politics.hu - 29 de noviembre de 2013 - Hungría

Decree bans tobacco shops from hypermarkets and petrol stations

Tobacco shops operating in or near hypermarkets or petrol stations must close down by May 31,2014, according to a government decree issued on Thursday. Shops operating in hypermarket parking lots must also close by May 31.

Specifically, no tobacco outlets may operate on areas with 2500m2 of retail space. The decree also stipulates that no new tobacco shops can open within 200 meters of existing outlets, after November 30.

HVG reported earlier that some lobby groups were initiating such restrictions, arguing that shopping malls and hypermarkets account for a disproportionately high share of cigarette sales.

Publicación original: 

http://www.politics.hu/20131129/decree-bans-tobacco-shops-from-hypermarkets-and-petrol-stations/

politics.hu - 29 de agosto de 2013 - Hungria

Gov’t could prohibit tobacco shops in large retail spaces

Hungary’s government is planning to amend legislation to prohibit tobacco sales in large retail spaces, daily Magyar Hirlap said on Thursday, citing an unnamed government source.

The amendment would prohibit the shops from operating in retail spaces larger than 2,500 square metres.
Retail tobacco sales became a state monopoly in Hungary in July. Some of the “national tobacco stores” are in shopping centres frequented by children, the paper said.
The government is also mulling banning tobacconists from operating within 100 metres of schools, the paper said, adding any changes would come into force from next January.

Publicación original:

http://www.politics.hu/20130829/govt-could-prohibit-tobacco-shops-in-large-retail-spaces/

xpatloop.com - 12 de agosto de 2013 - Hungría

Szabó Won’t Challenge Tobacco Retail Licence In Hungary

Civil rights ombudsman Máté Szabó will not turn to the Constitutional Court over the question of tobacco retail licenses, his office announced in a weekend statement. His office said the transformation of the tobacco retail trade into a state monopoly is a justifiable restriction on trade, as protection of minors against the health hazards of smoking is a legitimate constitutional interest.

The statement added, however, that the tender and the tender specifications violated the right to fair procedure in several respects.

Source: Hungary Around the Clock

Publicación original: 

http://www.xpatloop.com/news/74052

asiaone.com. Budapest - Hungría, 21 de Junio de 2013
Hungarians fume over revealing tobacco scandal

When Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban swept to power in 2010, one of the many things he promised was to clean up government and root out graft.

But three years on, a shake-up of the sale of cigarettes, of all things, has turned into a scandal that has convinced many Hungarian voters that a culture of corruption remains very much alive.

Originally, in 2012, the slashing of the number of outlets allowed to sell tobacco products from 42,000 - including petrol stations and supermarkets - to just 7,000 "National Tobacco Shops" run under a state monopoly was billed as a noble attempt to stub out teenage smoking.

But when the list of winners, from a tender process, to own the licenses for the new state shops was revealed in April, it emerged that many not only had no experience in the business but had close ties to the ruling right-wing party Fidesz. In some cases they were even family members.

Others were employees of cigarette manufacturer Continental, whose chief executive is a friend of Janos Lazar, Orban's chief of staff and the author of the legislation creating the state monopoly on tobacco sales.

Inflaming matters further, a recording was leaked to the press of the Fidesz mayor of one town telling party colleagues to check a list of bidders and saying "just as long as the (opposition) Socialists don't win any". Similar cases emerged in two other towns.

Speaking at a demonstration against the monopoly, Katalin Szabone, one of the leaders of an angry protest group of tobacconists, told AFP that of 5,145 concessions granted so far, just 60 of Hungary's current tobacconists had won their bids.

Para leer esta noticia en su contexto original, por favor visite el siguiente enlace:To read this information, please follow the link below:
http://www.asiaone.com/News/Latest%2BNews/World/Story/A1Story20130621-431294.html