Tobacco.org

Sin tax to abet smuggling, say US business groups 

Two top American business groups echoed apprehensions by some Filipino legislators that the Malacañang-backed sin-tax reform bill would abet smuggling, undermine the government’s revenue growth targets and subsequently pose serious threats to national security.

The US Chamber of Commerce and the US-Asean Business Council have asked Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. to consider the supposedly counterproductive and deleterious impact of House Bill (HB) 5727 that seeks to impose 1,000-percent to 1,500-percent tax increase on alcohol and tobacco products.

Jump to full article »

• Report of US ban on clove-flavoured cigarettes hits spice's price 

The cloves market appeared to head towards a crash following reports of ban on sales of clove-flavoured cigarettes by the US, which may lead to a sharp fall in its demand at a time when the crop in Indonesia is said to be a bumper one.

Meanwhile, the WTO Appellate Body on a formal petition filed by the Indonesian authorities against the US decision to the WTO in April 2010, decided on April 4 that "the US Law banning the sale of clove-flavoured cigarette to discourage children from smoking was unfair to Indonesia because menthol cigarette can still be sold in the US." . . .

Even though Indonesia has won the case against the US, export of its cigarettes might face a threat from the fact that "many countries have signed the Framework Convention for Tobacco Control under the WHO supervision," an overseas report said. Add to this Brazil is also reported to have banned cigar sales.

Jump to full article »

CODY: Secondhand Smoke Filters Through Apartment Buildings 

I happened to mention recently that smoking in France really affects apartment buildings, especially since so many are above restaurants and cafes . . .

Last year we had a beautiful home built in the 1600s in the heart of an ancient harbor town. Naturally we flung all the windows open every to watch the water, the people and to breathe in the delicious scents of bakeries, outdoor food markets, cafes.

But unfortunately, what permeated our senses the most was the cigarette smoke -- so much so that we had to keep the windows on the second floor closed for half the day, as it filtered in so badly that even our kids made comments.

While people have the right to smoke, it made me wonder about how people living in these kinds of apartments deal with this all the time.

Do they care? Do they even notice?

It turns out that they do -- a lot, especially in the United States

Jump to full article »

US trade opposes total FDI ban in India's tobacco sector 

Cigarette packet warning labels can prevent relapse: findings from the International Tobacco Control 4-Country policy evaluation cohort study 

Cigarette packet warning labels can prevent relapse: findings from the International Tobacco Control 4-Country policy evaluation cohort study  

Medical News: Warning Labels Help Ex-Smokers Resist  

Action Points

* This study found that former smokers can be helped with avoiding relapse if they actively pay attention to the health-risk warning labels on cigarette packs.

* Note that country of residence did not significantly predict relapse, even though the warning labels in the United Staates are text only and placed on the side of the pack, whereas in the other countries the labels are larger, placed more prominently, and can include graphic illustrations.

Health-risk warning labels on cigarette packages can help former smokers avoid relapse -- if they actively use them as part of a strategy to remain tobacco-free, a prospective cohort survey suggested.

In a series of multivariate analyses, merely noticing the warning labels was actually associated with a greater risk of relapse (OR 1.52, 95% CI 1.11 to 2.09, P<0.01) according to Ron Borland, PhD, of the Cancer Council Victoria, in Carlton, Australia, and colleagues.

"Mere exposure to the warnings, because it entails concurrent exposure to cigarettes, is likely to be positively associated with relapse," they explained online in Tobacco Control.

However, after controlling for the factors of self-efficacy for remaining abstinent and the degree of urge to smoke, the greater risk was no longer present (OR 1.29, 95% CI 0.92 to 1.80, P=0.135), they reported.

Jump to full article »

• Cigarette pack health warnings can help ex-smokers stave off urge to resume smoking 

Health warnings on cigarette packs can help ex-smokers stave off the urge to start smoking again, indicates research published online in Tobacco Control.

The evidence to date suggests that health warnings on packs can deter non-smokers from starting to smoke and stop teens who dabble with cigarettes from becoming confirmed smokers. But it has not been clear whether they can actually help ex-smokers stay quit.

The authors base their findings on responses between 2002 and 2009 from almost 2,000 recent ex-smokers to the annual International Tobacco Control 4-Country policy evaluation survey. This monitors the impact of tobacco control policies in Canada, Australia, the UK and the US.

