Tax-controlled smoke is hard to see effect health minister or sidelines push tobacco reform

The increase in tobacco taxes has brought the Chinese tobacco industry a bumper harvest of 2009-year profits. January 14, the State Tobacco Monopoly Bureau in the form of a special press conference announced that China's tobacco industry 2009 years of total business taxes 513.11 billion yuan, including tax increases of 26.2%, the operating indicators "continue to maintain a good development trend."　　However, in respect of the reporter's tobacco tax increase and the effect of tobacco control, the National bureau responsible for the "ball" kicked to the Ministry of Information and Finance. The Tobacco Monopoly Bureau's Voice has just fallen off, with public health experts and tobacco control people answering. January 15, the national "Twelve-Five planning" expert committee members, Tsinghua University National Research Center Director Hu Angang directly to the tobacco taxes, he said to the State Council.　　Then, January 17, the Chinese Tobacco Control Association faced dozens of media, also with figures and examples, listed the pollution of tobacco costs, far above the tax. 500 billion strokes "scold" "Tobacco tax is the original sin of the tax." "Maozheng, vice president of China Health Economic Society, January 15 in an interview with the Huaxia Times, sonnets, said that compared with other industries, condensation in the tobacco industry, every penny is at the expense of the health of the people," and is taxes more harm. "The increase in tobacco rates is a decision made by the Ministry of Finance and the State administration of taxation in May 2009. In accordance with the circular issued by the two departments on the regulation of the consumption tax policy on tobacco products, the cigarette is divided into two categories, the price of a class of cigarettes from the original 45% adjusted to 56%, the price of the second category of cigarettes from the original 30% to 36%, and the wholesale link, also added a tax,　　The tax rate is 5% of the wholesale price. The country had hoped to reduce tobacco use and reduce smoking rates by raising taxes on tobacco.　　However, through the implementation of six months, experts pointed out that this measure not only did not play a role in tobacco control, but encouraged the cigarette enterprises "more production of cigarettes, produce good smoke." "Even if the adjustment, China's total cigarette tax rate of about 40% of the retail price, far below the international cigarette tax rate of 65%-70% of the median range."　　Hu Angang pointed out that China's tobacco products This tax adjustment, did not produce a "tax price linkage" effect, because "the tax price does not move", for tobacco sales, almost failed to play a regulatory role.　　Market reaction Indeed, after the tobacco tax adjustment, in addition to individual high-grade cigarettes (such as precious Chinese cigarettes) price increases, the vast majority of tobacco products wholesale, retail prices have not changed. In other words, the new deal has failed to put more economic pressure on smokers. January 20, in the "Establishment of the Institute of Health Law Research Center", China's deputy director of the CDC, the National Tobacco Control Office director Yang told reporters that the tobacco tax reform program, only to increase the high price of tobacco tax rate, on the low price of cigarettes even have different degrees of decline. "People who smoke at high prices don't care about a two-dollar increase, which is a disincentive to low-income groups," he said. "The new tax rate is just a hollow dumpling for tobacco control," she said gloomily.　　The smoke control effect is very little, the tobacco harm continues. According to the introduction, China's existing smoking more than 300 million, accounting for the 15-year-old population of 36%. Every year 1 million people die from tobacco-related diseases, the world's largest.　　In addition, smoking to our society each year to bring 186 billion yuan cost, accounting for 1.9% of GDP, smoking brings direct medical costs as high as 14 billion yuan, accounting for the national health expenditure of 3.1%.　　Although the cost is insignificant compared to the huge tax revenues in the tobacco industry, Yang said the figures were only for the sick and the treated population, and that cigarette damage could take years to emerge, and therefore did not calculate the health losses suffered by 540 million of passive smokers. Not only that, the price of luxury cigarettes not because of the increase in tax rates, thus Yang said, the National Tobacco Monopoly Bureau can not see in the 500 billion profits behind the "corruption account", "If this account is included, smoke self-evident."　　"Smoke Change" the specter of smoke increasingly serious, control smoke but is struggling. "The difficulty of tobacco control in China lies not only in the large number of smokers, but also in China's special system, the tobacco industry." It is extremely absurd for tobacco companies to dominate the smoke control. "Folk tobacco control experts, Wu Yiqun, deputy director of the new research Center for Health Development, told reporters that China is the only country in the world to implement the 100% state-owned monopoly system of the tobacco industry, and that it will confuse regulators and operators-the Tobacco Monopoly Bureau and the Tobacco Corporation, just a set of men and two brands. "Let people who produce tobacco to control smoke, like the left hand chop, how can AM?"　　"Wu Yiqun said. The same is true.　　At the just-concluded 2010 national tobacco work, the official of the state Tobacco Monopoly Bureau said that, although facing the difficulties such as increasing the pressure of tobacco control, but, "to continue to maintain good development of the industry", at present and in the coming period, the "cigarette level" as the basic policy and strategic task of the industry work. According to the deployment, the tobacco industry began in 2010, each year to achieve a high standard of more than 100 base construction. The next 3 years, the industry will continue to invest 10 billion yuan, earmarked for the tobacco field infrastructure construction.　　In the production and operation indicators, industrial and commercial taxes to maintain a growth rate of 10%.　　One side is the upsurge of tobacco control and the demand for the tobacco industry to "redouble its efforts". "We cannot trade taxes at the expense of public health." Yang said that although the National Tobacco Monopoly Bureau is a "smoke control performance of the eight Ministerial leadership group" member units, if the system does not change, the government is only to deceive themselves.　　To this end, she has repeatedly suggested that the state Tobacco Monopoly Bureau should be renamed as the National Tobacco Supervision Administration, the unified leadership of tobacco enterprises in China to control the implementation of the tobacco. Yang's "compliance" refers to the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control signed by the Government of China, which will be fully implemented by January 9, 2011, in accordance with the commitments made at the time of accession to the Convention.　　But so far, China has not even a decent smoke control plan. "No Smoking ControlPlanning, performance is a basin of paste, the time must be passive.　　"China's unique system is the key to obstructing tobacco control," Yang said. In fact, the reform of the Tobacco Monopoly Bureau Zhengqibufen System, "very early" before was put on the agenda of decision-making. According to the China Center for Disease Control and Prevention of tobacco Control Office Yangjie researcher, 1998, the State Council had issued a notice to the National Tobacco Monopoly Bureau of the functions of the adjustment, the requirements of "gradually achieve separation of enterprises and enterprises."　　But Flash 10 years, until the fifth ministerial reform in 2008, the National Tobacco Monopoly Bureau was transferred from the National Development and Reform Commission to the newly established national Ministry of Industry and Information technology, but its authority has not yet made a real adjustment. "It seems that, although institutional reform is difficult, we still cannot give up hope of solving the problem," he said. "Yangjie 21st in an interview with reporters, said he is drafting a" China tobacco enterprises and institutions of the pros and cons of the system, suggestions, suggestions, to promote reform. " At the same time, the reporter also learned that the National Political Consultative Committee members, vice minister of Health Huang is also organizing a variety of tobacco control force, ready to come to the national "two sessions" on, "focus on solving this problem." ”