A taste of home
Yet it isn't just special occasions and habit that have helped Chinese smokers form such close attachments to their cigarettes - it's the local nature of cigarette brands, whose packaging often draw on cultural, historical and geographical features.
"I am from Heilongjiang Province, and there we have brands named directly after Harbin, the capital of the province," says Dora Zhang, a Beijing tour guide, adding that it seems that the longer the history and the more profound the culture a city or province has, the more famous and well-known its local cigarettes are.
This isn't just an insidious bid at currying hometown favor; it has to do with the very structure of China's tobacco industry. Unlike other major tobacco companies around the world, China Tobacco Corporation - the biggest entity of its kind in China - does not directly produce and sell cigarettes, but rather farms that work out to 33 commercial corporations across the country, according to chinatobacco.com, a website about the Chinese tobacco industry.
These corporations are in charge of everything from market strategy to brand development, and with multiple major companies competing for a slice of the local market in each province, many end up working regional landmarks into their branding in hopes that some of their grandeur will rub off, according to the website.
Many Chinese people also purchase cigarettes as local specialities and souvenirs to give to their friends and relatives as gifts.
"[Even] many foreign tourists ask me where to buy authentic Zhongnanhai, and they wonder why the highest leader's residential palace serves as the name of a cigarette," says Zhang.
Exploring other deterrents
According to a 2015 report on adult tobacco consumption released by the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), China is home to over 316 million smokers, 15 million more than in 2010. Each smoker consumes an average of 15.2 cigarettes per day, an increase from 2010's average of 14.
The report's findings on the effects of warnings were bleak. More than 80 percent of interviewed smokers said they didn't care about the warnings printed on cigarette packages, and 74 percent claimed that they were "totally unafraid of the hazards brought by smoking."
Additionally, although 80 percent of Chinese people were aware that smoking can cause lung cancer, only 31 percent knew that it increased the risk of stroke, and 19 percent that it could cause impotence.
Still, there may be hope in other measures besides graphic photo warnings. According to a report by the Beijing Evening Daily in December, Beijing's recent smoking ban has raised public awareness about the dangers of smoking.
Another deterrent that's worked elsewhere is price hikes. According to a report by Caijing Magazine last May, China raised its tobacco tax for the third time ever in 2015, resulting in a six-percent rise in tobacco wholesale prices, and a seven-to-10 percent rise in retail prices. This means that the tax now accounts for 55 percent of the entire price of a pack. Though this is far below the 70-percent marker recommended by the WHO in 2014, it's a step in the right direction.
Of course, none of these measures will necessarily work to kill the emotional and aesthetic attachment that so many people - smokers and non-smokers alike - in China feel for their cigarettes. A case in point is the tour guide Zhang, who says she used to collect her grandfather's cigarette boxes that he got from Russia, which featured beautiful, artistic packaging.
"However, when I went to Russia recently, I found that the delicate boxes had all been replaced with horrible ones, and I learned that they passed legislation in 2013 to change the design of all the cigarettes sold in the country," said Zhang. "It's a pity the artwork-like boxes are gone, but I guess it's also a good thing."
