Tag: Cyprus

Illicit Smokes Top 10 Percent in Cyprus

Photo: Gelia
Illegal cigarette consumption in Cyprus reached 11 percent of the total market in 2023, reports Philenews, citing a KPMG report commissioned by Philip Morris International.
Despite a slight decrease in the percentage of illegal cigarette consumption since the previous report, the government still missed out on €18 million ($19.49 million) in tax receipts due to illicit tobacco trade in 2023.
Cypriots smoked an estimated 100 million illegal cigarettes during 2023, most of which were believed to originate from the northern part of the island, where the Republic of Cyprus does not exercise control.
Outflows of illicit cigarettes from Cyprus rose by 3 percent compared to 2022, with increased outflows to smaller markets.
This increase was partially offset by reduced outflows to the United Kingdom, although it remains the primary destination for illegal cigarette outflows from Cyprus in 2023.
At the EU level, smokers consumed more than 35 billion illegal cigarettes in 2023, accounting for 8.3 percent of the trading bloc’s consumption.
Illegal cigarette consumption has been increasing for five consecutive years in Europe, reaching 52.2 billion cigarettes in the 38 countries included in the study.
EU governments lost an estimated €11.6 billion in tax revenue in 2023 compared to €11.3 billion in 2022.
The report notes that the increase in counterfeit cigarette consumption across Europe, primarily driven by the U.K. and Ukraine, is now combined with growth in all other categories of illegal trade.
The recovery of legal cross-border quantities following the lifting of Covid-19 travel restrictions in 2022 has pushed overall nondomestic consumption in the 38 European countries studied to its highest recorded level (15.5 percent), equating to more than one in six cigarettes.
October 22, 2024
Cyprus: One in Three Smokes

Image: eyegelb
About one-third of Cyprus residents smoke, according to statistics from Marc, a research company, reports The Cyprus Mail.
Marc interviewed 801 households across Cyprus, finding that 30.1 percent of respondents are smokers. The research was done on behalf of Philip Morris Cyprus.
The number of smokers last year was 31.3 percent.
Though the number of smokers remains high, about 90 percent of respondents said they are concerned about the health effects of smoking, and 80 percent of smokers said their main motivation for quitting would be the impact quitting would have on their health and physical condition. Only 22 percent of smokers stated that they are fully informed about available alternatives, and 81 percent said information should be available to them.
November 7, 2023
Cyprus Government to Ban Flavored HTPs

Image: Arid Ocean
The Cyprus government is moving to ban the sale of flavored heated-tobacco products (HTPs) following the Ministerial Council’s decision to adopt the relevant European legislation, according to In-Cyprus.
HTPs still allowed on the market will have to apply special warning labels and images to packaging, which will align the packaging with that of conventional cigarettes.
The aim of these changes is to “harmonize national legislation with European directives, as today’s Ministerial Council approved an amendment to regulations regarding the withdrawal of certain exemptions for heated-tobacco products.”
The council decided on the “extension of the ban on the sale of tobacco products with characteristic aroma/flavor or containing aromatic substances in any of their ingredients and on heated-tobacco products.”
“It was also decided to include verbal warnings/notifications about the harmful effects of smoking on the packaging of heated-tobacco products. These warnings will be accompanied by deterrent images.”
“In the legislation for smoking control, established in 2017, these products were exempted, and the sale of conventional cigarettes and rolling tobacco that contained aromatic substances in their ingredients was prohibited,” said Health Minister Popi Kanari. “With these regulatory amendments, the sale of heated-tobacco products containing aromatic substances in any of their ingredients is prohibited beyond conventional cigarettes and rolling tobacco.”
“The amendment does not apply to vaping products that contain liquid but only to the category involving heated-tobacco products in which cigarettes with aromatic substances are placed,” said Kanari.
September 21, 2023
Cyprus Minors Have Access to Nicotine-Free Cigs

