The Cigarette Swindle – a Test for Monti

Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow

Murales at the Yesmoke factory in Settimo Torinese

Since the beginning of the 1990s, the Italian politicians who have succeeded one another have always worked hand in hand with the AAMS opposing increases of tax pressure on cigarettes i.e. the rate of excise duties, opting for tariff maneuvers that have protected the profits of the giant foreign manufacturers. Our politicians have stolen money from the collectivity to give it away to foreign companies, who in exchange said “Bravo”. But now that the Monti Government has arrived, will it all change? Read more »

Cigarettes: New Government; Same Old Swindle

Santa Rosalia liberaci dal pizzo!Thanks to the “Mille Proroghe” (thousand extensions) decree, Italy’s new Monti Government will earn an additional 15 million euro from tobacco; however, Italian smokers will have to pay out almost 20 million. This is because four and a half are the additional “pizzo” – swindle money – that will go to Philip Morris, British American Tobacco and Japan Tobacco. In fact, the decree plans for an increase of the tax revenue from cigarettes, but not an increase in the tax pressure, which would call for raising the excise aliquot, and this would not be appreciated by Big Tobacco.

All this means that when cigarette costs rise, it is the “cartel” of the three multinationals that raise the prices; it is not the State that decides to increase the taxes. It’s true that when prices rise with this system, the cigarette makers take in more and the State, too, earns more. The problem is that in normal countries, including the countries of the third world, the State receives the entire amount. Read more »

Italy: BAT Beats the Codacons 2 to 0

BAT batte Codacons 2 a 0

On April 13th 2011, the Civil Court of Rome declared inadmissible the class action submitted by the Codacons, Italy’s main consumer association, against British American Tobacco Italia, in favor of the smokers of BAT’s MS, Pall Mall and Lucky Strike cigarettes. On the 30th of January 2012 the Court of Appeals also turned down the petition.

According to the Codacons, BAT was using chemical cocktails to increase the nicotine addiction effects of its products. Therefore, 3.5 million hypothetical smokers of its brands should be awarded 3,000 euro each, for a total of 10.5 billion euro.

The class action of the Codacons was, no doubt, just an awkward show whose outcome was a foregone conclusion (just consider the fact that the smokers are not identifiable). But the move did point out a real problem: no one is allowed to know the characteristics or the dosages of the substances added to the cigarettes sold in tobacco shops, and the Italian Justice system hasn’t the guts to do anything about it. Read more »

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