Acknowledgement

Many thanks to Anne C. K. Quah, who led the coordination and every aspect of the organization of this excellent compilation of ITC China Survey articles in her usual tireless way, to Steve Shaowei Xu for assisting in the organization of this supplement, and to Simon Chapman, who was our Guest Editor, for his patience and dedication in ensuring the completion of this compilation. Thanks also go out to Ruth Malone, Editor of Tobacco Control, for her strong support to the ITC Project. Our appreciation also goes to Lindsey Fountain and Kelly Stroud and her team at BMJ Production for their excellent assistance in the production of the articles.

About The ITC Project

The International Tobacco Control Policy Evaluation Project (the ITC Project) is an international research collaboration of over 100 tobacco control researchers and experts from 22 countries (Canada, United States, United Kingdom, Australia, Ireland, Thailand, Malaysia, China, Republic of Korea, New Zealand, Mexico, Uruguay, France, Germany, The Netherlands, Brazil, Mauritius, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Kenya, and Zambia) who have come together to conduct research to evaluate the impact of tobacco control policies of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), the world's first health treaty.

These policies include more prominent warning labels (including graphic images), comprehensive smoke-free laws, restrictions or bans on tobacco advertising, promotion, and sponsorship, higher taxes on tobacco products, removal of potentially deceptive labeling (e.g., “light” and “mild” and packaging design that lead consumers to the misperception that certain brands may be less harmful), promotion of cessation, education of public on the harms of tobacco, reduction of illicit trade, reduction of youth access, and product regulation. The ITC team in each country conducts longitudinal cohort surveys and capitalizes on natural experiments to evaluate the impact of these policies over time. ITC Surveys contain over 150 measures of tobacco policy impact and have been conducted in countries inhabited by over 50% of the world's population, 60% of the world's smokers, and 70% of the world's tobacco users.

About the ITC China Project

The accomplishments of the ITC China Project would not have been possible without the dedicated effort of the many colleagues from China CDC, Beijing CDC, Shanghai CDC, Guangzhou CDC, Hunan CDC, Ningxia CDC, Shenyang CDC, and Yunnan Health Education Institute with whom we have collaborated since 2005. We also would like to thank our collaborating partners: The Cancer Council Victoria, Melbourne, Australia, Roswell Park Cancer Institute, Buffalo, New York, United States, and University of Chicago at Illinois, Chicago, United States.

For more information on the ITC Project:

Dr. Geoffrey T. Fong

Professor Department of Psychology University of Waterloo 200 University Avenue West

Waterloo, Ontario N2L 3G1 Canada

Email: itc@uwaterloo.ca

Tel: +1 519-888-4567 ext. 33597

www.itcproject.org

For technical information on ITC Survey methodology or analyses:

Dr. Mary E. Thompson

Professor

Department of Statistics and Actuarial Science

University of Waterloo

200 University Avenue West

Waterloo, Ontario N2L 3G1 Canada

Email: methompso@uwaterloo.ca

Tel: +1 519-888-4567 ext. 35543