Chinese political advisor Huang Jun has proposed setting up
tobacco surcharge to reduce the huge number of smokers in
China.
The surcharge, either to be levied on cigarette producers or
sellers, should be used to fund smoking prevention efforts and the
treatment of smoking-related diseases, said Huang, a member of the
10th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political
Consultative Conference (CPPCC).
He suggested that the provincial government of Jiangsu pilot the surcharge program and order
taxation departments to levy 0.1 percent of the sales revenue of
the tobacco industry.
According to the World Health Organization, China is the world's
largest producer and consumer of tobacco with 350 million smokers,
who consume one third of the world's total cigarettes annually.
Huang, vice president of the Nanjing Medical University in
Jiangsu, said approximately 600,000 people die from smoking-related
diseases in China each year and the death toll could jump to two
million in 2025 if no effective anti-smoking measures were
taken.
A lady who only gave her surname as Liu, a Beijing resident,
welcomed the suggestion. "A much higher surcharge should be levied.
Higher enough cigarette price may force some people to quit
smoking."
The annual session of the CPPCC National Committee kicked off on
March 3 and will end on March 15.
(Xinhua News Agency March 6, 2007)