The World - News from July 29, 1988

The Chinese government raised the base prices of its best cigarettes and alcoholic beverages in an effort to break up a thriving black market, and it allowed state-run stores to set the retail prices for the first time. The cost of a pack of a popular brand of cigarettes went up nearly 400%, from 49 cents to $1.90 per pack, and the price of a fifth of a bottle of spirits shot up 750%, to $40.50. The black market holds a virtual monopoly on top-quality cigarettes and liquor in China.