May 30, 2012—A treasury report has admitted that smoking saves the New Zealand government money because smokers die earlier and pay more in tobacco tax than their health problems cost, according to a story in the Otago Daily Times relayed by Tobacco China Online.
The regulatory impact statement on tobacco taxes prepared ahead of the budget said smokers’ shorter life expectancies reduced the need for superannuation and aged care.
‘When the broader fiscal impacts of smoking are considered … smokers are probably already “paying their way” in narrowly fiscal terms,’ the report stated.’
In last week’s budget, associate health minister, Tariana Turia, introduced tobacco levies that will increase the price of a 20-pack of cigarettes to more than $20 in four years.
The new taxes are estimated to increase the government’s tax take from tobacco from $1.3 billion to around $1.7 billion by 2016.
A University of Otago study in 2007 estimated that the direct cost of smoking to the ministry of health was $300 million to $350 million.
The treasury cited a ministry of health study that estimated the indirect health costs of smoking at $1.9 billion, but acknowledged the figure had been disputed and was far higher than previous estimates.
The regulatory impact statement said taxing smokers was a much more reliable way of generating income for the government than was taxing other goods and services.
It said tobacco taxes were ‘very efficient’ for raising revenue because the addictive nature of nicotine meant smokers were not highly sensitive to price increases.
May 30, 2012—New York officials said yesterday that they were putting a temporary hold on the enforcement of a ban on tobacco smoking at state parks in the city, according to a story by Glenn Blain for the New York Daily News.
The ban, enacted in April, extended also to designated areas around pools and playgrounds at all other state parks.
But officials were forced to shelve the ban after the city-based group, Citizens Lobbying Against Smoker Harassment (CLASH), filed formal objections to the policy.
The objections require the state to draft a response and hold a lengthy public comment period before the smoking ban can be implemented. The process could last for months, and a lawsuit is likely.
Dan Keefe, a spokesman for the state office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation, confirmed that the state would not be handing out tickets until the process was concluded, but he said that the signs would be left in place.
Keefe admitted that state officials had not expected anyone to object when they announced the policy and began posting signs.
May 30, 2012—The US Food and Drug Administration’s Center for Tobacco Products (CTP), in collaboration with the Institute of Medicine (IOM), is launching a new regulatory science fellowship program.
The new program is designed for mid-career professionals to gain experience and expertise to further define and develop the field of regulatory science as it relates to the regulation of tobacco products and the FDA’s new authorities under the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act.
More details are at: http://www.iom.edu/Activities/Education/FDAFellowship.aspx?source=govdelivery.
May 30, 2012—Romania hopes to capitalize on Bulgaria’s decision to ban tobacco smoking in all enclosed public places since it may be seen by smokers as an attractive alternative tourist destination, according to a Novinite story quoting media reports.
Smokers will be able to take advantage of Romania’s more relaxed smoking regime in restaurants, cars, hotels and offices after Bulgaria introduces its full ban on June 1.
Currently, both Romania and Bulgaria impose partial smoking bans.
Bulgaria’s resorts expect more one million tourists to come from neighboring Romania this year, according to the Bulgarian association of travel agencies.
But the association warns that this influx will be due partly to the fact that tourists are still not aware of the new rules Bulgaria has imposed.
May 25, 2012—A report released yesterday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirms that US states have been spending a small and dwindling portion of their tobacco revenues on programs to prevent young people from smoking and help smokers quit, according to a PRNewswire story from the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids (CTFK).
‘From 1998 to 2010, the states collected a combined $243.8 billion in revenue from legal settlements with the tobacco industry and from cigarette taxes, but appropriated only $8.1 billion for tobacco prevention and cessation programs (counting both state funding and federal grants),’ the story said.
‘Total funding for these programs amounted to just 3.3 per cent of the states’ tobacco revenues and less than 28 per cent of the CDC’s recommended amount.
‘This is particularly tragic because, as the report also found, states that have made sustained investments in comprehensive tobacco control programs have seen cigarette sales drop about twice as much as in the United States overall.’
And the states’ record in respect of fighting tobacco use has become even worse during the past several years, as was shown by a report released in November by the CTFK and other public health organizations. ‘The states have slashed funding for tobacco prevention programs by 36 per cent in the past four years,’ the story continued.
