Tobacco.org

• Seventy per cent of Bulgarian smokers wanted to quit, survey says  

More than 70 per cent of smokers in Bulgaria wanted to give up smoking, Yulia Medichkova of the Greenwild Foundation was quoted by Bulgarian news agency BTA as saying on November 19 2009.

Medichkova presented the results of a one-year campaign entitled The Culture of Breathing. Over 50 per cent of Bulgarians approved of increased restrictions on smoking that will be introduced by mid-2010. Bulgaria ranks third in the world in terms of number of smokers, after Japan and Greece, Medichkova said.

What was more worrying, according to another survey released by the Health Ministry on November 17 2009, was that every second pregnant woman in Bulgaria smoked during pregnancy.

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• Burning money 

UP IN SMOKE: Contraband cigarettes are incinerated in Montenegro in 2007. Bulgarian tobacco interests allege that reported plans to send cigarette excises soaring from 2010 will push business towards the illegal market.

Bulgaria, which has the second-highest rate of smoking in the European Union, is said to be set to make smokers cough up about 30 per cent more for cigarettes in 2010 - bringing forward by a year increased excises to EU levels in a move designed to help state coffers through increased revenue and decreased health costs.

Finance Minister Simeon Dyankov has confirmed that excises on tobacco products will go up, although with the 2010 Budget not yet finalised, there is no official confirmation yet of the precise price hikes.

Media reports of the planned move brought an outcry from tobacco interests who said that it would worsen Bulgaria's already considerable cigarette smuggling problem and drive the country's tobacco products giant Bulgartabak to bankruptcy. , , ,

Bulgaria's northern neighbour and fellow EU member Romania has taken the route of increased excises - twice in 2009 - on the way to matching EU levels in 2010. Lithuania also has twice raised excises in 2009, pushing cigarette prices up by close to 50 per cent in a year.

A sole reversal of the trend was in Croatia

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• Bulgaria raising cigarette tax to curb smoking  

Bulgaria's new government will raise excise duties on cigarettes 43 percent next year in a bid to curb smoking and relieve the health care system, the finance ministry said on Thursday.

The Balkan country, which is home to 7.6 million people, has the second highest percentage of smokers in Europe and has decided to ban smoking in all public spaces from June next year.

Bulgaria ranks second after Greece in the EU in terms of number of regular smokers as a percentage of the population, according to a Eurobarometer survey. More than half of men and more than a third of women smoke.

Finance Minister Simeon Djankov said the excise duties on cigarettes will jump to 76 euros ($110.7) per 1,000 pieces as of January 1 from 53 euros

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• Fake and dangerous Victory Light cigarettes on the Bulgarian market  

Fake Victory Light cigarettes are in circulation on the Bulgarian market, and batches of them were intercepted in Kyustendil and Blagoevgrad, Bulgarian National Television (BNT) said on July 28 2009.

The apparent discrepancies are in the packaging, ingredients and the lack of an excise stamp, Bulgartabak Holding, maker of Victory Light - long the brand leader among smokers in Bulgaria - said in a statement. . . .

"The worst part of the matter is that we don;t know where they come from and what's inside," said Ivan Bilarev, executive manager of Bulgartabak Holding. He said that the fakes could harm the image of the Victory brand and that "anything lacking an excise stamp is a serious blow to the state budget".

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• Bulgaria votes for smoking ban in public places  

Bulgarian lawmakers voted on Friday to ban smoking in all public spaces from June 2010, ignoring protests from tobacco producers and the tourist industry in Europe's number two smoker.

The Black Sea country has already banned smoking in hospitals, taxis and offices and requires restaurant and bar owners to designate non-smoking areas, but the measures have been widely ignored.

Bulgaria ranks second after Greece in the European Union in terms of number of regular smokers as a percentage of the population, according to a recent Eurobarometer survey.

More than half of its men and more than a third of women in the European Union newcomer of 7.6 million people smoke.

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• Russia disputes ownership of Bulgarian tobacco company 

The Southeast European Times is reporting that Russia intends to take back a number of companies abroad that were once the property of the former Soviet Union, including Bulgarian cigarette maker Bulgartabac, Vladimir Kozhin, head of Russia's Presidential Property Management Department, said on Thursday April 9.

Bulgartabac is a Bulgarian tobacco holding company and one of the leading tobacco products producers in Central and Eastern Europe, as well as a major European cigarette producer. Established in 1947 and based in Sofia, it includes 22 joint-stock subsidiary companies in the tobacco-growing regions of the country. . . .

"We are investigating ... and if we find out that the company was once ours, but in a not very legal way has come into foreign hands, we will launch a procedure for its return," Kozhin said, quoted by the Southeast European Times.

