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Can China Kick the Habit?
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Program Overview
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Prior to the mid-1980s, the availability of cigarettes in China was
limited to government-owned brands and a black market of
international cigarettes. Today, due to aggressive efforts by
American trade negotiators, restrictions have been eased for the
marketing of brands distributed by American tobacco companies.
Smoking has become a common habit in China, mainly due to the
successful marketing of cigarettes as an icon of western culture.
The Cancer Institute in Beijing has embarked on a nationwide
investigation of lifestyles and cancer rates among the Chinese. The
research indicates that the major diseases of the past are gone and
that new ones now exist. Because chronic diseases such as cancer
take many years to become evident, it is taking researchers a long
time to see the connection between smoking and lung cancer.
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