Author: Staff Writer

Muslims in Malaysia are being reminded that, for them, smoking has been forbidden, according to a story in The Star.

The story said that many Muslims in Malaysia were still taking lightly the smoking is haram (forbidden) fatwa (edict) that was issued by the Muzakarah Committee of the National Fatwa Council for Islamic Religious Affairs in 1995.

The situation has led the assistant minister in the Chief Minister’s office (Islamic Affairs), Datuk Daud Abdul Rahman, to urge Muslims, especially those in the state of Sarawak, to take on board that smoking has been forbidden.

He said the fatwa issued by the national committee had been agreed upon by the Sarawak Fatwa Council.

“We do not want our lives to be plagued by habits that are prohibited by Islam as well as detrimental to our health,” he added when opening the state-level Health Fatwa Education Seminar 2013 in Kuching.

The seminar focused on three issues: smoking, immunization and abortion.

Japan Tobacco International has been selected by the Great Place to Work Institute as one of the 100 Best Workplaces in Europe for 2013, according to a note posted on JTI’s website.

“Four JTI markets have been qualified in the 25 Best Multinational Workplaces category: Ireland, Italy, Spain, and Turkey,” the note said. ‘This milestone was celebrated on Thursday, June 27, in Dublin at the 11th annual European Best Companies awards ceremony.”

“JTI strives to hire and retain the best talent in a culturally diverse work environment,” said Ilona Alonso, human resources vice president for JTI’s Western Europe Region.

“Our culture encourages our employees’ development on many levels. We value their suggestions and reward their efforts. We do this because we care for the long-term interests of our people, and in turn they care for ours. This achievement, along with other awards JTI entities have received over the years, is a further testament to the positive results we saw in our recent Employee Engagement Survey.”

JTI said that the Great Place to Work Institute launched the first Best Companies to Work For list in conjunction with Fortune magazine in the U.S. and Exame in Brazil more than 20 years ago. The Great Place to Work Institute now recognizes workplaces in nearly 50 countries. For the 2013 Best Workplaces in Europe lists, the Great Place to Work Institute analyzed data provided by more than 2,100 companies that represented more than 1 million employees.

“Companies in this year’s ranking are developing organizational cultures dedicated to building trust and camaraderie among their employees,” said Robert Levering, co-founder and global CEO of the Great Place to Work Institute. “Inclusion on this list reflects companies’ commitment to continuously improving the quality of life of employees and setting new standards for organizations in the future.”

An anti-tobacco network has launched a ‘road map’ it hopes will accelerate Indonesia’s ratification of the World Health Organization’s Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), according to a story in The Jakarta Post.

The chairman of the Indonesia Tobacco Control Network (ITCN), Kartono Mohamad, said on Monday that Indonesia was one of 10 countries that had not ratified the FCTC.

Kartono said that cigarette consumption in Indonesia was increasing every year and that the country now had the third-highest number of smokers worldwide.

The chairman of the road map working group, Sudibyo Markus, said the road map had been produced after an in-depth analysis of the current situation, which was characterized by slow government action, weak law enforcement, high numbers of smokers and a public hazard.

He said the road map had been divided into five main topics related to public and legal policies, the economy, health, education and socio-cultural issues.

Meanwhile, Tjandra Yoga Aditama, the director general of the Health Ministry’s Disease Control and Environmental Health department, said the ministry applauded the network for launching the road map. “This represents real action and commitment to controlling tobacco in Indonesia,” Tjandra said.

In the wake of its issuing its first six judgments on proposed new but ‘substantially equivalent’ tobacco products, the US Food and Drug Administration has issued a ‘brief summary’ on why such applications might fail.

Under the Tobacco Control Act of 2009, new cigarettes cannot be introduced on the US market without an order from the FDA, and there are two routes to obtaining such an order. One route, for completely new tobacco products, requires a highly detailed review, while a second route provides for products that are ‘substantially equivalent’ to those already on the market.

The FDA, which is said to have thousands of substantially equivalent applications to deal with, issued six judgments earlier this week, two positive and four negative.

The FDA said that it might find a new tobacco product to be not substantially equivalent (NSE) because there was inadequate information submitted, or because it found that the new product had different characteristics from the product it was supposed to be equivalent to and information demonstrated that the new product raised different questions of public health.

‘Four new tobacco products were found to be not substantially equivalent to specific predicate products due to factors such as inadequate evidence that the proposed predicate products were valid predicates and lack of complete information on the characteristics of the new products and the predicate products,’ it said. ‘After considering all the evidence, the agency determined that there were differences in characteristics between the new products and the predicate products, and there was not an adequate showing that the new products do not raise different questions of public health requiring a premarket tobacco product application.’

The types of deficiencies FDA found in one or more of these applications are summarized below.

‘Predicate: Insufficient information for FDA to determine whether or not the tobacco product that was referenced as a predicate was predicate-eligible. Specifically, adequate evidence was not provided to demonstrate that the predicate product was commercially marketed in the United States as of February 15, 2007.

