China said on Monday it faced an increasing problem of underage smokers, with a number of tobacco addicts nearly four times the total population of New Zealand, the Associated Press reports.

The 2008 China Tobacco Control study, reported by the China Daily, informs that about 40 million of the country’s 130 million children aged between 13 and 18 have tried smoking and 15 million are addicted. The study says 68 percent of the 130 million have smoked their first cigarette before the age of 13.

The report also warned that the number of youths who have tried smoking and became addicted smokers increases each year. The majority of smokers in schools are male, but the number of female students who have tried smoking or smoke is continually growing, especially in the big cities.

According to official statistics, there are about 350 million smokers in China, which means about a quarter of the country’s population and one-third of the world’s smokers.

The World Health Organization says a million people die of smoking-related disease every year.

Yang Gonghuan with the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention said tobacco advertisements were mostly guilty for the rising of tobacco addiction, China daily reported.

“Tobacco companies target youths by falsely associating tobacco use with glamour, energy and sex appeal,” Gonghuan said.

Smoking scenes in films and TV programs, as well as parents and teachers who smoke encourage children and teenagers to start smoking.

The study also found that, despite of the ban on selling tobacco to underage children, more than 90 percent of the young smokers were able to buy cigarettes.