Smoke cigarettes-it helps the economy!

Gong'an county, located in the Province of Hubei, China,

recently issued an edict that everyone must smoke!

Everyone must smoke! That was the order given to state employees.

They must consume 23,000 cartons of locally-made cigarettes over the next year.

To make sure everyone complied, the county even set out monthly consumption

quotas. At $29 a carton, the plan was slated to force workers to buy $670,000

worth of locally made cigarettes this year. Organizations that failed to meet

their quote would have their budgets cut.

The decree was intended

to benefit local tobacco firms, and since cigarettes account for 10% of

tax income, it would also help prop up the counties balance sheet.

"We're guilding people to help contribute to the local economy",

said one official of the county cigarette leadership group.

Enforcement was rigorous. The cigarette

marketing consolidate team, would actually go into school staff rooms and sift

through butts looking for "non-compliant" ends. Upon finding 3 "non-compliant"

butts, the staff were told they were violating "cigarette usage rules". The

school wasn't fined but was criticised for "acts of indiscipline".

I'm not making this up.