FDA CTR reports (2) on label descriptors and harmful and potentially harmful constituents..

June 14, 2010 - FDA’s Center for Tobacco Products (CTP) reports on Tobacco Products Scientific Advisory Committee (TPSAC) and Tobacco Products Constituents Subcommittee (TPCS. At the end of last week the US Food and Drug Administration’s Center for Tobacco Products (CTP) reported that:



* The FDA had posted guidance on questions related to the use of ‘light’, ‘mild’, ‘low’ or similar descriptors in the labelling, or advertising of tobacco products. There is more at: http://www.fda.gov/TobaccoProducts/GuidanceComplianceRegulatoryInformation/ucm214597.htm.

* The FDA had posted a guidance document that discusses the meaning of ‘harmful and potentially harmful constituents’ in the context of establishing a list of harmful and potentially harmful constituents as required by the Tobacco Control Act. There is more at: http://www.fda.gov/TobaccoProducts/GuidanceComplianceRegulatoryInformation/ucm214598.htm.
Read more...

Indonesia - on June 22nd will ask WTO to rule on US ban on clove cigarettes..

Kretek also known as clove cigarettes.
June 14, 2010 - Indonesia will ask the World Trade Organization (WTO) on June 22 to rule on its complaint that a US ban on clove cigarettes aimed at preventing teenagers from starting to smoke is discriminatory. “We will ask the panel of judges and experts to rule in favor of our complaint and also ask the organization to issue a directive demanding that the United States withdraw its discriminatory regulation on clove cigarettes,” Deputy Trade Minister Mahendra Siregar told the Jakarta Globe on Sunday, June 13th.

Directly related news briefs:
FDA regulations ban on clove cigarettes Indonesia may protest to WTO.., June 19, 2009;
Indonesia - trade minister officials want to meet with US counterparts to discuss ban on clove cigarettes.., November 4, 2009;
Indonesia - launches formal dispute with WTO over U.S, ban on clove cigarettes.., April 13, 2010.
Also,
U.S. - Importer tries to get around clove cigarettes ban.., September 24, /2009;
Clove cigars close but not cigarettes.., October 27, 2009;
Kretek International filed suit to prevent FDA from banning flavored cigars..., 11/24/2009;
Kretek International drops FDA lawsuit on clove cigars.., January 7, 2010.

US tobacco companies told the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on March 31 that adding menthol did not make cigarettes more harmful or addictive. “The United States must stop its discrimination against clove cigarettes. What we want is to have clove cigarettes treated with the same regulation as other cigarettes,” Mahendra said.

Menthol-flavored cigarettes that are produced by US manufacturers such as Altria Group Inc.’s Philip Morris USA and Lorillard Inc. were exempted as part of a 2008 compromise by lawmakers that led Altria to back the legislation. Menthol cigarettes, the most popular flavor, constitute 20 percent [now close to 30%] of the US market, according to Federal Trade Commission (FTC) data.

Washington [US govt] is almost certain to block the June 22 WTO request, after which Indonesia can make a second appeal that cannot be thwarted. “We’re optimistic that the WTO will rule in our favor,” Mahendra said. “Indonesia and the United States are both WTO members, and there is no reason for the organization not to support us. We want equal standing on this matter.”

Indonesia is the world’s largest producer of clove cigarettes, produced by companies such as PT Gudang Garam and exports $500 million worth annually, a fifth of that to the United States.

Indonesia is the world’s fifth-biggest tobacco market, and clove cigarettes still account for most of that. The upstream and downstream industries employ 6.1 million people. Exports of cigarettes and cigars totaled $358 million in 2008, the last year for which data is available. Only a relatively small number of clove cigarettes are exported, and they are coveted by some young people in the United States who see them as an alternative to more conventional brands.

The Indonesian government recently reorganized its road map for the tobacco industry through 2020, shifting priorities from revenue, health and workers, to the new order of workers, revenue and, finally, health.

According to the FDA studies show that 17-year-olds are three times as likely to use flavored cigarettes than people over 25.

