BAT buys big Colombian cigarette maker

British American Tobacco has snapped up Protabaco, Colombia's second-largest cigarette maker, for $US452 million ($A429.49 million), strengthening its presence in the Latin American nation.

"BAT has agreed to acquire a 100 per cent interest in privately-owned Productora Tabacalera de Colombia, S.A.S. (Protabaco) for an enterprise value of US$452 million," it said on Thursday in an official statement.

"On completion, the acquisition will elevate BAT from third to second place in Colombia, Latin America's fourth largest cigarette market with total industry sales of around 17 billion cigarettes in 2010."
BAT is the second biggest cigarette maker in the world and its best-selling brands are Dunhill, Kent, Lucky Strike and Pall Mall.

Protobaco sold 5.5 billion cigarettes last year in Colombia, where its biggest product Mustang is the second best-selling cigarette brand.

"This investment will strengthen and complement our position in an important market and fill a strategic gap in our Americas region," said Mark Cobben, BAT's Director for the Americas.

Cigarette makers want fair tax on all brands

Tax should be levied proportionately on all brands of cigarettes, not only on the low-end items consumed by the poor, manufacturers said.

The National Board of Revenue (NBR) has proposed the wholesale price for low-cost brands at Tk 1,100 per thousand pieces for the upcoming fiscal year from Tk 850 this year. The tax rate for these brands has been recommended at 52 percent, up from 47 percent now.

The prices and taxes for medium and high-end brands should remain unchanged, the tax administrator said.

The NBR also proposed the price of per thousand pieces of medium-end brands should remain unchanged at Tk 1,840 and the tax rate at 65 percent. It wants the tax rate for costly cigarettes at 72 percent in the upcoming fiscal year.

Cigarette taxes are a key source of revenue for the government. Out of the Tk 72,000 crore NBR revenue target for the outgoing year, the government will get at least Tk 6,000 crore or 8.33 percent from cigarette taxes.

“I am not against higher tax and price on cigarettes. But tax and price must be raised proportionately across all brands,” said Nasiruddin Biswas, chairman of Nasir Group of Industries.

Another businessman, requesting not to be named, said the tax hike move has been taken to give some specific companies edge over others.

There are hundreds of cigarette brands in Bangladesh. Of which, Gold Leaf, Benson & Hedges, Marlboro and Pall Mall are treated as high-end brands, while Capstan, Star and Navy medium brands.

Marise, Sheikh, Pilot and Top 10 are some of the low-cost brands that are increasingly dominating the cigarette market in recent years. Now these brands account for 52 percent of the cigarette market from 25 percent five years ago.

The manufacturers attributed the rapid growth of low-end brands to urbanisation and modernisation of society.

Bidi (traditional hand-made cigarette) smokers have been shifting to low-priced cigarettes because of changing consumption pattern, said the manufacturers.

Over the years, bidi production has been going down. Now only 400 crore pieces of bidi are produced against three times higher production just a decade ago, according to industry people. On the other hand, consumption of low-end brands has doubled to 600 crore pieces a year.

An NBR official said the poor spend more on tobacco than the rich. “We want to discourage them (the poor),” said the official.

According to experts, tobacco-related illness and death cost people thousands of crores of taka every year. Bidi and cigarette smokers die 6 to 10 years earlier than their non-smoking counterparts.

Global Adult Tobacco Survey Report 2010 shows around four crore adults use tobacco in Bangladesh, of them 58 percent male and 28.7 percent female. According to World Health Organisation, some 57,000 people die annually in Bangladesh for tobacco use

Kansas is Test Market for New Tobacco Product

Tuesday, May 31 is World No Tobacco Day, a day to consider the dangers of tobacco products and an opportunity to share with Kansans that the tobacco industry has introduced a new product that comes with some of the same health risks as other tobacco products. KDHE wants Kansans to know that the state is currently a test market for tobacco sticks and the potential dangers of this new product.

The tobacco sticks, sold under the popular brands Marlboro and Skoal, are sold in matchbook-size packages and look like chocolate-covered toothpicks. According to one tester, the products not only look like candy, they also taste like candy. The tobacco sticks have been seen at convenience stores across the state. Kansas is one of only three states where tobacco sticks are currently being test marketed.

