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Subscribe to RSSPRAGUE -- Czech spirit makers on Friday slammed a government decision to freeze all sales and exports of hard alcohol following a health scare, saying it would unfairly damage their reputations and cost millions in sales.
A number of leading brands told Reuters on Friday they were suspending production and said smaller firms could face severe cash-flow problems and even bankruptcy.
The EU country temporarily banned the sale of spirits in shops and pubs last Friday -- a dramatic move in one of the world's heaviest-drinking nations -- after 23 people died and others went blind drinking bootleg alcohol laced with methanol.
The restriction was extended to exports on Thursday evening, under pressure from the European Union. Prime Minister Petr Necas said he had heard the bloc was preparing to impose its own ban and decided to make a preemptive move.
Tainted moonshine kills at least 5 in Czech Republic
The government has vowed to get the drinks back on the shelves of bars and supermarkets as early as next week, as soon as it can impose new safety measures, but has given no firm date.
'A scar' on Czech goods' reputation
Spirit companies said the ban and other planned measures like new tax stamps or certificates of origin would have little impact on bootleg makers who operate outside the law.
The freeze would also damage the brands of reputable companies by bundling them in with bootleggers, they added.
"It is a scar on the reputation of quality Czech goods for exports," said Zdenek Chromy, deputy chairman of the country's top fruit brandy maker Rudolf Jelinek.
"Orders from Germany and Austria have already been canceled. We have a shipment to the U.S., where we don't know how things will end up," Chromy added.
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He said Rudolf Jelinek would stop production on Monday.
A third of the company's $18.19 million in sales last year were from exports. Slovakia and Poland, which take about 50 percent of the $80 million in annual Czech liquor exports, had already imposed their own freeze.
Jan Becher-Karlovarska Becherovka, the country's second largest drinks seller and part of France's Pernod Ricard, said it was extending a halt on its 60-80,000 bottle-a-day production that started on Thursday.
"This is our biggest worry. Our brand is not only alcohol but is a symbol of the Czech Republic," said Vladimir Darebnik, operations director at the company which makes the 205-year-old Becherovka liquor.
Beer still available
The ban covers all alcohol with over 20 percent alcohol content but not the country's well-known beers.
Police have charged 30 people with crimes related to bootleg alcohol, but have not yet found the origin of the deadly spirits.
Investigators suspect methanol was mixed into bootleg drinks made from industrial alcohol and sold under fake labels as vodka, rum or fruit distillates.
Huge rally in Prague against austerity measures, alleged corruption
The illegal drinks market has roughly doubled since 2010 when an excise tax hike was put in place to plug budget holes. Analysts estimate black market sales make up between 15-25 percent of the Czech market.
Fruko-Schulz, which makes absinthe, vodka and one of many brands of the Czech rum often copied by bootleggers, is losing about $150,000 a day in lost revenue, said sales director Ladislav Kremlicka.
"The government should act quickly. We have raised the problem of illegal alcohol before, and are sorry that nothing came out of it, only now when there is such an affair and people are dying," he said.
The company might need to lay off some of its 90 staff after it halted production on Wednesday, he added.
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Leave a Comment:
Taxes are deadly!
So is bootleg alcohol ..... responsible for at least 23 cancelled Czechs.
The Czech government banned hard liquor....what??...they didn't elect the little NYC runt Bloomberg's brother president did they?
It's a temporary moratorium in order to fix a problem that has literally resulted in 23 individual families losing a son or daughter. This is an appropriate response.
Seems this is not going to stop bootleggers, as stated in the article, they operate outside of the law.
They'll still be making bathtub gin, So why shut everybody down? makes no sense.
But they're going to legalize pot.
Why would bootleg liquor cause a ban of legal liquor?? Doesn't matter after Obama helps islam take over the world there will be no booze at all!
Frank you hit the nail on the head again my man. I was just at the Wiggly Piggy yesterday and all of the pork chops were replaced with fish as well. I hear Obama has a serect plan to take away our guns and Bibles and replace them with even bigger guns and the Koran. Frank can you please monitor this and keep us all up to speed when there is breaking news.
Again Frank thanks for all you do for us in the USA
Right Tiki? Good thing we have all these insightful citizens to pull the wool back from over our eyes and allow us to see that Obama is orchestrating the most massive conspiracy theory of all time!
