In Process - Cigarette-Related Deaths Rise for Women in 17 States and D.C..

January 24, 2009

Cigarette-Related Deaths Rise for Women in 17 States and D.C.
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By Peggy Peck, Executive Editor, MedPage Today
Published: January 23, 2009
Reviewed by Zalman S. Agus, MD; Emeritus Professor
University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. Click here to rate this report
ATLANTA, Jan. 23 -- Although mortality from cigarette smoking in the U.S. is down overall, it has increased among women in 17 states and the District of Columbia, according to CDC.

Overall, smoking-attributable deaths declined from 288 per 100,000 in 1996-1999 to 263.3 smoking attributable deaths in 2000-2004, the CDC's Smoking-Attributable Mortality, Morbidity, and Economic Costs system reported in the Jan. 23 issue of Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

The data applied to cigarette smoking but not to deaths linked to cigar smoking, pipe smoking, and smokeless tobacco,

Smoking-related deaths among men declined in 49 states and the District of Columbia.

Among women, smoking-related deaths per 100,000 increased in Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Georgia, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Michigan, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, and the District of Columbia.

The states with lowest annual rates of smoking-attributable mortality in 2000-2004 were Utah, Hawaii, and Minnesota, and highest were Kentucky, West Virginia, and Nevada.

But Nevada was also the state that posted the biggest decline in the smoking-attributable death rate from 1996-1999 when the overall number of smoking-attributable deaths was 388 per 100,000 to 2000-2004. In the latter period, the number of smoking attributable deaths was 344 per 100,000.

Because deaths linked to cigar smoking, pipe smoking, and smokeless tobacco were not included, the numbers underestimate the number of tobacco-attributable deaths, said the MMWR editors.

Also the relative risk calculations "were based on deaths during 1982-1988 among birth cohorts who might have had different smoking histories than current or former smokers in 2000-2004," they wrote. The CDC, they said, is considering updating its relative risk formula for use in future reports.

Another limitation was that data are collected by telephone survey using landlines, which excluded households that use only wireless communication.



Additional source: Mortality and Morbidity Weekly Report
Source reference:
Adhikari B et al "State-specific smoking-attributable mortality and years of potential life lost-United States 2000-2004" MMWR 2009; 58:29-33,




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Majority in New Mexico favor a higher cigarette tax..

January 24, 2009 - Three out of four New Mexicans favor a $1-a-pack increase in the state's cigarette tax to pay for anti-smoking programs and help eliminate a $450 million budget deficit, according to a poll released Thursday, 1/22/2009. The poll commissioned by the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network and the Washington, D.C.-based Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids) found strong majorities in favor of a $1-a-pack tax increase across all regions of New Mexico. That didn't change regardless of income, ethnicity, political party affiliation or political philosophy — conservatives, liberals and moderates.

About 76 percent of likely voters support an increase in the cigarette tax from its current level, 91 cents, to $1.91 a pack. Even among smokers who were surveyed, 57 percent supported the $1 tax increase.

In 2007 the legislature rejected a propsed 60-cents-a-pack increase in the cigarette tax when a tobacco company waged a telephone campaign against the measure.

If the tax went up by $1, New Mexico's tax rate would be similar to the $2-a-pack tax imposed in Arizona. Texas has a tax of $1.41. The tax is $1.03 in Oklahoma and 84 cents in Colorado.

Other New Mexico news brief(s): New Mexico appeals court revives smoking lawsuit..

Reference: Poll: Majority in NM favor higher cigarette tax by BARRY MASSEY, MSNBC - Associated Press, 1/24/2009.

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Utah - philanthropist Jon Huntsman Sr., supports big boost in tobacco tax..

January 24, 2009 - The fast-growing group of big names endorsing a big increase in the state tax on tobacco products includes Jon Huntsman Sr., the philanthropist and businessman. Huntsman has donated more than $350 million of his wealth to underwrite research, treatment and prevention of cancers, said Friday, 1/23/2009 the tax is another tool in the fight against what he called "this horrifying disease."

