http://www.tobacco.org/newsfeed/country/armenia.rss Latest top tobacco news headlines en-us http://news.am/eng/news/84296.html http://tobacco.org/news/329889.html YEREVAN. - Not only average citizens but also high ranked officials break the law of smoking restriction in public and working areas. The video camera of Armenian News-NEWS.am reader filmed how Armenia's Minister of Environment Aram Harutyunyan violates the law. The minister was smoking in the National Assembly (Armenian parliament), where laws are written, including the smoking restriction law. News.am Armenia Fri, 02 Dec 2011 05:00:00 GMT http://www.eurasianet.org/node/63988 http://tobacco.org/news/324427.html There’s no getting around the fact that Armenia is a nation of smokers, with more than half the male population regularly lighting up. Despite the recent passage of anti-smoking legislation, the country is struggling to enforce relevant laws and promote public awareness about the harmful effects of cigarettes and second-hand smoke. Armenia’s high rate of poverty – with almost one-third of the country’s 2.97 million people living below the poverty line -- correlates strongly to high rates of smoking, as individuals use tobacco to cope with stress and relieve boredom. A 2009 Health Systems Performance Assessment conducted by the Armenian Ministry of Health, the World Health Organization and the World Bank estimated that 58 percent of Armenian males 20 years old and over smoke daily, one of the highest rates in Europe. The rate among women, though disputed, is believed to be growing as well. The practice leaves Armenian adults increasingly at risk for diseases associated with tobacco consumptio . . . Without widespread public awareness about the dangers of smoking, the national practice of puffing away at home most likely will not diminish, said Movsisyan, who is researching the number of Armenians who smoke at home. “We've never had mass campaigns on TV, and it's difficult to change public awareness without mass campaigns,” she said. Meanwhile, the access to supply looks set to increase. Legislation adopted this year lowered the tax-rate gap between international and national brands, a move seen as favoring international tobacco imports. Philip Morris International, which exports nine cigarette brands to Armenia, plans to expand its presence in the country. . . . Six years after its adoption, compliance with a 2005 law that bans smoking in hospitals, cultural and educational institutions and on public transportation remains haphazard. Similar neglect marks the 2006 introduction of separate sections in restaurants and cafes for smokers and non-smokers. “There are laws, but very few people follow them. EurasiaNet info@eurasianet.org (Liana Aghajanian) Armenia Tue, 02 Aug 2011 04:00:00 GMT http://news.am/eng/news/61381.html http://tobacco.org/news/320871.html YEREVAN. - The World Health Organization will mark World No Tobacco Day on May 31. In the framework of World No Tobacco day Yerevan will hold a march for protection of non-smokers' rights, scheduled to start at American University of Armenia and close at the building of Youth Foundation of Armenia. The action is organized by "Armenia Without Tobacco" bloc. News.am Armenia Tue, 31 May 2011 04:00:00 GMT http://vestnikkavkaza.net/news/society/14372.html http://tobacco.org/news/320867.html Yerevan will hold a march for non-smokers. It will start at the American University and end at the Armenian Youth Fund. The march was organized by a public organization - "Armenia Without Tobacco". Vestnik Kavkaza Armenia Tue, 31 May 2011 04:00:00 GMT http://www.tobaccojournal.com/Equal_treatment_for_cigarette_importers_enforced.50528.0.html http://tobacco.org/news/319894.html The Armenian government last week approved a bill that gives equal rights to cigarette importers and local manufacturers, reports the Armenian news agency Arka. . . . This ends a dispute with Ukraine which in 2010 blamed Armenia for creating an unfavorable regime for the import of Ukrainian tobacco and alcoholic products thus breaching WTO rules Tobacco Journal International Armenia Ukraine Fri, 13 May 2011 04:00:00 GMT http://www.panarmenian.net/eng/economy/news/69150/Government_gives_equal_rights_to_cigarette_importers_local_manufacturers http://tobacco.org/news/319472.html The Armenian government has approved a bill on legislative changes to be introduced in the laws on domestic market protection, licensing and state duty. As Economy Minister Tigran Davtyan said, the bill gives equal rights to cigarette importers and local manufacturers. In October 2010, the Armenian parliament passed amendments to the law on excise tax. The amendments envisage a stage-by-stage equalization of rates for both local producers and importers till 2014. The World Trade Organization (WTO) rules prohibit any fiscal or regulatory preferences for domestic products. PanArmenian Network Armenia Thu, 05 May 2011 04:00:00 GMT http://www.panarmenian.net/eng/economy/interview/60464/Philip_Morris_going_to_expand_activity_in_Armenian_cigarette_market http://tobacco.org/news/315657.html In 2010, Armenian government took some measures to regulate the