A fine or a crack on the head – the choice is yours
Canada, Thursday, June 7, 2007—Retailers in Nova Scotia have complained that it will be impossible for them to comply with regulations requiring that they remove displays of tobacco products from their stores, according to a Canadian Press report.
Nova Scotia, which is copying a similar ban in Prince Edward Island, has warned retailers that it will fine them $1,000 if they do not remove the displays and eliminate tobacco advertisements from their stores.
"A lot of people are not going to be going along with this because the government has not dealt in good faith," Sid Chedrawe, of the Independent Food Stores Association, was quoted as saying. Chedrawe added that rules requiring cigarettes to be stored below the counter would require clerks to bend down to retrieve packs, leaving them vulnerable to attackers.

Under the counter initiative
New Zealand, Thursday, June 7, 2007—The Cancer Society and ASH want tobacco products in New Zealand to be kept out of sight in all retail outlets where they are sold, according to a report in the Gisborne Herald.
The Cancer Society's new health promotion officer, Mary Mazengarb, says her first priority is to distribute petitions that call for cigarettes to be sold from under the counter. "We want cigarette displays off the walls at check-outs and placed under the counter," she said.
"Recent research shows 66 per cent of adult New Zealanders support a total ban on the visual display of cigarettes, and support is even higher among non-smokers.”

Advertising ban to be enforced
Philippines, Thursday, June 7, 2007—Almost all tobacco advertising currently on display in the Philippines will have to be removed by July 1 under a law passed in 2003 but so far not enforced, according to the Philippine Information Agency.
Only in-store advertisements will be permitted after that date.

Loews buying into natural gas
US, Thursday, June 7, 2007—Loews Corp has announced that it has agreed to buy natural gas exploration and production assets from Dominion Resources for $4.025 billion in cash, Citigroup reported on Monday.
The company expects to complete the purchase during the third quarter of this year, from when it will operate the business as a separate subsidiary of the Loews Corp, which also owns Lorillard.

PM signals intentions in Bulgaria
Bulgaria, Thursday, June 7, 2007—Philip Morris is determined to play the leading role on the Bulgarian market, according to a Novinite report quoting the field manager for the country, Andrei Vasilescu.
Vasilescu talked to the press on Wednesday after signing a memorandum of co-operation with the Bulgarian Customs Agency. The memorandum provides for joint action in the fight against the illegal trade in tobacco products, including the exchange of information.
Vasilescu was quoted as saying that PM had “serious long-term plans” for the Bulgarian market, but he ruled out involvement in the privatization of Bulgartabac.

Suit cites 'cynical' marketing
US, Thursday, June 7, 2007—A Miami attorney is seeking $1 billion in damages on behalf of a woman whose mother and grandmother both died of what are alleged to be smoking-related health problems, according to a report by Forrest Norman for the Daily Business Review.
The Miami-Dade Circuit Court suit, which stems from the Engle class action litigation filed in the 1990s, alleges that cigarette manufacturers engaged in cynical and exploitative marketing that targeted black communities.

Local measures sought
EU, Thursday, June 7, 2007—The EU Health Council believes that certain anti-tobacco measures would be best applied at local or regional levels, rather than across the European Community, even if these initiatives were funded by EU contributions.
The Council held an exchange of views at the end of May as a contribution to the consultation launched by the Commission’s Green Paper on the policy options at EU level for tackling involuntary exposure to environmental tobacco smoke.
According to provisional minutes of the meeting, the debate focused on identifying effective and appropriate measures and the level (national or EU) at which they should they be taken.

Sun-cured project gets OK
China, Thursday, June 7, 2007—A sun-cured tobacco production project run jointly in China’s Shandong and Guangdong provinces is said to have passed a technical appraisal by a group of experts appointed by the State Tobacco Monopoly Administration, according to a Tobacco China Online report.
The project was developed by the Qingzhou Tobacco Research Institute of the China National Tobacco Corp in the Shandong Province, and the Nanxiong Tobacco Research Institute in the Guangdong Province.

Smokeless tobacco sales increase
US, Wednesday, June 6, 2007—In announcing the launch of a new line of moist smokeless tobacco (MST), US Smokeless Tobacco Co (USST) said yesterday that the MST category was growing by more than six per cent annually, making it one of the fastest growing consumer packaged goods categories at retail.
USST announced that it was going to introduce an all new line of premium MST products designed to make its core brand, Copenhagen, ‘more approachable for adult smokers’. Cope will be available in retail outlets from September 17 in three long-cut varieties: Smooth Hickory, Whiskey Blend Flavor and Straight.
"Our research has shown that one of the most significant contributing factors to the extraordinary growth of the MST category has been adult smokers making the switch to smokeless tobacco, primarily Skoal," said Thano Chaltas, vice-president, marketing. "With the new premium Cope line of products, our core Copenhagen brand will now be able to play a larger role in adult smoker conversion and will help to sustain MST category growth going forward."

Counterfeit cigarette seizures soar
EU, Wednesday, June 6, 2007—The EU is concerned about the level of counterfeit cigarettes entering its territory, partly because these products are draining money from state and community budgets, but also because it believes they are more harmful than are cigarettes manufactured by the regulated sector.
According to figures recently published by the EU Commission, last year EU customs officials intercepted more than 156 million packs of counterfeit cigarettes, 380 per cent more than it seized during 2005. About 92 per cent of the cigarettes seized last year had come from China.
Cigarettes accounted for more than 60 per cent of all of the counterfeit products intercepted last year, but for only one per cent of the number of intercepts.
In the conclusion to its report on counterfeit products, the EU Commission said, 'In addition to the health effect – fake cigarettes are even more dangerous to smokers – the introduction on to the EU market of large quantities of such goods represents a significant impact on the national EU budgets. It is conservatively estimated that the cigarettes seized during the course of 2006 represent potential losses in customs duties and taxes for the European Community and member states' budgets of more than €460 million.’
In all, officials intercepted almost 36,500 consignments of counterfeit goods involving about 250 million items, up from about 26,000 intercepts of 75 million items the previous year. At least part of this growth can be put down to increased efforts on the part of the authorities, in particular Operation DAN, which in September 2006 netted 92 containers of goods including fake toys, sunglasses, shoes and car parts.
There were big increases in cases involving medicines and personal care products, and in the traditional counterfeit sectors of clothing and luxury goods. The only sectors to show decreases involved food and computer equipment.
Seizures were said to have increased in most member states, and in Germany they went from 15.5 million articles in 2005 to 140.0 million last year.
China accounted for about 33 per cent of the intercepts but 86 per cent of the seized articles. But China is in third place behind India and the United Arab Emirates when it comes to sources of counterfeit medicines intercepted by authorities in the EU.
The EU Commission reports that in addition to a limited number of intercepts involving 'huge' quantities of seized goods, there has been a significant increase in cases involving fewer articles. More goods had been detected in postal and air traffic, possibly due to booming internet sales. In fact, 80 per cent of the intercepts involved postal and air consignments.

China delegation seeks cigar ties with Cuba
Cuba, Wednesday, June 6, 2007—A tobacco-industry delegation from China’s Sichuan province visited Cuba last month looking for opportunities to co-operate in leaf tobacco production, cigar manufacture and tobacco trade, according to a Tobacco China Online report quoting local sources.
The representatives from the Sichuan-Chongqing Regional China Tobacco Industry Corp (SCRCTIC), the operator of the province’s tobacco manufacturing sector, took with them samples of the Great Wall cigar brand.
The SCRCTIC, which is the largest cigar manufacturer in China, believes that the Cuba visit, the first of its kind, was an important step on the road to its developing international markets.

Kentucky among states receiving disputed tobacco settlement money
Frankfort, Kentucky, USA, Tuesday, June 6, 2007 – The state of Kentucky received a supplemental payment of $833,000 Monday tobacco Master Settlement Agreement (MSA), according to a report released by Commonwealth News Service.

This payment is the state's share of the $47.3 million in distributions made now, following the distributions of the annual payment of $6.02 billion that was made in April to the 52 states and territories that are part of the MSA.

The bulk of the distribution came from R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company and Lorillard Tobacco Company. These companies have placed funds into a disputed payments account because of a dispute over the application of the "Non-Participating Manufacturer Adjustment" to the annual payments based on sales years 2003 and 2004.

The companies released the funds because PricewaterhouseCoopers, the independent auditor to the MSA, has reduced the maximum potential amounts of these "Non-Participating Manufacturer Adjustments." There was no similar release of funds from Philip Morris because, unlike R.J. Reynolds and Lorillard, it has not placed funds into the disputed payments account.

Today's distribution also includes late payments, primarily from the General Tobacco Company of Miami, and a smaller amount from the estate of a tobacco company that is being liquidated after filing for bankruptcy.

The MSA requires all the tobacco companies that are signatories to the agreement to make annual payments to the states in perpetuity. The payments are based on each company's market share and were valued at $206 billion over the first 25 years of the agreement.

In addition, the companies that participate in the agreement have agreed to abide by an extensive set of restrictions on their advertising, marketing and promotion of cigarettes, especially to youth.

