OREANDA-NEWS. China is considered a significant global supplier of tobacco products, despite its obligations to implement tobacco control measures under the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC). This is a concern of the WHO, which has been fighting the tobacco epidemic in the world for decades. 

The global tobacco pandemic kills 700,000 people every year in the European Union and 8 million worldwide. And every tenth cigarette is sold illegally. The fight against the illegal sale of tobacco is carried out by WHO. According to her, almost half of all cigarettes in the world are manufactured by the government-regulated China National Tobacco Corporation (CNTC).

Recent reports on the tobacco activities of this company show that CNTC has close ties with four companies that are part of Big Tobacco – Philip Morris International, British American Tobacco, Japan Tobacco International and Imperial Brands. The Chinese company uses their technologies for the sale of tobacco products, which allows it to enter new markets.

WHO also claims in the published reports that CNTC carries out smuggling activities.  According to her, she tracks cigarettes from the black market, which are exported through Europe and Latin America and end up at the CNTC factory in Romania. According to the WHO, the Chinese state-owned tobacco company also has a direct connection with Italian and Moldovan criminal networks. 

As a state-owned enterprise, the activities of CNTC are considered an outrageous violation of Beijing's promises under the FCTC. The representatives who signed this agreement pledged to separate their tobacco control efforts from the industry and implement independent tobacco product tracking systems. Based on this, the WHO suggests that the EU countries join their efforts against the sale of Chinese tobacco products.