Tag: hungary

BAT to Make Smokeless Products in Hungary

Photo: Csak Istvan
BAT will establish a HUF60 billion ($162.12 billion) factory for smokeless products in Pecs, Hungary, creating 450 new jobs, reports Hungary Today.
BAT already employs almost 1,000 people. According to Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Peter Szijjarto, the project will contribute to the success of two important Hungarian economic policy objectives—to boost exports and protect the environment. The Pecs factory is carbon neutral and will export more than 80 percent of its products, the minister noted.
The project will also help develop Hungary’s southwestern region, which traditionally has received fewer investments than its western counterparts.
Usman Zahur, BAT’s regional director for Central Europe, pointed out that the Pecs unit could become a major manufacturing center for smokeless alternatives, building on more than 30 years of cooperation with Hungary.
“This significant investment is an important step toward a smoke-free world, offering smokers better alternatives to cigarettes,” he was quoted as saying. “The investment further reinforces Hungary’s strategic importance in our long-term plans to have 50 percent of our revenues from new category products by 2035. Our manufacturing capabilities, highlighted by the Pecs center, are key to achieving this goal.”
April 22, 2024
New Hungarian Rules May Backfire

Image: Tobacco Reporter archive
Proposed amendments to Hungary’s rules on e-cigarettes and nicotine pouches may hinder access to safer alternatives for smokers, according to the World Vapers’ Alliance (WVA).
“While it’s important to ensure the safety and proper labeling of nicotine products, it’s equally crucial to avoid excessive regulation that could impede the availability of harm reduction products for smokers looking to transition away from combustible cigarettes,” said WVA Director Michael Landl in a statement.
The proposed amendments, with a maximum nicotine content of 17 mg per consumption unit, reflect an approach that may inadvertently limit the appeal of nicotine pouches to smokers seeking alternatives, according to critics.
“Moreover, the WVA expresses concerns about the potential implications of the draft decree’s proposed modifications to vaping product regulations,” the organization wrote. “The amendments, which target unit packet definitions, nicotine amounts and labeling requirements, could impose unwarranted restrictions on vaping products. While addressing health concerns is important, the proposed changes should be carefully evaluated to ensure they do not deter smokers from adopting less harmful alternatives.”
Whilst health and safety standards are crucial, regulations should be crafted with a balanced approach that considers both consumer health and the potential of these products to save lives, according to Landl.
“We encourage the Hungarian government to start accepting reality: harm reduction works. This year, Sweden is becoming the first smoke-free country due to a consumer-friendly harm reduction approach,” he said. “It is high time to learn from the Swedish experience and thereby save thousands of Hungarian lives. With a smart harm reduction approach, Hungary can become smoke-free.”
August 14, 2023
Filtrona Opens New Filters Center

Photo: Filtrona
Filtrona has opened a new Centre of Excellence (COE) in Budapest, Hungary. Combining multiple advanced filter manufacturing machines, the COE will increase the company’s production capacity and speed-to-market of sustainable filter solutions. The COE enables tobacco companies to develop and manufacture a portfolio of sustainable tobacco products by leveraging Filtrona’s expertise in innovative filter designs, processing methods and knowledge of materials.
The COE combines Filtrona’s extensive experience in manufacturing non-woven filters with advanced, high-speed production technology and the latest testing methods to produce sustainable filters for various tobacco product applications. These include cigarettes, heated tobacco products, cigarillos, cigars, and RYO and MYO cigarettes.
Globally, consumers and regulators are pushing for more environmentally sustainable solutions for consumer goods, according to Filtrona. Likewise, the tobacco industry is seeking plastic-free alternatives by focusing on the use of wood pulp based non-woven materials, such as papers. The EU Single-Use Plastic Directive provides a roadmap for the phasing-out of single-use plastics, which includes cellulose acetate tow. Using the EU Directive as a blueprint, tobacco companies in territories outside the EU are expected to follow a similar path in reducing single-use plastics over time.
“As the world’s leading producer of sustainable filter solutions, Filtrona is advancing our sustainability journey by launching our Centre of Excellence to expand our portfolio of sustainable products at a faster pace,” said Filtrona’s Global Director of Innovation and ESG Hugo Azinheira. “With the EU SUPD driving a wider adoption of plastic-free tobacco products, our new production line has the capability to meet the evolving needs of customers, consumers, and regulators rapidly.”

August 1, 2023
Hungary Tobacco Excise to Increase

Image: Daniel | Adobe Stock
Excise duties on tobacco products and alcohol products will increase in Hungary beginning January 2024, according to Finance Minister Mihaly Varga’s tax plan, reports Hungary Today.
Under the plan, the price of a pack of cigarettes could increase by up to 250 forints.
The tax increase is necessary, according to the finance ministry, because the European Union minimum tax is set in euros.
June 8, 2023
Cigarette Smugglers Busted in Hungary