Supervising the consultations with Indonesia will be one of the first tasks of the new US ambassador to the WTO, Michael Punke, whose Senate confirmation was held up for six months by Republican senators from the tobacco-growing state of Kentucky.

Reference: Ruling Sought From WTO On US Clove Cigarette Ban, Faisal Maliki Baskoro & Bloomberg, Jakarta Globe, 6/13/2010.

Indonesia some related news briefs:
Indonesia - PT Djarum Tobacco to sponsor badminton events..;
Indonesia - CNN Video on 2-year old nicotine addict..;
Indonesia - more on the 2-year old addicted to nicotine..;
Indonesia - paradise for smokers and paradise for tobacco companies..;
Indonesia - House Finance and Banking Commission opposes govt plan to lower cigarette production..;
Jakarta, Indonesia - more on the Kelly Clarkson tobacco sponsored concert April 29th..;
Jakarta, Indonesia - Singer Kelly Clarkson will she perfom concert sponsored by major tobacco company..;
Indonesia - launches formal dispute with WTO over U.S, ban on clove cigarettes..;
Indonesia - parents encourage 4-year old boy to continue smoking habit..;
Hemoglobin obtained from pigs may be used in cigarette filters..;
Indonesia - government may raise cigarette tax and cut cigarette output..;
Indonesia - Muhammadiyah-owned university students demonstrate against edict against smoking..;
Indonesia - kretek cigarette maker Gudang Garam's 2009 net profit jumps 84 percent..;
Indonesia - persons accused of eliminating clause designating tobacco as addictive..;
Indonesia - second largest Muslim organization launched a fatwa against smoking..;
Indonesia - RATIFICATION OF FCTC MAY RAISE INDONESIA'S BARGAINING POWER.. ;
Indonesia - 18 tons of illegal cigarettes destroyed..;
Indonesia - Government to limit cigarette production..;
Indonesia - BAT, Bentoel shareholders approve planned merger..;
Indonesia - another protest rejecting the new cigarette excise tax..;
Indonesia - workers from small cigarette producers protest excise tax increase..;
Indonesia - cigarette industry has pledged to stage a demonstration to protest a government plan to increase excise tax.;
Indonesia - the last paradise for a puff in Southeast Asia..;
Indonesia - trade minister officials want to meet with US counterparts to discuss ban on clove cigarettes..;
Indonesia - PT BAT Indonesia to merge with PT Bentoel International Investama Terbuka..;
Indonesia - missing tobacco regulation in approved Health Law..;
Indonesia - section on tobacco in health bill disappears..;
Indonesia - Constitutional Court by close vote rules that tobacco ads can continue..;
Indonesia - parent smoking can negatively affect the nutrition of children..;
Indonesia - new council member suspect in cigarette fraud case..;
Indonesia - an NGO commission assists cigarettes must be banned in films..
Indonesia - a paradise for tobacco companies..
Indonesia - after buying cigarettes very little left for food..;
Indonesia - will they ratify the first world public health treaty..;
Indonesia - last paradise to smoke in public places in Southeast Asia..;
Indonesia - Industry minister to close tobacco to new foreign investment..;
Indonesia Finance Ministry to cap tax deductions for tobacco companies..;
Indonesia - Smoking hits poor families the hardest, making the poor even poorer..;
Indonesia - Cigarette makers defy crisis, grows stronger..;
Indonesia - government may raise cigarette excise tax next year..;
WHO - Indonesia is crying out for your help..;
Indonesia - dispute with U.S. over banning the use of clove in cigarettes..;
Indonesia 'cash cow' for Philip Morris International..;
Tobacco industry has long targeted young people as "replacement smokers";
Indonesia - district court dismisses request to ratify FCTC..;
Asean Countries - Tobacco Industry Blocking Global Treaty On Tobacco..; Indonesia - farmers hold rally protest tobacco controls..;
Indonesia - tobacco farmers reject Islamic council's edict..;
Indonesia - Ulema Council - debate results is split on smoking..;
Indonesia - Withdraw Sponsorhip of Another Rock Concert..;
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..

Read more...

U.S. - East Coast Cigarette Smuggling - on going..

