Author: Staff Writer

E-cigarettes might be closer to smoking cessation devices than to regular cigarettes, and regulators are keeping “an open mind” on their potential health benefit, according to a story by Edney Anna for Business Week (Bloomberg), quoting Mitch Zeller, head of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s Center for Tobacco Products (CTP).

Zeller said the agency was exploring expedited reviews for tobacco products based on risk and toxicity levels as it prepared its e-cigarette rules.

He said he wanted advocates and foes to view nicotine-containing products as a continuum—from cigarettes to their electronic counterparts to cessation gums and patches.

“Cigarettes are designed to create addiction,” Zeller said on Wednesday at a Washington conference. “Ultimately it’s not the nicotine that kills. It’s all about the delivery mechanism.”

But, according to a National Association of Convenience Stores story, Zeller said the CTP did not yet know the extent to which e-cigarettes were harmful.

And, he added, it did not know if e-cigarettes were more likely to help current smokers transition away from tobacco use, or if they are more likely to encourage nonsmokers to begin using tobacco.

The FDA is responsible for implementing the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act, which was enacted in June 2009. The law, which gives the FDA broad authority to regulate the manufacture, marketing and retail sale of tobacco products, initially granted the FDA jurisdiction over cigarettes, roll-your-own tobacco and smokeless tobacco products. But, in April, the FDA proposed extending its authority to cover additional products such as e-cigarettes, cigars and hookah tobacco.

Meanwhile, a story by Toni Clarke for Reuters said the FDA was working to develop strong product standards for e-cigarettes and other nicotine delivery devices that would protect public health and enable the agency to withstand legal challenges.

Zeller had said the CTP was exploring potential product standards in the areas of addiction, toxicity and product appeal as it prepared to gain regulatory authority over e-cigarettes and other nicotine-delivery devices.

The establishment of product standards was one of five priorities for the division over the next few years, Zeller said. The priorities included putting in place regulations for approving new products and monitoring them after they reached the market, ensuring that the agency had in place a strong compliance and law enforcement presence in every state, public education and the formulation of an FDA-wide nicotine policy that recognized some products were less risky than others.

The Uganda Tobacco Growers Association (UTGA) has petitioned the speaker of parliament, Rebecca Kadaga, to consider their views on the Tobacco Control Bill, which is yet to be tabled.

The farmers are opposed to a number of provisions within the proposed bill, including one that bans the sale and display of tobacco products in specified places and another that prohibits the display of tobacco products at points of sale.

Morris Candia, a tobacco grower for the past 15 years and a spokesman for the 60,000 member association, said that if the bill were passed into law as it was, poverty levels would spike among households that depended on tobacco to meet their daily expenses.

Environmental activists in Bangladesh yesterday demanded that the government impose a higher tax on cigarettes than has been proposed in the budget bill for fiscal 2014–2015, according to a story in The Financial Express quoting a UNB News Agency report.

Speaking during a press conference, the activists said that 98 percent of smokers in the country smoked cigarettes, and the “current tax of 17.72 percent” would not be useful in preventing smoking.

The press conference was organized by the Campaign for Clean Air, a nongovernment organization, to press home its budget-related demands, which include an increase in funding for the environment sector.

Imperial Tobacco has joined forces with other major tobacco companies in Greece in presenting a public awareness campaign about the growing problem of illicit trade.

“This cross-industry initiative is being highlighted with adverts in national newspapers and on radio, as well as online and with 500,000 leaflets,” according to a note posted on Imperial’s website.

“The ‘Say No to Illicit Tobacco Products’ campaign is aimed at trade partners and consumers and has the backing of the Greek government and law enforcement agencies.”

Rebecca Karapanagiotidou, HR manager SE Europe and CORA manager Greece, said that one of the priorities was to make as many people as possible aware of the adverse effects of illicit trade.

“This campaign builds on our ongoing engagement activities to gain support in jointly tackling the significant growth we’ve seen in illegal tobacco products,” she said.

Imperial said that the illicit trade currently accounted for about 21 percent of the cigarettes and about 12 percent of the fine-cut smoked in Greece.

Japan Tobacco Inc.’s domestic cigarette sales volume during May, at 9.2 billion, was down by 10.3 percent on that of May 2013, 10.2 billion, according to preliminary figures issued by the company today. The May 2013 figure was increased by 0.4 percent on that of May 2012.

