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Spain fumes as Marlboro lowers price, ignores antismoking drive

By wire services
Published January 28, 2006

MADRID - Marlboro cigarettes were always something of a status symbol for smokers in Spain, costing more than top local brands. Suddenly they are cheaper - a gut punch to the rest of the industry and the government's drive to curb smoking.

Last week, the Socialist government raised taxes on cigarette manufacturers in response to what it called a flood of cut-rate brands allegedly targeting younger smokers. Spain's top manufacturer, Altadis, responded by raising prices.

But American giant Philip Morris shocked everyone Thursday by lowering prices for Marlboro by about 15 percent and making similar cuts for two other brands in Spain, infuriating consumer groups, doctors and even vendors fretting over lower revenue.

"We are on strike. People are angry," said Laura Martin, who runs one of Spain's many state-regulated tobacco shops. She said she and many colleagues in Madrid were protesting by refusing to sell Philip Morris products Friday.

Had Philip Morris simply wanted to pass on the tax increase to consumers, its Marlboro price would have gone up by about 12 cents. Instead, it lowered the price by 50 cents to $2.90, compared to the new, higher price of $3 for Fortuna, the leading Altadis brand and Marlboro's main competitor in Spain. Marlboro is the top-selling cigarette in Spain.

Philip Morris International spokesman Tommaso Di Giovanni said the firm shares the government's concerns but believes the recent tax hikes will not help stem sales of cheap cigarettes.

MOSCOW - Russia's defense minister on Friday fired the head of a military academy where a brutal hazing incident resulted in a conscript having his legs and genitals amputated.

Maj. Gen. Viktor Sidorov was also charged with abuse of office for concealing the crime, the chief military prosecutor said.

Pvt. Andrei Sychev, 18, of the Chelyabinsk Tank Academy in the Ural Mountains region, was beaten and tortured on New Year's Eve, causing severe injuries and a gangrenous infection, which led to the amputations. Several other soldiers were beaten in the same incident, but they sustained lighter injuries, prosecutors said.

Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov ordered an investigation into why Sidorov and other military officials failed to immediately report the case.

JAKARTA, Indonesia - A magnitude 7.7 undersea earthquake rocked eastern Indonesia early today, the U.S. Geological Survey said. There was no danger of a tsunami, and no injuries were reported.

The earthquake occurred in the Banda Sea about 120 miles south of Ambon city, the USGS said. It occurred at a depth of 212 miles. The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said no destructive tsunami threat existed.

[Last modified January 28, 2006, 01:39:07]