June 13, 2010 - A one-year investigation that unwound a multimillion-dollar smuggling ring, according to an affidavit by ATF Special Agent Christopher Scott unsealed in Norfolk yesterday, June 10th.

On Wednesday,June 9th much of the Norfolk, Virginia field office of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms (ATF) and Explosives fanned out across northern New Jersey and New York with other agents, serving the warrants and doing the searches that wrapped up the case, said Teresa Merhige, the ATF resident agent in charge in Norfolk.

They arrested six men and women in addition to the restaurant owner and his daughter.
The eight allegedly had formed two crime rings, one based in New York and New Jersey, the other in North Carolina, that paid more than $4 million for cigarettes on which no state taxes were paid.

The rings also sold to the ATF agents counterfeit postage stamps, counterfeit tax stamps and counterfeit consumer goods ranging from Coach and Louis Vuitton handbags and shoes to fake U.S.-brand-name cigarettes. Ring members sent several of the counterfeit goods shipments to a UPS Store in Chester for the undercover agents.

The alleged smugglers were persistent, the affidavit noted. Last summer, within minutes of deputies in Worcester County, Md., stopping one of the alleged ring members with 209 cartons of contraband cigarettes in his car, Zhang phoned an ATF agent asking to meet to buy more.

The groups allegedly had been buying cigarettes from Eastern Shore retailers and taking them north, to take advantage of the difference in state taxes, when they approached the ATF undercover agents, who werEarlier this week, an unrelated investigation by state and federal authorities resulted in warrants being served at seven Hampton, VA businesses suspected of illegal tobacco sales.

The money can be big -- Virginia's cigarette tax rate is 30 cents a pack, compared with $2.70 in New Jersey, $2.75 in New York state and $4.25 in New York City. Smugglers buy cigarettes in low-tax states, disguise them with bogus tax stamps, sell them in corresponding high-tax locales, and pocket the difference. A $2.70 spread separates Virginia's 30-cent-per-pack cigarette tax and Connecticut's at $3.00. Driving 1,500 cigarette cartons (10 packs per carton) from Arlington to Hartford yields $40,500 per trip.

Criminal organizations use cigarette smuggling as a means to raise money. Terrorists move cigarettes because they are light, portable, otherwise legal, and produce cash. Consider the first attack (1993 World Trade Center bombing) on the Twin Towers, which killed six and injured 1,040. As Patrick Fleenor recalled in a Cato Institute study, "counterfeit cigarette tax stamps were found in an apartment used by members of the Egyptian Islamic Jihad cell that carried out the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center." More: Cigarette Smugglers in St. Louis, New York City, Charlotte and Tampa Funnel Money to Terror Groups like Hezbollah by BILL WARNER, Zimbio.com, 3/27/2009.

Earlier this week, an unrelated investigation by state and federal authorities resulted in warrants being served at seven Hampton businesses suspected of illegal tobacco sales.

References: Norfolk ATF helps bust alleged cigarette-smuggling ring by David Ress, Richmond Times-Dispatch, 6/11/2010; Tobacco taxes finance terrorism by Deroy Murdock, Scripps Howard News Service, 6/7/2010.

A few related news briefs:
South Carolina - low cigarette pricing, smuggling, higher insurance premiums, etc..;
Rhode Island - c-store, another case of selling cigarettes that lack state tax stamp..;
Rhode Island retailers finding ways to avoid paying tobacco tax...
Read more...

Armenia - conference results in future strategies for smoking prevention and control..

Click to enlarge any image..

June 13, 2010 - To mark the World No Tobacco Day, the Yerevan State Medical University and the American University of Armenia (AUA) convened the first "Tobacco or Health" Conference in Armenia on May 31, 2010.

The Conference brought together medical and public health students, faculty, clinicians, public health professionals from Armenia and Diaspora as well as international experts to discuss the mounting evidence on health hazards of smoking and health professional's responsibility in countering the smoking epidemic in Armenia. This event was organized within the framework of the Yerevan State Medical University 90th anniversary celebration.

