There has been a lot of publicity about the bad effects of cigarettes. However, that's a doctor's caveat, and you'll get a big kick out of it if you ask people who smoke cigarettes. A long-lived man in his 90s told the author that one of the secrets of his longevity was not quitting smoking. He countered the doctor's advice with his own immutable presence, quite literally.
Cigarettes are not opium cigarettes, its ring is definitely not as obvious as opium cigarettes, and there are even many smokers who have smoked for many years without feeling any obvious discomfort or harm, and besides, people have long since seen the kind of hyperbolic fuss that doctors make. What's more, cigarette factories are mostly big taxpayers. It is the many, many situations that can not be resolved, decided that today's ban on smoking is only a kind of scalability and plasticity are very big ban.
There are spears in the world, there should be shields. Society is full of contradictions. The management, the ban on many things, as big as the abhorrent corruption and all kinds of improper wind, as small as the spitting of the most uncivilized, are in when the ban on the list. I hope that these are like the ban on smoking, when the ban is resolutely prohibited to stop.
When the global anti-smoking campaign is in full swing, our country is no exception, a wave has not yet subsided, a wave again. This is because China's Ministry of Health and the Patriotic Health Committee to develop a 10-year smoking cessation strategy implementation program has expired, coupled with the World Health Organization initiated the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control negotiations are approaching, so that the anti-smoking wave is higher than a wave.
We recognize that smoking is harmful to health, and this is where the tobacco industry's shortcomings lie. But it should be noted that: the history of tobacco cultivation and smoking is much longer than the history of the tobacco industry, the tobacco industry, the industry's emergence and existence, is based on the premise of people's smoking habits formed by the social needs.
When society recognizes that smoking is hazardous to health, the tobacco industry continues to use science and technology, efforts to reduce the degree of harm caused by cigarettes. This effort has not only yielded tangible results but continues to do so. People may ask why the tobacco industry still exists and continues to develop today when the health hazards of smoking have not yet been addressed. That's because, fundamentally, the tobacco industry does more good than harm to society.
Speaking of the tobacco industry on the standard of social benefits more than harm. Must be clear on three points: First, the tobacco industry is more beneficial than harmful to society, society is based on material production activities and interconnected elements of the organic whole, the perspective of the review should be multi-dimensional. Secondly, the standard of whether the tobacco industry is more beneficial than detrimental to society is subject to spatial and temporal conditions. In other words, whether the tobacco industry does more good or harm will vary according to the specific country and its stage of development. We advocate evaluating the tobacco industry in China from the perspective of the country's realities and oppose generalizations. Thirdly, from the perspective of our country's realities, we should measure whether an act does more good than harm. The most fundamental to see whether it is conducive to the development of social productive forces, whether it is conducive to improving the comprehensive national strength, whether it is conducive to improving people's living standards. In our country, the tobacco industry has the role of accelerating capital accumulation, increasing the country's financial capacity and supporting the development of other industries. Why is it that none of the governments have abolished the tobacco industry while publicizing smoking cessation? Is it because the governments are hypocritical? As we all know, we have to pay a price for development. Our country's development is now in a period of urgency. There is no time to lose, no time to wait, and seizing the opportunity to develop ourselves is fundamentally to develop the economy. And the tobacco industry for the accumulation of funds, for the promotion of China's economic construction, its role is extraordinary.
Cigarette development trend and scientific research
Currently China's per capita consumption of cigarettes is relatively low, less than 1/2 of the western countries. 80% of the rural population, its cigarette sales accounted for only 60% of the country. There is also a large amount of self-roll and silk cigarette consumption in the countryside. As people's incomes continue to grow, the product mix of mixed cigarettes and filter cigarettes will develop and tend to become more upscale. In the face of the challenge of smoking and health problems, the cigarette industry should be transformed from three aspects.
1, the gradual adoption of internationally recognized methods. For example, increase the filter, improve the rolling paper, expansion of tobacco, tobacco flakes, ventilation and dilution, etc., to reduce the amount of cigarette tar, and strive to reduce as soon as possible to less than 15mg/branch, which is one of the most realistic.
