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Increased taxation on cigarettes has led many Czech smokers to switch to cheaper brands, the daily Právo reported. Today 56 percent of cigarettes sold in the Czech Republic are in the lowest price category, around ten percent more than a year ago, the newspaper said. An eight-crown increase in the price of a pack of 20 has not led to smokers kicking the habit – only one percent fewer cigarettes have been sold in the last year. This year around 23 billion cigarettes are expected to be sold in the Czech Republic, with an estimated 3 billion bought by tourists.

The Austrian daily Der Standard has suggested that Czech President Václav Klaus could be a bigger threat for the future of the Lisbon treaty than the “No” vote in the recent Irish referendum. The Irish rejected the document, aimed at reforming the running of the 27-member bloc, earlier this year. Mr Klaus, a well-known euro-sceptic, has long criticised the treaty. The daily contends that the Czech president is trying to prevent the treaty by “all possible means”, taking note of the fact that the president will meet with an outspoken opponent of the document, in an upcoming visit to Ireland. Given the Czech president’s stance, a number of MEPs as well as other observers in recent weeks have questioned the Czech Republic’s ability to provide strong leadership during its six-month EU presidency. It takes up the presidency on January 1.

Negotiations on new regional governments in all 13 of the country’s regions contested in recent elections are close to completion. On Friday the Communist Party announced that it will tacitly support a minority Social Democrat regional government in central Bohemia. The decision means that Social Democrat shadow health minister David Ráth will serve as regional governor. As it stands, the Communist Party will share power with the Social Democrats in two regional governments, plus support minority governments in four others.

One of the biggest fires seen in Prague in decades has been brought under control, a spokesperson for the city’s fire service said in the early hours of Friday morning. The fire spread to a large area of the Vietnamese run SAPA market in Libuše in Prague 6 after breaking out at a clothing and footwear warehouse on Wednesday night. People living in the area were told to keep their windows closed because of dangerous fumes emanating from the market. The smoke could be smelled across a large area of Prague. The cause of the fire is being investigated.