Author: Staff Writer

The Ethiopian tobacco monopoly is expected to be sold, either to the foreign investors who already own a share of the enterprise and who are currently negotiating a full acquisition, or, failing that, through some other form of sale, according to a story by Dawit Taye for The Reporter.

Currently, the state owns 78 percent of the National Tobacco Enterprise (NTE), having sold the rest of the shares in 1999 to Sheba Investment PLC.

As well as cigarette manufacture, the monopoly enterprise is involved in importing tobacco products, issuing permits for the importation of tobacco products and running tobacco farms, which would be part of the package offered for sale.

Some people are questioning the wisdom of selling the NTE. They believe it is a strategic enterprise since its products have a direct impact on the health of users.

Others question the wisdom of privatization on the grounds that the NTE currently makes an impressive profit.

The Toronto Board of Health has said it will tackle the issue of e-cigarettes  “later this spring,” but for the moment it is not declaring a position, according to a story by Jenny Yuen for the Toronto Sun, quoting board chairman Joe Mihevc.

“There are certainly some benefits to it,” said Mihevc. “I think it would be fair to say the public health community is debating this.

“On the pro side, one can argue it’s a contribution helping the people who want to stop smoking. You get the nicotine but not the harmful carcinogens into your system.

“On the other hand, it’s the social normalization of it—the impact it has on youth and children. That’s the debate.”

E-cigarettes containing nicotine are basically banned in Canada.

If they contain nicotine or if a health claim is made about them, they fall within the scope of the Food and Drugs Act and require approval by Health Canada before they can be imported, advertised or sold in Canada.

“No such products have been approved,” said Health Canada spokesman Gary Scott Holub. “Without this scientific evidence, Health Canada continues to advise Canadians against the use of these products.”

The first Michael Russell Oration is due to be given on June 27, during the opening session of the First Global Forum on Nicotine, which is to be held in Poland.

The oration has been established by Knowledge-Action-Change as an annual event, to be delivered to honor the work and memory of professor Michael Russell, one of the pioneers in the study of smoking behavior, clinical interventions and public policy action, who died in 2009.

Knowledge-Action-Change describes itself as an organization committed to the development and promotion of evidence-based policies and interventions in the field of substance use and related areas of public health and public policy.

Each year the oration will be given by a leading researcher, practitioner or commentator in the field of nicotine use.

The inaugural oration will be delivered by professor Peter Hajek, the director of the Tobacco Dependence Research Unit at Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry, Queen Mary College, University of London.

The forum is due to be held at the Marriott Hotel in Warsaw on June 27–28.

It will be staged by KAC and is set to examine the current state of the debate about the use of nicotine across the globe; critically examine the science relating to the safety and use of nicotine; allow politicians, scientists, manufacturers, distributors and consumers to exchange views; and facilitate the development of links to enable ongoing dialogue between different sectors.

KAC stages public health and addictions conferences and runs the Nicotine Science and Policy website www.nicotinepolicy.net.

The forum’s website is at http://gfn.net.co/; the program is at: http://gfn.net.co/programme; and registration is available at: http://register.kachange.eu/gfn2014/.

Imperial Tobacco’s business in Norway has been recognized with a prestigious award as one of the best companies in the country for developing its employees.

Imperial was ranked in the overall top 10 companies to work for in the 2014 Best Workplaces in Norway awards.

Market manager Jörg Glasenapp collected the award on behalf of Imperial’s 49-strong Norwegian team at a ceremony held in Oslo.

“Our people are vitally important to us, and we’re hugely committed to their development to give us competitive advantage and ensure they remain motivated and satisfied at work,” he said.

“We’re delighted and very proud that our commitment to our employees has been recognized in this way.”

Philip Morris Holland (PMH) has said it intends to end cigarette production at its factory at Bergen op Zoom, the Netherlands, with the loss of about 1,230 jobs.

The announcement of the proposed closure, which is due to happen by October, follows hard on the heels of Philip Morris Limited’s decision to stop cigarette manufacturing in Australia by the end of this year with the loss of about 180 jobs at its factory at Moorabbin, a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria.

In a note posted on Philip Morris International’s website, PMH’s board was said to have started consultations with employee representatives. “Depending on the outcome of the consultation process, and pending approval of the PMH Supervisory Board, the proposal could affect approximately 1,230 out of the current 1,371 employees at PMH,” the note said.

“Today’s very difficult announcement has been subject to deep reflections and thorough evaluation of all available options,” said Petr Karla, general manager of the Bergen op Zoom facility. “We have long been a member of the Bergen op Zoom community, and are aware of the impact that our contemplated decision would have on our employees and their families, as well as on the local community. Our focus is and will be on supporting our people through this difficult phase. We will immediately engage in a dialogue with our employees and their representatives to develop a social plan that will support those potentially impacted by this proposal. We are totally committed to a collaborative and constructive process.”

PMI cited falling sales as a reason for the closure.

