A limit on the quantity and quality of imports is proposed The first anti-smoking initiatives FATOS BAXHAKU TIRANA — “We have proposed to the State Audit Service that a limit also be set in Albania on the quality and quantity of tobacco imported into Albania. The Ministry of Health has also drawn up a proposal under which 0.5 to 1 percent of the tax collected on tobacco imports would go to the Ministry to fund the fight against smoking.” Ir Teneqexhiu, coordinator of the Anti-Tobacco Program, tells the Gazette that the program aims to take its campaign against one of the most widespread habits among Albanians to the highest levels of government. In fact, the problems in Albania are even more numerous than in developed countries. Here, with the opening of the free market, many international companies have introduced products with higher nicotine and tar content than that permitted by EC regulations. But that is not the only problem. A more serious issue is the poor quality of Albanian products, which, being cheaper, are also consumed more widely by the general population. Every cigarette manufactured in Albania contains 20 milligrams of tar and 1.6 milligrams of nicotine. Diseases caused by smoking are widespread in Albania, even though a complete statistic on the number of people suffering from illnesses caused by this habit is still lacking. These include well-known diseases of the cardiovascular system, the central nervous system and the respiratory tract. And it seems that the first result has been achieved in this area, also indicating that the state authorities are becoming aware of the issue. Some time ago, at the proposal of the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Food issued an order requiring all locally produced tobacco products to carry a warning label. According to the Ministry’s latest order, the packages of “DS”, “Arbëria” and “Gent” will state: Do not smoke if you want to stay healthy. “Porti”, “Tarabosh”, “Apollonia” and “Tir” will carry the warning: Smoking causes heart disease. The warning on packs of unfiltered cigarettes is stronger: “Diamant” and “Drino”: Smoking causes fatal diseases. Loose tobacco will not be excluded either. Its pouches will carry the warning: Smoking damages your health. Thus, at least there will be one more tool in the campaign against smoking. “This is certainly an important achievement,” says Dr Teneqexhiu, “but there are still many problems, beginning with the lack of specific legislation in this area. Here, advertising for cigarettes and other tobacco products goes on without any rules, whereas in many developed Western countries it has long been banned.” One of the most urgent objectives of the Anti-Tobacco Program is now to establish rules in Albania, to be followed by everyone, for smoking in public places such as hospitals and schools. The primary aim is to reduce the number of passive smokers, people who involuntarily inhale smokers’ tobacco smoke while staying with them in enclosed spaces. them in enclosed spaces. Cigarettes for sale in Tirana

Farmers in Yrshek oppose the new factory The District Council and the Municipality are at odds TIRANA — A dispute with 12 farming families has halted the recently begun construction work on a factory that will produce one of the Coca-Cola soft drinks in Albania. At the center of the conflict is the issue that has always concerned foreign investors: land ownership. After almost two years of negotiations, the Albanian authorities granted an Italian Coca-Cola company the right to begin building the factory on an area of around four hectares. The site is near the village of Yrshek, six kilometers west of Tirana. The investors planned to put 10 million dollars into the project. But before even 100 meters of the construction site’s perimeter wall had been completed, work stopped following the intervention of farming families who claim to own the land designated for construction. “We have the title deed recognizing us as owners before the Agrarian Reform of 1946,” one member of these families tells the Gazette, “and I have also sent a complaint to the Government, but we have received no answer.” The problem is further complicated by a banal bureaucratic mix-up. While the Tirana District Council granted the Coca-Cola company the right to build on the land near the village of Yrshek, the municipality in this area assigned the same land for the use of the farming families. It is still unclear in whose favor this dispute will be resolved. So far, the Police have intervened to ease the conflict, setting deadlines of two or three days, though it is unclear how long they will be observed. long they will be observed. A Coca-Cola advertisement

TIRANA — The new representative of the European Community begins work in Tirana today. This is Elio Germano, who succeeds Antonio Marchini, who for more than two years successfully served as the European Community’s representative in Albania during the difficult period of emergency and transition. Elio Germano comes to Tirana after a long posting in Nigeria, and he will now be tasked with following developments and the projects that Europe has and wishes to implement in Albania.

TIRANA — (An. St.) The Italian consortium led by the companies ALENIA and INCO, and the group led by the German company SIEMENS, are the firms that will continue competing in the tender for the reconstruction of Rinas Airport, recently launched by the Ministry of Transport. Of the 26 companies that had submitted documentation during the prequalification phase, only two remained after the envelopes were opened. In about two weeks, it will be determined which of them will undertake the first phase of the airport reconstruction. The investment amounts to 50–60 million marks and will go toward improving the aircraft landing electronic systems, lighting and power supply.

