Do you want a cigarette?

“Do you want a cigarette?” this maybe the most popular line when two Chinese businessmen meet to speak.

Yes, so many Chinese like to smoke, but it is far far less than Russia. I noticed there are very big ash trays everywhere in Moscow public places, even airport!!

COMMUNICATION
In China, Cigarettes mean different from western world. It is not only private, as in western world, it is a kind of communication with others. When you meet a stranger, an offer of cigarette will make both of you much closer.

SO MANY BRANDS
And usually the foreigners are astonished to find so many cigarettes brands in China! There are about 660 cities in China, and there are more than 700 cigarettes brands in China! Why? This comes from the planning economy. Each place wants to develop the local economy, so each of them wants a cigarettes plant in the local place, which is very profitable. At last, more than 700 brands were made out.

BIG DIFFERNCE IN PRICES
So many brands are positioned so differently, and so the price gap is bigger than you think. It is not like the difference of Marlboro and Winston in your street corner shop. It is from $0.25 to $ 10 per pack.

FACE
Yes, I admit it, Chinese hate to lose face. Unfortunately, the cigarettes are one of their tools to show off. If you smoke cheap, you are telling others you are poor, which is an insult for a rich man. Unreasonable, but real.

However, if you are a smoker, when you go to china, you find an interesting job to do. You could try a new brand whenever you go to a different place.

Sir, Do you want a cigarette?