BEIJING // Weaning more than 300 million smokers off their potentially deadly habit is no easy task, but today China begins what campaigners hope could be the country's most significant move yet against tobacco.
A ban on smoking in indoor public spaces is due to take effect, although many believe the world's most populous nation is paying lip service to its international obligations rather than launching a genuine crackdown, despite the human cost of smoking in China.
An estimated one million people die from smoking each year in China, a figure predicted to triple by 2030. Yet, with tobacco revenues and taxes contributing billions of dollars to government coffers each year, activists have long felt Beijing is reluctant to take serious measures.
Firstly, the ban being brought in tomorrow was to have been introduced in January according to China's obligations to the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, initiated by the World Health Organisation.
Also, current restrictions, which bans smoking in train carriages for example, are not always well enforced, not least because smoking is a deeply ingrained habit, especially among men.
Smoking is seen as a macho habit in China, to the extent that 57 per cent of adult males light up, compared to just three per cent of women.
Even poor rural and migrant workers can afford to smoke because the cheapest of China's more than 800 cigarette brands cost as little as three yuan (Dh1.7) per packet, with costs having fallen three-quarters relative to wages between 1996 and 2006.
It is no surprise then that smokers in China get through 2.3 trillion cigarettes a year, four times the figure of three decades ago.
The former leaders Mao Zedong and Deng Xioaping both often lit up in public and, perhaps hindering efforts to portray smoking as a health hazard, both lived to an advanced age.
Although the proportion of men who smoke is even higher in some other Asian countries than it is in China, for example Vietnam, where the figure is 70 per cent, in other parts of the region male smoking rates have fallen dramatically. In Hong Kong, just 11.8 per cent of people smoke.
Low taxes on cigarettes, the lack of graphic pictorial warnings on packets and, until now, the absence of a public ban are blamed for China's continuing high level of smoking.
While saying the introduction of the ban was "welcome" and a "significant" move on China's part, Amanda Sandford, research manager for the UK-based antismoking organisation Action on Smoking and Health (Ash) said it would be more effective if it was comprehensive. While smoking will officially be banned on public transport and in bars and restaurants, offices and factories are believed to be exempt.
"If you introduce a partial ban, there's going to be a significant group of the population not protected, and it makes it more difficult to enforce," she said.
"Some places are smoke-free and others are not. There's more confusion and more grey areas."
The burden that smoking imposes on China is "already huge" and is "going to be on an incredible scale in years to come", Ms Sandford added.
"There would be a significant number of cases of cancer, heart disease and bronchitis, even if current smokers cut down," she said.
The factor thought to be behind China's apparent reluctance to get serious with smoking is the vast revenues and taxes the state-controlled industry generates for the government, with previous estimates putting the figure as high as 7.6 per cent of government revenues.
Also, the State Tobacco Monopoly Administration is responsible both for controlling the industry and the state-owned enterprise the China National Tobacco Corporation, which produces more cigarettes than any other company in the world, and for introducing anti-tobacco measures, creating what is widely seen as a conflict of interest.
dbardsley@thenational.ae
From Zero
Artist: Linkin Park
Label: Warner Records
Number of tracks: 11
Rating: 4/5
The biog
DOB: 25/12/92
Marital status: Single
Education: Post-graduate diploma in UAE Diplomacy and External Affairs at the Emirates Diplomatic Academy in Abu Dhabi
Hobbies: I love fencing, I used to fence at the MK Fencing Academy but I want to start again. I also love reading and writing
Lifelong goal: My dream is to be a state minister
The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
Citadel: Honey Bunny first episode
Directors: Raj & DK
Stars: Varun Dhawan, Samantha Ruth Prabhu, Kashvi Majmundar, Kay Kay Menon
Rating: 4/5
Company profile
Name: Thndr
Started: October 2020
Founders: Ahmad Hammouda and Seif Amr
Based: Cairo, Egypt
Sector: FinTech
Initial investment: pre-seed of $800,000
Funding stage: series A; $20 million
Investors: Tiger Global, Beco Capital, Prosus Ventures, Y Combinator, Global Ventures, Abdul Latif Jameel, Endure Capital, 4DX Ventures, Plus VC, Rabacap and MSA Capital
Know your cyber adversaries
Cryptojacking: Compromises a device or network to mine cryptocurrencies without an organisation's knowledge.
