introduction

A cigarette after a meal is better than a living god! This may be the most realistic portrayal of Chinese smokers. It is precisely because of the "strong support" of these smokers that the tobacco industry has become an important economic pillar in China.

Some people say that a "tobacco license" means money. If you get a "tobacco license", you can earn tens of thousands of yuan or even more every year just by selling cigarettes. Is this statement reliable?

Tobacco Retail Monopoly License

Health hazards of tobacco

Tobacco is not a native crop to China. It came from the distant American continent across the ocean and landed in China during the Wanli period of the Ming Dynasty. Like many foreign species, it quickly adapted to this land and took deep roots in Chinese culture and economy.

During the Republic of China period, smoking was already commonplace in the streets. After the founding of New China, tobacco cultivation was incorporated into the planned economic system and became an important cash crop.

Although tobacco originated from America, due to our country's large population base and the convenience of purchasing cigarettes, Chinese smokers account for almost a quarter of the world's smokers.

From tobacco leaf planting and processing to cigarette production and sales, every link has created huge economic value. However, we cannot only see the economic benefits brought by tobacco and ignore the health costs behind it. This is also why tobacco is so controversial.

With the development of modern medicine, more and more people know the harm of tobacco. More than 69 carcinogens can cause multi-faceted damage to the human body and increase the risk of cancer.

It would be fine if it was just targeting smokers, but the key is that the smoke exhaled by smokers after smoking, which is what we usually call "second-hand smoke", also contains substances that are harmful to health.

Long-term exposure to secondhand smoke increases the risk of lung cancer, coronary heart disease and other diseases, and is particularly harmful to the health of children and pregnant women. This makes smoking no longer just a personal choice, but a public health issue.

Firstly, there are huge economic benefits behind tobacco, and secondly, tobacco poses a huge threat to human health. Therefore, the country has a strict management system for the sale of tobacco.

The country has formulated a series of laws and regulations to regulate all aspects of the tobacco industry. From tobacco leaf planting to cigarette production and sales, there are clear regulations and standards.

In addition, the country also controls tobacco consumption through economic means such as increasing tobacco taxes, and uses part of the taxes for public health and to prevent and treat smoking-related diseases.

Although these regulatory measures cannot completely eliminate the harm of smoking, they have curbed tobacco abuse to a certain extent and promoted the improvement of public health awareness.

However, in the face of huge economic interests, how to more effectively regulate the tobacco industry is still a topic that needs continuous exploration and improvement.

Tobacco license requirements

It is not easy to get a piece of the huge tobacco pie. Obtaining a tobacco retail license is a necessary condition for entering the tobacco retail market, but this road is full of challenges.

Normally, we may not need to prepare too much capital to run a small business, but if we want to apply for a tobacco license, we need to have a certain financial strength. In addition to paying the fees, we must also reserve funds for daily store operations.

After meeting the financial strength requirements, applicants also need to provide a fixed business location that complies with regulations. The location must be independent, and the surrounding environment must meet certain restrictions. For example, the distance from schools, kindergartens and other places must not be less than a certain range.

In addition to the above hard conditions, applicants are also required to submit a series of materials, such as business license, identity certificate, proof of business premises, etc., and fill in the corresponding application form. The Tobacco Monopoly Bureau will review the application materials and conduct on-site inspections of the business premises to ensure compliance with relevant regulations.

Even if all conditions are met, it does not mean that you can obtain a tobacco license, because the number of tobacco licenses issued is controlled and the approval is strict, which makes tobacco licenses a scarce resource and increases their market value.

Moreover, once a tobacco license is issued, you don’t have to worry about it anymore. It requires regular annual inspection and renewal. If you violate relevant regulations, your license may be revoked.

Market operation and profit model

I heard from some people with many years of experience in cigarette retail that obtaining a tobacco license is only the first step in a long journey. How to run a tobacco retail store well and survive in the fierce market competition requires operators to put in more effort and wisdom.

The profit model of tobacco retail stores is relatively simple, relying mainly on selling tobacco products to earn the difference. However, since tobacco prices are controlled by the state, the profit margin is relatively limited. Therefore, increasing sales volume is the key to increasing profits.

The sales of tobacco retail stores are closely related to many factors, such as store location, surrounding traffic, product variety, service quality, etc. Generally speaking, stores located in busy areas with large traffic will have higher sales.

In addition, providing a richer variety of products to meet the needs of different consumers can also increase sales. Some operators will also attract customers and increase customer stickiness by providing value-added services, such as home delivery and points redemption.

It is worth noting that the level of tobacco license is also related to the purchase volume and product type. The higher the level of tobacco license, the higher the grade of tobacco products that can be purchased and the larger quotas that can be obtained, thereby increasing profits.

Therefore, many operators will strive to improve the level of their tobacco licenses in order to gain greater competitive advantages. So whether they can earn 30,000 or 40,000 yuan a year depends on the situation.

In fact, the number of smokers has begun to decline, and this is not only the case in China. Even the United States across the ocean is facing the same situation. This is not only because more and more people are beginning to pay attention to their health, but also because some emerging products are gradually replacing traditional ones, such as "electronic cigarettes."

In addition to these, the tobacco industry has also been subject to considerable controversy in recent years, stemming from a game called "Cigarette Card."

Cigarette Card

The controversial "Cigarette Card" game

The so-called "cigarette card", as the name suggests, is a kind of "card" formed by tearing off the lid of the cigarette packaging box and simply folding it. I don't know when this game started to become popular among primary school students.

In fact, it doesn’t matter what game you play. What’s important is that by collecting “cigarette cards”, many primary school students have the opportunity to get close to tobacco.

Cigarette Card

For most parents, as long as their children don't smoke, playing with the packaging is nothing big? Little do they know that sometimes people, driven by curiosity, may do something beyond the line.

In particular, some children will ask their parents to buy more valuable cigarettes in order to collect the so-called "rare cigarette cards". As a result, parents will gradually find that their children may know more cigarette brands than they do.

Of course, we prefer to think positively about everything. Maybe the kids just think this kind of "cigarette card" is cool, and for them it's just for collection.

It's okay to be curious, but once it's mixed with comparison and vanity, it completely changes its nature. Add to that the instigation of some people with human desires, and it would be bad if children did something out of line.

Therefore, there has been a lot of controversy about cigarettes in recent years. Schools collect "cigarette cards", parents collect "cigarette cards", but children always find ways to avoid it. Therefore, how to reduce children's exposure to tobacco is still a problem that needs to be solved urgently.

Conclusion

How to balance economic benefits and public health is indeed a difficult problem. Even though the country has been promoting that smoking is harmful to health and even though the price of tobacco continues to rise, it still cannot stop smokers from flocking to it.

All I can say is that this thing can only be achieved through self-awareness. Tobacco is like sweet sweets to smokers, but it is not so easy to be accepted by non-smokers. So, would you choose to become a "smoker"?

Information sources

People's Daily Online, 2015-06-02 "Smoking is a money-loser. How much money can you save by not smoking for the rest of your life?"

http://finance.people.com.cn/money/n/2015/0602/c218900-27089868.html

Big and small news 2024-10-18 "Shops can be transferred, but tobacco licenses cannot!"

https://baijiahao.baidu.com/s?id=1813218288389017792&wfr=spider&for=pc

Guangming.com 2024-10-24 "Keep every child away from "cigarette cards" and eliminate tobacco"

https://baijiahao.baidu.com/s?id=1813758770331336889&wfr=spider&for=pc