BEIJING: Smoking-related diseases will claim 200 million lives in China this century and plunge tens of millions into poverty, a report said Friday.
China is the world’s largest consumer and producer of tobacco, and the industry provides the government with colossal sums.
In 2015, it recorded 1.1 trillion yuan ($160 billion) in profits, up 20 percent year-on-year.
But a report by the World Health Organization (WHO) and United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) said Friday that the Asian giant will suffer an economic toll if it does not urgently reduce its smoking population.
The paper — called “The Bill China Cannot Afford” — estimated that the total annual economic cost of tobacco use in the country in 2014 was 350 billion yuan, up tenfold from 2000.
“If nothing is done to reduce [the death rate] and introduce more progressive policies, the consequences could be devastating not just for the health of people across the country, but also for China’s economy as a whole,” WHO China representative Bernhard Schwartlander said in a statement.
The calculation includes both the direct costs of treating tobacco-related illness and the indirect costs such as lost work productivity.
“The rapid increase in costs associated with tobacco use in China is unsustainable,” Schwartlander added.
Twenty-eight percent of all adults and 50 percent of men in China are estimated to smoke regularly.
Rural-to-urban migrants are more likely to be smokers, the report said, adding that they risk descending into poverty when smoking-related medical costs become too great — a reality at odds with the government goal of eradicating poverty nationwide by 2020.
The organizations recommended a smoke-free policy across the country akin to laws in Beijing and Shanghai, where smoking is banned in most public places.
However, enforcing anti-smoking measures can be difficult in China as the state-owned China National Tobacco Corp, which enjoys a near-monopoly, shares offices and senior officials with the national tobacco regulator.
The report also urged further raising tobacco taxes to make smoking less affordable. While retail tobacco prices increased following a taxation hike in 2015, the average price of a cigarette pack remains just ten yuan.
A 50 percent increase in the retail price of cigarettes would prevent 20 million premature deaths over 50 years, the report said.
Smoking to kill 200 million in China this century: WHO
Smoking to kill 200 million in China this century: WHO
Chef serves up a taste of Spain at Ithra Cultural Days in Saudi Arabia
DHAHRAN: Among the attractions of the Ithra Cultural Days: Spain at the King Abdulaziz Center for World Culture (Ithra), visitors can try a tantalizing selection of Spanish foods — none more renowned than its famous paella.
Arab News spoke with chef Jose Zafra at the event, which runs until Jan. 31, who flew in from Spain to offer a taste of his homeland to the people of Saudi Arabia.
A “master rice cook, paella researcher and promoter,” according to his business card, his logo is even designed around the recognizable cooking pan and the phrase “Pasion por la paella,” or “Passion for paella.”
“That's why the pan is round because people get around and eat all together — to share culture and passion and life,” Zafra told Arab News as foodies lined up behind him, eager to try a plateful.
“It’s not just a food. It’s a link, a connection. Paella is the symbol of unity and sharing. And people now are going to try it — authentic Spanish paella in Saudi Arabia.”
The word “paella” comes from the Latin “patella,” meaning pan.
In Spanish, it refers both to the rice dish itself and the pan in which it is cooked.
Paella was introduced to Spain during Moorish rule. It originated in Valencia, on the country’s eastern coast, as a rural peasant dish that was cooked by farm workers over open fires using local ingredients. Over time, the dish’s popularity spread and other versions evolved, for example featuring seafood and meat.
It is different to Saudi Arabia’s kabsa, a communal dish which similarly uses rice and meat. Kabsa is cooked in a deep pot to ensure the rice stays soft and aromatic from the meaty broth, whereas paella uses a wide, shallow pan to fully absorb flavors evenly, often creating a prized crispy layer at the bottom.
Visitors to Ithra’s Culture Days can enjoy the flavors of Spain made with a sprinkling of local love — true to the origins of the dish.
Find the scoops of Spanish joy near the food truck area and try chicken paella, seafood paella —or both! You will see the signs offering a plate, at SR35 ($9) for chicken and SR40 for seafood, or let your nose lead you there.
Zafra concluded: “The chicken is from here, the seafood is from here — and the passion, well, that is from Spain.”
