(ANSA) - Rome, December 7 - Cigarette sales for 2005 are expected to plunge by 6-7% in the wake of Italy's tough smoking ban which went into effect last January, sector
sources said.
According to the national association of tobacconists Agemos, the greatest drop in sales occurred in the first months of the year right after the ban went into effect.
Sales in January and February, in fact, sank between 15 and 20%.
This presumably because many smokers decided to use the ban as an incentive to quit smoking or drastically reduce their consumption.
In a recent study, the economic think-tank REF calculated that if a 6% decline in annual sales is confirmed, the state will take in 11.6 billion euros in tax revenue. Although this would be some 400 million euros more than in 2004, because of tax hikes, it will be 100 million euros short of what the government indicated in its budget for 2005.
Italy's tough new smoking law banned smoking in offices and other work places open to the public, including restaurants and bars.
Italy's restaurants, bars, cafes and shops were given two options for dealing with smokers: either ban them or put up walls between them and non-smokers. Establishments wishing to cater to smokers - and there is no obligation to do this - must have set aside separate rooms with automatically closing doors.
Italy's first smoking law dates back to 1975 when smoking was banned from public places such as cinemas, schools, libraries, hospitals and underground trains.