Thus far, the states have received more than $53.7 billion in payments under the settlement. The Kentucky Office of the Attorney General has been directly involved in the litigation and negotiations resulting in these and other MSA payments.

CNMV takes laid-back approach to battle for Altadis

UK, Tuesday, June 5, 2007 - Despite the fact that no official bid has been launched as yet, UK tobacco group Imperial Tobacco and private equity firm CVC are vying for control of Franco-Spanish tobacco group Altadis, according to a report in The Financial Times.

The most recent approach, made by CVC and fellow buy-out firm PVC, values Altadis at 50 euros per share, a significant increase on Imperial's initial offer of 45 euros per share, made on March 15. Imperial is now studying the possibility of launching a bid worth between 50 and 51 euros per share, and is expected to do so in coming days.

The CNMV, Spain's stock market commission, appears to be taking a relaxed approach to the bidding process, especially compared to its actions during the recent battle for control of electricity supplier Endesa. The regulator has not requested further information from either Imperial or CVC and only suspended trading in Altadis shares at the time of the first offers from each bidder.

Meanwhile, Altadis yesterday announced that PVC had informed the CNMV of its withdrawal from the process. PAI has indicated that its decision was due to 'internal circumstances,' rather than differences with CVC.

New factory planned
South Korea, Tuesday June 5, 2007—A delegation from Koogang Products (KP), of South Korea, recently visited Shanghai Tobacco Machinery to hold talks on the purchase of equipment for a new factory.
KP, which has a joint venture with the Kunming Cigarette Factory to produce the If brand of cigarettes, is said to be planning to establish its own cigarette factory this year.

Winging it
UK, Tuesday June 5, 2007—Rooks that have been spotted extending their wings over discarded but still-smoking cigarettes are possibly using the smoke to fumigate their feathers, according to an Electronic Telegraph report.
Richard Archer, of the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, in Exeter, UK, where this behavior has been noticed, said it was the first time he had heard of the phenomenon. But he added that the birds might have learned that the smoke could be used to kill parasites. "You have to be careful attributing behavior, but it would seem fumigation is the most likely conclusion,” he was quoted as saying. “Rooks are very intelligent."

Radiation warning
Greece, Tuesday June 5, 2007—The radiation dose from radium and polonium found naturally in tobacco leaves could be a thousand times greater than that from the caesium-137 absorbed by tobacco following the Chernobyl nuclear accident, according to a Tobacco China Online report quoting ANI (Asian News International).
Constantin Papastefanou, of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, is said to have measured radioactivity in tobacco leaves from across Greece and calculated that a smoker consuming 30 cigarettes a day would, on average, receive a radiation dose of 251 microsieverts a year from naturally occurring radionuclides but only 0.199 microsieverts due to the contamination caused by the Chernobyl fallout.
According to Papastefanou, though the radiation dose from smoking is only 10 per cent of the average dose anyone would receive from all natural sources, it represents an increased risk.
"Many scientists believe that cancer deaths among smokers are due to the radioactive content of tobacco leaves and not to nicotine and tar," said Papastefanou.

When an addiction is not an addiction
UK, Tuesday June 5, 2007—A proposal by a regional Primary Care Trust to deny smokers treatment unless they quit seems set to raise questions about the National Health Service’s (NHS) definition of addiction.
According to an Electronic Telegraph report, the Leicester City West Primary Care Trust has proposed that smokers should be denied routine operations on the NHS unless they quit smoking a month before surgery. ‘Research’ is said to have shown that smokers take longer to recover from surgery than do non-smokers and that they are more prone to hospital-acquired infections.
But this raises a question about whether smokers can be expected to quit – especially at a time of increased anxiety – when they are, according to most observers, ‘addicted’ to tobacco.
If the proposal were to be adopted, however, it would give a boost to UK sales of quit-smoking aids, the value of which is said to be set to pass the £100 million mark this year.
Meanwhile, annual world-wide, sales of these and similar products are expected to increase to $2.3 billion by 2010, boosted by the advent of new blockbuster drugs and greater reimbursement levels for the treatment of nicotine, alcohol and drug addictions, according to a PR Newswire report quoting a study by Kalorama Information.

BAT experts visit leaf production areas
China, Tuesday June 5, 2007—A team of experts from British American Tobacco recently inspected high-quality leaf tobacco production areas in the Ningnan and Dechang counties of the Liangshan prefecture, Sichuan province, according to a Tobacco China Online report quoting local sources.
The team, which was accompanied by officials of the Production Technology Department of Liangshan Prefecture’s Tobacco Monopoly Administration, visited three key villages in Ningnan and Dechang, to learn about local growing and field management techniques. Members of the team were said to have quizzed local officials and growers about the transplantation of tobacco seedlings, the application of fertilizer, the prevention and control of pests and plant diseases, responses to drought and flooding, and preparations for the curing of this season’s crops.
In one of the villages, the experts inspected a comparative test that was being carried out on different tobacco varieties.

Altria announces quarterly dividend
US, Tuesday June 5, 2007—The board of directors of the Altria Group has declared a regular quarterly dividend of $0.69 per common share payable on July 10 to stockholders of record on June 15. The ex-dividend date is June 13.
The new dividend rate reflects an adjustment for the Kraft spin-off, which was completed on March 30.

Enduring crisis hurts cigarette sales
Zimbabwe, Monday, June 4, 2007—As disposable incomes continue to deteriorate, demand for consumer goods, including cigarettes, has plummeted in Zimbabwe. British American Tobacco Zimbabwe Holdings’ 2006 sales volumes were 24 percent below those of 2005.
            Citing the country’s unstable economic environment and the need to preserve cash, the country’s board declared no dividend.
         Company chairman Kennedy Mandevhani said the group would continue to review operations with the objective of increasing efficiencies and enhancing shareholder value. 

Fewer smokers in Thailand
Thailand, Monday, June 4, 2007—The number of Thai smokers has fallen by nearly 40 percent in the past 20 years as a result of strict enforcement of anti-smoking laws and effective awareness campaigns, Public Health Ministry deputy permanent secretary Manit Theeratantikanont said on May 28.  
            There are now 9.54 million people aged 15 years or older who smoke daily, compared with 11.7 million smokers in 1987.

New restrictions on tobacco ads
Pakistan, Monday, June 4, 2007—Pakistan’s federal Health Ministry has tightened restrictions on tobacco advertisements and announced that it would pursue legislation banning them completely. Annually, tobacco companies spend an estimated PKR55 million ($907,584) on advertising in Pakistan. There are about 25 million smokers in the country.
            Under the new restrictions, which go into force immediately, the print media may not carry tobacco ads larger than one square inch, and advertisements outside shops will be banned after a deadline. Furthermore, tobacco advertisements may be aired on the electronic media only between 3 am and 4 am.
            Tobacco companies said that they had voluntarily pulled out of most advertising routes already.

Republic Technologies acquires OCB-Vertriebs
France, May 31, 2007—Republic Technologies International has acquired OCB-Vertriebs-GmbH, a leading distributor of RYO/MYO products in Heinsberg, Germany.
            Leonard Hahnen, former sole owner and president of OCB-Vertriebs-GmbH has retired. Management of OCB will be taken over by Eike Haug, managing director of Altesse, Austria, which is also part of the Republic Group. Heinz Heuser has been appointed sales and marketing director.
            “Under Mr. Hahnen’s management, OCB-Vertriebs-GmbH became one of the leading suppliers of rolling papers, cigarette tubes and other smoking accessories on the German market, and we are very grateful to him for that” said Philippe Parcevaux, president of Republic Technologies International.
            The company headquarters will remain in Heinsberg and all staff has been retained. 

JTI-MacDonald accused of fraud
Canada, Thursday, May 31, 2007—Japan Tobacco Inc.'s Canadian unit was ordered by an Ontario judge to stand trial on charges it defrauded the Canadian government out of about C$1 billion ($931 million) in the 1990s by shipping cigarettes to the U.S. to avoid paying taxes, reports Bloomberg.
            JTI-MacDonald is accused of shipping Canadian-made Export A, Vantage and other cigarette brands to the U.S., knowing the tax-free exports would be smuggled back into Canada for sale on the black market. The company has denied any wrongdoing.
            The case stems from tobacco sales in Canada between 1981 and 1993, when prices tripled as provincial and federal governments boosted taxes in an effort to curb tobacco use. The average price of a carton of 200 cigarettes rose from C$15 to C$45 in 12 years, according to a study done by Physicians for a Smoke-free Canada.
            The rising prices fueled a black market in Canada, with the sale of contraband cigarettes imported from the U.S. and elsewhere rising from almost zero in 1985 to 14.5 billion in 1993. The taxes were reduced the following year to curtail the smuggling.

Mild Seven family expands
Japan, May 31, 2007—Japan Tobacco Inc. will be launching a new brand, Mild Seven Aqua Menthol Super Lights Box, in Japan next month. This year marks the 30th anniversary of Mild Seven, and in celebration of this occasion, JT has announced that it would enhance the brand equity of Mild Seven, focusing on quality, value and strengthening sales.
            Mild Seven products accounted for three of the five leading tobacco products by sales volume in Japan during the last fiscal year. The brand’s total market is 31.6 percent. With the addition of Mild Seven Aqua Menthol Super Lights Box, the Mild Seven brand family will consist of 19 different products.

