a longstanding tradition

economy - Authorities get serious on tobacco

China gets serious in banning the building of new tobacco companies, at least that is what official announcements suggests, here in summery by CDT.
Attractive revenue from tobacco and souring costs of cancer treatments have always been battling for political priority, but now a new line has been set, writes Reuters, as new factories including foreign joint ventures have been banned. Despite high investments, foreign tobacco companies never got a legal presence in China, although their products could be bought everywhere, as illegal imports or counterfeits.

Beijing would also impose strict controls on existing tobacco production, including taxes on tobacco leaf and industry reorganization, Xinhua News Agency quoted Sha Zukang, the ambassador to United Nations agencies in Geneva, as telling a conference.