Tobacco.org

Editorial: Smoking and sin taxes  

There have been twofold messages from the European Union. The first is that Bulgaria has a limited time to bring its excises on tobacco products up to EU levels, and if reports about the planned increase in taxes on tobacco are correct, will do so ahead of schedule.

The second message from the EU is that it would like to have rules applicable universally across the bloc to discourage smoking, which Brussels says killed about 20 000 non-smokers a year through secondary smoke.

In Bulgaria, laws requiring separate non-smoking areas have proven to be a bad joke, and it is understandable that people sniff at plans to widen the "ban" in 2010. But high prices discourage purchases.

Most of all, those who oppose smoking say that the habit has an enormous impact on the economy through lost productivity and public costs of health care - and again, in Bulgaria, health care gets a low rating, with several reports of cancer treatment facilities being under-funded and inadequate. Inasmuch as higher prices for cigarettes will make smokers gasp, there will be others who will cheer.

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