Daily Archives: July 7, 2009

China struggles to impose a full tobacco ban. But marginal increases in the tobacco tax are not the only reason for ineffective tobacco control in China


The tax increase on tobacco products that went into effect last month has had no impact on Zhou Chengli, a 63-year-old Beijing resident. On the evening of June 27, walking out of a community store with a carton of cigarettes in hand, he told a reporter that he started smoking in his teens and hasn’t stopped since. This hardened smoker finishes a pack a day, despite the warning on the package that smoking is harmful. In his pockets, there might be no money, but there are always cigarettes and lighters.