2006, 8-14 , 星期一

文章分類:舊文章

摘要
ABSTRACT
背景
Background

香煙走私乃為一重要的公共健康議題,它不但刺激菸草消費與日俱增,也破壞了菸草的管制條例。於眾多新興的菸草市場中,中國不僅是眾所競求的最終戰利品,同時也被認為擁有世界上最嚴重的香煙走私問題。之前的研究顯示,英美菸草公司(British American Tobacco, 簡稱BAT)於亞洲與前蘇聯地區參與了此項不法行為。

Cigarette smuggling is a major public health issue, stimulating increased tobacco consumption and undermining tobacco control measures. China is the ultimate prize among tobacco’s emerging markets, and is also believed to have the world’s largest cigarette smuggling problem. Previous work has demonstrated the complicity of British American Tobacco (BAT) in this illicit trade within Asia and the former Soviet Union.

方式與研究結果
Methods and Findings

本文分析了從Guildford儲存資料庫(Guildford Depository)現場取得,以及英美菸草公司文獻資料庫(BAT Document Archive)線上取得的內部文件。為了建構依照時間順序的敘事模式,特別設計此一專案資料庫,可搜尋自1900年初期至2003年以來的文件資料,並附文件索引。解釋的過程中,文件分析同時併有若干技術的合格項目。文中描述中國境內高達數十億美金等大規模的不法交易,以及經營的主要供給途徑。當中並檢視了英美菸草公司藉由重建營運方式、控制供應鍊及定價走私的菸草,以達到收益的最適化。

This paper analyses internal documents of BAT available on site from the Guildford Depository and online from the BAT Document Archive. Documents dating from the early 1900s to 2003 were searched and indexed on a specially designed project database to enable the construction of an historical narrative. Document analysis incorporated several validation techniques within a hermeneutic process. This paper describes the huge scale of this illicit trade in China, amounting to billions of (United States) dollars in sales, and the key supply routes by which it has been conducted. It examines BAT’s efforts to optimise earnings by restructuring operations, and controlling the supply chain and pricing of smuggled cigarettes.

結論
Conclusions

我們的研究顯示,走私對於英美菸草公司持續地滲透中國市場的努力,以及成為規模日漸龐大的全球產業中的領導角色,具有策略般的重要性。這些研究結果支持努力強化全球合作打擊菸草走私的需求。

Our research shows that smuggling has been strategically critical to BAT’s ongoing efforts to penetrate the Chinese market, and to its overall goal to become the leading company within an increasingly global industry. These findings support the need for concerted efforts to strengthen global collaboration to combat cigarette smuggling.

資金贊助:本研究由美國國家衛生研究院國家癌症協會(National Cancer Institute of the United States National Institutes of Health)(授權合約號碼為R01 CA91021–01)資金贊助。為建立英美菸草公司文獻資料庫(BAT Document Archive),作者亦自英國衛爾康信託會(Wellcome Trust)、加拿大衛生部(Health Canada)與英國癌症研究中心(Cancer Research UK)獲得資金贊助。資金贊助者毋須負擔研究設計、資料蒐集與分析、公開或出版的決策或預備手稿之任何責任。

Funding: This research is supported by funding from the National Cancer Institute of the United States National Institutes of Health (grant number R01 CA91021–01). The authors also received funding from the Wellcome Trust, Health Canada, and Cancer Research UK for the creation of the BAT Document Archive. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.

競業同行:KL與JC的合作對象為加州大學舊金山校區(University of California San Francisco),以及Guildfor資料庫計畫(Guildford Archiving Project)(英美菸草公司文獻資料庫為其所創立)中的梅約醫學中心(Mayo Clinic)。作者自洛克菲勒基金會(Rockefeller Foundation)及英國癌症研究中心(Cancer Research UK)獲得對菸草文獻研究之資金贊助。JC乃為國際菸草與健康機構(International Agency on Tobacco and Health)中未支薪的董事會成員。

Competing Interests: KL and JC collaborated with the University of California San Francisco and the Mayo Clinic in the Guildford Archiving Project, which created the BAT Document Archive. The authors have received funding for tobacco document research from the Rockefeller Foundation and Cancer Research UK. JC is an unpaid board member of the International Agency on Tobacco and Health.

