Low consumption of illegal cigarettes, but losses increase - Medellín - Colombia

Last year, the 32 departments of the country and the Capital District stopped receiving more than 750,000 million pesos for cigarette tax, destined for health, recreation and sports.

That’s what the study says Incidence of illegal cigarette consumption in Colombia 2021carried out by the firm Invamer for the National Federation of Departments (FND) and whose results have just been presented.

According to that study, in the last four years Colombia stopped collecting 2.4 billion pesos for the same reason, which represented a huge gap in departmental finances.

In the last four years, Colombia stopped collecting 2.4 billion pesos for this same concept.

The report indicates that despite the fact that the illegal consumption of cigarettes in Colombia fell by one percentage point, going from 34%, in 2020, to 33%, in 2021, the losses were greater. While in 2020 the regions stopped receiving 692,000 million pesos from cigarette tax, last year that figure increased to 750,000 million pesos.

“The number that was not received increased, although illegal consumption decreased, because the market grew,” says the Executive Director of the FND, Didier Tavera Amado. However, according to Tavera, due to the percentage point that consumption in the country decreased, “territorial entities have more than 59,000 million saved, which is equivalent to investing in the admission to school of 55,000 minors on average.”
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According to the report, which was conducted among people aged 18 to 64 from all socioeconomic strata, on average, each smoker consumes 7 illegal cigarettes a day in urban areas; in rural areas this consumption rises to 8 illegal cigarettes per day.

For this reason, according to the study, in the countryside the consumption of illegal cigarettes reaches 52% while in urban areas it is 27%.

On average, each smoker consumes 7 illegal cigarettes per day in urban areas; in rural areas this consumption rises to 8 illegal cigarettes per day.

In terms of stratum and age range, the main consumer of illegal cigarettes is between 55 and 64 years old, and belongs mostly to strata 1 and 2. In these strata, the per capita consumption of illegal cigarettes per week is 53 cigarettes, while strata 4, 5 and 6 reach 48 cigarettes.

The people who consume the most are those over 55 years of age, 60 cigarettes a week; while those between 18 and 24 consume almost 40 per week.

For Tavera, the good news that the study reveals is that the upward trend that had been marking the illegal market has been stopped: “Since 2016, the percentage of illegal cigarettes has been rising consistently: it went from 13 percent, in 2016, to 34 percent in 2020, and for 2021 that rise is stopped and it is possible to reduce even one point: 33 percent”.
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“The results of the study are encouraging, since they demonstrate the effectiveness of the strategies implemented at the national level, which have been segmented to meet the needs and characteristics of each of the regions,” he adds.

The Tax and Customs Police, Medellín Division, in coordination with the DIAN) and Revenues of Antioquia have carried out several anti-smuggling operations in the Aburrá Valley metropolitan area.

The results of the study show that among the departments in which the consumption of illegal cigarettes was reduced is Antioquia, which in 2020 was at the top.

The results of the study show that among the departments in which the consumption of illegal cigarettes was reduced is Antioquia, which in 2020 was at the top.

Antioquia went from 47 percent in consumption to 34 percent, a considerable decrease of 13 percent, which the FND and the Dian attribute to the so-called Antioquia Plan, which began in the middle of last year to combat the sale and consumption of cigarettes. smuggled.

Martín Orozco, general director of Invamer, assures that when the national 33 percent is disaggregated among the departments, the case of Antioquia stands out because it weighs a lot within the industry: it represents 5.4 percent. “It is a department where many cigarettes are consumed and therefore the improvements achieved there are reflected in the national figure,” he maintains.

The study showed that the departments with the highest rate of illegal cigarette consumption are La Guajira (94%), Cesar (85%), Magdalena (84%), Sucre (70%), Norte de Santander (68%), Bolívar ( 62%), Córdoba (58%), Atlántico (47%), Santander (35%), Tolima (35%), Chocó (34%), Guaviare (34%) and Antioquia (34%).

For their part, the regions that increased the most in the consumption of illegal cigarettes compared to 2020 were Bolívar (15%), Cesar (11%), Chocó (10%) and Risaralda (10%).
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The study also found that the illegal cigarette market tends to use more informal and high-traffic channels, such as neighborhood stores. In Colombia there are about 600,000 neighborhood stores.

According to the Invamer study, 82 percent of people who consume contraband cigarettes say they buy them in stores.

