The head of the World Health Organization says China’s smoking problem needs to be given the same attention as SARS.

"China's longstanding high prevalence of tobacco addiction deserves the same level of concern as an outbreak of SARS or H1N1," Michael O’Leary wrote in an email to the news agency Agence France-Presse. He added: “Chronic conditions now constitute the lion's share of the burden of disease in China, and tobacco use is the single largest preventable cause of death and disease."

O’Leary’s statement comes after new WHO data shows that more than half of men in China smoke. However, the data is not all negative. The figures indicate that 301 million adults smoke cigarettes, a drop from the previous recorded figure of 350 million.

The data also showed passive smoking to be a big problem, with 70% of non-smoking adults exposed to second-hand smoke in a typical week.

Up to 1 million people in China die every year from lung cancer or heart diseases directly linked to smoking. China remains the biggest consumer of tobacco in the world.

Authorities are attempting to tighten up on smoking in China. There are plans to ban smoking in all indoor public spaces by next year. However, commentators believe that such a ban would be difficult to enforce, given that many laws are only loosely enforced in China. Smoking bans in other countries have been successful in driving down tobacco-consumption levels. In the UK, indoor smoking has been prohibited in most public spaces since 2007. Just one year after the ban was introduced, experts announced it had led to billions fewer cigarettes being smoked.

The size of China’s problem is demonstrated by the fact that even most doctors smoke. More than 50% of male doctors smoke.