According to a study by the Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs (KIHSA), Wednesday, March 2nd the smoking rate among female high-school students stood at 10.2 percent in 2009, up from 2.4 percent in 1992. The rate of female middle school students rose to 5.1 percent from 2.8 percent over the same period. Smokers are defined as those lighting up at least once a month. About 7.4 percent of adult women were found to smoke regularly in 2009, up from 5.1 percent in 1992.
“I am pretty positive that more young women smoke in reality than the official statistics indicate because many are reluctant to publically admit they are smokers. Also, an even larger proportion of female students now smoke cigarettes than in 2009,” a KIHSA fellow Suh Mee-kyung said. Suh said female adolescents are easily influenced by outside factors, stressing that if they are encouraged by teachers, parents, friends and anti-smoking campaigners, they are more likely to quit before reaching adulthood.
“The government first needs to introduce a monitoring system to understand how and where young female students learn to smoke cigarettes, in order to draw up an effective anti-smoking policy. Additionally, it should be made much tougher than it currently is for them to purchase cigarettes,” the fellow said. She added a nationwide full-fledged anti-smoking campaign should be launched to increase the awareness among adolescents of the cigarette’s negative effects on their health.
Meanwhile, the study found a strong correlation between female adolescents’ tendency to smoke and parents’ wealth, occupation and education. The lower the socioeconomic background of the parents, the more likely their children will smoke.
Japan - similar news brief - females
Japan - study shows the promotion of menthol cigarettes to women had increased the rate of female smoking even as men smoked less..
Reference: 1 in 10 female high school students smoke cigarettes by Lee Hyo-sik (leehs@koreatimes.co), The Korea Times, 3/2/2011.
South Korea - some related news briefs:
South Korea - appellate court upholds lower court ruling rejecting claims of compensation for smoking lung cancer patients..;
South Korea - more tobacco control measures to be implemented - wants positive results by 2014..;
South Korea - govt serious about getting smokers to quit..;
South Korea - charge enough for cigarettes smokers will quit..;
South Korea - BAT Korea launching Dunhill Nanocut 1 mg, next week..;
South Korean tobacco company KT&G signs deal to sell cigarettes in the Middle East and Russia..;
South Korea - BAT releases Dunhill Orient as a limited edition..;
http://snus-news.blogspot.com/2010/11/south-korea-end-of-next-year-teenagers.html;
South Korea - stop people from smoking go ahead and triple the price of cigarettes..;
South Korea - Smoking Manner Campaign - promoting cigarette butt-free streets..;
South Korea - in 2007, world's 12th largest cigarette exporter..;
South Korea - study finds higher prices most effective method to discourage smoking..;
South Korea - a new Raison line extension..;
next month enforcement of ban on smoking by taxi drivers..;
South Korea - fines collected for dumping cigarette butts are down.. ;
South Korea - BAT launches new cigarette seems similar to Camel Crush..;
South Korea - rate of male smokers probably higher than any other OECD country..;
South Korea - BAT to further invest in Sacheon factory..;
South Korea - a look at KT&G Corporation with 63% of the market..;
South Korea - streets and parks of Seoul City could be designated as non-smoking areas..;
PMI - slide presentation South Korean Cigarette Market..;
South Korea - KT&G forms alliance with Imperial Tobacco Group..;
South Korea - more smokers in 2009 than in 2008..;
South Korea - remote island going smoke-free, car-free and night lights-free..;
South Korea - Stressed-out Koreans smoking more..;
South Korea - to ban smoking in public places from 2011..;
Korea - BAT - winning the hearts and minds of customers based on tactics tailored to local tastes..;
Korea - sets target to reduce smoking 10% in 5-years..;
Korea - stricter regulation of the tobacco industry coming..;
South Korea - tobacco imports surge 396-fold over 10-years..;
Korea - slight increase in men smoking.. ;
South Korea - anti-tobacco campaign - body painting..;
Korea - smoking ban just about everywhere by end of 2009..;
Tobacco marketing in South Korea has been deliberately aimed at girls and young women..;
Korea - smoking rates fall for men and women...
(passive smoking, environmental tobacco smoke, ets, involuntary smoking, sidestream smoking)
Read more...
South Korea - One out of every 10 female high-school students smoke cigarettes habitually..