‘In the current budget year (fiscal year 2012), the states will collect $25.6 billion in tobacco revenue, but will spend less than two per cent of it – $456.7 million – on tobacco prevention programs.
‘Total state spending currently amounts to just 12 per cent of what the CDC recommends.’
The CTFK said that the CDC report had confirmed that most states had broken the promises they made at the time of the 1998 tobacco settlement to invest a significant portion of their settlement funds in fighting tobacco use, especially among young people. ‘The states’ failure amounts to an enormous missed opportunity to accelerate progress against tobacco use in the United States,’ the story said.
‘It’s also no coincidence that smoking declines have slowed at the same time that states have slashed tobacco prevention funds.’
May 25, 2012—The metropolitan government of Seoul, South Korea, said on Wednesday that it would begin enforcing tobacco smoking bans in more public places next month in an effort to turn all public areas of the city into smoke-free zones, according to a story by Lee Eun-joo for the Korea JoongAng Daily.
In June, the city will impose fines of up to WON100,000 on people found smoking tobacco in any of 1,950 non-smoking areas that include parks, children’s playgrounds, squares and bus stations.
Of the 25 districts in Seoul, five districts, Gwanak, Gwangjin, Dongdaemun, Gangdong, and Dobong, began enforcing tobacco smoking bans in March.
Starting next month, Jung, Seongdong, Mapo and Geumcheon will start to impose fines, while the remaining districts, excluding those of Seodaemun and Jongno, will levy fines from July 1. Seodaemun will start enforcing the ban from September while Jongno will begin doing so in January of next year.
May 30, 2012—PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) is campaigning against a draft recommendation by the US Food and Drug Administration’s Center for Tobacco Products that some tobacco products be tested on animals, according to an Ecorazzi story relayed by Tobacco China Online.
‘This guidance would allow companies to conduct cruel animal tests to demonstrate the “reduced risks” of new products and ingredients,’ PETA was quoted as saying.
PETA says that the tests are not beneficial to humans because animals that are forced to breathe in smoke do not develop the same diseases as those that humans develop.
It says that the tobacco industry has misled the public with such results for decades, denying the link between smoking and cancer.
‘In some of the horrendous tobacco tests that could be conducted, rats would be forced to breathe tobacco smoke for as long as six hours a day for months at a time by jamming the animals into tiny canisters and pumping concentrated cigarette smoke directly into their noses,’ PETA was quoted as saying. ‘The animals would then be killed and their bodies dissected.’
Belgium, Germany and the UK are said to have banned animal testing for tobacco products, while Canada uses ‘modern, non-animal methods’ to test the products’ safety.
PETA is asking the public to urge the FDA to do the same.
The organisation said that people needed to tell the FDA loudly and clearly that no more animals should suffer and die in these archaic, inaccurate, and cruel tests conducted in respect of products that were known to be deadly when used as directed.
‘Please exercise your right as a US citizen to submit a polite comment to the FDA urging it to remove any language recommending or allowing animal tests from its draft guidance on tobacco product testing,’ PETA urged.
Comments to the FDA regarding the draft recommendation can be made before June 4.
The organic approach to tobacco production continues to grow in the United States
By Chris Bickers
In an organic tobacco program, sunflowers serve as a trap crop for beneficial insects.
The future of organic tobacco looks bright to Aaron Sink of High Point, North Carolina, USA—so bright, in fact, that earlier this year he bought a farm specifically to grow organic tobacco. “We are getting a good vibe about growing this type of leaf,” he says. “The manufacturer, Santa Fe, is pushing to increase production of organic cigarettes, and that gives us the chance to increase at our end.”
Sink has built a greenhouse on the new farm and was moving curing barns on it when Tobacco Reporter interviewed him in March. “I am definitely willing to make some capital expenditures to provide it.”
But he still has to rent much of his tobacco land—80 acres this year—and the organic approach has provided an unexpected benefit: It has helped him gain access to rental land that he might not have gotten if he had been growing conventional. You see, he farms on the edge of an urbanized area, and city landowners are not always anxious to rent to conventional farmers.
