China has an addiction to cigarettes, but they are killing more than a million each year. Can smokers break the habit? China, home to more than 1.2 billion people, is the world's biggest cigarette market, with sales of 1.6 trillion cigarettes a year. Although tobacco taxes were China's biggest source of state revenue, accounting for $8.55 billion or more than 10 percent of total government income, health care and other costs related to smoking far outstripped that. China is realizing now that despite the money which comes in from tobacco sales, the costs of treating the illnesses associated with tobacco may not be worth it. Beijing has launched anti-smoking campaigns in recent years, slapping restrictions on cigarette advertising and banning smoking in public places, but greater efforts were needed to ensure future generations never took up the habit, Gee said.
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Added: Aug 22, 2007 |
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