Tag: Lithuania

  • Lithuania Takes Aim at Cigarette Balloons

    Lithuania Takes Aim at Cigarette Balloons

    Photo: andrei310

    Lithuania may permit its border guards to shoot down balloons carrying contraband from Belarus or Russia when they cross the border, reports The Baltic Times.

    “In my opinion, border guards should have the right to shoot them down in the air,” Defense Minister Laurynas Kasciunas told reporters on Sept. 30.

    The minister’s comments came after a balloon, suspected to have come from Belarus and carrying smuggled cigarettes, fell within Vilnius Airport’s airfield on Sept. 28.

    Rustamas Liubajevas, the commander of the Lithuanian State Border Guard Service (SBGS), said that border guards have neither the necessary weapons nor the legal authority to shoot down objects that illegally cross the Lithuanian border by air.

    He explained that border guards use assault rifles, which do not have the technical capability to shoot down higher-flying objects.

    The SBGS has recorded around 250 incidents involving such balloons in the past month.

    Poland too has recorded increased attempts to smuggle cigarettes into its territory by air.

  • Lithuania Urged to Reconsider Flavor Ban

    Lithuania Urged to Reconsider Flavor Ban

    Photo: rh2010

    The Independent European Vape Alliance (IEVA) has called on Lithuania to reconsider a proposed ban on key e-liquid ingredients, including sweeteners.

    The country’s Draft Law No XIVP-2791(2) amending Article 9(2) of Law No I-1143 on the control of tobacco, tobacco products and related products proposes a “ban on placing on the market e-cigarettes and e-cigarette fillers with liquid adapted for filling electronic cigarettes if this liquid contains sugar and/or sweeteners.”

    In comments submitted under the EU Technical Regulations Information System, IEVA warns that the measure will encourage the illicit trade, boost smoking rates, jeopardize employment and lower government revenues due to reduced vape tax collections.

    According to the alliance,  the draft law shows a lack of understanding of the technical and chemical characteristics of e-cigarettes, as well as a disregard for the negative consequences for Lithuania’s public health and for the country’s vaping small and medium-sized enterprises.

    “Banning sugar and sweetener chemicals, which are necessary for the manufacturing of e-liquids, will lead to a quasi-ban of e-cigarettes,” the IEVA wrote in a statement. “It will lead to a boom in black market sales of dangerous products and to a surge of tobacco smoking by depriving smokers of a less harmful alternative. Finally, this measure, not justified by any scientific evidence, is bound to be ineffective in addressing its purported goal of limiting young people’s access to vaping.”

    The group encourages the Lithuanian government to adopt measures adapted to the pursued aim and based on thorough scientific evidence.

  • Philip Morris Expands Operations in Lithuania

    Philip Morris Expands Operations in Lithuania

    Photo: krivinis

    Philip Morris International is expanding the production capacity of its factory in Klaipeda, Lithuania, following the suspension of its operations in Ukraine, reports Interfax, citing a company statement.

    The multinational will reportedly construct a new production building connected to its existing storage facilities.

    The Klaipeda factory will manufacture products intended for Ukraine, the company said. The project will cost €3.5 million and is expected to be completed toward the end of 2023.

    On Feb. 25, PMI announced the suspension of its activities in Ukraine, including at its factory in Kharkov, due to Russia’s military invasion.

    Ukraine accounted for around 2 percent of the multinational’s cigarette and heated-tobacco shipments in 2021 and less than 2 percent of PMI’s total revenue, according to the company.

  • Lithuania Bans Flavored E-Cigarettes

    Lithuania Bans Flavored E-Cigarettes

    Photo: MNStudio

    Lithuania will ban the sale of flavored e-cigarettes and e-liquid cartridges starting in July, reports LRT. Tobacco flavors will remain legal.

    The move is aimed at reducing sales of e-cigarettes that are growing increasingly popular in Lithuania.

    On Jan. 18, Lithuanian lawmakers adopted amendments to the Law on Control of Tobacco, Tobacco Products and Related Products with 92 votes in favor, nine against and nine abstentions.

    Lithuania already bans e-cigarettes and e-liquid cartridges containing vitamins and other additives that create an impression that they are good or do less damage to health.

    The country also prohibits imports of e-cigarettes and e-liquid cartridges containing caffeine and other stimulating compounds linked to energy and vitality.

  • Belarusian Cigarette Smuggling at New High

    Belarusian Cigarette Smuggling at New High

    Photo: Tricky Shark

    The number of Belarusian cigarettes smuggled through Lithuania is growing at a record pace, reports Belsat, citing figures from Lithuania’s Customs Department.