But near chemical-free organic culture is much more appealing. “My landlords like the idea of the organic option,” Sink says. “It has definitely opened some doors for me.”
That’s the good news. The bad news is that organic is a very difficult way to grow tobacco. No weed-control chemicals are approved for organic, so all that a grower can do is plow.
Same thing for disease control: Crop rotation is substantially the only tool available. Sink grows one year of tobacco followed by wheat, then a year of a legume. Of course, as far as possible, he chooses disease-free fields for organic tobacco.
Sucker control has been an enormous problem for organic tobacco in the past, with most of it having to be done by hand. But for the last two seasons, Santa Fe growers have had an effective option. OTAC, a new contact sucker control agent developed by Santa Fe and Fair Products, was approved for use in organic programs in late 2009. In Extension testing in North Carolina at the time, the results from use of the fatty alcohol product were similar to other sucker control products, said Loren Fisher, N.C. Extension tobacco specialist. “It doesn’t appear that a farmer would lose any control by using it. OTAC looks like a good fit in organic tobacco or in any program where you are trying to reduce or eliminate the use of MH.”
Insect control is a major problem also. Sink uses a couple of cultural methods of dealing with the situation: He plants sunflowers around his organic tobacco as a trap crop for beneficial insects like ladybugs, and he sows tall fescue grass in vulnerable areas to compete with those weeds that might host other insects.
These practices help, but Sink has learned he has to tolerate a little more insect damage than he was accustomed to before he went organic. “Especially, there isn’t much you can use on aphids in this type of tobacco,” he says.
Among other tobacco farmers who have gone organic in recent years:
Roger Smith of Brooksville, Kentucky, USA, says the interest in organic tobacco is definitely growing.
Roger Smith of Brooksville, Kentucky, USA, has tried to come up with a feasible insect control program. “We’ve learned to promote populations of beneficial insects like ladybugs and lacewings by planting crops that attract them,” he says. “They like to breed in sunflowers, hay and certain flowers.”
Back in the early 1990s, Smith was one of the first American farmers to grow organic burley, and there are still only a few of them. Now, he says he would not be raising tobacco if it wasn’t organic. “But you have to work hard at this to make it work. Organic burley will be confined to small-scale growers until there is more demand. But the interest is definitely growing. The price offered by SFNTC is substantially higher than the market price.”
Smith is planning to produce 4,000 pounds of organic burley this year. He hopes he will get a boost from a variety that is relatively new to his farm: KT 204. It has the reputation of yielding higher than the standard organic variety, TN 90. KT 206 had performed well too in recent years, but it is no longer available as an organic seed source.
Smith is optimistic about the future of organic tobacco, although he notes that anything in agriculture is iffy at the moment.
It is challenging for farmers to change the way they farm, and it may well be difficult and costly, says organic tobacco grower Billy Carter of Eagle Springs, North Carolina. But if you plan carefully, including finding a dependable commercial company who will work with you, it can become a profitable venture.
One reason is changing consumer demand.
“A high percentage of consumers are requesting a more natural vegetable,” he says. “People don’t want a lot of additives and poisonous materials put into food products. And many people are aware of the threat of ground water and soil being altered by chemicals.”
Naturally, to be certified organic, the land must be free of pesticides and chemicals for a period of three years prior to the first sowing date, he says.
“The crops need to be rotated regularly to avoid depletion of soil nutrition. Soil and nematode samples must be taken yearly for nutrition analysis. And drip irrigation is preferable to overhead watering techniques. We also hand-water crops as we see fit.”
Like nearly all of Santa Fe’s growers, Carter uses sunflowers to keep insects in check.
“We plant two rows of sunflowers to every eight rows of tobacco. We seed the sunflowers about 10 days before the tobacco is transplanted.”
There is no crop dusting or pesticide runoff. Natural fertilizers are used in a dedicated certified crop. “Organic farming can build up soil organic matter better than conventional no-till farming.”
Aaron Sink of High Point, North Carolina, USA, is making capital expenditures this year to produce more organic leaf.