cigarette market and determine approaches to local manufacturers and importers. Regional manager of Armenian representation of Philip Morris Management Services B. V., the major cigarette importer in Armenia, Mr. Sargis Tsaghikyan commented on the company's future plans in an interview with PanARMENIAN.Net. What performance indicators did the Company have by the end of 2010? Does it manage to get the pre-crisis level of sales? According Philip Morris Management Services B. V. Representative Office (PMA) is an affiliate of Philip Morris International Inc (PMI)3. With having strong and balanced brand portfolio in Armenia, presented in most price segments and consumer preference categories, we have responded to adult consumer needs. Our distribution partners provided high level of service to our customers. We are pleased with our business performance and will continue to work to grow our market share in Armenia. PanArmenian Network Armenia Mon, 31 Jan 2011 05:00:00 GMT http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hD0ffxlYdFp5kXK3vAiVnGZgOuvQ?docId=c91e43cdbe194be5b1ddd7e3e622cea0 http://tobacco.org/news/310303.html Early one morning in March, two Armenians slipped aboard a train in the Georgian capital of Tbilisi, unaware they were being watched. They removed a pack of Marlboro Reds hidden in a maintenance box between two cars. Inside the pack, Georgian authorities say, was nuclear bomb grade uranium, encased in lead. Before long, Georgian officials seized the uranium and arrested the men, breaking up a ring they say was willing to sell material for nuclear weapons to any bidder. International officials see the operation as one victory in the effort to prevent nuclear weapons from falling into terrorists' hands. . . . Radiation detectors on the Georgia-Armenia border under a U.S. program apparently failed to pick up the uranium hidden in the cigarette pack. Pavlenishvili said Ohanian correctly predicted the lead casing would conceal the uranium from the detectors. A larger quantity might have been detected. Associated Press Armenia Georgia Sun, 07 Nov 2010 04:00:00 GMT http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-11709416 http://tobacco.org/news/310302.html Georgia has revealed how it intercepted a group of smugglers trying to sell weapons-grade uranium on the black market. The men, both Armenian, slipped across the border into Georgia at night before being arrested in a sting operation. Highly-enriched uranium can be used to make nuclear bombs. . . . Georgian investigators say that back in March, the two Armenians stashed the highly-enriched uranium in a lead-lined cigarette container, concealed it in the night train from the Armenian capital Yerevan to Tbilisi, and made their own way across the border. BBC Online Armenia Georgia Mon, 08 Nov 2010 05:00:00 GMT http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/nuclear-smuggling-exposed-in-secret-trial-2128147.html http://tobacco.org/news/310301.html Nuclear weapons-grade uranium is now available on the black market in Georgia, according to officials who broke up a smuggling ring in the former Soviet republic. Highly enriched uranium was smuggled from Armenia to Georgia in a lead-lined cigarette packet in March. Two men involved in transporting the substance were arrested in April. The Independent Armenia Georgia Mon, 08 Nov 2010 05:00:00 GMT http://armenianow.com/social/health/25254/smoking_tobacco_control_armenia http://tobacco.org/news/309081.html Since 2009, October 12th has been observed in Armenia as National “No Tobacco” Day. In September-October 2010, the Center for Health Services Research and Development of the American University of Armenia (AUA) conducted monitoring to assess the tobacco control policy implementation in Yerevan. This program is being implemented with support from the American Cancer Society, UK Cancer Research, and the Framework Convention Alliance. According to the information from the Center for Health Services Research and Development of the AUA, the results of the current monitoring program in Yerevan suggest that serious problems exist in the implementation of tobacco control policy requiring appropriate solutions to protect all citizens of the RA from exposure to secondhand smoke at worksites and public places. The research team visited randomly selected governmental, cultural, educational and health institutions to evaluate the compliance with the RA Law “On Restrictions of Tobacco Sales, Consumption and Use”. (According to this Law, smoking is banned in all cultural, educational and health institutions; in other workplaces, smoking is allowed only in specially designated areas.) ArmeniaNow.com Armenia Wed, 13 Oct 2010 04:00:00 GMT http://www.wto.org/english/tratop_e/dispu_e/cases_e/ds411_e.htm http://tobacco.org/news/307976.html On 20 July 2010, Ukraine requested consultations with Armenia regarding Armenia's measures affecting the importation and internal sale of cigarettes and alcoholic beverages. Ukraine alleged that Armenia's law "On Presumptive Tax for Tobacco Products" of 24 March 2000 levies discriminatory internal taxes on imported tobacco products and is therefore in violation