‘Design Features: Inadequate information on design features such as ventilation and filter efficiency. This information is needed to understand if any changes in these characteristics are present and, if they are, whether the new product raises different questions of public health.

‘Tobacco Type: Inadequate information on the type of tobacco used in the cigarette. This is a significant deficiency because the type of tobacco can alter the levels of harmful and potentially harmful constituents. This information is needed to understand if any changes in these characteristics are present and, if they are, whether the new product raises different questions of public health.

‘Added Chemicals: Where information was provided about the levels of specific ingredients showing they were present at higher levels than in the predicate product, there was not adequate evidence that the changes did not result in the new product not raising different questions of public health. Moreover, some of these ingredients have been shown scientifically to cause both toxicological and dependence concerns. For example, some of these ingredients are listed in the Hazardous Substances Data Bank and have known toxicities.

‘Harmful and Potentially Harmful Constituents: Inadequate information regarding “Harmful and Potentially Harmful Constituents” (HPHCs) in new and/or predicate tobacco products and tobacco smoke. Lacking this information, FDA was not able to determine whether the new product raised different questions of public health.’

About 34 per cent of Jordanian doctors are smokers, according to a story in the Jordan Times quoting a report released on Monday.

The report, entitled ‘The reality of tobacco control in Jordan’, was said to have been based on several past local and global studies.

It will make uncomfortable reading given that it puts the prevalence of smoking among those aged 11 to 12 at 20 per cent.

Feras Hawari, director of the King Hussein Cancer Centre’s cancer control office, said that cigarettes, which are consumed by about 93 per cent of smokers, were easy to access and affordable for most people.

Iggesund Paperboard’s website has been found to be unique in both attracting its target group of designers and creating within that group a high level of appreciation.

This was the verdict of Ulf Smedberg, senior consultant with the Swedish website evaluation firm, E-space Communication. “When we compare Iggesund’s performance with the results from our database of industrial manufacturers, Iggesund is top of its class for this measurement period and is definitely one of the top sites we’ve encountered in the years we’ve been doing these studies,” Smedberg said.

E-space has 15 years’ experience of assessing websites, during which time it has collected data from more than seven million respondents commenting on more than 1,000 businesses spanning all business sectors.

“The measurements we do are fairly revealing,” Smedberg said. “Companies that believe they are targeting their customers are disappointed when they find that 70 per cent of the traffic to their site is actually generated by young job seekers.”

E-space was commissioned to assess the websites of the Holmen Group, to which Iggesund belongs. Iggesund Paperboard is a materials manufacturer that produces paperboard for advanced packaging and graphical applications.

There is a long chain of intermediaries between Iggesund and companies that want to package or print something. Communications are further complicated because Iggesund’s customers are printers or packaging manufacturers, but the decisions about what material will be used are made by the brand owners or designers employed by them; so Iggesund is keen to use its website, iggesund.com, to learn more about those wielding the influence, and to communicate with them.

“We began back in the 1990s to publish a magazine, Inspire, which is an important channel to these target groups – designers, brand owners and design students,” explains Marie Westh, who is in charge of Iggesund’s online presence. “We’ve gradually developed our website along the same lines.

“Because Holmen has a group website that takes care of investor relations, recruitment and much more, we have been able to have a tighter focus and keep our own website very target oriented rather than having to provide a hard-to-navigate smorgasbord,” she said.

Lorillard has become the first company in the US to receive authorization from the Food and Drug Administration for marketing products ‘substantially equivalent’ to products already on the market.

Under the Tobacco Control Act of 2009, new cigarettes cannot be introduced on the US market without an order from the FDA, and there are two routes to obtaining such an order. One route, for completely new tobacco products, requires a highly detailed review, while a second route provides for products that are ‘substantially equivalent’ to those already on the market.

In March, a story by Jacob Grier for the Atlantic Monthly quoting a report by Michael Felberbaum for Associated Press said the FDA had till then issued no rulings on the approximately 3,500 tobacco-product substantial equivalence reports it had received, despite having 115 employees reviewing them.

Lorillard said yesterday that it had received notification from the FDA that its Newport Non-Menthol Gold Box and Box 100 products had been found to be substantially equivalent to tobacco products previously commercially marketed in interstate commerce in the US.

The FDA’s finding permits Lorillard to begin marketing the new products, consistent with all existing requirements of regulated tobacco products.

“We are very pleased that the FDA has found that Lorillard’s Newport Non-Menthol Gold products are substantially equivalent to existing tobacco products currently marketed,” said chairman, president and CEO, Murray Kessler.

“As such, we are proud to be the first company in the industry to receive authorization to begin marketing these new products in the US through the FDA’s substantial equivalence pathway.

“We are encouraged by the Agency’s fulfillment of its obligation prescribed in the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act of 2009 and believe that the FDA has carried out is evaluation process in a deliberate manner reflecting sound science. We look forward to continuing productive engagement with the Agency moving forward.”

Meanwhile, Bonnie Herzog, managing director, Beverage, Tobacco and Consumer Research at Wells Fargo Securities described the FDA authorizations as a very positive development for Lorillard and the tobacco sector as a whole.

