SHENZHEN, May 31 (Xinhua) -- A prompt flashed across community doctor Fang Baolian's computer screen as 68-year-old Mr. Chen arrived for a free health check-up at a community health center in Shenzhen, south China's Guangdong Province.
"Do you smoke? Are you considering quitting within the next month? Would you like to be referred to a smoking cessation clinic?"
Chen, who went through about a pack of cigarettes every two days, admitted he had thought about quitting but lacked the determination to do it alone. Within minutes, his information was entered into a digital smoking cessation management system, where a personalized quitting plan and follow-up support process were set in motion.
Chen's experience is part of Shenzhen's community-based smoking cessation services, where residents aged 15 and above are screened for smoking habits during their first visit and, if willing to quit, enrolled in personalized support programs.
Doctors conduct follow-up assessments on the seventh day, and at one, six and 12 months after a patient begins a quit attempt, tracking cessation progress as well as indicators like lung function and exhaled carbon monoxide levels.
More than 1,000 community health centers across Shenzhen have installed this intervention module. So far, the system has helped physicians screen over 13 million first-time visits for a smoking history and provide cessation services to more than 10,000 smokers.
Similar community-based initiatives are taking shape across China. From regular follow-up visits and carbon monoxide testing to family doctor support, online counseling groups and incentive programs, cities including north China's Shijiazhuang, and Suzhou, Wuhu and Taicang, all in east China, are experimenting with a range of approaches to help smokers kick the habit.
Community-based services make professional support far more accessible, and standardized follow-up programs help reduce relapse risk and improve quit rates, said Li Min, doctor in the Department of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine and the Smoking Cessation Clinic at Beijing Chest Hospital affiliated with Capital Medical University.
According to Li, community-based programs are particularly valuable because they can reach smokers who might never seek help from specialized cessation clinics.
"Even a brief two- or three-minute conversation with a community doctor can raise awareness among smokers who are not yet ready to quit and encourage them to reduce tobacco consumption," Li said.
Beyond cessation services, community-based inspections, public awareness campaigns and educational lectures are regularly organized to promote smoke-free lifestyles and highlight the health risks of tobacco use.
China has stepped up tobacco-control efforts since enforcing the World Health Organization's (WHO) Framework Convention on Tobacco Control in 2006, introducing measures ranging from advertising bans and higher tobacco taxes to smoke-free regulations in public places.
Under the Health China Initiative, the country aims to reduce the smoking rate among people aged 15 and above to 20 percent by 2030 and extend the coverage of smoke-free regulations to 80 percent of the population.
To date, more than 250 cities nationwide have adopted local smoking-control regulations. Official data show that the national smoking rate among people aged 15 and above fell from 28.1 percent in 2010 to 23.2 percent in 2024.
Several major cities have already achieved the 2030 target ahead of schedule. Adult smoking rates have fallen to 18.6 percent in Shanghai, 17.4 percent in Shenzhen and 19.2 percent in Beijing.
Ahead of World No Tobacco Day on May 31, the WHO China Representative Office presented the 2026 World No Tobacco Day Award to the Shenzhen municipal government in recognition of the city's broader achievements in tobacco control and the promotion of a smoke-free environment.
Despite such progress, experts say the challenge remains significant.
While China's smoking rate has continued to decline in recent years, the pace of improvement has slowed, according to Li. "Since 2022, the rate has fallen by less than one percentage point, compared with a decline of nearly five percentage points between 2010 and 2024," said the doctor.
Public awareness remains another challenge. Xiao Dan, president of the Beijing Tobacco Control Association, said knowledge of smoking-related diseases, the harms of secondhand smoke and evidence-based quitting methods remains limited among many community residents.
Misconceptions also persist, including the belief that ventilation can eliminate the harm caused by smoke or that e-cigarettes are less harmful than traditional cigarettes.
Looking ahead, China plans to expand smoke-free campus initiatives and further standardize smoking-cessation services in 2026, said He Qinghua, executive vice president and secretary-general of the China Association on Tobacco Control for Health.
Authorities are working to integrate a wider range of cessation resources, such as clinical interventions, quitlines, traditional Chinese medicine therapies and digital tools, to make quitting more accessible and effective, He noted. Enditem
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