of Article III of the GATT 1994 and paragraph 1.2 of Armenia's Protocol of Accession to the WTO. Moreover, the law imposes customs duties on such imported tobacco products at a rate of 24 per cent, which is higher than Armenia's WTO bound rate of 15 per cent. As to imported alcoholic beverages, Ukraine alleges that Armenia's law "On Excise Tax" of 7 July 2000 applies higher excise taxes on imported alcoholic beverages than on like domestic products. Ukraine considers that this is also inconsistent with Armenia's obligations under Article III of the GATT 1994. World Trade Organization webmaster@wto.org Armenia Ukraine Thu, 29 Jul 2010 04:00:00 GMT http://www.kyivpost.com/news/business/bus_general/detail/83121/ http://tobacco.org/news/307974.html For the first time since Ukraine became World Trade Organization (WTO) member, it has requested that the WTO Dispute Settlement Body establish a panel to settle a dispute with Armenia over less favorable conditions for the import of Ukrainian tobacco and alcohol than those of national origin. The request was posted on the WTO's web site. According to the WTO, Ukraine asks that this request be placed on the agenda of the next meeting of the WTO Dispute Settlement Body that will take place on September 21, 2010. Kyiv Post news@kyivpost.com Armenia Ukraine Tue, 21 Sep 2010 04:00:00 GMT http://www.panarmenian.net/eng/economy/news/50857/ http://tobacco.org/news/304132.html The RA Ministry of Finance developed and submitted to the government bills, which envisage transferring the tobacco production from the system of fixed payments to the common system of taxation, separating the VAT, customs duties and excise tax from the acting fixed payments. Besides, under the bills, a single excise tax will be established for the produced and imported tobacco, the RA Ministry of Finance told PanARMENIAN.Net "As for Ukraine's accusations of discriminative taxation for the Ukrainian tobacco imported to Armenia, as per the RA Law on Presumptive Payments for Tobacco Products, the rates for tobacco goods imported to Armenia, irrespective of the producing country, differ from those for tobacco goods produced in the country," said Armenian Deputy Minister of Finance Suren Karayan. PanArmenian Network Armenia Ukraine Fri, 02 Jul 2010 04:00:00 GMT http://tobaccocontrol.bmj.com/content/early/2010/06/14/tc.2009.031658 http://tobacco.org/news/303135.html This study found 81.0% support for banning smoking across the whole survey sample and 95.5% support from the managers and administrators in health, educational and cultural institutions. Nearly 70.0% of respondents thought that smoking should be allowed only outdoors. Similar to findings from other studies, support for smoking restrictions at workplace was closely related to the smoking status of respondents.9 10 Smokers were less supportive of smoke-free worksite policies than non-smokers. This pattern did not differ by gender. Despite the high level of support for smoke-free policies expressed by managers, only one-third of the workplaces reported being smoke-free; however, clear signs of smoking were observed in nearly one-third of the reportedly smoke-free worksites. These findings are more than five times higher than in the study by Goodin and McAllister that assessed compliance with anti-smoking legislation among Australian businesses.11 This study revealed a common misunderstanding among public and private administrators of the concept of an ‘indoor smoking ban’. A significant proportion of respondents simultaneously favoured banning indoor smoking and allowing smoking in special and/or ventilated areas. This may suggest lack of understanding and differentiation between ‘bans’ and ‘restrictions’ among the administrators. This research documented that the presence of smoking policies and compliance with them varied across worksite type. Medical, educational and cultural institutions were more prone to have smoke-free policies and to adhere to them. This finding is consistent with findings from the Australian study, confirming that type of business influences compliance.11 The ‘culture of tolerance’ was the most frequently cited obstacle to implementing smoke-free policy; liability and work safety issues were not reported to be important factors. Respondents suggested that strong leadership is essential to ban smoking at workplace; they also emphasised that employee demand for smoke-free worksites would be the most important factor contributing to better compliance with the existing laws. Importantly, data from a population-based survey implemented in Armenia at the same time as this study demonstrated strong public support for a smoke-free environment.12 Further study of employee attitudes toward smoke-free worksite policies could help guide development of specific recommendations that improve compliance with workplace smoking bans and restrictions that build upon the momentum of wide public support for smoke-free environments. The study demonstrated that awareness among managers of the national law regulating worksite smoking remained quite low 3 months after its enactment. Tobacco Control Armenia Wed, 16 Jun 2010 04:00:00 GMT