Death of 3.5 million a year from tobacco makes dismal economics. Yet China is not able to reduce tobacco use because ... the central government is in the tobacco business. "Call it Chinaâs fiscal addiction. The huge revenues rolling in from state-owned tobacco producers are trumping the desperate need for anti-smoking measures. Never mind that untold millions of lives are at stake in the nation with the largest number of smokers. Smoking is big, big business. China isnât alone here. From Tokyo to Jakarta, government policies are putting tobacco profiteers ahead of public health. This isnât just shameful; itâs also dismal economics that imperils the regionâs future." http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-...al-economics-commentary-by-william-pesek.html
Cigarettes are dirt cheap in asia. I'm not sure exactly how much they are in china, but when I was in philippines this summer, I saw a pack of Marlboros selling for about 75 cents(those were the expensive ones) The cheap generic brands were selling for a little over 40 cents per pack. Street vendors sell cigarettes by the stick. About 2 cents each. If cigarettes were that cheap here, you know tobacco deaths would rise fast.
I'm getting the impression that the U.S. intelligensia think they are going to turn China into Puerto Rico. Geithner says this, Hillary says that, China should build more roads, use less coal, smoke less cigarettes, the list is endless.
China should continue to build safety nets around the perimeter of all buildings, greater than two stories tall, for suicide prevention purposes. :eek: