Virginia - tax on smokeless tobacco Altria clashes with Swedish Match..

February 20, 2010 -

In general, if the excise tax is based on the weight of the tobacco product then the price will favor the more expensive brand. If the excise tax is based on the cost of the product then the price will favor the cheaper brand.

In Virginia, there is a muted clash over the excise tax on smokeless tobacco, between two tobacco giants both located in the Richmond Area on either side of the James River -- Henrico County-based Altria Group and Swedish Match's Chesterfield County-based North American operations -- could have echoes across the country.

The question: Should the state levy the tax by the units sold, as Altria, with its relatively more expensive premium brands of snuff, wants? Or should it levy a tax that's a percentage of the price, the position urged by Swedish Match, now that it has carved out a healthy chunk of the market with its less costly brands.

The proposed change in the tax would mean lower-priced products, such as Swedish Match's Timberwolf, likely will see higher taxes, while premium brands such as Altria's Copenhagen and Skoal will pay less.

Virginia now taxes smokeless tobacco at 10 percent of the wholesale price. Legislation in the state Senate and House would change the tax to 18 cents an ounce for moist snuff. Both bills originally left the 10 percent tax on other tobacco, including the old fashioned "loose-leaf" or chewing tobacco, like Swedish Match's flagship Red Man brand.

Makers of higher-priced snuff said shifting the tax to wholesale prices would have raised the levy on their products. However, lower-priced snuff makers said it would amount to a tax cut for their product and would put all makers on equal footing.

With smoking bans becoming more prevalent, tobacco companies are placing a greater emphasis on smokeless tobacco products like moist snuff, something lawmakers on both sides of the issue alluded to describing it as an industry battle.

Moist snuff, commonly called dipping tobacco, is pinched out of the tin and placed between the lip and gums. The bill would also have applied to snus — tiny pouches of smokeless tobacco that give the hit of nicotine without the spitting. Major tobacco companies in recent years have come out with brands such as Camel Snus.

Reference: Virginia tobacco giants clash over excise tax by David Ress, Richmond Times-Dispatch, 2/19/2010.
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Japan - Health Ministry set to urge all local governments to go smoke-free..

February 19, 2010 - The Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry is set to urge all local governments to introduce a total ban on smoking in public places in principle to help prevent health hazards caused by secondhand smoke, sources said. Having judged that the mere separation of smoking areas is not adequate to protect people from secondhand smoke (SHS, environmental tobacco smoke, ETS, passive, sidestream involuntary smoking) the ministry is believed to be seeking a total ban in schools, hospitals, restaurants and other public places.

The ban would also extend to theaters, department stores, private and public offices, stations, hotels and amusement facilities. Taxis and buses would also be included in the ban.

The ministry will allow the operators of such facilities as restaurants and hotels to keep separated smoking areas as a tentative measure if the ban would seriously hurt their business. The ministry, however, would eventually seek the total ban in these facilities, too.

The notification will be issued under the name of the ministry's health service bureau chief in line with the Health Promotion Law. The law obliges facilities used by many people to introduce measures to prevent nonsmokers being affected by secondhand smoke. However, violators will not be penalized.

A ministry panel of experts discussing ways to combat passive smoking in the workplace is to compile a report in April obliging business operators to try to prevent passive smoking. But opposition from business operators is expected as the measure would require a revision of the Industrial Safety and Health Law.

The Kanagawa prefectural government, which in April will be the nation's first local government to enforce an ordinance to ban smoking inside public spaces, welcomed the move. "We'd hoped our efforts would spread throughout the nation. It's great to hear that the national government decided to make the move," said Yasuo Ide, an official of the prefectural government's tobacco management office. (Kanagawa Eateries Going Smoke-Free.)

Bungaku Watanabe, editor in chief of monthly magazine Kinen (nonsmoking) Journal, said separate smoking areas are not enough to prevent secondhand smoke, and that people who want to quit smoking also need support. "A total ban on smoking is necessary. The government should go further than sending the notice," Watanabe said. "It's important to promote antitobacco measures by revising the law to impose penalty on offenders or by increasing tobacco prices."

Hisashi Nakai, secretary general of the Japan Food Service Association, an industrial body of restaurants and catering businesses, said that while it respected the basic societal trend toward protecting health through the prevention of secondhand smoke, it also wanted to cater to customers who wanted to enjoy tobacco while drinking at a bar. "We want to decide our policies after reading the notice and seeing the moves of local governments," he said.

Reference: Govt to urge total smoking ban in restaurants, hotels, The Yomiuri Shimbun, Yomiuri.co.jp, 2/19/2010.

Japan - some related news briefs:
Japan - TASPO (tobacco passport) cards to confirm legal age of cigarette purchaser..;
Tokyo, Japan - smokers find haven on smoke-free streets..;
Japan Tobacco - reacts angrily to governments decision to raise cigarette tax..;
Japan - tax increase, a pack of 20 cigarettes will increase by an average of 33%..;
Japan - cigarette taxes increase may be less than expected..;
Japan - prime minister calls for tobacco tax increase..;
Japan Tobacco growing popularity of its British cigarette brands..;
Japan - new government administration considering raising cigarette taxes..;
Japan - plaintiffs have slim chance of winning against big tobacco..;
Japan - convenience store sales fell in June 2009..;
Japan - tobacco control people upset with smoker-only cafes..;
Japan - Tokyo smoking cafes, people with children, those under 20 NOT allowed..;
Japan - Kanagawa - bans smoking in public places starting April 2010..;
Japan shelves tobacco tax hike for 2009..;
Japan - Ruling party plans tobacco tax hike in 2009..;
Japan Tobacco Starts Petition To Fight Tax Increase..;
How to get most smokers to quit?? - Keep On Raising The Price..;
Japanese lawmakers want to triple cigarette prices..;
Japanese tobacco giants focus on point-of-sales cigarette purchases..;
Japan - photos can be used to fool the age-verification cameras on some vending machines..;
Vending Machines - Japanese protecting their children from becoming life-long nicotine addicts...
Read more...

Altria - new marketing strategy with emphasis on Marlboro SNUS..

February 19, 2010 - Altria Group, Inc. (Altria) participated in the Consumer Analyst Group of New York (CAGNY) conference in Boca Raton, Florida today. During the presentation, Mr. Michael E. Szymanczyk, Altria's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, and Mr. David R. Beran, Altria's Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer discussed Altria's 2009 performance and its 2010 plan to deliver strong returns to Altria's shareholders.

Szymanczyk disclosed Altria's thinking on the market as he spoke to stock-market analysts in New York. Tobacco users who don’t want to smoke and don’t want to spit are the customers Altria Group Inc. plans to focus a lot of its efforts.

“One new business opportunity for us is filling the increasing demand for smokeless products among adult smokers who do not find current MST [moist smokeless tobacco, or snuff] satisfactory,” Szymanczyk said. Szymanczyk said those tobacco users are seeking smokeless tobacco that doesn’t require them to spit the way they must with moist snuff.

That could mean a variety of “snus,” a traditional Swedish-style oral tobacco, “or other future products,” Szymanczyk said. He did not elaborate on those, though Altria researchers have for years explored dissolvable strips and inhalers. The company already sells a Marlboro-branded and Skoal snus.

