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AUDIO: ExxonMobil: A 'Private Empire' On The World Stage 

ExxonMobil And Climate Change

Until 2005, ExxonMobil was run by Lee "Iron Ass" Raymond, a close friend of Vice President Dick Cheney and a skeptic of climate change. During Raymond's tenure, Exxon funded campaigns to challenge the validity of emerging science about climate change -- specifically the findings that a global warming trend existed.

"This not only borrowed from some of the tactics that the tobacco industry had used to delay public understanding of the dangers of smoking; in some cases there were even overlaps of individuals and groups that were engaged in this communications campaign," Coll tells Fresh Air's Terry Gross. "A lot of corporate America opposed the Kyoto Accords. But only a small set of companies did what Exxon did, which was to really go after the science as aggressively as they did."

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• Why is tobacco control still a problem in Europe? 

Tobacco control in the EU is at a crossroads. Ideally, politicians and civil servants will clearly delineate and make transparent all contacts with the tobacco industry and those in their pay, as per Article 5.3 in the FCTC. We also call on European governments and the EU to take a more robust stance and legislate more effectively to protect European citizens. The first test of the EC’s willingness to do so will be the revision of the Tobacco Products Directive. We await the outcome of that process.

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Table of Contents - February 2012, 22 (suppl 1): Progress on Tobacco Control in Europe: Findings from the International Tobacco Control (ITC) Europe Project  

Higher tobacco taxes 'could save lives' 

ASEAN-Jakarta HQ now 100% smoke-free 

According to a press release by the ASEAN, ahead of the ceremonies to launch a “Smoke-Free ASEAN Secretariat (ASEC)," regional tobacco-control advocates are congratulating the ASEAN leadership for ‘a determined and progressive stance that unequivocally expresses where the region's governments should stand with respect to curbing tobacco use.’

Southeast Asia Tobacco Control Alliance (SEATCA) Director Bungon Ritthiphakdee, on behalf of the alliance of tobacco control advocates from around the region said, “The ASEAN secretariat's leadership by example isn't merely symbolic. It follows through on a commitment and is concrete in action.”

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• "Thank you for not Smoking" – ASEAN Secretariat Headquarters a 100 percent Smoke-free Building 

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) sets a healthy example for the rest of the region, by declaring its own headquarters in Jakarta, Indonesia, officially smoke-free. Ahead of the ceremonies to launch a "Smoke-Free ASEAN Secretariat (ASEC)," regional tobacco-control advocates are congratulating the ASEAN leadership for ‘a determined and progressive stance that unequivocally expresses where the region's governments should stand with respect to curbing tobacco use.’

Southeast Asia Tobacco Control Alliance (SEATCA) Director Bungon Ritthiphakdee, on behalf of the alliance of tobacco control advocates from around the region said, "The ASEAN secretariat's leadership by example isn't merely symbolic. It follows through on a commitment and is concrete in action."

The ASEC Health and Communicable Diseases Division with the support of SEATCA and WHO, wants to strengthen the implementation of the ASEAN Secretary-General’s memorandum on Smoke-free Working Environments. ASEAN Secretary-General H.E. Dr. Surin Pitsuwan, personally led the unveiling of the official "Smoke-free" signage at the lobby of the ASEAN headquarters today.

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A kick in the butt: Is the end near for Benson, Marlboro in India?  

Asean Secretariat Now A Smoke-free Building 

Imperial not ready to quit as China helps growth rebound  

Smokers sucking up price hikes to stay loyal to their favourite brands, and more Chinese smoking cigars, helped Imperial Tobacco post a surprise jump in revenues that sent its shares soaring today.

The maker of Lambert & Butler cigarettes saw a return to sales growth in the first three months of 2012 with revenues ahead by 8%. That acceleration saw its total revenues for the half year to April rise 3.3% to £3.4 billion.

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• Imperial Tobacco Profit Gain Matches Estimates on Prices  

Imperial Tobacco Group Plc (IMT), Europe’s second-biggest tobacco company, reported growth in first-half earnings that matched analysts’ estimates after raising prices for cigarettes across its main U.K. market.

Adjusted operating profit rose 3 percent to 1.52 billion pounds ($2.5 billion) in the six months ended March 31, the Bristol, England-based company said today, equaling the median estimate of four analysts surveyed by Bloomberg.