2, explore ways to selectively focus on reducing harmful substances in tar. For example, in 1986, Huazhong Institute of Technology and Wuhan Cigarette Factory cooperation with trace elements as tobacco additives research work. According to foreign data, the selenium content of tobacco in countries with low incidence of lung cancer is 0.46 ppm, while the content of countries with high incidence of lung cancer is 0.16 ppm, and the selenium content of tobacco in Wuhan Cigarette Factory is measured to be 0.22 ppm. According to the recommendations of nutritionists in China, the selenium intake of Chinese adults should be 70 μg/person-per-day, while the actual average intake is 30 μg/person-per-day. This shows that adding the right amount of selenium is beneficial.
3, the development of new hybrid cigarettes. The use of traditional Chinese medicine, exploring in the cigarettes to add appropriate Chinese medicine or its system of pharmaceutical agents, developed into a cigarette does not affect the smell, no other toxic side effects, and can reduce the harmful effects of smoke substances, some diseases of the respiratory system have a certain role in alleviating the new products. Because of this kind of cigarette with some Chinese medicine ingredients, it is tentatively named as the new hybrid cigarette. In the medical and health experts and scholars and the tobacco industry *** with the efforts, one after another, there have been a number of new hybrid cigarette products through a series of testing and identification after the market and export, by the consumer's welcome.
New hybrid cigarettes have to go through the medical and health departments of the clinical trial observation, drug pharmacology and toxicity testing and chemical analysis of drugs and other review procedures.
China's traditional Chinese medicine resources are quite rich, only the Ming Dynasty pharmacologist Li Shizhen compiled the "Compendium of Materia Medica", the number of medicines contained in the number of 1,892 kinds of medicines, more than 11,000 prescriptions. Different medicines are used to treat different targets, but a considerable proportion of them are used to treat respiratory, circulatory and cardiovascular diseases that are common among smokers. China currently has more than 40 cigarette factories have produced more than 50 brands of medicated cigarettes, whose efficacy are relatively reliable. For example:
"Ginseng" smoke, ginseng is a specialty of the northeast of China, it has a great tonic, tonifying the spleen and lungs, thirst, tranquillity and wisdom of the efficacy of the more nourishing, body-strengthening effect.
"Robitussin" cigarettes, is added to the tobacco in the traditional Chinese medicine Robitussin. The rooibos has the effect of calming the liver, clearing heat, lowering blood pressure, and after the role of rooibos medicine, tar and nicotine content has also been reduced.
"Astragalus" smoke and "Cortex" smoke. The former can benefit Wei solid surface, diuretic swelling; the latter can tonify the liver and kidney and treatment of dizziness and vertigo. At present, the domestic medical profession has been developed and utilized in large quantities, such as as pharmaceuticals, health tea, wine and drinks, food additives. China's tobacco industry is not willing to lag behind, and the pharmaceutical industry **** with the development of a series of cigarettes. Smoke has certain carcinogenic substances, while gibberellic acid has a natural anti-cancer effect, with its extract added to the smoke, can have a preventive or mitigating effect on human cancer.
"Honeysuckle" brand compound drug cigarettes. It is made mainly of Chinese herbs with other auxiliary herbs or spices added. Some other medicines are compounded by many kinds of herbs. For example, the "Hundred Herbs" drug cigarette, belongs to this category, through the expert appraisal, this cigarette on the relief of respiratory diseases have a certain effect.
Banning can not, guide good
The United Nations to promote global anti-smoking activities, can be said to have spared no effort. But ironically, many of the ambassadors to the U.N. are old smokers.