Szymanczyk said Altria believes the tobacco market is now split into four segments — smokers of cigarettes and cigars; “dippers,” or people who prefer traditional snuff and oral tobacco; people who want spitless products such as snus; and a group that smokes and wants smokeless products that are easier to use when they can’t smoke.


For the last group, Altria’s U.S. Smokeless unit has launched a new “slim can” of snuff in pouches, Szymanczyk said. Many who aren’t accustomed to taking a pinch of snuff find the pouches, with their premeasured amounts of snuff, easier to use.

Szymanczyk said Altria’s Skoal brand plans a number of initiatives to expand its pouch business, while its Copenhagen brand plans two new long-cut varieties of snuff, because many dippers find the sliced leaves of long cut simpler to handle than the traditional finely powdered snuff from Copenhagen.

He said the company’s flagship Marlboro cigarette brand’s two newest varieties, each called Special Blend the territory where it is selling its new Black & Mild untipped cigarillo, he said.

Reference: Altria refines smokeless-tobacco strategy, posted on February 19, 2010, By David Ress (dress@timesdispatch.com), Richmond Times-Dispatch, 2/19/2010; Altria Presents at the Consumer Analyst Group of New York Conference, 2/18/2010.


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Bulgaria - govt to weaken full smoking ban to be effective June 1, 2010..

February 19, 2010 - The Members of the Parliament (MPs) from the ruling GERB (Citizens for European Development of Bulgaria) party proposed the annulment of the full smoking ban that should become effective in Bulgaria on June 1, 2010.

Bulgarian lawmakers voted on Friday, May 15, 2009 to ban smoking in all public spaces from June 2010, ignoring protests from tobacco producers and the tourist industry in Europe's number two smoker.

The proposal states that for restaurants, clubs and coffee shops with an area less than 100 square meters, the owner can himself decide if smoking would be allowed, while for larger establishments there must be a well-isolated smoking space.

The motive behind the proposal is that the full ban would harm restaurant businesses and the tourist sector and would be frequently violated anyway. Bulgaria ranks second after Greece in the European Union in terms of number of regular smokers as a percentage of the population, according to a recent Eurobarometer survey. More than half of its men and more than a third of women in Bulgaria smoke for a population of 7.6 million.

The full ban is to remain effective for all other public spaces, the Citizens for European Development of Bulgaria (GERB) party proposes. GERB says the transition to a full ban must be done in stages and completed in the next 5 years.

The smoking ban was decided on by the previous Parliament and is part of the Health Act amendments.

Reference: Bulgaria Ruling GERB against Full Smoking Ban, Novinite.com (Sofia News Agency), 2/18/2010.

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Greek Farmers Renew Bulgaria Border Blockade..;
Bulgaria - leadership of tobacco fund to be replaced..;
Bulgaria - illegal trade in cigarettes will reach 40% of total trade in 2010..;
Bulgaria - limits on personal imports of tobacco products from outside the EU..;
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Bulgaria - price of cigarettes increases..;
Bulgaria - Bulgartabac stays in the economy ministry, sold by middle of 2010, starting price 100,000,000 euro..;
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Bulgaria - government, tobacco growers reach subsidy agreement..;
Bulgaria - start of steps leading to the privatization of the state-owned cigarette monopoly Bulgartabac..;
Bulgaria - police hold smoking protest over lack of bonuses..;
Bulgaria - police busts major cigarette contraband ring..;
Bulgaria - Bulgartabac Holding” will be privatized in 2010..;
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Bulgaria Bulgartabac Holding Sells 23% of Shares to Mutual Funds..;
Bulgaria - more than 70% of smokers want to quit..;
Bulgaria - cigarette taxes going up each year except 2011..;
Bulgaria - chair of the economic committee in parliament disapproves of planned raise in excise duties on cigarettes..;
Bulgaria and others - smoking ban, increased cigarette taxes, smuggling..;
Bulgaria - Cigarette excise duties will be increased next year..;
Bulgaria - cigarette contraband, government loses BGN 920M yearly..;
Bulgaria - one third of the tobacco products sold are illicit..;
Bulgaria - new government to speed-up Bulgartabac sale..;
Bulgaria - Fake Victory Light cigarettes..;
Bulgaria's tobacco monopoly may be up for sale..;
Bulgarian lawmakers vote to ban smoking in all publc places from June 2010..; Bulgarian tobacco company Sofia-BT exports increase by 541 percent..;
Does Russia own Bulgaria's tobacco monopoly, Bulgartabac..;
EU percent of adults smokers -highest Greece 1 , Bulgaria 2.. - lowest Slovenia..;
Bulgaria - 1 in 3 youths smoke / half of pregnant women smoke..;
PMI training Bulgarian custom officers to stop cigarette smuggling..;
Philip Morris International (PMI) was truly happy they had been back in the Bulgarian cigarette market for a year and had already had 6.8% of market..;
WHO FCTC Protocol to Prevent Illicit Trade in Tobacco Products Won't Be Completed Until End of 2010..;
WHO Report on the Global Tobacco Epidemic 2008..;
Bulgaria Enters 2009 with Cigarette Prices Hike...
Bulgaria is marking Tuesday, November 10, 2009, the 20th year since the internal coup at the Bulgarian Communist Party which led to the crumbling of the communist regime..

Read more...

Altria CEO presents at NACS Leadership Forum, February 9-11, 2010..

February 18, 2010 - SAN FRANCISCO -- On a recent February day, the man behind Marlboro spoke about a business under siege. Whether from increased federal taxation to municipal smoking bans, cigarettes and its OTP brethren—together muscling some 40% of total inside convenience store sales—are often portrayed as gasping from the onslaught of legislative assaults.

Yet, a deeper look suggests the air is clearer than one might think. States have not exploited tobacco as harshly as feared to narrow budget shortfalls. The federal excise tax to fund a children's insurance program swung its executive cleaver across the entire tobacco slate, arguably damaging weaker niche segments more than cigarettes or moist smokeless.

So on February 9, Altria Group chairman and CEO Michael Szymanczyk—whose premium brands Marlboro, Skoal and Copenhagen headline the cigarette and MST segments—spoke not of doom and gloom, but of optimism.

"I tend to see opportunities where others might see barriers to success," he said in his speech. "Many of the perceived barriers to success in tobacco can be viewed as opportunities. These opportunities are developing due to changing adult consumer behaviors regarding the tobacco products they choose to use." That is not to say the picture is scenic. Indeed, the landscape is clearly mixed, with retail tobacco revenues up, while transactions are generally down 3% to 7% across much of the country. To that end, Szymanczyk acknowledged the challenge of delivering a message that is authentically upbeat and not just spinning a yarn.

"Some people believe that the best times are behind us, and that the times we're in now may offer the hardest test we have ever faced," he said. "That's an understandable mindset, especially when you consider the toll this economic recession has taken on America's businesses and families. Even as we see gains on Wall Street, there is still a lot of pain on Main Street, and probably on your street as well.

"When the news reports are full of bad news," he continued, "it can be hard to remember what 'good' felt like. So, it's natural for people to worry, to see only problems on the horizon, and to focus intensely on the things they perceive as barriers to success. That's certainly true of the people writing and talking about the tobacco industry these days."

Not Cigarettes Alone.. No, Szymanczyk is not in denial. Hardly. Rather, as Apple and Starbucks found wedges in businesses that faced institutional challenges, the Altria Group sees opportunities ripening in smokeless tobacco and large cigars. As a result, the Richmond, Va.-based outfit has been noticeably aggressive on the acquisition front and in R&D over the past few years in the other tobacco products (OTP) sector.

"The fact is that smokeless tobacco and machine-made large cigars have largely offset the decline in overall cigarette sales," he said. "In fact, one of the fastest-growing categories in c-store dollar sales is OTP, which has grown its average sales per store by over 12% per year over the past five years. Once you factor in those increases, you see that the total tobacco space volume based on poundage historically declined by about 1% per year."

This may be an exaggeration.. Volumes may be declining, but cigarettes remain Altria’s biggest business by far, accounting for $14.4 billion in revenue in 2009 compared with Smokeless category that brought in $1.2 billion. In general, cigarettes account for approximately 91% of expenditures on all tobacco products in the U.S.. Total United States expenditures on tobacco were estimated to be $88.7 billion in 2005, of which $82 billion were spent on cigarettes. In 2005, consumers in the United States spent $2.61 billion on smokeless tobacco products, and more than $1 billion on cigars each year. (CDC Smoking and Tobacco Use: Economic Facts About U.S. Tobacco Use and Tobacco Production)

He continued, "The reality is that the increasing diversity of products out there gives adult tobacco consumers a wider and increasingly innovative variety of options within the total tobacco space. So we can no longer measure success by one category alone. And we shouldn't. Instead, we should adjust our focus so that we can see the bigger picture and take advantage of the opportunities it offers.

Reference: Upbeat at Altria CEO voices optimism as he focuses on total tobacco opportunities by Mitch Morrison, CSP (Convenience Stores/Petroleum) Daily News, 2/17/2010.
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Ireland - ASH will never give up - get smoking out of cars (and homes) when kids are present ..

The anti-smoking group ASH Ireland has today reiterated its call for a ban on smoking in cars transporting children under 16 years of age. The call for the ban comes on the eve of Ash Wednesday, traditionally a day chosen by smokers to quit.

Luke Clancy, from the Tobacco Free Research Institute in Dublin, and team have found children - exposed to cigarette smoke in cars have greater chance of respiratory distress.. Ireland - lots of smokers - lots of sickness - resulting in premature death - THIS HAS TO STOP..

The Department of Health said this afternoon there are currently no proposals to introduce a ban on smoking in cars where there are children present but it said the matter will be kept under review. It added that it accepted exposure to cigarette smoke is particularly dangerous in enclosed spaces, such as cars, and it is currently reviewing the measures that have been undertaken in other countries in this regard.

Vehicles Most Dangerous Space for Second-Hand Smoke Levels.. This is not the first time ASH Ireland has campaigned for banning smoking in cars carrying children..

But Dr Angie Brown, chairwoman of Ash Ireland, said passive smoke is a Group 1 cancer-causing carcinogen and as 14 per cent of Irish children are exposed to these carcinogens and other toxic substances in cars our legislators must protect them. "As we discovered with use of seat belts and use of mobile phones in cars the voluntary code is insufficient," she said.

She stressed that passive smoke can be as much as 23 times more toxic in a car than in a house because of the confined space. Furthermore, she said, in a recent survey 79 per cent of the public said they would support smoke free car laws.

"The Irish Government has set the trend all around the world on tobacco health legislation and has received deserved recognition both at home and abroad. This initiative to protect children's health, while travelling in motor vehicles would be widely welcomed . . . We now ask the Government to proceed and legislate for this health initiative," Dr Brown added.

Banning smoking when children are in the home or car is a no-brainer - even Philip Morris agrees.

Reference: Ash repeats call for car smoking ban, EITHNE DONNELLAN, Health Correspondent, IrishTimes.com, 2/16/2010.
(children. child, kids, baby, passive, second hand smoke, SHS, environmental tobacco smoke, ets, involuntary smoking, sidestream smoke)

Some Ireland related news briefs:
Ireland - harder to quit when switching to low tar cigarettes..;
Ireland - after 2004 smoking ban decline in maternal smoking rates as well as lower risk for preterm births..;
Ireland - cancer society urges government to increase cigarette tax..;
Ireland - increase fine for cigarettes imported illegally..;
Ireland - roll your own cigarettes making a comeback..;
Ireland - lots of smokers - lots of sickness - resulting in premature death - THIS HAS TO STOP..;
Ireland - people responding well to the ban on cigarette displays..;
Ireland - Prof Clancy not enough spent on prevention..;
Ireland - tobacco vendors must register by October 1, 2009..;
Children - exposed to cigarette smoke in cars have greater chance of respiratory distress..;
Ireland - tobacco companies not helping small retailers - display ban..;
Tobacco control initiatives starting Wednesday, July 1, 2009..;
Ireland - Office of Tobacco Control 2008 annual report - Positive..;
Ireland - modest penalty for cigarette smuggling..;
Ireland - to amend tobacco legislation to to include pictoral warnings..;
Ireland - as of July 1, 2009 no advertising or display of tobacco products will be permitted in retail outlets..;
Ireland - cigarette tax abandoned over smuggling fears..;
Ireland - may raise tax on cigarettes as part of emergency budget..;
Ireland - ban smoking in cars when kids are present..;
Ireland - further provisions of the Public Health (Tobacco) Acts 2002 and 2004 are to be commenced on 1 July 2009.;
Ireland - 80% of smokers want a ban on tobacco advertising in shops to stop youngsters starting the habit..;
Ireland to ban tobacco displays..;
Ireland - reduction in admissions for acute coronary syndrome...
Read more...

Bulgaria - do producers support contraband cigarettes??

Simeon Djankov..
February 17, 2010 - The huge amount of contraband cigarettes seized yesterday, February 16th by Varna Customs creates the impression that producers in Bulgaria tacitly support contraband. So a full inspection is necessary," the Finance Minister, Simeon Djankov said on Wednesday, February 17th referring to the discovery of illicit cigarettes worth between BGN 1,6 M and BGN 1,8 M in the Port of Varna - see map. This amount was almost twice the value of all of the cigarettes confiscated during the past year. Djankov pointed out that the company in recipient of the shipment, "Board 17" Ltd, had been established in December 2009 and had not registered for VAT (value added tax).

Revenues and Customs agencies teams are due to make complete inventories of tobacco products held in these warehouses and to compare them with the companies’ records. Inspectors are due also to verify the contractual relationships of Bulgarian traders with foreign companies.

Meanwhile, Bulgaria’s Center for the Study of Democracy has reported that annual revenues from illegal activities, including the trade in illicit cigarettes, amounts to at least BGN4 billion to BGN5 billion, a figure that doesn’t include money generated through illegal financial schemes, the illegal trafficking of historic objects, and money generated from the gray economy.

