Smoking costs China 250b yuan last year |
文章来源： 文章作者： 发布时间：2006-11-20 00:46 字体： [ 大 中 小] 进入论坛 |
(单词翻译:双击或拖选)
|
|
| BEIJING, Nov.19 - China incurred1 a loss of 250 billion yuan (US$32.5 billion) from smoking last year, said a report issued by the China Center for Economic Research with the Beijing University.
The cost exceeded the pre-tax profits of the country's tobacco industry, which totaled 240 billion yuan last year as the largest source of China's tax revenues, according to statistics on the website of the State Tobaccao Monopoly Administration.
Of the total cost, 166.56 billion yuan was paid for medical treatment to 23 major diseases caused by smoking, which was calculated according to a national smoking rate of 35.8 percent found by the China National Nutrition and Health Survey.
At least another 86.11 billion yuan of losses were caused by delay of work, passive smoking, fires, environmental pollution and shortened life span, as the report shows.
The government should increase the tax rate for tobacco enterprises and raise cigarette prices to reduce low-income smokers2, said Lin Daqing, a professor with the University of Hong Kong.
China will consume 4.5 billion fewer packs of cigarettes each year if it makes the price of each pack 0.4 yuan higher, claimed Fred Cox, a senior director with the US-based Pfizer Pharmaceutical3 Company.
Cox said the United States saw its smoking rate drop three to 5percentage points in the past ten years, when its cigarette prices rose 10 percent.
Official data show that China has a 55-percent general tax rate on its tobacco industry, while the rate reaches 60 to 80 percent in other countries like Japan, Germany, Brazil and Britain.
However, some experts say higher prices will make little difference to tobacco addicts4 and may boost tobacco smuggling5, as the tax rate on tobacco industry is much higher than other sectors6 of China.
Price and tax rate hikes are not practical solutions and likely to produce just the opposite effect, said Zhu Xuancai, an expert on smoking control.
Cigarette smuggling cost China at least 15 billion yuan in tax revenue losses each year, nearly 10 percent of the total tax revenues from cigarette sales last year, as the 21st Century Business Herald7 reported.
Meanwhile, other solutions like increasing the quality standard of cigarettes, cracking down on tobacco advertisements and punishing smoking in public places are suggested to protect people from the harm of tobacco.
China has more than 350 million smokers, about a third of the world's smoking population. Each year, about 700,000 die from smoking-related diseases.
Last August, the country ratified8 the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, an anti-smoking treaty that has been ratified by 110 countries and came into force. ( US$1 = 7.87 yuan)
|
点击  收听单词发音
|
1
incurred
|
|
| [医]招致的，遭受的； incur的过去式 |
参考例句： |
- She had incurred the wrath of her father by marrying without his consent 她未经父亲同意就结婚，使父亲震怒。
- We will reimburse any expenses incurred. 我们将付还所有相关费用。
|
|
2
smokers
|
|
| 吸烟者( smoker的名词复数 ) |
参考例句： |
- Many smokers who are chemically addicted to nicotine cannot cut down easily. 许多有尼古丁瘾的抽烟人不容易把烟戒掉。
- Chain smokers don't care about the dangers of smoking. 烟鬼似乎不在乎吸烟带来的种种危害。
|
|
3
pharmaceutical
|
|
| adj.药学的，药物的；药用的，药剂师的 |
参考例句： |
- She has donated money to establish a pharmaceutical laboratory.她捐款成立了一个药剂实验室。
- We are engaged in a legal tussle with a large pharmaceutical company.我们正同一家大制药公司闹法律纠纷。
|
|
4
addicts
|
|
| 有…瘾的人( addict的名词复数 )； 入迷的人 |
参考例句： |
- a unit for rehabilitating drug addicts 帮助吸毒者恢复正常生活的机构
- There is counseling to help Internet addicts?even online. 有咨询机构帮助网络沉迷者。 来自超越目标英语 第3册
|
|
5
smuggling
|
|
| n.走私 |
参考例句： |
- Some claimed that the docker's union fronted for the smuggling ring.某些人声称码头工人工会是走私集团的掩护所。
- The evidence pointed to the existence of an international smuggling network.证据表明很可能有一个国际走私网络存在。
|
|
6
sectors
|
|
| n.部门( sector的名词复数 )；领域；防御地区；扇形 |
参考例句： |
- Berlin was divided into four sectors after the war. 战后柏林分成了4 个区。 来自《简明英汉词典》
- Industry and agriculture are the two important sectors of the national economy. 工业和农业是国民经济的两个重要部门。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
|
|
7
herald
|
|
| vt.预示...的来临，预告，宣布，欢迎 |
参考例句： |
- In England, the cuckoo is the herald of spring.在英国杜鹃鸟是报春的使者。
- Dawn is the herald of day.曙光是白昼的先驱。
|
|
8
ratified
|
|
| v.批准，签认（合约等）( ratify的过去式和过去分词 ) |
参考例句： |
- The treaty was declared invalid because it had not been ratified. 条约没有得到批准，因此被宣布无效。
- The treaty was ratified by all the member states. 这个条约得到了所有成员国的批准。
|
|
|
|
|
