Tobacco.org

New tax raises cigarette prices 36%  

Smokers will now pay just over 36 per cent more for a pack of cigarettes, according to Carreras Limited, the primary marketer and distributor of cigarettes and tobacco products in Jamaica.

The price increase comes as a result of a new tax package announced by Finance Minister Audley Shaw in his Budget presentation last week.

Jump to full article »

Smokers await their fate  

Local smokers will have to wait until tomorrow to find out how much more they will pay for cigarettes.

Smokers now pay between $15 and $20 for each cigarette and between $250 and $400 for each 20-pack of the more popular brands.

But those prices are expected to increase with the changes in the tax structure announced by Finance Minister Audley Shaw last Thursday.

Jump to full article »

• $5 more per cigarette  

The island's leading importer of cigarettes, Carreras Limited, yesterday announced that the price of a cigarette will increase to $20, up from $15.

The suggested retail price for a 20-pack of the popular brands Craven 'A' and Matterhorn has been increased to $380, up from $280.

Smokers will have to pay more than $400 for a pack of Dunhill.

According to Carreras, the price increase reflects the sharp hike in the tax on cigarettes announced by Finance Minister Audley Shaw in his recent budget presentation.

Under the new tax structure, the stamp duty, excise duty and ad valorem tax on cigarettes have been eliminated.

Jump to full article »

Fees and taxes for guns and cigarettes drastically increase 

And smokers will have to pay more Monday for cigarettes.

On Monday morning Carreras announced that one stick of its Craven "A" cigarette will be sold for $20 up from $15.

The increase is due to a hike in a Special Consumption Tax paid by cigarette importers.

Jump to full article »

• Cigarette market under threat - Organised crime unit called in  

Local cigarette retailer Carreras Limited is in a fight to reclaim its market from what highly placed sources say is a thriving underground trade for cigarettes controlled by bosses of organised crime.

Carreras, a listed company that is 51 per cent owned by British American Tobacco (BAT), has been running press advertisements warning consumers of counterfeit Craven A cigarettes on the market, a brand made by its sister operations in the region, and which it has exclusive licence to sell here.

The racketeers undersell Carreras by some $10,000 per case to retailers, Wednesday Business understands. On the weekend, Carreras also began to issue warnings about two other brands, Rothmans and Benson & Hedges over which it also has exclusive rights.

Yesterday, attempts at official comment from Carreras' managing director Michael Bernard failed, but well placed sources say company executives are keeping quiet for security reasons, saying the perpetrators are considered 'dangerous' people.

Jump to full article »

Jamaica Cancer Society Launches Anti-Tobacco Poster Competition  

As part of its continued effort to prevent young persons from smoking and getting hooked on other tobacco related vices, the Jamaica Cancer Society (JCS) has launched its Anti-Tobacco Poster Competition for students in Grades 1 to 6.

The aim of the competition is to educate children about the dangers of smoking and tobacco use and also to increase awareness among the nation's youth about the benefits of a healthy lifestyle, which includes not smoking.

"Our mission is to eliminate cancer as a major health problem in whatever areas that we know that the disease will be caused by certain lifestyles and we place a lot of emphasis on these areas," Carol Blair, Administrative Director of the JCS told JIS News in an interview.

Jump to full article »

Local IAAF member moves to ban smoking at sporting arenas 

DR Herbert Elliott, member of the International Association of Athletics Federations Medical and Anti-doping Commission, has suggested that government bans smoking at all sporting arenas.

Speaking at the weekly luncheon of the Rotary Club of Kingston at the Jamaica Pegasus Hotel in Kingston yesterday, Dr Elliot said such a move would not only serve to protect members of the public from the effects of secondary smoke, but athletes as well.

ELLIOTT... if it's in your body, it's your responsibility to keep it out

"We have a system in sports where if it's in your body, we don't care how it got there, it's your responsibility to keep it out. It's harsh but that is the only way we can operate," he said.

Jump to full article »

'Ban smoking in public' 

Dr. Herb Elliott, a member of the International Amateur Athletics Federation (IAAF) Medical and Anti-Doping Commission, wants the Jamaican government to ban smoking in public places, especially at sporting events.

"Smoking should be banned from public spaces, from restaurants and bars," Dr. Elliott, told reporters, yesterday, following the Rotary Club of Kingston's weekly meeting at the Jamaica Pegasus hotel in New Kingston.

Jump to full article »

Teens hooked on nicotine 

Some 19 per cent of students between the ages of 13 and 17 who participated in the Global Tobacco Youth Survey (GTYS) in 2006 have indicated their intention to continue smoking.

