China Rising: a Chinese style local "stimulus pack-age"

Chinese officials in Hubei are ordered to smoke.

"No butts: China orders officials to smoke"
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20090504/od_afp/healthchinatobaccooffbeat_20090504060821

Officials in Gong'an county in central China (Hubei province) have been told to smoke nearly a quarter million packs of locally made cigarettes annually or risk being fined, state media reported.
The Gong'an county government in Hubei province has ordered its staff to puff their way through 230,000 packs of Hubei-produced cigarette brands a year, the Global Times said.
Departments that fail to meet their targets will be fined, according to the report. (AFP)

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Hm.
No comment.

UPDATE:

China cigarette order goes up in smoke
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20090505/lf_nm_life/us_china_smoking_1

(REUTERS)"The government has now backtracked after an uproar in the local press criticizing the policy as being harmful to health and a waste of public money.
"We decided to remove this edict," said a statement placed on the county government's website, saying it violated regulations about the issuing of notices.
The edict had originally been made to prevent the illegal distribution of cigarettes in the county and "to protect tax revenues and consumers' rights," it added."