WHO: Anti-Tobacco Campaigns Responsible for Dropping Prices

 ANTI-TOBACCO campaigns being conducted by the World Health Organisation (WHO) are among factors to blame for the depreciating prices of the cash crop in both the local and world markets, the National Assembly heard.

Deputy Minister for Agriculture, Food Security and Co-operatives, Mr Godfrey Zambi, noted on the other hand that prices of tobacco in the world market have been fluctuating due to a number of other factors including competition among major producers of the crop and quality of produced tobacco. People looking for cheapest cigarettes, just enter the web and order them online from http://www.cigarettesplace.net/

Mr Zambi made the explanation while responding to a basic question by Mpanda Rural MP, Mr Moshi Kakoso (CCM), who had tasked the government to explain whether it had measures in place to compensate local tobacco farmers owing to declining prices of the cash crop in the world market.

In response, the deputy minister said there were a number of factors which were responsible for pushing down prices of the commodity.

He cited the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) by the WHO as among causes that have led to reduced use of tobacco products and eventually declining prices of the commodity.

“In the wake of these developments, the government will continue to look for markets in various countries to ensure our farmers are paid handsomely for their products,” Mr Zambi said in response to the question.

According to the deputy minister, owing to fluctuating prices of cash crop in the world market, including tobacco, the government will work with responsible stakeholders to establish a special fund to compensate farmers when prices fall in the world market.

South Korea approves cigarette price hike

South Korea's parliament has approved an 80% hike in the price of cigarettes, a move aimed at curbing consumption.

A rise from 2,500 won ($2.25; £1.43) per pack to 4,500 won from 1 January was part of the 2015 budget adopted late on Tuesday.

South Korea has among the highest male smoking rates among OECD countries at 43.7%, according to the Health Ministry.

The government hopes the hike will bring that down to 29% by 2020.

South Korea has one of the lowest prices of cigarettes in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) group of countries and it has remained unchanged since 2004.

The government has also won approval to link cigarette prices to consumer price rises so that cigarette prices move with inflation growth.

Previous measures to try and curb consumption have included banning lighting up in public places, pictures of the harm caused by smoking on packaging and a ban on tobacco ads in retail stores.

ITC raises cigarette prices

Cigarette manufacturer ITC has hiked the prices of select cigarette brands like Classic and Gold Flake Kings by up to Rs 10/pack in light of the rise in excise duty on cigarettes in the Budget.

An ITC spokesperson said that the prices of select ITC Cigarette brands have been increased and the stocks with increased prices will hit the market in the coming weeks. Prices of Classic and Gold Flake Kings have been revised from Rs 85 to Rs 95 for packs of 10, the spokesperson added.

Further, prices of Bristol Filter have been increased from Rs 45 to Rs 47, Capstan Filter from Rs 39 to Rs 47, Flake Filter from Rs 39 to Rs 48 and Flake Excel Filter from Rs 39 to Rs 45.

However, prices of brands like Navy Cut at Rs 69, Gold Flake Filter at Rs 59, Gold Flake Premium Filter at Rs 58 , and Scissors Filter and Flake Premium Filter at Rs 50 remain unchanged. ITC's main rival Godfrey Phillips, however, preferred not to comment on price hike on its products.

In the Budget, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley had announced an increase in excise duty on cigarettes in the range of 11 per cent to 72 per cent.

Besides manufacturing cigarettes, ITC also has business interests in various verticals including FMCG, hotels, paperboards and packaging, tobacco products and information technology.

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Cigarette sales to hit record low

Cigarette consumption is expected to reach a record low in the first half of this year due to increased regulations against smoking and heightened health awareness, according to industry data.

The consistently falling consumption of cigarettes is likely to further dent the bottom lines of tobacco giants such as KT&G, Philip Morris and BAT, market analysts said.

Korea’s aggregate sales amounted to 89.3 billion cigarettes in Korea last year, down almost 1 percent from 90 billion a year ago.

KT&G, Korea’s largest cigarette maker, saw its cigarette sales decline 1.5 percent to 26.6 billion, despite a market share increase in the first half of 2013.

This means that the Korean tobacco maker was able to grab a bigger slice of the shrinking market by luring customers away from other competitors, analysts noted.

KT&G’s market share is expected to decrease by about 1 percent to around 62 percent in the third quarter of this year after hovering around 58-59 percent in 2010-2011.

The rest of the market is shared by foreign brands ― BAT, Philip Morris and JTI.

The Korean company’s exports are also not faring well as analysts forecast about a 30 percent decrease in outbound shipments from July to September this year. Its top export destinations include the Middle East and Central Asia.

The four giants will face fiercer competition in the shrinking market as governments ― central, regional and city ― are moving to apply tougher rules against smoking both inside and outside of buildings, facilities and residential areas.

The Seoul government, for example, aims to make the capital a smoke-free city by 2020 in line with the World Health Organization’s policy encouraging its members to reduce smoking.

Also, a growing number of consumers are opting to quit smoking not only because of health reasons and regulations, but also due to an increase in cigarette prices. Therefore the best way to save money is to buy cigaretets online!

Why Cigarettes Are so Expensive in New York

Smokers in the USA will certainly tell about the enormous price inconsistencies for cigarettes state to state. The key cause for high cigarette prices is the varying excise taxes (SET) that each state sets on a pack of cigarettes. Citi’s Tobacco team directed by Vivien Azer expects SETs to only turn into an growing trouble