What You Don't Know Can Kill You

The U.N. health agency（联合国卫生署） says more than 80 percent of tobacco smokers live in developing countries. It adds that the number of smokers in the developing world is increasing.

However, there is good news about smoking and tobacco use in some parts of the world. The WHO reports that tobacco use worldwide fell from 27 percent in 2000 to 20 percent in 2016. And it says the number of smokers has decreased in all areas except for the Middle East and Africa.

Reuters news agency reports that anti-smoking gains are losing ground a little in China, the world's most populous country.

Reuters notes that in 2015, the Chinese government announced a series of measures that were part of the WHO's Framework Convention（世界卫生组织框架公约） on Tobacco Control. The measures included a tax(税额) increase on tobacco products, written health warnings on cigarettes（尼古丁）, limits on advertising and banning smoking in some public places.

Thanks to the government's actions, tobacco sales nationwide dropped for the first time since 2000. China's state media reports that in 2016 after officials （行政官员）in Beijing banned smoking in public places, tobacco sales dropped eight percent.

However, a public smoking ban recently failed in another of China's cities.Hangzhou is a popular city for travelers. It is also home to Alibaba, the large internet business. Smokers in Hangzhou can still light up（点亮、点烟） in some public spaces, such as train and bus stations as well as drinking establishments and karaoke clubs.

Reuters adds that the China National Tobacco Corporation led local opposition to a general, widespread ban on public smoking. （中国国家烟草公司带领当地反对在公共区域普遍禁止吸烟的条例）The state-operated company is responsible for about seven to 11 percent of China's taxes.

And sales are rising. Reuters also reports that in 2017, China Tobacco sold 0.8 percent more cigarettes than the year before.

Experts（专家） at the WHO claim that, what they call, the "global tobacco epidemic（流行病）" kills more than 7 million people each year. They add that close to 900,000 are non-smokers who die from breathing second-hand smoke.

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