The UN's false example of saying one thing and doing another is hardly credible. But if you work at the U.N., it's not so easy to quit because you're surrounded by people who smoke cigarettes almost everywhere. In the corridors, outside the doors of the Security Council, and even inside the Security Council Chamber, you can see the sight of people swallowing clouds of smoke everywhere. There are even ambassadors, finished smoking, a moment can not find a place to throw the cigarette butt, simply thrown into a flower pot, patting the butt on the way out. Russia's ambassador to the United Nations, Sergey Lavrov, is a well-known "old smoker" in the United Nations building. Not only the Russian delegates love to smoke, but also the Iraqi ambassador to the UN and the chairman of the UN Special Commission, who also smoke, and it may not be so simple for them to set an example by quitting smoking.
Of course, smoking makes people feel euphoric, calming, relieving fatigue, and aids in thinking, and a great man once said that what we inhale is smoke, and what we exhale is thought.
There is a law of human behavior, habit becomes nature, from conscious to unconscious. Smoking is harmful to health is a scientific conclusion, but because smoking is not so absolute and obvious disease, while smoking has a certain pleasure and effectiveness, and therefore in the case of repeated prohibition, the state had to ban in the levy. Smokers simply do not care about spending money, even if it is difficult to continue to smoke, not to mention that it is not difficult now.
By the way, when do people want to smoke? There is a joke that smoking is a strange thing, tired when you want to smoke, idle when you want to smoke; happy when you smoke, unhappy when you still smoke; something want to smoke, nothing also want to smoke, smoking can not only eliminate the boredom of boredom and can be refreshing, regardless of the scientific reasoning of this statement, the cigarettes so that people feel that there is indeed a two-way adjustment function. People like it, do not want to lose it, this is also one of the reasons.
Smoking is hazardous to health, everyone knows, but non-smokers friends, generally do not understand the "seductive power" of cigarettes, and therefore it is difficult to understand in the 1.2 billion Chinese, why there are more than 300 million smokers, according to the author's experience, the "seductive power" of cigarettes, one of the following Is to relieve fatigue. Such as waiting for people, waiting for the car, car, boat is a common meal, especially to go on business trips, long-distance travel in the labor, a cigarette can be resolved; the second is to clear the mind. When you write an article ideas are not open, inspiration is exhausted, pointing a cigarette will be able to clear the head, open the mind; the third is the balance of emotions. When you are bored, a cigarette can become a comfort of the soul, to help you get rid of unhappy. It is safe to say that most smokers are due to mental and physical fatigue and numerous psychological conflicts and smoking. A good friend of the author is a hospital attending doctor, he has more than 40 years of smoking, ask him why he can not quit, he said frankly: "I live all day in the germs in the nest (hospital), can only fight poison with poison, if you quit smoking, is not a disaster."
The author recognizes that cigarettes are "seductive", but at the same time is willing to frankly admit that smoking is a bad habit. In the long run, smoking may lead to cardiovascular disease, lung cancer; in the immediate future, polluting the air and destroying the environment. Fresh and pure air is a major guarantee of human survival. In recent years, the western developed countries, smokers are decreasing, this is because the material and cultural life is developed, people know the value of life, pay more attention to the protection of the environment; China is still a developing country, the economy, culture, is still backward, when the economic development to a certain extent, smokers will certainly be greatly reduced. The current government ban on smoking in public **** places is one of the means to develop civilized behavior.
But to really ban smoking in public **** places, and is not an easy thing. A commonplace fact is that many places are plastered with no-smoking signs, many smokers as I do. I have been in Dalian to Beijing, 83/84 train to see, where the service work in order, the waiter was busy, not happy, the ground polished, beds folded neatly, walk through all the compartments, but did not find a traveler smoking in the car. Travelers said: "This train is a red flag train, from the conductor to the waiter to the traveler's painstaking, we then smoke, can not afford them ah!" It can be seen that the public **** place of anti-smoking, should be comprehensive remediation, not only to remove the dirty environment, but also to grasp the service personnel to treat the guests in a standardized way, the penalties should be severe, moral education to follow. To let everyone understand, in the public **** places do not smoke, is a respect for others, is responsible for the community, is the embodiment of a person's moral integrity, is a civilized behavior.
