Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2002-02-05-Speech-2-058"
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"en.20020205.4.2-058"2
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"Mr President, Commissioner, in the United States – a country which has achieved the most striking results in curbing cigarette consumption – the incidence of taxation in relation to price is much lower than in all the European countries, even those with the lowest excise duty levels. I feel that this is a benchmark we must not disregard.
There is another factor that we must not lose sight of. The British Member said that increasing prices leads to a reduction in cigarette consumption, and this is evidence to prove it. However, what happened in Italy is that an increase in cigarette prices brought about by an increase in taxation did indeed reduce the consumption of cigarettes sold on official markets but only because it greatly increased the consumption of contraband cigarettes. This is especially true in that cigarette smuggling takes place not between European countries with differing excise duty levels – and we would point out that excise duties in the United States vary from State to State – but from outside Europe to inside Europe: cigarettes are smuggled from Montenegro across the Adriatic and by this route to the whole of Europe. Moreover, we will be in danger of exacerbating this phenomenon of criminal, mafia smuggling if we continue to pursue this policy of increasing excise duties. The positive results obtained in terms of public health in the United States – I want the Members to understand this – were pursued and achieved by applying lower rates of excise duty than in Europe."@en1
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