Tobacco

The Government approved an amendment to the Ordinance on the Terms and Procedure for Registration of Tobacco Products Prices.

A decade after the introduction of a general ban on smoking in enclosed public places in Greece, the country still lags behind other nations in the effort to restrict the addictive habit, the Hellenic Cancer Society (HCS) said on the occasion of World No Tobacco Day 2019 on Friday.

From June 8, smoking will be banned in 52 Paris parks, squares and city gardens. The decision comes a year after the same ban was imposed in several central and suburban districts of the French capital.

Last year, about 110,000 people died in Bulgaria, nearly 15% of them, or about 17,000 people suffering from some form of cancer, show Eurostat data on mortality rates in EU countries and adverse health effects from smoking , which is a major trigger for many diseases.

With a growing number of smokers switching to IQOS, a tobacco-heating device which delivers a nicotine hit without actually burning the tobacco, the Papastratos production facility in Aspropyrgos is playing a significant role in turning the country into a major export center for Philip Morris International, Andre Calantzopoulos, the chief executive officer of US multinational Philip Morris Inte

Bulgaria is lagging behind the rest of the EU in terms of restrictions that limit  smoking outside.

90% of tobacco harvest 2019 in Bulgaria is pricked off. The volumes achieved in the four varieties grown in the country are different, but close to each other. Of the small-scale Oriental variety groups "Kaba Kulak" and "Basma", 97% and 100% have been pricked off respectively. In the large variety group Burley, the pricked off areas are over 85%, and Virginia - nearly 75%.

Philip Morris International, the manufacturer of the iQOS tobacco heating unit, will invest in the creation of a call center in Bulgaria, Christos Harpandis, Managing Director for Southeastern Europe, told Money.bg. The new call center is expected to be operational in the third quarter of 2019. The company has not yet decided whether it will be in Sofia or another city in Bulgaria.

From today - 20 May, a European Union regulation which establishes a traceability system for each box of cigarettes enters into force.

Each box of cigarettes manufactured or imported in Bulgaria must have a unique code which will allow its tracing to follow from the production to the customer.

In the last day, three regions in the country are struck by hail - Nova Zagora, Stara Zagora and Karlovo, announced the new Agriculture Minister Desislava Taneva.