A video of a toddler smoking a cigarette in the street in China as passers-by laughed has sparked outrage.

The video shows people laughing at the child’s actions, and one woman chastising him, but no-one attempts to take the cigarette from his hands.

A number of commentators have said that the video demonstrates the high prevalence of smoking within Chinese society, where an estimated 53 percent of the male population smokes despite smoking in public being banned by authorities.