Tobacco Asia News & Views Podcast #56
Host Thomas Schmid interviews Paul Varakas, director-general of ECMA, the Brussels-based trade association representing over 30 European cigar and cigarillo manufacturers, most of them family-owned MSEs. Paul argues that cigars are artisanal, occasionally consumed products — primarily by adults over 35 — and should not face the same regulations as cigarettes. He pushes back against one-size-fits-all tobacco policies, citing Eurobarometer data showing negligible youth consumption. He welcomes the European Parliament's recent rejection of a Commission proposal to raise cigar taxes by up to 1,000%, and encourages listeners to submit evidence to the EU's ongoing tobacco regulation consultation at ecma.eu.
Link to Tobacco Asia News and Views Podcast #56
The Tobacco Asia podcast is hosted by Thomas Schmid, contributing editor at Tobacco Asia magazine, and brought to you in conjunction with Business Insights, the new digital platform of Messe Dortmund and their InterTabac/InterSupply events, the world’s leading and largest tobacco exhibitions.