Starting with next year, the minimum selling price of cigarettes will be higher. According to the 2019 draft state budget  law approved by the Cabinet this week, the minimum price of a package of filter cigarettes will be 25 lei, while of a package of cigarettes without filter 19 lei, IPN reports.

The sale of cigarettes with or without filter at higher prices than the minimum reference prices will be fined 50% of the value of the given cigarettes, starting from the minimum reference price, but not less than 1,000 lei.

The minimum price for the period between July 1 and December 31, 2018 was 21 lei per package of filter cigarettes and 14 lei per package of cigarettes without filter.

Would Bank experts said the rise in taxes on tobacco products leads to higher state budget revenues. The move also led to a 10% decline in cigarette consumption, which is about 600 million cigarettes. Thus, the sales of cigarettes in 2017 came to 5.5 billion cigarettes, while in 2016 to 6.1 billion.

According to the Ministry of Health, Labor and Social Protection, in the course of 2017, 3,491 persons received ambulatory treatment at the National Narcology Dispensary, while 72 received treatment in stationary conditions. Counseling services to give up smoking were provided for 31,716 persons in ambulatory conditions. 156,000 persons received the minimum smoking cessation advice from the family doctors.

Specialists said that owing to smoking and exposure to tobacco smoke, the incidence of non-transmitted diseases, such as cardiovascular and cerebral-vascular diseases, lung cancer and chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases, increases in Moldova.