Tobacco.org

• Cigarette sales down in 2010 after price hike 

The year 2010 will apparently be worse for cigarette producers and sellers in the Czech Republic than last year because the January VAT hike followed by the February increase of excise duty on cigarettes has cut their consumption, according to Philip Morris's half-yearly report.

The tobacco market increased by 8.5 percent in Jan to March this year, but Q2 saw a drop of almost 6 percent, CTK has learnt from the report of the biggest producer of tobacco products in the Czech Republic. Cigarette consumption is expected to be lower also during the remaining months of the year, according to the report.

Tobacco producers say that raising taxes on cigarettes aimed at regulating the consumption of these harmful products and bringing in money to the state fails to have the required effect and boosts the black cigarette market instead.

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