Tobacco.org

• Proposed Tobacco Tax Triggers Fear Of Increased Cigarette Smuggling  

Costa Rica's tobacco companies fear that a tax of more than ¢400 colones, as proposed in the anti-smoking law, the country could be flooded with smuggled goods.

"Such a tax will become prohibitive for the consumer, with that it will take away employment from the legal industry and give to the underground. The same channels used by the drug trafficking organizations can be used for tobacco smuggling", said Guillermo Oliva, director of Tabacalera Costarricense

Currently, only 10% of illegal tobacco product enters Costa Rica and sold at a cheaper price. Oliva fears that with the proposed tax it will increase smuggling.

A pack of 20cigarettes in Costa Rica sells for between ¢900and ¢1.500 colones (us$1.75 and us$2.95). At present, the tax on each pack of cigarette is between ¢360 and ¢380 colones, generating about ¢40 billion colones in taxes annually.

The proposed tax would more than double the current tax.

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• Costa Rica May Soon Join Other Half Of the World Already With Anti-Smoking Laws 

Costa Rica may soon be part of the growing list of countries to adopt measures aimed at protecting non-smokers from second hand smoke and part of the 150 million plus smokers in Latin America and the Caribbean that are finding it more and more difficult to smoke in public places.

But activists say bans on smoking must be accompanied by consciousness-raising and efforts at persuasion.

More than half the countries in the world already ban smoking in public places. Costa Rica, however, is in the half that doesn't, not having any regulations on smoking in public places or promote the dangers of smoking and the effect of second hand smoke. . . .

Since 2008, the Red Nacional Antitabaco, has been active in getting legislation passed. The president of the Red, Roberto Castro, told La Nación, "It is a shame as a country, if we pride ourselves on having one of the best health systems, how is it that possible that we do not already have this law here?".

For his part, Gerardo Lizano, manager of Corporate Affairs at British American Tobacco, one of the largest cigarette manufacturers in the country, said he recognizes the need for regulation on tobacco and believes that a transcendental point of the law is the tax on cigarettes and if the tax is too high it could increase the smuggling of the product.

One fact that rings out is that most smokers do not want to quit. Yes, they try all sorts of things to stop smoking, patches, nicotine gum, etc, but the truth is that "smoking is great", as one smoker told Inside Costa Rica recently, who opposes the ban on smoking.

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• Anti-smoking groups in Costa Rica draw attention to smoking ban bill  

More than 600,000 Ticos, 14 percent of the population, smoke cigarettes. An anti-tobacco bill designed to ban smoking in specific public places has been stuck in Congress since 2008.

With stringy black hair and orange highlights resting on each of her cheeks, Monika Alvarado, 34, hunched her shoulders and dropped her head to shield herself from an afternoon breeze. She slipped a Derby cigarette into her mouth and used her left hand to cup her lighter while lighting up a post-lunch smoke. . . .

Just blocks away from Alvarado’s post-lunch smoke, students and anti-tobacco groups led public demonstrations outside of the Legislative Assembly in celebration of “World No Tobacco Day.”

At 9 a.m., dozens of students from across the country arrived in front of Congress to lobby for the passage of a bill titled “The Control of Tobacco and its Harmful Effects on Health,” drafted in 2008. As demonstrations against tobacco broke out, volunteers placed cardboard cutouts of children lined in a row. Signs in the children’s imaginary hands read “I want to breathe clean air,” or “Cigarettes cause asthma.”

“One of our main objectives today is to create awareness about the effect of cigarette smoke on children,” Teresita Arrieta, a representative of the National Anti-Smoking Network of Costa Rica (Renata) told The Tico Times. “The effect of smoking on children carries a very high risk, and, if there is no alteration to legislation, it could result in illnesses throughout the country. About 160,000 children worldwide died last year due to the effects of smoking.”

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• Health Ministry Calls For Strict Anti-Smoking Legislation 

The anti-smoking bill was the topic of debate last Monday in the Legislative Assembly commission in Costa Rica. The bill was set to ban smoking in public places, but has been weakened with an amendment that will allow for special sectioned off smoking areas in bars, clubs, restaurants, and other businesses. This recent amendment violates the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, an international treaty with the aim to reduce smoking in public areas.

The Health Ministry, the public, and many anti-smoking groups are demonstrating strong support in favor of the original outright ban on smoking in public places. There is a fast growing Facebook page with over 15,000 fans in favor of banning smoking in public places in Costa Rica.

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Research and Markets: Tobacco in Costa Rica 

The Tobacco in Costa Rica report offers a comprehensive guide to the size and shape of the market at a national level. It provides the latest retail sales data (2002-2007), allowing you to identify the sectors driving growth. It identifies the leading companies, the leading brands and offers strategic analysis of key factors influencing the market - be the new legislative, distribution or pricing issues. Forecasts to 2012 illustrate how the market is set to change.

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British American Tobacco Inaugurates $7.5 Million Plant in Costa Rica 

British American Tobacco Caribbean and Central America (BATCCA) yesterday inaugurated a new $7.5 million office complex in Heredia, north of San José.

The new headquarters, to be called BATCCA Park, will offer services to 31 countries in human resources, financial planning, accounting, distribution and corporate services. The company plans to employ about 200 people there.

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Warning Of the Effects of Smoking To Be Included in Cigarette Packages 

The Tabacalera Costarricense, manufacturer of the Derby and Marboro brands in Costa Rica, will launch today a campaign to warn smokers of the effect of tobacco; its effect on health and addiction.

During the period of one year the Derby and Marlboro cigarette packages will include a small note that warn smokers of the risks.

The project is part of a program initiated by Tabacalera Costarricense parent, Philip Morris, in Latin America.

The messages to be contained in the note will warn smokers that smoking can cuase serious illness

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Tip of the Week 

Q: I've heard that Costa Rica doesn't grow tobacco. But I have noticed a few brands with Costa Rica listed as a filler tobacco. Can you explain?

A: A small amount of tobacco is grown in Costa Rica, but nowhere near as much as in Honduras or Nicaragua.

Costa Rica is not an ideal place to grow tobacco for a number of reasons, but some areas, such as the southern regions of San Ysidro and Puriscal, have been producing a small amount,

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International NGOs Call on Brazil, Ecuador and Costa Rica to Ratify Global Tobacco Treaty 

Today, an international coalition of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) is launching a campaign to call on the governments of Brazil, Ecuador and Costa Rica to ratify the global tobacco treaty. Corporate Accountability International is working closely with the Zero Tobacco Network (Brazil), Tribuna Ecuatoriana de Consumidores y Usarios (Ecuador), ALERTA (Costa Rica) and other members of the Network for Accountability of Tobacco Transnationals (NATT) to coordinate a Latin American Ratification Campaign Tour from 24 May through 4 June.

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• Estudian demanda contra empresas tabacaleras [Demands against Tobacco Companies Studied] 

The Costa Rican Department of Social Security (CCSS) studies to demand to the tobacco companies by the damage that they are causing in the health in this country, whose annual cost of extreme attention near 59 million dollars.

The demand, that the institution has been studying for several months, would be against Philip Morris Central America and the British American Tobacco, the two that operate in Costa Rica, informed to the Costa Rican press sources into the CCSS.

The expenses which the Social Insurance incurs are by medical consultations, hospitalizations, attention of urgencies and payment of incapacities of active and passive smokers (who inhale the smoke of smokers).

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