Bulgaria - an inexpensive place to live...

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June 29, 2010 - While European Union statistics show that people in Bulgaria are among the lowest-paid in the EU – though salary levels are rising the sharpest in the bloc – prices of food, soft drinks, cigarettes and liquor in Bulgaria are among the lowest in the EU.

These data come from a report issued by Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union. The results refer to the survey on food, beverage and tobacco prices carried out in 2009 in the 37 participating countries. This survey covered a total of about 500 comparable products.

In 2009, the price level of a comparable basket of food and non-alcoholic beverages was more than twice as high in the most expensive EU27member state than in the cheapest one, Eurostat said.

For tobacco, the price levels were almost five times higher in the most expensive EU member state than in the cheapest. The highest price levels were observed in Ireland (217 per cent of the EU27 average), United Kingdom (166 per cent), France (133 per cent) and Sweden (130 per cent), and the lowest in Bulgaria (46 per cent), Romania (47 per cent), Lithuania and Hungary (both 51 per cent).

Denmark was nearly 40 per cent above the EU27 average and had the highest price level for food and non-alcoholic beverages in the EU27 in 2009. Ireland, Finland, Luxembourg, Austria, Belgium, Germany and France were between 10 per cent and 30 per cent above the EU27 average. Italy, Cyprus, Sweden and Greece were up to 10 per cent above the average, while the Netherlands, Spain, the United Kingdom, Slovenia, Malta and Portugal were up to 10 per cent below.

Latvia, Slovakia, Estonia, Hungary, the CzechRepublic and Lithuania had price levels for food and non-alcoholic beverages which were between 10 per cent and 30 per cent below the EU27 average, while Bulgaria, Romania and Poland were between 30 per cent and 40 per cent below.

Data are also available for more detailed breakdowns of food products. For bread and cereals, price levels ranged from 52 per cent of the EU27 average in Bulgaria and 58 per cent in Poland to 146 per cent in Denmark and 132 per cent in Ireland; for meat from 56 per cent in Poland and 58 per cent in Romania to 131 per cent in Denmark and 128 per cent in Austria; and for milk, cheese and eggs from 63 per cent in Poland and 77 per cent in Lithuania to 137 per cent in Ireland and Cyprus.

The price levels for alcoholic beverages ranged from one to two and a half. The highest price levels for alcoholic beverages were registered in Finland (170 per cent of the EU27 average), Ireland (167 per cent), Sweden (138 per cent) and Denmark (135 per cent), and the lowest in Romania (70 per cent), Bulgaria (77 per cent), Spain and Hungary (both 84 per cent).

Reference: Bulgaria food and soft drink prices 30 percent below EU average, The Sofia Echo, 6/28/2010.

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Ireland - highest tobacco prices in the EU..

June 29, 2010 - Ireland has the highest tobacco prices in the European Union (EU) – it costs more than twice the average.

These data come from a report issued by Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union. The results refer to the survey on food, beverage and tobacco prices carried out in 2009 in the 37 participating countries. This survey covered a total of about 500 comparable products.

Ireland has the highest prices for food and non-alcoholic drinks in the European Union and this despite more than 15 months of deflation. Prices in Ireland are on average nearly 30 per cent higher than the EU average. Only Denmark has higher prices – things cost almost 40 percent more than the EU average there. To put these numbers into perspective, prices in the UK are a measly 3 per cent above the EU average.

Some of the top line numbers are really shocking. Along with Cyprus, Ireland has the highest prices in the EU for dairy produce and it costs 37 per cent more here than the EU average. Think about all the cows in this country and all the milk and cheese that is locally produced yet still prices are nearly 40 per cent higher than the EU average.

For more price comparisons: Ireland cheapest in Europe! As if…, Conor Pope, IrishTimes.com, 6/28/2010.

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Tobacco Journal International and World Tobacco merge

June 29, 2009 - In order to best serve the needs of the international tobacco industry and its suppliers, DMG Worldmedia (London, UK), organisers of the "World Tobacco" events and publishers of "World Tobacco" magazine, and Konradin Selection (Mainz, Germany), publishers of Tobacco Journal International", are excited to announce a new partnership giving focussed, cohesive access to the world's tobacco markets and a truly integrated platform for the international tobacco community.

From June 2009 "World Tobacco" magazine will no longer be published separately, but will be part of "Tobacco Journal International" (TJI), the world’s premier publication for the industry. "Tobacco Journal International" will become the exclusive publishing partner for the TJI/World Tobacco coalition and will participate in, and support all "World Tobacco" events including forthcoming exhibitions in Asia, the Middle East and India.

