Tobacco: Fascinating Case of China

The Sunday Mail

There are some fascinating facts about China’s response to the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) since it is home to a third of the world’s smokers.
According to the Chinese Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, 53 percent of Chinese men and 2,4 percent of women smoke.

Being both a significant producer and consumer of tobacco, the Asian nation has also struggled to muster a robust response to reducing the consumption of the crop.

The FCTC was ratified by China’s top legislative body in 2005, implying that the country has the legal obligation to internalise the global health norm.

Ironically, the regulator in China, State Tobacco Monopoly Administration, also runs the biggest cigarette maker, China National Tobacco Corp.

China National Tobacco Corp, which employs half a million people, controls 97,9 percent of the market, followed by BAT 0,6 percent, Philip Morris International 0,3 percent and Japan Tobacco International 0,1 percent. London-based researcher once noted that despite Beijing’s best efforts to control the consumption of tobacco, the volume of cigarettes sold in China is expected to keep rising in the years leading up to 2015.

Currently, Chinese laws have banned advertising on TV, radio and newspapers, but are mainly silent on restrictions on sales and sponsorships. Tobacco industry was key in China, and still is.

According to Wang Shiyong, World Bank’s senior health specialist in Beijing, the Asian country decided to create a tobacco monopoly in the 1980s when the industry supplied more than 10 percent of government revenue. Today it contributes an estimated 6,7 percent.