PMI Seeking Alpha q1 2011

April 26, 2011

MI’s cigarette volumes increased
Apr 26, 2011—Philip Morris International’s cigarette shipment volume during the first quarter of 2011, at 207.920 billion, was up by 1.6 per cent on that of the first quarter of last year, though, on an organic basis, which excludes acquisitions, the company’s volume was down by 3.3 per cent. PMI’s cigarette volumes increased ,


Philip Morris International Management Discusses Q1 2011 Results - Earnings Call Transcript



"Some of the people they've hired certainly know a lot about tobacco, (but) the odds that many or any of them have actually been on the inside of a manufacturing facility is probably pretty low," said Ira Loss, an analyst with Washington Analysis who has covered the agency for three decades.

The nation's second-largest cigarette maker, Reynolds American Inc., intends to take the agency up on the request.

"We certainly think it's important the FDA understand the practicalities of tobacco manufacturing," Reynolds spokesman David Howard said.

Altria Group Inc., owner of the nation's top cigarette company, Philip Morris USA, said it plans to respond but wouldn't say whether that meant it would extend an invitation.

Tobacco companies, in essence, will foot the bill through user fees the FDA charges them.

Reference: FDA wants to get schooled in cigarette making, asks tobacco cos for learning tours by Michael Felberbaum, The Associated Press – 3 days ago Read more...

Third Hand Smoke...What it is, and How it Affects you..

April 24, 2011


April 19, 2011

Backgound: Third-Hand Smoke..

Father's Day and Third-Hand Smoke..

Children are especially vulnerable to third-hand smoke.

more-evidence-dangers-of-third-hand.html

George, B.C. - Third hand smoke is something people should be taking seriously--that from a Tobacco Reduction Coordinator with Northern Health. George Wiens, says if you walk into a home or sit in a car and smelled the pungent odour of a distant cigarette, that is third hand smoke. He says with each cigarette, third hand smoke gets into furniture, carpets , clothing, blankets, hair and toys. Wiens says babies and children are most at risk from third hand smoke. He says kids are "on the floors, on the rugs in our home, and young children very tactile. They pick things up and put it in their mouth. Long term those low level exposure dosages will have health effects." Wiens says smokers can reduce the risk by smoking outside and away from children, wearing a designated smoke jacket and washing their hands as soon as your cigarette is done.

REFErence; What it is, and How it Affects you./hqprincegeorge.comv, 4/23/2011




Read more...

Anybody who tests positive for tobacco or nicotine products will not be able to gain employment at Sparrow hospital..

April 24, 2011There are almost as many "no smoking" signs at Sparrow Hospital as there are cigarette butts along its campus. The hospital banned smoking on site years ago, and whether or not people listened, it's taking the next step in its anti-tobacco policy.

"Anybody who tests positive for tobacco or nicotine products will not be able to gain employment at Sparrow," said John Berg, a Sparrow marketing executive.

Lucky for current employees who smoke, that only goes for new hires starting May 1, 2011. Still, those we talked to--smokers or not--didn't like it.

"See that's crazy to me, your freedom of choice...that's why I live in America," said Jacob McPhail, a non-smoking employee.

"I don't think that's fair. I think if they don't want them smoking on campus that's fine but I think what you do on your own time should be up to you," said employee Michael VanDussen, who does smoke.

The sparrow campus has been smoke free since 2007 and the signs are everywhere to prove it. But there's also proof the policy isn't always enforced. We found a pile of cigarette butts swept up just feet from a no-smoking sign outside the building, not to mention, people coming and going for smoke breaks there too.

"I've seen people smoke right next to the non-smoking sign and nobody say anything about it whatsoever," said McPhail.

The new policy won't be quite as easy to get around. Applicants who test positive for nicotine can apply back only after 90 days. It's the latest move, the hospital says, to promote healthy living.

"Whether you're talking about emphysema or lung cancer or COPD and pneumonia, heart disease, congestive heart failure, and heart attack, all of these are effects of a lifetime of smoking," said Berg. "This is is a habit that robs families of loved ones. It cuts people's lives short."

