According to MF Daily Ministry of Health and Agriculture prepare decree concerning labeling cigarette packs. All tobacco producers should mark its products not only with safety signs, but also with pictorial warnings, which were chosen by EU officers. Ministry’s spokesman stated that they will continue to work on new decree also in the course of next year. No exact timeline has been communicated though.
Our view:
Pictorial warnings are not enforced but only recommended by EU directives. It is one of the way politicians try to fight against cigarette consumption. The pioneer in this issue in EU will be Belgium where similar bill comes into effect on April 2007, followed by UK in autumn 2007. We see this effort as negative for all tobacco producers, including PMCR as this could lead to further contraction of the market and additional cost burden when excise tax hikes will still take their part.