In a move that is claimed to be designed to raise money through the cigarette tax, the Gong’an county government in Hubei province in China has ordered its staff to smoke their way through 230,000 packs of cigarettes per year. If they don’t manage to smoke all of them then they risk fines.
One has to question the motivation of any move that aims to make money by encouraging smoking as the medical costs are likely to more than offset any gains made by taxation. Thus, the more cynically minded might conclude that those behind the policy have in some way been influenced by the tobacco companies of the region.
Update: In what truly is a victory of the people, the Gong’an county government has reversed this ludicrous decision following the media backlash.
[News]
