|
 "The motive is very simple: the Holy See cannot be cooperating with
a practice that is clearly harming the health of people," spokesman
Greg Burke said in a statement.
He cited World World Health Organization (WHO) statistics that
smoking causes more than seven million deaths worldwide every year.
Cigarettes have been sold at a discounted price to Vatican employees
and pensioners.
Vatican employees are allowed to buy five cartons of cigarettes a
month. Many Italians ask their non-smoking friends who work in the
Vatican to buy cigarettes for them because they cost much less than
in Italy, where they are subject to heavy taxes.
Burke acknowledged that the sale of cigarettes has been a source of
revenue for the Holy See, adding, "However, no profit can be
legitimate if it is costing people their lives."
[to top of second column] |
The spokesman said the sale of large cigars would continue at least
for the time being because the smoke is not inhaled.
The Vatican, a tiny walled city-state surrounded by Rome, is one of
the few states to ban smoking. Bhutan, where smoking is deemed bad
for one's karma, banned the sale of tobacco in 2005.
(Reporting by Philip Pullella; editing by Mark Heinrich)
[© 2017 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2017 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
 |
