Over 6,000 organizations vow tobacco ad ban

BEIJING - More than 6,000 Chinese medical, educational and news organizations, enterprises and associations recently signed a written promise to "refuse tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship", according to a statement issued on Friday.

The promise, drafted by the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention (China CDC), and signed over the past few days, echoed Friday's 26th World No Tobacco Day.

The 6,000 organizations include the China CDC, the Peking University Health Science Center, the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and the Guangming Daily, among more than 2,500 health institutions, nearly 2,000 educational organizations, more than 300 enterprises and 129 media groups.

They promised to firmly refuse any form of tobacco advertisement, promotion within or by making use of their organizations, and charitable donations or sponsorships from tobacco firms in the name of scientific research, scholarship, charitable activities or cooperation, the statement said.

They also vowed not to undertake any experiment or study conducive to or possibly for cigarettes' sales promotion, it added.

The WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, which was adopted in 2005, includes a comprehensive ban on all tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship.

China has more than 300 million smokers, official figures show. About 1.2 million Chinese die from tobacco-related illnesses every year.