Despite knowing all the harms of smoking, Li Pingping, who lives in Shanghai, still decided to buy two cartons of cigarettes as presents for her father back in southwest China's Chongqing.

"When you pick up gifts for the elders during festivals or anniversaries, cigarettes are a nice choice," she said.

Li will take the cigarettes with her on the three-hour-flight to her hometown Chongqing Municipality.

It's Chinese tradition to give cigarettes when meeting new friends or visiting relatives, either to show friendliness or respect.

But the tradition has long stood in the way of the government's and anti-smoking organization's efforts to discourage smoking.

Xu Guihua, deputy director of Chinese Association on Tobacco Control (CATC), said "the lack of understanding and support" has made their job difficult.

The truth is, in China, not only are the smokers exchanging cigarettes as gifts, nonsmokers are also fanning the flame by buying cigarettes for their friends and family and are unwittingly exposing themselves to second-hand smoke.

Li Pingping said her father is the only smoker in the family off our, but no one minds him smoking when they spend time together, nor do they mind when he meets with chain-smoking guests in their apartment.

"I always buy cigarettes for elders, they could send those cigarettes to their friends even when they quit smoking. It is a practical gift and, most often, they like it," she said.

But it is not easy to break the habit of smoking.

Yang Xu, doctor at the Cardiovascular Institute of Fuwai Hospital, said, "A small percentage of heavy smokers face the potential danger of sudden death as abrupt smoking cessation can cause many health disorders."

The Chinese anti-smoking authorities are aware of this problem.

Yang Gonghuan, director of the National Tobacco Control Office, has called for more effective publicity to help people understand the hazards of smoking.