Chinese authorities take action as cigarette card games catch on among kids

Move to stamp out trend amid fear cards would encourage the young to smoke

- Aw Cheng Wei China

Housewife Li Jiu would check her son's belongings every other day to make sure that he was not playing with cigarette cards, which are made by cutting up old cigarette boxes and folding them into small rectangles.

She found a few of the cards neatly placed in her son's mathematics textbook in June and confronted the Primary 5 boy about them.

"He said a classmate had given him those cards so that they could play games with them," said Madam Li, 37, who lives in northern Hebei province. "I told him to return the cards to his friend, and to tell me if others offer these to him again.

"I'm afraid he might become addicted to playing with those cards, and become curious about smoking." The trend of children playing with yan ka, or cigarette cards, started in recent months, Chinese media reported.

The young are said to be drawn to these cards because of their attractive designs and the sense of playing with something "forbidden".

One game played using these cards involves each player placing a cigarette card on a flat surface. Players take turns to try and flip the cards by slamming their hand on the surface. If successful, they get to keep their opponents' cards.

These cards have become so popular that the authorities are taking action for fear that they will expose children to tobacco brands and lead to more youngsters picking up the smoking habit.