The China National Tobacco Corporation (CNTC) has put forward specific comments on the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) that are in line with reality:
Firstly, tobacco, as a lawful product, should have a reasonable market position. It should not be "blocked" arbitrarily. Tobacco advertising, places of consumption, packaging printed warnings and other aspects to give some restrictions, is understandable. However, it is not desirable to ban tobacco advertisements completely or to standardize the size of cigarette packaging for health warnings globally, nor is it in line with the legal principles of a legitimate product. At present, at the urging of anti-smoking organizations, there is also an attempt to print warning pictures of diseased lungs and other diseased organs of the human body on the outer packaging of cigarettes for a certain area, which we find difficult to understand and agree with, and believe that such a practice undermines the intellectual property rights of the trademarks of a legitimate product, and will also have a negative impact on other controversial products.
Secondly, the form, scope and degree of tobacco control should respect the different circumstances and choices of each country and should not interfere with matters within the scope of national sovereignty. For example, it would be inappropriate for WHO to set a globally harmonized tobacco tax rate.
Thirdly, we should resolutely prohibit smoking by minors, but the independent choice of adults should be fully respected and treated equally. It is understandable that smoking should be banned in some public ****ing places, but at the same time smoking areas should be demarcated or spaces opened up for smokers, which is also a human rights issue.
Fourth, the development of tobacco control and the "Convention" should be conducive to cracking down on cigarette smuggling and illegal production and operation such as the production and sale of fake cigarettes. For example, if the tobacco tax rate is blindly raised to achieve the goal of banning smoking, it will only bring about two unwanted consequences: firstly, it will further stimulate smuggling, counterfeiting and other illegal behaviors to evade taxes; and secondly, it will result in a substantial increase in the price of legally operated cigarettes and add to the financial burden of consumers. We sincerely hope that the WHO will take more appropriate and vigorous measures on this issue.
Fifthly, we believe that, in the case that people cannot completely give up the habit of smoking, smoking cigarettes with low tar content and fewer harmful ingredients is always relatively better in any case; at the same time, it is in any case a good thing for the legally existent tobacco industry to be able to strengthen the industry's self-discipline and to be able to do more things that are beneficial to the progress of society. It's a good practice that can't be banned and guided.
The smoking ban and the news
Two years ago, the New Zealand government issued a new rule: the media may not appear any content that may induce "smoking behavior".
The New Zealand government has always taken a firm and hard line against smoking, and the laws enacted by the authorities have been the most aggressive and expensive in the world, but the irony of the situation is that the government has been thrown into a cold water bath, with the latest statistics showing a brutal failure. Instead, it increased by 2.1 percentage points, with smokers making up a solid 26 percent of the country's population.
"Whenever a government points its finger and tells its people that this is bad for them, that a certain social trend must be stopped, the people tend to rebel." Laton, the editor of a magazine, said.
But lawmakers are still trying to find new ways to limit cigarette consumption, and inevitably come into conflict with defenders of a free press. New government regulations put what is officially called "pro-tobacco writing" off-limits. Previously, a magazine that had published a history of the fortunes of tobacco-producing entrepreneurs received a warning letter from the government authorities. A monthly lifestyle magazine was also ordered to stop running a column on cigars, even though the magazine's editor-in-chief repeatedly emphasized that it was no different from other product sections.
Editors also took offense, saying the government was trampling on their right to free speech. Many politicians, however, were not impressed. Ms. Clark, leader of the opposition Labor Party, is a strong anti-smoking supporter. She believes that freedom of speech is still maximally supported on this issue, "With tobacco, it is extremely specific, and a very large percentage of those who use it consciously will be stifled by it. The problem is getting worse and worse, which is why it is subject to special legislation, unlike other things such as alcohol, guns and automobiles."
"Smoking to stop smoking" - a new breakthrough in anti-smoking
The grim reality urgently calls for us to find a new breakthrough in anti-smoking. The fundamental purpose of the ban on smoking is to eliminate the harmful factors in cigarettes and to move towards a "civilized world". Anti-smoking fundamental law, not only lies in the restriction of consumption, but from the production, sales of "root" on the search for countermeasures, that is, the so-called not only to raise the soup to stop the boiling, but also to the bottom of the payroll.
