TESK President’s Call to “Stop Cigarette Prices”

Bendevi Palandöken, president of the Confederation of Turkish Traders and Craftsmen (TESK), stated that the price of cigarettes has increased fivefold since the beginning of the year and that the price of a cigarette, which was 29 TL in January 2023 , is 55 TL, and said: “The price increase of cigarettes has exceeded 75 percent. “The increases must stop immediately,” he said.

In his written statement today, Palandöken complains about the increase in cigarette prices and the practices that confront merchants and citizens.

Palandöken stated that tobacco companies pit citizens and merchants against each other: “Cigarettes are no longer delivered in the quantity requested by merchants. While the original packs previously contained 10 cigarettes, the number of packs was reduced to 5 during the transition period. ” saying.

“As prices rise, leaks increase”

Palandöken, who wanted the increases stopped immediately, stated the following:

“As cigarette prices increase, the leak rate increases. There is currently a 20 percent rate of cigarette leaks. The State has a fiscal loss of 100 billion due to this leak. Because as the price increases, leaks increase. When tobacco companies raise prices, they limit the number of sales of the product, thus pitting merchants and citizens against each other. “This limitation of trade should be avoided with the practices of the Competition Authority and a new regulation from the Ministry of Commerce.”