Menthol Cigarettes - alter the menthol concentration so cigarettes will not be so appealing to young smokers..
March 4, 2011 -
FDA TPSAC - Menthol Draft Report - two draft chapters released..
FDA TPSAC - Draft Report - Menthol May NOT Raise Smoker's Risk..
According to the information provided there is insufficient evidence to show that menthol increases smoke inhalation, exposure to nicotine or disease risk. However, the draft report did say that menthol may mask the harshness of smoking and could be more attractive to young smokers.
As pointed out when following the growth of menthol cigarettes altering the concentration of menthol can help target certain consumers.
Growth of Menthol Cigarettes..
The Growth of Lorillard's
Newport Cigarettes..
The FDA has a few things going for it to slow the black market in mentholated cigarettes:
See - U.S. Menthol Cigarettes - FDA can we expect any marketing change??
Read more...
Venezuela - canceled smoking ban in public places..
March 3, 2011 - CARACAS -- Venezuela’s Ministry of Health has annulled by decree an anti-smoking law which would have prohibited smoking in public places and offices of work a day after it was published. By contrast to the US, Canada, Europe and Asia, Venezuela is one of the few countries that still allowed smoking in a wide variety of public places, restaurants, bars, nightclubs and stadiums.
A day after the anti-smoking law was printed in the Official Gazette, the annulment resolution was published in the Official Gazette. All laws must be published in the government's Official Gazette to be official. The text read: “to declare the absolute annulment of the resolution of environments free of smoke identified by number 014 and the date of February 24.” No motive or explanation was given for the sudden annulment.
Sources at the Ministry of Health have not given out any official or non official statements as to the reasons for annulling a law which, in addition to banning smoking, would have mandated the obligatory posting of signs indicating: “This is an environment 100% free of tobacco smoke by resolution of the Ministry of Popular Power for Health.”
It wasn't until 2005 that the Venezuela government forced the tobacco companies in Venezuela to print highly visible health warnings on the front of all cigarette packs with texts containing explicit evidence about the different hazards caused on the body due to tobacco consumption.
In 2007, the Venezuela Health Minister was forced to resign after causing a public uproar by saying that the country was considering banning tobacco production, comments he later retracted. Health Minister Erick Rodriguez had told a local radio station that "not even producing tobacco nor cigarettes" would be allowed under new regulations the government was contemplating, saying: "Anyone who wants a cigarette should bring it from abroad." May 15, 2007 - Venezuela to End Domestic Tobacco Output, Health Minister Says by Guillermo Parra-Bernal, Bloomberg.com, 5/25/2007)
Venezuela's tobacco industry generates thousands of jobs and is one of the biggest taxpayers in the country. According to some industry surveys, as many as half of Venezuelans smoke.
Tobacco in Venezuela..
Reference: Venezuela Cancels Smoking Ban A day after a smoking ban is promulgated, it is annulled by Mark Friedman, Latin American Herald Tribune, 3/3/2011.
Related news brief:
PAPER: smoking prevalence high in seven Latin American cities..
Read more...
Bulgaria - Bulgartabac 2010 profit 16.5 times larger than it was in 2009..
March 3, 2011 - Bulgaria's state cigarette maker Bulgartabac Holding, which is about to be privatized, completed 2010 with a net profit of BGN 20 M (14.3 M USD)
The company's financial performance was announced in a statement in which its management also said that the profit "confirms the consistent trend of positive financial results."
Bulgartabac's 2010 profit is 16.5 times larger than it was in 2009. The consolidated income from cigarette sales grew 22% year-on-year.
In 2010, 80% of the produce of Bulgartabac Holding was exported, compared with 53% in 2009, and only 31% in 2008.
In addition to its growing exports, the Bulgartabac Holding Group occupies 37% of the Bulgarian domestic tobacco market. 3.5% of Bulgartabac's income for 2010 came from the sales of tobacco leaves.
The Bulgartabac Holding Group features two cigarette plants – Blagoevgrad-BT and Sofia BT – and a tobacco processing plant, Pleven-BT. As a result of the good financial results, in the fourth quarter of 2010, the shares of Bulgartabac Holding gained 54.77% on the Sofia Stock Exchange, Sofia-BT – 66.04%, Blagoevgrad-BT – 30.26%, Pleven-BT – 40.03%.
