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The general health of the disputes and arbitration market has meant that Palay’s replacement at Winston & Strawn in Geneva, partner Ricardo Ugarte, is also optimistic about where his office is going.

“The story for Winston & Strawn is that we’re trying to expand our disputes practice in Europe, Asia and globally as much as possible, using places like Geneva as a foothold,” he says. “We’re definitely headed in the right direction. We’ve continued with our plans and it’s about the chemistry of the team and making sure we’re working together. We’re rebuilding successfully.”

Ugarte says the team has acted on recent disputes for clients such as the Kingdom of Jordan. The fact that tobacco giant Philip Morris - a key client for the firm as a whole - has its international operations centre in Lausanne is also important.

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Davidoff Announces Major Sponsorship With Art Basel  

The Oettinger Davidoff Group, headquartered in Basel, Switzerland, is pleased to announce its major sponsorship with Art Basel, which stages the most prestigious international modern and contemporary art shows. The significant relationship elevates Davidoff into the top tier of Art Basel sponsors. Present sponsors include leading and renowned brands, such as UBS, AxaArt and Netjets.

Under the agreement, Davidoff will be an Associate Sponsor to Art Basel, at both its shows in Basel, Switzerland, and Miami Beach, Florida, where it will operate a 100 square meter (approx. 1,000 sq. ft.) VIP hospitality space within the Art Collectors Lounge. This Davidoff Lounge will feature a walk-in humidor and a master cigar roller from the Dominican Republic who will demonstrate the art of blending and rolling of a Davidoff cigar. In addition, two outdoor Cigar Lounges will be situated adjacent to the Art Collectors Lounge and next to the shows' public area, to offer fair visitors a relaxed venue for discussion, reflection and enjoyment of a fine cigar.

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• Swiss court upholds Mafia tobacco-smuggling acquittals 

A Swiss court has confirmed the previous acquittals of seven of the nine defendants accused of money laundering in the country's largest organised crime trial.

But the Federal Criminal Court in Bellinzona on Wednesday upheld the convictions of two defendants for supporting a criminal organisation, handed down in July 2009 as part of a major international tobacco-smuggling ring case.

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• E-cigarettes exempt from tax from April 1 

• LEE: How Switzerland has become the capital of cigarette smuggling 

IT'S broad daylight at one of Europe's busiest ports and a huge metal container packed full of cigarettes is loaded on to a ship destined for the other side of the world. In full view of the authorities it all looks perfectly legitimate but this is the modern smuggler at work - and cigarettes are now some of the most lucrative booty around.

It's estimated that 600 billion cigarettes, or 11 per cent of the world's total consumption, are smuggled annually and many pressure groups are concerned at the way tobacco companies are dealing with this illegal trade though the companies themselves are adamant that they are doing all they can to fight the smugglers. . . .

A new international treaty will make it compulsory for every individual pack of cigarettes to be traceable but it will be several years before it is fully implemented.

The role of switzerland is also worrying campaigners. they point out that it's no coincidence that so many big companies choose to have their headquarters and factories in geneva, although labour costs there are among the highest in the world. In Switzerland the laws against smuggling are notoriously lax and it's often not considered a crime.

Joossens says: "Switzerland also has very strong data protection laws which benefit multinationals. They are clearly based there for privacy reasons, which makes it very difficult to obtain documents."

Middlemen who have been involved in smuggling in the past have also been based in Switzerland and Joossens says: "You have to ask, did Switzerland's company laws protect the smugglers?" . . .

Worldwide, one out of 10 adults dies prematurely from tobacco- related diseases such as lung cancer, emphysema, cardiovascular disease and stroke.

Only time will tell whether the big tobacco companies really will rise to the challenge. What is clear as health messages lead to declining sales in the West is that cigarette manufacturers desperately need emerging markets in Latin America, Asia and Africa.

Given the industry's murky past the tactics used to boost sales must remain under intense scrutiny.

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Cigarette smuggling from Africa rising 

Geneva customs officials are finding more and more smugglers bringing cigarettes from Africa.

Geneva regional customs director Jerome Coquoz said yesterday a number of passengers from Senegal have been found carrying between 100 and 300 cartons of cigarettes in luggage.

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Swiss see hike in Africa tobacco smuggling  

Swizerland has seen a large-scale hike in cigarette-smuggling from Africa where prices are 10 times cheaper, a senior customs official said Wednesday.

A number of passengers arriving from Senegal have been found to be carrying 100 to 300 cartons of cigarettes in their luggage, Geneva regional customs director Jerome Coquoz told reporters.

"A carton is sold in Senegal for the equivalent of 7.5 Swiss francs (6.2 euros or 8.1 dollars) while it is worth 76 Swiss francs in Switzerland," he said.

