Multiple smoking control indicators lead the country, and a national tobacco survey among middle school students has been released: Shanghai has achieved significant results in smoking control among middle school students
At the recent National Conference on Tobacco Control, it was reported that the latest national survey on tobacco use among middle school students showed that Shanghai has the lowest core smoking control indicators among 31 provinces, including current smoking rate, attempted smoking rate, and current use of electronic cigarettes. The tobacco control work is at a leading level in the country.
Under the guidance of the National Health Commission, the China Center for Disease Control and Prevention organized a tobacco epidemic survey among Chinese middle school students in 2021, covering 317 counties in 31 provinces across the country. A total of 269250 students from 936 middle schools and 891 high schools completed the questionnaire, with a response rate of 95.9%. The survey targets middle and high school students, and the results are representative at the national and provincial levels, as well as internationally comparable. The survey mainly includes tobacco use, e-cigarette use, tobacco dependence and smoking cessation, exposure to second-hand smoke, acquisition of tobacco products, tobacco control promotion and health education, tobacco advertising or promotion, and awareness of tobacco hazards.
The survey results show that the proportion of middle school students smoking cigarettes in Shanghai is 1.0%, including 0.7% of middle school students, 0.9% of regular high school students, and 2.6% of vocational school students; The proportion of students attempting to smoke cigarettes is 5.4%, of which 3.5% are middle school students, 6.0% are regular high school students, and 10.9% are vocational school students; The proportion of students who frequently smoke cigarettes is 0.4%, including 0.3% for junior high school students, 0.3% for regular high school students, and 0.7% for vocational school students.
In addition, the current usage rate of electronic cigarettes among middle school students in Shanghai is 1.7%, including 1.2% for middle school students, 1.6% for regular high school students, and 3.7% for vocational school students; The proportion of students who have used e-cigarettes is 6.3%, including 4.5% for junior high school students, 5.9% for regular high school students, and 13.2% for vocational school students; 93.8% of students have heard of e-cigarettes, including 92.1% of middle school students, 96.1% of regular high school students, and 93.7% of vocational school students.
Shanghai is one of the earliest cities in China to carry out smoking control work. With the joint efforts of the health and education departments, special attention is paid to adolescent smoking control work and the construction of smoke-free schools. A good atmosphere and environment are formed where schools, families, and the whole society participate together, so that young students develop a healthy concept and behavior of "refusing to smoke their first cigarette, including electronic cigarettes" from an early age.
In 1994, Shanghai formulated the government regulation "Interim Provisions on Smoking Prohibition in Public Places in Shanghai"; On March 1, 2010, the Shanghai Public Places Smoking Control Regulations came into effect. This is the first provincial-level smoking control local regulation issued by the People's Congress of mainland China after the World Health Organization's Framework Convention on Tobacco Control came into effect in China. In 2010, the World Expo was successfully held in Shanghai, and the Regulations helped to create the first "smoke-free World Expo" in the 159 year history of the Expo, and promoted the legislative process of urban smoking control in mainland China; On March 1, 2017, after the first revision of the Regulations, they came into effect and implemented a comprehensive indoor smoking ban. The World Health Organization awarded the Shanghai Municipal People's Government the "World Smokeless Day Award"; On October 28, 2022, the second revision of the Regulations included electronic cigarettes in the scope of smoking prohibition in public places. The legal protection of smoking control is keeping pace with the times and in line with international standards.
All along, the Shanghai Municipal Party Committee and Government have been committed to building a healthy city, enhancing the health and well-being of the people, creating a supportive environment for young people to stay away from tobacco, strictly following the requirements of the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, innovating models, seeking breakthroughs, and gradually forming and improving the "Six Ones" characteristic management model for tobacco control publicity and supervision law enforcement, which includes a set of systems, mechanisms, lines, maps, networks, and a series of work methods, benchmarking against the highest international standards and best levels, to build a healthy city.