Reference: Bulgaria Customs Capture Contraband Cigarettes Worth BGN 1,6 M, Novinite.com, 1/16/2009.

Bulgaria related news briefs:
Bulgaria - sale of Bulgartabac coming - selection of a consultant..;
Greek Farmers Renew Bulgaria Border Blockade..;
Bulgaria - leadership of tobacco fund to be replaced..;
Bulgaria - illegal trade in cigarettes will reach 40% of total trade in 2010..;
Bulgaria - limits on personal imports of tobacco products from outside the EU..;
Bulgaria - European Commission authorizes payment to tobacco producers for 2009 crop..;
Bulgaria -two cigarette smuggling attempts busted on Serbian border..;
Bulgaria - price of cigarettes increases..;
Bulgaria - Bulgartabac stays in the economy ministry, sold by middle of 2010, starting price 100,000,000 euro..;
Bulgaria - tobacco producers propose Bulgartabac transfer..;
Bulgaria - government, tobacco growers reach subsidy agreement..;
Bulgaria - start of steps leading to the privatization of the state-owned cigarette monopoly Bulgartabac..;
Bulgaria - police hold smoking protest over lack of bonuses..;
Bulgaria - police busts major cigarette contraband ring..;
Bulgaria - Bulgartabac Holding” will be privatized in 2010..;
Bulgaria - MPs Impose Hefty Fines on Cigarette Sales Violators..;
Bulgartabac Chief - cigarette tax increase as of January 1, 2010..;
Bulgaria Bulgartabac Holding Sells 23% of Shares to Mutual Funds..;
Bulgaria - more than 70% of smokers want to quit..;
Bulgaria - cigarette taxes going up each year except 2011..;
Bulgaria - chair of the economic committee in parliament disapproves of planned raise in excise duties on cigarettes..;
Bulgaria and others - smoking ban, increased cigarette taxes, smuggling..;
Bulgaria - Cigarette excise duties will be increased next year..;
Bulgaria - cigarette contraband, government loses BGN 920M yearly..;
Bulgaria - one third of the tobacco products sold are illicit..;
Bulgaria - new government to speed-up Bulgartabac sale..;
Bulgaria - Fake Victory Light cigarettes..;
Bulgaria's tobacco monopoly may be up for sale..;
Bulgarian lawmakers vote to ban smoking in all publc places from June 2010..; Bulgarian tobacco company Sofia-BT exports increase by 541 percent..;
Does Russia own Bulgaria's tobacco monopoly, Bulgartabac..;
EU percent of adults smokers -highest Greece 1 , Bulgaria 2.. - lowest Slovenia..;
Bulgaria - 1 in 3 youths smoke / half of pregnant women smoke..;
PMI training Bulgarian custom officers to stop cigarette smuggling..;
Philip Morris International (PMI) was truly happy they had been back in the Bulgarian cigarette market for a year and had already had 6.8% of market..;
WHO FCTC Protocol to Prevent Illicit Trade in Tobacco Products Won't Be Completed Until End of 2010..;
WHO Report on the Global Tobacco Epidemic 2008..;
Bulgaria Enters 2009 with Cigarette Prices Hike...
Bulgaria is marking Tuesday, November 10, 2009, the 20th year since the internal coup at the Bulgarian Communist Party which led to the crumbling of the communist regime..

Read more...

Turkey - two television stations successfuly challenge fines..

February 17, 2010 - Two Turkish television stations have successfully challenged fines imposed on them for airing shows that were said to have featured tobacco smoking.

Directly related news brief: Turkey - two TV stations fined for airing shows featuring smokers..

The $33,000 fines were levied by the Supreme Board of Radio and Television against E2, which airs ‘Mad Men’, and TV8, which airs the French cartoon, ‘Tin Tin’. The stations argued that the various programs had been produced before the on-air smoking ban was instituted.

Additionally, the required practice of blurring out cigarettes was criticized as counterproductive by one of the board's members, who said the distortion attracted even more attention.

Reference: Turkey fines channel for smoking villians in Tin Tin, HurriyetDailyNews, 2/16/2010; Tin Tin avoids Sing Sing, Tobacco Reporter, 2/17/2010.

Turkey - related news briefs:
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Turkey - court overrules TAPDK on tobacco labels..;
Turkey - cigarette producers sue to reduce size of graphic images..;
WHO to unveil new 2009 tobacco epidemic report in Turkey..;
Turkey - graphic/written warning labels starting January 1, 2010..;
Turkey - with expansion of smoking ban cigarette sales drop..;
Turkey - smoking ban, cafes (teahouses) losing business, owners threaten to strike..;
Turkey - hundreds of cafe owners demonstrate against smoking ban..;
Turkey - small--scale retailers to demonstrate against smoking ban..;
Turkey - anti-smoking advocates happy with early results of smoking ban..; Turkey - smoker wounds manager and kills his friend when asked to stop smoking..
Turkey - cafe owners complain about smoking ban..;
Turkey - dangers of secondhand smoke media campaign..;
Turkish Government - makes major move to improve the health of its citizens..;
Turkey - smoking ban starting July 19th will be enforced - these guys are serious..;
Turkey - poll indicates employers, their employees and customers support smoking ban in cafes, bars and restaurants..;
Turkey - July 19th total smoking ban, will employees lose jobs..;
Turkey - on July 19, 2009 will mark the beginning of “100 percent smoke-free air” in this country..;
Turkey - national smoking ban starts July 19, 2009..;
Turkey - quit smoking photo displayed in İstanbul's Taksim Square..;
Turkey - data on tobacco usage - Turkish Statistics Institution..;
Turkey - smoking ban in all bars, restaurants and coffeehouses starting July 19, 2009..;
Smoking ban in Turkey lowers cigarette consumption..;
Turkey's ban on pubic smoking goes into effect on Monday, May 19, 2008..;
British American Tobacco (BAT) reported group volume sales up for first quarter 2008..;
More on the quick fix for outdoor smokers..;
BAT to Acquire Most of Denmark's ST..;
More on Philip Morris International of the Future..;
WHO Report on the Global Tobacco Epidemic 2008...

Read more...

Canada - Statistics Canada survey smoking among young people is dropping..

February 17, 2010 - According to recent figures from Statistics Canada is the rate of smoking among young people is dropping -- down 8% in the last year. The bad news is the smoking rate of people aged 20 to 24 is still above the national average, which has, incidentally, remained relatively static.

More than one in five young Canadians are still lighting up, despite reams of medical and scientific evidence proving cigarette smoking is bad for your health -- and of those around you. Overall, the smoking rate in Canada in 2009 settled at 17%, down slightly from 2008.

The downward trend is encouraging, but it is astounding that so many people are still willing to put their lives at risk with this costly habit.

The younger generation should know better. It grew up in an era when public health messages about the dangers of smoking were plentiful -- in schools, in commercials, even on the packages of cigarettes themselves. But despite the availability of this information, too many continue to fall victim to this habit that claims the lives of 45,000 Canadians every year. Not surprisingly, as education levels rise, the rate of smoking falls further. Nearly a quarter of people with a high school education are smokers while only one in 10 university graduates admit to puffing away.