In addition to nicotine, the most harmful component of smoking is tar. Therefore, since 1985, the international organizations concerned, all cigarettes in the indication of "smoking is harmful to health" warning at the same time, but also indicate the tar content. According to international standards, each cigarette tar content of more than 30 milligrams, for "high tar content", the production of such cigarettes is absolutely prohibited; the content of about 20 milligrams per cigarette, for "tar content," most of the roasted cigarettes produced in our country belongs to this type; per cigarette The content of 15 milligrams or less, is "low tar content", which is a necessary condition for safe and healthy cigarettes.
But at the same time, it's the tar that makes it so addictive and comforting. Tar has become a cup of flavorful and toxic side effects of "hemlock wine". The problem is in front of the smokers: to get addicted to smoking, you have to pay the price of poisoning; the problem is also in front of the producers: to reduce the tar content, the strength of the cigarette may be reduced, it will affect sales.
The continuous improvement of the process provides a fish and bear the bear's paw can be both sides of the two. But at present China's tobacco production enterprises produced more than 2,000 brands of cigarettes, including many famous cigarettes, including the tar content are on the high side of the phenomenon, China Tobacco Corporation's "Cigarette Industry Development Outline" has been clearly put forward, through the new process, to effectively reduce the tar content. Moreover, at present, the production equipment and technology level of many tobacco enterprises in China have reached the contemporary international advanced level. Many enterprises have made breakthroughs in the process and technology of tar reduction, and the safety of domestically produced cigarettes is in a position to synchronize with the international level. But why is the current implementation of the effect is not satisfactory?
Reducing tar and other harmful components of cigarettes, relying on a single enterprise single-handedly impossible. It needs a social mechanism that is compatible with it, and the formation of this mechanism depends on the leading role of government departments, the main role of production enterprises, the operator's willingness to cooperate with the consumer's maturity and awakening.
The growing anti-smoking activities should seek new breakthroughs in the establishment of such a social mechanism. To prohibit consumers from smoking at the same time, to promote the production and marketing of "smoke-free cigarettes," the early formation of the social mechanism. To publicize through the fanfare, deepen the community's understanding of the smoking ban, so that the whole community can advocate the production and marketing of healthy and safe cigarettes at the same time, in limiting the production and sale of poor-quality cigarettes with greater toxicity and side effects to reach a *** knowledge, the formation of synergies, and grasp the *** management, to help the best and the worst.
The tobacco industry authorities should not only be the production and marketing authorities, but should also play a leading role in the anti-smoking campaign. To develop appropriate industrial policies to support the best and the worst, and strengthen the role of guidance to enterprises.
Producing and selling enterprises should take the production and marketing of low-tar cigarettes as a conscious action to develop business and occupy the market. At the same time, it is more important to establish a strong sense of social responsibility, the production and marketing of safe cigarettes as their own social obligations for the benefit of the people.
To take advantage of the situation, in the publicity of anti-smoking at the same time, teach smokers to identify the safety performance of cigarettes. They should learn to protect themselves, and they should be made to understand that with technological advances, cigarettes with low tar content are safe and healthy cigarettes, guiding smokers to become mature consumers.
Promoting the formation of a social mechanism to "ban smoking with cigarettes" as a new breakthrough in the anti-smoking campaign.
The "smoking ban" is a fundamental way to move towards a smoke-free world.
