October 26, 2007 - Revised State Children's Health Insurance (S-CHIP) Bill - The House passed a revised children's health proposal (H.R. 3963) Thursday (10/25/2007), but not by the two-thirds margin (265-142, 7-votes short). As with the already-vetoed bill, the revised measure would add would $35 billion over five years, financed by a 61-cent increase in the federal excise tax on a pack of cigarettes. This new version of the S-CHIP bill still contains all of the same tax increases on cigarettes, cigars, little cigars, pipe tobacco, smokeless tobacco and RYO tobacco products. Democratic leaders said they made changes to the bill regarding concerns about participation by adults, illegal immigrants and families able to afford health insurance. President Bush is willing to compromise and expand the SCHIP program by $20 billion over five years (the President originally wanted to limit the spending increase to $5 billion). But it was made clear that that the President continues to oppose an increase in cigarette and tobacco taxes to fund the expansion of the SCHIP program. If the new bill does not become law, Representative Diana DeGette (D-Colo.) is quoted by the CQ News Service as stating that another temporary SCHIP extension bill would be passed to continue the program possibly for a year until the fall of 2008. ( Federal Tobacco Tax Hike Possibility Still Lives House passes revised S-CHIP bill; another veto expected, CSP (Convenience Store and Petroleum) Daily News) See related news briefs: October 18, 2007 October 3, 2007 September 27, 2007 September 21, 2007 September 19, 2007 July 28, 2007 July 18, 2007 and July 9, 2007Click on image to enlarge.. Revised State Children's Health Insurance (S-CHIP) Bill
October 26, 2007 - Revised State Children's Health Insurance (S-CHIP) Bill - The House passed a revised children's health proposal (H.R. 3963) Thursday (10/25/2007), but not by the two-thirds margin (265-142, 7-votes short). As with the already-vetoed bill, the revised measure would add would $35 billion over five years, financed by a 61-cent increase in the federal excise tax on a pack of cigarettes. This new version of the S-CHIP bill still contains all of the same tax increases on cigarettes, cigars, little cigars, pipe tobacco, smokeless tobacco and RYO tobacco products. Democratic leaders said they made changes to the bill regarding concerns about participation by adults, illegal immigrants and families able to afford health insurance. President Bush is willing to compromise and expand the SCHIP program by $20 billion over five years (the President originally wanted to limit the spending increase to $5 billion). But it was made clear that that the President continues to oppose an increase in cigarette and tobacco taxes to fund the expansion of the SCHIP program. If the new bill does not become law, Representative Diana DeGette (D-Colo.) is quoted by the CQ News Service as stating that another temporary SCHIP extension bill would be passed to continue the program possibly for a year until the fall of 2008. ( Federal Tobacco Tax Hike Possibility Still Lives House passes revised S-CHIP bill; another veto expected, CSP (Convenience Store and Petroleum) Daily News) See related news briefs: October 18, 2007 October 3, 2007 September 27, 2007 September 21, 2007 September 19, 2007 July 28, 2007 July 18, 2007 and July 9, 2007Click on image to enlarge.. Philip Morris (PM) to close N.C. cigarette plant..
June 26, 2007 - Philip Morris (PM) to close N.C. cigarette plant.. PM USA will close its 2,500-employee cigarette plant in Concord in Cabarrus County, North Carolina in three years, citing a decline in U.S. demand for cigarettes. Most local production will move to the company's Richmond, Va., facility, where many of the Cabarrus County plant's workers would be offered jobs, the company announced on Tuesday, June 26, 2007. The decision to close the 2.4 million-square-foot Concord plant is part of a larger plan by the subsidiary of New York-based Altria Group Inc. to consolidate its facilities and move more cigarette production to Europe, where smoking isn't taking such a large hit as in the United States. The decision will leave the 1.6 million-square-foot Richmond facility as Philip Morris' only U.S. production plant. The Concord shutdown will hit the local economy hard. Philip Morris is Concord's top taxpayer; in 2006, the company paid nearly $5 million in total municipal taxes. Cigarettes can be produced at a lower cost overseas and marketed to customers who are not as concerned about health issues as they are in the United States, where consumption has been on the decline since the 1960s. (by Ken Elkins, Charlotte Business Journal, 6/26/2007) Click on image to enlarge..Reynolds American Inc.'s third-quarter profit rose 16 percent on sales of smokeless tobacco and higher cigarette pricing
October 25, 2007 - Reynolds American Inc.'s third-quarter profit rose 16 percent on sales of smokeless tobacco and higher cigarette pricing. Conwood Co., the smokeless tobacco business the company acquired in May 2006, continued to deliver strong results, as its brand Grizzly, led the way. The Conwood Division had a 0.3 basis-point increase in market share to 25.9 percent, with increased sales of Grizzly offsetting a decrease in sales of Kodiak. To further build on Grizzly's momentum, the company said will continue testing two new styles, Grizzly Pouches and Grizzly Snuff. Reynolds reported its overall market share in cigarettes declined 0.76 basis points to 29 percent. But the market share of its growth brands - Camel, Kool and Pall Mall - rose 0.59 basis points to 13.2 percent. Regarding Camel SNUS: The company said it has seen "significant interest" in Camel Snus, in the expanded test market. Chief Financial Officer Dianne M. Neal said the product is "getting a lot of repeat business," with high interest from cigarette smokers, but added, "this is a new category in the U.S. and the education (behind the product) is very important." See related SNUS results 3rd quarter 2007Rush to Judgement.Click on Image to Enlarge.. Grizzly may have been discounted because of the NEW DEEP DISCOUNT SMOKELESS BRAND BOBCAT IS MAKING WAVES. (TobaccoWatch.org) Anti-tobacco conference details plethora of new products - new ways to ingest nicotine..
