Tag: armenia

  • Armenia Thwarts Cigarette Smuggling

    Armenia Thwarts Cigarette Smuggling

    Image: Gevorg Simonyan

    Armenia’s State Revenue Committee (SRC) has foiled an attempt to smuggle a large shipment of cigarettes into the country, reports Panorama.

    In an Oct. 25 statement, the SRC said its employees were told that a large quantity of tobacco products could be hidden in a truck transporting cargo from Iran.

    After inspecting the truck driven by an Armenian citizen, they discovered 68,500 packs of cigarettes without excise tax stamps hidden beneath bags of cement.

    Preliminary calculations suggest the shipment had evaded AMD22.5 million ($58,128) in excise taxes.

  • Armenia Bans Smoking In Public Places

    Armenia Bans Smoking In Public Places

    Photo: Taco Tuinstra

    Armenia has banned the use of tobacco products in open spaces effective today, reports the Public Radio of Armenia.

    Smoking is now prohibited in public catering establishments, including open-air ones such as canteens, restaurants, cafes, bars, cafeterias, cooking and selling facilities.

     Violation risk fines ranging from AMD50,000 ($97.38) to AMD200,000.

    The law aims at protecting present and future generations from the negative impact caused by the use of tobacco products.

  • Armenia Tobacco Firm Exampted from Duties

    Armenia Tobacco Firm Exampted from Duties

    Photo: Tobacco Reporter archive

    The Armenian government will exempt cigarette manufacturer DrimCompany from customs duty payments on raw materials imports to encourage investment, reports the Arka News Agency.

    Founded in 2021, DrimCompany aims to sell its products internationally, with a large share of exports going to the Eurasian Economic Union countries.

    DrimCompany has pledged to invest AMD11.9 billion ($24.67 million), including AMD2 billion in the purchase of a new production line. The rest will be spent on the construction and purchase of raw materials and equipment.

    The company said it will create 100 new jobs with an average salary up to AMD450,000 by 2024.

    The customs duty exemption benefit is estimated at AMD937.7 million.

  • Armenia Bans Tobacco Product Displays

    Armenia Bans Tobacco Product Displays

    Photo: Taco Tuinstra

    Retailers in Armenia are no longer allowed to show their customers tobacco products, reports Public Radio of Armenia.

    A new tobacco law, passed in February 2020, prohibits the public display of any tobacco product, including traditional cigarettes, e-cigarettes and electronic nicotine delivery devices at trade centers or in public catering establishments.

    The public display of empty boxes, blocks, trademarks or symbols is also prohibited.

    “The full application of these provisions over time will significantly reduce tobacco use in the country, which will significantly improve the health of the population and the development of the country’s economy,” said says then-Minister of Health Arsen Torosyan after the law passed.

    In March, Armenia will also ban smoking in cafés and restaurants.

  • Armenia’s exports increased

    Armenia’s exports increased

    Cigarettes with a customs value of $266.2 million were exported from Armenia during 2018, 9.3 percent up on the value of cigarette exports the previous year, according to an Arka News Agency story quoting the State Revenue Committee.

    Export volume in 2018 was put at 27 billion pieces, but no comparable figure for the previous year was given.

    The bulk of cigarettes were reportedly exported to countries in the Middle East, in particular to Iraq, the United Arab Emirates and Syria.

    Fourteen point five billion cigarettes worth $146.6 million were exported to Iraq in 2018, up from 10.8 billion worth $112.3 million in 2017.

    Cigarette exports to the UAE were said to have fallen in volume by 37 percent to 3.5 billion pieces worth $34 million, while volume exports to Syria increased by 9.1 percent to 6.6 billion pieces worth $55.6 million.

    Exports to Russia increased to 900.6 million pieces worth $9.8 million from 337.4 million pieces worth $4.1 million in 2017.

    According to the National Statistics Committee, the production of cigarettes in 2018, at 31.6, was increased by 11 percent on that of the previous year.

    About 85 percent of cigarettes produced in the country in 2018 were exported.

