Major changes are expected at the European level, namely the new tobacco tax directive, said Gilda Lazar, director of corporate affairs and communications for JTI Romania, Moldova and Bulgaria.

• This policy is updated from time to time. The last time was in 2011.

“The project has not been officially presented, but it was cited by sources in the Financial Times. This is an unusual formula for the European Commission and we believe it was an attempt to test the markets. This time, not only the industry but also the member states may be affected because the level of excise duty is very different, although the aim was to reach a common denominator,” she said.

According to the project, the excise duty is planned to be doubled in eastern countries.

“In the case of Romania, it would be a 50% increase. We already felt this in 2009-2010, when excise taxes increased by 50%, and smuggling reached 36%,” Lazar explained.

What she wants now, she says: to have prices like in the West, for salaries like in the East.

“If France decided to raise its excise tax on tobacco very much, it is not our fault and we have no reason to blindly follow this model. France has now reached 30% of smuggling,” said Gilda Lazar.

• We are talking about France, not Romania, which has a 2,000-kilometer border with non-EU countries.

“Although cigarettes are cheaper in Romania, they are actually the most expensive in the EU relative to disposable income. In general, a Romanian can buy 5 packs of cigarettes a day, and a German – 11, with the money left over after taxes. This is how it should be measured and compared,” she said.

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