One of the challenges in the battle against smoking is that tobacco is a legal product, and it is product that brings in gobs of cash to provincial and federal treasuries through taxes applied at the point of sale. So while governments have taken strides to limit and reduce tobacco use -- all but eliminating smoking in indoor public places, banning tobacco advertising, prohibiting sale to (but not consumption by) minors -- they haven't taken the ultimate step and banned tobacco.

The sad reality is governments are addicted to tobacco tax revenue just as too many Canadians are addicted to smoking.

Reference: Editorial: Government addicted to tobacco tax revenue, Posted By KALVIN REID, BrantfordExpositor.ca, 2/16/2010.
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Turkey - two TV stations fined for airing shows featuring smokers..

February 16, 2010 - Two Turkish television stations were each fined $33,000 for airing shows such as the U.S.-produced "Mad Men" that feature smoking.

The fines levied by the Supreme Board of Radio and Television were successfully challenged by channels E2, which airs "Mad Men" and TV8, which airs the popular French cartoon, "Tin Tin," the Hurriyet newspaper reported Tuesday, February 16th.
The stations argued the various programs had been produced before the on-air smoking ban was instituted, the newspaper said.

Additionally, the required practice of blurring out cigarettes was criticized as counterproductive by one of the board's members, who said the distortion attracts more attention. In the animated "Tin Tin," only villains smoke, whereas in "Mad Men," the 1960s advertising executives are constantly seen puffing cigarettes and drinking liquor.

Reference: 'Mad Men' smoking draws fines in Turkey, UPI.com, 2/16/2010.

Turkey - related news briefs:
Turkey - smoking still major problem despite countrywide ban..;
Turkey - state tobacco monopoly sold workers still want jobs..;
Turkey - overall, smoking ban is working..;
Turkey - court overrules TAPDK on tobacco labels..;
Turkey - cigarette producers sue to reduce size of graphic images..;
WHO to unveil new 2009 tobacco epidemic report in Turkey..;
Turkey - graphic/written warning labels starting January 1, 2010..;
Turkey - with expansion of smoking ban cigarette sales drop..;
Turkey - smoking ban, cafes (teahouses) losing business, owners threaten to strike..;
Turkey - hundreds of cafe owners demonstrate against smoking ban..;
Turkey - small--scale retailers to demonstrate against smoking ban..;
Turkey - anti-smoking advocates happy with early results of smoking ban..; Turkey - smoker wounds manager and kills his friend when asked to stop smoking..
Turkey - cafe owners complain about smoking ban..;
Turkey - dangers of secondhand smoke media campaign..;
Turkish Government - makes major move to improve the health of its citizens..;
Turkey - smoking ban starting July 19th will be enforced - these guys are serious..;
Turkey - poll indicates employers, their employees and customers support smoking ban in cafes, bars and restaurants..;
Turkey - July 19th total smoking ban, will employees lose jobs..;
Turkey - on July 19, 2009 will mark the beginning of “100 percent smoke-free air” in this country..;
Turkey - national smoking ban starts July 19, 2009..;
Turkey - quit smoking photo displayed in İstanbul's Taksim Square..;
Turkey - data on tobacco usage - Turkish Statistics Institution..;
Turkey - smoking ban in all bars, restaurants and coffeehouses starting July 19, 2009..;
Smoking ban in Turkey lowers cigarette consumption..;
Turkey's ban on pubic smoking goes into effect on Monday, May 19, 2008..;
British American Tobacco (BAT) reported group volume sales up for first quarter 2008..;
More on the quick fix for outdoor smokers..;
BAT to Acquire Most of Denmark's ST..;
More on Philip Morris International of the Future..;
WHO Report on the Global Tobacco Epidemic 2008...




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European Council Updates Excise Duties On Cigarettes And Tobacco Products..

Click to enlarge..
February 16, 2010 - The Council (the European Council is the institution of the European Union (EU) responsible for defining the general political direction and priorities of the Union) today, Tuesday, February 16th adopted a directive updating EU rules on the structure and rates of excise duties on cigarettes and other tobacco products (17778/09 + 5807/10).

The directive is intended to ensure a higher level of public health protection by raising minimum excise duties on cigarettes, whilst bringing the minimum rates for fine-cut tobacco gradually into line with those for cigarettes. The outcome of a fourth four-yearly review of tobacco taxation under directives 92/79, 92/80 and 95/59, it is aimed at modernising and simplifying the rules and making them more transparent.

The new directive includes the following provisions:
– Cigarettes: the Council decided to increase, by 1 January 2014, the monetary minimum excise rate to 90 EUR per 1000 cigarettes and the proportional minimum to 60% of the weighted average sales price, from 64 EUR per 1000 and 57% at present;
European Union - agrees to raise the minimum tax on tobacco products sold in the region..)
– Transitional period for cigarettes: the new rules allow for transitional arrangements until 1 January 2018 for member states that have not yet achieved, or only recently achieved, the current minimum rates, namely Bulgaria, Greece, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Hungary, Poland and Romania;
– Quantitative restrictions for cigarettes: the directive allows member states not benefiting from the transition to impose a quantitative limit of at least 300 cigarettes on the number of cigarettes that may be brought into their territory from member states applying transitional arrangements. It also allows member states applying those arrangements, once their rates have reached 77 EUR per 1000 cigarettes, to apply quantitative limits with regard to member states whose rates have not yet reached an equal monetary level;
– Fine-cut tobacco: the Council decided to increase the minimum excise duty requirements for fine-cut tobacco as follows: member states will comply with either a proportional minimum or a monetary minimum, amounting to 40% of the weighted average sales price and 40 EUR per kg on 1 January 2011, 43% and 47 EUR/kg on 1 January 2013, 46% and 54 EUR/kg on 1 January 2015, 48% and 60 EUR/kg on 1 January 2018 and 50% and 60 EUR/kg on 1 January 2020.

Reference: European Council Updates Excise Duties On Cigarettes And Tobacco Products, Source: European Council,
2/16/2010.

Some related news brief:
European Union - agrees to raise the minimum tax on tobacco products sold in the region..;
European Union - finance ministers will meet to agree on a minimum tax on tobacco and to eliminate loopholes..;
EU wants higher tax on tobacco products..;
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Switzerland - three holes let smoker have cigarette outside..

February 16, 2010 - The three holes enable patrons to stick their heads through the larger top hole and their hands through the other two so they can technically have a cigarette outside. (This same technique has been used in Bavaria, Germany..)

Dino Lottaz, 49, devised the smoking wall in his Restaurant Caravelle in Bosingen, in the canton of Fribourg Canton, Switzerland (located in the west of the country, Switzerland consists of 26 cantons (member states), when local authorities introduced a ban on smoking in public areas, including bars and restaurants, this month.

He said: "I enjoy a cigarette myself so I know how smokers feel. Someone suggested cutting holes in the wall. It's a bit of a joke but it actually works quite well. It can get very cold sometimes so it's not really an option to stand outside for a smoke. "My clients seem to approve. They can legally have a cigarette without leaving the establishment."

Reference: Swiss smoking ban evaded by holes in wall A Swiss bar owner has devised a novel way to beat the smoking ban by cutting a series of holes in the wall by Alexandra Williams in Geneva, Telegraph.co.uk, 2/16/2010.

