New Year celebrations
There were many good parties on the show floor, but this TABEXPO’s gala dinner was hands-down the best tobacco party we’ve seen in a while! The venue was stunning, the entertainment spectacular, and the dancing … oh, the dancing. Have you ever seen so many tobacco folks moving their feet? So much fun!
Smokers in New Zealand were hit in their pockets from yesterday with the introduction of a 10 percent tobacco excise tax increase, according to a Television New Zealand story.
The increase will push the price of a 25-piece pack of cigarettes toward NZ$40, nearly four times the 2006 price of NZ$11.95.
The move is purported to be aimed at reducing the incidence of smoking, which is now believed to be about 16 percent.
Since January 2010, the Government has increased tobacco excise by at least CPI (consumer price index) plus 10 percent each year; so the tax on a single cigarette has gone from 30 cents to 82 cents since 2009.
The current series of tax increases is scheduled to end in 2020.