China bans officials from smoking in hospitals and schools in bid to reduce annual 1.4million death toll

China has banned officials from smoking in public places such as schools and hospitals in renewed efforts to cut the 1.4million deaths linked to tobacco each year.

The edict, which comes from the highest levels of the ruling Communist Party, has been hailed as a ‘major breakthrough’ in a country which has the world’s largest number of smokers with 300million.

Officials are not allowed to smoke in schools, hospitals, sports venues, on public transport or any other places where smoking is banned, or to smoke or offer cigarettes when performing official duties, the official Xinhua News said.

China, with a population of 1.35 billion, has more than 300 million smokers.

The annual number of cigarettes sold in the country increased by 50 per cent to 2.52 trillion in 2012 compared with 10 years earlier, according to the Chinese Association on Tobacco Control, which is overseen by health authorities.

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