Minor tax raise on tobacco fails to cut the number of smokers

A RECENT OFFICIAL report has found that the number of smokers in China has increased and they are now smoking more cigarettes a day on average. China Youth Daily says this proves the attempt to control tobacco via minor tax adjustment has failed:

According to the China Center for Disease Control and Prevention, the number of smokers in China has increased by 15 million over the past five years, and there are now 316 million smokers in China, each of whom smokes 15.2 cigarettes a day on average, one more than five years ago.

Obviously, even though the State Administration of Taxation raised the retail tax on tobacco from 5 percent to 11 percent in July, it has failed to curb people's habit.