Smoking 'could kill one in three young Chinese men' as researchers warn of looming health crisis

Smoking could kill two million Chinese in 2030 with the country facing a "growing epidemic of premature death from tobacco", researchers warn.

One in three young Chinese men will be killed by the habit, academics writing in The Lancet medical journal claimed.

There were fewer smokers and smoking-related deaths among women, the research said.

The world's most populous country has seen the number of smokers - many starting at a young age - rise dramatically in recent years as cigarettes become more widely available.

China consumes over a third of the world's cigarettes and has a sixth of the global smoking death toll, according to AFP news agency.

Unless there is government action to tackle the health crisis, at least two million people could die from smoking in 2030 - with that figure set to rise to three million in 2050.

However, China has been hampered in its attempts to control tobacco use because it is seen as an important source of revenue for the government.

Chinese citizens also find it difficult to kick the habit as it has become so ingrained in their culture, observers say.

The article's co-author Zhengming Chen, from Oxford University, said the "growing epidemic of premature death from tobacco" could be stopped if the Chinese authorities deter people from smoking.