It looks like the Chinese have come up with a novel approach [1] to stimulating their economy:
Local government officials in China have been ordered to smoke cigarettes to boost the economy.
Officials in Hubei province have been ordered to puff their way through 230,000 packs of locally made cigarettes worth £400,000.
The edict threatens to fine officials who “fail to meet their targets” or are caught smoking rival brands manufactured in neighbouring provinces.
[..]
“The regulation will boost the local economy via the cigarette tax,” said Chen Nianzu, a member of the Gong’an cigarette market supervision team.
So, stimulate the economy, use the tax revenue on the impending smoking-induced health bill, and some population control through shorter lifespans all in the one measure!
Imagine what would happen if the Australian government tried to suggest something like this…there’d be more than a simple story in the “quirkies” section of the paper, that’s for sure.
Samuel