Author: Staff Writer

  • Economy cited in calls for easing of Lebanon’s smoking ban

    A Lebanese MP says that amendments he has proposed to the country’s recently-introduced public-places tobacco smoking ban would be government-revenue positive, according to a story in the Beirut Daily Star.

    Antoine Zahra was reported by local media representatives of having told parliament that he had submitted an urgent amendment to Article 5 of the ban after it had become obvious that applying the law was hurting the tourism sector.Lebanon’s economy had suffered enough, he apparently added.

    His amendments would allow for the inclusion in public places of smoking sections and international-standard ventilation systems.

    But they would bar those under 18 from entering any venue where smoking was allowed.

    Zahra’s submission came a day after a number of associations had demanded the government amend the ban, which went into effect last month.

    They said the sector had been burdened with heavy losses as a result of the ban.

    Meanwhile, Pierre Achkar, head of the Hotels Association, said during a news conference on Tuesday his members were not calling for the cancellation of the smoking ban, but for a law that took their businesses into account.

    And the head of the Chambers of Commerce, Mohammad Choucair, asked the government to provide licenses for venues specialized in nargileh.

  • Smoke lifting from Finland’s localities

    More than 60 per cent ofFinland’s municipalities have declared themselves free of tobacco smoking, according to a story in the international edition of Helsingin Sanomat.

    In tobacco-smoking-free municipalities, smoking is normally banned in all of the premises and outdoor areas, such as parks, that are owned or governed by the local council.

    By the end of September, 204 municipalities had reached the decision to become smoking-free, according to the Savuton Kunta (Smoke-Free Municipality) project.

    And from the beginning of this month,Helsinki’s eastern neighbour, Sipoo, became tobacco smoking-free.

  • What Hungary’s smokers lose on the roundabouts they gain on the swings

    Hungary’s parliamentary budget committee has proposed that two tobacco tax increases slated for 2013 should be amalgamated and brought forward to this year, according to a story in the Portfolio Online Financial Journal.

    However, under the proposals the level of increase would not be as high as had been previously planned.

    Quoting an explanation of the amendment proposal published on the parliamentary website, Portfolio said the tax hike was necessary ‘to avoid an excessive increase in consumer prices and mitigate risks of the black market gaining a stronger foothold’.

    The changes would enter into effect as of December 1, so they would generate additional revenues for this year’s budget.

    Originally, the tax increases were to have been carried out in two phases: on 1 January and May 1, 2013.

  • New adhesive for high-speed production

    H.B. Fuller has introduced Ipacoll 2603, a high-performance tipping adhesive for both skip-tip and full-coat slot nozzle applicators. Tailor-made to fulfill the requirements of Hauni Maschinenbau’s high-speed Protos M5 and M8 machines, it supports production flexibility and ease of use while maintaining cigarette outputs of up to 20,000 cigarettes per minute.

    Ipacoll 2603 adhesive has been developed in response to the need to achieve levels of higher cleanliness and efficiency as demanded by Hauni’s proprietary slot nozzle applicators. H.B. Fuller says the adhesive is exceptionally clean running, which enhances nozzle performance and minimizes the need for cleaning. It meets all TVO and sensory requirements.

    Tested at the leading machinery manufacturer, Ipacoll 2603 adhesive has been proven to support high production speeds of up to 20,000 cpm. Its high wet-tack properties give potential mileage savings and ensure tipping paper patches are processed without adverse impact on ventilation rates.

    Ipacoll 2603 adhesive has a clean adhesive pattern on pre-perforated paper and online laser perforation. In addition, the high performance over a wide range of papers helps to reduce reject cigarette rates.

    “H.B. Fuller is proud of its collaborative approach with customers and OEMs and it is through partnership that the next generation of adhesives is being perfected,” says Stuart Jenkinson, business director EIMEA for tobacco at H.B. Fuller.

    “Ipacoll 2603 has been tailor-made for cigarette producers to get the very best out of the high performance Hauni Protos M5 and M8 machines.”

     

     

  • FCTC proposals provide no viable alternatives to tobacco

    The chief executive of the Zimbabwe Tobacco Association (ZTA) has condemned World Health Organization proposals to reduce the area planted to tobacco and withdraw technical and financial support for leaf production, according to a NewsDay story relayed by Tobacco China Online.

    Rodney Ambrose said the proposals would negatively affect the tobacco industry and lead to massive job losses.

    Ambrose’s intervention came despite the fact thatZimbabweis not a party to WHO’s Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), which will discuss the proposals at a meeting inSeoulon November 12-17.

    The FCTC is expected to recommend the ending of financial and technical support to tobacco farmers, the dismantling of organizations connecting growers with governments, the regulation of tobacco growing seasons and the reduction of the area allocated for tobacco farming.

    Ambrose said that the regulations, aimed at phasing out tobacco growing, put the jobs of more than 30 million farmers around the world at risk.

    And it did so without providing them with any viable alternative crop.

    “WHO has consistently refused to listen to tobacco growers in drafting the proposals that directly impactAfrica’s farmers,” he said.