More than 6 million packs were seized in 2021

According to the DIAN, the main illegal cigarette brands available in Colombia are Rumba, from Uruguay; Carnival, from South Korea; Ultima, from India, and Marshal and Marble, from China.
In 2021, according to that entity, more than 6 million cigarette packs, 112 thousand bottles of liquor (750ml), and 709 thousand beers (350ml) were seized. This merchandise is commercially valued at more than 24 billion pesos. In 2022, more than 16,900 million pesos will be invested in the fight against smuggling.

Unfortunate losses: Dora Cadavid, Celmira Luzardo and other actors of 'Betty, the ugly' who have died

‘Yo soy Betty, la fea’ is one of the most successful Colombian telenovelas created by RCN Television and written by Fernando Gaitán. The production was first released in 1999.

The telenovela narrates the love story between the economist ‘Beatriz Pinzón’ and ‘Armando Mendoza’, the president of a prestigious fashion house. ‘Yo soy Betty, la fea’ achieved great international success, being broadcast in 180 countries and adapted more than 30 times around the world.

However, despite the fact that many actors in its cast achieved world fame and formed successful careers after ‘Yo soy Betty, la fea’, others sadly died after the resounding success that the production achieved.

Here we tell you which actors from ‘Yo soy Betty, la fea’ died after recording the telenovela.

Celmira Luzardo

Celmira Luzardo. Photo: Instagram/ yosoybettylafea.es

Colombian actress Celmira Luzardo gave life to “Catalina Ángel”, one of the most important characters in history, since it was she who helped “Betty” after learning of “Armando’s” betrayal.

Celmira left television due to the hard fight against stomach cancer that she faced in her last years. The actress she died in 2014 in Bogotá due to respiratory complications at the age of 61.

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Alberto Valdiri

Alberto Valdiri. Photo: Instagram / tvynovelas

Although the actor who played the funny husband of ‘Bertha’, the secretary of doctor ‘Gutiérrez’ and one of the members of the ugly barracks, had few appearances in the telenovela, he is remembered for his great charisma. This is Alberto Valdiri, who died in 2014 due to cardiac arrest at the age of 55.

Lina Marulanda

Lina Marulanda. Photo: Instagram/ linamarulanda2010

The model Lina Marulanda did not have a very relevant role in the production, however, she is remembered for being one of the beautiful models who wanted ‘Armando Mendoza’. Lina’s death was tragic, as she took her own life in 2010 after facing deep depression due to work and personal crises.

Fernando Gaitan

Fernando Gaitan and Ana Maria Orozco. Photo: Instagram/ mendoza_pinzon

Another of the members of the production who died years after the premiere of the soap opera, was the creator of the story Fernando Gaitán. The Colombian screenwriter died in 2019 due to cardiac arrest at the age of 59 and although he did not belong to the cast of the story, it should be remembered, since without him the successful production would not have seen the light.

Dora Cadavid

Actress Dora Cadavid, a television icon, passed away at the age of 84 on January 31. The artist herself died at the Shaio Clinic in Bogotá, due to a lung condition that afflicted her. The unfortunate event was confirmed by her nieces María Cecilia and Ana Cristina Botero. The Colombian gave life to the unforgettable ‘Inesita’, the designer’s assistant ‘Hugo Lombardi’.

Photo: RCN Television.

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China Suffers Few Obvious Losses as Host Country During COVID

Two-time Paralympic athlete Tyler Carter hopes to reach Beijing on February 25 despite an extra steep hill of obstacles. The 28-year-old alpine skier vying for a spot on the U.S. team is resolved to face a “slew” of anti-pandemic restrictions without blaming anyone.

“It’s just kind of the reality that we’re in, and all reports I’ve had is that China has been doing a great job of keeping everyone safe, making sure appropriate measures are taken,” Carter told VOA from Colorado Springs, Colorado, where he is based.

Carter says he’s OK with the pre-departure virus tests and more on arrival in Beijing’s Yanqing District. He’s prepared to step into the new sports center sight unseen — except on TV during the Games happening now. He practices daily, either in a gym or in the snow. Carter’s foot was amputated when he was a year old.

Athletes already at the Games have just gone through what Carter is about to experience on his journey to Beijing. China’s zero-COVID policy for the Winter Olympics is challenging athletes worldwide, but overall, shows signs of outward success for the host country, analysts believe.

Beijing kicked off the 2022 Olympics on Friday with Chinese President Xi Jinping pledging that China would “do its best to deliver to the world a streamlined, safe and splendid” event.