October 25, 2007 - Anti-tobacco conference details plethora of new products - new ways to ingest nicotine.. - The National Conference on Tobacco or Health, October 24-26, 2007, Minneapolis, MN. was attended by 3000 anti-tobacco experts. As the tobacco industry attempts to adapt to smoking bans (e.g., trying to convince smokers that you can satisfy your nicotine addiction in places where smoking is banned by using SNUS) it is developing dozens of new ways for the body to absorb nicotine -- from hookahs to snus to lozenges to smokeless nicotine delivery systems. And, in a clear attempt to attract younger users, they come in more flavors than you can find at a Ben & Jerry's ice cream store. For the first time, the National Cancer Institute has developed an experimental fast-track research process (called "rapid mobilization") so scientists and public health officials can keep up with those new products and devise their own public programs to counter them.. They said they do not want a repeat of the public health debacle that occurred with the introduction of low-tar cigarettes. They were marketed as a healthier alternative, but turned out to be just as dangerous as the full-strength variety. (Anti-tobacco conference details plethora of new products, and health researchers' response by Josephine Marcotty, Star Tribune) Swedish Match 2007 - 3rd Quarter Results..
October 25, 2007 - 
3rd Quarter Results - The world's second-largest maker of snuff and chewing tobacco, saidthird- quarter profit declined 22% after Sweden's decision to double taxes on snuff led to a drop in consumption. Regarding Moist Snuff/SNUS: Sweden is the world’s largest snuff market measured by per capita consumption. Swedish Match AB, the world's second-largest maker of snuff and chewing tobacco. The US is the world’s largest snuff market measured in number of cans and is approximately five times larger than the Swedish market. In the US, Swedish Match is well positioned as number three on the market. Some of the best known brands include General, Ettan, and Grov in Sweden, Timber Wolf and Longhorn in the US and Taxi in South Africa. In Scandinavia, shipment volume in cans, during the third quarter were down less than 1 percent compared to the same period previous year. In the US, overall shipment volumes in cans during the third quarter were up by 34% compared to the same period previous year. Volumes for Longhorn and Timber Wolf combined were up by 28 percent. Shipment volumes for the launch of Red Man moist snuff (September 2007)contributed to the overall volume increase. The Red Man launch was supported by extensive marketing efforts. Red Man Premium Moist Snuff - see related news briefs August 8, 2007and July 30, 2007. ( Swedish Match: Interim Report January - September 2007, Business Wire, Yahoo Finance) Rush to Judgement ..
October 24, 2007 - Rush to Judgement - Tobacco companies are prodding public health officials to come forward and support claims about how safe smokeless tobacco products like SNUS. Certain public health professionals have played right into their hands and have even been outspoken on how safe smokeless tobacco is compared to tobacco smoking. The population these public health officials are targeting are inveterate (hard-nosed, long established, deep-rooted) cigarette smokers that refuse to consider trying to quit smoking tobacco. But it would be impossible to limit distribution of smokeless tobacco products only to inveterate tobacco smokers. These SNUS promoters have failed to determine if the inveterate cigarette smokers would be willing to permanently switch to SNUS and eliminate tobacco smoking. Test marketing of SNUS products like Taboka, Skoal Dry, Camel SNUS and even Marlboro SNUS have not been spectacular. Some retailers say consumers have shown little interest in these products. Tobacco companies are not in any hurry to increase distribution - indicating it's going to be a long slow build requiring awareness building and education of potential users. See related New Briefs: October 18, 2007, October 17, 2007. (We are waiting for comments on October 25, 2007, Camel SNUS in the Reynolds American conference call following the release of 3rd quarter 2007 financial results on 10/25/2007.) Some consumers are even rejecting coupons for free cans of Camel SNUS. The placement of a SNUS packet under the upper lip and then sucking on the bag for 30 or so minutes is at best awkward. If you move the packet around in your mouth more saliva will be produced and the urge to spit will increase. SNUS use may just be a cultural thing limited mainly to Sweden and other Scandinavia countries like Norway.(TobaccoWatch.org) 
Dr. Lynn Kozlowski, professor and chair of health behavior in the School of Public Health at the SUNY Buffalo - one of my alma maters, keeps on remind
June 24, 2007 - Dr. Lynn Kozlowski, professor and chair of health behavior in the School of Public Health at the SUNY Buffalo - one of my alma maters, keeps on reminding us that "We should not delay in allowing SNUS to compete with cigarettes for market share. The banning or exaggerated opposition to SNUS in cigarette-rifle environments is not sound public health policy." (5/10/2007) By telling hardline smokers that SNUS is not as harmful as tobacco smoke, we are encouraging them to switch but also enticing youngsters to give it a try. By doing this they are encouraging the youth of America to go ahead and try smokeless tobacco that it's safer than smoking cigarettes. Already the use of smokeless is higher in young people than in adults. These SNUS type products are being promoted to be used anywhere, anytime, anyplace at your convenience and no one will even know. With no federal regulations the tobacco companies are free to market their new smokeless tobacco products in ways that encourage kids to start using tobacco and discourage smokers from quitting tobacco use. Our children are being threatened – if we don’t stop this push to make SNUS readily available - we’ll end up with a generation of nicotine addicts. R.J. Reynolds Tobacco has just announced an expansion of their test marketing of Camel SNUS to 5-additional cities in addition to Austin, TX and Portland, OR (see Newsbrief below - EU Takes Finland to Court Again For NOT Banning the Use of Oral Tobacco ..