Jump to full article »

Philip Morris USA Makes Master Settlement Agreement Payment of Approximately $3.5 Billion 

• US trade opposes total FDI ban in India's tobacco sector  

Five American trade bodies, including USIBC, have joined hands to oppose efforts of the Indian government to further restrict participation of foreign companies in India's tobacco market.

According to reports, the India's Commerce Ministry, on the request of Health Ministry, has proposed to put a complete FDI ban in the sector.

Currently, foreign direct investment (FDI) is completely prohibited in manufacturing of tobacco and its substitutes, while such investments are allowed up to 100 per cent in wholesale trading of cigarettes through the approval route.

In a letter to the Indian Ambassador to the US, Nirupama Rao, the US industry organisations said: "Some proponents of further restrictions have apparently cited public health as a justification, but since there is absolutely no difference in the health effects from consuming Indian or foreign tobacco products, that argument cannot be taken seriously".

Jump to full article »

• Key: Free trade won't snuff plain smokes 

New Zealand has not signed any free trade agreement that will stop plans to sell cigarettes in plain packaging, Prime Minister John Key says.

That's despite threats by a consortium of American organisations who issued a statement over the weekend claiming tobacco firms' logos and branding were protected by laws and international treaties.

The US Chamber of Commerce and several other organisations said the tobacco industry had "legitimate trademark protection and branding".

Jump to full article »

• US must change its tobacco act: RI  

Indonesia will demand that the United States changes its tobacco control act to comply with the recent ruling of the World Trade Organization (WTO) in a dispute, the trade minister has declared.

The Appellate Body of the WTO last week ruled in favor of Indonesia, saying that the US ban on sales of clove cigarettes was discriminatory, as it still allowed sales of other flavored cigarettes, particularly menthol cigarettes, widely produced in the country.

“Both the US and Indonesia are countries that are bound by the rule of law. There’s no reason for the US not to comply with the WTO’s ruling. As a law-based country, it will respect high international ruling issued by the WTO,” Trade Minister Gita Wirjawan told reporters in Jakarta on Wednesday.

The ruling could serve as a strong precedent to discourage other countries from banning the sale of clove cigarettes and compliance with the decision was necessary to do that, Gita said.

Jump to full article »

WTO Creates Roadblock to Administration's Anti-Smoking Initiative  

A spokeswoman for the U.S. Trade Representative expressed disappointment, stating that the Obama Administration "will continue to vigorously pursue public health measures in a way that is consistent with United States trade obligations."

The tobacco control act's sponsor, Representative Henry Waxman (D-CA), stated that the WTO decision "has serious public health implications for … efforts to reduce youth smoking" and that he believed the decision was wrong because the Act did not distinguish based on where a cigarette was made.

The advocacy group Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids called on the U.S. government to continue enforcement of its ban on flavored cigarettes but also to take action to remove menthol cigarettes from the market.

Jump to full article »

WTO Again Says US Clove Cigarette Ban Tramples Trade Rules ($$) 

• Public Citizen Condemns WTO Attack on U.S. Efforts to Reduce Teen Smoking  

The World Trade Organization's (WTO) final ruling today against U.S. efforts to reduce teen smoking shows that our current trade regime is simply incompatible with basic public health regulation, Public Citizen said. With today's ruling, the WTO Appellate Body has now ordered the U.S. to water down or get rid of a key plank of its landmark Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act of 2009 (FSPTCA), one of the few policy achievements of the Obama administration's first term. The act banned sale of candy and other sweet-flavored cigarettes used to attract children to smoking.

"The Obama administration and Congress must not bow to yet another ruling from a so-called trade agreement tribunal demanding that the U.S. get rid of yet another important health or environmental policy," said Lori Wallach, director of Public Citizen's Global Trade Watch. "The Obama administration must stand with the thousands of Americans who have signed a Consumer Rights Pledge calling on the U.S. to not comply with these illegitimate trade pact rulings and to stop the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade negotiations that would greatly intensify this problem.

"Countries should not be weakening their public health laws to comply with the anti-health, anti-environmental WTO rules. This case underscores why countries must insist that WTO rules be altered and that no new agreements use the same corporate backdoor deregulation model," said Wallach. "If there is any silver lining to today's ruling, it is that it will confirm the views of growing numbers of consumers, citizens and governments that the WTO must be shrunk or sunk.

Jump to full article »