Image: Vlad | Adobe Stock
Minors in Cyprus have access to nicotine-free cigarettes due to ambiguity in the 2017 tobacco control legislation, reports In-Cyprus.
Nicotine-free products are easily accessible, on kiosk stalls next to cash registers and separate from other tobacco products as well as in cafes. The products have attractive packaging and are available in a variety of fruit flavors.
Over a year ago, the Cyprus Addiction Prevention Authority wrote to the Legal Service requesting an opinion on the nicotine-free tobacco products but did not receive a reply.
According to the European School Survey Project on Alcohol and Other Drugs, 16-year-old students in Cyprus reduced conventional cigarette use and switched to new tobacco products like hookah and e-cigarettes in 2019. Daily use of e-cigarettes by students in Cyprus is 4.6 percent compared to the average of 3.1 percent.
May 30, 2023
BAT Launching glo in Cyprus

Photo: Tobacco Reporter Archive
BAT is launching its tobacco-heating product glo in Cyprus, according to The Cyprus Mail. The launch is expected to contribute to the economy and society in Cyprus, boosting employment with new jobs while supporting the country’s network of retailers and distributors.
“BAT is on a transformation journey to build ‘A Better Tomorrow’ by reducing the health impact of our business,” said Vitalii Kochenko, general manager of BAT Hellas responsible for the markets of Cyprus, Greece, Malta and Israel. “We are proud to bring innovation and technology to the local market with BAT’s tobacco-heating product, putting Cyprus amongst the markets that the international group of BAT has chosen for this launch.”
Glo hyper+ in Cyprus is BAT’s latest iteration of its tobacco-heating product. The device combines BAT’s latest tobacco-heating technology, induction heating, and will be accompanied by neo demi slim sticks, which are specially designed to be used with this device.
May 19, 2022
Cyprus Tobacco Sales Spike During Lockdown

Photo: Dimitris Vetsikas from Pixabay
Sales of tobacco and cigarettes in Cyprus skyrocketed between March and April 2020.

According Retail Zoom, the sale of loose tobacco went up by 28 percent during the Covid-19 lockdown while cigarettes sales increased by 12 percent.

The spike could be linked to a government decision to close all checkpoints to the north as a precaution against the coronavirus pandemic.

Many Cypriots regularly travel to the north to illegally buy tobacco and cigarettes at cheaper rates. With access to the north forbidden, many had to revert to buying them legally and at full price.

Cigarette sales totaled €28 million ($33.1 million) at the end of May compared with €23 million at the start of February. Over the same period, the sale of loose tobacco increased from €3 million to €4.5 million.

According to KPMG, illegal sales in 2019 accounted for 14.3 percent of all tobacco sales, the highest rate ever recorded in the country. The black market caused the government to miss out on €28 million in revenues.
November 6, 2020
Cyprus to tax vapor
Cyprus’ House Plenum on Friday passed a bill imposing a tax on e-liquids and heat-not-burn sticks, according to a story in The Cyprus Mail.
The law introduces a new category called ‘liquid for electronic cigarette use’ that carries a consumption tax of €0.12 per ml of liquid.
Additionally, the bill provides for heat-not-burn products, which are expected soon to be imported to Cyprus, to carry a consumption tax of €150 per kg.
The bill was tabled by the ruling Disy party [the Democratic Rally] and passed by 26 votes to 17.
Akel MP Aristos Damianou criticized the government for introducing more taxes, saying that it was only on Monday [September 18] that the finance minister had said no new taxes would be imposed, and yet a bill to do just that was before parliament.
Damianou said that though there had been a steady increase in the consumption of cigars, there had been no increase in their consumption tax.
Rather, taxes were being imposed on electronic cigarettes that, despite their containing products that were bad for people’s health, could potentially help people quit smoking.
The Green MP Giorgos Perdikis said that the revenue from the new taxes should be put towards a special fund to campaign against smoking.
September 25, 2017