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• Half of Pregnant Women in Bulgaria Active Smokers 

The European Commission's "Help - a life without smoking" campaign started in 2007 in Bulgaria. Its priorities are prevention of smoking, quitting smoking, and the risks of passive smoking. Photo by Sofia Photo Agency * buy photo *

Bulgarians are the third most active smokers among European members, and half of the pregnant women smoke.

The ranking was announced Monday after a survey done by the organizers of the "Help - a life without smoking" campaign.

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• Bulgarian FC President Arrested in Greece over Cigarette Smuggling in UK 

The President of Bulgaria's Belasitsa football club Kostadin Hadzhiivanov, dubbed Kotse Matsa, was arrested Tuesday in Greece over cigarette smuggling in the UK. Photo by gong.bg

The President of Bulgaria's Belasitsa football club Kostadin Hadzhiivanov, dubbed Kotse Matsa, was arrested Tuesday in Greece over cigarette smuggling in the UK.

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• Bulgaria tightens railway safety after train fire 

Bulgaria will ban smoking and flammable items on trains and upgrade emergency procedures after a fire swept through two sleeper carriages last week, killing nine people, the Transport minister said on Thursday.

The fire which began on Feb. 28 was the worst railway incident in Bulgaria since 1992. It has provoked debate about safety standards at state railway company BDZ and prompted calls for Transport Minister Petar Mutafchiev to resign.

Police are investigating the cause of the fire and prosecutors said they did not rule out anything.

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• 64 per cent of pregnant Bulgarians carry on smoking  

More than half of pregnant Bulgarian women could not manage to stop smoking, a Surecheck marketing research announced on January 9 as reported by mediapool.bg.

64 per cent of future Bulgarian mothers realised the harm inflicted on their child and yet only cut down on smoking instead of completely stopping.

The research was carried out among women-smokers between 22 and 53 years of age, mediapool.bg said. According to it the main factor that prevented pregnant women from stopping smoking was a lack of will.

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• NUMBER OF SMOKERS AGED BETWEEN 12 AND 16 IN BULGARIA INCREASES BY NINE PER CENT IN THREE YEARS  

The number of smokers aged between 12 and 16 has steadily increases in the past three years, said social and marketing research agency Afis manager Yuriy Aslanov.

Three years ago, only nine per cent of young people in that age were smokers, while the current figure is 18 per cent, he said as quoted by Focus news agency.

Most of the people in Bulgaria become smokers at the age of 16 to 18, Aslanov said. Some 62 per cent of people aged up to 35 are smokers.

The number of smokers in Bulgaria is sufficiently high compared to European countries, but it has already started decreasing. . . .

Between 60 and 70 per cent of Bulgarians agree that smoking in public places should be banned. The figure includes smokers and non-smokers. Almost equal number of smokers and non-smokers think that smokers should pay higher health care instalments.

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• Bulgaria Marks World No Tobacco Day with Free Medical Check on Smokers 

Bulgarians in several towns around he country will mark the World No Tobacco Day with free medical check on smokers on Thursday.

This year the World Health Organization set the motto of the day to "Smoke-free environments".

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• 97% of Bulgarians Back Ban on Smoking- Survey 

More than 97% of the Bulgarians support a full or partial ban on smoking at public places, an inquiry, conducted by the EU shows.

The campaign for establishing the citizens' attitude toward the harmful activity was organized by the EU Health Commissioner Markos Kiprianou and continued until April 15.

A total of 368 individuals, families and even whole companies' members gave their opinion in letters, sent to Bulgaria's Health Ministry.

Bulgarians, who live in the US, France, UK, Spain and other countries were among the respondents as well.

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• Health: Bulgaria Stubs out Full Ban on Smoking 

Bulgaria's government rejected a proposed full ban on smoking, leaving restrictions as they are now.

The ministers discussed Thursday the national program for restricting smoking and approved it except for the ban article.

The European Union's health chief urged earlier in the week all countries in the bloc to prohibit smoking in public places, following the example of Ireland, Italy, Sweden and Scotland.

Under Bulgaria's legislation each bar and restaurant should separate the smokers' area from that of the non-smokers. Still, many owners don't exactly follow the law to the letter.

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• EU Measures against Tobacco Smoking in Bulgaria 

The requirements of the European program for stopping tobacco smoking will be voted in the cabinet in a today's session.

Radoslav Gaidarski, Health Minister of Bulgaria plans drastic measures against the tobacco smokers.

Smoking in offices, restaurants, bars, pubs and disco clubs will be forbidden as it is in Italy, Spain, Ireland, USA and many other countries.

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