Hungarian Restaurant-smoking Ban Bites into Tobacco Sales

Source from:  Politics.hu 01/11/2013

The smoking ban introduced in Hungarian restaurants and other catering facilities a year ago has caused a loss of 15-20 billion forints (EUR 51-69m) to the tobacco industry, Nepszabadsag daily said on Thursday.
 
Although no tobacco companies disclosed figures about the extent of decline in sales, a trend which can in part be attributed to repeated rises in the excise duty, too, unofficial estimates suggest that the market has shrunk by 5-6 percent due to the ban.

The decline is especially perceptible in winter, as few guests are willing to go outside to smoke a cigarette.

The health authority ANTSZ conducted a nationwide survey in November in 4,000 facilities, and concluded that just 0.6 percent of caterers had violated the ban.
 
Data about the losses incurred by catering facilities due to the smoking ban are not yet available, the paper said. Enditem