Lobbying keeps advert rules in check

Intense lobbying by the State Tobacco Monopoly Administration (STMA) has resulted in the weakening of legislation that otherwise would have introduce a complete tobacco advertising ban in China, according to a story by Li Hui and Ben Blanchard for Reuters, quoting unnamed sources.

The state news agency Xinhua reported on Saturday that some Chinese lawmakers had called for a complete ban on tobacco advertisements during discussions on amendments to the country’s 20-year-old advertisement law.

But instead, the National People’s Congress last week decided only to expand the scope of the country’s tobacco advertising restrictions.

Excluded from the restrictions will be promotional activities such as cigarette product launches and tobacco sponsorships for sporting events and schools.

The new restrictions are expected to take effect by the end of this year, after they have been passed by parliament.

The STMA delivers an estimated 7-10 percent of government revenues in China – Yuan816 billion ($132.87 billion) in 2013.

The full story is at: http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/09/05/us-china-smoking-idUSKBN0H001N20140905.