China’s cigarette output soars despite tobacco control

China’s cigarette production has soared over the past decade, despite efforts to curtail tobacco use, according to a new study, reported by China Daily.

Annual cigarette production in the world’s most populous country has increased 50 percent over the past 10 years, according to the report Tobacco Control in China from a Civil Society Perspective 2013. In the 12 months to October, Chinese tobacco companies produced 2.175 trillion cigarettes.

The latest finding echoed a similar recent assessment by the World Health Organization (WHO), which rates China as a poor performer among countries that have joined the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control.

The WHO assessment awarded China two of a possible 16 points on public smoking control, and zero points on tobacco advertising control. Moreover, the country’s tobacco tax rate, at 43.4 percent, is still below the world average, the assessment noted.

The Chinese government signed the FCTC in 2003.