Study: China struggles to kick world-leading cigarette habit

A man and a woman smoke cigarettes outside of an office building in Beijing, Wednesday, May 31, 2017. A decade-long study has found that most smokers in China, the world’s largest consumer of tobacco, have no intention of kicking the habit and remain unaware of some of its most damaging health effects. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

BEIJING (AP) — A decade-long study has found that most smokers in China, the world’s largest consumer of tobacco, have no intention of quitting and remain unaware of the damaging health effects.

The study released Wednesday by the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Canadian researchers said 316 million people smoke in China, a number that continues to rise. The vast majority are men, of whom 59 percent told surveyors they don’t plan to quit.

Some Chinese cities now ban smoking in public spaces. Chinese and international health officials say more aggressive measures including a nationwide public smoking ban are needed.

Study co-author Geoffrey Fong of Canada’s University of Waterloo says one in three Chinese men will die from smoking-related illnesses. He says 60 percent are unaware that smoking can cause strokes.