學術編輯:美國加州大學之Thomas E. Novotny
Academic Editor: Thomas E. Novotny, University of California, United States of America

接收日期:2005年9月23日;接受日期:2006年3月15日;出版日期:2006年7月18日

Received: September 23, 2005; Accepted: March 15, 2006; Published: July 18, 2006

美國内政部:10.1371/journal.pmed.0030228
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pmed.0030228
版權所有:© 2006 Lee and Collin。此乃由原作者提供,遵照「創作共享署名授權許可」(Creative Commons Attribution License)條件下的開放式分配資源,在註明原作者及來源的情況下,授權得以不受限制使用、發佈,並於任何媒體內重新複製、印刷。

Copyright: © 2006 Lee and Collin. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

縮寫:英美菸草公司(BAT);英美菸草公司文獻資料庫(BATDA,British American Tobacco Documents Archive);香港英美菸草公司(BATHK,British American Tobacco Hong Kong);英國英美菸草公司與出口(BATUKE,British American Tobacco United Kingdom and Export);菸草控制框架公約(FCTC,Framework Convention on Tobacco Control);遠東銷售單位(FESU,Far East Sales Unit);合資企業(JV,joint venture);菲利普莫里斯煙草公司(PM,Philip Morris);中華人民共和國(PRC,People’s Republic of China);跨國菸草公司(TTC,transnational tobacco company)

Abbreviations: BAT, British American Tobacco; BATDA, British American Tobacco Documents Archive; BATHK, British American Tobacco Hong Kong; BATUKE, British American Tobacco United Kingdom and Export; ; FCTC, Framework Convention on Tobacco Control; FESU, Far East Sales Unit; JV, joint venture; PM, Philip Morris; PRC, People’s Republic of China; TTC, transnational tobacco company

*聯絡電郵:kelley.lee@lshtm.ac.uk
* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: kelley.lee@lshtm.ac.uk
資料引用:Lee K, Collin J著(2006),〈未來之鑰〉:英美菸草公司與中國境內的香煙走私,見《公眾科學圖書館之線上醫學開放式期刊》3(7): e228
Citation: Lee K, Collin J (2006) “Key to the Future”: British American Tobacco and Cigarette Smuggling in China. PLoS Med 3(7): e228

編者摘要
Editors’ Summary
背景
Background.
全球每年約有五百萬人死於吸煙,而根據世界衛生組織的統計,抽煙的人口中有一半最終將死於煙害。雖然在較富裕的國家中抽煙的習慣已逐漸降低,但是在發展中的國家卻持續成長。政府得以藉由對煙草徵收高稅額而控制消費,並大舉增加稅收。然而,此舉卻隨著菸草走私入境與非法販賣而成效不彰。走私使得香煙更易於取得,因而刺激消費並破壞了降低吸煙比率的努力。

Smoking tobacco kills about 5 million people around the world every year, and according to the World Health Organization, half of the people who smoke will eventually die as a result. The habit is in decline in most of the world’s richer nations, but it is growing in developing countries. Governments can control consumption, and raise substantial tax revenues, by levying high taxes on tobacco. However, this is undermined when tobacco is smuggled into the country and sold illegally. Smuggling makes cigarettes more affordable, thus stimulating consumption, and undermines efforts to reduce smoking rates.

英美菸草公司為最大型的國際菸草公司之一。一項美國的法律案例促使英美菸草公司自1900年代早期開始數以百萬計的文件,皆已對外公開。它們皆收藏於英國的檔案儲存庫,許多亦可於線上取得。

British American Tobacco (BAT) is one of the largest international tobacco companies. Following a legal case in the United States, millions of pages of BAT internal documents (dating back to the early 1900s) have been made public. They are held in a depository in the United Kingdom, and most can now be seen online.

研究人員也已開始針對這些文件進行廣泛的研究,並為英美菸草公司如何進入遍及全球之新興市場定下結論。

Researchers have already undertaken wide-ranging studies of these documents and have drawn conclusions about the way BAT has sought to enter emerging markets throughout the world.

研究目的
Why Was This Study Done?

先前發表的研究結論指出,英美菸草公司「共謀」進行大規模的煙草走私,此舉在文件中並委婉地以「運送」(transit)、「一般交易」(general trade,GT)、「關稅未付」(duty not paid,DNP)與「自由市場」(free market)等字眼出現。本研究著重於中國境內的菸草走私行為,而一般咸信該地區為世界上煙草走私問題最嚴重的國家。由於具有龐大的人口、極為普遍的抽煙習慣,與急速攀升的經濟成長,中國對於英美菸草公司及其它菸草公司來說,是一個關鍵的市場。中國若能發展有效的菸草控制政策,將成為促進全球健康的龐大契機之一。國家菸草專賣局(State Tobacco Monopoly Administration)乃是唯一合法於中國境內進行煙草買賣交易的單位。

Previously published studies have concluded that BAT has been “complicit” in large-scale cigarette smuggling, described in documents by the euphemisms “transit,” “general trade” (“GT”), “duty not paid” (“DNP”), and “free market.” This study focuses on such activities in China, which is believed to have the world’s biggest tobacco smuggling problem. China is a key market for BAT and other tobacco companies because of the size of its population, high smoking prevalence, and rapidly growing economy. The development of effective tobacco control policy in China constitutes one of the greatest opportunities to advance global health. The State Tobacco Monopoly Administration is the only agency legally allowed to trade in tobacco in China.