The legislation adds $1.30 to the 70-cent state tax on a pack of cigarettes. It also proposes increasing by 55 percent of the manufacturer's price for cigars, moist and dry snuff and loose-cut pipe and roll-your-own tobacco.

The bill's sponsor, Sen. Allen Christensen, R-North Ogden, said he considers the tax a win-win for both state coffers and the "coughers" he hopes to encourage to quit smoking because it has become too expensive. "As someone who is overseeing immediate pending cuts in health and human services programs of $105 million, about $52 million of the revenue generated by this bill would go a long way to make up for those cuts we're being asked to make," Christensen said

He said though smokers say the state is trying to balance its budget on their backs, "the way I see it, thousands of smokers covered by Medicaid have been using state funds to help pay the medical bills caused by them getting sick from smoking. This is just shifting the balance back a bit."

Reference:
Huntsman Sr. supports big boost in tobacco tax by James Thalman, Deseret News, 1/24/2009.

Other Utah news briefs: Utah Bars Go Smokefree January 1, 2009..; Utah moves from a tax based on the percentage of sales price to one based on the weight - independent of price of smokeless tobacco product..
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North Carolina - may consider raising taxes on alcohol and cigarettes..

January 24, 2009 - NC Senate leader, Marc Basnight (D-Manteo) proposed raising taxes on alcohol and tobacco products to help prop up crumbling state revenue numbers that could be as much as a $3 billion budget gap. Basnight justified a possible tax increase on tobacco and alcohol by emphasizing the billions of dollars in annual health care costs blamed on those products, citing studies by the Centers for Disease Control and University of North Carolina. Public health advocates have long pushed for increases in North Carolina's cigarette tax to help drive down smoking, particularly among teenagers.

Basnight has unsuccessfully called for such hikes of alcohol and cigarette taxes before, and a similar proposal from then-Gov. Mike Easley fell flat last year. Other Democrats said they would prefer to avoid a tax increase but left open the possibility of raising tobacco or alcohol taxes.

Related news briefs: North Carolina (NC) lawmakers wonder why over 30% of high school students don't graduate??; North Carolina - New Law Requires All Cigarettes Be Self-Extinguishing To Save Lives...; Cigarette Sales Fall BUT Revenues from Higher Cigarette Taxes Increase...; Statewide Smoking Ban Fails to Clear North Carolina..

Reference:
Basnight offers up a hike in 'sin tax' Drinkers, smokers may feel the sting,
Mark Johnson and Benjamin Niolet, Staff Writers, The News & Observer, 1/23/2009.
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Saudi Arabia - smokers to pay higher health insurance premium..

January 23, 2009 - RIYADH - Smokers in Saudi Arabia will have to pay an increased premium for their health insurance policies, according to Health Minister Hamad Al Manie, who has spelt out a series of measures to be undertaken by his ministry to discourage smoking.Al Manie said in Riyadh on Sunday that his ministry would not entertain any business transactions from tobacco companies in the future. According to the minister’s directives, we are working out a set of new rules to combat smoking in the kingdom,” said Ibrahim Sulayman Al Musaidteer, director general of the legal department in the ministry of health. It is the ministry’s duty to look after both the interests of smokers and nonsmokers who become victims of second-hand smoke,” he said.

The ministry is also planning to set up a model anti-smoking clinic in Riyadh to combat the menace.Over 50 anti-smoking clinics in the kingdom will be electronically linked .He said the minister would take the new initiative to the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Health Ministers Council for implementation in other GCC member countries.

Reference: Smokers to Pay Increased Health Insurance Premium in Saudi Arabia, Khaleej Times Online, 1/20/2009.
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New Zealand - Images helping people quit smoking..

