中国是全球最大的烟草生产国和消费国，国有垄断企业——中国烟草总公司(China Tobacco Corporation)的烟草销售收入占到政府税收的7%左右。
考虑到这个理由，一些人对中国政府从今年5月1日起全面禁止在室内公共场所吸烟的严肃性表示怀疑，也就情有可原了。
中国卫生部本周宣布了即将生效的禁烟令，同时还规定公共场所不得设置自动售烟机，公共场所经营者应当进行禁烟宣传，以及吸烟区不得接近主要的行人通道。
但周三参观了卫生部位于北京的总部后，我意识到新禁令的执行难度不容乐观。
楼道里烟雾缭绕，飘飘荡荡地从楼内严禁吸烟的大型标牌上掠过。洗手间内，小便池里散落着一堆堆烟头。
在上海，市政府的禁烟条令已实施了一年，但结果确相当令人沮丧。自条例推出以来，仅有12家机构和5名个人因违反禁令被罚。
一项政府调查发现，上海大多数网吧都完全无视全面禁止在经营场所吸烟的禁令。
中国拥有3亿多烟民，大多数人只要烟瘾上来，随时随地都会点燃香烟，每年死于与吸烟相关的疾病的人超过100万。
中国政府预计，到2030年，这一数字将增加一倍，甚至有可能增加两倍。这将意味着，在中国，吸烟致死的人数将超过艾滋病、肺结核、交通事故和自杀。
中国已经未能兑现对世界卫生组织(WHO)的承诺，即在去年1月前，出台全面禁止在室内工作场所和公共场所吸烟的禁令。
一个主要问题在于，作为全球最大香烟生产商的中国烟草总公司仍然是国家烟草专卖局(State Tobacco Monopoly Administration)的下属企业，而国家烟草专卖局本应对烟草行业实施监管。
译者/何黎
http://www.ftchinese.com/story/001037714
China is the world’s largest producer and consumer of tobacco and revenues from tobacco sales by state-owned monopoly China Tobacco Corporation make up around 7 per cent of the Beijing’s tax income.
That’s one reason why some people could be forgiven for having doubts about how serious the Chinese government is about imposing a ban on all smoking in indoor public places by May 1 this year.
The Chinese health ministry announced the impending ban this week, along with a ban on cigarette vending machines in public places, an anti-smoking propaganda campaign and a ban on smoking areas close to major pedestrian thoroughfares.
But a visit to the health ministry’s headquarters in Beijing on Wednesday revealed just how tough the new ban will be to enforce.
Palls of tobacco smoke wafted down the hallways past large signs that strictly forbid smoking in the building and in the ministry’s bathrooms piles of cigarette butts adorned the urinals.
In Shanghai, where a municipal anti-smoking law has been in effect for one year, results appear to have been rather lacklustre, with just 12 organisations and five individuals punished for breaking the ban since it was introduced.
A government survey found that well over half of Shanghai’s internet cafés completely ignored a total ban on smoking in their establishments.
China has more than 300m smokers, who mostly light up wherever they feel like it, and more than 1m people die from smoking-related disease in the country each year.
The government predicts that number will double or possibly even triple by 2030, which would mean smoking would then kill more people than AIDS, tuberculosis, traffic accidents and suicide in China.
China has already failed to fulfil its promise to the World Health Organisation that it would introduce a complete ban on smoking in indoor workplaces and public places before last January.
One major problem is that state-owned China Tobacco Corporation, the world’s largest cigarette manufacturer, is still a subsidiary of the State Tobacco Monopoly Administration, which is supposed to regulate the tobacco industry.
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