Imperial Tobacco is market leader in the U.K., where profit rose 9 percent after price increases in October and March. Selling volume in Britain rose 6.5 percent as some smokers switched to cheaper brands such as JPS Silver, or to fine-cut tobacco. British consumers “continue to economize,” Chief Executive Officer Alison Cooper said in a statement.

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• Top European Executives See Innovation as Key to Growth 

At a time when growth is at a greater premium than ever, investors appreciate such initiatives. All of these executives win top billing within their industries in the 2012 All-­Europe Executive Team, Institutional Investor’s exclusive annual ranking of the best European CEOs, CFOs, investor relations professionals and IR teams. II surveyed 825 buy-side and 1,470 sell-side analysts from nearly 600 firms and asked them to vote for the best executives in their sectors.

EADS and ASML Holding, a Dutch maker of equipment for producing semiconductors, top this year’s ranking. Their CEOs, CFOs, IR professionals and IR teams each win first-place honors from both buy- and sell-side analysts. Trailing only slightly behind, U.K. media giant Pearson and metals and mining company Xstrata of Switzerland come in first place in seven categories. British American Tobacco (BAT), French luxury group LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton and German software provider SAP tie for fifth place by claiming first in six categories. . . .

Much the same may be said of consumer products companies’ need to deliver something new, even those making the addictive type. Tobacco products maker BAT’s most prestigious brand, Dunhill, is growing thanks in part to Reloc, a resealable pack that helps to keep the contents fresher, according to CEO Nicandro Durante, who is voted best chief executive in the Tobacco sector by both sets of analysts. Durante says innovations account for 12 percent of BAT’s total sales and more than one third of those of its four leading brands. Kent, which he describes as “our most innovative brand,” includes a version called Convertibles that contain a menthol-­flavored capsule that can be pinched at any time when smoking to release that taste. A feature called Click & Roll in Lucky Strike uses similar technology. Those innovations helped the three brands plus BAT’s other leader, Pall Mall, grow revenue by 9 percent in 2011. The four now account for roughly one third of the company’s total of £15.4 billion.

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Overview  

the firms that ranked highest in Institutional Investor’s 2012 All-Europe Executive Team represent a group of heavyweight firms that are managing the recent challenges just fine, according to the buy-side and sell-side analysts who voted in our exclusive ranking of the continent’s best CEOs, CFOs, and investor relations professionals and teams.

These are firms that find a way to be buoyed by their reach into fast-growing regions and markets outside Europe yet unhindered by global scale. They are positioning — in some cases transforming — their businesses to generate steady streams of shareholder value.

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Most Honored Companies  

51 British American Tobacco

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• HUBER: Tobacco from all nations excluded in trade pact 

At issue * April 2 commentary by Sen. Paul Hornback and Rep. Wilson Stone, "Plans to exclude tobacco from trade pact unfair to state."

The commentary that objected to the Herald-Leader's editorial board's support of the proposed carveout of tobacco from the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement, known as TPPA, contained misleading information that requires clarification.

Contrary to the implication in the commentary, a tobacco carveout would not apply exclusively to U.S. tobacco, let alone Kentucky tobacco.

TPPA removes tariffs and trade barriers that operate among the partnering countries. A tobacco carveout would apply equally to all tobacco within the TPPA free-trade zone. Removing tobacco from the agreement will not disadvantage U.S. or Kentucky tobacco relative to exports from other countries. It will simply leave tobacco products from all countries in the same competitive position they are in today.

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• New rules set more specific smoke-free areas  

Smoke 'em if you got 'em, but don't do it anywhere near an Air Force hospital or clinic. In fact, don't bother lighting up in an installation parking lot, near a sidewalk or your kid's favorite base playground either.

An updated Air Force Instruction on tobacco use in the service says those places are now off-limits to smokers, tobacco chewers, dippers and sniffers. And don't think you're safe smoking electronic -- or e-cigarettes -- or any kind of pipe or hookah.

All such devices also will be relegated to designated tobacco-use areas. And that area will be much farther away than it probably has been.

The new AFI, which went into effect March 26, designates all Air Force hospitals and clinics as tobacco-free environments, which means no smoking within 200 feet of a medical facility campus. That campus includes the facility's parking structures and lots, lawns, and any other contiguous outdoor area.

The days of running outside to get your nicotine fix and lighting up before the door closes are gone, too.

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