BEIJING, Feb. 14 (Xinhua) -- A recent circular of China's film and television watchdog to cut smoking scenes in films and TV dramas has received welcome from supporters of tobacco control.
Xu Guihua, deputy head of China Association on Tobacco Control (CATC), a non-profit organization, said the order of the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television (SARFT) demonstrates government determination to protect public health rights.
Frequent smoking scenes in films and TV dramas do not accord with China's stance on tobacco control and mislead the public, especially the youth, said the SARFT in a recent circular.
Tobacco brands or signs and smoking scenes with juveniles present should not be allowed to appear in films or TV dramas, it said, adding that scenes which have to show smoking should last as short as possible.
Hailing the order, Xu said the communication through media including movies and TV is among those factors that can influence people's attitude toward smoking.
Deng Haihua, a spokesman with China's Ministry of Health, also said the SARFT's move will help prevent people, especially the young, from being misled by smoking scenes on screens.
In a survey report issued in August 2010, the CATC said it found smoking scenes in 31 movies and 28 TV series after monitoring 40 Chinese movies and 30 local TV series.
Another survey by Beijing Municipal Center for Disease Control and Prevention also showed students tend to follow the fashion after seeing actors smoke on TV or in films.
China has more than 300 million smokers and 540 million more suffering from secondhand smoke.
What is especially worrisome is that 11.5 percent of the country's juvenile smoke and the ratio is even increasing, according to experts.