Bulgartabac's improved financial results have been announced just as the Borisov Cabinet is preparing to privatize the company. About a dozen strategic and financial investors have declared interest in the privatization of Bulgaria's state cigarette producer Bulgartabac Holding, according to Economy Minister Traicho Traikov.
Unofficial information reported in the Bulgarian media says that the bidders seeking to purchase Bulgartabac include companies from Bulgaria, Greece, and South Korea.
Bulgartabac, whose state management has been questionable in the recent years, is being put on the privatization table after its privatization has been mulled for years.
In January, Finance Minister Simeon Djankov reiterated earlier announcements that Bulgaria's government is determined to go ahead with the planned sale of the country's tobacco company, the biggest military plant and the minority stakes in electricity distributors. (Bulgaria - about a dozen investors declared interest in the privatization of Bulgartabac Holding..)
The sale of Bulgartabac Holding AD, Sopot-based Vazovski Mashinostroitelni Zavodi or VMZ, and the minority stakes in the electricity distributors have been said to be a must-do task in 2011 due to the sorry performance of the state-owned companies.
The Economy Ministry revealed in January that the consultant Citibank has made preliminary inquiries with about 100 potential strategic and financial investors from around the world with respect to Bulgartabac's privatization in order to make sure that all "serious" investors that are not aware of the sale of the Bulgarian cigarette company.
According to the Ministry, there is a sufficient number of companies interested in the privatization of Bulgartabac because it is an attractive asset even in a time of crisis.
The Economy Ministry said it wants to find a buyer for Bulgartabac by the summer of 2011.
In spite of declarations in April 2010 that Bulgaria's Privatization Agency hoped to complete the sale of state-owned cigarette monopoly Bulgartabac in 2010, no such deal went through by the end of December 2010.
The consultant for the Bulgartabac sale, Citigroup Global Markets Ltd, was picked by the Bulgarian government in February 2010. (Bulgaria - Citigroup chosen as consultant for sale of Bulgartabac..)
The two less profitable cigarette plants of Bulgartabac holding – in the cities of Plovdiv and Stara Zagora – were sold in 2009 through the Sofia Stock Exchange – for BGN 31 M and BGN 18 M respectively; the holding still owns the two larger and more consolidated factories in Sofia and Blagoevgrad as well as a number of commercial brands.
Reference: Bulgarian Tobacco Giant with BGN 20 M Net Profit before Privatization, Novinite.com (Sofia News Agency), 3/1/2011.
Bulgaria - some related news briefs:
Bulgaria - about a dozen investors declared interest in the privatization of Bulgartabac Holding..;
Bulgaria - according to CEO of Bulgartabac cigarette prices may not change in 2011..;
Bulgaria - advisory board for tobacco will be established..;
Bulgaria - Bulgartabac - sale should be completed by middle of 2011..;
Bulgaria - rightist SDS party - each EU state should set own excise duties..;
Bulgaria - tobacco contraband..;
Bulgaria - cigarette excise revenue down this year..;
Bulgaria - smoking restriction checks begin after January 3, 2011..;
Bulgaria - PMI to introduce their own Marlboro 10-pack cigarettes..;
Bulgaria - health minister will work for implementing full smoking ban in public places..;
Bulgaria - tobacco growers seeking more subsidies..;
Greece/Bulgaria - governments opposed to WHO's attempt to ban blended tobacco..;
Bulgaria - tobacco companies back effort to reduce illicit cigarette trade.;
Bulgaria - Mayor of Town of Kyustendil - non-smokers should pay less for health insurance..;
Bulgaria - smoking ban beginning January 1, 2011 - do they know which smoking ban applies??;
Bulgaria - Director of the Customs Agency announced Bulgaria ranks 1st in Europe in seizure of contraband cigarettes..;
Bulgaria - smoking rate down, knowledge of dangers of tobacco use gaining..;
Bulgaria - another tobacco tax increase in the draft 2011 budget..;
Bulgaria - confusion over which public smoking ban is in force..;
Bulgaria - WHO upset with Bulgaria's weakened smoking ban..;
Bulgaria - weakened smoking ban, just added minors can't be in disco clubs after 10pm..;
Bulgaria - final vote delayed on weakened smoking ban..;
Bulgaria - weakened smoking ban, second reading..;
Bulgaria - commission tightens smoking ban a little..;
Bulgaria - Bulgartabac buyer may be chosen by end of year..;
Bulgaria - prime minister not happy with giving tobacco growers subsidies..;
