Although the Chinese government is implementing more measures to counter smoking, the country is estimated to have more than 300 million smokers. Zhang Yue, “China’s First Anti-Smoking Campaigner” (“中国第一反烟人”) is determined to single-handedly pull the cigarettes out of their mouths and make China smoke-free.

Zhang Yue (张跃) is no ordinary person. The self-proclaimed “top anti-smoking fighter” has been campaigning for a smoke-free China for over 18 years . On his publicity tours, that took him to more than 386 cities, he creates awareness for the dangers of smoking.

Global Times reports how Zhang usually starts these trips by visiting crowded places like bus stops, metro stations or markets, where he strikes up a conversation with smokers and hands them pamphlets about the risks of smoking. He then shocks smokers by pulling the cigarette from their lips. He sometimes does this to over ten people within thirty minutes.

Zhang surprises a smoker by grabbing the cigarette from his mouth (Phoenix News).

Zhang’s crusade against smoking and his confrontational methods have popped up in Chinese media since 2003 (see China Daily).

Zhang started his no-smoking mission after the tragic death of his sister, who died of a brain tumor at the age of 26. Zhang was convinced that his father’s heavy smoking habits played a role in his sister’s death, as she had always been in good health prior to her tumor. After successfully helping his younger brother quit smoking, Zhang also persuaded twelve of his family members to stop smoking. Since 2001, he has devoted his life to help all smokers of China to quit their habit.

A money-making national pastime

Smoking is a national pastime in China. It is very common for Chinese men to offer a cigarette when meeting someone – it’s a conversation starter and a way of social bonding. Over time, smoking has become an integral part of how many Chinese men socialize.

Apart from the social aspect, the popularity of smoking is also linked to economics. China is the largest manufacturer and consumer of tobacco in the world. The country employs a massive labor force devoted to tobacco farming, manufacturing and sales. Tobacco sales also provide 7% of the Central Government’s annual revenue, which is a substantial amount in taxes and net income.

A gendered phenomenon that kills

According to the authors of a new study, reported about by Quartz, “about two-thirds of young Chinese men become cigarette smokers, and most start before they are 20. Unless they stop, about half of them will eventually be killed by their habit.”

The study notes that although many women have begun taking to smoking, it still remains a highly gendered activity, with around 68% of Chinese men smoking, compared to 3.2 % of Chinese women. Another study by the National Center for Biotechnology Information in the United States has reported that with a population of over 300 million smokers, China is currently at risk of losing more than 90 million people to this habit. This is also a reason for concern as smoking threatens to wipe out the productive population that China increasingly needs to continue its growth momentum.

The Party’s new anti-smoking route

After repeated attempts and failings, the Party has started to take the problem of smoking more serious. Although China’s previous leaders were often seen smoking, Xi Jinping has set a new example by quitting.

In 2011, China’s Ministry of Health guidelines banned smoking in all public places nationwide such as hotels and restaurants. As the ban was largely ignored, stricter regulations went into effect in Beijing in June 2015. These regulations also cracked down on tobacco advertising.

The Party’s new anti-smoking route was also apparent during the National People’s Congress meeting this year; different from other years, there were no smoking areas for delegates in their hotel and conference rooms, or elsewhere in the indoor public places. They had been advised to follow Beijing’s smoking ban during the two-week annual session .

But for Zhang Yue, the Party’s anti-smoking campaigns cannot be rigorous enough and he hopes that China will soon be completely smoke-free: “China has 350 million smokers,” he tells Global Times: “that’s almost the population of the US. Even though it’s a distant goal, I’ll sacrifice everything to get there”.

Right motives, wrong behavior?

News about Zhang’s mission and his action to pull cigarettes from people’s mouths has got Weibo’s netizens talking. “His motives are good, but his actions are stupid,” one netizen comments. “He has no right to steal people’s cigarettes,” another Weibo user says.

Although most netizens seem to disagree with Zhang’s tactics, some think he’s right: “I support him. I’ve smoked for over ten years and then just quit. I wished more people would.”

Zhang’s campaign goes beyond the streets of China – he is also active on Chinese social media. On Weibo, Zhang has an official Weibo page named ‘The Old Man’s Long March Against Smoking‘. With less than 8900 online fans, he does not have the millions of followers he would probably like to have – but at least it’s a start.

Update March 23 by editor: Shortly after this article was published, the Weibo account of “The Old Man’s Long March Against Smoking” (“反烟人长征愚公”的微博) disappeared, which is why the link is no longer working.

– By Mahalakshmi Ganapathy

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Images by Phoenix News and Mianyang Local News Weibo Page.

Weibo comments & editing by Manya Koetse.

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