Distributed denial-of-service: Floods systems, servers or networks with information, effectively blocking them.
Man-in-the-middle attack: Intercepts two-way communication to obtain information, spy on participants or alter the outcome.
Malware: Installs itself in a network when a user clicks on a compromised link or email attachment.
Phishing: Aims to secure personal information, such as passwords and credit card numbers.
Ransomware: Encrypts user data, denying access and demands a payment to decrypt it.
Spyware: Collects information without the user's knowledge, which is then passed on to bad actors.
Trojans: Create a backdoor into systems, which becomes a point of entry for an attack.
Viruses: Infect applications in a system and replicate themselves as they go, just like their biological counterparts.
Worms: Send copies of themselves to other users or contacts. They don't attack the system, but they overload it.
Zero-day exploit: Exploits a vulnerability in software before a fix is found.
The specs
Engine: 3-litre twin-turbo V6
Power: 400hp
Torque: 475Nm
Transmission: 9-speed automatic
Price: From Dh215,900
On sale: Now
Company%20Profile
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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Almnssa
Started: August 2020
Founder: Areej Selmi
Based: Gaza
Sectors: Internet, e-commerce
Investments: Grants/private funding
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Mobile phone packages comparison
Wicked
Director: Jon M Chu
Stars: Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande, Jonathan Bailey
Greatest of All Time
Starring: Vijay, Sneha, Prashanth, Prabhu Deva, Mohan
THE BIO
Favourite car: Koenigsegg Agera RS or Renault Trezor concept car.
Favourite book: I Am Pilgrim by Terry Hayes or Red Notice by Bill Browder.
Biggest inspiration: My husband Nik. He really got me through a lot with his positivity.
Favourite holiday destination: Being at home in Australia, as I travel all over the world for work. It’s great to just hang out with my husband and family.
Essentials
The flights
Etihad (etihad.ae) and flydubai (flydubai.com) fly direct to Baku three times a week from Dh1,250 return, including taxes.
The stay
A seven-night “Fundamental Detox” programme at the Chenot Palace (chenotpalace.com/en) costs from €3,000 (Dh13,197) per person, including taxes, accommodation, 3 medical consultations, 2 nutritional consultations, a detox diet, a body composition analysis, a bio-energetic check-up, four Chenot bio-energetic treatments, six Chenot energetic massages, six hydro-aromatherapy treatments, six phyto-mud treatments, six hydro-jet treatments and access to the gym, indoor pool, sauna and steam room. Additional tests and treatments cost extra.
Company%20Profile
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Business Insights
- As per the document, there are six filing options, including choosing to report on a realisation basis and transitional rules for pre-tax period gains or losses.
- SMEs with revenue below Dh3 million per annum can opt for transitional relief until 2026, treating them as having no taxable income.
- Larger entities have specific provisions for asset and liability movements, business restructuring, and handling foreign permanent establishments.
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre turbo 4-cyl
Transmission: eight-speed auto
Power: 190bhp
Torque: 300Nm
Price: Dh169,900
On sale: now
The specs: 2018 Nissan Patrol Nismo
Price: base / as tested: Dh382,000
Engine: 5.6-litre V8
Gearbox: Seven-speed automatic
Power: 428hp @ 5,800rpm
Torque: 560Nm @ 3,600rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 12.7L / 100km
PROFILE OF SWVL
Started: April 2017
Founders: Mostafa Kandil, Ahmed Sabbah and Mahmoud Nouh
Based: Cairo, Egypt
Sector: transport
Size: 450 employees
Investment: approximately $80 million
Investors include: Dubai’s Beco Capital, US’s Endeavor Catalyst, China’s MSA, Egypt’s Sawari Ventures, Sweden’s Vostok New Ventures, Property Finder CEO Michael Lahyani