Related news briefs:
Graubünden, Switzerland - smoker ban leads to drop in heart attacks..;
Switzerland - Davidoff sponsored Swiss Indoor Tennis Tournament begins..;
Switzerland - Imperial Tobacco sponsorship major televised European tennis event..;
Geneva, Switzerland - ban on smoking in public places returns..;
Switzerland - unified program to ban smoking in buildings open to the public..;
Switzerland could join EU requiring sale of only self-extinguishing cigarettes...
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Scotland - smokers will be banned from fostering or adopting children, comments from Professor Banzhaf..

February 16, 2010 - Smokers will be banned from fostering or adopting children, under new rules introduced by Midlothian Council, Scotland, United Kingdom (UK). Anyone wanting to care for a child under the age of five will be required not to have smoked for at least six months. The policy will also apply to all children with a disability or respiratory problems such as asthma. All children over five years old will also be given the choice to be placed with a non-smoking family. Council workers will be offering foster carers and prospective adopters help to quit smoking. Colin Anderson, the council's director of social work, said the change would only result in the loss of one foster carer. He said: "It is a balanced approach. We would hope to encourage all carers to stop smoking, but to come in with a blanket approach would impact drastically on the provision we have."

John Banzhaf, founder and Executive Director of Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) reminds us, "This is just the latest step in a growing movement to protect the most vulnerable and most defenseless victims of tobacco smoke pollution. Noting that there are many reasons supporting the prohibition on adoption by prospective parents who smoke, even if only outdoors.

For similar reasons judges in more than half our states in the USA, and a few
in foreign countries, have recognized that smoking around children can be not only dangerous but deadly, and have ruled that smoking around a child can be grounds for losing custody. In some situations, parents have been prohibited from smoking 24 or even 48 hours before a child is due to arrive in the home because of the lingering effects of tobacco smoke.

Similarly, more than a dozen states have ruled -- or are in the process of issuing rules -- prohibiting smoking in the presence of foster children, and several states and cities have banned smoking in cars when any children are present.

"Smoking kills thousands of children every year (largely from respiratory infections), is also a major factor in SIDS, and causes millions of medical problems in kids each year ranging from asthmatic attacks (and new cases of asthma) to ear aches, so protecting young children from tobacco smoke is long overdue," says Banzhaf.

"A growing number of people consider smoking around children to be the most prevalent and dangerous form of child abuse, so it is not surprising that an adoption agency would want to protect their wards to whom they owe both a legal (fiduciary) duty and a moral obligation."

In a situation where a smoker seeking to adopt claims that he or she does not smoke in the home, there may be no way to independently confirm that, or to make sure that there are never any exceptions -- e.g., when the weather is very cold, when the smoker is too ill to go outdoors, etc. For more comments from Professor Banzhaf such as the dangers of third-hand smoke for children read the second reference below in its entirety.

Banning smoking when children are in the home or car is a no-brainer - even Philip Morris agrees.

Reference: Smokers face adoption and fostering ban, Edinburgh Evening News, 2/16/2010; Smokers Banned From Adopting or Fostering Children There Are Many Reasons For Such Bans, PR-Inside.com, 2/19/2010.

Related news brief: Wales council imposes blanket ban on smokers adopting or fostering children..;
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Japan - TASPO (tobacco passport) cards to confirm legal age of cigarette purchaser..

February 16, 2010 - About 30 percent of middle and high school students who are below the legal age to smoke buy cigarettes using taspo IC cards, which were introduced to prevent minors from lighting up, according to a Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry study panel.

Background:
Vending Machines - Japanese protecting their children from becoming life-long nicotine addicts.., July 2, 2009;
Japan - photos can be used to fool the age-verification cameras on some vending machines.., July 9, 2009;
Japanese tobacco giants focus on point-of-sales cigarette purchases.., October 10, 2008.

The panel, chaired by Nihon University Prof. Takashi Oida, said about 40 percent of these underage taspo users obtained the cards from home or family members.

The panel conducted the survey on minors' smoking habits on 240 middle and high schools nationwide in autumn 2008, and 96,000 students in 172 schools responded.

Regarding the introduction of taspo cards, which are used to confirm whether purchasers are of legal adult age when buying cigarette packs from automatic vending machines, 61 percent of the underage students who said they regularly smoke once a month or more said it has become more difficult for them to buy cigarettes.

But 29 percent also said they had bought tobacco using taspo cards. Among students that smoke daily, 42 percent said they had used taspo cards.

Regarding how they acquired the cards, 15 percent said they brought the cards from home; 22 percent said they borrowed cards from family members; and 7.9 percent said they undertook procedures on their own to obtain the cards from the tobacco industry's card-issuing authority.

The percentages of students who smoke at least once a month were 2.9 percent among male middle school students, 2 percent among female middle school students, 9.8 percent among male high school students, and 4.5 percent among female high school students. These figures marked a considerable fall from those of the previous survey 12 years ago--11 percent of male middle school students, 4.9 percent of female middle school students, 31 percent of male high school students, and 13 percent of female high school students.

"As fewer youths regard smoking as being cool, [the phenomenon of] minors' smoking has been steadily decreasing," Oida said. "Though taspo cards are effective to a certain degree, family members' cooperation is necessary."

Reference: Underage smokers using taspo cards, The Yomiuri Shimbun, DAILY YOMIURI ONLINE + AP Associated Press, 2/15/2010.

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Bangladesh - consuming chewing tobacco is almost double than smoking tobacco..

February 16, 2010 - The prevalence of consuming chewing tobacco is almost double than smoking tobacco in the country, revealed a study yesterday. At the dissemination programme of the research findings at the National Press Club in the city, it was also revealed that women are taking more chewing tobacco than men.

The prevalence of non-smoking tobacco chewing is 43.2 percent while the tobacco smoking is 23 percent in the country, the study showed.

It found that 42 percent men and 1.3 percent women are habituated to smoking tobacco. On the other hand, 34 percent men and 41 percent women are taking chewing tobacco that include jarda, gul(tobacco dentifrice) and tobacco leaf.

The study titled 'Baseline Survey of Cardiovascular Disease Risk Factors' was conducted on 5,332 individuals of 3,668 households of Dhamrai area in 2008.

Prof Ridwanur Rahman, head of the department of medicine of Shaheed Suhrawardy Medical College was the principal investigator of the research.

The programme was organised by Non-Communicable Diseases and Other Public Health Interventions, Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) in collaboration with the University of New Castle, Australia.

Another study tiled 'Risk Factor of Acute Coronary Syndrome' was conducted from April-June 2009 on 400 samples. The study revealed that 70 percent of those who are suffering from cardiovascular diseases had previous record of smoking, whereas those who are not suffering from heart diseases had previous record of smoking for only 45 percent.

While presenting the research findings, Dr Abul Hasnat Milton, co-investigator and senior lecturer of New Castle University, said 30 percent of all deaths occur from heart diseases worldwide. "Some 213 per 100,000 individuals aged above 30 years have coronary heart diseases in the world and 80 percent of the people dying from cardiac diseases are from developing countries," he said, adding that those who don't take fruits regularly are four times more vulnerable to heart disease than those who take 80 grams of fruits regularly.