Shkodër / Exporting satellite dishes SHKODËR — Attempts to illegally transport goods to the former Yugoslavia continue. This time, the Financial Police of Shkodër stopped a vehicle with Lezhë license plates in Koplik, several kilometers from the border crossing, carrying six satellite dishes. The incident has caused quite a reaction because the person at the wheel was the driver of the Financial Police in the neighboring district of Lezhë. Five other people, who had no connection to the Financial Police, were traveling with him to Montenegro. The responsibility of the driver from Lezhë has not yet been fully clarified, and the financial police officers in Shkodër are continuing their investigation. The issue of evading the embargo against the former Yugoslavia has thus once again come to the fore. The Financial Police of Shkodër, which has always been alert to this issue, appears unable to control the entire flow of vehicles crossing the border with Montenegro every day. Only four people have to inspect around 800 foreign vehicles arriving from abroad each day via Hani i Hotit, not counting around 250 local vehicles entering and leaving daily. All these vehicles are moving through the area at a time when the district’s Financial Police is having difficulty getting its personnel around.

Perpetrators of the act still unknown TIRANA — The house of a police officer from Tirana has been completely burned down. The incident took place three days ago in the former neighborhood of the capital, in Tirana’s Kombinat district, at 6:30 in the evening, and the house was engulfed in flames. One of the neighbors said that when a noise like an explosion was heard, they notified Police Station No. 2 — the motives that prompted the perpetrators to commit this act are still unknown. According to police accounts, this appears to have been an act of personal revenge, connected with his work as a police officer in the Escort Squad at Tirana Prison. “I had also received the service weapon on loan — the victim, Përrit Çara, told the newspaper — I believe it was taken by the perpetrators and then set on fire. Before the house was burned, the perpetrators had also searched for weapons, but found nothing.” According to officer Çara, all the household appliances and furnishings were burned in the blaze. His personal “Java” motorcycle was also burned. The distressed policeman now hopes only that the Chairman of the Council or some humanitarian association will help.

The strict EC regulations allow cigarettes sold in member countries to have the following levels: up to 15 milligrams of tar and 0.8–0.9 milligrams of nicotine per cigarette. In Albania, locally produced cigarettes have these levels: DS, nicotine from 1.03 to 1.13 milligrams, tar from 21 to 22.5. Another widely available brand, GENTI, contains 1.05 to 1.13 milligrams of nicotine and 21.6 to 22.3 milligrams of tar per cigarette. Of the foreign brands sold in Albania, MARLBORO contains at least 1.38 milligrams of nicotine and 15.8 milligrams of tar, nearly one milligram more than permitted by EC regulations. Another foreign product consumed in Albania, PRESIDENT, also contains a high amount of tar, 15.6 milligrams per cigarette, but has a relatively low dose of nicotine: 0.63 milligrams. The Albanian cigarette with the highest nicotine content is ARBERIA, which has recently disappeared from circulation: it reached as much as 2.09 milligrams of nicotine. The locally produced cigarette with the highest tar content was APOLLONIA: 31.8 percent milligrams.

“EUROPEAN LAW WEEK” IN TIRANA — “European Law Week” has just opened in Tirana as part of the project “Democracy through Law”. The organizers, the Council of Europe and Albanian justice institutions, will present various issues concerning institutional, legal and constitutional reform in Albania through October 8. Prof. La Pergola, President of the Venice Commission and a member of the European Parliament, also spoke at the plenary session. ANDERSEN’S NAME FOR THE CHILDREN’S HOME IN SHKODËR — The Children’s Home in Shkodër was named after H. C. Andersen, the distinguished Danish writer known throughout the world for his wonderful fairy tales. The honor was made possible by the Danish organization “Red Barnet”, a team that has worked on renovating the home. The entire project was led by Vivion Kruse, a representative of the organization. Dashamir Shehi, Minister of Labor and Social Support, and Charlotte Bøgh, Director of the Eastern Europe Program, also attended the ceremony. BAMBERG SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA AT THE CULTURAL CENTER IN TIRANA — The “ambassadors of German culture around the world”, the Bamberg Symphony Orchestra, gave a symphonic concert at the International Cultural Center in the capital. The concert, held on the occasion of Germany’s national holiday, featured works by Beethoven and Brahms. “Music unites peoples; it offers a language that everyone can understand,” was the greeting from Klaus Kinkel, German Foreign Minister. Sali Berisha, President of the Republic, and other senior Albanian dignitaries also attended the evening.

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