Volume during January–May 2014, at 46.3 billion, was down by 0.9 percent on that of January–May 2013, 46.7 billion, which was down by 0.8 percent on that of January–May 2012. (JT is in the process of changing its accounting year from April–March to January–December, and this is only the second time that, in presenting its monthly sales figures, it has given year-to-date figures calculated from Jan. 1.)

JT’s market share stood at 59.7 percent during May, at 60.8 percent during January–May and at 60.5 percent for January–December 2013.

JT’s domestic cigarette revenue during May, at ¥51.4 billion, was down by 7.8 percent from its May 2013 revenue, ¥55.8 billion.

Revenue during January–May 2014, at ¥255.7 billion, was down by 0.2 percent on that of January–May 2013, ¥256.3 billion.

Philip Morris USA and other cigarette manufacturers have reached an agreement with Kentucky to resolve non-participating manufacturer (NPM) adjustment disputes under the Master Settlement Agreement (MSA), according to a note posted on the company’s website.

This brings to 23 the number of MSA states (including the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico) that have settled these disputes.

“We think this resolution is good for the Commonwealth of Kentucky and for PM USA,” said Denise F. Keane, executive vice president and general counsel, at Altria, on whose website the note also appeared.

“We have always said we are open to resolving these disputes in a manner that makes sense to the states and to us, and that remains the case.”

“Under the settlement announced today [Thursday], Kentucky will receive its share of funds that have been set aside over a number of years in a disputed payments account, which will have the net effect of offsetting reductions in Kentucky’s MSA payment earlier this year,” the note said.

“PM USA and the other companies will receive credits against future MSA payments.

“In September 2013, an arbitration panel determined that six states—including Kentucky—failed to diligently enforce laws in 2003 requiring NPMs to make escrow payments.”

The World Health Organization appears to be dictating tobacco taxation policy in a number of countries, including South Korea.

According to a story in the Korea Herald, the Ministry of Health and Welfare said yesterday that it planned to raise cigarette prices, which have been fixed at WON2,300-2,500 a pack for the past 10 years.

Later in the Herald piece, a Welfare Ministry spokesperson, Im Jong-gyu, was quoted as saying that the Finance Ministry understood why prices should be increased.

Meanwhile, the announcement of the proposed price increase was said to have come about two weeks after the country received a notice from the World Health Organization that Korea should raise cigarette prices by 50 percent.

The WHO advises countries that have signed its Framework Convention on Tobacco Control that their tobacco tax should represent at least 70 percent of the retail price. But tobacco tax in Korea, which has signed the treaty, amounts to about 62 percent of the retail price of cigarettes.

A Philippine legislative committee on Tuesday approved a bill that would compel cigarette manufacturers to include graphic health warnings on their packs,  according to a story in The Gulf Today.

The committee, composed of senators and congressmen, passed the bill directing the Department of Health to issue 12 templates of pictures and illustrations that warn about the dangers of smoking.

The full Senate and House of Representatives are expected to formally pass the bill before it is signed into law by President Benigno Aquino III.

The warnings will occupy the lower half of the front and back panels of cigarette packs.

The current written warning says that smoking is dangerous.

The bill requires also that the Department of Education include information about the hazards of smoking in school curriculums.

Television stations in South Korea have rejected government anti-smoking propaganda as being too graphic, according to a story in The Korea Times.

The Ministry of Health and Welfare had wanted to use what the paper called an “unprecedentedly realistic anti-smoking ad,” similar to those used in Australia, New Zealand and the U.K.

But when the advertising agency hired to produce the propaganda contacted broadcasters with sample propaganda from Australia in order to check whether they would accept such a level of negativity and fear, the broadcasters were said to have been not very enthusiastic.

The Australian propaganda shows a severed artery that oozes fat when squeezed.

“The advertisement would last 40 seconds, and the broadcasters said it would be difficult to show body parts for as long as the Australian ad does,” said an official at the health ministry.

Reflecting feedback from the broadcasters, the agency filmed propaganda that features a softened message. It will be aired, beginning June 26.

The ministry official said that the propaganda would still be “threatening and negative” enough.

But Choi You-jin, a professor at Dongguk University, said that a “public service advertisement” should be “pre-tested” by members of the public rather than by broadcasters.