International Experts: Dr. Frances Stillman, Co-Director of the Johns Hopkins Global Tobacco Control, and Dr. Gregory Connolly, Chair of the Division of Public Health Practice at the Harvard School of Public Health (video address) shared their experience with the conference participants and suggested ways to make smoking history in Armenia.

The conference covered public health and policy aspects of tobacco use, benefits of smoke-free hospitals, emphasized the evidence that tobacco is a major risk factor for many deadly diseases and the need for smoking cessation interventions in Armenia.

Armenia has the highest smoking rates among its European neighbors. Cancer, heart disease, diabetes and other non-communicable diseases account for approximately 83% of all deaths in the country, and tobacco use is the main contributor to these diseases. (URGING ARMENIA TO SAY “NO” TO TOBACCO, Armenia.Usaid.gov, 5/31/2010)

Armenia ranks sixth for the number of smokers in the world, the World Health Organization (WHO) reports on the basis of the information for 2002-2006. According to the report, about 64% of the adult Armenian population smokes. (Smoking in Armenia, Armeniapedia.org, 1/17/2006)

In January 2005, the President of Armenia signed the first comprehensive National Tobacco Control Law on Tobacco Realization, Consumption, Production and Usage Limitation, which aims to protect the population from the health, social, ecological and other consequences of the perilous impact of tobacco.

Sale of tobacco products to the people under 18 is banned but not enforced at all in Armenia . According to the coordinator of the Armenian National Anti-Tobacco Campaign, there are an increasing number of boys and girls who smoke, and they begin around the ages of 13-15 (Armenian News Network, 2006). Education is essential for preventing the onset of youth smoking and its attendant morbidity and mortality. Young people in Armenia are virtually unaware of the health and other risks of tobacco use. (Tobacco Use and Control in Armenia, Center for Communications, Education, Health and the Environment (CECHE), by Karine Manukyan, PhD., Chairwoman of WGWG (“Women for Green Way for Generations") 2/17/1009.

According to estimates recently made public Armenian sociologist Aharon Adibekian, people of Armenia annually spend about $200 million on tobacco products.

The Organizing Committee of the first "Tobacco or Health" Conference developed a conference resolution on future strategies of smoking prevention and control by health professionals emphasizing smoke-free hospitals, integration of tobacco control education in the medical curriculum, and endorsement of smoking cessation guidelines.

Reference: AUA hosts conference "Tobacco or Health", The Armenian Reporter, 6/9/2010.


Republic of Armenia has ratified (11 November 2004) the
WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) Treaty.



Read more...

Indonesia - PT Djarum Tobacco to sponsor badminton events..

June 13, 2010 - Until regulations prohibiting tobacco companies from sponsoring sports events, the organizers of the Indonesia Open badminton tournament are more than happy to do business with PT Djarum.

Philip Morris International (PMI), is the leading tobacco company in the country with a market share of almost 30 percent. Last year, Philip Morris’s Indonesian unit Sampoerna sold approximately 230 billion of kretek cigarettes. Sampoerna is followed by two local tobacco manufacturers Gudang Garam and Djarum, with 21.1 and 19.4 percent market share respectively. (British American Tobacco increases its market share in Indonesia, Smokers News, 6/25/2009)

Directly related news briefs:
Indonesia - Kelly Clarkson concert - eliminate all evidence of tobacco company..;
Alicia Keys - Jakarta Concert (July 31st) tobacco companies forced to withdraw sponsorship...

Under a recently signed three-year deal, the cigarette company will provide the $600,000 prize money at the Indonesia Open starting next year, when the tournament is introduced as part of the inaugural Premier Series. “Through the Premier Series, we want to show the world that our country can host a tournament with substantial prize money,” Djarum director Yan Haryadi said at a news conference on Tuesday, June 8th . “It will give Indonesia prestige in the badminton community.”

Yan said that Djarum, which is sponsoring this month’s Indonesia Open Super Series (Indonesia Open at Istora Gelora Bung Karno on June 22-27), wanted to demonstrate its commitment to badminton despite what he called a growing domestic campaign against tobacco use.

Last month, the Health Ministry said it was drafting a proposal to ban cigarette companies from communicating directly with consumers, including through promotions.