These are things anyone in the health care industry should know first-hand, he added.


RFEERENCE: Smokers Need Not Apply.wilx.com, 2/22/2011
A few related news briefs:
.Detriot, Michigan 3- area hospitals; want a job do not use tobacco..
Franciscan Health System - seeking a job don't use tobacco or don't even hang with people that use tobacco..
Hennepin County, Minnesota - planning no smoking on all county property even inside your own car..;
Get that job in health care just quit smoking or don't start using tobacco..;
Each smoker costs an employer about $3,400 annually in higher health care bills..;
Massachusetts - Anna Jaques Hospital jobs - if nicotine test is positive do not apply..;
Massachusetts Hospital Association - as of January 1, 2011 will no longer hire users of tobacco products..;
Hospital in Georgia will no longer hirer new employees that use tobacco..;
Tennessee - hospital will no longer hire people that use tobacco products.. Read more...

Basically Tobacco Companies will do anything to get you to start moking..

reach lucky-strike_instead of a sweet

April 4, 2011Quit smoking and you can still save your skin..

The tobacco industry’s past role in weight control related to smoking. Semira Gonseth1 Isabelle Jacot-Sadowski1 Pascal A. Diethelm Vincent Barras and Jacques Cornuz, EUOPeAN Journal of PPUblic Helh The tobacco industry’s past role in weight control related to smoking First published online: April 7, 2011 ABSTRACT,

British and American tobacco companies deliberately added powerful appetite-suppressing chemicals to cigarettes to attract people worried about their weight, according to internal industry documents dating from 1949 to 1999. Chemical additives are just one of several strategies successfully used by tobacco companies over the past 50 years to convince people that smoking makes you thin.

Tobacco giants Philip Morris and British American Tobacco added appetite suppressants to cigarettes, according to the documents, released during litigation in the US. Four other major companies tested potential chemicals, including amphetamine and nitrous oxide, better known as laughing gas, but the documents, which are incomplete, do not reveal if such chemicals were ever added and sold to the public.

By the end of the 20th century, smoking was almost exclusively male behaviour, but the number of women smokers dramatically increased in the 1940s and 1950s. Today, one in five British men and women smoke, causing more than 100,000 preventable deaths a year.

A Canadian study of 500 young women, published in Tobacco Control this month, found those looking at female-oriented cigarette packs branded with words such as "slim" and "vogue", were more likely to believe smoking helps people control their appetite – an important predictor of smoking among this group – compared with those viewing plain packaging. Smokers wrongly believe that certain words, such as the names of colours, and long, slim cigarettes mean the brand is less harmful, according to a study, that included 2,000 Britons, published in Addiction.


Deadly in pink: the impact of cigarette packaging among young women
Press Release. Juliana Doxey, David Hammond, Tobacco COntrol First 8 April 2011, ABSTRACT



Since the widespread advertising ban, images such as Kate Moss smoking on the catwalk have become invaluable for the industry.

Last year, Australia became the first country to introduce compulsory plain packaging. Here, the Government committed to considering similar controls on packaging in the Tobacco Control Plan published in March. The public health minister Anne Milton will meet her Australian counterpart in the next few weeks.

Action on Smoking and Health (Ash) is urging the Health Select Committee to force tobacco companies to disclose documents that would shed light on marketing strategies, including product packaging and design, to help MPs make an informed choice about introducing plain packaging.

Deborah Arnott, chief executive of Ash, said: "Now advertising is banned, the industry uses pack design and product descriptors, such as "slims", to promote the message that smoking makes you thin. It must be required to put its products in plain, standardised packaging to prevent it using such "dog whistle" tactics to promote smoking to vulnerable young women."

A Tobacco Manufacturers' Association spokesman said: "We do not believe any plans for plain packaging are based on sound public policy, nor any compelling evidence... Plain packs are likely to lead to further increases in smuggling... and make it easier for counterfeiters to copy."



REFEERENCE: Tobacco firms used diet-aid chemicals Internal documents reveal that appetite suppressants were added to cigarettes as companies pitched their products to women Nina Lakhani, ndependent.co.uK, 4/24/2011. Read more...