October 23, 2007 - EU Takes Finland to Court Again For NOT Banning the Use of Oral Tobacco - Whether Chewing Tobacco or SNUS in the Swedish-speaking Aland (“Ahvenanmaa” in Finnish)Islands. - European regulators said all oral tobacco is dangerous because it contains "particularly large quantities" of cancer-causing chemicals. Only Sweden has an exemption to an EU ban on the smokeless tobacco called snus. In 2004, the Luxembourg-based European Court of Justice upheld a ban on the substance, ruling that the dangers of snus merited its being outlawed. The EU executive said it would ask the EU's highest court to charge Finland a fine of €2,029,536 (US$2,875,040) and impose daily fines of €19,828 (US$28,089) per day if it continues to disobey the ban on oral tobacco. The Aland archipelago,situated in the Baltic Sea between Finland and Sweden, has its own legislation, government and a 30-member Parliament. Finland and Aland also have an agreement that Aland pays its own EU fines. In January 2007 the Aland Islands changed local laws to bow to EU wishes — but the EU said they did not go far enough because they only stopped the snus variety and not other types of oral tobacco, such as chewing tobacco, from entering the market. Finnish media reported from the Aland Islands that following the EU executive's decision, legislators on Tuesday (10/23/2007) began to compile a law to ban all forms of tobacco in the archipelago of 25,000 inhabitants. (International Herald Tribune - Europe) Smokeless tobacco use by boys in Kansas on the rise..
October 23, 2007 - Smokeless tobacco use by boys in Kansas on the rise.. With the push toward smoke-free work sites and public spaces, some people are turning to smokeless tobacco to get their nicotine fix. No one is using smokeless tobacco more in Kansas than high school boys, according to a Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) official. The 2005 Kansas Youth Risk Behavior Survey found 17.4 percent of high school males in the state were using chewing tobacco or snuff. The national average is 13.6 percent among high school boys. Ginger Park, media and policy coordinator for KDHE's tobacco use prevention program indicated that the tobacco industry seems to be expanding its marketing strategy to other locales and targeting younger users with smokeless tobaccos with peach, cherry, apple and citrus flavorings. "They are appealing to kids," she said, adding that tobacco companies deny that allegation." Park also stated that, "Using a can of snuff is the same as 60 cigarettes as far as nicotine goes, and and maybe more addictive because they're getting a quick nicotine fix." (The Wichita Eagle, Kansas.com) Smokeless Tobacco Causes: BAD BREATH, YELLOWISH BROWN TEETH, MOUTH SORES, HAIRY TONGUE- see Image, CRACKED AND BLEEDING LIPS,LOSS OF TEETH, SHRINKING GUMS, HAIRY TONGUE. (kstask.org) Kansas City, MO is one of the additional test marketing sites for Camel SNUS. (TobaccoWatch.org) 
March 23, 2007 - The Society of Women's Health Research has issued a blistering attack on R.J. Reynolds accusing the tobacco company of marketing its new cigarette Camel No. 9 in such a way to encourage a new generation of young women to take up smoking (ConsumerAffairs.com). Click on image to the left for a larger display. This Camel No. 9 display was in your typical convenience store (3/24/2007)where the counter area is controlled by a big tobacco company like Reynolds or Philip Morris. There were actually 3-large Camel No. 9 displays within a couple feet of each other. Click for more convenience store images..
March 21, 2007 - North Carolina, the state that produces more tobacco than any other, is considering a ban on smoking in public places. Hearings are set to begin as early as next week on legislation that would allow all workplaces, including restaurants and most bars to be smokefree. Steve Kottak, a spokesman for Winston-Salem based Reynolds American, with investment cigarette brands like Camel, Kool and Pall Mall indicated the company supportsd the Bill. Even tobacco farmers that have learned first hand about the damaging effects of smoking might support the smoking ban ( Statewide smoking ban gains support, David Ingram, The News & Observer, Raleigh). Look for tobacco companies like Reynolds American to soon start aggressively marketing their smokeless tobacco product, Camel SNUS as an alternative tobacco product.
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