Tobacco industry: The fight against the black market and underage tobacco use does not start with labeling the economy

The fight against the black market and underage tobacco use does not begin with labeling the economy, but with strengthening inspection mechanisms, combating smuggling, as well as education, prevention and responsible marketing policies - which legal companies are already implementing, several tobacco industry companies announced today.

They stated in a statement that they react with great concern and deep disagreement to "statements by representatives of the World Health Organization (WHO) in Montenegro that were conveyed in the public space without any critical distance, and in which the legal tobacco industry in Montenegro is described in a way that we consider extremely inappropriate, completely inaccurate and harmful to public dialogue."

The Head of the WHO Office in Montenegro, Mina Brajović, said at the session of the Parliamentary Committee on Economy, Finance and Budget on June 4 that the addiction pandemic causes eight million lives lost every year, of which one million are passive smokers, whose choice was not tobacco.

"This is a pandemic not caused by a virus, but by an inexorable escalation in the use of various tobacco and nicotine products, which is generated by a powerful industry of death driven solely by profit. In the European region, every fourth inhabitant uses tobacco products. In Montenegro, the prevalence is significantly above what we see as the average at the global and European levels," Brajović said at the time.

The statement was signed by tobacco industry companies: Philip Morris Montenegro, JTI, British American Tobacco, PLUS doo and BAR – KOD doo

We are reporting their reaction in full:

"First, companies from the tobacco sector in Montenegro are among the largest taxpayers and the most reliable partners of the state, whose excise and fiscal behavior directly contributes to the stability of the budget and public finances. In 2024 alone, according to the Minister of Finance, excise revenue amounted to 119 million euros, which is more than twice as much as in 2020. Irresponsible and excessive excise policy leads to an increase in illegal trade, which we witnessed a few years ago when excise taxes were sharply increased, which led to a drop in excise revenue in the budget of more than 50%. After a year, in 2018, when the competent institutions saw this significant drop, there was a reasonable correction of excise and a gradual recovery of the legal market, which unfortunately still has not returned to the previous period. Despite these experiences, the WHO is now again proposing an increase in excise taxes, which would once again collapse the legal market with all the negative consequences for the budget.

Secondly, the tobacco industry in Montenegro fully complies with the laws of this country and the international obligations in force. Legal market participants do not engage in sales to minors, nor do they create products with the aim of targeting this population. Everything on the market has been approved by the competent institutions.

Third, the fight against the black market and underage tobacco use does not begin with labeling the industry, but with strengthening inspection mechanisms, combating smuggling, as well as education, prevention, and responsible marketing policies – which legal companies are already implementing.

Fourth, in order to achieve greater transparency and establish clear rules in the market, the tobacco industry advocates for proper regulation of all product categories in order to achieve stability of budget revenues and more efficient control by competent inspections.

We are part of an industry that employs, pays taxes, contributes to the budget, and we are open to dialogue on any measure aimed at protecting the health of citizens, including combating the abuse of nicotine products among minors.

However, it is unacceptable to publicly campaign against legitimate businesses while completely ignoring the underlying problems: smuggling, illegal sales, availability of products to minors, and lack of institutional control.

"Finally, we call on all relevant institutions and international partners to engage in a fair and reasoned dialogue, and not in public rallies that create polarization and do not contribute to the goal we all share - protecting minors from any contact with nicotine products in Montenegro," the tobacco industry companies said in a statement.