All "World Tobacco" publications will, in future, be produced by Konradin Selection as part of the TJI magazine and other publications in TJI’s portfolio. TJI will publish all catalogues and special issues for "World Tobacco" events.

Reference: Tobacco Journal International and World Tobacco merge Read more...

Philippines - govt agencies and employees barred from unnessary interaction with tobacco industry..

June 29, 2010 - Government agencies and employees are barred from engaging in unnecessary interactions with tobacco manufacturers after the Department of Health (DOH) and Civil Service Commission (CSC) issued a joint memorandum.

The DOH and CSC joined forces in the battle against the ill effects of tobacco consumption as they issued a joint circular to “protect the bureaucracy against tobacco industry interference”.

Health Secretary Esperanza Cabral and CSC Chief Francisco Duque, a former DOH secretary himself, both signed the landmark order aimed at preventing undue influence of the tobacco industry on the government’s tobacco control policies.
Joint Memorandum Circular 2010-01 now only allows transactions where a public official or employee has the duty to regulate, supervise and control the operations of the industry.

“The memo contains basic provisions to promote integrity, accountability and transparency. The reason behind its issuance is because the modes, schemes and faces of tobacco interference has evolved greatly and now constitutes the single largest obstacle to public health. There is an greater threat now that the local industry is now controlled by a monopoly resulting from the merger of Philip Morris and Fortune Tobacco,” explained Duque.

Last April, Cabral warned government agencies from receiving donations from the tobacco industry because it undermines the country’s commitment to the World Health Organization (WHO) Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, specifically the general obligation to protect public health policies from vested commercial interests. (Philippines - DOH warns government agencies to avoid partnerships or accepting donations from tobacco manufacturers..)

“We hope that with the issuance of this memorandum circular, we will be able to further control the meddling of the tobacco industry in the way we act or decide, as well as show that the government is sincere in its efforts to be transparent and accountable in all its dealings,” Cabral said.

Ms. Cabral said the memorandum supplements a CSC memorandum issued last year that prohibited smoking inside government offices and within 10 meters from the entrance of the agencies. "CSC will impose penalties for violators [of the memorandum]," she added.

References: Intensified campaign vs ill effects of cigarettes, Kathrina Alvarez/Sunnex, SunStar - Manila, 6/26/2010; Government officials, employees banned from dealing with tobacco industry, Prinz P. Magtulis, BusinessWorld.com, 6/24/2010.

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Scotland - tobacco industry says massive increase in illegal cigarettes..

June 29, 2010 - Scotland's west coast has become a smuggling hot spot after police cover for ports was significantly reduced last year.

New figures obtained by The Scotsman (Scotland's national newspaper) from the tobacco industryhave revealed there was a massive increase of illegal (illicit) cigarettes coming in through Dumfries and Galloway.

Sources within the tobacco industry and police believe former paramilitary groups from Northern Ireland are increasingly using ports like Stranraer to smuggle in counterfeit of "cheap white" cigarettes – made abroad below British standards – on to the UK mainland. (Cheap cigs account for fifth of market, The Scotsman, 4/28/2010)

Recent checks on packets by the tobacco industry revealed 30.8 percent in Scotland were illegal products, up 10.5 percentage points from 2009. The worst area on the UK mainland was the north of England, where 42.8 percent were illegal, up 23.5. The rate dropped dramatically the further south the tests were carried out, to just 2 percent in the south-east.

The problem of smuggling is costing the exchequer (the government's chief financial minister) millions of pounds in lost revenue and means potentially dangerous products are circulating in the UK. It also undermines the strategy of increasing tobacco prices to discourage use.

Police in Dumfries and Galloway have seen their numbers drop from 48 to 38 in the last year because Scottish Government funding was switched to providing more cover at airports following recommendations in a report by the Association of Chief Police Officers in Scotland (Acpos). The police officers have to cover 108 small ports, and Stranraer and Cairnryan on a coastline stretch of 350 miles.

But a Scottish Government spokeswoman said: "The Scottish Government is continuing to invest record levels in policing at ports across Scotland, including Dumfries and Galloway. The Scottish Government provides additional funding to police for aspects of ports policing. Dumfries and Galloway benefits directly from this funding, as it has from the funding for additional officers."

But one senior figure in the tobacco industry warned that the problem would have to be sorted out before a display ban starts to be rolled out next year in Scotland. There are fears that it will become even more difficult to distinguish between fake and genuine cigarettes.

Reference: Cut in port police linked to surge in tobacco smuggling by Ulster [one of 4-provinces of Ireland] thugs

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