1941-1949 Jiangxi Dayu County Smoking Research

Opium poison had overflowed into China since modern era, causing a hugeimpact on Chinese society. Although being an inland county, Jiangxi Dayu could notavoid being subjected to impact and influence in Modern China where was fulfilledwith opium. Especially when it came into National Government and Cai Chengxunwas in charge of Jiangxi, he relied on the much tax of opium, which resulted in therampant use of opium. Then Xiong Shihui was in power, he carried out the gradualbanning policy of Nanjing National Government which was “two years banning drug,six years banning opium”, thus the rampant use of opium was somewhat controlled.However, the task of anti-smoking had not completed, there were still some opiumdrugs in Dayu, so from1941to1949, due to the prohibition policy of NanjingNational Government, Dayu government had begun a nigh-year anti-smoking task.First, the article simply reviewed different banning policies for various ages ofadequate situations of smoke overflows before1941which were made by NanjingNational Government and Jiangxi province. After the massive anti-smoking campaignof “two years banning drug, six years banning opium”, some certain success achievedaround the country and in Dayu, but the opium drug had still existed and there wereillicit smoke behaviors in the county at the end of the six-year prohibition policy forsome reasons, therefore, prohibiting opium drug completely was a big task to takeand a long way to go.In order to complete the task of banning smoke, under the nationalgovernment’s guidelines Dayu government gradually changed its way of gradualbanning into immediste banning policy. During this period, the biggest change wasstrengthening publicity, by the way of newspapers and periodicals, banning signs,public speeches expressing the dangers of smoking, and two regular massive banningcampaigns each year, in order to make everybody know the banning policy and winsupport of every people. In addition, it increased assistant organizations to helpcharge authorities to implementing banning policy. Taking advantages of every unitsand altering the situation of monologue role of banning agencies to take the task, these preparations had laid foundation of expanding banning policy. During theimplementing process of prohibition policy, the county adopted the old way thatdivided into four aspects to carry on which were banning-plant, banning-embargo,banning-sells and banning-attracts, with each aspect coordinated mutually andpromoting the development of prohibition policy.Under the efforts of all parties, Dayu government had achieved a certain effecton banning, with various violated banning behaviors decreased obviously. But Japancarried out the policy of drugnational China, which made matters worse. At the sametime, because of its own shortcomings, succumbing to temptation of tax, weaknessof the government that lacked of clean and efficient agencies, banning measurescould not be guaranteed to carry out. It not showed that the banning plan could notmatch with actual execution, but also showed that on account of invalid financialsupport, especially in the latter stage of the National Government, severe economicscrisis had a negative impact on the banning policy. These facts resulted in bigdifficulties and resistance caused on the process of the nigh-year banning campaignin Dayu, with planting opium, taking narcotics, making and selling opium drugphenomenon still existed. It was not until the new China had been founded that thehistory task of prohibition in Dayu had completed at last.Throughout the banning campaign from1941to1949in Dayu, opium just like acancer of modern Chinese society, its dangers were not only smoking itself, but alsodeeply went into every level of the society. If there were not all aspects of politic,economic and social complete changes, the task would not be finished successfully.Only an independent sovereign country which has clean and efficient agencies thatcan be assure of implementing prohibition completely. Because NationalGovernment was not provided with the basic condition, the anti-smoking task wasdoomed to fail.