Bahrain could soon charge 100 percent import duty on all tobacco products, according to a Trade Arabia story quoting a report in the Akhbar Al Khaleej newspaper.
A proposal to amend the current anti-tobacco law is expected to be on parliament’s agenda on Tuesday.
The proposed amendments include also curbs on public places smoking.
Swedish Match’s sales during the three months to the end of March, at SEK3,014 million, were up by 1.1 percent on those of the three months to the end of March 2013, SEK2,982 million.
Operating profit was down by 16.8 percent to SEK858 million, while operating profit from product areas, which excludes SM’s share of the Scandinavian Tobacco Group’s net profit and larger one-off items, was down by 2.8 percent to SEK809 million.
Profit before income tax was down by 18.2 percent to SEK732 million, while profit for the period was down by 21.7 percent to SEK580 million.
Earnings per share (EPS) were down by 21.8 percent to SEK2.91; EPS excluding larger one-off items was down by three-tenths of a percent to SEK2.91
“In the first quarter, Swedish Match reported increased sales and stable operating profit when adjusted for currency effects and investments in international snus expansion,” said CEO Lars Dahlgren in reporting the results.
“For snus in Scandinavia, it is positive to note the continued strong market growth in both Sweden and Norway. In Sweden, the growth was driven by value-priced products, and relative to the last quarter of 2013, Swedish Match gained share in this growing segment of the market in line with our ambitions. Swedish Match underlying snus volumes in Scandinavia in the quarter are estimated to have increased by 1 percent, and sales were flat in local currencies.
“In the U.S. moist snuff market, our pouch and tub offerings continued their strong performance in the quarter. For General snus in the U.S., we continued our focused efforts to grow the brand and the snus category with a high level of consumer engagement activities and to a lesser extent expanded distribution.
“Within other tobacco products, we once again saw a solid development for our chewing tobacco business, in part due to timing effects, but also due to strong performance for our premium Red Man brand as well as increased contract manufacturing deliveries.
“For cigars, a strong performance for our Game natural wrapper cigars contributed to a 5 percent overall volume growth, while revenues remained flat and operating profit declined somewhat as the category has become more promotional.
“Our lights business continued its solid performance during the quarter, with growth in sales and profits for lighters, and sales growth for matches in local currencies.”
Household spending on cigarettes fell in South Korea for the eighth consecutive year in 2013, but more money was spent on alcohol, according to a Yonhap News Agency story.
A household comprising two people or more spent an average of KRW17,263 (US$16.9) per month on tobacco last year, or 0.7 percent of the average income of about KRW2.48 million, according to data compiled by Statistics Korea.
The proportion of income spent on tobacco has been declining steadily. It dropped from 0.96 percent in 2008, to 0.85 percent in 2009, to 0.81 percent in 2010, to 0.77 percent in 2011, and to 0.75 percent in 2012.
The Statistics Korea data showed also that the country’s smoking prevalence dropped from 28.8 percent in 2005 to 27 percent in 2011.
E-cigarettes have enjoyed massive growth in the U.S. during the past two years, with sales increasing from $283 million in 2012 to $537 million in 2013, according to new research by Mintel.
In 2013, the market for e-cigarettes was on par with the market for smoking cessation gum, the largest segment of the smoking cessation market.
E-cigarette sales were in sharp contrast to those of the smoking cessation category, which went up by $95 million, or 10 percent, between 2008 and 2013. Between 2013 and 2018, Mintel forecasts growth of only $7 million.
“The sharp falloff in growth of the smoking cessation category between 2012 and 2013 and the forecasted decline over the next five years are largely due to the explosive popularity of e-cigarettes,” said Molly Maier, category manager, health, household, beauty and personal care, Mintel.
Banning cigarette filters is one of a number of policies recently put forward by U.S.-based researchers as a way of reducing or eliminating the environmental problems caused by carelessly discarded butts.
Such a policy might seem extreme, but those proposing it describe filtered cigarettes as a “farce” in terms of consumer safety. And they cite as evidence a recent National Cancer Institute review that apparently showed filtered cigarettes were “not healthier or safer than nonfiltered ones.”
The policy suggestions are those of Thomas Novotny of San Diego State University and Elli Slaughter, an advocate seeking to curb the environmental harm caused by the large-scale littering of cigarette butts, packaging and matches. The suggestions appeared in a review article published in Springer’s journal, Current Environmental Health Reports.
