31st May, 2018 is the 30th World No-Tobacco Day. The global theme is “tobacco—a threat to development.” The focus of tobacco control is to provide education for young people so that they will not become new smokers and cultivate healthy lifestyle.

At present, there are about 1.7 billion children and adolescents aged 10 to 24 years around the world, and a large part is facing the danger of cigarettes as tobacco companies have already put young people as the best targets for selling cigarettes.

Since adolescents' psychological development, outlook on life, and world view have yet to be established, they lack understanding and resilience against unhealthy things outside. They often imitate adult smoking and take it as a fashion, not knowing the great harm caused by smoking.

According to the survey, in the case of lung cancer, those who start smoking after 25 are 4 times easier to get lung cancer than non-smokers. Those who start smoking at the ago of 20-24 are 10 times easier to get lung cancer than non-smokers. Those who start smoking at the age of 15-19 are 15 times easier to get lung cancer than non-smokers. if aged under 15 years old, it is up to 17 times.

Smoking is not only closely related to the increased incidence of lung cancer, it can also induce other cancers such as lip cancer, laryngeal cancer, oral cancer, pancreatic cancer, bladder cancer, breast cancer, kidney cancer, and liver cancer. Besides, it significantly increases the risks of bronchitis, heart disease, ulcer disease, etc. According to U.S. statistics, those who smoke 40 cigarettes a day is 65 times more likely to get diseases than non-smokers; those who smoke 10 cigarettes a day is 13 times more likely to get diseases than non-smokers. The number of Chinese smokers who die of lung cancer is 3 times as many as non-smokers who die of lung cancer.

Therefore, there is a long way to go to keep adolescents away from smoking. Many countries in the world have recognized this problem and impose strict regulations on smoking among young people. In Singapore, the government banned the sale of small packs of cigarettes to reduce young smokers. In Malaysia and Canada, the governments impose strict non-smoking laws: it is illegal to buy cigarettes under 18 years; it is a crime for parents or others to make the underage  buy cigarettes, and those who do so can be sentenced to two years’ imprisonment.

At present, there are two main methods for banning smoking among young people. For young people who are not yet addicted, we must increase their awareness of the danger of smoking. At the same time, the government should introduce smoking regulations in public places to prevent young people’s exposure to cigarettes directly or indirectly. For young people who are already addicted, they are advised to quit smoking as soon as possible. For those who fail to quit smoking, they can temporarily use electronic cigarettes or heatde tobaccodevices that are less harmful to health as substitutes to finally achieve the effect of quit smoking.