“As the state’s health agency, KDHE is particularly concerned about the potential appeal of these new tobacco sticks to youth,” KDHE Secretary Dr. Robert Moser said. “The packages are so small that they could easily be concealed in a shirt or pants pocket and youth could use tobacco sticks in front of parents or teachers while appearing to have a simple toothpick in their mouth. We are also concerned about the risk of young children accidentally ingesting these products.”

The possibility that adults will carry the small packages in their pockets or leave them in other unsecured places means that young children may have easy access to tobacco sticks. As with any tobacco product, there is a risk that a young child may ingest a lethal amount of nicotine. The estimated minimal lethal pediatric dose is 1 mg of nicotine per 2.2 pounds of body weight. Ingestion of as little as 1 mg of nicotine by a small child can produce symptoms such as nausea and vomiting. While the nicotine content of Marlboro and Skoal tobacco sticks has not been tested, a study in Pediatrics found that a similar product Camel Sticks had 3.1 mg of nicotine per stick.

Each year the World Health Organization (WHO) celebrates World No Tobacco Day, highlighting the health risks associated with tobacco use and advocating for effective policies to reduce consumption. According to WHO, tobacco use is the second cause of death globally (after hypertension) and is currently responsible for killing one in 10 adults worldwide.

When Kansans are ready to quit tobacco use, the Kansas Tobacco Quitline 1-800-QUIT-NOW (784-8669) will provide support and work with the caller to develop a plan to quit. Counselors will provide information and guidance during one-on-one telephone sessions. Kansans can call the Quitline anytime day or night to start the process. Once enrolled in the free service, callers will work with a counselor who will set up sessions that fit the caller’s schedule. During these sessions, callers will discuss the reasons they want to quit and find ways to handle any barriers. Studie

How far are you willing to go to get cigarettes?

How much of a difference is there between Missouri and Iowa cigarette taxes? That was chosen as Thursday’s story of the day.

In the state of Missouri, cigarette taxes are the lowest in the nation at .17 cents per pack. With eight bordering states (Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska), people are coming from all over to buy cigarettes in the Show-Me-State.

According to state representative, Zachary Wyatt, this is actually helping the state economy at a time when in needs the help.

“When citizens from these eight states come into Missouri to buy our cheaper cigarettes. They're also possibly, they probably are buying possibly their groceries, their any type of commodities they might need, gas. So we're getting an economic benefit from them coming into our state.” Said Wyatt.

Wyatt also said that the cigarette tax hasn’t been raised since 1993. Some lawmakers in the past have tried to raise it, but voters refused to let it happen. There are no plans to raise it anytime soon.

In Iowa, the cigarette tax is a bit more pricy with $1.36 per pack. That is in the middle compared to the rest of the country.

If you are one of those Iowa who cross into the Missouri border to grab a pack of smokes, you better be careful. Only two packs of cigarettes may be brought into the state of Iowa at a time. The penalty for not following the law can include a $200 fine and the seizing of the cigarettes.

Also, if you are trying to get them sent by mail or by the internet, it is in fact illegal to do that without the official Iowa cigarette stamp on it.

Mass. jury rejects claim against cigarette maker

A Massachusetts jury has found that Phillip Morris Inc. was not responsible for the death of a longtime smoker whose family claimed the company’s cigarettes could have been made safer.

The Worcester Superior Court jury returned its verdict Thursday after hearing three weeks of testimony and deliberating over three days.

The family of Stephen Haglund of Douglas filed the lawsuit in 2001, the year after he died of lung cancer at age 51.
The lawsuit said Phillip Morris should have used technology to remove nicotine from cigarettes to make them safer and less addictive. The company’s attorney said that the technology, solvent extraction, did not remove all nicotine, and would not remove carcinogens.

An attorney for the family, Michael Weisman, tells the Telegram & Gazette there are issues to consider for an appeal.

Philip Morris Int'l buys rights to nicotine system

Cigarette maker Philip Morris International Inc. has purchased the rights to a technology that lets users inhale nicotine without smoking.
The world's largest nongovernmental cigarette seller told The Associated Press on Thursday it has bought the patent for an aerosol nicotine-delivery system developed by Jed Rose, director of the Center for Nicotine and Smoking Cessation Research at Duke University in Durham, N.C. The school does not have a role in Rose's agreement with the company and won't receive any money. Terms were not disclosed.

"By avoiding the burning process altogether, finding a way of giving smokers nicotine to inhale but without those toxic substances that we can reduce the death and disease associated with smoking," said Rose, who led the initial studies in the early 1980s that helped pave the way for commercial nicotine patches as a smoking cessation treatment.