January 23, 2009 - Two years ago, when the introduction of photographic health warnings on cigarette packets were announced, a quarter of New Zealanders smoked. Now, almost a year after the graphic reminders of the health risks of smoking appeared on every tobacco product sold in this country, that has dropped to one in five Kiwis. "It's a huge gain. It equates to 170,000 less smokers," the Ministry of Health's national director of tobacco control, Dr Ashley Bloomfield, said.

Background: Graphic warnings on tobacco product were introduced in New Zealand on 28 February 2008 and retailers had up to six months to comply. The warnings cover 30% of the front and 90% of the back of the packaging. Each warning label contains a picture depicting health effect(s) caused by smoking, and is enhanced by a warning message printed in both English and te reo Mori (the language of the indigenous people of New Zealand). Another positive aspect of the new warnings is a supportive cessation message included on the back of the packaging with the quitline number. (New Zealand: new graphic warnings encourage regiatraions with the quitline, J Li and M Grigg, The Quit Group, PO Box 12605, Wellington 6144, New Zealand ,Tobacco Control 2009;18:72)

Next month, the images of gangrenous toes, diseased lungs and smoking-damaged hearts will be replaced with rotting teeth and gums, a bleeding brain and a severely clogged artery. Ben Youdan, director of anti-tobacco group Action on Smoking and Health New Zealand (Ash) said the warnings needed to be changed regularly because people got used to them very quickly.

Related news brief: Horror photos go on New Zealand cigarette packs...

Countries which have picture based cigarette health warnings from
.

Reference: Images credited with helping 170,000 stub out bad habit, Fairfax Media, The Press (press.co.nz), 1/20/2009.
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U.K. women paid for stopping smoking when pregnant..

January 23, 2009 - One in three pregnant women smoke in the United Kingdom (UK). (England)

Pregnant women will be paid up to £100 ($138 USD) to quit smoking.Expectant mothers will get £20 ($27.62 USD) from the National Health Service (NHS) after a week off cigarettes, followed by £40 ($55.24 USD) after another month, and a further £40 ($55.24 USD) if they manage a whole year. North-East Essex NHS, which covers areas including Harwich and Colchester, will pay for the scheme from its £451,000 ($622,787.97 USD) annual 'smoking cessation budget'.

Harwich Member of Parliament P Douglas Carswell, "I find it pretty amazing anyone would smoke when they are pregnant. I hope that the health of the child would be all the incentive they would need."

Expectant mothers will be tested using breathalyser-type technology to measure carbon monoxide levels in their bodies during weekly visits to local health clinics.
Anyone who fails the test will be banned from receiving vouchers.

Ten reasons for pregnant women to quit smoking..

Reference: NHS offers pregnant smokers £100 to quit by Andrew Levy, Mail Online, 1/23/2009.

Related news briefs
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Oregon - STOP Tobacco Companies from passing out free smokeless tobacco..

January 23, 2009 - from Oregon State Rep. Carolyn Tomei’s fifth legislative session could be one of her busiest.

Tobacco handouts: Tobacco companies are banned from handing out free cigarettes in Oregon, but they’re allowed to dole out freebies of smokeless tobacco. With new products that boast kid-friendly flavors like chocolate mint, Tomei wants the practice to end – it already has in Washington.

“Now Oregon has become the place where they have campaigns for smokeless tobacco,” she said. “They’re handing out free Snus samples, and to whom did they hand it out? Not people my age; it’s the young ones.”

Tomei also takes exception to flavored “mini-cigars,” and the marketing of common chewing tobacco at rodeos and fairs in rural Oregon.

Hopefully, Oregon will quickly enact legislation to prevent tobacco companies from passing out free tobacco products Any day now, R.J. Reynolds Tobacco will start test marketing dissolvable tobacco products in Portland.

Reference: Hang up and drive' could become law Legislator wants to limit cell phone use while driving, regulate gifts from pharmaceuticals by Anthony Roberts, The Clackamas Review, 1/20/2009.
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Indonesia - Withdraw Sponsorhip of Another Rock Concert..

