Cigarette Tax Increased to Cut Smoking

The
government has raised consumption tax on cigarettes by between 6 and 11
percent to curb smoking and add revenue to State coffers.

"The move will not only increase government revenue but also save
the lives of millions," Li Ling,a professor at the National School of
Development at Peking University, told Xinhua News Agency.

The country has more than 350 million smokers, about a third of the
population. Each year, more than 1 million people die from
smoking-related illnesses.

Experts estimate that the annual death toll could rise to 2 million
by 2025 and 3 million by 2050 as the effects of smoking start to appear
on the increasing number of today's teenage smokers.

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