Armenia’s cigarette production on the rise
Cigarette production in Armenia recorded an increase of 63.5% in January-February 2018 from the same period last year, according to the figures released by the National Statistical Service (NSS) of Armenia.
As the NSS data show, Armenia produced a total of 5,062,400 units of cigarettes within the first two months of this year, whereas the production stood at 3,096,400 cigarettes in January-February 2017.
The tobacco production share in the process industry made up 17.1% due to the registered growth.
According to the statistics, more than 50% of Armenian men and almost 4% of women above 16 years of age are smokers.
The Armenian Ministry of Health recently drafted a bill to impose strict restrictions on tobacco use in the country, namely to ban smoking in public areas and tobacco sales in some places, with the anti-smoking law promising to heavily fine those who do not comply with it.
The anti-smoking measure also aims to prevent the diseases, disability and premature death caused by tobacco product use or second-hand smoke.
The law is expected to take effect from 1 November 2018.