    In the first three quarters of 2021, Lithuanian law enforcement officers seized 328 million smuggled cigarettes, compared to 297 million in 2020.

    This year, 16.7 million cigarettes were seized on the railroad alone, twice as many as last year. Cigarettes were usually hidden in bulk cargoes, among fertilizers and crushed stone. The problem is exacerbated by the fact that there is no X-ray equipment at some stations.

    Illegal cigarettes account for a quarter of the cigarette market in Lithuania. Of all smuggled cigarettes, 84 percent were produced in Belarus.

    Belarus’ state-owned Neman factory has been fingered as a major source of illicit cigarettes in the EU. Around 10 percent of the 5.5 billion cigarettes sold illegally in the U.K. annually are believed to have originated in Belarus.

    In September, British American Tobacco in suspended the contract manufacturing of its brands at Neman, following international criticism for Belarus’ heavy-handed suppression of protests against the outcome of last year’s disputed presidential elections.

    Accounting for 70 percent of domestic cigarette sales, Neman effectively has a monopoly on the Belarusian tobacco market. Washington says it is one of several entities that receive preferential treatment from the regime in return for providing funds to Lukashenko.

  • EU Asked to Scrutinize Lithuania’s Flavor Ban

    EU Asked to Scrutinize Lithuania’s Flavor Ban

    Photo: sharafmaksumov

    The Independent European Vape Alliance (IEVA) has called on the European Commission to scrutinize Lithuania’s plan to ban all vapor flavors except tobacco.

    Lithuanian lawmakers want to amend the country’s tobacco control laws to reduce the attractiveness and demand for e-cigarettes. The legislators say they are worried about the growing popularity of vaping, especially among young consumers.

    The IEVA is particularly concerned by Article 1 of the draft law, which calls for a ban on sales of e-cigarettes and refill containers filled with liquids (both nicotine-containing and nicotine-free) containing flavors other than tobacco.

    The IEVA believes the proposed legislation is disproportionate to the objective. In a press note, the group said that, in drafting policies, EU member states should choose the means that least restrict the movement of goods. It noted that Lithuania already has a licensing law that regulates the market and prevents underage consumers from buying vapor products.

    The IEVA predicted that the law would eliminate more than 10,000 jobs and reduce tax revenues. It also warned that the ban would boost illicit sales.

    The IEVA’s full submission to the European Commission is available here.

  • Evidence plainly missing

    Evidence plainly missing

    Lithuania’s Prime Minister Saulius Skvernelis has said that there are no compelling arguments in support of the claim that the introduction of standardized tobacco production would cut smoking prevalence, according to a Baltic News Service story relayed by the TMA.
    Proposed amendments to Lithuania’s Law on the Control of Tobacco, Tobacco Products and Related Products drafted by the Ministry of Health would require standardized packaging for cigarettes, ban the retail display of tobacco products, and prohibit smoking on residential balconies, in outdoor cafés, at beaches and other outdoor areas.
    Skvernelis said that while the Government supported a ban on tobacco product displays in shops, it did not see sufficient arguments for introducing standardized packaging for cigarettes.
    He said the proposal should be amended to protect non-smokers’ rights while balancing the interests of smokers, “because imposing bans and restrictions without offering alternatives is a simple way, but it was not approved”.
    The introduction of standardized packaging was a highly-debatable measure, he added, and there were no clear arguments that it would cut smoking prevalence.

  • European WHO members to make ‘tobacco a thing of the past’

    Health ministers from the 53 European member nations of the World Health Organization (WHO) on Sept. 16 agreed to a plan to make “tobacco a thing of the past” within the next decade.

    The member nations—who convened at the WHO’s 65th session of the Regional Committee for Europe in Vilnius, Lithuania—intend to realize this goal by enforcing a series of smoke-free laws and bans on tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship, and by implementing new educational initiatives. In addition, the roadmap calls for an end to portrayals of smoking in the entertainment industry as well as training to teach health care and family support workers to deliver smoking-cessation interventions.

    The WHO has urged European governments to set national targets for significant reductions in tobacco use by 2025. Ireland, Scotland and Finland aim to have smoke-free populations by 2015, 2034 and 2040, respectively.

    Zsuzsanna Jakab, the WHO’s regional director for Europe, said, “The generation growing up now cannot comprehend that people used to smoke on airplanes, buses, in restaurants or in offices,” and that “the dream of a Europe where tobacco control has succeeded is not unrealistic.”