High blood pressure, stroke and mental stress also increase the risk of heart diseases, said the experts, adding that awareness should be increased in this regard and besides this, taxes should be imposed on chewing tobacco also.

Dr Mominuzzaman, chief consultant of United Hospital, moderated the session while Prof Ismail Khan of National Drug Control Committee, Dr Badiuzzaman Bhuiyan, health and family welfare secretary of Awami League, Prof Mujibur Rahman and Dr Rubina Yasmin, assistant professor of Dhaka Medical College and Hospital, also spoke.

Reference: Chewing tobacco intake double than smoking
Reveals study, Staff Correspondent, The Daily Star, 2/17/2010.

Bangladesh - related news brief:
Bangladesh - nearly 70 percent of current smokers are planning to quit..;
Bangladesh - tobacco use among adults reaches 43.3 percent..;
Bangladesh - FCTC overtaxation hurts tobacco industry country depends on..;
Bangladeshi government will increase taxes on tobacco products..;
Marlboro to be Marketed in Bangladesh - One of the Poorest and Densely Populated Countries in the World..

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Trinidad and Tobago smoking ban starts Wednesday, February 17, 2010..

February 16, 2010 - From Ash Wednesday, February 17, 2010 smokers in Trinidad and Tobago will soon be stripped of their right to light up in public as they wish as a new law that seeks to curb the practice is to take effect this week.

In a release issued over the weekend, the Health Ministry said the Tobacco Control Act that was passed back in December 2009, will be proclaimed by President George Maxwell Richards and enforced in phases from Wednesday onwards. Under the Act, smoking in any enclosed public places is outlawed.

The Health Ministry said the new law was designed to protect people from the exposure to second hand tobacco smoke, especially children, babies and pregnant women, as well as preventing others from taking up the habit.

“It also seeks to prevent smoking by young people, especially children, to restrict promotional activities by tobacco manufacturers, enhance public awareness of the hazards of tobacco use, ensure that consumers are provided with sufficient information to make more informed decisions on using tobacco products and prevent illicit trade,” the release added.


At the opening of special meeting of the Council for Social and Human Development (a body made up of Caribbean Health Ministers) last week at the Hyatt, Port of Spain, Health Minister Jerry Narace said he made a commitment to undertake a public education initiative before enforcing all of the clauses of the Act and to work on the specific regulations to support the Act.

’The Ministry of Health will now intensify its public education campaign regarding the Tobacco Control Act, the upcoming proclamation, and the health effects of tobacco use and second hand smoke in general. We shall also be launching a Tobacco Cessation Campaign, as well as other clinical and non-clinical smoking cessation programmes to support the people who wish to quit smoking,’ he said.

Back in June 2009, Narace said that Trinadad and Tabago had the fourth highest prevalence of smoking in the region among school children between the ages of 13 and 15 years.

References: Smoking ban in enclosed public places starts Wednesday, Aabida Allaham, TrinidadExpress.com, 2/14/2010; TRINIDAD: New smoking ban to take effect, CaribbeanDailyNews, 2/15/2010.

Trinidad and Tobago has ratified (April 10, 2007) the
WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) Treaty.


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Spain - government postpones debate on tougher smoking legislation..

February 16, 2010 - The Spanish government has postponed a parliamentary debate on tougher anti-smoking legislation in the hope of mustering more support for the controversial plan, sources of the Health Ministry said Monday, February 15th. The government had intended to present the law during the Spanish European Union presidency in the first half of this year, but may only do so later in the year, the sources said.

The current 2006 legislation bans smoking at work and in public places such as hospitals, schools or shopping centres. Bars or restaurants measuring less than 100 square metres, however, may allow smoking. Bigger venues must have separate smoking areas if they allow smoking.

In practice, only around 40,000 of Spain's more than 350,000 leisure establishments have created smoking areas or banned smoking. The planned legislation would prohibit smoking in all bars and restaurants.

Health professionals have long urged a total ban, describing smoking as one of Spain's top public health problems that causes more than 50,000 deaths annually.

The government says the ban is necessary because smoking is the biggest killer in Spain, with 50,000 smoking-related deaths annually. Surveys show that about 30% of Spaniards smoke. A government-sponsored opinion poll released in December showed more than 70% of respondents backed the ban. (Smoking curbs: The global picture, 7/1/2009)

But bar and restaurant owners vehemently oppose the ban, saying it could force the closure of 70,000 establishments and kill 200,000 jobs. The opposition conservatives said they disapproved of "coercion" and favoured softer measures such as educating the population and financing treatments to help people quit smoking.

Reference: Spain postpones anti-smoking ban in search of consensus,Deutsche Presse Agentur (DPA) Germany national news, EarthTimes.org, 2/15/2010.

Spain - related news briefs:
Spain - smoking ban to be implemented on January 1, 2010 still being delayed..;
Spain - still some hesitation on total smoking ban for country..;
Spain - hotel and catering industry protests plan to ban smoking next year..;
Spain - hopes next year to expand ban on smoking in enclosed public places..;
Spain - impact of 2006 law banning smoking in public places..;
Spain - ready for expansion and enforcement of Anti-Smoking Act..;
Spain - ready for full smoking ban in public places..;
Spain - ban smoking public places - a lot of talk no action..;
Spain plans gruesome images on cigarette packs sometime in future...

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EU - fighting against cigarette smuggling but a WHO solution may be in site..

February 16, 2010 - Austin Rowan, head of the task group cigarettes from the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) told Agence France-Presse (AFP) that smuggling to the European Union (EU) is on the increase.

On the eastern border of the EU, the fight against cigarette smuggling from Ukraine, Russia or Moldova is intensifying as traffickers cash in on the lucrative trade.

"Why? Because the profits are so enormous," he added.

"There is a huge difference in the prices between Ukraine and the European Union for example", Rowan added. While a pack of cigarettes costs more than eight euros in Ireland and more than five in France, it can be bought for between 30 euro-cents and one euro in Ukraine, which sits on the eastern border of the EU.

Seizures of contraband cigarettes exploded in the European Union from 4.4 billion units in 2005 to 5.2 billion in 2008, according to the latest figures from OLAF. Most of those cigarettes, whether counterfeit or genuine -- but smuggled into the EU without taxes being paid -- come from China, Ukraine and Russia.

We are all counting on World Health Organization (WHO) to provide solution to control the booming worldwide cigarette smuggling problem. Fourth Session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Body on Illicit Trade in Tobacco Products, March 14-21, 2010. The representatives of governments will meet to discussed and sign off on the draft protocol that expected to boost the war on illicit trade in tobacco products. If signed by governments attending the meeting, the protocol is expected to become an international convention to eliminate illicit trade in tobacco products across the globe. (WHO FCTC Conference March 2010 - protocol on illicit trade in tobacco products.)


The loss of duties prevented by the seizures is a little over a billion euros, said Rowan. "At best 10 percent is seized, so you are talking about approximately nine billion euros' prejudice annually for the budget of Member states," he added.

