A World Health Organization (WHO) collaborating center for tobacco control and respiratory disease prevention was set up in the China-Japan Friendship Hospital in Beijing on May 26 to mark World No Tobacco Day, which fell on May 31.

Cui Li, vice-minister of the National Health and Family Planning Commission (NHFPC) attended the news conference and delivered a speech.

The center is the only research center for tobacco control in China, and could significantly advance China’s tobacco control and national health.

Cui said that “Healthy China” is a national strategy and the Chinese government has taken a series of measures to carry out tobacco control, including draft smoking control laws, banning public smoking and raising tobacco taxes. She called for the China-Japan Friendship Hospital to play its role in tobacco control research, providing consultation and information to national and international medical institutions to strengthen cooperation.

Also taking part in the news conference were representatives from WHO and international tobacco control organizations as well as officials from the NHFPC.