Ontheotherhand,thevalueoftheharvestedtobaccoonlyamountstoabout20ofthe subsidiespaidforit
[45] –astateofaffairswhichcannotbetoleratedindeinitely.
Ifthesejobswere“destroyed”throughabolitionofthesubsidies,theresultwouldbe highsocialcosts.Atthesametime,however,theEUtobaccoiseitherexportedas“infe-
rior”qualityorisonlyusedtomakeupbulk.TheEUandespeciallyGermanyimports 80ofthetobaccoitneedsforproduction.Inotherwords,aproductishavingtobesub-
sidisedwhichcannotevenbesubsequentlyusedproperly.Theonlysolutiontothisprob- lemwouldbe
•
Fortheemployeestobegraduallymovedtootherjobs
•
Topaycompensationtothetobaccogrowersforthemtogiveupcultivationandso reducetheamountoflandunderproductionpurchaseofquotas;seealsoEECDirective
No.2,07992
•
Tointensifycontrolsontheamountoflandundercultivationsoastoensurecompliance withEClaws
Thegoalofachievingqualityimprovementsinthetobaccogrown“non-harmful”tobacco qualitiesislikelytobealongwayinthefuture
[45] .Atbest,tobaccoplantsshouldbeused
toextractthenicotineformedicinalpurposes.AsotherbranchesofindustryintheEUhave alsohadtoberestructured,itshouldbepossibleforthepoliticianstodeveloppracticable
conceptsinthisield.TheWHOhas,however,stated,thattheclaimedeffectsonemploy- mentareexaggeratedandthatitispreparedtoinitiateaidmeasuresfortobaccogrowersin
poorcountries;inotherwords,thereshouldbenoobstaclestorestructuring [46]
. Paradoxically,worldfoodaidprogrammesaresupportingtobaccogrowinginvarious
countrieswithinancialdonations,e.g.Ghana.Theargumentsusedtojustifythisrunmore
500 Tobacco
Sweet potatoes Peanuts
Cotton Corn
Soybeans Hay
Wheat 136
190 228
306 478
760 1,627
1,000 1,500
US- per acre [thousands]
2,000 2,500
3,000 3,500
4,000 4,500
4,191
Fig. 14.1
Agriculturalvalueofselectedcropproductsfortheyear1995 [12]
.Tobaccoranked seventhintermsoffrequencythroughouttheUSA,behindthecropsshownabove.Tobacco
earnedincomeofUS2.3billionintheUSA [12]
orlessasfollows:“Tobaccoisatraditionalsourceofenjoymentandbringsalittleluxury andpleasureintolife.”Inordertobeabletogrowtobaccointhesecountries,itisneces-
sarytoclearwoodland.Moreover,becauseofthepoorqualityofthesoilandtheshortage offertiliser,thelandobtainedinthiswaycanonlybeusedforafewyearsandthenhasto
bereplacedbynewland [47]
.AccordingtoUNOcalculations,onetreehastobefelledfor every300cigarettesproduced.
TheBritishgovernmenthasrejectedareportbytheCommission,whichwasco-initiated bythetobaccoindustry,totheCouncilonthejointmarketingorganisationforrawtobacco
[48] andspokenoutagainstfurthersubsidiesfortobaccogrowing.Itsproposalswere,
however,notaccepted [48]
. AnaltogetherindefensibleattitudetowardstobaccogrowingisthatoftheSwissgov-
ernment:thefederalgovernmentchargesakindofspecialtobaccodutyof2.6rappenper packetofcigarettes.TheSFr20millionofrevenuethisgeneratesisnotputintosmoking
prevention,however,butispaidinsubsidiestowardstobaccocultivation [49]
14.5 Governmental Control of Toxic Tobacco Constituents
InmostcountriesinEurope38countries,nationalregulationsspecifymaximumyieldsfor tarandnicotineintobaccoproducts.In12countriesregulationsforadditivesexist,whilethe
contentofCOisregulatedinonlysixcountries.Thelimitsfortarandnicotineare12and 1.2mgpercigarette,respectively
[50] .A2001EUdirectivewillreinforcetheregulationof
theconstituentsandingredientsoftobaccoproductsandtobaccosmokefordetails,see Chap.3.4
,Tables3.1–3.3.ThedatasummarisedinTable 14.2
indicatethattherearestilla fewEUcountriesthatarelaggingbehindbecausetheyhavenotyetproducedanynational
Country Nationaltobacco
controlactionplan Speciictargetson
tobaccoinactionplan Nationalcoordinating
bodyfortobaccocontrol Austria
No No
No Belgium
No No
No Denmark
Yes Yes
Yes Finland
Yes Yes
Yes France
Yes Yes
Yes Germany
No No
No Greece
No No
Yes Ireland
Yes Yes
Yes Italy
Yes Yes
No Netherlands
Yes Yes
Yes Portugal
Yes Yes
Yes Spain
Yes Yes
Yes Sweden
Yes Yes
Yes UnitedKingdom
Yes Yes
Yes
Table 14.2
NationalactionplansandcoordinatingbodiesinselectedEuropeancountries [50]
actionplanfortobaccocontrolandalsohavenoorganisednationalbodyforthecoordina- tionofsuchactionplans
[50] .
