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Russian stimulus: Drink more, smoke more
From the Editors
"Alexei Kudrin, Russia's finance minister, is telling his fellow countrymen and women to keep buying smokes and to pour another drink or two in order to help boost government revenues.
"People should understand: Those who drink, those who smoke are doing more to help the state," Kudrin said according to a translation provided by Interfax news.
New taxes on cigarettes were passed in June, Agence France Presse reported, and once they're fully implemented by 2013, the state's take per 1000 cigarettes will double to $19.20. Next year's portion of that hike should raise the average cost of a pack of smokes by about nine cents, according to a tobacco industry website. Russian cigarettes currently sell for about $1.40 a pack.
Drinking is getting more expensive, too. By 2013, heavier alcohol taxes are expected to increase the price of the cheapest Russian vodka from a current dollar equivalent of $2.81 to $4.71, according to the same source."
