Sneaky tobacco ads show smoking as chic lifestyle

Internet platforms are posing new challenges to tobacco control, with many advertisements masquerading as shopping experiences or sharing personal lifestyles.

According to a report released by the Beijing Center for Diseases Prevention and Control on Monday, more than 51,800 tobacco advertisements or promotions were released online in the first half of last year. Of those, more than 80 percent contained contact information for tobacco agents.

The data, collected by the Beijing CDC and Peking University, was collected between April 1 and June 30 last year on 14 major internet social platforms, including WeChat and Weibo.