China's State Tobacco Monopoly Administration announced on Thursday that it had seized 3.46 billion fake brand cigarettes in the first half of 2006.

Law enforcement agencies arrested 2,858 people in connection with fake brand cigarettes, with 844 prosecuted, said Zhang Xiulian, the administration's spokesman.

Zhang said the tobacco industry produced over one trillion cigarettes in the first six months, and achieved over 150 billion yuan (US$18.75 billion) in pre-tax profits, a year-on-year increase of 18.5 percent.

He said China's tobacco industry was getting stronger through acquisitions and mergers. At the end of June, China has 40 tobacco production companies, compared with 151 in 2000. Five companies boasted an annual output of 100 billion cigarettes.

Chin has about 300 million smokers.

(Xinhua News Agency July 14, 2006)