January 23, 2009 - Public health officials are calling on Philip Morris International (PMI) to withdraw its sponsorship of a concert on Saturday, January 24, 2009 in Semarang which is part of the Marlboro Rock in Orchestra concert series. The concert series — which has featured a variety of music groups including the hugely popular Slank — is being sponsored and heavily advertised by Philip Morris International and its Indonesian subsidiary Sampoerna.

PMI and other tobacco companies continue to sponsor concerts by famous musicians, which health experts have condemned as a means to market cigarettes to children and to circumvent restrictions on more traditional tobacco advertising.

In July 2008, Philip Morris International was forced to withdraw sponsorship of a concert in Jakarta by U.S. singing star Alicia Keys.

Reference: Health Advocates Call on Philip Morris International to End Concert Sponsorships in Indonesia, Contact: Mark Hurley, Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, 1/21/2009.

Related news briefs: Indonesia to increase tax on tobacco products..; Semarang, Indonesia - Cigarette Smoking Areas to be Prepared..; Jakarta, Indonesia - Malls help enforce non-smoking ban..; Indonesia - federal anti-smoking laws in one year - MAYBE..; Indonesia - NGO's (non-government organizations) Demand the Government Ratify WHO's FCTC.; Indonesia to raise cigarette tax by 6 to 7% in 2009..; Surabaya, Indonesia - anti-smoking bylaw 10/2009 - FOR REAL??; Indonesians smoking more than ever before..; Indonesia further rise in the excise tax would hurt the cigarette industry..; Alicia Keys - Jakarta Concert (July 31st) tobacco companies forced to withdraw sponsorship.. and Most Indonesians support moves to ban tobacco advertisements...
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In Process - United Kingdom - decline in tobacco product use..

January 23, 2009 - Twenty one percent of British adults ‘now’ smoke cigarettes, down from 22 per cent a year earlier, according figures from the Office for National Statistics' General Household Survey 2007. A record 59 percent have now never taken up the habit. In 1974, 45 per cent of adults smoked cigarettes. The use of other tobacco products has declined even more significantly.

Experts say the lower rates of smoking show that the Government's ban on smoking in pubs and workplaces in July 2007, and the placing of ever more graphic warnings on cigarette packets, are working.

Cigarette use is slightly more common among men, with 22 per cent smoking compared with 20 per cent of women. Half say they started when they were under 16, and most claim to smoke fewer than 20 cigarettes a day. There is also a class divide among smokers, with more than a quarter (27 per cent) of those in manual work smoking compared with just 15 per cent of the professional classes.

The survey showed that young people are more likely to smoke than the old. The habit is most prevalent among 20 to 24 year-olds (with 31 per cent smoking), falling to just 12 per cent among the over-60s. The proportion of teenage boys who smoke rose slightly between 2006 and 2007, from 20 to 22 per cent.

Professor John Britton, Chair of the Tobacco Advisory Group, said: "The problem remains in preventing people from taking up the habit in the first place, seen by the rise in the number of men aged 16 to 19 smoking."

Japan Tobacco International (JT) and Imperial Tobacco, dominate the UK tobacco market with an 80% share by value. British American Tobacco (BAT) is the world's second-largest cigarette company and is increasingly focused on fast-growing developing markets rather than advanced economies where smoking is in decline. BAT has a 5% share of the UK market largely through its Rothmans brand.


Related news briefs:

Reference: Lowest ever number of smokers after public ban and health campaigns by Martin Beckford, Social Affairs Correspondent, Telegraph.co.uk, 1/23/2009.
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NATO - reauthorize SCHIP without imposing tax increases on tobacco products..

January 22, 2009 - The U.S. Senate plans to vote on the 2009 legislation to expand the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) as early as Friday, 1/23/2009 or by early next week, according to the most recent issue of NATO E-News from the National Association of Tobacco Outlets.

