HN: British study highlights ties between tobacco companies and Czech politicians

Prague, July 24 (CTK) - British experts give the Czech Republic as a warning example of a country in which tobacco producers enjoy politicians' support, daily Hospodarske noviny (HN) writes yesterday, referring to a study completed at the prestigious Bath University.

Managers of the Czech branch of the Philip Morris tobacco company in Kutna Hora, central Bohemia, must have rejoiced last week when Finance Minister Miroslav Kalousek (TOP 09) proposed a tobacco tax increase in a way not to harm Philip Morris's business. He proposed that the price of expensive cigarettes, such as those made by Philip Morris, should rise only slightly, unlike the price of cheap cigarettes, HN writes.

"If smokers of cheap cigarettes switch to expensive ones, I won't care as it will harm the importers' revenues. If smokers of expensive cigarettes switched to cheap ones, which has become a trend recently, I can't stay indifferent because it could lead to the Kutna Hora [Philip Morris plant's] closure," Kalousek said in parliament.

However, as a result of similar positions taken by Czech politicians, the world considers the Czech Republic a good example of the tobacco lobby's prevalence, HN writes.

A team of Bath University experts, including respected Professor Anne Gilmore, has completed a study describing the manipulation of excise tax by Czech tobacco companies. Over 2000 people showed interest in the study in the first few days after its disclosure by the server Plos Medicine, HN writes.

In the Czech Republic, supra-national tobacco companies enjoy political support on the highest level, the study says.

It points to Czech President Vaclav Klaus's visit to Kutna Hora two years ago when he ceremonially opened Philip Morris's new production facility.

On this occasion, Klaus said he supported the struggle against the restriction of smoking through directives coming from above. He alluded to the regulation of smoking promoted by the rest of Europe, the paper writes.

In 2010, the Czech anti-smoking laws ranked among the most toothless in the EU. The same applies to international conventions, the British experts write in the study.

For example, the Czech government approved the World Health Organisation's Convention on Tobacco Control, which is valid in 174 states, as the last of the EU members this spring, the study recalls.

The prices of cigarettes in the Czech Republic hamper the fight against tobacco even more. The prices were falling from the 1990s to 2007, and their recent growth is so slight that it can hardly discourage smokers, the British experts say, cited by HN.

Instead of sharply raising the excise tax on tobacco, which the producers fear most of all, the Czech government plans to raise it gradually, as Kalousek's recent proposal also shows, the paper continues.

Originally, the government wanted to harmonise the tax with the EU's immediately by a one-off increase, in accordance with the EU's directives. However, it finally backpedalled on the plan. The first price increase is scheduled for 2013 and another for 2014, HN writes.

Philip Morris, one of the Czech tobacco market leaders, dismisses the speculation that Kalousek's proposal is a result of lobbying. "It is fully up to the government and parliament to choose their way [of raising the tax]," said Andrea Gontkovicova, from Philip Morris's management.

The situation really corresponds to what has been described by British experts, HN writes.

Supra-national companies have repeatedly twisted and weakened [politicians'] attempts to restrict tobacco advertisement and attempts to raise the excise tax, and their influence still persists, the Bath University experts write in their study based on tobacco producers and mapping the developments in the Czech Republic in 1990-2005.