CPM acquires U.K.-based Wolverine Proctor & Schwartz International, Wednesday, May 30, 2007—CPM, an equipment provider for particle size reduction and pelleting, has acquired U.K.-based Wolverine Proctor & Schwartz Ltd of Glasgow, Scotland. The company will be combined with CPM’s U.S.-based Wolverine Proctor, which was acquired in July of 2006.
            “This acquisition concludes the reunification of the U.K.- and U.S.-based operations of Wolverine Proctor to achieve new levels of global market coverage,” said Ted Waitman, CPM president. “This is a proud day for all CPM employees to work together to deliver unprecedented value and innovation to our customers.”
            Now operating again as one company, Wolverine Proctor will be a leader in equipment for high-value thermal process applications including baking, drying, roasting, toasting, flaking and shredding for the food, chemical, tobacco and textile industries. The company will have global sales and product support coverage. In addition, all business functions will be further integrated.

Reynolds American to end joint venture
USA, Wednesday, May 30, 2007 - Reynolds American Inc., the nation's second-largest tobacco company, will end a joint venture between its subsidiary R.J. Reynolds Tobacco CV and Gallaher Group PLC, according to a regulatory filing on Monday that was reported by the Associated Press.
In a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Reynolds said Japan Tobacco Inc. acquired Gallaher in April and notified Reynolds it has elected to terminate the venture, formed in 2002 to market American-brand cigarettes in Italy, France and Spain.
The termination date has been set at Nov. 30.
After the venture ends, the value of all of the trademarks each joint venture member has licensed to the joint venture will be tallied. The company with trademarks with a greater value will be required to pay the other party an amount equal to one-half of the difference between the value of the parties' respective trademarks.
Shares fell 69 cents to $66.02 in morning trading.

Study - cut nicotine in cigarettes
Washington D.C., Wednesday, May 30, 2007 — The Food and Drug Administration should regulate tobacco and develop a plan to reduce nicotine levels in cigarettes, the Institute of Medicine urged Thursday. The statement was reported in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, among many other news sources.
Its report calls on Congress and the president to give FDA the authority to enforce standards for nicotine reduction and to regulate companies' claims that their products reduce exposure or risk.
"We propose aggressive steps to end the tobacco problem — that is, to reduce tobacco use so substantially that it is no longer a significant public health problem. This report offers a blueprint for putting the nation on a course for achieving that goal over the next two decades," said Richard J. Bonnie, director of the Institute of Law, Psychiatry and Public Policy at the University of Virginia School of Law. Bonnie was chairman of the committee that prepared the report.
"Unfortunately, cigarettes are one of the most dangerous consumer products ever marketed," Bonnie said at a briefing.
The report notes that cigarettes are unique in that they contain carcinogens and other dangerous toxins and would be banned under federal law if these statutes did not expressly exempt tobacco.
A bill currently before Congress would give FDA authority to regulate tobacco, but the head of the agency has expressed skepticism.
Dr. Andrew von Eschenbach said that if the FDA reduced nicotine levels in cigarettes, people would change their smoking habits to maintain current levels of the addictive drug.
"We could find ourselves in the conundrum of having made a decision about nicotine only to have made the public health radically worse. And that is not the position FDA is in; we approve products that enhance health, not destroy it," von Eschenbach said in an AP interview in March.
Cigarette maker Philip Morris USA has been supporting the legislation that would give FDA power to regulate the industry.
"FDA regulation creates a uniform set of federal standards for the manufacture and marketing of all tobacco products," Michael E. Szymanczyk, chairman and chief executive officer of Philip Morris USA, said earlier this year.
In addition to requiring a cut in nicotine the institute — a branch of the National Academy of Sciences — called for higher taxes on tobacco, nationwide indoor smoking bans and other steps to reduce smoking.
The National Academy of Sciences is an independent organization chartered by Congress to advise the government on scientific matters. The report was sponsored by the American Legacy Foundation, the anti-smoking organization established in 1999 as part of the settlement between state attorneys general and the tobacco industry.
 Other recommendations of the report include dedicating $15 to $20 per capita annually of the proceeds from higher taxes or other resources to fund tobacco control efforts in each state; requiring all health insurance plans to provide smoking cessation program benefits; licensing retail outlets that sell tobacco products; launching additional efforts aimed at curbing youth interest in smoking and access to tobacco, including bans on online sales of tobacco products and direct-to-consumer shipments; limiting tobacco advertising and promotional displays to text-only, black-and-white formats; and requiring new, large pictorial warnings on the harmful effects of smoking — similar to those required in Canada — on all cigarette packs and cartons.

Universal swings to fourth-quarter profit as charges decline
Richmond, Va., Wednesday, May 31, 2007 - Universal Corp., a leaf tobacco distributor, said Monday it swung to a profit in its fiscal fourth quarter ended March 31, as the company recorded lower charges, according to Canadian Business Online.
Net income was $19.5 million, or 59 cents per share, compared with a loss of $24.7 million, or 96 cents per share, in the year-ago period.
The company's decision to end involvement in African flue-cured growing projects resulted a $15.1 million charge in the latest quarter. The fourth quarter of fiscal 2006 included $33.6 million in restructuring costs from the distributor's Zimbabwe and U.S. operations.
Revenue rose 24 percent, to $504.5 million from $407.6 million.
For the company's fiscal year, revenue rose to $2.01 billion from $1.78 billion, and net income more than quadrupled to $44.4 million, or $1.13 per share, from $7.9 million, or 31 cents per share.
Shares of Universal rose one cent to $66.60. Earlier, shares traded at a 52-week high of $67.03, topping a prior peak of $66.77.

Rothmans maintains profit in 'challenging' year as contraband rises
Toronto, Canada, Wednesday, May 30, 2007 - Rothmans Inc. continues to churn out steady profits and shareholder dividends while cigarette sales volumes decline and illegal competition rises, according to a report in The Canadian Press online.
Canada's only publicly traded tobacco company said Friday that it earned $99.8 million or $1.46 per diluted share in its "challenging" financial year that ended March 31, compared with the prior year's $99.5 million, $1.45 per share.
Rothmans, which owns 60 per cent of Rothmans, Benson & Hedges, Inc. with the other 40 per cent held by the U.S.-based Altria Group, said the subsidiary's net sales for the year rose 1.9 per cent to $618.6 million from $607.2 million.
RBH shipped 10.7 billion cigarettes into the domestic market during the year, down 4.4 per cent, as higher sales of so-called price category cigarettes were more than offset by declines in higher-priced brands and rolling tobacco.
Fourth-quarter earnings rose 10 percent to $18 million, or 26 cents per share, compared with $16.4 million or 23 cents per share in the January-March period of last year. RBH sales net of duty and taxes were up 3.2 per cent to $136.8 million from $132.6 million.
"Rising levels of contraband product, further regulation and increasing competition in the price cigarette category were all issues we had to face," Barnett told an investor conference call.

Water pipes just as bad
International, Wednesday, May 30, 2007—Water-pipe smoking may pose the same health risks as cigarettes, the World Health Organization said in an advisory note published on May 29. The UN health agency says more scientific research is needed into the link between hookah use and a number of smoking-related diseases.
            “Using a water pipe to smoke tobacco is not a safe alternative to cigarette smoking,” note says. “Contrary to ancient lore and poplar believe, the smoke that emerges from a water pipe contains numerous toxicants known to cause lung cancer, heart disease and other diseases.”
            Traditionally used in North Africa, the Middles East and Central and South Asia, the hookah has become increasingly popular in nontraditional markets such as the United States, Europe and Brazil.

EU goes “fire-safe”
Europe, Wednesday, May 30, 2007—The European Commission will ban traditional cigarettes by 2009-2010, and require smokers to buy “fire-safe” cigarettes that need constant drags to keep them alight, reports The Observer.
            An estimated 2,000 people across Europe are killed every year in house fires caused by cigarettes, and a further 7,500 injured. The Committee’s general safety product committee is expected to ask CEN, the body that regulates the quality of all consumer products sold in Europe, to devise an EU-wide standard for “fire-safer” cigarettes.
            The Commission has rejected claims from the tobacco industry that the new cigarettes will have little impact on fire-related injuries and that they will prove more toxic to smokers.
            Canada and several U.S. states already require “fire-safe” cigarettes, and Australia is considering passing a similar law.

10-packs banned
Ireland, Wednesday, May 30, 2007—Smokers will not be able to buy packs of 10 cigarettes in Ireland after Thursday, according to a report on Irishhealh.com.
            The Department of Health believes such packs attract underage smokers. Retailers violating the ban face fines of up to €3,000 or imprisonment for up to three months.