Ok I realize history is not msnbc's strong suit. We in this country tried that once before it was a constitutional amendment # 19 I think AKA the Volstead Act. It was a disaster. My grandparents generation was making gin in their bathtubs. The Budweiser Clydesdales were a gift to the owner of Anhueser Busch from his grandson the day the amendment to repeal the amendment was passed. A survey of the 1965 American history 101 class at UWM found the 70% of the students were descended from bootleggers and draft dodgers.It made Al Capone a household name and made the mafia rich. Please don't try that again.
lonerb...lets count the stupid things in your post... First there is no "MSNBC", it has been gone for over a month...clearly you dont even know what you are reading. Second the article is not about Prohibition but rather a temporary ban while a safety issue is resolved, the equivilant of Tylenol being pulled from the shelves when tampering was found.
Lowering extortionist taxes diminishes the contraband market. When countries don't do what works, one wonders what their motivations are.
Alan-you're a statist drone. As people have said, how does banning legal (and self regulated liquor) help in the cases of black market goods? If anything, it pushes MORE PEOPLE into the black market product. Typical counter productive Statist interference. And for you it's an "appropriate response". Force rarely solves anything and usually makes net problems worse by unintended consequences. The War on Insobriety has never worked. EVER. The case in point? The US and its War on Drugs the last 40 years has accomplished little, fostered a whole industry of designer chemicals worse than the original "evil", and has destabilized Mexico into 1920's-Chicago style gangsterism writ large. But you keep on thinking pushing peaceful and productive people around in a fit of panic helps in any way. I suspect you need that security blanket for your world to make sense. Just realize all you're doing is making things worse on net. Of course when it does get worse, that will just give you more justification for supporting further intervention until all your (and our) liberty is ceded away in the name of security.
Funny... I actually held a rally in Ohio two years ago in support of medical cannabis and I'm of the opinion that the War on Drugs is the most catastrophic failure of the last forty years. But go on about how you know me so well.
A moratorium, used properly, could allow the government to flush out the dangerous product and prevent further complications, and then the moratorium would end as soon as logistically possible to give everyone their alcohol access.
I would be pretty upset to have my Jagermeister or Jack Daniels Single Barrel limited for a month as well... but 23 deaths is not a minor problem.
Seems to me that the government would halt all bootleggers exports to other countries, and not punish those that are abiding by the export laws! {:-)}
They (the government) are trying to adopt the business model of the US anti gun wacko's!!
But far worse here guns here in USA killed 17,500 people last year including the 836 (that we know of) shot and killed by USA police!--so whats the difference dead is dead!
Never mind the ones we shot in other countries like Iraq and Afghanistan!--Dead is dead---Hope China does not decide to do the same to us using a couple of million soldiers here, oh I see that must be why you need all those personal guns!
Do Not even Start I was also in the mil 6 years, I have gold with enamel In 2 weapons, and I can design build and shoot sidewinders, yes those up there!----But I prefer to ONLY shoot for defence instead of attacking other countries and people!--
As a matter of fact, why does USA police walk around with guns? what are they afraid of I mean you mention gun Wackoes, they are trying to stop the killing, so if gun owners are so responsible why does the police need guns--
I mean you did not see the UK police walking around and shooting at the Olympics like in NYC 4 weeks ago, 9 people wounded by police), they do not walk with guns in UK, why should they, nobody else has guns, except locked up at home for hunting deer, not driving around like MR Prince and friends in Iraq and shooting Muslims out the windows at night and other targets at their desire?
And the most off-topic comment goes to..
You gotta admit, it was kind of refreshing that the first off topic comment went to some gun nut and not the usual Its all (Obamas/the Republicans) fault
Wow Bungaard- I think the police carry guns because there is so much gun violence in this country and some armed and crazy citizens out there. Gang bangers arm themselves to the teeth. How effective, in these United States, would unarmed officers be? Don't you think the armed criminals would take advantage of that? Like it or not, guns are a fact of life here. Right or wrong it is ingrained in our culture and if it is to change it will take a very long time.
Obviously not knowing where the bootleg alcohol laced with methanol is from, it is the safest course of action.Better to stop and make sure what people are drinking is made safely, then let others go blind and die as the result. For once, someone is putting lives over profit and money is not the primary concern.If we had 23 people die suddenly and others go blind because different cough syrups weren't being made right, and it came out that bootleg coughs syrup ingredients were a problem the industry was aware of in the past, you bet Americans would be screaming why something wasn't being done to make sure they were safely made before they hit the selves.Then the lawsuits would be hitting the courts from from everywhere.
These companies have actually saved money from lax regulations and the people suffer in the end for it. Sounds like it is time to clean the house and put things in order. If anything, their reputations will be better, because the products will be produced under tighter regulations in place.People around the world will have more confidence in even the smaller brands.
