From: Ceylon Today
By Nishel Fernando
Overall smoking in Sri Lanka is on the rise despite the government’s heavy regulations and high taxes, driven mostly by the arrival of record levels of illicit fags to the country.
Speaking exclusively to Ceylon FT, Ceylon Tobacco Company (CTC) MD and CEO Michael Koset said, “Total smoking in Sri Lanka is growing slightly year after year. The government’s tax hike has only resulted in a shift in smoking from legal cigarettes to illicit fags and beedi.”
