A Beijing-based court turned down the lawsuit against the State Tobacco Monopoly Administration (STMA) and 24 tobacco producers on June 28.

Yan Zhuoxun, a 17-year-old boy from Central China's Hubei Province, was the first juvenile to sue cigarette companies for his nicotine addiction.

He took STMA and 24 tobacco firms to court for what he said was a violation of his right as a customer to know the whole truth about what he was consuming.

Yan Zhuoxun started smoking at the age of 13, smoking on average four to five cigarettes daily. He is now addicted to cigarettes and suffers from coughs and stomach aches which doctors said are caused by smoking.

In the lawsuit, Yan claimed he was fascinated by the websites of the defendants and was misled into believing smoking was a kind of culture and a symbol of high taste. He said he never realized smoking did any damage to his health until his parents and lawyers told him so.

Warnings are printed on cigarette packets but the law does not stipulate that websites carry any warnings.

In the indictment, Yan claimed that the 25 defendants failed to give information on their websites about how smoking harms health or that it was illegal to sell tobacco to juveniles.

A law on protecting juveniles' rights says shopkeepers cannot sell cigarettes to primary and middle school students although there is no specific age limit on smoking itself.

The court dismissed the case saying that Yan did not give enough evidence that his right to know the truth had been violated.

According to one judge who gave her name as Zhang, Yan chose the wrong criteria for suing and that is why the court dismissed the case.

She added that the court would possibly receive Yan's case another time if he sued STMA and tobacco producers according to other legal reasons but would not say what those reasons might be.

According to Yan's lawyer Tong Lihua, there is nothing on the 25 websites to warn cigarette smokers smoking is harmful to health.

Tong stressed: "It is the customers' right to know the truth of the commodity they buy. Yan taking them to court is an attempt to protect his rights on this point."

Since his client is only 17 years old, Tong added that it is the responsibility of STMA and tobacco producers to protect children in accordance with Chinese laws and regulations.

Tong said his client would appeal the court's decision.

An official from STMA, who gave his name only as Hu, said: "STMA has been explicit in saying that young people should not smoke."

"STMA expects and believes the case can be successfully settled through legal procedures," said Hu.

He said it is everyone's responsibility to guard children against tobacco.

According to Hu, the STMA and its partners have been active in helping youngsters keep away from smoking. During the past four years, the STMA has launched a nationwide campaign to fight against smoking.

(China Daily 07/03/2001)