Technology will transform the tobacco industry
Confusion comes from reality, thinking should also come from reality. It is not difficult to find out the problem, but to analyze the problem specifically and comprehensively from the practical point of view with a pragmatic attitude. It should not be ignored that human beings can not exist and develop in isolation from society; moreover, it should not be ignored that the health of human beings can only be safeguarded by the development of society and strengthened by the enhancement of national strength. The transformation of the Chinese nation from a poor people and a poor country to a rich people and a strong country is by no means merely a result of physical fitness, but a historical necessity of social change and economic development. In this historical inevitability, embedded in the tobacco industry drive and tobacco workers a dedication. In the new century, after joining the WTO, China has faced more severe challenges. However, how to seize the opportunity to develop their own, the key is to develop the economy. As far as China is concerned, the tobacco industry is conducive to the rational allocation of resources and the rational layout of productive forces, the second is conducive to the accumulation of the country's financial resources, the third is conducive to the solution of social employment, the fourth is conducive to the development of the local economy. In some provinces of China, the pillar of the local economy is the tobacco industry, and 60 to 80 per cent of the financial income of some counties comes from the tobacco industry. Isn't it because of the great contribution made by the tobacco industry that our party and state leaders wrote the inscription "Developing the economy, enriching the market" for the tobacco industry? It is not because of the hard work of 500,000 tobacco workers?
"The wind is long enough to let go of the measure", look to the future, the development of the tobacco industry, there are only two possibilities. One is that when the national economy jumped to a higher level, the tobacco industry, such as high accumulation but its products and health hazards of the industry, will shrink by the day, or even cease to exist. But we can not therefore erase its achievements and contributions today, even if there is a tobacco industry out of the historical stage of the day, its disadvantages have disappeared, but its benefits are in the form of materialization and the existence of such a "successful retirement", "benefits and disadvantages of the development of, is not the future of today's choice is the absolute best. Is not the future of today's choice of the perfect note? There is another development for the tobacco industry, one with more possibilities. That is to rely on the power of science and technology to eliminate the hazards of cigarettes, to realize the multi-purpose and comprehensive utilization of tobacco. People have the ability to constantly understand the world and transform the world, to harmless cigarettes to meet people's needs, which is by no means a dream. The tobacco industry, driven by science and technology, ushered in a new spring of life, which is also by no means a dream.
China's tobacco response to the WTO macro and micro countermeasures
Cheng Yongzhao, director of Yunnan Tobacco Economy Information Research Center, recently wrote an article specifically for China Tobacco Online, addressing the response of China's tobacco to China's accession to the WTO, and proposing countermeasures from both the macro and micro aspects. Macro, we must implement strategic adjustments to the structure of the tobacco economy, bigger and stronger enterprises, grasp the implementation of brand-name strategy, grasp to improve the market concentration of cigarette products, vigorously support the advantageous brands, and strive to cultivate international brand-name, improve the competitiveness of the tobacco industry countermeasures. Microscopically, it is necessary to put the focus and efforts on improving the overall quality of enterprises, improve market competitiveness, specifically, it should be to fully grasp the product quality, low-limit price, quality service, and reduce consumption. China Tobacco Online published Mr. Cheng Yongzhao's article in two parts for your reference.
China's accession to the WTO is just around the corner. As an economic industry, how China's tobacco faces the WTO is a matter of opinion, and the general and centralized statement is that joining the WTO is both an opportunity and a challenge for China's tobacco.
As we all know, joining the WTO, both to enjoy the rights and obligations. In terms of China's tobacco industry, although the WTO involves a lot of tobacco provisions of the agreement, but the author believes that the most important are two aspects: one is to reduce tariffs, the second is to cancel the quota.
Lowering tariffs means that foreign tobacco companies in the Chinese market and our equal competition has become a fact. The abolition of quotas means that cigarette products from foreign tobacco companies can easily enter the Chinese market.
Taking "Marlboro", "555", "Camel", "Soft Seven Stars", "Jian", for example, at present in the case of high tariffs and quota restrictions, China's cigarette brands can compete with only a handful of its counterparts. And after joining the WTO, tariffs are reduced, the competitive advantage of the above mentioned international brand name cigarettes is more prominent, quota restrictions are canceled, its market prospects can be imagined.
Fortunately, China's accession to the WTO agreement on tobacco commitments, is to the 2004 tariffs down to China and the countries concerned on the provisions of the WTO market access agreement. As stipulated in the WTO Market Access Agreement between China and the United States, China must reduce its tariffs on cigarettes imported from the United States from the current applied rate of 65 percent to 25 percent by 2004.