NATO supports the reauthorization and/or expansion of the SCHIP. What NATO opposes is the substantially raising the federal excise tax on tobacco porducts to fund the expansion. The economic impact on the entire tobacco industry will be disastrous.

First, a 156% tax rate increase on cigarettes compounded by tax rate increases of up to 6,000% on large cigars, 2,197% on little cigars, 710% on roll-your-own tobacco, 156% on smokeless tobacco and 156% on pipe tobacco will lead to declines of 10% or more in retail sales of tobacco. This large reduction in sales will have a corresponding impact on industry jobs. According to 2002 U. S. Census Bureau statistics, 1.17 million union and non-union employees are employed by tobacco manufacturers, wholesalers and retailers. With upward of a 10% decline in tobacco sales, industry estimates project up to 117,000 jobs will be lost. Tax increase on tobacco products.

Second, the SCHIP tax increases will significantly raise the value of tobacco products held in inventory. The unintended consequence will make warehouses, delivery trucks and retail stores more likely targets for crime.

Third, the escalation of taxes on tobacco products will lead to a corresponding rise in purchases of tobacco products by consumers over the Internet and on the black market, where vendors illegally sell tobacco products tax-free and do not verify a customer's age to avoid selling to minors.

Finally, because most Americans who buy tobacco are in the low or middle- income range, raising tobacco taxes will affect the poor more disproportionately.

A free website hosted by Altria Client Services and Philip Morris USA,, www.stoptheFETincrease.com, provides a simple, fill-in-the-blank form to allow retailers to voice their displeasure with the bill. Retailers can also call a hotline at (866) 527-4494 to reach out to their legislators.

Reference: SCHIP Will Lead to Layoffs
Tax hike to pay for bill will lead to sales reductions, layoffs, store closings, more, Convenience Store / Petroleum (CSP) Daily News, 1/22/2009.

Archive of Supporting Documentation: U.S. Senate Committee Votes to Expand SCHIP..; SCHIP Expansion approved by U.S. House of Representatives..; U.S. Congress gets ready to pass expansion of SCHIP..;
SCHIP expansion legislation time to try again..;
Congressional Democrats have scrapped plans for another vote on expansion of the SCHIP..
AWMA urges grassroots effort to defeat FDA tobacco regulation and SCHIP..
U.S. Federal tax increase on tobacco - try it again..
U.S. House fails to override SCHIP expansion veto..
Congress Sends An Extension of the SCHIP to President Bush..
Bush vetoes 2nd bill expanding the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP)...
Revised State Children's Health Insurance (S-CHIP) Bill..
Bush's SCHIP veto stands..
U.S. CONGRESS PASSES CHILDREN'S COVERAGE..
US edges closer to federal tax hike on tobacco products...
Lawmakers in Washington are working to reauthorize the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) before it expires on September 30, 2007...
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WHO Financial Crisis - People Turn to alcohol, tobacco, drugs...

January 22, 2009 - GENEVA (AFP) - The World Health Organisation warned Monday the global financial crisis may spark a rise in mental illness and health problems as people turn to alcohol, tobacco and drugs to get through the downturn.

"This has happened in the past," said the UN agency's Director-General Margaret Chan at the launch of a conference on the financial crisis' effects on health. "In times of economic crisis, people tend to forego private care and make more use of publicly financed services," she said, adding that many country's public health systems are already "overstretched and underfunded."

Chan also warned that periods of economic instability "increases the risk that people will neglect health care, with prevention falling by the wayside."

Richard Newfarmer, the World Bank's special representative to the UN and World Trade Organisation, said nearly 60 million people will be gripped by poverty if economic growth in developing countries halves during 2009.

Our opinion - the multinational tobacco companies like Philip Morris International will experience a downturn in the sale of their cigarette brands in developing countries. These companies have targeted the growing affluent people with more spending power. With the economic crisis the affluent population will be reduced with people more concerned with basic essentials.

