cigarettes Archives - Ireland's Forecourt & Convenience Retailer

Taxes on alcohol and cigarettes look set to remain untouched in budget

Linda Stewart — Thu, 18 Aug 2022 09:07:51 +0000

Taxes on alcohol and cigarettes look set to go untouched in next month’s budget.

Senior sources said they did not think it was the time to increase excise on the so-called “old reliables” of alcohol or cigarettes amid concerns about increasing the burden on consumers, the Irish Times said.

There has been a conversation around whether the Government has “hit the ceiling” on hiking the price of tobacco, with increases of 50 cent on a 20 pack of cigarettes implemented in each of the last seven budgets.

One figure said that if a public-health rationale is put forward for increasing the price of a pack of cigarettes, that will be considered, but an increase to excise on alcohol is viewed as highly unlikely.

Ministers are also working on a package of tax changes for businesses, including improvements on the capital gains tax entrepreneur relief, a review of the Keep share option scheme and potential movement on the research and development tax credit.

A rainy-day fund will likely be reintroduced next year, with a proportion of next year’s projected exchequer surplus forecast to go into this.

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Global tobacco market expected to shrink by 3% this year: BAT

Linda Stewart — Thu, 09 Jun 2022 10:54:16 +0000

British American Tobacco has told shareholders it expects a decline in the global tobacco market to accelerate due to the Ukraine war.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine means the global tobacco market is expected to shrink by 3% this year, BAT said. Past predictions put the fall at 2.5%.

“As previously announced, given the continuing conflict in Ukraine, we are working towards transferring our Russian business in full compliance with international and local laws,” said chief executive Jack Bowles.

“Our priority remains the safety and wellbeing of our people in Ukraine and across the wider region.”

“In addition, this conflict is increasing global uncertainty and disruption, further exacerbating inflationary pressures on supply chains, impacting consumer consumption and resulting in increased finance costs.”

But BAT stuck to its guidance for this financial year, saying revenue will row between 2% and 4%.

It has not noticed any “accelerated downtrading” – customers swapping more expensive brands for cheaper cigarettes – so far this year.

“While we are not immune to these pressures, we are confident in delivering on our current financial targets, irrespective of the timing of the transfer of our Russian business,” Mr Bowles said.

“This is thanks to our well-established multi-category strategy, our strong portfolio of global brands and our resilient, highly cash generative business.”

The business said it has cut losses from its new categories business, which includes vaping and heated tobacco.

This is where many investors see the future of the tobacco giant. Both revenue and volume sales grew in the category, and it invested £1 billion in the products over the first half of the year, BAT said.

“Our new category business is increasingly contributing to group performance, and we are confident in delivering our £5 billion new category revenue and profitability targets by 2025,” Mr Bowles said.

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More than 6,000 illegal cigarettes seized by gardai in Longford

Linda Stewart — Mon, 21 Feb 2022 11:00:50 +0000

Gardai in Longford have seized thousands of illegal cigarettes and a large number of weapons in a search.

The find was made on Saturday afternoon at 3pm when Longford Gardaí, assisted by the Longford District Detective Unit, the Community Engagement Unit and the Divisional Drugs Unit, executed a search warrant at a premises in Longford town.

“During the course of this search, 18 large knives, 11 imitation firearms, one small hatchet, one canister of pepper spray and one baton were seized along with a number of other items,” a spokesperson said.

“In addition to this, 6,300 illegal cigarettes with an estimated value of €4,725 were also seized. All of the seized items have been sent for analysis.

“No arrests have been made at this time. Investigations are ongoing.”

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CSNA calls for end of price manipulation by tobacco manufacturers

Linda Stewart — Fri, 08 Oct 2021 15:58:05 +0000

The Convenience Stores and Newsagents Association (CSNA) has called on the Minister for Finance to address a legal loophole which allows tobacco producers to compete on price in the upcoming Budget.

In its pre-Budget Submission, the group highlighted concerns regarding ongoing price manipulation by tobacco manufacturers in Ireland and called on the Government to end this practice and ensure Budget measures are correctly implemented by tobacco companies.

The CSNA said the current legislation allows cigarette manufacturers to set their own retail price and is resulting in significant Exchequer implications.

It’s calling for the implementation of a number of measures in Budget 2020 to close this financial loophole and ensure the Exchequer is receiving its full due from the sale of tobacco:

Amendment of the 1996 Finance Act to allow retailers set tobacco retail price
Banning the sale of large boxes through the Public Health (Tobacco) Act or the amendment of tobacco pricing legislation in the Finance Act 2020
Reducing the permissible limits of imported duty-paid tobacco

The CSNA says removing price-setting power from the manufacturer and returning it to the Irish retailer, ensuring that tobacco manufacturers cannot leverage larger boxes and per-cigarette pricing tactics and ensuring every pack of cigarettes consumed in Ireland adheres to plain packaging rules will support public health objectives and increase Government tax revenues by over €100 million annually.

Public health measures

It says that while Ireland has made very significant strides in combating tobacco harm through a variety of measures over the past 50 years, continued Budgetary measures and taxation policies such as these can further support Ireland’s ongoing public health efforts.

Speaking at the launch of its Pre-Budget Submission, Vincent Jennings, CEO of the CSNA, said: “If the Government is to have any hope of reaching its target to reduce smoking to less than 5% of the population by 2025, it needs to take a series of actions that go beyond simply increasing excise on tobacco.

“This includes allowing tobacco retailers in convenience, forecourt and newsagents to set the price of tobacco products in the same way that they can set the price of any other product sold in their shop. This is also an important public health intervention – WHO research consistently shows that price is the biggest single determining factor in tobacco consumption.

“A range of measures are available to the Government, and we would call on them to utilise all of these in order to see meaningful reductions in Irish tobacco consumption.”

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