Two of the factories of Bulgartabac which did not sell a couple of weeks ago will be put for sale at lower prices on BSE. The minimal price for Kardjali-BT will be reduced from 2.5 million BGN to 2.1 million BGN. The price of Yambol Tabac will be 100 000 BGN lower and will be set at 600 000 BGN.
Q. Mrs. Commissioner, how is it that you intend to promote self-extinguishing cigarettes to Bulgarian smokers who are among the most avid in Europe?
A. Such cigarettes will stop burning only when the smoker does not inhale. The work on that regulation started before my time, but I plan to continue because only in the old member-states 2000 people die annually from cigarette caused fires. The losses amount to 14 million Euro. These cigarettes are already sold in Canada and the US and calculations in Europe show that the price will be increased by a mere 0.01 Eurocents per pack.
Q. But the attitude to smoking in the US and Europe is quite different.
A. I am not talking about smoking, but about safety. And safety is a serious issue in Europe.
Q. As a non-smoker how will you persuade the smokers that new cigarettes will taste as good as the old ones and their toxicity will not increase?
A. This would have been a problem years ago. Now the technology is mechanical - small holes are made in the filter to reduce the influx of oxygen.
Q. Would you try it to make sure you are right?
A. No, I have nothing to compare it with.
Cigarettes are the second biggest source of revenues from excise tax. They brought 495.8 million BGN or 40.1% of the total revenues. 94.8 % of those come from six companies. Four of them are local manufacturers and the rest are distributed among the subsidiaries of foreign tobacco companies.
The cases of illegal import of cigarettes with tax stamps of non-EU countries are increasing. The main export countries are Serbia and Ukraine. Those countries do not have a minimum excise rate as in the EU member-stats. This is why the cigarettes are much cheaper there even when all other taxes are paid.
Cigarettes sales are also growing in the duty-free shops. There have been an increased number of cases of duty-free cigarettes being sold on the domestic market. Contraband is being carried out by both individual citizens and organized crime groups.
After an unsuccessful attempt to sell the factories in Kardjali and Yambol Bulgartabac lowered their minimal price. The Holding will sell 90.56% or 461 828 shares of the Kardjali Tabac capital for 2.1 million BGN. Yambol Tabac will put for sale 99.73% of its capital for 600 000 BGN. The price of the third company Gotse Delchev BT will remain unchanged at 2.25 million BGN.
Bulgartbac Holding has announced privatization procedures for its subsidiaries Kardjali Tabac, Yambol Tabac abd Gotse Delchev BT. Bidding for 90.56% of Kardjali Tabac will start from 2.1 million BGN, for 99.73% of Yambol Tabac - from 600 000 BGN. Gotse Delchev BT will be offered on the stock exchange on August 8. Biding for the 78.27% package will start from BGN 2.25% million.
Bulgartabac Holding announced the dates and minimal prices for the sale of the shares of three of its subsidiary companies on BSE - Kardjali Tabac, Yambol Tabac and Gotse Delchev BT.
Bulgartabac Holding will make a second attempt to sell Gotse Delchev BT on BSE. Again as in May 753 062 shares or 78.27% of the capital will be put for sale. The minimum price for bidding in the mixed closed auction will be 2.25 million BGN. It is not possible to buy a smaller package of shares because all the shares will be grouped in one lot. The date when bids are to be submitted is 8th of August.
70 people have used a method to quit smoking called IQS "I Quit Smoking" from February 1st till now, announced Albena Atanasova, Manager of "Quit Smoking International" for Bulgaria. 67 people that subjected themselves to the procedure have stopped smoking. 72% quit from the first procedure.
Bulgartabac Holding AD-Sofia set the parameters for the sale of its stocks in 3 of its tobacco companies - Kardjali Tabac AD-Sofia, Yambol Tabac AD and Gotse Delchev BT AD - Gotse Delchev, announced Bulgarian Stock Exchange - Sofia. A total of 461 828 stocks from the capital of Kardjali Tabac AD constituting 90.56% of the capital of the company will be put for sale at a minimum price of 2,1 ml. BGN . The candidates to purchase the package will be able to bid within 30 days from the publication of the announcement.
Bulgartabac will also put for sale 256 170 stocks from the capital of Yambol Tabac AD which constitute 99.73% of its capital for at least 600 thousand BGN under the same conditions as with the Kardjali Tabac sale.
Bulgartbac will propose to BSE to sell 753 062 shares or 78.27% of the capital of Gotse Delchev BT AD in a closed auction at a minimal limited price of 2.25 ml BGN.
The initially agreed amounts of oriental tobacco for 2007 for the region of Kardjali are 10 401 tons. The estimated produce however is expected to be 10 117 tons or 284 tons less than planned, announced the Head of Tobacco Fund in Kardjali Meliha Deliber. Half of that produce comes from the Municipalities of Krumovgrad and Kirkovo.
A recently approved anti-smoking medicine could also prevent alcoholism, shows a study carried out by scientists from San Francisco University.
Vareniclin is manufactured by the Pfizer labs and was approved as a anti-smoking drug in the US and Europe in 2006. It results in reduced smoking by influencing the brain receptors which produce dopamine.
European Commissioner Meglena Kuneva would bring forward a proposal for an EU Directive which will oblige all cigarette manufacturers to produce products that stop burning automatically. This is the way, in Kuneva's opinion. to reduce the risk of fires most of which are caused by burning cigarette butts.
Following the rulings of the Supervision Council and the Board of Directors of Bulgartabac Holding AD the holding announced that it is planning to put the shares of three of its companies for sale in newly organized auctions on the BSE. The three companies to be traded are Kardjali -Tabac AD, Yambol-Tabac AD and Gotse Delchev -Tabac AD.
