Italy Campaign Secures 50,000 Signatures for €5 Cigarette Price Hike
A coalition of Italy’s leading health and cancer research organizations has successfully secured 50,000 signatures for a popular legislative proposal to raise the price of cigarettes and e-cigarettes by €5. Spearheaded by the Italian Association of Medical Oncology (AIOM), the AIRC Foundation for Cancer Research, and the Umberto Veronesi Foundation, the initiative will now head to the Italian Parliament for official debate.
If approved, the law would introduce a specific excise duty of €5 per standard consumption unit on all smoking and nicotine inhalation products starting next January. This tax would apply regardless of the retail price and would be added to existing duties.
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The primary goal is to curb Italy’s high smoking rates, particularly among younger demographics. Health advocates emphasize that smoking is responsible for 90% of lung cancer cases and 50% of bladder cancers in Italy, alongside a heavy burden of cardiovascular and respiratory diseases.
| Metric / Group | Current Statistic / Proposed Change |
|---|---|
| Adult Smoking Rate (18-69) | Nearly 25% of the population |
| Youth Smoking/Vaping (11-13) | 7.5% of students |
| Youth Smoking/Vaping (14-17) | 37.4% of students |
| Proposed Price Increase | +€5 per standard unit |
| Projected Consumption Drop | 37% reduction in tobacco use |
| Projected Annual Revenue | ~€800 million for the NHS (SSN) |
“To substantially reduce the number of smokers, we must intervene economically, as other countries have already done,” the coalition stated. The groups are urging Parliament to expedite the review of the bill, drawing parallels to the swift passage of the country’s recent oncological oblivion law.
- Reference: Aumentare di 5 euro il prezzo di sigarette e prodotti da fumo: raggiunte 50 mila firme a favore
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