Smoking rate falls amid bans, awareness The smoking rate among people age 15 and older in China fell to 23.2 percent last year, down nearly 5 percentage points from 2010 and almost 1 percentage point from 2022, according to a national study released on Thursday. Health officials attributed the continued decline to stronger public education campaigns and stricter enforcement of smoking bans in public spaces. Between 2012 and 2014, the smoking rate among males dropped by 1.4 percentage points to 43.9 percent, while the rate among females decreased by 0.5 percentage point to 1.8 percent. The smoking rate in rural areas stood at 24.9 percent last year, compared with 20.9 percent in urban areas, ... [Read more]