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Slovak govt OKs cigarette tax hike from Feb 2009  

The Slovak government approved on Wednesday a rise in excise taxes on cigarettes from February 2009 to comply with EU norms, a move that will increase state revenues this year but curb 2009 budget income.

Under the approved draft, which now needs to be passed by parliament, the minimum tax will rise to 2.45 crowns ($0.124) per cigarette next year, from the current 2.10 crowns. Tobacco tax will stay at 1,930 crowns per kilo.

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• Slovak Smokers Dodge 26% Tax as Cheap Cigarettes Flood Market 

Novotny is among 1.3 million smokers in the eastern European country benefiting from an unlikely tax break. Imperial Tobacco Plc and Altria Group Inc., the makers of Davidoff and Marlboro cigarettes, flooded warehouses with more than 200 million packs before a 26 percent increase in the government levy on tobacco was introduced on Jan. 1. This strategy allows retailers to sell them at last year's prices, or about half of what they cost in Germany.

Smokers aren't the only ones benefiting. The Slovak economy expanded 14.1 percent in the fourth quarter, the fastest pace in the 27-nation EU, with cigarette taxes and tobacco stockpiling contributing 4.4 percentage points to growth in gross domestic product.

``We included some tobacco products stock-building in our forecast, but the 4.4 percent of GDP is breathtaking,'' Miroslav Plojhar, an economist at JPMorgan Chase & Co. in London said in a research note. ``It seems that tobacco factories had to work all day and night to produce such a huge amount of cigarettes.''

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• Bill on Protection of Non-Smokers Presented for a Public Debate  

The Public Health Authority (UVZ) submitted to parliament for a public discussion a draft amendment to the law on protection of non-smokers. Inspired by legislation in Ireland, Italy, Norway, Malta, Great Britain and Sweden, the Slovak Health Ministry and the Public Health Authority elaborated a draft revision to the law on protection of non-smokers. The aim of the draft amendment is to improve conditions for protection of non-smokers in public places, chiefly through a ban on smoking in restaurants with an area exceeding fifty square meters.

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IA New Bill Bans Advertisement of Tobacco Products in Slovenia 

a. A new bill, which bans the advertisement of tobacco products, comes into force in Slovenia today, Kosovapress reported. The bill bans any kind of advertisement of all tobacco products on the territory of the country.

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• Slovakia joins EU tobacco lawsuit 

SLOVAKIA has joined other European nations in a lawsuit against two tobacco concerns, RJ Reynolds and Japan Tobacco.

The decision by the Slovak cabinet to join the European Union alliance was motivated by "the alleged involvement in cigarette smuggling and money laundering" on the part of RJ Reynolds and Japan Tobacco, Mikulás Gera, the Finance Ministry's press officer, told The Slovak Spectator.

The Finance Ministry hopes for a greater chance to succeed by joining other countries of the European Union than by fighting its battle alone.

The lawsuit is being fought on United States soil under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) legislation, which came into effect in 1970 to fight corporate crime.

The prosecution maintains that RJ Reynolds and Japan Tobacco knowingly supplied an excess of goods to countries bordering the European Union, where excise taxes comprise 80 percent of the retail price of cigarettes, thus aiding and abetting the smuggling trade.

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Total smoking ban fails ($$) 

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Smokers would not mind stricter rules on smoking 

AN MVK survey carried out for the daily SME found that many smokers support restrictions on smoking. Only 19.9 percent said there should be no restrictions, the daily reported.

Robert Ochaba, an expert on tobacco control, told SME that the survey confirms that smoking is no longer considered normal, trendy, or acceptable.

Respondents also confirmed the growing trend of a ban of smoking in the work place. Only 10.3 percent said that their work place allowed unrestricted smoking.

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European Union launches union-wide anti-smoking campaign 

THE EUROPEAN Union has launched a massive anti-smoking campaign worth ?72 million. The campaign, entitled "Help: For a Life Without Tobacco", primarily targets adolescents and young adults.

