Tag Archives: public health

Smoking and risk perceptions in China

chinese-no-smokingLast month, the authorities of Beijing adopted a law banning smoking in indoor public spaces. Smoking is a big issue in China and officials take this problem seriously.

But according to a recent article published in the “Nicotine and Tobacco research” journal1, more policies need to be adopted to reduce tobacco consumption in China. In this article, authors noted that:

Smokers in China did not recognize their heightened personal risk of cancer, possibly reflecting ineffective warning labels on cigarette packs, a positive affective climate associated with smoking in China.

The article shows that Chines smokers seem not to be aware of the real dangers of tobacco.

 

  1. Alexander Persoskie et al(2014).’Absolute and comparative cancer risk perceptions among smokers in two cities in China’. Nicotine and Tobacco research, 16(6), pp.899-903 []

Sebastien Goulard

Ph.D. in political science (EHESS, Paris); M.A. in social sciences (EHESS, Paris); M.A. in international relations (IRIS, Paris), B.A. (Hons) in international political studies (ESE - Nottingham Trent University)

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Public health: A sustainable plan for China’s drinking water

Tao Tao & Kunlun Xin, Public health: A sustainable plan for China’s drinking water, Nature,  30 July 2014

Making drinking water safe is a priority in China. Serious health and social problems concentrate in areas where the water quality is poor. Every year, 190 million people in China fall ill and 60,000 people die from diseases caused by water pollution such as liver and gastric cancers1. Around 300 million people face shortages of drinking water2. In a 2009 nationwide assessment, one-quarter of 4,000 urban water-treatment plants surveyed did not comply with quality controls, stoking public fears about the health impacts.

Read the full text on Nature

Jacqueline Nivard

Jacqueline Nivard, Centre d'études sur la Chine moderne et contemporaine

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