In the WTO, except for special circumstances, quotas, licenses and other non-tariff barriers are not allowed to exist. And China has been implementing strict plan management and licensing system for the production, sale, import and export of tobacco products, especially for foreign tobacco traders, all kinds of controls are more strict. However, after China's accession to the WTO, although the total amount of plans, licensing system can still exist, but it is impossible to administrative means and planning targets to keep foreign tobacco companies out of the door, foreign tobacco companies want to enter the Chinese market, they will be in accordance with the "national treatment" and other basic rules of the WTO require a license, and with domestic tobacco enterprises to If foreign tobacco companies want to enter the Chinese market, they will require licenses according to the basic WTO rules such as "national treatment" and compete with domestic tobacco companies on an equal and fair market. Therefore, China will have to make corresponding adjustments and reforms to its planning and licensing system, and quota protection can only be maintained for a limited period of time.
One of the important principles of the WTO is to gradually liberalize trade among member countries and optimize resource allocation and economic growth through free trade. To this end, the WTO requires all member countries to promote the continuous opening of the domestic markets of member countries by reducing tariffs, eliminating non-tariff barriers and expanding market access opportunities. From the principle requirements of the WTO, if the tobacco of other members wants to enter our market, it is impossible for us to prevent the entry of their products through administrative means or the use of legal arrangements. After China's accession to the WTO, one of the obligations to be undertaken by the tobacco industry is to clean up as soon as possible the institutional rules restricting market competition and to provide the necessary institutional environment for foreign tobacco traders to enter the Chinese market. In other words, the opening of China's tobacco market to the outside world is also gradual.
So we still have a period of precious buffer time, which should be accurately called the "transition period". We can't afford to miss this opportunity, and we can't afford to wait. For China Tobacco, in the limited "transition" period, to highlight what to grasp?
According to the "Central **** on the formulation of the tenth five-year plan of national economic and social development of the proposal", from the actual start of China's tobacco industry, I think, to answer this question, should be from the macro and micro level to consider.
From the macro level, it is necessary to implement strategic adjustments to the structure of the tobacco economy, to make the dominant enterprises bigger and stronger; to grasp the implementation of the brand-name strategy, to improve the concentration of the cigarette brand market, to support the dominant brands, and strive to cultivate the international brand-name; and to improve the competitiveness of the tobacco industry.
From the point of view of the current situation of China's tobacco industry, China is a large country in the production and marketing of two cigarettes, has formed a relatively large industrial scale and a more complete industrial system. National tobacco industrial and commercial enterprises have 500,000 employees, 5.7 million tobacco farmers, involving 22 million tobacco farmers, tobacco consumers amounted to 310 million people, is an important industrial sector of the national economy. In particular, tobacco tax and profit has been the first major tax revenue of the state since 1987, and realized tax and profit amounting to 105 billion yuan in 2000, equivalent to 9% of the total revenue of the state. It has provided huge capital accumulation for the national economic construction. At the present stage, the position and influence of the tobacco industry are still pivotal. China's production of both cigarettes ranked first in the world, but in the world's tobacco trade, China's share is very disproportionate to the status of the world's tobacco power. In recent years, China's tobacco exports accounted for only about 3% of the world, cigarette exports accounted for less than 2% of the world.
In terms of tobacco planting, the country grows 1.33 million hectares of tobacco fields, a family of decentralized planting, an average of 0.060 hectares of tobacco fields planted by each tobacco farmer, from the selection of seed breeding to the harvesting of barbecue grading are tobacco farmers by hand, backward technical level, the operation of the sloppy, in the state of both small and scattered small-scale agricultural economy, the level of productivity is extremely low. With the United States, Brazil, Zimbabwe and other levels of tobacco production simply can not be the same.
