The Cheapest Pack of Cigarettes in Armenia Should Cost 20,000 Drams, Says MP

During a session of the Economic Affairs Committee of the National Assembly today, Narak Ghahramanyan, a member of the Civil Contract faction, commented on the new regulations concerning tobacco in Armenia. He stated, “If a law is passed and it is not enforced, in my opinion, it is a disgrace for the state. There are times we pass laws knowing clearly that they will not work.”

“If you want to reduce or eliminate tobacco consumption, in my opinion, gradual price increases will not help; increasing by 50 or 100 drams will not change anything. I believe that a pack of cigarettes in Armenia should cost at least 20,000 drams, and that would be for the cheapest cigarettes. I have experimented on myself; as a smoker, I lived for two weeks on 1.5 packs of cigarettes, and nothing happened to me,” Ghahramanyan added.

According to the MP, it seems that the authorities are simply raising prices rather than genuinely wanting to solve the issue. “If we want to address the problem, I reiterate, if the price goes from 1,000 to 1,500 drams, people will still smoke. In our country, tobacco is an everyday accessible product; everyone can afford to smoke, even pensioners. This should not be the case.”

Ghahramanyan posed a question to Arsen Torosyan: “Please indicate where we rank in terms of the number of smokers in the world; I believe we will be among the top three.” Arsen Torosyan responded, saying that Armenia ranks in the top ten, with approximately 52% of adult men being smokers.