    According to the ZTA, the FCTC’s proposals were designed to force tobacco growers out of business by creating artificial restrictions on tobacco supply, while failing to address growing demand for the crop.

    “Now is the time for governments to act and oppose these draconian measures,” Ambrose said.

    Currently, there is an international online petition aimed at rallying governments worldwide to oppose the measures: http://protectfarmers.tobaccoleaf.org/join.aspx.

  • Cigarette lobby said to be behind bans on smokeless tobacco products

    Smokeless tobacco manufacturers inIndiahave joined hands to launch a nation-wide media campaign to tell people that the ban on their products is unfair and is the ‘doing of the powerful cigarette lobby’, according to a Times of India story relayed by the TMA.

    The campaign features newspaper advertisements that contest the ban on gutkha and pan masala, stating that these products contain less tobacco and cancer causing substances than cigarettes contain.

    Fourteen states have so far banned the manufacture, distribution and sale of gutkha and pan masala containing tobacco.

    The bans have been brought in under the Food Safety Standards Authority of India, which bans all ‘food products’ with tobacco or nicotine.

    There are no state bans on loose tobacco or smoking tobacco products.

    In a story published last month, The Times of India quoted tobacco analysts as saying that the bans on various oral tobacco-containing products, such as gutkha, were likely to be positive for cigarette companies.

    The bans come at a time when efforts in many countries are being aimed at trying to get smokers who won’t quit their habit to change instead to smokeless products.

  • Russia’s kiosk owners petition Putin over tobacco sales ban plan

    Russia’s Coalition of Kiosk Owners (CKO) said yesterday that it would submit a 165,000-signature petition to President Vladimir Putin this week to ask him to halt pending bans on the sales of cigarettes and beer from kiosks, according to a story by Roland Oliphant for The Moscow Times.

    A law banning the sale of beer from kiosks has already been passed and now the Health and Social Development Ministry is seeking to ban retail outlets with a floor area of less than 50 square meters from selling tobacco products.

    The CKO, formed in April to fight the legislation, claims that such measures would put small businesses out of business while not preventing drinking or smoking.

    “Of course, we need to fight smoking,” said CKO leader, Vladen Maximov.

    “But this law would strike small business owners without having any impact on smokers.”

    “In St.   Petersburg, where by law there are no kiosks, statistics show no discernible impact on rates of smoking,” Maximov added.

  • Indonesian manufacturer going public

    A fourth tobacco manufacturer is to seek listing on the Indonesian Stock Exchange, according to a story in The Jakarta Post.

    PT Wismilak Inti Makmur, a manufacturer of clove cigarettes and premium cigars, says it will hold an initial public offering (IPO) later this year.

    Wismilak would be the fourth cigarette firm listed on the Indonesia Stock Exchange, after Gudang Garam, Sampoerna and Bentoel.

    Wismilak’s corporate secretary, Surjanto Yasaputera, said the company had appointed PT OSK Nusadana Securities and PT Mandiri Sekuritas as underwriters for the IPO, in which Wismilak would sell a maximum of 30 per cent of its shares.

    Surjanto did not say how much the firm expected to generate from the IPO nor an intended range for share prices.

    Nevertheless, Trust Securities analyst, Reza Priyambada, said he doubted Wismilak’s IPO would generate the funds expected considering the bleak prospects for the tobacco industry.

  • ‘tis plain the brains fall mainly in Spain

    Teams from two factories in Spain have won places in the final of an Imperial Tobacco competition to test the company’s manufacturing employees on their safety, quality, environmental and product know-how.

    More than 2,000 employees from 43 of Imperial’s factories worldwide have been competing in the Global Safety Pin contest, the grand final of which will be held at the company’s Kiev factory in April.

    A team from Imperial’s Cantabria factory won the cigar division semi-final, which was held in the Dominican Republic, and a team from Cádiz won the Western Europe semi-final in the UK.

    A further five semi-finals will be staged between now and November with the next being held at the company’s Tarnowo factory in Poland later this month for its Central Europe and USA factories.

    A qualifying round involved around 300 teams taking part in an online quiz and presenting their ideas to improve operational efficiency to a panel of experts.

    “The aim of this competition is to improve operational excellence as well as enjoy ourselves by sharing our knowledge and expertise,” said director of operations, Rainer Eberlein.

  • FCTC proposals threaten to increase poverty among African leaf producers

    The Kenya Association of Manufacturers (KAM) has warned against full implementation of the world Health Organization’s recommendations on tobacco control, according to a story in the Nairobi Star.

    The WHO’s Framework Convention on Tobacco Control is aimed, directly or indirectly, at reducing tobacco growing, and KAM’s CEO, Betty Maina, said that such proposals should be given an airing because tobacco production in Kenya was an important economic activity.

    Speaking at a recent forum on tobacco production, Maina said the tobacco industry had played a key role in job creation and that any plan aimed at controlling its sale and distribution should be restrained, and administered according to individual country laws.

    The FCTC has been pushing for a gradual migration of farmers out of tobacco and KAM fears that such a move will increase the poverty levels in Kenya and other African countries, including Malawi, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Uganda and Tanzania.