DUSHANBE, October 28, 2010, Asia-Plus — Minister of Economic Development and Trade Farrukh Hamraliyev considers that restrictions on the use of tobacco products will not affect the revenue part of the country’s budget.
According to him, the restrictions will lead to increase in prices of tobacco products in the country but the use of tobacco products will not decrease. “Even a 50-percent increase in prices of tobacco products will not decrease demand for them due to certain physiological factors, dependence on tobacco products and so forth,” Hamraliyev said.
“Tajikistan produces tobacco and it is quite possible that production of tobacco will be decreased,” noted the minister, “However, our tobacco cannot compete with products of other countries.”
On the other hand, we must think about health of our young generation and the bill authors thought, first of all, about the health of the nation, Hamraliyev stressed.
We will recall that the bill on restrictions on the use of tobacco products, drafted under president’s proposal, in particular, prohibits the sales of tobacco products on the territories and near educational health, cultural, and sports facilities. Besides, the law prohibits smoking in indoor public and working places, administrative buildings, offices of governmental and non-governmental organizations, health, educational, cultural and sports facilities, recreation areas, places for holding public events, halls of airports and railroad stations, public transport, except specially assigned smoking areas.
The law is expected to come into effect on January 1, 2011.
Those who break the law will have to pay a fee in an amount equal to up to 15 accounting indicators for physical entities and up to 300 accounting indicators for legal entities. The accounting indicator for this year is set at 35.00 somoni.
