Nearly a quarter of the world's 1.3 billion smokers live in China

'No smoking' signs could soon become more common in China, as the country tries to stub out the habit. Seven major cities pledged earlier this week to ban smoking in any indoor public spaces.

Nearly a quarter of the world's 1.3 billion smokers live in China, which produces a third of all tobacco grown on earth.

About 60 per cent of its men and 3 per cent of women are hooked. Passive smokers number 540 million, the most in the world. A million people die from tobacco-related reasons every year, also the most in the world.

'China is a world leader in its smoking problems. It is not something to be proud of,' health-care analyst Wu Yiqun told The Straits Times. 'With so many 'firsts', we are desperately in need of some measures to control smoking.'

The latest move has been applauded, even though it comes four years after China made a similar pledge under a United Nations treaty. The seven cities - Shanghai, Wuxi, Ningbo, Changsha, Luoyang, Tangshan and Qingdao - want to end indoor smoking to protect children and pregnant women. Few details have been released, and no timeline or targets set.

'Most people would support such a move,' said Professor Zhao Liang of the China Academy of Health Policy in Beijing University. 'With better living standards and rising awareness of the ill effects of smoking, the number of smokers in China will be reduced.'

Prof Zhao, however, is unsure of the move's reach: 'The campaign is still rather fuzzy and there won't be much impact if this is all that is going to be done.'

China has been struggling to combat its tobacco problem largely because the government lacks the political will to enforce and implement laws, said experts.

For example, while Chinese law explicitly bans the sale of cigarettes to minors under 18, few vendors pay much heed to the law. Indeed, it is common to see students puffing away in their uniforms.

Also, while taxes on tobacco sales have been raised from 40 per cent to an average of 48.7 per cent, that has not raised cigarette prices. In fact, the average price of a pack of 20 cigarettes here is just 5 yuan (S$1), compared with more than S$11 in Singapore. The cheapest brand in China is just 2.5 yuan a pack.

The government coffers have been significantly bumped up by taxes on cigarettes, which strengthens its reliance on tobacco sales. Such taxes hit 416 billion yuan last year, up 26.2 per cent from 2008, according to the latest report by the state tobacco industry regulator.

But not all is grim, as there has been increasing public pressure to limit the reach of tobacco companies. Public criticism forced the organisers of last year's National Games sports event to withdraw tobacco advertising from venues. Southern Guangzhou city has also promised to hold a smoke-free Asian Games later this year.

Organisers of Shanghai's World Expo in May have also turned down a 200-million-yuan sponsorship deal from a tobacco company.