"Hopefully it's a wave of the future that inhaling combusted, burning tobacco will someday be a thing of the past."
Rose said the next step is for Philip Morris International, with offices in New York and Lausanne, Switzerland, to develop a commercial product using the technology. The system differs from current medicinal nicotine inhalers available on the market as stop-smoking aids because it delivers nicotine more rapidly to mimic the nicotine "hit" a cigarette provides smokers.
"The other methods of delivering nicotine fall short of providing smokers with the satisfaction that they crave," Rose said.
The move is an "important step in our efforts to develop products that have the potential to reduce the risk of smoking-related diseases," Doug Dean, Philip Morris International's senior vice president for research and development, said in a statement.
Spokesman Peter Nixon said it may take three to five years to develop a commercial product that would be considered an alternative to conventional cigarettes.
Its shares rose 93 cents, or more than 1 percent, to $70.42 in afternoon trading.
Thursday's announcement is the latest in a series of steps by tobacco companies to venture into smokeless tobacco and other nicotine products as tax increases, health concerns, smoking bans and stigma cut into demand for cigarettes.
Last month, British American Tobacco PLC created a subsidiary called Nicoventures focused on nicotine alternatives. In 2009, the nation's second-largest tobacco company Reynolds American Inc. purchased Swedish company Niconovum whose nicotine gum, pouches and spray help people stop smoking.
"We know that people smoke for the nicotine and die from the smoke," said David Sweanor, a Canadian law professor and tobacco expert who consults with companies and others on industry issues. The question becomes, "can you give them the nicotine without the smoke in some way that's consumer acceptable."
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is developing guidelines for companies interested in developing what the agency calls modified-risk tobacco products.
"Changes in the regulatory systems are creating an environment where competitive forces will move this market quite dramatically," Sweanor said.
Nearly 6 million people die from tobacco use each year, from both direct use and secondhand smoke, according to the World Health Organization.
Philip Morris International, smaller only than state-controlled China National Tobacco Corp., was spun off from Richmond, Va.-based Altria Group Inc. in March 2008. Altria, owner of the nation's largest tobacco company, Philip Morris USA, still sells Marlboro and other brands in the U.S.

Smoking ban inquiries tackled in city Q&A

When Springfield's new smoking ordinance takes effect in June, patrons will be able to continue smoking legally on restaurant patios -- even those with roofs -- as long as the walls don't extend to the ceiling on all sides.

Add floor-to-ceiling wind screens, however, and smoking is out, even if all the flaps are raised.

Sound complicated?

The city hopes the answers in an expanded list of frequently asked questions will bring clarity to some of the murkier issues raised by the smoke-free air ordinance approved in April.

The expanded FAQ was drafted by city legal staff and was expected to be posted online today, at www.springfieldmo. gov/smokefree.

City Attorney Dan Wichmer said the FAQ is meant to guide the public as well as Springfield-Greene County Health Department staff charged with enforcing the ban.

It is scheduled to take effect at midnight June 11.

Many of the questions pertain to the division between private residences -- where smoking generally will be allowed -- and enclosed workplaces, where it will be prohibited.

Is someone who telecommutes or works from home prohibited from smoking there?

No, the document says, although it's less clear on the question of whether a home becomes a place of employment when service workers -- such as a housekeeper, plumber or home health care worker -- are present.

"Private residences are exempted from the ordinance unless used as a child care, adult day care, or a health care facility," the document says -- repeating what the ordinance says without offering any insight into what the sentence means.

Pressed for a more direct answer, Wichmer offered an unequivocal "No."

"Even if you hire a home health care worker, it's still a house," he said. Same with hiring a housekeeper or babysitter -- "It's kind of just incidental to you living there."

The difference, Wichmer said, centers on whether a homeowner has hired someone to provide a service at the home, or is employing workers who help the homeowner earn a living. In the latter case, the home likely counts as a place of employment (and may be in violation of city zoning codes, to boot).

In some cases, different answers may apply to different kinds of people -- for example, workers versus tenants -- when determining if a building is a home or place of employment.

At an apartment complex, for example, management could allow tenants to smoke in their own apartments or private balconies, although not in hallways, rec rooms or other common areas.

An apartment complex worker fixing a leak in a smoker's kitchen couldn't legally light up, however, even if invited.

"You can smoke in there because it's a residence," Wichmer said. "For the worker, the entire complex is a job site."