Malaysia: ''Price Cut Will Lead to More Younger Smokers''

Source from:  New Straits Times 09/25/2014

The move by cigarette companies to reduce cigarette prices in an alleged bid to attract more smokers has been roundly criticised by the Malaysian Physicians for Social Responsibility (MPSR).

The group, in condemning the price reduction strategy used by the companies, said the reduction in prices would only draw the younger generation to pick up the habit.

MPSR president Dr David Quek Kwang Leng said there was a need to eradicate the bad habit, especially for the young, by condemning the price reduction strategy used by the companies.

"As responsible physicians, MPSR is unhappy and aghast with these cigarette companies who are reducing their selling price to attract greater increase in this terribly addictive problem.

"When cigarette prices go down, this will encourage the younger generation and even more people to take up this unhealthy habit.

"One of the most effective methods to help reduce this health scourge is to increase the costs and taxes so high that it becomes painful for smokers, especially younger ones, to start or acquire this usually lifelong and very hard to break addiction," he said.

Quek was commenting on the recent move by two companies, British American Tobacco (Malaysia) Bhd and JT International Bhd to cancel the RM1 price hike for their brands.

The companies had on Sept 11 implemented the RM1 increase but later withdrew it. Their rival, Philip Morris, had opted not to raise its cigarette prices on Sept 11.

Meanwhile, Federation of Malaysian Consumers Associations president Datuk N. Marimuthu said he had submitted a letter to Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr S. Subramaniam requesting the government to increase the minimum price of RM7 for cigarettes to RM10.

"It's a lifestyle and you can't force them to stop smoking. However, for Fomca it is simple, if you want to smoke, go ahead but we want the government to increase the minimum price from RM7 to RM10. Whatever happens between industry players after that is up to them. If they want to fight with the prices, let them," he said, adding that he was still waiting for a response from the ministry.

Marimuthu said although Fomca could not do anything with regard to the price reversal, they were still able to approach the issue from a competition standpoint.

Russia: Russians comply with smoking bans
September 24, 2014,tobaccoreporter.com

The overwhelming majority of Russian cafés and restaurants are obeying the ban on tobacco smoking in public places, according to an ITAR-TASS story quoting results of monitoring conducted by Consumers International, an international consortium of consumer-advocacy groups.

Between 93 and 94 percent of the monitored cafés and restaurants were found to have been observing the smoking ban.

But the hospitality sector was said to be less compliant. Violations were exposed in almost 34 percent of inspected hotels; ashtrays were found in just over 32 percent of hotels, and more than a quarter of inspected hotels were offering rooms for smokers or had smoking rooms.

Russia's most recent anti-tobacco laws came into force on June 1, 2013, and June 1, 2014.

Nikolay Gerasimenko, a deputy chairman of the health committee of the Russian State Duma, said on Tuesday that the popularity of smoking was going down.

"Cigarette production has decreased," he told a news conference. "The process began three years ago but proceeded rather slowly - by not more than three percent a year. The biggest slump in production took place in the first quarter of 2014 after excise duties had been raised."

Gerasimenko cited the results of polls conducted by the WCIOM polling agency that indicated the number of smokers had decreased by seven percent during the first six months of the current year.