A Beijing smoker has brought a tobacco company and one of its sales agent to court, accusing them for producing or selling cigarettes which turned his teeth uglily yellow, the Beijing News reports on Tuesday.

Liu Shengjiang, a 35-year-old law professor in Capital University of Economics and Business, started smoking 15 years ago and now smokes on average two packs of cigarette per day. Liu said smoking has affected his health and tainted his teeth.

Liu said he was addicted to "Nanjing" brand cigarette produced by Nanjing Cigarette Factory in east China's Jiangsu Province. He accused the factory for "failing to give a clear indication of the harm of smoking".

"The producer only said 'smoking is harmful' on its package, but we consumers don't know what harm it will cause to us," Liu said.

"If there were more specific warnings, a lot of potential consumers will stay away from smoking," he added.

Liu demanded a written apology and 350 yuan (US$45s) for compensation from the factory and Guohua Department Store, where he bought a pack of cigarette.

But an attorney representing the defendant said it could not be proved "Nanjing" cigarette has directly resulted in Liu's teeth problems, saying drinking tea or soda water can also make teeth yellow.

"The packages as well as the warning on them are in line with the national packaging standards," the attorney said.

Liu refuted by presenting the picture of a pack of "Zhonghua" brand cigarette produced in China but sold in Australia, saying the package of Chinese cigarette should be the same in both domestic and foreign markets with clear warnings.

Liu said the students and teachers in his university had prepared more than 10 legal cases to bring against the tobacco companies, urging them to adopt new packages to warn people against smoking.

(Xinhua News Agency July 3, 2007)