Hotline gives advice on suing smoking ban violators
Israel, Tuesday, May 29, 2007 - A special hot line will be open for two weeks starting Monday, manned by law students advising callers on how to file lawsuits against establishments that do not enforce no-smoking laws, according to an article in the Jerusalem Post.
The service will mark World No Smoking Day, which will be observed here and abroad on Thursday. Approximately 1,500 nonsmokers die in Israel from passive smoking each year.
On Tuesday, Health Minister Ya'acov Ben-Yizri will appear before a conference on smoking prevention and reduction at Kfar Hamaccabiah in Ramat Gan.
The hot line, organized by the Israel Cancer Association and the Academic Law College in Ramat Gan, will operate from 4 to 8 p.m., at (03) 612-9848.
Several people who have dined at restaurants and cafes that did not prevent smoking in no-smoking areas have won lawsuits and received damages of as much as NIS 2,000 from owners. Passive (sidestream) smoking has been proven to increase the risk of lung cancer, heart disease and asthma.
The law students will help callers present complaints against eating places and other establishments in small claims court. They received special training from attorney Amos Hausner, a leading anti-tobacco activist who heads the Israel Council for the Prevention of Smoking.
Seventy-five percent of adults do not smoke. According to the law, all public places must be smoke free, with the exception of restricted areas that are completed closed and ventilated, and which are not used by nonsmokers.
The Israel Cancer Association and the Academic Law College said they hoped hundreds of lawsuits would be filed against the owners of establishments that violate the law. No-smoking laws are supposed to be enforced by local authority inspectors, but in many cases, there is no one to whom to complain.

China ignites tobacco wars with smoke-free Olympic Games
Bejing, China, Tuesday, May 29, 2007 - Dozens of security guards wielding metal pipes made history this month when they spilt the first blood in the tobacco wars over the Beijing Olympic Games, according to Yahoo! News.
State media reported that on May 1 dozens of security guards beat up workers taking a cigarette break during construction work on the National Stadium, centerpiece of next year's Olympic Games.
Olympic organizers are planning a smoke-free Games next year and legislation imposing strict curbs on tobacco use at Olympic sites will be announced on Thursday, to coincide with World No Tobacco Day.
The new regulations to be announced Thursday will include bans in all of the 37 Olympic competition sites and dozens of other training sites during the August 8-24 Games next year.
The ban will spread to other areas including the Olympic village, designated Olympic hotels, restaurants, and entertainment areas.

Court rules in favor of would-be manufacturer
South Korea, Tuesday, May 29, 2007—The Seoul Administration Court has ruled in favor of a local company that was barred from setting up its own tobacco manufacturing plant because it had less capital than required by the government for that purpose, according to a Yonhap News Agency report.
The court said it was unfair for the government to allow only companies with capital of more than WON30 billion to run tobacco manufacturing plants.

Tobacco exports increase strongly
India, Tuesday, May 29, 2007—India’s tobacco exports during 2006-07, at 179.899 million kg, were up by 7.8 per cent on those of the previous year, 166.869 million kg, according to a Business Standard report. At the same time, the value of these exports increased by 21.0 per cent from Rs141.347 billion to Rs171.320 billion.
Tobacco Board chairman, J. Suresh Babu, was quoted as saying that exports comprised 152.779 million kg of leaf tobacco worth Rs124.311 billion and 27.120 million kg of tobacco products worth Rs47.009 billion. Flue-cured exports, at 121.073 million kg worth Rs106.794 billion, were increased by 10 per cent in quantity and by 24 per cent in value.

Tekel privatization scheduled for after elections
Turkey, Tuesday, May 29, 2007—Turkey plans to privatize Tekel after general elections in July, according to a Reuters report quoting remarks made by the Turkish Finance Minister, Kemal Unakitan, during an interview yesterday in Malaysia.

Parliament smoking over tobacco issue
EU, Tuesday, May 29, 2007—The European Parliament plans to introduce anti-smoking laws that go beyond those in force in many EU states, according to a Deutsche Presse-Agentur report quoting a German member of the legislature.
Karl-Heinz Florenz, described as a public health expert, was said to have told Bild am Sonntag that national regulations were inadequate. “We intend to do something to protect the health of the citizens of Europe," he said.

Moving closer to a public smoking ban
Germany, Tuesday, May 29, 2007—Germany’s Bundestag has approved a bill banning smoking in government buildings and on public transport that is likely to take effect on September 1, according to a Deutsche Welle report.
The bill, which still needs the approval of the country’s upper house of parliament, would ban smoking in all federal administration buildings, except in designated smoking areas. It would ban smoking in taxis and stations, and on trains. And it would also raise the legal age limit for buying tobacco from 16 years to 18.

Moving closer to a public smoking ban
Russia, Tuesday, May 29, 2007—Russia's State Duma has passed a bill that would impose wide-ranging restrictions on smoking in public places, according to an Associated Press report.
The bill would all but ban smoking in workplaces, on airplanes, trains and municipal transport, and in schools, hospitals and government buildings, though some provision has been made for the setting up of designated smoking areas.
The bill would also require restaurants and cafes to set up no-smoking areas.

Non-smoking week launched
Vietnam, Tuesday, May 29, 2007—Vietnam has launched a National Non-Smoking Week, according to a Vietnam Net report.
The Ministry of Health, the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union Central Committee and the Swedish International Development Agency were said to have organized a meeting in Hanoi on May 25 to mark the event.
A recent national survey showed that 56 per cent of men and almost 1.8 per cent of women were regular smokers.

Northern Territory strikes gold
Australia, Tuesday, May 29, 2007—The Northern Territory has been handed the Dirty Ashtray Award for its government's poor performance in combating smoking, according to an Australian Associated Press report.
The Australian Medical Association and the Australian Council on Smoking and Health labeled the territory the worst performer for the second year in a row and created for it a special Golden Ashtray Award for its consistently low achievement.

Tiantai processing for Universal
China, Tuesday, May 29, 2007—A redrying company in China's Hunan province has won an order to process nearly 5,000 tons of tobacco for Universal Leaf (Asia) Pte Ltd, according to a Tobacco China Online report quoting the Chenzhou News.
The report said that this would be the first time that Chenzhou Tiantai Leaf Tobacco Redrying had processed tobacco for a foreign tobacco company.
Tiantai is a newly established joint-stock tobacco redrying enterprise.

Further support for FDA regulation
US, Friday, May 25, 2007—Philip Morris USA has welcomed a call by the Institute of Medicine (IOM) for the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to be given broad regulatory authority over tobacco products, including their production, packaging, marketing, distribution and sale.
            But PM USA does not concur with some of the other recommendations made in an IOM report, which calls also for higher excise taxes.
            In a message posted on its website, PM USA said that the IOM’s latest report on tobacco use in the US demonstrated the critical importance of effective regulation of tobacco products by the FDA.  ‘Legislation introduced by Senators Edward Kennedy … and John Cornyn … and Representatives Henry Waxman … and Tom Davis … would address many of the issues the report raises, without the unintended consequences that some of the report's other recommendations may create,’ according to the PM USA message.
            "These bills provide the framework for comprehensive FDA regulation of tobacco products and provide important policy solutions to many of the complex issues involving tobacco products," Howard Willard, PM USA's executive vice-president of corporate responsibility was quoted as saying. "FDA regulation, as introduced in Congress, would be the most effective way to address the Institute of Medicine's concerns."
            PM USA said it believed that regulation of tobacco products by the FDA could potentially create a new framework within which manufacturers could refocus their efforts to pursue reduced harm products. The company believed regulation should also bring predictability and clear standards to the tobacco industry in the US.
            ‘In addition to our shared support of FDA regulation of tobacco products, we also agree states should devote more resources to smoking cessation and youth smoking prevention initiatives,’ continued the PM USA message. ‘PM USA has paid more than $38 billion to the states through the tobacco settlement agreements and over $836 million to the American Legacy Foundation since 1997. According to the Government Accountability Office, in fiscal years 2000-2005, about three percent of the money states received from the master settlement agreement from all participating manufacturers was spent on tobacco control programs – such as youth smoking prevention. This represents less than two billion dollars.’
            "We believe the tobacco settlement agreements represent a massive funding source that states could better use to help achieve youth smoking prevention goals,” said Willard. “The IOM’s recommended actions to combat youth smoking could more quickly be addressed by tapping into this existing funding source – rather than attempting to create a new one. Philip Morris USA continues to encourage the states to fund smoking cessation and youth smoking prevention initiatives."
            PM USA said it did not believe a federal excise tax increase or excessive excise tax increases at state level comprised the best approach. ‘We believe cigarette excise tax increases can cause more problems than they solve because they often yield lower than expected revenue and create an additional incentive for tobacco users to seek alternative avenues to purchase tobacco products – such as the Internet – and create increased incentives for smuggling,’ the message continued. ‘Since 2000, federal and state governments have increased their cigarette excise tax rates 73 times. In fiscal year 2006, federal and state governments received $21.5 billion in cigarette excise tax revenues.’