Bulgaria - to loosen smoking ban to start June 1, 2010..;
Bulgaria - finance minister comments may be good news for tobacco farmers..;
Bulgaria - parliament debates proposal to water down smoking ban..;
Bulgaria - majority of all Bulgarians - 78% are against the smoking ban delay..;
Bulgaria - every increase in excise duty on cigarettes consumption goes down..;
Bulgaria - grace period over, increase in tobacco tax starts Thursday, April 1, 2010..;
Bulgaria - Italian authorities arrest 2-Bulgarians smuggling cigarettes..;
Bulgaria - tractor trailer loaded with contraband cigarettes seized in Ancona, Italy..;
Bulgaria - cigarette consumption down, cigarette tax collection up, seeking funds for technology to intercept contraband goods..;
Bulgaria - justifying why smoking ban won't go into effect on June 1, 2010..;
Bulgaria - Citigroup chosen as consultant for sale of Bulgartabac..;
Bulgaria - ruling party may delay smoking ban until 2011..;
Bulgaria - Finance Minister Djankov, "Less Smoking Is Good for Economy..";
Bulgaria - govt to weaken full smoking ban to be effective June 1, 2010..;
Bulgaria - do producers support contraband cigarettes??;
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 Bulgaria;
Read more...
West Virginia - tobacco tax hike died in committee after some Senators tried to tie it to OPEB and insurance coverage for autistic children...
Directly related news brief:
West Virginia - the worst of the worst - talking about a tax hike on tobacco products..
The Senate Finance Committee voted 9 to 8 against passing a bill to shore up the state's other post-employments benefits program , or OPEB, after committee leaders amended it to include a tax hike for cigarettes and other tobacco products. They also amended it to require insurers to cover the cost of treating children with autism. The amended bill would've set aside $6 million annually in Medicaid funding to help the state-run Public Employee's Insurance Agency come up with the additional money needed to provide coverage.
All three have been hot-button issues during the current legislative session. Monday's (February 28, 2011) single vote might have been the death blow for all three, although lawmakers have until Wednesday to pass bills from one legislative chamber to the other.
Sen. Brooks McCabe, D-Kanawha, was disappointed lawmakers rejected the financing plan for OPEB he had championed but felt it was really the tax increase the other committee members were turning down. “My opinion is it was not a vote against OPEB,” he said. “It was a vote against the funding source.”
The state is currently facing $8 billion in unfunded OPEB (Other Post Employment Benefits) liabilities over the next two to three decades. McCabe has put forward a plan to stabilize that debt over the next five years to give the state Public Employees Insurance Agency (PEIA) Finance Board breathing room to come up with a solution.
A major part of that plan was using the tobacco tax hike to fund annual payments of $50 million to OPEB (Other Post Employment Benefits) over 20 years.
State cigarette taxes would increase from the current 55 cents a pack to $1.55 a pack. All other tobacco taxes would increase from 7 percent of wholesale price to 50 percent.
The money generated by the increase would be used for a host of health-related programs, not just OPEB. Tobacco-prevention programs, in-home services and the West Virginia University School of Public Health would have received additional funds.
Public health advocates also believe that higher taxes will convince more people to quit using tobacco.
As for insurance coverage, West Virginia is among the states that do not mandate that insurance companies cover treatment for autistic children, which can run as much as $30,000 a year, if not more. Insurance companies say passing such a mandate would raise rates for everyone.
There were no clear signs about what the defeat of the bill meant for all three issues. The House of Delegates has already passed its own insurance mandate for autism, but it still must pass the Senate. A similar tobacco tax hike is working its way through House committees but has yet to come to the floor for a vote. And there is nothing like the OPEB bill in the House.
Reference: Tobacco Tax Hike Rejected by W.Va. Senators by Walt Williams, WBOT.com, 2/28/2011.
WVA related news briefs:
West Virginia - the worst of the worst - talking about a tax hike on tobacco products.;
West Virginia (WVa) - Mid-OHIO Valley Health Department a healthy place to be..
U.S. Supreme Court Won't Question West Virginia Tobacco Suits..;
West Virginia another Camel SNUS test market..
Read more...
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