Sri Lanka prepares to tighten cigarette sales

The government is preparing to impose a 100 metre ban on the sale of cigarettes from certain places and also ban the sale of individual cigarettes, the Tobacco Retailers Association said today (Thursday) at a media conference in Colombo.
Tobacco Retailers Association Secretary Nilantha Costa told reporters that the government has plans to impose a ban on the sale of cigarettes within a radius of 100 metres from places of worship, schools and other places frequented by the youth.
He noted that in addition to this the government is also looking at imposing a ban on the sale of individual cigarettes.
The retailers asserted that the government should not take haphazard decisions in haste without careful examination of the consequences and pointed out that this would lead to closure of the manufacture of cigarettes and affect incomes of families as well.
Mr. Costa noted that these measures could reduce the income of sales by at least 50 per cent at these outlets since about 99 per cent of the businesses would be located within proximity to these places.
Moreover, he pointed out that most people would not purchase cigarette packs but consume individual cigarettes that could seriously affect sales.
The retailers pointed out that the last time the government imposed a price increase of Rs.50 it had a bearing on their profits as a result of which the 15 per cent profits earned from the sale of a cigarette was reduced to 2 per cent. (Sunimalee)