Image: alexlmx
An operation, led by Hungary and supported by Europol and Eurojust, and involving law enforcement authorities in Austria, the Czech Republic and Poland has led to the dismantling of a criminal network involved in large-scale tax fraud concerning cigarette smuggling.
The investigation was initiated as the result of intelligence analyzed by Europol. In a recent action day, law enforcement officers arrested one suspect and seized a large amount of valuables.
In March 2021, the Hungarian Tax and Customs Administration seized nearly 23 million unsealed cigarettes that arrived by plane from Dubai to the Hungarian airport of Debrecen. Produced in the United Arab Emirates, the tobacco products were concealed in car parts being shipped on cargo planes. Hungarian authorities intercepted one shipment as it was leaving the airport in four trucks with Polish license plates.
Officials suspect that there were two similar deliveries earlier that year, on Jan. 29, 2021, and Feb. 26. 2021. The estimated economic damage to the European Union budget caused by this organized crime group’s tax evasion on the tobacco products amounts to more than €8.75 million.
On August 16, 2022, law enforcement officers seized €750,000 in various currencies, seven luxury vehicles and 49 luxury watches from the Hungarian citizen who was arrested.
The authorities are looking for three further suspects for whom European and international arrest warrants have been issued.
Europol facilitated the information exchange, cross-checked operational information against Europol’s databases and provided additional analytical support to help advance the national law enforcement authorities’ investigations. Eurojust actively facilitated cross-border judicial cooperation between the national authorities involved, including the execution of European investigation orders.
August 30, 2022
E-Cig Recycling Center Opens in Budapest

Photo: alexlmx
Philip Morris International inaugurated a HUF3 billion ($10.16 million) e-cigarette recycling center on the outskirts of Budapest this week, reports the Budapest Business Journal, citing state news wire MTI.
The center can recycle 150,000 electric tobacco devices a month, but capacity can be increased, according to PMI Sustainability Director Miguel Coleta.
The company picked the site because of Hungary’s economic stability and the favorable investment environment, he added.
State Secretary Tamas Menczer said the investment created 100 jobs, noting that PMI has just one other recycling center, in Japan.
PMI earned more than HUF230 billion in Hungary last year.
August 31, 2021
‘Hungary Tobacco Tax Too Low’

Photo: hince from Pixabay
Hungary has failed to comply with European Union regulations by keeping the excise tax on tobacco products below the required threshold, reports Hungary Today, citing the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU).
In October 2019, the European Commission (EC) complained to the CJEU that Hungary had failed to gradually raise the excise tax on tobacco products to the required threshold by the deadline of Dec. 31, 2017.
Under EU guidelines, the excise tax on tobacco products must reach 60 percent of the average retail price but at least €90 ($105.88) per 1,000 cigarettes. The 60 percent ratio does not apply to prices above €115 per 1,000 cigarettes.
The EC said Hungary had failed to reach that threshold in 2017 or in subsequent years until the suit was brought, distorting competition within the bloc and violating EU health protection regulations
March 25, 2021
Hungarian Tobacco Down by a Quarter

Illustration: Gordon Johnson from Pixabay
Hungarian tobacco farmers harvested 4.33 million kg last year, down 23 percent from 2019, reports the Budapest Business Journal citing Illas Benyei, chairman of professional association Madosz.
The average yield dropped to 1,325 kg per hectare, the lowest level in 30 years. Benyei said bad weather had affected the crop while the pandemic had made the labor-intensive work of cropping leaves more difficult.
The harvest included 3,354 tons of Virginia tobacco and 759 tons of burley.
Universal Leaf Tobacco Magyarorszag, the biggest leaf merchant in Hungary, said the quality of the crop it bought from local farmers was average or a little under average.
March 2, 2021
Hungary Wins EU Tax Fight

Photo: Steve Woods – Dreamstime.com
Hungary has won its fight at the European Union’s top court to topple part of an EU decision to stall the government’s progressive taxes on retailers and tobacco companies, reports Bloomberg.
The EU Court of Justice in Luxembourg on Thursday backed Hungary’s appeal and annulled the European Commission’s 2015 decision to order the suspension of the system.
The commission in 2015 opened a probe into the measure and temporarily barred the nation from collecting special taxes from retailers and tobacco companies on suspicion the “steeply” progressive levies violated EU rules.
June 5, 2020
Health improvements
A study by BMC Public Health has concluded that health professionals should provide balanced information about the possible short- and long-term positive and negative health effects of electronic cigarette use.
The study, Perceived health effects of vaping among Hungarian adult e-cigarette-only and dual users: a cross-sectional internet survey, was said to have been aimed at exploring self-reported adverse events (AEs) and perceived health changes due to e-cigarette use among Hungarian adult e-cigarette-only users (former smokers who switched completely to e-cigarette use) and dual users (smokers who used e-cigarettes and combustible tobacco cigarettes concomitantly).
It was described as a cross-sectional, web-based survey of 1042 adult Hungarian e-cigarette users conducted in 2015, in which participants reported AEs and changes in physiological functions since they switched from smoking to e-cigarette use or while dually using e-cigarettes and combustible cigarettes. Confirmatory factor analysis with covariates was applied to explain perceived health changes due to e-cigarette-only use and dual use.
The results showed that dual users were significantly more likely to report AEs of vaping than were e-cigarette-only users. ‘Experiencing health improvements were significantly more likely among e-cigarette-only users than for dual users for all surveyed physiological functions, the study found.
‘E-cigarette-only users reported larger effects of vaping on sensory, physical functioning, and mental health factors compared to dual users.
‘Self-reported changes in sensory and physical functioning were significantly higher among individuals using e-cigarettes more than a year and people who were past heavy smokers (smoked ≥20 cigarettes per day).
‘Gender was related to sensory improvement only; males reported greater improvement than females.’
The researchers concluded that the majority of e-cigarette-only users reported more perceived beneficial changes in physiological functions and fewer AEs than did dual users.
‘Perceived short-term benefits of e-cigarette use may reinforce users despite the uncertainty of long-term health consequences,’ they concluded.
‘Health professionals should provide balanced information regarding the possible short- and long-term positive and negative health effects of e-cigarette use during consultations with patients.’
March 28, 2019