I just think it’s impressive he was able to complete a marathon while chainsmoking. A real throwback to old timey athletics.
Who cares if you're disqualified, that's a victory you carry in your heart forever
(tobacco is genuinely one of the most addictive substances on the planet, which is why capitalists have ensured it's legal and available in your area)
China Tobacco is the most profitable state-owned enterprise in China hands down, with an annual profit of 1.2 trillion RMB (!!) which is 10 times the profit of Alibaba and 12 times that of Tencent, the largest IT corporations in China.
90% of its profit is taxed by the central government and amounted to ~7% of China’s annual tax revenues!
With an estimated 320 million smokers in China (that’s the entire population of the US!) and growing, these numbers are seriously insane if you think about how much tobacco products contributed to the Chinese economy.
growing? surely vapes & such could but no way cigarettes are a growth market, the US dedicates pennies to get people off ciggs and its declining
The culture around tobacco is totally different in Asian countries. In America the anti smoking campaigns of the nineties are still fresh in the cultural zeitgeist, and if it wasn't for the rise of vapes people might have stopped smoking altogether, but nothing equivalent to that happened in China.
seems unlikely to me they haven't had government-sponsored anti-tobacco initiatives considering how much investment is made in public health
apparently the promotion of health was why the gave the guy a dq. He flew to close to the sun (so he could light another cigarette).
Tobacco opens up your lungs in the short term, so it could be useful if someone used it right
