INTERNATIONAL

China to Allow Cigarette Imports: China plans to legalize imports of cigarettes, a market currently dominated by smuggling, an official newspaper reported. Business Weekly, the Sunday edition of the China Daily, said 60% of all goods smuggled into the country are cigarettes. Authorities plan to open a tobacco wholesale market in Shanghai for both domestic and foreign cigarettes in the first step toward legalizing foreign cigarette imports, the report said. Currently, only the China National Tobacco Corp. is authorized to buy and distribute foreign cigarettes. The report did not say what other enterprises would be allowed to buy and sell imported cigarettes.