China: Harm-Reducing Technology of Regional Company Passes National-level Appraisal

10/22/2008

A new production technology designed to reduce the harm of cigarette smoking owned by Sichuan-Chongqing Regional China Tobacco Industry Corporation - the operator of the manufacturing sector of the tobacco industry in southwest China's Sichuan Province and Chongqing City - has recently passed a technical appraisal organized by the State Tobacco Monopoly Administration (STMA). The "technology for making additives to cigarette filter tips to alleviate the harm of cigarette smoking to the respiratory system" passed the technical appraisal by a panel of experts designated by the STMA on October 17. The development of this technology was a project registered by the STMA and undertaken by Sichuan-Chongqing Regional China Tobacco Industry Corporation. In appraising the technology, the panel of experts agreed that application of this technology conforms to the orientation of development of Chinese-style cigarettes, is innovative and is a leading advanced tobacco production technology in China. According to results of tests and experiments conducted by Yunnan Provincial Drug Test and Development Research Institute, Yunnan Provincial Tobacco Science Research Institute, Huaxi Medical School of Sichuan University and other institutions, cigarette products developed with this technology have a lower level of acute toxicity to animals, and are capable of generating mainstream cigarette smoke with a lower content of some harmful substances. Results of pharmacodynamical tests on animals and test-smoking indicate that consumption of cigarettes produced with this technology can alleviate discomforts of the respiratory system, including cough, caused by cigarette smoking. Since January 2007, this technology has been used in the production of cigarettes of the Longfengchengxiang (Festival Classic) and Longfengchengxiang (Festival Cigarettes) brands. Over the past two years, the sales volume of these two products have reached nearly 100,000 cases (5 billion cigarettes), generating 809 million yuan (115 million U.S. dollars) in taxes and profits, including 204 million yuan (29 million U.S. dollars) in profits, and achieving obvious economic and social effects. So far, Sichuan-Chongqing Regional China Tobacco Industry Corporation has applied for five national patents on this technology. Enditem