Shanghai plans to help farmers stop unhealthy habits and improve health awareness in 1,000 suburban villages by the end of this year, according to the city’s health authority.

The plan came after a survey of 7,645 people in the city’s suburbs. It found that nearly 40 percent of respondents have poor health knowledge and many have bad habits such as spitting or dumping garbage randomly.

A total of one million brochures on health knowledge have been distributed to farmers. Clinics have set up sites to offer farmers free blood pressure tests.

Classes were also launched to spread health knowledge among children of farmers.

(Source: www.shanghai.gov.cn )