Smoking rate falls to 23.2 pct in China: report

BEIJING, May 29 (Xinhua) -- The smoking rate for Chinese residents aged 15 and above dropped to 23.2 percent last year, a 0.9 percentage point decrease from 2022, according to a survey report released by China's health authorities on Thursday.

The results were made public at an event to mark the 38th World No Tobacco Day, which will fall on Saturday.

Organized by the National Health Commission, the survey showed that 63.9 percent of respondents reported encountering tobacco control information within the past 30 days, demonstrating the impact of China's widespread anti-smoking campaigns.

The survey also highlighted growing public awareness of health risks associated with smoking and secondhand smoke. Exposure to secondhand smoke continued to decline, driven by broad societal support for smoke-free environments.

Additionally, the smoking cessation rate for individuals aged 15 and above rose to 22.6 percent last year, up 0.2 percentage points compared to 2022.

The survey collected data from 31 provincial-level regions nationwide, yielding 199,684 valid responses.