Tobacco Sales to Minors Doubled in Seattle

It is a lot easier for underage teens to buy cigarettes in Seattle than it was last year, according to the King County Health Department. The department said Thursday that tobacco sales to minors doubled from 2010 to 2011. "Which is troubling because 90 percent of smokers become addicted before they're 19 years of age," said Scott Neal, tobacco prevention program manager. He said their inspections revealed that underage teens can buy discount Camel cigarettes 15 percent of the time in Seattle, compared to seven percent of the time last year. They conducted 468 retailer inspections in 2011. Teens were sent into 63 different establishments with their valid, underage ID's. "And they simply ask for the product like they would be purchasing it normally, and it's a valid test for a retailer to find out if they're carding the kids and turning them away," Neal said. The teens were sold tobacco a total of 70 times.

Hungary Tobacco Company Expands

Hungary’s tobacco industry grew almost 10% to HUF 500bn last year, industry insiders said at a press conference organised by the Hungarian Association of Tobacco Industry Investors (DBMSZ) on Thursday. Hungarian tobacco companies BAT Pecsi Dohanygyar, Continental Dohanyipari, Imperial Tobacco Magyarorszag and Universal Leaf Tobacco Magyarorszag established DBMSZ at the beginning of last December. This year tobacco sales are expected to fall because of the economy, the higher excise tax, expected stricter rule on tobacco sales and the expansion of the no-smoking policy in public places, they said. Making more public establishments smoke-free has resulted in as much as a 5% reduction in sales, judging from experience abroad, they added. An increase in the excise tax on tobacco products from the middle of this year is expected to raise retail prices by 20%, the association estimates. The association is pressing for a loosening of planned additional regulation of retail tobacco sales.