Sampoerna's first-quarter profit surges
Indonesia, Friday, May 25, 2007—PT HM Sampoerna, Indonesia's largest cigarette manufacturer, reported a 15.7 percent rise in net profit during the first quarter from a year earlier, reports The Jakarta Post.
            Sampoerna's net profit rose to IDR1.095 trillion (US$125. 7 million) in the first three months of the year from IDR947 billion during in the same period last year. Overall sales, which consist of machine-rolled filter cigarettes, hand-rolled kretek cigarettes and machine-rolled kretek cigarettes, amounted to IDR7.26 trillion, up 1.9 percent from IDR7.13 trillion previously
            Most of the increase was accounted for by Sampoerna A Hijau hand-rolled cigarettes, whose sales volume rose to 8.1 billion from 7.4 billion previously. The company's machine-rolled cigarettes also recorded increased sales volume, rising to 6.4 billion cigarettes from 6.2 billion previously. The increase was attributed to A Mild brand cigarettes.
            President director Martin King said the company had put in a healthy performance despite a 7 percent rise in retail cigarette prices, which entered into effect on March 1. "We have managed to enhance the efficiency of our operation and control our production costs," he said.
            To strengthen its market share, Sampoerna company has invested IDR2.8 trillion on building a new factory in Karawang, West Java.
            The new factory, which has been under construction since last July, was expected to come on-stream by the end of next year with an initial capacity of 9 billion cigarettes per year.
            At present, the company operates five factories in East Java, including its main factory in Pandaan, with an annual production capacity of 25 billion cigarettes.
            The new Sampoerna plant, that is located on a 58-hectare site, will consist of a primary processing plant to process cloves and tobacco, a secondary processing plant to produce machine-rolled cigarettes, and warehouses to store non-tobacco materials, finished goods, tobacco and cloves.

New York perfect breeding ground for black market
US, Friday, May 25, 2007—If New York’s mayor, Michael Bloomberg, is able to implement a proposed 50¢-a-pack tax increase, demand for illicit cigarettes will get worse and add to the ‘stream’ of such products already flowing into the city, according to a report by Christopher Faherty for the New York Sun.
            Faherty quotes Scott Bessette, a vice-president of SICPA Product Security, as saying that New York represents the ‘perfect storm’ for a black market in cigarettes. The city had a high tax rate going higher; many points of entry, including large ports; state and international borders; and a lack of tools effectively to monitor and enforce the market. SICPA Product Security investigates counterfeits around the world.

Smoking banned in three quarters of homes
US, Friday, May 25, 2007—Nearly three out of four US households do not allow smoking, according to a study published recently in the Centers for Disease Control's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. The study found that the proportion of US households with smoke-free rules increased from 43 per cent in 1992-1993 to 72 per cent in 2003.
            The proportions of households with smoke-free rules were said to have increased in every state over this period, though they varied widely from state to state. Kentucky had the lowest and Utah had the highest proportions of households reporting smoke-free rules for both reported periods. The proportion of smoke-free homes in Kentucky increased from 25.7 per cent to 53.4 per cent between 1992-93 and 2003, while the proportion in Utah went from 69.6 per cent to 88.8 per cent.

Smoking partly blamed for demographic crisis
Russia, Friday, May 25, 2007—The deputy head of the Duma's Health and Safety Committee, Nikolai Gerasimenko, has blamed smoking for being one of the main causes of the “demographic crisis” in Russia. Smoking killed about 700 Russians each day, he said.
            A recent report on Russian Spy quoting Gerasimenko said that Russia led the world in per capita smoking and underage smoking.
            Gerasimenko, who is an academic with the Russian Academy of Medical Sciences, added that cigarette production in Russia had risen from 206 billion during 1996 to 413 billion last year, and that Russia was the third-largest producer of tobacco products after China and the US. 

Graphic warnings draw near
India, Friday, May 25, 2007—From the start of next month all cigarette, bidi and gutkha packs sold in India will be required to carry graphic health warnings.
         A recent Hindu Times report quoted the Health Minister, Anbumani Ramadoss, as saying that in India more than 46 per cent of men and 13 per cent of women used tobacco, which caused 40 per cent of all cancers.
            Ramadoss said that graphic health warnings were necessary because many tobacco users could not read written health warnings.
            The pack warnings will illustrate an ulcerated mouth, a lung tumor, stroke and heart damage, and impotence.
            About 250 million people in India use tobacco products: 44 per cent smoke bidis, 16 per cent smoke cigarettes and the rest use other products including gutkha, mishri (roasted black tobacco powder applied to the gums) and chewing tobacco.

Smoking ban an infringement of human rights
UK, Friday, May 25, 2007—A patient at a UK psychiatric hospital has launched a challenge to a ban on smoking at the institution, according to a report in the Daily Mail.
         Terrence Grimwood’s counsel, Paul Bowen, says the hospital is Grimwood’s home and to prevent him from smoking there, when he is not free to go anywhere else to smoke, is a disproportionate interference with his rights.
            Grimwood was one of a number of detained patients to complain about the ban at Rampton Hospital, Retford, Nottinghamshire, which came into force in March.
            The Daily Mail report says that the action is being taken in the High Court under Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights.

Lagos sues tobacco firms for N2.7 trillion over health hazards
Lagos, Nigeria, Thursday, May 24, 2007 - The Nigerian state government of Lagos has filed suit for a compensation package worth 2.7 trillion Nirias ($21.1 billion USD) against cigarette makers in their country for health hazards resulting from cigarette smoking.
LAGOS State government and a non-governmental organization, Environmental Rights Action (ERA) yesterday began before a Lagos High Court a compensation suit against British-American Tobacco Nigeria Limited, International Tobacco Limited and four others for health hazards resulting from cigarette smokers in the state.
The suit, endorsed by the state Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo (SAN) also named British-American Plc, British-American Tobacco (Investment) Limited, Phillip Morris International and The Tobacco Institute as defendants.
The overall effect of the defendants' course of conduct is that the state government is called upon to expend its resources in treating tobacco-related ailments caused by the use of defendants' products. In the year 2006 alone, there were 9,527 reported cases of tobacco-related diseases in Lagos State hospitals. The state government spends at least N316,000 per month ($2,400 USD) on each of these cases.

Cigarette, gutkha packs to carry skull and crossbones
India, Thursday, May 24, 2007 - Starting June 1, all cigarette, bidi and gutkha packets will carry prominent pictorial health warnings. The move isn't coming a day too soon - official statistics show every second man and every seventh woman in India is a tobacco-user.
"In our country, 46.5 per cent men and 13.8 per cent women use tobacco, which causes 40 per cent of all cancers," Health Minister Anbumani Ramadoss told an Indian media source.
"To encourage people to quit tobacco, all cigarette, bidi and gutkha packs will carry pictorial health warnings from June 1. We need graphic warnings,because many tobacco users are illiterate and cannot read the health warning," Ramadoss said.
From June 1, the packs will carry pictures of an ulcerated mouth, a lung tumor, a brain after a stroke, a damaged heart and, as part of a warning that smoking causes impotence, a limp cigarette.
About 250 million people in India use tobacco products like gutkha, cigarettes and bidis. Sixteen per cent are cigarette smokers, 44 per cent smoke bidis and the rest use gutkha, mishri (roasted black tobacco powder applied to the gums) and chewing tobacco in betel-quid. Consumption of tobacco leads to a million deaths every year in India, according to the Indian Council of Medical Research.
"Pictures definitely have an impact. Pictorial warnings will not only remind the tobacco user of the dangers but also those around them, such as friends and family. Children, for example, can become strong pressure group to encourage their parents to give up tobacco use," Ramadoss said.
Countries like Canada, Brazil and Australia already use graphic warnings to discourage smoking. They led to a 3 per cent drop in smoking in Canada — which can translate to 6 million people giving up tobacco in India if the same figure is applied.
"Everyone knows that smoking causes lung cancer, what some don't know is that it also causes impotence, birth defects, heart attacks and strokes. Graphic health warnings covering over 50 per cent of tobacco packaging will let people know the risks they are running when they smoke or chew tobacco," Ramadoss said.
Graphic warnings are mandatory under the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products (Packaging and Labelling) Rules, which are being implemented in phases.

