In 1638, the last emperor of the Ming Dynasty, Chongzhen, issued an imperial edict declaring the possession, use or selling of tobacco was a capital offense punishable by decapitation.
Three years later, a powerful general, who was in charge of the army guarding the border with the northeastern Manchu area, asked the emperor to end the ban, saying tobacco was crucial to boosting the morale of the soldiers and curing their diseases.
The emperor weighed the arguments and decided to end the ban -- although it failed to stop his throne being toppled in 1644 by the Manchu.
Today, tobacco is deeply entwined into the national culture from the compulsory cigarettes given to male guests at almost every wedding to the glossy images of national icons that adorn cigarette packets.
China's smokers puff their way through a bounty of cigarettes given as gifts on special occasions and holidays.
Like Chongzhen, modern China is also at war, but this time the enemy is tobacco and it is estimated to kill a million Chinese each year, says Yang Gonghuan, deputy head of China's National Tobacco Control Office.
And, like the old emperor, the government today must weigh up conflicting interests: as it extends healthcare insurance across the population, at what point do the economic and medical costs of smoking-related illnesses outweigh the financial benefits of the tobacco industry?
The number of deaths is expected to double by 2025 and triple by 2050 if China fails to reduce tobacco consumption, says Yang, also deputy head of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
A total of 301 million Chinese -- 28 percent of the population -- inhales a steady diet of cigarettes, according to a survey released by China CDC, the World Health Organization (WHO) and the U.S. CDC in August.
The reduction in the number of smokers in China has been negligible, even in the five years since China ratified the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), says Yang.
The number of smokers declined by 0.45 percent annually from 2003 to 2010, less than the 0.9 percent from 1996 to 2002, said Yang, citing a report to be published on Jan. 9 next year.
Source: People's Daily Online
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