Beijing really is the big smoke

The smoking rate among Beijingers is above the national average according to research released on Wednesday by the Beijing health bureau, and more than 80 percent of smokers don't view tobacco addiction as a disease.

The survey, conducted from January through May, covered more than 2,000 residents aged from 18 to 89 and found that 34 percent of respondents smoke. The percentage of male and female smokers was 60.2 and 4.8 percent respectively. The national average is 57.4 and 2.6 percent.

"Although the non-smoking campaign in the medical departments is going well, with more than 40 percent of them reaching the target we set, the high smoking rates among residents is not so optimistic," said Zeng Xiaopeng, general director of the Beijing Center for Disease Control and Prevention.