  • Draconian fines proposed

    Draconian fines proposed

    The details of a bill drafted by Armenia’s Ministry of Health that would introduce a ban on smoking in cafés, restaurants and other public places could still be revised, according to a Arka News Agency (ANA) story.
    As it stands, the bill would impose heavy fines on people violating it, Aleksandr Bazarchyan, head of the National Health Institute, said yesterday.
    The ANA story had it that, ‘according to various estimates’, about 60 percent of Armenia’s men smoke regularly, while the smoking rate among women is three percent. However, in the capital city, Yerevan, about 10 percent of women aged between 30 and 40 are thought to be smokers.
    Under the current bill, people caught smoking in cafés, bars, restaurants, government offices and other public places would be fined 250,000 drams ($520). A repeat offense would attract a fine of 500,000 drams ($1,040).
    In defending the hefty fines envisaged by the bill, the Ministry said the move was part of a strategy to reduce the number of smokers because tobacco use was the main cause of the country’s high incidence of lung cancer.
    According to Bazarchyan, all the proposals the ministry has received will be studied in the next couple of months and the final version of the bill will be submitted to the parliament by the end of the year.

  • Graduated smoking fines

    Graduated smoking fines

    Tobacco smoking will be banned in public places in Armenia under a bill proposed by the Ministry of Health, according to a story in The Jam News, Yerevan.
    However, it wasn’t clear whether or not the ban would spill over into private spheres as well. The story described fines for smoking in cars, as distinct from smoking in public transport vehicles, though it was possible these ‘cars’ referred to work vehicles.
    The ban is part of a new anti-smoking strategy adopted by the government in August. The strategy is aimed at reducing ‘smoking rates by 30-40 percent’.
    “Over 55 percent of adult men and three percent of women in Armenia are regular smokers,” said the Minister of Health, Levon Altunyan. “Therefore, we propose a ban on smoking in public places.
    “There won’t be separate smoking areas in restaurants because the aim of this anti-smoking measure is to ensure that nobody smokes at all rather than just to prevent smoking in the presence of non-smokers.”
    Nevertheless, special outdoor facilities will be made available for smoking.
    Under the bill, smokers would be fined an amount based on the place where they were found smoking; so those found smoking in a car would face a fine of AMD50,000 (US$104), while those found smoking on public transport or in a taxi would be liable to a fine of AMD100,000 (US$208), and those found smoking in an elevator, café or office would face a fine of AMD250,000 (US$520).
    Meanwhile, cigarette retailers who sell loose cigarettes will face a fine of AMD300,000 (USD 624), while those who sell cigarettes within 100-meters of schools would be liable to a fine of AMD500,000 (US$1,040).
    Employers who fail to display a ‘no smoking’ sign in their workplaces will face a fine of AMD100,000, while those who fail to ban smoking will be liable to a fine of AMD500,000.

  • Tough on tobacco

    Tough on tobacco

    As part of a new strategy to curb tobacco use, the Armenian government on Thursday announced plans to restrict smoking in public places and raise cigarette prices, according to a story in The Asbarez Post.

    Prime Minister Karen Karapetyan’s cabinet was said to have approved the program, which aims to reduce the level of smoking in the country by a targeted amount during the next three years.

    According to Ministry of Health estimates, the prevalence of smoking among Armenia’s adult population is more than 25 percent, while that among men is 55 percent.

    The Health Minister, Levon Altunyan, said the planned anti-tobacco strategy included wide-ranging measures that would “toughen” rules on smoking in offices, restaurants, cafés and bars, raise cigarette taxes and ban all forms of tobacco advertising.

    Speaking to reporters, Altunyan would not say whether there would be a blanket ban on smoking in public places. He said instead that these issues would be clarified when the government sent a package of bills to parliament this fall.

    Altunyan insisted that Armenian companies manufacturing and importing cigarettes had not lobbied the government to water down the planned measures.

    “We haven’t asked for their opinion either,” he added.

    Arsen Torosyan, a doctor and anti-smoking campaigner, cautiously welcomed the government’s plans. “I hope that at least part of what has been declared will be implemented – cigarette prices will be raised, smoking will be completely banned in public places and tobacco advertising will be banned in full,” he said. “This cannot fail to cut the number of smokers because these methods have been successfully used all over the world.

    “The key thing here is political will,” Torosyan added, pointing to the failure of a five-year anti-tobacco program adopted by the authorities in 2010.

    That program was supposed to reduce tobacco consumption, but government data show that the proportion of heavy smokers in the population increased from 23 percent in 2012 to 26 percent in 2016.

    A law that came into force in 2005 banned smoking in hospitals, cultural and educational institutions, and on public buses, while additional restrictions introduced a year later required other entities – including bars and restaurants – to allow smoking only in special ‘secluded areas’. However, since no sanctions were put in place to deter those inclined to ignore the regulations, the measures proved largely ineffective.