China to curb public smoking

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BEIJING, Jan. 3 (UPI) -- Chinese lawmakers pledged to draft the nation's first controls on smoking in public.

China is the world's largest tobacco consumer with 300 million smokers living there and another 740 million people exposed to second-hand smoke, Xinhua news agency said Wednesday. Presently, only a handful of provinces and cities have any kind of restrictions on smoking in public.

The Standing Committee of the National People's Congress said it will bring forth national legislation to curb smoking in public places. In 2003, China ratified the World Health Organization's Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, pledging to curb public smoking, but has yet to follow through on the pledge.