"What this study found was that almost one-third of students who confessed to having parents who smoke indicated that they intend to smoke in the future while 16 per cent of students whose parents did not smoke say they intended to smoke in the future. So there is a correlation, we feel, between parents who smoke and the projected use of the cigarette in our adolescent population that we studied," revealed Ellen Campbell-Grizzle of the National Council on Drug Abuse (NCDA) at a forum last Thursday.

Dr. Campbell-Grizzle was giving a presentation on 'Tobacco: Impact on Jamaica's Youth' at the NCDA-organised forum at the Eden Gardens Hotel.

Jump to full article »

Cigarette Co ordered to pay $2B in taxes 

THE Revenue Court yesterday ruled that the Cigarette Company of Jamaica (CCJ) should pay $2.17 billion in taxes on money the company transferred to its parent, Carreras Group, over the six years to 2002.

In 2004, the commissioner of the Taxpayer Audit and Assessment Department (TAAD), had asserted that the CCJ, now in voluntary liquidation and formerly the subsidiary of Carreras, racked up $5.72 billion in taxes and penalties between 1997 and 2002.

Jump to full article »

Carreras loses tax case - But freed of $3.5 billion penalty  

Carreras Limited has lost its four-year legal battle with tax collectors, but can claim some level of vindication from a High-Court decision that has freed it from paying out billions in penalties, while holding it liable for the original taxes.

The Taxpayer Audit and Assessment Department (TAAD) had assessed the Cigarette Company of Jamaica (CCJ), a now defunct subsidiary of Carreras, as owing $5.7 billion in taxes and penalties, saying the company had failed to pay taxes on a transaction between them.

On Wednesday, the Revenue Court, a division of Jamaica's Supreme Court, threw out Carrera's appeal of the TAAD assessment, and ruled that the company must pay the $2.17 billion in taxes.

Jump to full article »

NEITA: No more smoking 

I started with the odd cigarette as a social smoker. When I stopped, I was smoking at least one pack of 20 cigarettes every day. The only times I did not smoke during my 'puffing' days were when I had a cold.

tax on cigarettes

I hated every Minister of Finance in those days. . .

All those years I tried to stop smoking, and failed. Once, K.D. Knight and I had to pay each other a dollar if either caught the other smoking. That did not work.

I do not know why I stopped smoking. It just happened. Since then, I have discovered that tobacco has an awful smell.

Jump to full article »

Legislation coming to discourage smoking in public spaces 

THE Health Ministry hopes to have legislation in place by the end of the year, that will seek to discourage the purchase and smoking of tobacco products in public spaces.

Last year the government said it would move to impose a total ban on cigarette advertising and on smoking in all state-owned buildings, following Cabinet's approval of Jamaica's ratification of the United Nations Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) in 2005. However, Dr Eva Lewis Fuller, acting permanent secretary in the Ministry of Health, told the Observer that the ministry experienced several setbacks in pushing the legislations forward.

Jump to full article »

CAMPBELL-GRIZZLE: Students want smoking ban in public places  

We now know that approximately two-thirds of Jamaican students are exposed to smoking in public places. Findings from the CDC/PAHO Global Youth Tobacco Survey (GTYS) 2006, reveal that the overwhelming majority of students (82 per cent) favour the banning of smoking in public places.

Our children want to breathe clean air and deserve the opportunity to live healthy lives. They are aware of the dangers of smoking, however, many are too intimidated to object to adult smoking in their presence. The truth is that they should not be subjected to such life-threatening situations and adults must act to protect the life and health of all children.

The GYTS 2006 confirms that nearly one-third of the children in Jamaica live with parents who smoke. . . .

Now that you know of the dangers that ETS poses to your family, you may wish to quit smoking. This would be a wise decision for the sake of your children, your family and yourself. You should know that cigarette smoking is highly addictive and that you need help to quit.

Consult with your doctor as to the best course that you should take. Also, the National Council of Drug Abuse (NCDA) can refer to treatment centres that are currently treating tobacco addiction. Call 1-888-991-4244. for help.

Jump to full article »

A breath of hope 

People who have difficulty breathing may be suffering from Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD). This is a disease that makes it difficult for air to move into and out of your lungs. It causes the airways of your lungs to be inflamed and become blocked. The airways become irritated and red, and make too much sticky mucus.

Cigarette smoking is the major known risk factor. Many persons have COPD and do not know. The disease progresses slowly. However, lung damage can develop long before you notice any symptoms.

Jump to full article »