Yunnan seeks cigarette quota boost to aid in earthquake reconstruction

Yunnanprovince’s application for an increased quota on cigarette production to boost tobacco tax and help with earthquake disaster relief has ignited public criticism inChina, according to a story by Shan Juan for The China Daily and quoting china.org.cn.

A number of earthquakes hit a mountainous area ofYunnanon September 7, leaving 81 people dead and 821 injured.

To help pay for reconstruction, the provincial economic planning body has applied to the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) for permission to increase cigarette production by 20 billion.

If given the green light, the province could earn Yuan600 million in additional tobacco tax, which would go to fund reconstruction in quake-hit areas, according to the Yunnan Development and Reform Commission.

But Wang Ke’an, an anti-tobacco campaigner with theThinkTankResearchCenterfor Health Development, an NGO committed to smoking control, opposes the move.

“The NDRC shouldn’t give its nod as it’s absurd to use the money from selling death to help with disaster relief,” he told the Daily.

In China, tobacco production is carried out on the basis of quotas set by the NDRC, the country’s economic planner.