About 3,000 athletes and their delegations are competing at venues in or near Beijing.

Athletes, journalists and related staff must operate in safety bubbles where they are in contact only with one another. Police and guards open and close the gates for buses and other approved vehicles approaching the fence-ringed Olympic hotels.

A security guard opens a gate to let in a bus inside the Olympic “closed-loop” in Beijing, China, Feb. 7, 2022.

Those who are staying inside the bubble must test for the virus daily and live in an environment with climate-controlled sleeping pods, dedicated airport-to-venue buses and robots, not humans, who make them food and cocktails.

Additional pressure

Athletes would feel more energized if they could go to Beijing’s bars and mix with locals after their events, said Mark Thomas, managing director of U.K.-based, China event-focused S2M Group sports consultancy. Athletes and analysts have also said it would feel different if the competitors were performing in arenas packed with cheering fans.

Unlike pre-COVID Games, athletes this time have few opportunities to preview their courses or practice in the host city before competing. Additionally, athletes can be barred from events if they test positive for COVID-19, so even leading up to the Olympics, many athletes put themselves in self-imposed lockdowns and adapted their training to ensure they would test negative in order to participate in the Games.

FILE – An attendant pours coffee as a robot makes a fresh pot in a waiting area within the closed-loop “bubble” at the Taizicheng train station in Zhangjakou on Jan. 29, 2022, ahead of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympic Games.

“It’s probably going to make all the people participating in elite sports rustier, which isn’t good, and particularly in sports that are quite dangerous like bobsled, luge and downhill skiing, that’s a risk,” said Joshua Kurlantzick, a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations.

“I think it would be wrong to say this Games is not affecting athlete performance and athlete mood,” Thomas said, “but on the other hand I think there’s a general stoicism within the sporting community that there is a still a privilege to compete and be part and have the ability to be actually doing what you enjoy and competing at the top levels,” he added.

“Can you imagine the experience it would be for an athlete?” said John Swartzberg, a clinical professor emeritus from the University of California, Berkeley.

FILE – A man stands guard an exit within the closed-loop “bubble” at the Taizicheng train station, in Zhangjakou on Jan. 29, 2022, ahead of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympic Games.

“You’re going to essentially be flown around the globe to get there and having very minimal interaction with others and certainly no interaction with the outside world and then flown out of there,” Swartzberg said. “And if you become sick or if you test positive, you’re put into isolation, and you may miss your event.”

China’s strategy is all but sure to squelch any spread of COVID-19 by plugging as many transmission channels as possible, Swartzberg said.

Us-vs-them mentality

China, where COVID-19 was first reported, is keen to stop any cross-contamination between Olympians and its general public after several outbreak clusters and lockdowns in January.

The anti-pandemic restrictions play into many Chinese people’s sense of their country as a disease-free one versus the outside world where multiple countries are fighting the omicron variant, said Scott Harold, a Washington-based senior political scientist with the Rand Corp. research group.

Barriers between athletes and the public reinforce Xi’s ideal for making his country more “autarchic,” Harold said.

“One of the things that China’s leadership have done through COVID has really been to reinforce a message that has long been present in China’s political propaganda and political messaging, and that is the notion that the outside world is threatening, the outside world is unfairly maligning China, and the outside world is not as pure or as good as China is,” he said.

China upbeat

Normally an Olympics host uses the Games to showcase its venue cities and local culture to the world. China’s Ministry of Culture and Tourism is planning a post-Olympics integration of sports, cultural and tourist industries in Beijing and co-host city Zhangjiakou to the northwest, the official news agency Xinhua reports.

But the Chinese public’s fervor for their 176 athletes is coming on strong through TV viewership and social media activity, said Thomas, whose firm has organized sporting events in China. Olympics imagery quickly replaced Lunar New Year greetings this week on China’s ubiquitous WeChat messaging service.

FILE – Chinese President Xi Jinping attends the opening ceremony of the 2022 Beijing Olympics, at National Stadium, in Beijing, China, Feb. 4, 2022.

In Xi’s remarks at the opening banquet, he said Bejing is “committed to organizing a green, inclusive, open and clean Games, China has made every effort to counter the impact of COVID-19, earnestly fulfilled its solemn pledge to the international community, and ensured the smooth opening of the Beijing Winter Olympic Games as scheduled.”

Carter, the alpine skier, remains upbeat about the possibility of competing in Beijing.

“It’s the only way to make this work, is to keep us in a bubble,” he said.