Experts criticize tobacco tax reform not fully said to control smoke effect very little

Washington (reporter Ye Zhou) yesterday, in a seminar on China's tobacco economy and tax policy, organised by the China Association for Smoking control, experts say that although China raised the cigarette tax rate last May, tobacco companies responded with "No price increase" to keep the number of smokers to a minimum, leading to a reform that was not complete,　　Have achieved little in controlling and reducing tobacco use. At the same time of implementing the new policy, the Chinese CDC Tobacco Control office has investigated the changes of retail price and the influence on smoking behavior. According to the survey data, among the 6 urban smokers and those who tried to quit, the main reason for quitting smoking was to focus on or worry about their health. "September 2007 to July 2010, China's cigarette retail level has not changed significantly," said Jiang, vice director of the China CDC Tobacco Control office in charge of the survey. The May 2009 cigarette tax hike did not lead to a rise in retail prices, nor did it affect smokers ' smoking behavior. Hu Angang, director of the National Research Center at Tsinghua University, said the adjustment was "not moving at the price of the tax" and did not have an impact on tobacco sales.　　Zheng, a professor at the Tax Institute at the Central University of Finance and Economics, admits that under the current tobacco monopoly system, taxes are not the most important factor in determining the retail price of cigarettes, which is why the increase in cigarette consumption taxes does not increase retail prices. The experts suggested that the increase in tobacco taxes be transferred to retail prices. Hudewei, Director of the International Tobacco Control Center at the American Institute of Public Health, says that if the increased tax rate shifts to the retail level, the cost of each pack of cigarettes may increase by 2.5 to 4 yuan for those low-income smokers. It is suggested that the government shift the increase in tobacco duty from production to retail prices.