At a campaign stop in Slovakia on March 31, EU officials said they would tour all 25-member states to present the new campaign. The goal is to encourage people to quit smoking and to prevent non-smokers from lighting up.

"It is easy to take up smoking but hard to quit. It is important to deliver the message that a cigarette in hand is not the sign of a modern man," Eric van der Linden, the European Commission's representative in Slovakia, told a press conference.

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Cigarettes Worth USD 1 Million Confiscated In Slovakia 

Police has confiscated cigarettes worth more than USD 1 Million in Slovakia, RBK reported. The destination of the illegal load has been Poland.

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Company to prevent smoking 

A TOBACCO firm and tobacco distributors have joined in a project aimed at the prevention of smoking among youth.

The Slovak branch of Philip Morris recently launched the project, called Age Matters, which should educate the general public as well as tobacco dealers about the health risks of smoking, focusing on the young generation.

Starting on July 15, the project is designed to prevent youth from getting access to tobacco products. According to estimates, as many as 55 percent of the Slovak teenagers smoke.

The head of Philip Morris Slovakia said the company organised the project because "active participation in solving the problem of youth smokers is one of the most frequent areas in which the public expects us to take concrete steps." . . .

The Slovak Trade Inspectorate (SOI), which monitors Slovak shops' adherence to laws, has also welcomed the activity of the tobacco firm.

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State loses billions in tax fraud 

PRODUCERS and retailers of tobacco products estimate tobacco excise tax evasions reach between Sk4 billion (100 million) and Sk7 billion (175 million) annually, while spirit excise tax evasion is estimated at hundreds of millions of crowns, the private news agency SITA wrote.

According to an analysis prepared by the Finance Ministry, the problem with tobacco and tobacco products lies mainly in smuggling from Slovakia's eastern neighbour Ukraine, where the tax on such products and their final price is significantly lower than in Slovakia.

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Non-Smokers Protection Law won't Protect much 

The newly passed law on protection of non-smokers from passive smoking will not actually protect them from anything, writes Narodna obroda daily. Under the original wording, restaurant owners would have had to divide smoking and non-smoking areas with a screen, but the approved version dropped this provision. As a result, the law will have little effect.

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Winners quit and quitters win 

QUITTING smoking could be a double gain for smokers who join the next Quit&Win contest. Apart from winning better health, prizes of up to $10,000 (8,285) will be pocketed by the winners of the annual contest.

International Quit&Win 2004 is a smoking cessation competition that will be held in May in about 100 countries worldwide. Adult daily smokers and other tobacco users who have smoked for at least one year can take part in the contest.

Under the rules, competitors try to abstain from smoking and using tobacco products for a four-week period, from May 2 to 29. Participants need to fill in an application form, in Slovakia available at www.uvzsr.sk, and send it to the their national coordinating office by May 2.

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Smoking them out 

JUST ONE day after Health Minister Rudolf Zajac appealed to the country's smokers to quit their bad habit, the cabinet approved a new law to better shield non-smokers from Slovakia's smoking population, estimated to be 34 percent strong.

The new non-smokers' protection law updates the country's legislation, which was approved for the fist time in 1997 but was difficult to enforce, according to the Health Ministry.

The new law extends smoking bans by areas such as bus stations, elementary and secondary schools, healthcare facilities, and waiting rooms, and increases penalties for breaking the rules. Individuals ignoring non-smoking bans will be fined up to Sk5,000 (120), while cigarette vendors and tobacco producers could pay between Sk100,000 (2,471) and Sk10 million (247,121) if caught selling tobacco products to people under 18.

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Slovakia softens smoking bill 

The Slovak cabinet has softened its smoking provisions, Health Minister Rudolf Zajac told daily the SME. Paradoxically, it was the non-smoking ministers who had insisted on the softer provisions, he added.

Education Minister Martin Fronc objected to the smoking ban at dormitories and universities, and Labour Minister Ludovit Kanik rejected the proposal that the smoking and non-smoking areas at restaurants be separated by walls.

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