“The Badminton World Federation has not issued any regulation banning us from sponsoring a tournament,” Yan said. “Should the BWF make a decision against this kind of sponsorship, then we will back out.” Handojo, chairman of the Indonesia Open’s organizing committee, said: “The BWF has guaranteed us that a cigarette company can sponsor events, at least through 2013.”

Reference: Players smelling opportunity at Open in absence of Chinese, Matheos Viktor Messakh, The Jakarta Post, 6/9/2010.

Indonesia some related news briefs:
Indonesia - CNN Video on 2-year old nicotine addict..;
Indonesia - more on the 2-year old addicted to nicotine..;
Indonesia - paradise for smokers and paradise for tobacco companies..;
Indonesia - House Finance and Banking Commission opposes govt plan to lower cigarette production..;
Jakarta, Indonesia - more on the Kelly Clarkson tobacco sponsored concert April 29th..;
Jakarta, Indonesia - Singer Kelly Clarkson will she perfom concert sponsored by major tobacco company..;
Indonesia - launches formal dispute with WTO over U.S, ban on clove cigarettes..;
Indonesia - parents encourage 4-year old boy to continue smoking habit..;
Hemoglobin obtained from pigs may be used in cigarette filters..;
Indonesia - government may raise cigarette tax and cut cigarette output..;
Indonesia - Muhammadiyah-owned university students demonstrate against edict against smoking..;
Indonesia - kretek cigarette maker Gudang Garam's 2009 net profit jumps 84 percent..;
Indonesia - persons accused of eliminating clause designating tobacco as addictive..;
Indonesia - second largest Muslim organization launched a fatwa against smoking..;
Indonesia - RATIFICATION OF FCTC MAY RAISE INDONESIA'S BARGAINING POWER.. ;
Indonesia - 18 tons of illegal cigarettes destroyed..;
Indonesia - Government to limit cigarette production..;
Indonesia - BAT, Bentoel shareholders approve planned merger..;
Indonesia - another protest rejecting the new cigarette excise tax..;
Indonesia - workers from small cigarette producers protest excise tax increase..;
Indonesia - cigarette industry has pledged to stage a demonstration to protest a government plan to increase excise tax.;
Indonesia - the last paradise for a puff in Southeast Asia..;
Indonesia - trade minister officials want to meet with US counterparts to discuss ban on clove cigarettes..;
Indonesia - PT BAT Indonesia to merge with PT Bentoel International Investama Terbuka..;
Indonesia - missing tobacco regulation in approved Health Law..;
Indonesia - section on tobacco in health bill disappears..;
Indonesia - Constitutional Court by close vote rules that tobacco ads can continue..;
Indonesia - parent smoking can negatively affect the nutrition of children..;
Indonesia - new council member suspect in cigarette fraud case..;
Indonesia - an NGO commission assists cigarettes must be banned in films..
Indonesia - a paradise for tobacco companies..
Indonesia - after buying cigarettes very little left for food..;
Indonesia - will they ratify the first world public health treaty..;
Indonesia - last paradise to smoke in public places in Southeast Asia..;
Indonesia - Industry minister to close tobacco to new foreign investment..;
Indonesia Finance Ministry to cap tax deductions for tobacco companies..;
Indonesia - Smoking hits poor families the hardest, making the poor even poorer..;
Indonesia - Cigarette makers defy crisis, grows stronger..;
Indonesia - government may raise cigarette excise tax next year..;
WHO - Indonesia is crying out for your help..;
Indonesia - dispute with U.S. over banning the use of clove in cigarettes..;
Indonesia 'cash cow' for Philip Morris International..;
Tobacco industry has long targeted young people as "replacement smokers";
Indonesia - district court dismisses request to ratify FCTC..;
Asean Countries - Tobacco Industry Blocking Global Treaty On Tobacco..; Indonesia - farmers hold rally protest tobacco controls..;
Indonesia - tobacco farmers reject Islamic council's edict..;
Indonesia - Ulema Council - debate results is split on smoking..;
Indonesia - Withdraw Sponsorhip of Another Rock Concert..;
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...
Read more...