Higher taxes, less advertising on tobacco, alcohol, says minister

Higher taxation and less advertising, especially on alcohol, may help curb high consumption of tobacco and alcohol in the Czech Republic, Health Minister Adam Vojtech (ANO) told journalists at the expert meeting Alcohol and Tobacco in the Czech Republic in 2018 today. National anti-drug coordinator Jarmila Vedralova said two million people smoke cigarettes and 600,000 drink alcohol on a daily basis in the Czech Republic with its population of 10.5 million. In the sphere of smoking, one could see positive effects since the adoption of the anti-smoking law, Vojtech said. "We still consider alcohol a common part of life and society is very tolerant of its use," Vedralova said.