If legal retailers are selling bootleg, it seems to me the bootleggers are using labels that appear real. Therefore, it seems the logical thing to do is empty the shelves, inspect the supplier's facilities for bootleg, and make sure what goes back on the shelves is good product.
All of you who are negative about the ban are putting money ahead of life. Bet yer also the ones who gripe about the big, bad capitalitsts. Pick yer side of the fence, and stay there!
They say they're worried about their export sales...how much do they think they would sell, if their reputation was that to be known for dangerous product?
I bet the Muslims there re very happy.
The Muslims I see that are out of their own country and away from their peer group quickly adapt to a lifestyle that includes alcohol. And tittie bars. And hookers. And...........
The muslims I've been around aren't happy - period. They are very, very serious. They are very, very devoted. They are not very, very happy ever. They might smile when their children achieve something. I can't say I've seen a smile otherwise.
I am referring to mostly college aged students. They're a special group I suppose.
I wonder, has any of you actually been out and about in USA, like New Orleans--Fat City, and LA, never mind NYC or Detroit, and of course Las Vegas, never mind Chicago-- I used to travel all over every day in USA, and I can assure you there is a lot of people other than Muslims in tittie bars, in fact I was very disappointed in my engineering employees, and their evening activities.--Never mind what they were looking at through our servers on their laptops--I had to have several embarrassing conversations with some of them, in the old days when server time was very expensive--
Once we rented a DC 8 and sent 180 USA (from all walks, but educated) people to Denmark for training, and we had to have the plane wait 6 hours on the tarmac when we had to return, because USA people were too busy in the tittie bars, with that extra horse show --I find people here so hypocritical, because when it comes to this issue USA is like southern EU, with total lack of respect for girls.
@Bundgaard
Just the southern EU? More like ALL of the EU. Plus central and eastern Europe are even worse. They're still stuck in the '50s when it comes to the respect and rights of women. BTW, do you have adult ADHD? Because you are all over the place topic-wise.
OUTRAGEOUS!
I'll drink to that -
Uhm, I thought you went blind from to much, uhm, you know, self love? lol
Seriously, they stopped the sale of alcohol because people were dying or going blind from bootleg liquor. Makes sense to me. They can still get beer, for heaven's sake.
How does stopping the sale and production of legitimate alcohol because people were dumb and died and went blind from bootleg liquor make sense exactly?
That's like stopping the sale and production of all professionally built cars because someone's homemade vehicle burst into flames....
From the story, it said the bootleg liquor was being put into the production of "legitimate alcohol". Read it and get your facts straight before you try to pick on some one just to stir things.
But this is the internet, that's what we DO here!
Beer and Booze!? Now there is where the Prime Minister of Israel should draw a red line. Mess with the People's booze, now your messin with a s_— of a b____!
hookers and blow!
Distill out the methanol and replace with Kentucky's finest!
The Czechs will be gettin' da shakes!
Rev. song title by the Eagles: The Czechs Don't Want No Shakes!
Oh come ON.
Liquor is one of the only good reasons to be in that country in the first place.
A lot of visitors go there for open prostitution as well.
No, not really. Many of the prostitutes are coming to the US under a fake 'student visa', letting it extend 3 times and then Marriage frauding American Men. Then getting pregnant, claiming Domestic Violence under the VAWA law, Getting custody of the child to draw child support and moving to Florida. I know of 3 Czech Women who have done it. Then apply for Citizenship and bring over the entire family to work at waxing supermarket floors, stock shelves at Wally and drive semi trucks. Just like Mexicans, they live 10 to a house but since they have 'white' skin, Immigrations will not deport them.
Congratulations, flylowguy, for making the most ignorant, uninformed statement of the day.....perhaps the week....or the month! The Czech Republic is an absolutely beautiful country, with a strong economy, very friendly, educated, and civilized people, a rich history, and a level of culture that you have no fear of ever achieving. And, after reading his comment, you ought to let irish, join your club; the two of you could almost certainly entertain each other with some brilliant, informed conversations.
Ya. Just ask Mel Gibson:)
Thanks. I have been holding my tongue in cheek just waiting for this honor until the guy came along who could hand it out.
There's always one, and this time it's you.
