The EU: Smoking has already become a major cause of death in EU countries. Following its first campaign against smoking launched in March 2005, titled "HELP -- For a life without tobacco," on "World No Tobacco Day", the European Commission kicked off its second campaign against smoking via TV promotions in EU Member States. Starting from May 31, three humorous TV commercials aimed at tobacco prevention and cessation that are sponsored by the EU will be broadcasted continuously for a month on over 100 TV channels within EU Member States. These TV commercials will be rebroadcast in September to leave people with a deeper impression.

Greece: Greece is one of the countries with the highest smoking rates in the EU, with around 45 percent of its adult population being smokers. About 20,000 Greeks die of health problems related to smoking every year. Still more, any tourist who goes to Greece will find the country a paradise for smokers, where there are hardly any legal restrictions in place against smokers. Those "good days," however, will soon be over. Starting July 1 this year, Greece will have a new law in place to ban smoking in public places.

France: Cigarette consumption has dropped somewhat in France, but tobacco use has remained rather high among the general public. Smoking ban is a real challenge that France currently faces, as there are about 66,000 people who die of diseases related to smoking each year in the country. Among all males, 21 percent of all premature deaths are related to smoking while the figure for all females is 3 percent. In light of this, France will launch a series of publicity activities starting May 31 to help people stay away from tobacco.

Japan: Nearly 40 percent of all male adults smoke in Japan. However, as governmental and nongovernmental measures against smoking advance gradually, an increasingly smaller space has been left for the smokers. Nowadays, it is extremely difficult to smoke a cigarette anywhere in Japan. While waiting for a train, smokers used to be allowed to puff a cigarette at the smoking area of the platform. As of April this year, however, a full smoking ban has been put in place at the nearly 200 stations' platforms in the Tokyo area. In Japan, smoking is prohibited on streets in many places. Many Japanese laws place restrictions on smoking in public places.

Russia: About 50 to 70 percent of males smoke in Russia, more than three times as high as the number of female smokers. Nearly 1,000 people die prematurely of diseases related to smoking every day. The chairman of the Committee of the State Duma (the lower house of the Federal Assembly of Russia) for Health Protection said on May 29 that the smoking problem is very serious in Russia and the government will take effective measures to curb this problem.

By People's Daily Online