Before the Republic of China, tobacco was a very popular thing and was not recognized by the state. The original intention of establishing tobacco monopoly is to control smoking, not to take care of its profits. However, with the passage of time, there are fewer and fewer anti-smokers in tobacco monopoly. Under the pressure of domestic and foreign forms, the work direction of tobacco monopoly has gradually turned to promoting tobacco consumption.
At present, tobacco is still a big taxpayer, but the losses caused by smoking, according to the calculation of the health department, have exceeded the profits brought by smoking, but most of these losses are borne by the people, not the state finance, hehe.
When we achieve universal health insurance, perhaps the country can really feel that the loss caused by smoking can not be ignored.
Maybe we don't have to wait until this time. If people who oppose tobacco in China can account for more than half of CPPCC or government agencies and hold important positions, perhaps our tobacco control work will be much smoother than it is now.