Cigarettes

Bulgarian customs officials intercepted a clandestine smuggling operation involving over 3,000 packs of cigarettes ingeniously concealed within loaves of bread near the Danube Bridge in Vidin.

European governments are weighing the introduction of tougher rules on cigarette makers' new zero-tobacco heat sticks, moving to close the loopholes they were designed to exploit just months after their launch.

Slim cigarettes are no longer available in Slovenian stores after health inspectors found the packaging was not in line with the relevant EU directive. Smokers are upset and confused, writes the newspaper Delo.

The directive states that the health warning labels must be at least twenty millimetres wide, which is a requirement that slim cigarette packs did not meet.

By treating heated tobacco products the same as regular cigarettes, the Health Ministry is attempting to make them "unattractive."

The Health Ministry has drawn up changes to tobacco legislation to further restrict access to tobacco and nicotine products, a move welcomed by public health experts.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on June 23 said it was ordering all products produced by Juul Labs off the market after finding the vaping giant had failed to address certain safety concerns.

The decision, which Juul said it would appeal, clears the way for rival brands to increase their share of the market it once dominated.

Montenegrin Customs officers seize tobacco in the Port of Bar. Photo: Government of Montenegro

The Customs Office said it seized eight containers with 4,000 boxes of tobacco owned by a US company, Lenora International, registered in the US state of Delaware.

Nearly 2,300 adolescents and young adults became new tobacco smokers in the US over the period of 2017-2019 with the total number of users under 21 years of age vaping (using e-cigarettes) rising to over 1 million by 2019, accordingly to new published research.

Illicit tobacco products and cigarette trade and their consumption have been on the rise in Turkey, costing the state billions of Turkish Liras in tax revenues.

It is estimated that the size of illicit tobacco products accounts for more than 20 percent of all trade volume in this industry.

Ljubljana – Slovenian tobacco prices rose today under the changes to excise taxes the government confirmed in September. A pack of 20 cigarettes is now 10 cents, or around 2.5%, more expensive. The excise duty on cigarettes rose from EUR 120 to EUR 123 per 1,000 cigarettes, while excise duties on other tobacco products also increased.