Chinese Government pro-smoking campaign sparks controversy
A regulation urging civil servants to smoke local cigarettes has not been banned despite nationwide controversy, according to the local authority yesterday.
Released by the Gongan county government in Hubei Province last month, the regulation set standards for the number and brands of cigarettes to be bought and used by its officials.
All local government agencies and institutions should aim to consume 230,000 packs of Hubei Province-produced cigarettes a year, or about 4 million yuan ($588,235). Departments which failed to consume sufficient cigarettes or consumed non-local brand cigarettes would be fined, Hubei-based Chutian Metropolis Daily reported.
The regulation will boost the local economy via cigarette tax, said Chen Nianzu, a member of the cigarette market supervision team in Gongan.
The regulation included punishments but no offenders have been fined, said an unnamed spokesman at the county public relations department. The regulation is just a general guideline and does not target specific tobacco brands, an official at the county finance bureau who refused to give his name told the Global Times yesterday.
The Hubei cigarette market is dominated by Hunan brands Furongwang, Baisha and the Yunan brand Ashima according to a NetEase.com Internet user allegedly from the same county. The measure will help the brand Huanghelou survive competition.
The measure seems intended to boost the local economy but it in fact boosts the political careers of government officials, argued another former county resident on the Netease forum. In the long run, it boosts corruption and hurts the public interest, he said.
The Hubei government is abusing its power by enforcing regional protectionism and encouraging smoking habits, an administration management professor at China Foreign Affairs University told the Global Times yesterday.
The central government has imposed a heavy tax on tobacco to protect public health and the environment, said Wang Chunying.
The local government may benefit from the measure, but the country will pay for it in the end.
There are two ways to solve interest conflicts and strengthen cooperation between central and local authorities, she said.
The central government should add more indexes to the evaluation system for local officials, such as social fairness and environmental protection.
Furthermore, measures should be intensified to punish those who profit politically at the altar of public interest.
Jingzhou, another city in Hubei, also issued a similar regulation in 2007 to encourage locally produced cigarettes and boost tax revenue from the tobacco industry, according to a Southern Weekend report in 2007. The regulation was abandoned six months later.
A regulation urging civil servants to smoke local cigarettes has not been banned despite nationwide controversy, according to the local authority yesterday.
Released by the Gongan county government in Hubei Province last month, the regulation set standards for the number and brands of cigarettes to be bought and used by its officials.
All local government agencies and institutions should aim to consume 230,000 packs of Hubei Province-produced cigarettes a year, or about 4 million yuan ($588,235). Departments which failed to consume sufficient cigarettes or consumed non-local brand cigarettes would be fined, Hubei-based Chutian Metropolis Daily reported.
The regulation will boost the local economy via cigarette tax, said Chen Nianzu, a member of the cigarette market supervision team in Gongan.
The regulation included punishments but no offenders have been fined, said an unnamed spokesman at the county public relations department. The regulation is just a general guideline and does not target specific tobacco brands, an official at the county finance bureau who refused to give his name told the Global Times yesterday.
The Hubei cigarette market is dominated by Hunan brands Furongwang, Baisha and the Yunan brand Ashima according to a NetEase.com Internet user allegedly from the same county. The measure will help the brand Huanghelou survive competition.
The measure seems intended to boost the local economy but it in fact boosts the political careers of government officials, argued another former county resident on the Netease forum. In the long run, it boosts corruption and hurts the public interest, he said.
The Hubei government is abusing its power by enforcing regional protectionism and encouraging smoking habits, an administration management professor at China Foreign Affairs University told the Global Times yesterday.
The central government has imposed a heavy tax on tobacco to protect public health and the environment, said Wang Chunying.
The local government may benefit from the measure, but the country will pay for it in the end.
There are two ways to solve interest conflicts and strengthen cooperation between central and local authorities, she said.
The central government should add more indexes to the evaluation system for local officials, such as social fairness and environmental protection.
Furthermore, measures should be intensified to punish those who profit politically at the altar of public interest.
Jingzhou, another city in Hubei, also issued a similar regulation in 2007 to encourage locally produced cigarettes and boost tax revenue from the tobacco industry, according to a Southern Weekend report in 2007. The regulation was abandoned six months later.