“Over the past four years, total tax-paid industry volume in the European Union declined sharply as a result of persistent macroeconomic weakness, consumer down-trading to cheaper alternative products such as fine cut, societal trends and the growing prevalence of illicit trade,” the note said. “In this context PMI experienced cigarette sales volume decline of approximately 20 percent. Furthermore, exports from EU factories also decreased during the period. Even if legal cigarette industry volume rates of decline in the EU moderate to historical levels, volume recovery is highly unlikely.”

“The severe decline in the tax-paid EU cigarette market has led to today’s regretful announcement in Bergen op Zoom,” said Drago Azinovic, president, European Union, PMI. “While the decline is partially driven by societal and economic factors, PMI has consistently expressed its concern over the negative impact of excessive fiscal and regulatory policies, which create a prolific environment for the criminal organizations involved in the illegal cigarette trade. Unfortunately, new regulations affecting the industry such as the recently agreed EU Tobacco Products Directive do nothing to address this growing problem. We want to acknowledge our employees in Bergen op Zoom whose loyalty and long-standing service to the company deserve our respect and support in these difficult circumstances.”

The PMI note said that, under the terms of the proposal, PMH would stop the production of cigarettes at Bergen op Zoom, while its expanded tobacco plants and its Flavor Processing Center would continue to operate. ‘The proposal is subject to consultation with the PMH Works Council and approval by the PMH Supervisory Board. Consultation with the European Works Council is also required. PMH will work with the Trade Unions in the development of a social plan to provide support to all potentially impacted employees.

“The consultation will start immediately.

“Subject to the final outcome of the consultations and fulfillment of certain other conditions, PMH would expect to implement the contemplated decision by October 2014.

“During the consultation period, the company will not be providing information on the financial implications of this proposal.”

The visibility of smokers in city streets has for the first time anywhere been mapped, according to a Eurek Alert story quoting the findings of a new study by the University of Otago, Wellington, New Zealand.

The study was published in the international journal BMC Public Health and was funded by the Cancer Society of New Zealand (Wellington branch).

The research found that up to 116 smokers outside bars and cafés could be seen from any one location in the outdoor public areas of downtown Wellington.

Of the 2,600 people observed in the outdoor areas of bars and cafés, 16 percent were said to be smoking, with a higher proportion than this occurring in the evenings.

There was no mention of whether it was known whether all of the people said to be smoking were consuming tobacco.

Data from observations across the downtown area were mapped by the researchers, producing a record of the street areas where the most smokers could be seen.

They used mapping methods previously used for landscape ecology and archeology.

Lead researcher Dr. Amber Pearson said, “The methods developed through this research will help policymakers demonstrate the visibility of smoking in different areas, and provide scientific evidence for local authorities to advance smoke-free outdoor policies.”

Another researcher, associate professor George Thomson, said the results showed the need for policies to reduce the normality of smoking:

“Smoke-free outdoor areas help smokers to quit, help those who have quit to stick with it, and reduce the normalization of smoking for children and youth,” he said. “They also reduce litter, water pollution and cleaning costs for local authorities and ratepayers.”

Indonesia won’t win its case against Australia’s standardized tobacco packaging laws at the World Trade Organization, according to a story in the Herald Sun quoting Tanya Plibersek, who is the deputy leader of the opposition Labor party and who served in the government that introduced standardized packaging.

Indonesia recently became the fifth country after Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Honduras and Ukraine to take Australia to the WTO over its standardized packaging law.

Since Dec. 1, 2012, Australia has required that all tobacco products be sold in packaging designed on behalf of the previous Labor government to be as ugly as possible. Packs are hugely dominated by graphic health warnings, are otherwise a standard olive color, have no logos or other design features, and have brand and variant names in a standardized font and position.

Plibersek said she was confident the legislation would not be defeated at the WTO because Australia was not treating countries differently under trade rules. “[Indonesia’s] issue might be one of intellectual property, and we’ve had plenty of legal advice to say we’re on strong grounds here,” she was reported to have told Sky News on Sunday.

Plibersek said the tobacco policy was “one of the best things we did in government.” And she added that she thought Indonesia’s objection was a clear indication it was worried that standardized packaging was having an effect.

“I would be delighted if it means that Indonesian tobacco products are selling less … because it means Indonesians are getting sicker and dying less,” she told Sky News.

Campaigners opposed to standardized packaging are urging the U.K. government to keep an “open mind” on the issue following a less-than-encouraging announcement by public health minister Jane Ellison.

According to the smokers’ group FOREST, Ellison said the government was currently minded to proceed with standardized packaging but would conduct a final short consultation.

“It makes sense for the government to take its time and consult further, but it seems perverse to commit to a policy before those discussions have taken place,” said Simon Clark, the director of FOREST, which runs the Hands Off Our Packs campaign.

“If further consultation is to have any meaning the government must keep an open mind.

“The final decision on standardized packaging must be based on hard evidence that it stops children smoking. Conjecture and subjective opinion are not enough.”

Clark urged the government not to forget the outcome of the public consultation on plain packaging. “A four-month consultation resulted in over 665,000 responses, two-thirds of them opposed to plain packaging,” he said.

“We urge government not to ignore those responses, which were submitted in good faith.

“Failure to take into account the result of a public consultation would leave a very bad taste and could alienate a large number of voters, many of whom could be driven to vote for Ukip in protest.”