Daily Telegraph:
The edict, issued by officials in Hubei province in central China, threatens to fine officials who "fail to meet their targets" or are caught smoking rival brands manufactured in neighbouring provinces.All we need now is a higher booze consumption quota and I might start thinking about a new place to live.
Even local schools have been issued with a smoking quota for teachers, while one village was ordered to purchase 400 cartons of cigarettes a year for its officials, according to the local government's website.
The move, which flies in the face of national anti-smoking policies set in Beijing, is aimed at boosting tax revenues and protecting local manufacturers from outside competition from China's 100 cigarette makers.
In total, officials have been ordered to puff their way through 230,000 packs of Hubei-branded cigarettes worth £400,000.
In a strange way it is a smart move. More people smoking, means lots of people die at a younger age. Just when they are about to retire and drive pension and medical costs upward, they drop dead. The government also gets to collect large tax revenues from smokers, while they are young and working. In other words it is a win win, for the government. They get increased revenues, and lowered expenditures.
ReplyDeleteHaha! Good point!
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