High-Tar-Level Cigarette Disappear From Markets in Beijing

Source from:  02/25/2004 02/25/2004

As a result of continued efforts of the government to restrict the production and sale of high-tar-level cigarettes in China, cigarettes with a tar content exceeding the official limitation of 15mg per cigarette have virtually disappeared from the markets in the capital city of Beijing. In an effort to promote the process of lowering the content of tar and other harmful substances in cigarette products, the State Tobacco Monopoly Administration (STMA) has recently issued the Notice on Renewing Standards for Limitation of Tar Content in Cigarettes, which for the first time sets the criteria for market access of cigarettes on the basis of the tar content. It was reported that the issue of this notice signifies a step of the Chinese government to implement the World Health Organization’s Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, which China signed in 2003. According to sources with the STMA, the proportion of medium- and high-grade leaf tobacco produced by all the tobacco-growing regions in China has accounted for 90 percent of the total leaf tobacco output. For three consecutive years, the average tar level in Chinese-made cigarettes has declined by 0.5mg per cigarette annually. The average tar emission from Chinese-made cigarettes declined to 14.3mg per cigarette in 2003 from a high of 30mg per cigarette 20 years ago. Sources with the STMA said that cigarette products marked with a tar level exceeding 15mg per cigarette produced after July 1, 2004 will be barred from sale on Chinese markets. Enditem SOURCE FROM: Beijing Daily newspaper