Was married to a Czech, am part Czech. Been to Czech Republic. Czech people only love money. Country was beautiful but only worth visiting. Food is good and beer was good. Ex wife always cooked ( when she wasn't sleeping around ) Czech meals. They eat with both hands and usually have gravy on everything. They eat rabbit and a lot of pork. Not much red meat. They cannot be trusted only if emigrated here and lived her longer than 20 years or more. Thing with Czech's, they feel inferior and always have to 'prove' they are better than everyone else. This usually happens by stealing or defrauding a person and then purchasing only 'name brand' materialistic things with the money. They envy Americans and always put our way of life down, especially our government ( never understood why emigrate here if you don't like it here? ). My ex always put down Mexican and Black people, yet she is now sleeping with a black man. They do not Emigrate when they first come to US, instead they live in 'little Czech' communities and only stick to other Czech people ( as this is there way of learning how to use the system in this country ). So Spider, I KNOW what I am talking about. They are thoroughly fluent on how to 'Use' the system. They pass this information onto other Czech people unlike Mexican people who genuinely are friendly and will lend a helping hand. Czech's will not do anything for you unless it benefits them. EVERY Czech person I have met or have known with the exception of my cousin in law is like this.
irish14500... u sure ur not talking about the Polish? A bunch of sneaky, self-entitled people if you ask me. And spider douche, havent u seen hostel? LOL
Stupid bootleggers. Ruining it for everyone else.
in reality, it seems this might exacerbate the problem. With no legal liquor available, the only option will be moonshine. WE already tried prohibition here, it didn't really work.
This would not be happening if governments weren't forcing prices up, with taxes and so on. Cheap booze, will keep the bootleggers out of the game. Raise prices and it opens up the market to the bootleggers by making it profitable, and entices buyers to look for cheaper alternatives.
Governments need to learn they cant regulate behavior, all they do is create crap like this. Blackmarkets, booltleggers, smugglers, whatever. People will always go around government. And well they should.
If someone could import the real Czech "Budweiser Beer", brewed for half of a millennium, and sell for $2 USD a bottle instead of the regular import Highway robbery prices that are demanded, American's wouldn't drink the swill made here.
It's called 'Budwar" and they come in bigger bottles. It is absolutely great stuff. Freedom-The Czech's are world reknowned for fraud, they will sell there own Mother if it meant making a penny. All a Czech person cares about is money. They will come here and work 4 different jobs, hole up the money and once they get a good amount, will leave the country to retire or sponge in Greece. Read the history on Czech people. Grifters and gypsies kicked out of every country around them for fraud.
Modern day Prohibition in the Czech Republic.
IT isn't prohibition to require that any liquor sold in a country come from a legally recognized source. They aren't banning hard liquor forever, just for a short time in order to make sure that the liquor that is sold isn't tainted in a way that will kill people.
Why don't they ban the bootleg booze - you know, the stuff that's actually killing people - instead?
That may be but this move is retarded. Bootleg booze is causing health problems and deaths, then by all means let us prohibit hard alcohol so that the only way you can get it is...oops...by fricking bootlegging it. Seriously is there no intelligence left in this world? No matter the reason..
PROHIBITION ONLY DRIVES TRADE UNDERGROUND IT DOES NOT STOP THE PROBLEM, JUST MAKES IT MORE DIFFICULT TO CONTROL!
earthycat, Totally off topic but I feel I need to respond to your post. You are misinformed about mormons. They do believe in Jesus and only the fundmentalists believe in plural marriage. None worship multiple gods. Fundementalists believe there are 7 levels of heaven and if you acheive the seventh level you become a god of your own planet. Not saying they don't have some wacky beliefs, but the same argument can be made about any religion. I grew up in southern Idaho and knew a lot of mormons, they were mostly polite, respectful and helpful poeple who believed in community. Just speaking from my own expierience as a catholic girl in a land of mormons.
Welcome to the free world. We even have bans on large cold drinks in NYC. We got religious politicians that makes laws to their religious backward beliefs. Going by a book wrote by some old dudes in the evil times of way of living.
WHy even bring up religion? This isn't a religious issue. This is about taxes and bootlegging; religion doesn't play a role at all.
I didn't know they had sodas in the biblical days, things like today's Coca-Cola and Pepsi. How terrible!! Such a sinful thing, a BIG soda. In the bible it says only small sodas are allowed as too much soda makes you drunk enough that you can't study the bible.
If you read the bible then you know it says gluttony is one of the 7 deadly sins. I agree with Atech that this isn't a religious issue. The law is to try and lessen obesity. Fortunately we don't have to believe in or base our laws on the bible in this country. The sadly idiotic law NYC is enacting isn't going to change peoples behavior as they'll just buy more smaller sodas instead of one big one or drink their soda out of the 2 liter bottle at home. Just like outlawing liquor isn't going to prevent people from drinking, it will make it more difficult but it's just going to encourage more bootlegging and drive up the price and availability of the bootleg stuff. Kinda like marijuana in this country.
