Tobacco puts 14% more in China's coffers

BEIJING - China's tobacco industry generated almost 956 billion yuan ($157 billion) in taxes and profits in 2013, up 10.5 percent year-on-year, an official said on Thursday.

The industry handed over 816 billion yuan in profits and taxes to the government last year, representing a 13.9-percent rise from one year earlier, Ling Chengxing, head of the State Tobacco Monopoly Administration, said at a national work conference.

Total revenues of tobacco farmers last year reached 62.3 billion yuan, up 6 percent year on year, according to the agency's data.

The Chinese government has made a public smoking ban one of its goals for the 2011-2015 period. Some cities have already enacted legislation on smoking in public places.