Amazingly, but the fact: thousands of children from the poor agricultural regions of Western China could not go to school and comprehend the basics of sciences if not for… cigarettes. Many provincial schools exist and work through the alms of the powerful sponsor – the state tobacco company, a monopoly manufacturer of cigarettes in the PRC.
At the school gate there is an advertisement on shields with the following, for example, text in pure Chinese: “To become brilliant – hard work, tobacco will help to gain talent”. The state tobacco monopoly, thus, does not hide its intention to add as many young citizens of the Middle Kingdom as possible to cigarettes. Tobacco advertising on radio, TV and newspapers is prohibited, but no one forbids sponsorship.
Anti -tobacco activists indicate that attempts to reduce the level of spread of a bad habit in the most smoking country in the world look unconvincing and even miserable. Back in May, the PRC formally introduced a ban on smoking in public places. But the fines with which the violators are taxed are scanty, and there are practically no propaganda. All because the prohibition is controlled by the same SHINA National Tobacco Corp. Classical scheme “Bee against honey” – in action.
More than 320 million smokers live in China. Every year, up to a million China citizens dies from diseases accompanying tobacco. In accordance with the July report of the World Bank, a decrease in mortality in China from cardiovascular diseases by only 1% per year will allow to save an astronomical amount of money by 2040 – up to 68% of the current GDP of the PRC, t. e. about 10.7 trillion dollars. But for this it is necessary that annually several percent of the Chinese and representatives of other national groups quit or not start smoking.
In the meantime, instead of the struggle for the health of the nation, China intensively develops the domestic market of tobacco products. The market is growing by 14% (according to other sources – by 19%) per year and by 2015 it is expected that the total volume of sales of cigarettes and cigars in the country will be 1.8 trillion yuan.