Alcohol and Cigarette Price Increases? Health Minister Takes Stand
Health Minister Izabela Leszczyna announces excise tax increases on alcohol and cigarettes, as well as new regulations on e-cigarettes in order to limit their consumption.
Higher excise duty on alcohol and cigarettes
Health Minister Izabela Leszczyna announced plans to increase excise duty on alcohol and cigarettes in TVN24’s Rozmowa Piaseckiego program. In her opinion, higher taxes can effectively reduce consumption of these products. Additionally, new regulations will be introduced regarding e-cigarettes.
Minister Leszczyna argued that the current prices of alcohol and cigarettes in Poland are definitely too low. “The Ministry of Finance has analyses that clearly indicate that cigarettes and strong alcohol are the cheapest in the whole of Europe,” she said, appealing for an increase in excise duty.
New regulations for e-cigarettes
The Ministry of Health also plans to ban the sale of nicotine-free e-cigarettes to minors. “The project prohibits the sale of nicotine-free electronic cigarettes to people under 18. Minors will not buy any e-cigarettes, including online,” Leszczyna explained.
The Minister stressed that young people should not be misled about the safety of e-cigarettes. “It cannot be that children think they are inhaling watermelon, but they are inhaling toxic substances,” she added.
Ban on night-time alcohol sales at gas stations
The next step of the Ministry of Health is night ban on selling alcohol at petrol stations. The ban is to be in effect from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. “At first, it will only be night hours. I consider the sale of alcohol at petrol stations pathology, so I want to limit it at least at night, because then – as analyses show – these sales are the highest,” Leszczyna said.
These plans aim to protect public health and limit access to alcohol and cigarettes, especially among young people. The government will soon make decisions on this matter.
