clear rules on smoking bans to ensure a smoking-free Olympic Games in August.
China banned smoking in taxis in October and launched a drive to ban smoking in hospitals, schools, and government offices last year.
Source-Medindia
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