Third of young men in China likely to die from effects of smoking, study finds

The percentage of smokers among Chinese men has been on the rise in recent decades. (AP)

One in three young men in China is likely to die from the effects of smoking tobacco, research has found, although the number could fall if they quit smoking.

The study, by researchers from Oxford University, the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and the Chinese Centre for Disease Control, show that two-thirds of young men in China take up smoking, mostly before the age of 20, and half of those will eventually be killed by tobacco unless they stop permanently.