Stanley Hughes, a flue-cured grower in Orange County, North Carolina, is a real believer in organic tobacco. “Particularly because of the favorable price I get when I bring in a certified organic crop of quality tobacco. By producing quality leaf, using environmentally friendly chemicals and proven cultural practices, I’ve been receiving a premium price.”
Hughes was one of the first organic farmers to cultivate tobacco under contract to Santa Fe Natural Tobacco Company.
“Organic tobacco is a nice little niche market for a small farmer like myself,” he says. “It allows me to make a good living farming full time.”
The price Santa Fe pays is justified, says Mike Little, president of the company. “Our organic growers are producing crops that are under more stress and a whole lot more susceptible to Mother Nature, so we pay them a little more.”
The prices are not guaranteed, he points out: Growers are paid only if their tobacco tests free of prohibited pesticides.
“There’s a near-zero tolerance under the USDA certification rules,” says Little, who initiated the program for SFNTC. “If we find something that exceeds the rules, then it won’t make organic. It’s not that we won’t take that tobacco, but it loses organic certification right there. We’ll go ahead and use it in one of our conventional blends.
“Nevertheless, we are committed to organic production in order to continue using the best possible tobacco in our products. Once farmers learn to produce organic tobacco, they find the skills and knowledge translate well to growing organic produce.”
Little takes pride in the fact that once the company recruits a grower to its organic program, he never asks to get out.
“We have an attractive contract; growers understand and like that about us. Also, we work hard to establish and maintain good relationships with all of our growers. We are in communication with them year-round.”
Organic certification allows the growth of other high-value seasonal crops, which can demand a premium price on the ever-expanding organic market, says Fielding Daniel, SFNTC’s director of leaf. “Our growers are heartened by this new and profitable market and worry less about petrochemicals, the cost and the risk of mishandling of them. Many also tell us that they are seeing a return of long-missed wildlife and nature to their land.”
Little says Santa Fe is committed to this type and will continue to promote organic tobacco production.
“Although organic farming is more labor intensive and requires land to lie fallow for three years before certification, we are committed to its principles in order to continue using the best possible tobacco in our products,” he says. “Sustainable agriculture promotes the interests of small independent farmers, not only for tobacco but also for the organic vegetables and other crops grown in rotation with it. More organic production is in line with our company’s principles and better for the environment.”
Following the huge success of TABEXPO 2011 Prague, many people are working behind the scenes on TABEXPO 2015 and figuring out how we can continue to make it bigger, better and more relevant to our audience – you!
Selecting the host city for TABEXPO involved many considerations: accessibility, accommodations and their quality and location, a stable infrastructure, reasonable costs and the appeal of the city itself to our well-traveled and international audience. London continues the tradition set by our previous host cities of Vienna, Geneva, Barcelona, Paris and Prague, not just meeting our expectations but exceeding them.
After personal site inspections of the numerous venues available in London, our choice was ExCeL Centre, by the Royal Docks on the Thames River. It is a large, modern exhibition hall, unimpeded by support pillars. It offers flexibility of space and reasonable rates that we can, and will, pass along to exhibitors and sponsors of TABEXPO 2015 London. Hotels of every caliber are convenient and numerous. Public transportation on the ground offers “to the door” delivery and multiple international airports provide numerous choices for participants and visitors from all over the globe. London has a long tradition of attracting discerning visitors, and ranks at the top of the world’s “favorite places to visit.”
Our industry has undergone drastic changes since the inception of TABEXPO in 1994 and TABEXPO has followed suit. After all, we know you now have choices when it comes to participating in face-to-face events. What hasn’t changed, however, is TABEXPO’s commitment to the premise that we serve ourselves best by serving our customers first. And with many of the same Tobacco Reporter staff still in place that helped bring you the first TABEXPO, we serve you best by knowing your needs, knowing your customers and knowing your goals as well as we know our own.
That history of service, knowledge and commitment continues today, and will only strengthen as we move toward TABEXPO 2015 London. TABEXPO is still your One and Only.
The Global Tobacco Networking Forum, GTNF, is quite simply the greatest interactive tobacco industry idea exchange on earth. GTNF 2012 just wrapped up two days of engaging forums and interactive workshops. Look for comprehensive coverage of this event in the upcoming August issue of Tobacco Reporter.