Reference: Financial crisis may be bad health" WHO, Yahoo News-Caanda, 1/19/2009.

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Altria to Host Webcast of 2008 Fourth-Quarter and Full-Year Results..

January 21, 2009 - Altria Group, Inc. (Altria) will host a live audio webcast on Thursday, January 29, 2009 at 9:00 a.m. Eastern Time to discuss 2008 fourth-quarter and full-year business results. The business results will be issued by means of a press release at approximately 7:00 a.m. Eastern Time the same day. The webcast can be accessed at www.altria.com.

During the webcast, Mr. Michael E. Szymanczyk, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer and Mr. David R. Beran, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, will discuss the company's 2008 fourth-quarter and full-year results and answer questions from the investment community and news media.

The webcast will be in a listen-only mode. Pre-event registration is necessary; directions are posted at www.altria.com. An archived copy of the webcast will be available until 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time on Friday, February 27, 2009, at www.altria.com.

SOURCE: Altria Group, Inc.

Reference: Altria to Host Webcast of 2008 Fourth-Quarter and Full-Year Results, Altra Group, Inc. - FOX Business, 1/15/2009.
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Ontario law banning smoking in cars with children takes effect ..

January 21, 2009 - The banning takes effect today to coincide with the Canadian National Non-Smoking Week - Wednesday during this week is dubbed Weedless Wednesday. Ontario drivers (adults, parents) who refuse to butt out while transporting their kids or other young people could face fines of up to $250.

The new law is aimed at protecting children under age 16 from the effects of second-hand smoke, which studies show can become highly concentrated inside cars and trucks.

Dr. Ken Arnold, President of the Ontario Medical Association, "Certainly putting people with young, healthy lungs in a tin box and having someone light up just seems so unfair to those children."

The province joins Nova Scotia and several American states that have similar bans in place. British Columbia has passed a ban on smoking in cars when children under 16 are present, but it is not yet in force. New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island (P.E.I.)are considering similar bans, with the P.E.I. legislature expected to take action this spring. The U.S. states of Maine, California, Arkansas and Louisiana have passed similar laws, as has Puerto Rico.

Smoke-Free Ontario Act..

Additional related news brief: Vehicles Most Dangerous Space for Second-Hand Smoke Levels..

Reference: Ontario law banning smoking in cars with children takes effect Wednesday by Keith Leslie, The Canadian Press, 1/20/2009; Ontario bans smoking in cars when kids are present by Ted Tjaden, Slaw.ca, 1/21/2009.
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Canada - more governments encouraged to ban sales of tobacco in pharmacies..

January 20, 2009 - Physicians for a Smoke-Free Canada say pharmacies that sell cigarettes are profiting from death and disease. The Ottawa-based advocacy group is calling on the governments of British Columbia, Saskatchewan and Manitoba to introduce legislation to ban the sales of tobacco in pharmacies, just as Alberta did on January 1, 2009.

Selling tobacco is not consistent with the role of a health-care provider, said Dr. Charles Els, the Alberta director of Physicians for a Smoke-Free Canada. Dr. Els: "We believe that if tobacco continues to be sold in pharmacies, it conveys the message that tobacco is just another consumer product. It lends a false legitimacy and a false sense of safety to tobacco."

Besides Alberta pharmacy sales of tobacco products are already banned in Ontario, New Brunswick, Quebec, Nova Scotia, Nunavut and Newfoundland and Labrador. Els said most pharmacists in those provinces were in favor of the ban but the holdup was often with the chain drug stores.

In the U.S. the Cities of San Francisco and Boston have banned the sale of tobacco products in pharmacies.

Reference: Ban pharmacy tobacco sales: group by Pamela Cowan, Saskatchewan News Network - Regina Leader-Post, 1/19/2009.
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C-Store Update - How bad are Camel SNUS sales??

