Cigarettes can be a taxing habit

Everyone knows that smoking is bad for your health. But it can be good for the economy! The cost of cigarettes in many countries includes a lot of tax, and this is no different in China. In fact, one Chinese province told civil servants and teachers that they had to smoke – to bring in more tax revenue. “The regulation will boost the local economy via the cigarette tax,” Chen Nianzu, an official in the Gog’an province, told The Global Times. The authorities wanted these employees to smoke around 230,000 packets of locally-made cigarettes per year, and those who refused would be fined or lose their jobs. But after negative publicity around China, the local government has now abolished the rule. Cigarettes certainly are a taxing habit!