Nearly 60,000 Chinese smokers joined the International Quit & Win 2004, a smoking cessation competition initiated by Finland.

"The number of Chinese participants this year almost doubled the figure of last competition in 2002, covering 25 provinces, prefectures and cities including Henan and Yunnan-two of China's major tobacco-growing provinces," Jiang Zuojun, China's deputy health minister, said here Sunday at a conference marking the 17thWorld No Tobacco Day.

The International Quit & Win 2004 is being held in May 2004 insome 100 countries world wide.

According to the regulation, if participants, adult daily smokers who have smoked for at least one year, can abstain from smoking and using tobacco products for a four-week period startingfrom May 2, they may have the opportunity of getting a 10,000 yuan(about 1,209 US dollars) prize from the Chinese government and a 10,000 US dollar prize from the World Health Organization (WHO).

As the world's biggest tobacco producer and consumer, China has approximately 300 million tobacco smokers.

Jiang said every year, nearly one million Chinese died of diseases related to tobacco smoking, exceeding the total death toll of tuberculosis, HIV/AIDS, confinement diseases, traffic accident and suicide.

"The task of tobacco control in China is immense and challengesare enormous," Jiang said.

In order to boost public awareness to the dangers of tobacco, China has remained an active participant to the International Quit& Win since 1996.

In November last year, China signed the Framework Convention onTobacco Control (FCTC), the first public health treaty ever negotiated under the auspices of WHO.

"There are many items on the FCTC agenda that China has been implementing for quite a while, and others are gathering steam," said Henk Bekedam, WHO Representative in China.

"WHO applauds China for such efforts, as the country continues along the path to ratification of the FCTC," he said.

The WHO official said the global tobacco epidemic including thescenario in China did not occur overnight. "But step by step, the situation can be addressed."