Novotny and Slaughter also suggest that filters/butts might be the subject of a deposit/return scheme, that cigarette manufacturers might be held responsible for cleanups, and that warnings about the impact of carelessly discarded butts might be placed on packs.
ECMA, the European Carton Manufacturers’ Association, and Pro Carton, the European Association of Carton and Cartonboard Manufacturers, are due to hold their first joint congress Sept. 17–20 in Sorrento, Italy.
A note on the Pro Carton website said the congress would be open to the whole supply chain, with brand owners and other industry partners welcome to participate.
The congress will also be the venue for the presentation of the 2014 Pro Carton ECMA Awards for successful, innovative packaging solutions, and for the Pro Carton Young Design Awards for design students from across Europe, which are held every two years.
Further information and registration is available at www.ecmaprocartoncongress.com.
Reynolds American Inc.’s board of directors has declared a quarterly cash dividend on the company’s common stock of $0.67 per share ($2.68 per share annualized).
The dividend will be payable on July 1 to shareholders of record on June 10.
RAI said that this was the 40th consecutive quarterly cash dividend since it had become a public company on July 30, 2004.
Details about RAI’s annual meeting yesterday are at http://files.shareholder.com/downloads/RAI/2985503107x0x753104/997efa50-b3e6-4e81-aa8d-2ab85f5e1da7/2014-08_RAI_issues_results_of_2014_shareholders_mtg_announces_qtrly_cash_div.pdf.
Ethiopia’s Public Enterprises Board is due to decide by tomorrow whether to accept Sheba Investment’s request to buy an additional 48 percent share in the state-owned National Tobacco Enterprise (NTE), according to an Addis Fortune story.
The Yemeni-based Sheba already owns a 22 percent share in NTE, which it acquired in 1999.
Sheba’s request followed a declaration by the Privatisation & Public Enterprises Supervising Agency (PPESA) that it was interested in selling a further stake in National. That stake was reported to be 27 percent, a figure that has not been confirmed by PPESA on the grounds that it is confidential.
Sheba’s proposal has been referred to PPESA’s board, according to the agency’s head of public relations, Wondafrash Assefa.
However, PPESA is expected to turn down the proposal because the agency apparently feels that Sheba is not actively taking part in the business of the NTE.
A month ago, a story in The Reporter had it that NTE was expected to be sold, either to Sheba, or, failing that, through some other form of sale.
Tobacco growers in the Kaoma and Nkeyema districts of Western Province, Zambia, are complaining about what they see as the low prices being offered and the buying methods being used by Alliance One Zambia (AOZ), according to a Times of Zambia story.
The growers said they had been spending nights at the company’s sheds hoping that the price, now ranging between ZMW1 and ZMW7.50 per kg, would be increased.
Two growers were quoted as saying that AOZ was undervaluing their tobacco and rejecting some of it on the grounds that it amounted to “excess” production.
Another said that the prices being offered could not cover even the costs of production.
Meanwhile, AOZ manager Hillary Chanda was quoted as saying that his company was buying only from its sponsored growers and that it was limiting the amount of tobacco being bought from each farmer to 1,000 kg per ha, though with an additional allowance of up to 20 percent based on the crop estimates of individual growers.
The first Global Forum on Nicotine, which is due to be held in Poland next month, will include four plenary sessions and three parallel sessions, according to a press note issued by the organizers yesterday.
The forum, at the Marriott Hotel, Warsaw, June 27–28, is being organized by KAC, which stages public health and addictions conferences and runs the Nicotine Science and Policy website www.nicotinepolicy.net.
The plenary sessions are:
1. A fresh look at alternatives to smoking: the case for reduced-risk nicotine products;
2. An overview of the scientific evidence on nicotine: safety, health and addiction;
3. Engaging key stakeholders in the nicotine debate and new practices; and
4. Regulation of noncombustible nicotine products: national, regional and international issues.
The parallel sessions are:
1. Science, regulation and use of electronic cigarettes, which will be conducted in Polish;
2. Gaps in our knowledge of nicotine and its use—toward a new research agenda; and
3. Regulatory landscapes: how can regulation benefit consumers and help them shift from harmful to safer products?
The forum’s website is at http://gfn.net.co/ and registration is available at http://gfn.net.co/registration.