研究內容與發現
What Did the Researchers Do and Find?
作者蒐集該公司在1986年至1999年間於中國境內的交易紀錄。文中以敘述菸草走私至中國的規模,以及菸草進入該國之主要供應鍊為起始。此期間內走私猖獗亦是歷歷在證。

The authors have put together an account of the company’s trading in China in the period from 1986 to 1999. They begin by describing the scale on which tobacco was smuggled into China and the main supply routes through which tobacco entered the country. They found evidence that smuggling increased considerably during the period.

研究人員發現英美菸草公司本身所持有的文件,描述了該公司藉由重建營運方式及控制供應鍊,以改善從中國盈收獲利的這份努力。該供應鍊──也就是香煙如何製造生產、合法出口,並由各種不同的「代理商」或仲介穿針引線,然後再以違禁品的方式非法銷售。本文的標題來自一篇英美菸草公司的文件,敘述自香港出口香煙至中國乃為公司謀求成長的「未來之鑰」。研究人員聲稱這可視同走私,而英美菸草公司的資料則指出公司由此獲益、鼓勵、並企圖控制走私入中國境內的菸草。

The researchers found that BAT’s own documents describe the company’s efforts to improve its earnings from China by restructuring operations and controlling the supply chain—that is, how cigarettes are manufactured and legally exported, are handled by various “agents” or middlemen, and then are sold illicitly as contraband. The title of this article is taken from one BAT document that states that exports from Hong Kong to China are the “key to the future” of the company’s planned growth. The researchers say that this can be taken to mean smuggling, and that BAT’s documents indicate that the company benefited from, encouraged, and attempted to control the smuggling of tobacco into China.

研究結果之意義
What Do These Findings Mean?

英美菸草公司公開表示該公司並不允許走私。然而,研究人員取自內部文獻的分析,已定下「資料顯示在過去的二十年來,違禁品已成為英美菸草公司在中國的營運中最大且最不可或缺的獲利來源」的結論。約略估計出高達數十億美金的非法交易額,並且接著說道:「對中華人民共和國的政府而言,非法交易如斯已經破壞了對進口的限制、呈現出鉅大的稅收損失,並且刺激了對於高級品牌香煙的需求。」這些研究人員建議應採取國際性的行動以削減菸草的走私。

BAT has stated publicly that it does not approve of smuggling. However, from the researchers’ analysis of the information in the internal papers, they conclude that “the documents demonstrate that contraband has been a hugely profitable and integral part of BAT operations in China over the past two decades.” They estimate that the value of the illicit trade amounts to billions of (United States) dollars and go on to say that “for the Chinese government, this illicit trade undermined restrictions on imports, represented an enormous loss of tax revenue, and stimulated demand for premium brand cigarettes.” The researchers argue that action should be taken internationally to reduce tobacco smuggling.

補充資料
Additional Information.
請透過https://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.0030228網站的線上版摘要流覽下列網站。
Please access these Web sites via the online version of this summary at https://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.0030228.
本文中所使用的大部份文獻資料可於由公共衛生研究人員(網站另有討論菸草文獻研究的有用資訊)所設立的英美菸草文獻資料庫取得。

• Most of the documents used in this paper can be found at the British American Tobacco Documents Archive created by public health researchers (the Web site also contains useful information on tobacco document research)

世界衛生組織所負責的「無煙害計畫」(Tobacco Free Initiative),提供關於全球性菸草問題的資訊,以及如何努力對抗這樣的情形。

• The Tobacco Free Initiative, based at the World Health Organization, provides information on the global scale of the tobacco problem, and about efforts to combat the situation

許多國家皆有全國性的拒煙組織;英國慈善機構「反煙與健康組織」(Action on Smoking and Health)提供有用的組織名單。

• Many countries have national anti-smoking organizations; the United Kingdom charity Action on Smoking and Health has a useful list of these

關於吸煙危害個人健康的資訊以及戒煙的建議皆可由美國家庭醫生協會(American Academy of Family Physicians)與國民保健服務直線(NHS Direct)(英國之國家健康保險服務)的網站取得。

• Information about the dangers of smoking to personal health and advice on giving up the habit are available from the Web sites of the American Academy of Family Physicians and NHS Direct (United Kingdom National Health Service)

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