BEIJING —Within the next year, lawmakers are expected to enact a national ban on smoking in public places in China, said Yang Jie, deputy director of Tobacco Control Office for the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention.

“We can see what is happening in the rest of the world,” Yang told The Wall Street Journal, suggesting China will follow smoking cessation trends of other countries.

China, with more than 300 million smokers, is the world’s largest consumer of tobacco.

Changing China’s current cigarette culture will be difficult. Cigarettes are cheap, with many packs costing less than $1. The World Health Organization last year recommended that China triple its tobacco tax to discourage smoking among youths. Additionally, the current deputy director of China’s State Tobacco Monopoly Administration is the brother of China’s premier.

The Ministry of Health previously issued a ban on smoking in 28 types of public places, but it lacks the authority to enforce the ban.

Several cities have already passed smoking bans in public buildings, but enforcement of laws has also been problematic.