January 20, 2009 - A c-store owner gave us our second Camel SNUS display - click on image to enlarge.
R.J. Reynolds has dropped the Camel SNUS Original and Spice flavors and now has two - Frost and a new flavor called Mellow. This c-store owner tells us he only sells one can of Camel SNUS per month. The employees have been instructed when this purchase happens ask this customer if they would like some free cans. This store like others in the area have boxes (6-cans per box) of Camel SNUS in their cooler to be given away free.

All the Camel SNUS cans in the display were sent back to Reynolds because they all had expired. The owner has reduced the price of a can of Camel SNUS from $4.09 to $3.69. We are predicting that test marketing of SNUS products will fail in the United States. How can R.J. Reynolds go national with Camel SNUS?? - they have given away many more cans than have been purchased.

Different Camel SNUS containers:

Original: took up too much space.


Current: The new cooler that fits on the shelf with the other Reynolds tobacco products - part of the Camel family.


Previous C-store update.
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Conwood Expansion - the bright spot for Reynolds American, Inc..

January 20, 2009 - Conwood, the smokeless-tobacco subsidiary of Reynolds American Inc. (RAI), is preparing for its second major production expansion in less than two years in Clarksville, TN. RAI on May 31, 2006 completed its $3.5 billion acquisition of a holding company (from business interests of the Pritzker family) that owns Conwood Company. Conwood traces its roots back to 1782 the founding of the Garrett Snuff Company) Conwood and its predecessor, the American Snuff Co., have been in Clarksville for 101 years (1907). Our Company - A 200 Year Tradition Of Quality Smokeless Tobacco)

Recently, Conwood completed the construction of a $30 million, 88,000-square-foot plant.

Conwood is the second-largest smokeless-tobacco manufacturer in the country, most known for its Kodiak and Grizzly moist snuff brands. In the third quarter 2008 Conwood posted a 10 percent increase in operating profit in the third quarter, with its Grizzly brand delivering double-digit volume growth. RAI - Revenues by Segment 2006.

In addition to making the Conwood brands at the new plant, Reynolds also is making Camel Snus there, said David Howard, a spokesman for Conwood and R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. This is interesting, regarding the making of Camel Snus - it was made in Sweden under contract, by British American Tobacco PLC, which owns 42 percent of R.J. Reynolds Tobacco. Then it was made in the Reynolds plant in Winston-Salem. and now by Conwood. The making of Camel snus has always been under the control of R.J. Reynolds Tobacco separate from all Conwood products.

Reference: Reynolds' smokeless subsidiary to expand
Conwood Co. is moving ahead on a $115 million plan in Clarksville, Tenn. by Richard Craver, Winston-Salem Journal, 1/16/2009.
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UAE - Quadruple Cigarette Price - Prevent Kids from Smoking..

January 19, 2009 - In an effort to keep youth away from smoking, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) National Tobacco Control Team will propose prohibitive pricing for cigarettes. The price of cigarettes could more than quadruple under a proposal.
Dr Wedad Al Maidoor, the head of the Ministry of Health's Tobacco Control Team, said she has prepared a plan to raise the price of cigarettes between $5.4 and $13.6 a packet. A packet of 20 cigarettes currently costs about $1.9 in the UAE, compared with £6 in the UK and $7 in the US. Residents of the UAE spend about $109 million a year on tobacco, she said.

A National Tobacco Control Law, drafted by the Ministry of Health last year, included a price increase and a federal ban on smoking in public places, but it has not taken effect. Ms Al Maidoor said she would ask the ministry of economy directly to consider the price increase separately from the tobacco-control law. Raising the price of cigarettes would be one of the biggest deterrents for younger people who start smoking.