Deadline nears for Green Paper responses
EU, Thursday, May 24, 2007—Tobacco industry stakeholders have until June 1 to respond to the EU’s Green Paper, ‘Towards a Europe free from tobacco smoke: policy options at EU level’, which was launched at the end of January as a way of promoting ‘consultation on the best way to promote smoke-free environments in the EU’.
In a recent press note that saw also the release of data from a Eurobarometer on Tobacco report, the European Commission said that it would analyze the responses to its Green paper, report on its main findings and then consider further steps.
At the same time, the Commission is preparing a report on the implementation of European Council recommendations on the prevention of smoking and on initiatives to improve tobacco control. The report will include an analysis of national tobacco control policies and regulations.
The Commission says the Eurobarometer report indicates that support for smoke-free policies is highest among citizens in countries where such policies have already been introduced, such as Ireland, Sweden and Italy. However, overall, a majority of EU citizens are said to be in favor of smoke-free bars (62 per cent) and restaurants (77 per cent). Smokers tend also to be in favor of smoke-free restaurants, workplaces and other indoor public spaces.
Currently, 33 per cent of EU citizens working in enclosed workplaces say that they are exposed to tobacco smoke at work, but proportions vary widely. In Ireland, 96 per cent of workers say that they are never exposed to tobacco smoke at work, while in Greece that figure drops to 15 per cent. About 70 per cent of those who work in restaurants, pubs and bars report that they are exposed to tobacco smoke daily.
Around half of EU homes are said to be free of tobacco smoke, though, once again, figures vary: from 83 per cent in Finland to 17 per cent in Croatia. Twenty two per cent of those who responded to the survey said that smoking was completely banned on their properties, 19 per cent said that smoking was only allowed outside and 8 per cent said that people voluntarily did not smoke in their homes.
Eighty per cent of EU citizens believe that second-hand smoke can cause health problems, while 3 per cent believe that second-hand smoke poses no danger at all. Only five per cent of smokers said they would smoke in a car in the company of pregnant women, while nine per cent said they would smoke in a car when they were with children.
According to the results of the survey, almost 33 per cent of EU smokers tried to quit their habit at least once during the past 12 months, though this figure rises to 46 per cent in the UK, the country with the biggest proportion of smokers saying that they have tried to quit.
Less than 20 per cent of smokers asked for help from health professionals during their last attempt to quit smoking, though, in the UK, this figure reaches 41 per cent. About 33 per cent of smokers said that they had used pharmaceutical and other treatments on the last occasion they attempted to give up smoking.
On average, 70 per cent of quit attempts last less than two months, with most smokers quoting stress (33 per cent) as the main reason for failure.

Cigarette duty hike needed in Bulgaria, says BAT official
Tuesday, 22 May 2007 – Bulgaria has to increase the excise on tobacco products in order to meet European Union requirements, manager of tobacco taxation in Europe at the Belgian representation of British American Tobacco (BAT) Francois Osete said in a report from Sofia Echo.com.
BAT held a conference on the tobacco products market development. The meeting focused on the excise duty on cigarettes and illicit trade.
According to current EU requirements for excise on tobacco products, each country should reach the minimum level of 64 euro per 1000 cigarettes and 57 per cent of the retail price.
“Bulgaria has not reached the minimum level of 64 euro,” Osete said.
Once it has reached the level, the country can exceed those figures since there is no maximum fixed. The period for reaching the requirement is 2010 for Bulgaria.
“Bulgaria should reach the minimum excise levels bit by bit,” Osete said.
European governments should also apply a mixed taxation regime combining ad valorem and specific component of taxation tools.
Ad valorem component is a percentage of the retail price and the specific component is a fixed sum in euro per 1000 cigarettes.
Senior investigations manager at BAT headquarters in London Terry Hobbs also took part in the discussion.
“Counterfeit is not the biggest problem but tax evasion is,” Hobbs said. The company's annual losses from illicit trade amount to 60 million pounds, Hobbs said.
The figures for Bulgaria show that between five and 12 per cent of consumption results from illicit trade.
Sensible taxation and more effective control in free trade zones feature among BAT recommendations for the prevention of illicit trade problems, Hobbs said.

$15 million tobacco sold at auction floors
Zimbabwe, Tuesday, May 22, 2007 - A total of 9.5 million kilograms of tobacco worth $15 million USD has been sold on three auction floors since the start of the selling season four weeks ago, with prices firming from $1.75 USD a kilogram to $1.95. The report was from Business Reporter magazine.
"Farmers are very happy with the move taken by the Government and since the beginning of May, deliveries have significantly picked up. Prices have also been very good, averaging US$1.95 per kg compared to US$1.72 per kg during the same time last year," said Tobacco Industry Marketing Board chief executive Dr. Andrew Matibiri in a telephone interview.
He attributed the upsurge in deliveries to a clutch of new incentives announced by the Government last month.
For example, tobacco growers are now entitled to a support price of $40,000 for every kg of tobacco that fetches US$1.50. Any crop that fetches below US$1.50 or above would attract a support price calculated pro-rata to the $40,000 per kg.
All three tobacco auction floors have started paying farmers the incentives after the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe last week released $4 billion for the 54 million kilograms of the golden leaf delivered last year.
Dr. Matibiri said the tobacco industry welcomed the policies unveiled by the central bank to boost production.
Tobacco output has fallen from an all-time high of 220 million kilograms in 2000 to a projected 80 million kilograms this year.
Zimbabwe Tobacco Growers Trust vice-president Mr. Wilfanos Mashingaidze said growers were committed to increasing production.
"The growers are satisfied with everything going on so far and if this trend continues we are likely to witness a situation whereby the country will regain its status as one of the top three tobacco producing nations in the world," he said. “In order to ensure that tobacco growers return to the fields in the 2007/08 season, the Government and the RBZ have introduced special facilities on foreign currency retention.

Zimbabwe government pays $256 billion as tobacco support price Zimbabwe, Monday, May 21, 2007 - Government has so far paid out $256,4 billion as tobacco support price to growers since the marketing season began last month. According to a report in the Zimbabwe Herald.

According to statistics released by the Tobacco Industry and Marketing Board on Wednesday, this represents a vast increase from the $150.3 million the Government paid out to growers over the same period last year.

Saudis to sue tobacco firms for more than $2.7 billion
Ryadh, Saudi Arabia, Saturday, May 19  - Saudi Arabia will seek more than $2.7 billion in damages from international tobacco companies in a lawsuit due to go on trial in the capital Riyadh on Sept. 11 this year, the kingdom's health ministry said on Saturday. The reports was released by Reuters.
In November, the ministry threatened to sue international tobacco companies unless they paid the government and patients the full cost of treatment for tobacco-related illnesses. This is the first time it has put a value on the claim.
The suit will require companies to pay a lump sum of 10 billion riyals ($2.67 billion), plus 500 million riyals a year for the treatment of tobacco-related illnesses, the ministry said in a statement on its Web site. It did not say what period the compensation would cover.
The ministry did not name any companies, but Philip Morris, British American Tobacco Plc and Altadis are among the foreign firms that sell tobacco products in Saudi Arabia.

Tobacco production down 12 percent
in Cuba's top cigar-producing region
Havana, Cuba, Wednesday, May 23, 2007 - The tobacco harvest in Cuba's main cigar-producing province fell 12 percent this year compared to 2006 as excessive rain in the region took a heavy toll, state media reported Wednesday on CubaNet.
Exact figures on the harvest in Pinar del Rio province were not given, but the Communist Party newspaper Granma put the year-to-year decline at 12 percent. It said increased humidity made it possible to harvest the leaves of just 47,880 acres instead of the planned 53,090 acres.
The newspaper also reported that officials have already begun efforts to hire 11,700 workers for the next tobacco harvest. It did not say if they would increase or trim future work forces.
Pinar del Rio in westernmost Cuba is the island's top producer of premium cigar tobacco.

ST Cigar Group acquires Belgian cigar activities from BAT
Wednesday, May 23, 2007 - Scandinavian Tobacco’s ST Cigar Group Holding B.V. (STCG) will purchase Belgian cigar company Tabacofina-VanderElst and its associated brands from British American Tobacco. The actual acquisition is expected to take effect within a few months.
"This move is a further step in realizing our objective to reinforce our position in the cigar market, both through acquisitions and organic growth,” said STCG‘s CEO Rob Zwarts, who added that the competition between the players on the international cigar market is expected to intensify.
“Growing economies of scale is one of the key elements in defending and improving our current position,” Zwarts said. “We have now strengthened our position as the leading cigar company in Europe, and have clearly become one of the top three players worldwide.”
Tabacofina-VanderElst manufactured 420 million cigars in 2006, of which some 200 million cigars were for the Belgian market, where the company is market leader with a share of more than 40%
The rest of the total volume is either sold to various export markets or consists of contract manufacturing for third parties. The main export markets are France, the Netherlands, and Italy. The main brands are the Belgian market leader Mercator, Corps Diplomatique, Schimmelpenninck and Don Pablo.
ST Cigar Group, also known to the trade and consumers as Henri Wintermans, is one of the largest cigar companies in the world.
Today ST Cigar Group has 11 subsidiaries in nine different countries. There are six production companies and five commercial organizations. The group employs some 2,200 people.
In total more than 1.3 billion cigars are being sold by the group and its main markets are the U.K., France, Canada and Denmark.
With the brand “Café Crème” the group holds the best-sold small cigar in the world. Other important brand names are Henri Wintermans, Reas, Colts, Nobel Petit, Che and Blues.
Just a few months ago ST Cigar Group acquired CAO International Inc. in Nashville, a major player in the premium handmade cigar market, a growing segment in the USA.

Ag firms asked  to assist farmers
Zimbabwe, Wednesday, May 23, 2007—Zimbabwe Growers’ Trust Chairman Wilfanos Mashingaidze has asked agricultural companies to help tobacco growers without bank accounts access inputs and cash, reports The Herald. He says the majority of smallholder growers in Zimbabwe do not have bank accounts and are having difficulties cashing their checks.
Mashingaidze urged input suppliers to arrange with their banks for growers to buy inputs with their checks and then be paid the balance by the banks. He said growers were aiming to double tobacco production in the coming season, but indicated that this could only be achieved if farmers accessed inputs early.
n estimated 80 million kg is expected to be sold at auction this year, up from 55 million kg produced last year.

