Guangzhou to Ban All Cigarette Ads (fwd)

[Robert Weissman <rob@essential.org>]

5 August 1998 (Business Day, South Africa)

                Chinese city bans all
                cigarette ads

                BEIJING - The capital of booming southern China's
                Guangdong province would ban all cigarette ads and
                product promotions by August 25, the official China
                Daily reported yesterday.

                Billboards, bar signs, umbrellas, balloons and other
                give-aways bearing cigarette brand names would be
                banned in Guangzhou city, complementing a nationwide
                ban on print and broadcast cigarette advertising. 

                "The municipal government expects the city to become a
                modern metropolis without cigarettes," the paper quoted
                an unidentified city official as saying.

                However, the municipal bureau of industry and
                commerce challenged the ban and said ads and
                promotions remain legal for the time being. 

                China has 320-million smokers, and its smoking rate of
                60% for men is one of the highest in the world. -
                Sapa-AP.