Potentially lethal liquor wasnt illegal before?
Hasn't liquor always been potentially lethal?
I think the better solution here is to make an example of the bootleggers and anyone who knowingly (or should have known) purchased the bootlegged alcohol via very high fines and even higher jail sentences.
taking lessons from our a$$ backward laws on weed here in the states !
keep weed illegal so that someone comes up with ( FAKE WEED & BATH SALTS ) that kill people ! when weed is harmless ? and most Americans think it needs to be legalized WTF is wrong with this picture ?
Don't see why it's pulled from the stores, after all, it's the bootleg alcohol that's the problem, pull it from the stores and bootleg alcohol will be even more popular and that was the problem to start with. Seems to me that they are just adding to the problem at hand.
Unit 12 to base. I've got one that can think! Sector 7-G! Subject's name is apparently Wm Murphy! Move in!
It was mixed with legit alcohol and sold as branded booze...and killed people.
Here! Here!-keep it on the shelves. "Let em' drink beer".
Now the shipments to America - hope people get the word. Don't drink Czech liquor til the ok is given! Drink American booze; might learn to like it! Made in USA
News like this teaches us a valuable lesson. Everybody hates "big government" but without a little government & government regulations- this is the sort of thing that happens. Is this what you want conservatives?
You can not save people from themselves. They will find a way to get what they want one way or another. All a ban or outlawing does is create an underworld of lawlessness. Then you'll see crime jump exponentially. Jailing addicts to alcohol or drugs does absolutely nothing. Except cause overcrowding. Causing the the courts to be clogged and does nothing to deter anyone. You would think you would take a lesson from our own prohibition which lasted not long, but long enough to create gangsters (Al Capone) and an atmosphere of fear. Oh and how is that war on drugs doing? Maybe all the bodies piling up in the desert is giving us a clue? Stop trying to save people from themselves. Stop trying a legislate (nanny state) out way to a Utopia. It has never worked and it never will work.
You'd almost think OUR lawmakers had something to do with it ?
anyone think Romney's got cash over there too and is invested in the BOOZE BIZ OVER THERE Someone is making bank on this ?
IMO its his style
Sis and i lived in the CR doing research for several years in the late 1990's and people drink anything with alcohol in it like they drink water in the states. The Czech's are an outlandish, vulgar, conniving, scheming, unscrupulous, sexually deviant people for the most part. Yes there are some decent people in that country but the majority have little concern for values that are admired in the states. A culture comprised of people who live day to day on what they can take from their "neighbor". The last place an American would want to live is in the CR-they will steak or take what is not nailed down and think nothing of it. It is a culture about as close to 180 degrees from the USA. If you go there, pack light, keep your hands in your pockets and don't believe anything they tell you. Sis and I realize this may sound harsh but it is entirely true.
You are absolutely correct. Was married to a Czech. She was the most fraudulent woman I have ever known. Even to this day. She came here on a fraudulent Student Visa. On the run from embezzling money from several businessmen in her country. Yet, the US did not even think to check her status when she came. She even lied and falsified documents to obtain a Social Security card using someone else's address. Then turned around and used that card to obtain her drivers' license to work. Didn't even show proof of a work permit. Human resources Didn't even check her status when she applied for her job. When we got married I thought she was legit. We hired Attorney and did the Immigration thing and the Immigration worker even asked her how she came about a Social Security Card when she wasn't even given a Green Card. After the conditions were lifted on the Green Card, she travelled home under the radar on her NEW Passport with MY last name. Then when she came back, she setup shop. Sleeping with wealthy men behind my back, she broke up 2 marriages. Then she became pregnant with our child. This gave her the opportunity to take everything we purchased together ( You have to have joint accounts when married to an Alien spouse ). Including the house I bought and everything in it. Then she made false allegations to acquire Sole custody of our daughter and ensuring she received support. The whole time, her family was coaching her and her Czech girlfriends were coaching her on what to do. She has made 4 false accusations against me in lieu of our daughter and at this point is in Contempt of court for violating my visitation rights. ALL for The MONEY. When I visited, I was told NOT to speak to Czech strangers or to even say "hello" Because they think of this as an insult. When I held doors open for the Czech's coming in or out, they were offended. When we went on tours to see special places, they were offended that I needed an English translation. Even trying to be polite to Czech people is impossible.
Everyone knows that prohibiting the sale of hard liquor is going to stop the consumption and proliferation of bootleg (and often dangerous) alcohol! /sarcasm
I told them not to follow the Obama beer recipe.That stuff will kill you...:P