Victims of occupational diseases should have access to free medication, just like AIDS sufferers, according to a report released in Beijing on Wednesday.

"The situation is urgent," said Huang Leping, director of Beijing Yilian Legal Aid and Study Center of Labor, in a speech calling for concrete work to aid those struggling with work-related conditions. "It's gradually becoming a consensus shared by the government and the public that there should be more adequate regulations to safeguard the workers."

An estimated 200 million people are afflicted with occupational diseases nationwide. However, most cannot be cured and are condemned to a lifetime of pain, said Huang, who added: "We suggest authorities treat victims the same as AIDS sufferers and provide them with free medication."

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He said he also hopes officials will take measures to punish enterprises that escape their responsibility of protecting the safety and health of employees.

The center, which has been helping workers since 2007, carried out 1,026 interviews over the past three months with workers suffering various occupational diseases. They discovered that, before being diagnosed, 89 percent had no idea about occupational diseases, while 92.3 percent did not know there are regulations on the subject.

Of the 1,026 workers interviewed (the average age was 37.5), 70.2 percent had pneumoconiosis, a chronic disease of the lungs that primarily affects miners and results from long-term inhalation of dust.

China is facing severe challenges with occupational diseases. Although the government has issued regulations to protect the workers exposed to radioactive or dust pollution, cases often still appear in the Chinese media. The latest was when more than 100 workers claimed they were harmed by exposure to a toxic chemical used to clean iPhone touch screens at an Apple supplier factory in Suzhou, Jiangsu province.

Qiu Baochang, a Beijing lawyer, said the government should further improve the system of screening potential victims and the protection of workers' rights.

The national law regarding occupational disease prevention, published in 2002, will be revised during the upcoming sessions of the country's highest bodies, the National People's Congress and the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, according to Xinhua News Agency.