She said that the director of the FDA’s Center for Tobacco Products, Mitch Zeller, had indicated that the first decisions, which included four rejections, were just the first of many product review decisions to be issued.

The Thai Tobacco Trade Association (TTTA) said yesterday that it was asking the Administrative Court to invalidate the Ministry of Public Health’s decision to impose new warnings on cigarette packs.

The TTTA, which represents more than 1,400 retailers across Thailand, described the ministry’s decision as ‘unconstitutional’.

An individual retailer and a wholesaler are joining TTTA’s suit, and Philip Morris (Thailand) is bringing a similar case.

Japan Tobacco has already filed a challenge.

A TTTA press note announcing the suit was included on the Philip Morris International website.

‘At issue is a ministry notification that mandates graphic health warnings on 85 per cent of the front and back of cigarette packs [up from 55 per cent currently],’ the press note said. ‘This rule was developed behind closed doors to avoid differences of opinion, without the input of the thousands of retailers whom the rule will burden most, and without the legal authority to impose this controversial requirement.’

Varaporn Namatra, executive director of the TTTA, said the ministry had refused to talk with the association even though the new rule would make it harder for retailers to do their jobs. “Everyone already knows that smoking is dangerous,” she said. “Thailand already has some of the biggest health warnings in the world. I can’t see why the new requirement is necessary, especially when it will just complicate the work of so many hard working retailers.

“We’re just trying to make a living and we play by the rules, and so should the Ministry. No one should be able decide these kinds of things behind closed doors. We have rights – starting with a right to be heard – which is why we are now asking the court to step in.”

The TTTA expects that the new regulation will lead to problems for retailers, including:

* Higher operational costs;

* A likely consumer shift toward cheaper, lower-margin roll-your-own tobacco, which is not subject to the new warnings yet makes up about 50 per cent of all tobacco sold in Thailand; and

* An increase in supply and demand on the black market, where products are less expensive to buy, highly profitable to sell, and often have smaller warnings or no warnings at all.

Retailers were not the only group who didn’t have a voice in the notification. The process excluded key government ministries that should have been able to participate, and closed the doors to adult smokers, wholesalers, distributors, manufacturers, importers and other parties that the requirement will burden.

Commenting on his decision to file a case, Danai Surawattanawan, a Chiang Mai-based wholesaler and the owner of the Saha Karnka store said: “Government should listen to all sides of an issue before making decisions that hurt people like me. That’s commonsense, but the Ministry didn’t listen.

“It’s trying to use powers that no one ever gave it. And it’s making major decisions without working with other government ministries or talking to the small business owners that its policies burden.

“I am not happy that I have been treated this way. Having been denied a voice in the debate, the only choice I now have is to ask the court to help me.”

‘The TTTA’s case centers on the fact that the ministry overstepped its authority under Thailand’s Tobacco Product Control Act by issuing a notification that conflicts with higher law,’ the press note said. ‘It also violated Thailand’s due process requirements because it excluded the public and those whom this requirement will impact from voicing their views and failed to adequately assess the potential negative consequences of the requirement.

‘The cases will show that the notification is unconstitutional and disproportionate; prevents businesses from engaging in free and fair competition; and disregards trademark protections under Thai and international law.

Commenting on Philip Morris (Thailand)’s filing, Onanong Pratakphiriya, the company’s manager communications and external affairs, said: “Given the negative impact that this policy will have on our trademarks and packaging, and the fact that the Ministry ignored our voice and the voices of thousands of retailers in enacting this rule, we have no choice but to ask the Court to intervene.

”Ultimately, this requirement is not about increasing the public’s awareness of the risks of smoking — which is universal. The ministry exempts half of the tobacco products sold in Thailand from the new warning. How does that make sense?

“In our view, this is a punitive measure.

“The ministry should have listened to all sides — and respected the rule of law — before imposing an illogical requirement that will change the marketplace so significantly.”

The parties are due to file their lawsuits before July 4 with the Bangkok Administrative Court.

A final decision is likely within 10 to 14 months.

Meanwhile, Japan Tobacco Inc is already suing the government over the plans to increase the size of health warnings on cigarette packs, claiming the move is unconstitutional, according to a story in the Bangkok Post.

JT filed its lawsuit with the Administrative Court on June 19, according to spokesman, Hisashi Sekiguchi.

People in areas of Malaysia affected by the smoke from forest fires in Indonesia are being advised not to smoke tobacco during the crisis.

The deputy director of the Health Ministry’s Disease Control Department, Dr. Zainal Ariffin Omar, said smokers would stand a higher chance of contracting smoke-related illnesses.

Smokers would inhale not only cigarette smoke but also the dust particles from the air, he said.

This would eventually lead to a higher risk of their contracting respiratory illnesses.

The Consumers Association of Penang (CAP) has sounded an alarm over the increasing use of electronic cigarettes in Malaysia, notably among young people, according to a story in the New Straits Times quoting ‘media reports from George Town’.

CAP president S.M. Mohamed Idris, said there was a need to impose a ban on the sale of electronic cigarettes “without further delay” because young people might try them and become “hooked”.