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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