Minister resigns after cigarette-ban comments
Venezuela, Wednesday, May 23, 2007—Erick Rodriguez was forced to resign as Venezuela’s Health Minister after saying that the country was considering banning the production of leaf tobacco and cigarettes, according to an Associated Press report.
In an interview with a local radio station, Rodriguez was said to have added that anyone who wanted a cigarette should bring it from abroad.
The comments, later retracted, were said to have caused public uproar in a country where the tobacco industry generates thousands of jobs and is one of the biggest taxpayers.

Liberty smoking in Chile
Chile, Wednesday, May 23, 2007—Chile has the world’s highest percentage of female smokers according to a report in the Santiago Times quoting a recent World Health Organization study of 193 nations.
Almost 37 per cent of Chile’s female population smokes an average of eight cigarettes a day, and 30 per cent of females under the age of 15 are said to be tobacco users.
The study, published on Friday, attributed female smoking to the tobacco industry’s success in making female smoking ‘en vogue’ and relating it to women’s liberty and sexual freedoms.

Aiming for EU public-places ban by 2009
EU, Wednesday, May 23, 2007—A majority of European citizens are in favor of smoke-free policies, according to the results of a new Eurobarometer on Tobacco presented by EU Health Commissioner, Markos Kyprianou, to the European Parliament ahead of World No Tobacco Day on May 31.
Kyprianou said this high level of public support would strengthen the momentum towards making EU public- and work-places smoke-free by 2009.
According to the survey, 88 per cent – up from 86 per cent last year – support smoke-free indoor workplaces and public spaces.
The survey found that one in three smokers had tried to give up smoking during the past 12 months but that more than 70 per cent of them had relapsed within less than two months.
Kyprianou said that the EU would launch on May 31 an ‘e-mail coaching service’ to support people as they tried to quit smoking.

Government to ban middlemen
Malawi, Wednesday, May 23, 2007—Malawi is to ban tobacco middlemen from next year in an attempt to reduce the number of mixed-grade bales being presented to the country’s auction floors, according to a Tobacco China Online report quoting the Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Bintony Kutsaira.
Some of the middlemen are said to buy leaf from different farmers and to mix it into one bale without grading it, a practice that is having the effect of increasing the number of bales being rejected on the floors.
The presence of the mixed bales was said by Kutsaira to give buyers “room” to offer low prices.
However, at the same time he described the current selling season as one of the country’s most successful in respect of the average prices being offered to farmers.
The so-called intermediate buying system mushroomed in 1995 when a new government changed the buying system to enable people other than tobacco growers and auction floor buyers to enter the sales chain.

Shanghai group enjoys record growth
China, Wednesday, May 23, 2007—The Shanghai Tobacco Group enjoyed record growth during the first quarter of this year when it sold 32.545 billion cigarettes, 8.12 per cent more than it sold during the first three months of 2006.
Production, at 32.46 billion, was up 6.81 per cent, and manufacturing and commercial taxes, at Yuan9.047 billion, were increased by 29.31 per cent.
The group’s profits, which at Yuan3.384 billion were up by 31.26 per cent, included Yuan111 million and Yuan11 million generated respectively by its subsidiaries, the Beijing Cigarette Factory and the Tianjin Cigarette Factory.

Honghe Tobacco Group goes with the flow
China, Wednesday, May 23, 2007—A period of more rapid development has been forecast for the Honghe tobacco industry following recent changes that have seen the Honghe General Cigarette Factory become the limited liability company, Honghe Tobacco Group Co Ltd.
This single-brand tobacco manufacturer has seen its Honghe (Red River) cigarette develop into a brand with 13 versions and one that, for many years, has ranked among the top Chinese brands in respect of production and sales volume. Last year, Honghe produced 71.39 billion cigarettes and, in doing so, generated Yuan8.397 billion in taxes and profits.
But it wasn’t always this way. The Honghe cigarette factory was established in 1985 and went into trial production in 1987. In the first few years it manufactured a number of different brands including Red River, Wild Grass, Propitious Bird, Iron Horse and Tin Capital, but at that time it had an annual cigarette output of not more than 2.5 billion cigarettes.
Its success dated from 1992 and a decision to phase out its smaller brands and to concentrate on Red River. And it was helped by a large-scale technical transformation that it undertook between 1994 and 1996.
In August 2004, the former Honghe Cigarette Factory acquired another Yunnan-based enterprise, the Zhaotong Cigarette Factory, to form Honghe General Cigarette Factory. And in December 2005, Honghe General Cigarette Factory acquired Xinjiang Cigarette Factory in China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.

Reynolds mounts forthright defense
US, Wednesday, May 23, 2007—R.J. Reynolds Tobacco has hit back at criticisms leveled at it by the anti-tobacco organization, The Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids.
‘The Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids’ press release today [May 22] alleging R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company is “circumventing” its 2006 agreement with state attorneys general is grossly inaccurate,’ Reynolds says in a statement on its website. ‘The company requests that the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids retract its statement.’
“Voicing an opinion is one thing; ignoring the facts to achieve your goals is just plain wrong,” said Tommy Payne, executive vice-president – public affairs for Reynolds American Inc. “These misrepresentations perpetuate an atmosphere of mistrust and conflict, and prevent any reasonable dialogue to resolve the issues that surround the tobacco industry.”
‘The agreement signed by 40 state attorneys general permits the marketing of specialty blends, like R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company’s Camel Signature styles, while restricting the use of fruit, candy and alcohol descriptors in brand names or in non-age-restricted communications,’ according to Reynolds’ statement. ‘Camel Signature is in full compliance with this agreement.’
“The Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids seizes every opportunity to criticize tobacco manufacturers as part of their effort to advocate FDA regulatory authority over tobacco products,” Payne said. “We support their right to do so but believe it requires full and fair disclosure of the facts so that people can draw their own objective conclusions.
“We believe the long-standing controversies regarding the manufacturing, marketing and use of tobacco products need to be resolved. The time has come to set aside the ‘accusation and rebuttal’ form of debate that has prevented constructive discussions from occurring. We would welcome discussions that lead to a reasonable and realistic national regulatory structure. And we would welcome the opportunity to sit down with Mr. Myers and the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids to discuss these important issues, Camel Signature, and the marketing policies and programs of our operating companies.”

Bukenya warns tobacco growing harmful
Koboko, Uganda, May 22, 2007 - Tobacco growing should be abandoned in favor of other cash crops, Vice President Gilbert Bukenya has told the people of West Nile. He said tobacco growing had made the people poorer since the only good houses in the villages were tobacco curing barns, according to an African web site.
Prof. Bukenya was speaking in Koboko over the weekend on his week-long mobilisation tour of the seven districts of the region. Last year, the West Nile districts of Arua, Koboko, Yumbe and Nyadri produced about 10 million kilograms of flu-cured Virginia tobacco from which the farmers earned nearly 18 billion shillings ($10.8 million USD), but the benefits of the money cannot be seen in terms of physical development.
Prof. Bukenya said fish and dairy farming as well as chicken rearing for egg business and honey production are the biggest sure means of wealth accumulation because the products have a ready market.
"I don't want you people to do something that makes you work at a loss," he said while addressing residents of Aringili village in Koboko district. Prof. Bukenya who addressed residents who braved a heavy downpour praised the Koboko people for electing NRM supporters as MPs and LC officials.
He cited State Minister in his office James Baba and Margaret Baba Diri as good ambassadors of the Movement government and development. He, however, cut short the Koboko tour due to heavy rains and promised to return on June 5 to continue with the prosperity for all campaign.
The VP's Press Secretary Linda Nabusayi later explained that Prof. Bukenya recognizes tobacco as a good cash crop but discourages it because the process of production and curing is laborious and destructive to the environment.
"The Vice President thinks tobacco growing does not empower the farmers for economic development. That’s why he is not promoting it under the Bonna Baggagawale scheme," she said.

