Rapid responses are electronic comments to the editor. They enable our users
to debate issues raised in articles published on bmj.com. A rapid response
is first posted online. If you need the URL (web address) of an individual
response, simply click on the response headline and copy the URL from the
browser window. A proportion of responses will, after editing, be published
online and in the print journal as letters, which are indexed in PubMed.
Rapid responses are not indexed in PubMed and they are not journal articles.
The BMJ reserves the right to remove responses which are being
wilfully misrepresented as published articles or when it is brought to our
attention that a response spreads misinformation.
From March 2022, the word limit for rapid responses will be 600 words not
including references and author details. We will no longer post responses
that exceed this limit.
The word limit for letters selected from posted responses remains 300 words.
In the News in brief that British American Tobacco (BAT) has gained
approval from the Chinese government to build a factory there after the
Chinese government signed up to the World Health Organization
(WHO)convention on tobacco control, you seemed to be surprised at this
paradox. But I am not.
Tobacco is the largest source of income for the Chinese government
and millions of its citizens [1]. According to the Ministry of Public
Health, China's state-run tobacco monopoly employs more than half a
million workers in factories, 10 million in farming and 13 million in
retail trade [1]. Tobacco taxes are the major source of revenue for the
government and accounted for about 5 billion dollars in 1992, or about 10%
of all revenue [1]. The tobacco industry is the biggest source of tax
revenues in China; in 1996 the industry reported pre-tax profit of 83
billion Yuan, a 17% increase on the previous year [2]. Thus the
government which needs money to raise living standards in China is as
addicted to tobacco revenue as smokers are to nicotine. It is a dilemma
China has to face: wealth first or health first. There is an apparent
contradiction that exists in modern China: the state wants to have the
revenue from tobacco, while the Ministry of Public Health wants to stop
people from smoking in order to protect their health [1].
This paradox is reminiscent of the situation of soft drink vending
machines in the schools in the United States. Although the Secretary of
Health and Human Services discouraged the consumption of sugar-rich,
calorie-rich and nutrition-poor soft drinks by schoolchildren, the vending
machines for soft drinks still exist in the corridors of all the schools
in the United States, because they are a critical source of income for
cash strapped schools - sales from vending machines are eventually
channelled through corporate donations to the schools to pay for books and
equipment.
References
1. Cheng TO: Teenage smoking in China. J Adolescence 1999;22:607-620.
2. Tomlinson R: China's smoking epidemic grows. BMJ 1997;315:502
Why does the Chinese government allow BAT to open factory in China after it signed up to the WHO convention on tobacco control?
In the News in brief that British American Tobacco (BAT) has gained
approval from the Chinese government to build a factory there after the
Chinese government signed up to the World Health Organization
(WHO)convention on tobacco control, you seemed to be surprised at this
paradox. But I am not.
Tobacco is the largest source of income for the Chinese government
and millions of its citizens [1]. According to the Ministry of Public
Health, China's state-run tobacco monopoly employs more than half a
million workers in factories, 10 million in farming and 13 million in
retail trade [1]. Tobacco taxes are the major source of revenue for the
government and accounted for about 5 billion dollars in 1992, or about 10%
of all revenue [1]. The tobacco industry is the biggest source of tax
revenues in China; in 1996 the industry reported pre-tax profit of 83
billion Yuan, a 17% increase on the previous year [2]. Thus the
government which needs money to raise living standards in China is as
addicted to tobacco revenue as smokers are to nicotine. It is a dilemma
China has to face: wealth first or health first. There is an apparent
contradiction that exists in modern China: the state wants to have the
revenue from tobacco, while the Ministry of Public Health wants to stop
people from smoking in order to protect their health [1].
This paradox is reminiscent of the situation of soft drink vending
machines in the schools in the United States. Although the Secretary of
Health and Human Services discouraged the consumption of sugar-rich,
calorie-rich and nutrition-poor soft drinks by schoolchildren, the vending
machines for soft drinks still exist in the corridors of all the schools
in the United States, because they are a critical source of income for
cash strapped schools - sales from vending machines are eventually
channelled through corporate donations to the schools to pay for books and
equipment.
References
1. Cheng TO: Teenage smoking in China. J Adolescence 1999;22:607-620.
2. Tomlinson R: China's smoking epidemic grows. BMJ 1997;315:502
Competing interests:
None declared
Competing interests: No competing interests