After putting a liaison officer in China last year, the European Anti-Fraud office is hoping to appoint three more in other "tobacco hotspots": Moscow, Kiev and the Egyptian capital Cairo.

On the frontline of this struggle are the EU countries that border Ukraine: Hungary, Poland, Romania and Slovakia. Seizures of contraband cigarettes in the four countries increased by almost 50 million in one year: from 843 million in 2008 to 891.5 million in 2009, according to their own official figures.

"If you're going to bring cigarettes from Ukraine, then you will use the Eastern borders," said Rowan. "But if you are going to bring cigarettes from Dubai or from China, then the EU ports are interesting -- like Dublin, Antwerpen, Rotterdam."

Poland and Romania had also become "countries of destination" for smuggled cigarettes, having previously only been used by smugglers to get their goods to western Europe. A 2009 increase in excise duties in Romania helped bring that about.

EU - mobilizing for a crackdown on cigarette smuggling with emphasis on Poland..

Tobacco company Philip Morris in Romania told the financial daily Ziarul Financiar it was stopping production at its Bucharest factory for two weeks because of the flood of contraband that had hit its sales. (Romania - PMI suspends cigarette production for two-weeks starting February 19th..)

Romanian customs and border police have stepped up their efforts. "About 21 million illegal cigarettes have been confiscated since the beginning of 2010," Dorel Fronea, deputy director of Romania's border surveillance division for the Customs service, told AFP. "This is a record in Romania."

Reference: EU fights flow of contraband cigarettes from east, Agence France-Presse (AFP), 2/11/2010.
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Pipe and cigar smoke major cause of COPD..

February 16, 2010 - Pipe and cigar smoke may be more harmful than once thought. While some believe pipes and cigars are healthier than cigarettes, a major known cause of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), a new study directly links pipe and cigar smoking to decreased lung function.

VIDEO - The Association of Pipe and Cigar Use With Cotinine Levels, Lung Function, and Airflow Obstruction..

Researchers conducted a population-based study to determine whether pipe and cigar smoking was associated with elevated cotinine levels (the end product of tobacco, which can be detected in the urine), decrements in lung function, and increased odds of airflow obstruction. Among 3,528 participants, those who did not smoke cigarettes but did smoke pipes or cigars were more likely to have airflow obstruction than those who had never smoked.

While cotinine levels among current pipe and cigar smokers were lower than among current cigarette smokers, the relative differences in cotinine levels may reflect differences in nicotine absorption but not necessarily exposure to harmful products of tobacco smoke.

“Our study shows that pipe and cigar smoking is associated with decrements in lung function that are consistent with obstructive lung disease,” said R. Graham Barr, MD, Dr.PH, Assistant Professor of Medicine and Assistant Professor of Epidemiology at Columbia Presbyterian and lead author of the study. “These findings, together with increased cotinine levels in current pipe and cigar smokers, suggest that long-term pipe and cigar smoking may damage the lungs and contribute to the development of COPD. Physicians should consider pipe and cigar smoking a risk factor for COPD and counsel their patients to quit.”

In a related editorial, Michael B. Steinberg, MD, MPH, of the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, stresses the importance of educating the public, and expresses concern for the rising rate of tobacco use in the United States. “We are now witnessing the concerning trend of increased use of other tobacco products,” Dr. Steinberg writes. “As changes in public health policy have made cigarette smoking less socially acceptable, a distinct set of characteristics are associated with cigar and pipe use, such as sophistication, affluence, education, and celebration. These images, largely fostered by the tobacco industry, perpetuate the idea that these products play a suitable role in our society.”

PAPER: The Association of Pipe and Cigar Use With Cotinine Levels, Lung Function, and Airflow Obstruction A Cross-sectional Study, Josanna Rodriguez, MD; Rui Jiang, MD, DrPH; W. Craig Johnson, MS; Barbara A. MacKenzie; Lewis J. Smith, MD; and R. Graham Barr, MD, DrPH, Annals of Internal Medicine 16 February 2010 ABSTRACT..

Reference: Pipe and Cigar Smoking Strongly Associated with Decreased Lung Function, COPD, American College of Physicians (acollom@acponline.org), Enhanced Onlne News (EON), 2/15/2010.
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UAE - ban on the sale of single cigarettes will be implemented ..

February 15, 2010 - DUBAI — With the region tightening the noose on the nicotine habit in the region, ban on the sale of single cigarettes will be implemented strictly in the country as part of new GCC-wide guidelines (Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC)) formulated last week on advertising and promotional restrictions of tobacco products.

The move is part of a wide range of anti-smoking measures being taken by the government to put an end to the menace and discourage the youth from taking up the habit. Experts say the move will discourage youngsters from seeking a quick drag which is now readily available in retail sales.

The guidelines on controlling tobacco advertisements and promotions that are based on the Singapore model were drafted in Kuwait last week — over a year after they were proposed. The UAE officials say they are just a small part of a whole range of rules under the newly passed National Anti-Tobacco Law.

According to the guidelines, vendors will require a special permit to sell tobacco while the outlets selling tobacco products will be spaced at least 200-500 metres away from residential areas, mosques, schools, hospitals and clinics.

Though the law prohibits advertisement, promotion and sponsorship of tobacco products, details on how it will be implemented are being worked out on a GCC level, said Dr Wedad Al Maidoor, Head of the National Tobacco Control Committee at the Ministry of Health.

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), the UAE is among the eight countries in the region that has implemented a comprehensive ban on advertisement, and is now working towards tightening loopholes.

“Most of these points were decided in a meeting held in Oman last year, we just put them in a legal document last week,” she said. Though a basic agreement binds them, each country is free to implement the rules as suited.

In the UAE, promotion of tobacco products will also face censorship on national TV and the Internet. “TV plays or dramas that show actors smoking will also be censored since they can become role models,” explained Dr Wedad.

As per the guidelines, sale of cigarettes over the Internet is also prohibited. Also banned is the open sale of cigarettes through mechanical machines or selling of the product through direct or indirect means using words such as light or mild and low tar. Any violations are subject to fines according to the law, added
 Dr Wedad.

Reference: In the Pipeline: Ban on Sale of Single Cigarettes, Asma Ali Zain (asmaalizain@khaleejtimes.com), Khaleej Times, 2/15/2010.

UAE related news briefs:

UAE - national ban on smoking in public places delayed..;
UAE - with new law e-cigarettes may face ban..;
UAE - preventing the sale of tobacco products to youth..;
UAE to increase the price of cigarettes, graphic images on packs and more..;
UAE - conference presentation, risk of shisha use severe..;
UAE - enforcement of the new tobacco control law not clear yet..;
UAE - Khalifa issues federal anti-tobacco law..;
UAE - doctors say national smoking ban needed for the sake of young people..;
United Arab Emirates - Despite Ban, Shisha Habit Spreading in Public..;
Sharjah Emirate, UAE - earn monetary rewards for quiting smoking..;
Dubai, UAE customs blocks e-cigarette shipment..;
UAE - graphic warnings on cigarette packs..;
UAE new tobacco ban proposed..;
UAE - Quadruple Cigarette Price - Prevent Kids from Smoking...
Read more...