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VIDEO: E-cigarettes—quitter's best friend or new health hazard? 

Electronic cigarettes can't legally be marketed as a tool to quit smoking--and no studies have been conducted to prove their effectiveness against nicotine addiction--but that's why 95% of e-cigarette users smoke them. The ones sold in Switzerland are nicotine-free, so what do they contain? ABE, the Consumer Show clears the air:

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Smoking, Not HIV, Causes Higher Lung Cancer Risk In People With HIV  

Results from a recent Swiss study indicate that the higher risk of developing lung cancer in people with HIV compared to the general population arises from heavy smoking, not HIV infection.

Based on the results, the study authors recommended implementing strategies to reduce smoking, and therefore lung cancer risk, in HIV-positive adults.

The study authors also speculated that links between lung cancer and HIV or immune deficiency in previous studies were caused by overrepresentation of people with advanced HIV infections in lung cancer studies or accidental inclusion of cancers known to be caused by infectious diseases, such as Kaposi’s sarcoma of the lung.

According to the study authors, previous research has shown that people with HIV are at about a two- to seven-fold increased risk for lung cancer compared to people without HIV (see related AIDS Beacon news). However, scientists are uncertain whether this higher risk arises from HIV or from lifestyle factors, such as a greater rate of smoking in people with HIV.

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Lung cancer in the Swiss HIV Cohort Study: role of smoking, immunodeficiency and pulmonary infection 

conclusion: Lung cancer in the SHCS does not seem to be clearly associated with immunodeficiency or AIDS-related pulmonary disease, but seems to be attributable to heavy smoking.

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• HIV & AIDS Information :: Smoking, not immunodeficiency or lung disease, increases lung cancer risk for patients with HIV 

Cigarette smoking is the single most important risk factor for lung cancer in patients with HIV, Swiss investigators report in the online edition of the British Journal of Cancer.

Smoking was associated with a 14-fold increase in the risk of the malignancy. Unlike some other studies, the Swiss found no evidence that either a low CD4 cell count or a history of AIDS-defining lung disease were associated with lung cancer.

The study also showed the benefits of stopping smoking. The risk of lung cancer was significantly lower for former smokers compared to current smokers.

“Focusing on ways to help to quit smoking would be effective in reducing lung cancer,” comment the investigators.

Lung cancer is one of the more common non-AIDS-defining cancers seen in patients with HIV. This could be because a large proportion of HIV-positive patients are smokers and studies have shown a consistent relationship between smoking and lung cancer risk for HIV-positive individuals.

However, some research has found a relationship between the malignancy and immune deficiency. In addition, other studies have shown that patients with a history of AIDS-defining pulmonary disease are also at greater risk of lung cancer. Importantly, the associations identified in these studies remained significant after controlling for smoking status.

Given this confusion, investigators from the Swiss HIV Cohort designed a case-controlled study to better identify the factors associated with an increased risk of lung cancer in their patients.

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Woman dies in Geneva hospital fire 

A woman who suffered severe burns in a fire at Geneva University Hospital on Monday night has died in hospital. . . .

Investigators now believe the fire may have been caused by a cigarette, which was found by the woman's bed.

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• Tobacco workers top Swiss wage poll  

The average Swiss earned a gross monthly wage of 5,979 francs (4,982 euros, $6,490) last year, official figures published on Monday showed.

Senior employees in the tobacco industry were among the most handsomely paid, earning an average 46,315 francs a month, according to the Federal Statistical Office.

Next up were pharmaceutical executives

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Swiss Tobacco Packaging Printer relies on H.C. Moog Innovation 

As part of the global Amcor Group, with headquarters in Australia, Amcor Tobacco Packaging, Switzerland has made the decision to invest in a 1-TBR-compact press made by the company H.C. Moog, which will be operational in their Innovation Centre in Rickenbach from the end of 2011. Amcor decided to purchase the new machine as it allows them to offer their customers the option to produce mock-ups and do short runs with excellent print quality, in a cost effective way.

Some time ago Amcor started thinking about purchasing this machine, which optimizes costs and delivers an impressive gravure quality: since late autumn 2010 the H.C. Moog technology centre in Miehlen, Germany has had a 1-TBR-compact operating to allow Amcor to test the technology. In particular, Amcor has used it to produce mock-ups and prototypes for their clients in the tobacco industry, allowing their customers to test ideas and approve new designs faster and with more accuracy.

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• Cigarette warnings pack less of a punch 

Photos of cancerous lungs and other nasty results of smoking are not as good a deterrent as they used to be.

That is according to a study carried out by the Federal Office of Public Health.

A cohort of 10,000 smokers between the ages of 14 and 65 were questioned.

It turns out only 26 percent of them said they ever paid attention to these warnings, over 10 percent less than five years ago.

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