According to a WHO survey from 2002, 10 per cent of school children in the UAE aged 13 to 15 are smokers. “If the price of cigarettes is much higher, children will be less likely to start early. A child is not going to spend 30, 40 or 50 dirhams on a packet,” she said. Studies show that every 10 percent increase in the price of cigarettes reduces youth smoking by about 7 percent and overall cigarette consumption by about 4 percent.

Euromonitor: More - Tobacco in the United Arab Emirates

Reference: Up in cigarette prices to keep smokers at bay PTI, Business Daily from THE HINDU group of publications, 1/18/2009.
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Singapore - Smoking increase despite public ban, price hike..

January 19, 2009 - SMOKERS in Singapore lit up 16 million more cigarettes a month last year despite being banned from smoking in more public places and being hit by record-high cigarette prices in 2007. According to figures from the Singapore Customs, about 2.17 million kg of cigarettes - or 2.17 billion sticks - were sold last year - more than the 1.98 billion sticks sold in 2007. Last year's sales also hit a three-year high, crossing the two billion mark for the first time since 2005, when 2.09 billion cigarettes were sold. Though sales dipped in 2006, a year after tobacco taxes shot up by 20 per cent, they went up in the last two years.

FOREIGN workers are among the heaviest smokers here, and many say even a price increase of $3 per pack would not encourage them to cut back. Eight in 10 who spoke to The Straits Times said lighting up is one of their 'little pleasures' after a hard day at work. Singapore has a populaton of 4.61 million (July 2008). Foreign workers constitute about a quarter of the total labor force in Singapore. Cigarette giant British American Tobacco's survey of 1,000 foreign workers found that half of Chinese nationals smoke.

The smoking ban was extended on January 1,2009; the ban now includes all children's playgrounds, exercise areas, markets, underground and multi-storey carparks, ferry terminals and jetties. It will also be extended to non-air conditioned areas in offices, factories, shops, shopping complexes and lift lobbies. Smokers found flouting the rules are fined S$200 while the owners of the establishments are fined S$200 and S$500 for a subsequent offence. (More smoking rules coming 1st Jan 2009

The market for Tobacco in Singapore increased between 2001-2006, growing at an average annual rate of 2.7%. The leading company in the market in 2006 was Altria Group, Inc. The second-largest player was British American Tobacco plc with Thong Huat(JTI) in third place.

Reference: Smoking up despite public ban, price hike, Last year's sales at 3-year high; tobacco firms say it's due to more foreigners here by Jermyn Chow, The Straits Times, 1/20/2009.

After July 1, 2004, cigarettes sold in Singapore were required to display one of six health warning messages. The messages were required to cover at least 50% of the cigarette package front and back.

Singapore is one of the countries that bans the use of smokeless tobacco.

Related news brief: alted High demand for contraband because of the high prices of cigarettes in Singapore.

Euromonitor - More Tobacco Singapore..
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Canada - National Non-Smoking Week January 18-24, 2009..

January 18, 2009 - National Non-Smoking Week (NNSW) has been observed for more than thirty years. From its inception in 1977, NNSW activities have been coordinated by the Canadian Council for Tobacco Control (CCTC). The CCTC this year is pleased to be partnering with The Canadian Association of Fire Chiefs and the Fire Marshal’s Public Fire Safety Council. National Non-Smoking Week is truly a Canada-wide endeavor, involving agencies and individuals working at the federal, provincial/territorial, regional and local levels.

Weedless Wednesday, January 21st has been a focal point of National Non-Smoking Week almost from the start, focusing media and public attention on the benefits of cessation and the community resources available to help smokers quit. The idea behind Weedless Wednesday is to promote a "one day at a time" approach to quitting smoking, a concept appealing to many smokers who may be discouraged at the thought of an entire week -- or lifetime -- without cigarettes, but who may be able to cope with one smoke-free day.

NNSW Facts Sheets.

Related news brief: National Non-Smoking Week - 2008.

Reference: About National Non Smoking Week, Canadian Council on Tobacco Control, 2009.



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