By2004thenewstandardswillstipulateyieldsfortarandnicotineof10and1mgper cigarette, respectively. By 2003 all EU member states will require manufacturers and
importers to submit a list documenting all ingredients and their quantities used in the manufactureoftobaccoproducts,bybrandnameandtype.Thelistofallingredientswill
bepublished. Theproposal,discussedwithintheEUsince1999,concerningtheharmonisationofthe
legalandadministrativerequirementsrelatingtothemanufacture,packagingandsaleof tobaccoproducts19990244COD;KOM1999-594
[50] envisagesthat,witheffectfrom
2003,theyieldsoftarandnicotinepercigarettewillbeloweredto10and1mgrespec- tively,andthattheCOcontentpercigarettewillbe10mgwitheffectfrom31December
2003.Itisalsoplannedtoincludeotherconstituentsofcigarettetobaccointhiscontrol system.Thewarningsprintedoncigarettepacksarealsotoberegulated.Themanufactur-
ersandimportersoftobaccoproductswillberequiredtolistfortheircigarettebrandsthe non-tobaccoingredientsandconstituentswithquantitativedetails.Theuseofmisleading
labelssuchas“light,”“mild”and“ultralight”willbeprohibited.Itisarecurringcomplaint thatinadequateinformationandthelackoftoxicologydatamakeitimpossibleforthe
appropriateauthoritiesinEUcountriestoarriveatameaningfulestimateofthehealthrisks oftobaccoproductsfortheconsumer.Thelackofsuchinformationpreventsthebodies
responsiblefromensuringahighlevelofhealthprotection.Itistobehopedthatthisdirec- tivewillalsobeimplementedinallEUcountriesinthenearfuture.
14.6 Tobacco Taxes
Therehavebeendutiesandtaxesontobaccoconsumptioninsomecountriesforover200 yearscf.
Chap.1 .Today,thetaxesontobaccoproductsaremuchhigherthantheactual
salesvalueoftheproductsthemselves.Priceincreasesareoneeffectiveinstrumentfor reducingtobaccoconsumption,atleasttemporarily.AsthedatasummarisedinFig.13.2
shows,thevarioustobaccotaxesanddutiesleviedintheEUareequivalenttoabout66 oftheconsumerprices
[51] .IntheEuropeanUnion,theaimisforaminimumtaxrateof
about70oftheretailendprice [52]
.Germanyisjustbelowthislevel,lyinginsecond- lastplaceFig.13.2.WhilethecigarettepriceinGermany,allowingforinlation,roseby
4.1from1987to1993,ithasriseninGreatBritainby25sinceMay1997.Theexam- pleoftheUnitedKingdomillustratesthatastobaccotaxrises,revenuerisestooover2–3
decadesFig. 14.2
. Thereisaninverserelationshipbetweenthecigarettepriceandthelevelofconsump-
tion,withthelatterfallingastheformerrises.Onaverage,a10increaseinpricecauses cigaretteconsumptionamongadultstodropby3–7
[53] .Naturally,suchpriceincreases
haveafarbiggereffectonconsumptionamongchildrenandjuveniles,allowinga2–3 timeshigherdecreaseincigaretteconsumptiontobereckonedwith
[54] .Adoublingofthe
cigarettepricewouldtriggerasigniicantdropincigaretteconsumption,providedtobacco smugglingcouldbeeffectivelystopped.Apriceincreaseonthisscalewouldalsoresultin