In the cigarette industry, China's existing tobacco industry, 184 enterprises, including 146 cigarette enterprises, including 121 planned tobacco factories, 25 local tobacco factories, in 2000, the production of 1,181 brands *** more than 2,568 specifications of cigarette products. The country's largest cigarette enterprise, Yuxi Hongta Tobacco (Group) Company, produced up to more than 2.2 million cases annually, while the smallest, Pubei Cigarette Factory, produced only 2,823 cases in 2000. The largest cigarette brand in the country in terms of annual production of all types of cigarettes is "Red Plum", with an output of 1.005 million cases in 2000, while the smallest brand produced only a few cases, and the country has yet to have a cigarette product that can be called an international brand name. As far as enterprises are concerned, in 2000, the country's annual production of cigarettes amounted to more than 33.35 million cartons, of which there were 4 companies with more than 1 million cartons, 11 companies with 500,000 cartons - more than 1 million cartons, 23 companies with 300,000 cartons - 500,000 cartons, 21 companies with 200,000 cartons - 300,000 cartons, 24 companies with 100,000 cartons - 200,000 cartons, 20 companies with 50,000 cartons - 100,000 cartons, 32 companies with 10,000 cartons - 50,000 cartons, and 32 companies with less than 10,000 cartons. In 2000, 24 out of 121 planned tobacco factories suffered losses, and 13 out of 25 local tobacco factories suffered losses, with a total loss of 25.3%. China's tobacco companies can't be found on the list of the world's top 500 industries.
In terms of tobacco business, there are more than 2,000 tobacco companies nationwide. Their setup is basically based on administrative divisions. There are more than 4.3 million retail merchants of cigarettes nationwide.
For a long time, the industry's "unified leadership" and financial "separate food", the industry's "vertical management" and "sit on the ground for the prison ", the tobacco "monopoly franchise" and "dispersal of the main body of interest" of the contradiction has not been resolved, resulting in fragmentation, their own way, the national monopoly has evolved into a "local monopoly ", local blockade, market blockade, product sales, "monopoly local" market segmentation contradictions, "fake, private, non-super" four kinds of cigarettes repeatedly prohibited.
The study of the current situation of China's cigarette industry enterprises, it is obvious that the presentation of "small, scattered, low, poor, chaotic" several characteristics.
The so-called "small" is too many small enterprises, in 2000, the annual output of 300,000 cases of less than 108 enterprises, accounting for 74% of the national cigarette industry enterprises, which produced 10,983,000 cases of cigarettes, accounting for 32.9% of the country's total annual production. Among them, 63 enterprises with less than 100,000 cases produced 2.448 million cases of cigarettes, accounting for 7.3 percent of the country's total production.
The so-called "scattered" is too many small enterprises, production sites and extremely decentralized, almost no scale.
The so-called "low", is generally backward equipment, low level of technology, low level of management, low technological content of products, low productivity levels. The contradiction between technology and management backwardness is extremely prominent.
The so-called "poor", is due to the small size of the cigarette factory, backward equipment, lack of technological content of the product, some cigarette products are only marginally profitable, and some are not profitable at all, a number of brands with long-term losses and large losses, taxes for a long time on the books, the baggage
heavy, poor efficiency, labor productivity, for example, China's best level and the international average level is more than double the difference. International average level is more than double; cigarette tax profit per box, China's advanced level and the United States is more than four times the difference.
The so-called "chaotic", is the industry more than 2,200 commercial and industrial enterprises are independent economic entities, and production and marketing links are established on the basis of the administrative relationship, there is no personal interest in the connection, driven by self-interests, disregard for the overall situation of the short-term behavior and the system within the violation of monopoly laws and regulations, do not standardize the operation of the problem is more serious. The problem is more serious.
The situation in foreign countries, especially the tobacco industry in the United States, Japan, Britain and other countries is exactly the opposite of mine. The United States, the number one tobacco economic powerhouse, had dozens of tobacco companies in the 1970s, and through competition and elimination of the fittest, there are now only five major companies left. The UK now has only 3 major tobacco companies and Japan now has only 1 tobacco company.
It is worthwhile to study that at the end of the twentieth century, the world's tobacco industry underwent several major mergers. in 1994