The fact that government ministries benefit from the tobacco industry while also controlling China's efforts to stamp out smoking is seriously hampering anti-smoking initiatives, lobbyists say.

Currently, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology leads national anti-smoking efforts. The same ministry also administers and represents the China Tobacco Monopoly Bureau and China National Tobacco Company.

"How can people count on administrations that are connected to the tobacco industry to take forceful action that will harm its own business? They have a conflict of interest," said Wang Ke'an, director of the grassroots anti-smoking organization Thinktank Research Center for Health Development.