Judge wants Philip Morris suit reopened
Edwardsville, Illinois, USA, Tuesday, May 22, 2007 - A judge whose $10.1 billion judgment against Philip Morris USA in a lawsuit over light cigarettes was thrown out on appeal is asking a court whether he can revive the case, according to an Associated Press report.
Madison County Circuit Judge Nicholas Byron this month asked the Mount Vernon-based 5th District Appellate Court of Illinois to rule whether he has authority to reopen the lawsuit, citing possible new evidence stemming from a separate tobacco case pending before the U.S. Supreme Court.
Byron ruled in favor of smokers in March 2003, saying that Philip Morris - now the nation's biggest cigarette maker - misled customers into believing they were buying a less harmful cigarette.
That lawsuit, involving 1.1 million people who bought "light" cigarettes in Illinois, claimed Philip Morris - a unit of New York-based Altria Group Inc. - knew when it introduced such cigarettes in 1971 that they were no healthier than regular cigarettes. But the company hid that information and the fact that light cigarettes actually had a more toxic form of tar, the lawsuit claimed.
But the state's Supreme Court overturned Byron's ruling, saying the Federal Trade Commission allowed companies to characterize or label their cigarettes as "light" and "low tar," so Philip Morris could not be held liable under state law even if such terms could be found false or misleading.
The U.S. Supreme Court last November let that ruling stand and Byron dismissed the case the next month.
But the attorney in that suit, Stephen Tillery of St. Louis, now says his original argument is supported by the U.S. solicitor general in a separate case before the nation's high court. Paul Clement - the Bush administration's top Supreme Court lawyer - said in the new case, Watson v. Philip Morris, that the FTC never authorized or ordered Marlboro Lights to be labeled as "lights" or use the words "lower tar and nicotine."
"There is no question the Supreme Court of Illinois got it wrong when it said the words were authorized by the FTC," Tillery said Monday. "The question now is what the courts can do about it."
Former Illinois Gov. James Thompson, an attorney representing Philip Morris, claims the appellate court has no authority to decide whether the case can be reopened and last week asked the Illinois Supreme Court to "put a stop once and for all to plantiffs' futile efforts to resurrect their case."
"Only this court has the power to set the circuit court straight," Thompson wrote in his filing with the Supreme Court.
Philip Morris considers the lawsuit "over," William Ohlemeyer, Philip Morris' vice president and associate general counsel, said in a statement Monday.
Byron's inquiry about reviving the case "has threatened to plunge (Philip Morris USA) once again into lengthy and expensive litigation, which can result in only one conclusion: that the dismissal of plaintiffs' claims ordered by this (state Supreme) Court must stand," Thompson wrote on the company's behalf.

Time is right to spin off PMI
US, Tuesday, May 22, 2007—Citigroup is almost certain that the Altria Group will announce this year that it is to spin off Philip Morris International to shareholders.
In an in-depth examination of Altria, Citigroup’s Bonnie Herzog and Jonathan Loveless said they believed that, from an operational standpoint, the company was ready to ‘break apart’ and that, indeed, the international and US tobacco businesses had been operating ‘on their own for quite some time’.
The next step, they said, was for the board of directors to give its approval. It was possible that the board could announce such a move on June 1, the date of its next scheduled meeting. However, a more realistic timing might be August 29, the date of another scheduled meeting, or during one of its subsequent meetings, one of which has been tentatively set for October 31 and another of which was due to be held in December.
The idea behind Altria’s restructuring, which had already seen the recent tax-free spin off of Kraft Foods, was to unlock shareholder value by enabling the individual companies to focus entirely on their own businesses and by removing any constraints (litigation or otherwise) that might be hindering those businesses from growing their top lines and/or margins.
Citigroup would expect a stand-alone PMI to become much more aggressive in respect of innovations and acquisitions.

Universal makes “substantial progress”
US, Tuesday, May 22, 2007—Universal Corp’s income from continuing operations during its fourth quarter to March 31, at $21.1 million, was a significant improvement on the $25.3 million loss it reported during the fourth quarter of fiscal 2006.
Chairman and CEO, Allen B. King, said that fourth quarter earnings for fiscal year 2007 included about $15.1 million in impairment costs, primarily related to the company's decision to end its direct involvement in its African flue-cured growing projects, but also related to charges related to the value of a corporate aircraft currently being marketed. Results for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2006 had included about $33.6 million in restructuring and impairment charges related to investments in its Zimbabwe and US operations. But while the significant improvement was largely due to the reduced restructuring and impairment costs, it was down also to improvements in the company's flue-cured and Burley operations.
Revenues during the quarter to the end of March, at $504 million, were up 24%, while net income, which includes results from discontinued operations, was $19.5 million, compared to a net loss of $24.7 million during the quarter to the end of March 2006.
Income from continuing operations during the year to the end of March was $80.4 million, including restructuring and impairment charges of about $31 million, which were primarily composed of impairment charges on long-lived assets and company-managed farming operations in Africa. Those charges, combined with related tax effects, reduced net income by $24.2 million.
Full-year income from continuing operations was said to have shown a marked improvement reflecting better results in all segments. Revenues increased by about 13% to $2 billion while net income was $44.4 million, up from $7.9 million during the previous year.
"We are very pleased with our recovery in fiscal year 2007,” said Mr. King. “While it will take time to restore our profitability to prior levels, we have made substantial progress.”
King said that Universal had made the decision to end its direct involvement in various flue-cured growing projects in Africa and was taking steps to “right-size” its operations, which meant that the company had reduced its Brazilian flue-cured production. Nevertheless, King said that smaller Burley crops in Africa, along with higher costs in most of the major producing areas of the world, would present challenges next year.
In the year to the end of March 2007, the company’s North American operations had benefited from the sale of old-crop Burley tobacco, but fiscal year 2008 would not enjoy the same benefit. Tobacco production in Canada had fallen severely over the past few years and was forecast to decline by about one third during fiscal year 2008, King added.

Pace of sales faster than last year’s
Zimbabwe, Tuesday, May 22, 2007—At least 6.35 million kg of flue-cured tobacco valued at US$11.7 million were sold during the two weeks since the beginning of Zimbabwe’s selling season on April 24, according to a Zimbabwe Independent report quoting Tobacco Industry Marketing Board figures.
Deliveries were up by more than 83 per cent on those of the first two weeks of the previous season, while the value of those sales in US dollars was up by more than 102 per cent.
Contract sales accounted for about 3.9 million kg of this season’s sales and for about US$6.9 million of their value. Of Zimbabwe's three auction floors, Burley Marketing Zimbabwe had sold 979,974 kg worth US$1.9 million, Tobacco Sales Floor had sold 853,200 kg worth US$1.7 million, and the Zimbabwe Industry Tobacco Auction Centre had sold 568,484 kg worth US$1.1 million.

China maintains momentum
China, Monday, May 21, 2007—At 573.8 billion, cigarette sales in China during the first three months of this year were up by 37.0 billion, or 6.9 per cent, on those of the first three months of 2006.
Production, at 572.9 billion, was up by 40.3 billion, or 7.6 per cent. But while the output of grades one, two and three cigarettes rose by 1.4 per cent, 1.9 per cent and 3.7 per cent respectively, the output of grades four and five cigarettes fell by 3.3 per cent and 3.7 per cent.
At the end of March, tobacco inventories included 118.3 billion cigarettes, down by 5.2 billion, or 4.2 per cent, from the level at the end of March 2006.
The ratio of inventories to sales of grade one cigarettes, at 0.72, was down from 1.05; while the corresponding ratios for the other grades of cigarettes were: grade two, 0.56 (0.57, 2006); grade three, 0.51 (0.67); grade four, 0.47 (0.53); and grade five, 0.63 (0.51).
At Yuan113.528 billion, the amount of manufacturing and commercial taxes and profits earned by China’s tobacco industry during the first three months of this year was up by Yuan24.45 billion, or 27.4 per cent, on those of the same period of 2006. Manufacturing taxes and profits reached Yuan74.878 billion, which was up by 26.9 per cent, while commercial taxes and profits totaled Yuan38.65 billion, which was up 28.5 per cent.
Manufacturing and commercial profits, at Yuan49.06 billion, were up by Yuan11.86 billion, or 31.9 per cent. Manufacturing profits were up by 32.3 per cent to Yuan18.5 billion, while commercial profits rose by 31.6 per cent to Yuan30.56 billion.

Health experts visit Canada from China
Canada, Monday, May 21, 2007—Health experts from China visited Canada last week to hear how Canadian authorities approached smoking prevention, according to a CBC news report.
The delegation included Jiang Yuen, the deputy director of the Chinese Centre for Disease Control.

Plan to push tobacco sales out of mainstream
Canada, Monday, May 21, 2007—Alberta is considering a proposal that would see tobacco sales limited to liquor stores and other outlets where young people were not allowed to enter, according to a report by Jason Markusoff of the Edmonton Journal.
"If you want to denormalize tobacco, if you want to make sure it's socially unacceptable, you put it in with liquor stores, and you put it out of the environment near where children hang out," said Thomas Lukaszuk, a member of the legislative assembly and the person who suggested the idea.
Meanwhile, Health Minister, Dave Hancock, has put forward proposals that would see a ban on smoking in public places, outlaw retail displays of tobacco products and ban tobacco sales in pharmacies.

Prisoners at liberty to smoke
UK, Monday, May 21, 2007—Prisoners in England will be able to choose between smoking and no smoking cells when the ban on smoking in public places comes into effect on July 1, according to a report by Philip Johnston for the Electronic Telegraph.
Cells are exempted from the ban because they are classed as an inmate's home. And, as Johnston pointed out, prisoners do not have the option of going outside for a smoke.
There must be some question, however, about whether or not the authorities will be able to make such a system work within a jail system notoriously over-crowded.

ITC buys out King Maker Marketing
US, Monday, May 21, 2007—ITC Ltd has announced that it has bought the remaining 49.02 per cent shareholding in US-based King Maker Marketing, but without disclosing how much it paid, according to a Tobacco China Online report quoting Newkerala.com.
KMM, which is now a wholly-owned subsidiary of ITC, offers on the US market cigarettes m