China, the land of smokers

Smoking kills 750 thousand a year in China -- a figure projected to rise to 3 million a year by 2050 if current trends prevail

BEIJING, China (CNN) -- China is a land of smokers and a government supported tobacco monopoly with huge financial interests and tax revenue invested in the deadly industry.

Yet a non-smoking movement is just beginning -- complete with lawyers gearing up for anticipated class action suits and anti-smoking activities in schools.

The message focuses on the health risks to bodies under attack by tobacco. For some smokers, it's education like this that has helped them quit.

"I quit because my health was not as good as before, and I read in newspapers and magazines about the hazards of smoking," says the voice on educational anti-smoking videos shown to classrooms.

But in China there are few quitters -- and a lot more joiners. The number of Chinese smokers now stands at well over 300 million people -- more than 6 times as many as the United States.

CNN NewsPass VIDEO CNN's Lisa Rose Weaver reports on the growing health concerns about smoking in China. Play video   FACT FILE • Number of smokers in China - 300 million   • Number of smokers in the United States - 50 million   • Deaths from smoking in China in 2001 - 75,000   • Projected number of deaths from smoking in China in 2050 - 3,000,000   * Source: World Health Organization

Smoking kills 750 thousand a year in China -- a figure projected to rise to 3 million a year by 2050 if current trends prevail.

Educating youth is the easy part -- then there's taking on the state tobacco monopoly administration.

One lawyer found out how hard that is when his landmark lawsuit against Chinese tobacco firms was rejected by a court a year ago.

Youth rights advocate, Tong Lihua, filed suit against the monopoly and 24 tobacco companies for failing to include health warnings in Internet advertisements he says are aimed at children.

After just 7 days, the court threw the case out, saying it lacked jurisdiction.

Tong says he knew it was a long-shot, because Chinese tobacco is a major source of annual tax revenue for the government -- and is nearly untouchable.

In America, the lawsuits against tobacco companies got a lot of support from the government, but that is not the case in China.

"We are facing challenges in terms of manpower and finance, but we are sure we will continue our work."

Tong now lobbies for stronger anti tobacco legislation -- and supports education campaigns about the evils of tobacco, in the hope that what's learned in the classroom now, leads to a healthier China in the future.