烟厂 (yān chǎng) literally means 'smoke factory' and refers specifically to a tobacco factory — a facility where tobacco leaves are processed and manufactured into cigarettes, cigars, or other tobacco products. The character 烟 (yān) means 'smoke' or 'tobacco', while 厂 (chǎng) means 'factory' or 'plant'. Together, they form a compound noun that denotes an industrial site dedicated to tobacco production.

This term is commonly used in formal, administrative, or historical contexts — for example, when discussing state-owned enterprises in China’s industrial sector, labor history, or public health policy related to smoking. While less common in everyday casual speech (people might just say 'cigarette company'), 烟厂 appears frequently in news reports, official documents, and regional economic descriptions, especially in cities with long-standing tobacco industries like Kunming or Zhengzhou.