正文

烟草广告将“躲”向何方？

2007-08-30来源:和谐英语

烟草广告将“躲”向何方？
Tobacco promotion will be banned by early 2011

China, the world's largest tobacco producer and consumer, will ban all forms of tobacco promotion by January 2011.

A ban on tobacco advertising has been in place since 1996, but firms have managed to sidestep the rules and promote their brands in other more subtle ways such as sponsoring sporting events, or using their logos without mentioning "cigarettes" on television, radio and in newspapers and magazines.

Xu Guihua, vice-president of China Tobacco Control Association, made the landmark announcement on Monday at a seminar in Guangzhou, capital of Guangdong Province. She said the country is committed to fulfill its obligations to the World Health Organization (WHO) Framework Convention on Tobacco Control.

China formally became a member of the convention last January.

Xu said the nation lags behind other countries in efforts to control the use of tobacco, and the biggest problem is the lack of national regulations banning smoking in public areas.

To date, fewer than half the cities have framed rules on smoking bans in some public spaces. Efforts to ban smoking in other areas such as karaoke parlors and restaurants have been stifled by unwilling owners and managers who fear a loss of business.

Figures from the Ministry of Health show that China has an estimated 350 million smokers, almost a third of the world's 1.1 billion smokers.

Cigarette makers spent more than 1.6 billion yuan to promote their brands last year, according to China Youth Daily.

In 2005 the government collected 240 billion yuan in tobacco taxes.

According to the WHO convention, tobacco products must carry prominent health warnings on the packaging.

This measure needs to be implemented within three years from when China signed the convention.

Within five years, China must fulfill it commitment to comprehensively ban all forms of tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship.

Yang Yan, a researcher with Chinese Center for Disease Prevention and Control, said 12 percent of deaths in China are caused by tobacco related illnesses, and by 2025, that figure will climb to 33 percent.

中国是世界上最大的烟草生产国和消费国，到2011年1月，中国将禁止各种形式的烟草广告。

尽管禁止烟草广告的规定从1996年起就已开始实施，但商家们却设法避开相关规定，以更为“隐蔽”的方式来宣传自己的品牌，比如赞助体育赛事，或是在电视、广播及报纸杂志上避开“香烟”二字，使用品牌标识语。

周一，中国烟草控制协会副会长许桂华在广州召开的一个研讨会上做了一项重要报告。她说中国一直致力于履行世界卫生组织《烟草控制框架公约》的义务。

中国于去年1月正式成为公约成员国。

许表示，我国在烟草控制方面落后于其它国家，目前最大的问题是缺乏全国性的公共场所禁烟法规。

到目前为止，全国只有不到一半的城市制定了在某些公共场合禁烟的规定。而在一些如卡拉OK厅、餐馆等其它场所，禁烟却遭到经营者的抵制，因为他们担心生意会受到影响。

据卫生部的相关数据显示，中国约有3.5亿烟民，占世界烟民总数（11亿）的近三分之一。

据《中国青年报》报道，去年，烟草生产商花在品牌宣传上的资金超过16亿人民币。

2005年，中国政府征收的烟草税达到2400亿人民币。

根据世界卫生组织公约的规定，烟草产品必须在外包装上印有明显的“吸烟有害健康”的提示。

这项措施必须在中国签署公约起三年内实行。

五年内，中国必须履行承诺，全面禁止各种形式的烟草广告、宣传和赞助。