Author: Staff Writer

  • U.S. cigarette prices rising

    Cigarette prices are rising again, with the three largest tobacco manufacturers expressing confidence that another increase won’t deter smokers in a sluggish economy, according to a story in the Winston-Salem Journal.

    R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co., Lorillard and Philip Morris USA confirmed Friday that prices for most of their brands are going up. The increase goes into effect Monday for Philip Morris and Wednesday for Reynolds.

    Reynolds and Lorillard are raising the list price by $0.06 a pack, or $0.60 a carton. Although the list price is geared toward wholesale and direct-buying customers, such increases are usually passed on to consumers.

    Meanwhile, Philip Morris is decreasing its national off-invoice promotional discount to wholesale and direct-buying customers on all Marlboro and L&M styles by $0.06 a pack, effectively raising the price for consumers. The list price is going up by $0.06 a pack for its other cigarette brands.

    Reynolds spokesman Bryan Hatchell said the prices are going up on 21 brands, including Pall Mall and Camel, its two most popular. “As always, we cannot speculate on how this will affect price at retail as we do not set the price at retail,” Hatchell said.

    In some instances, price increases go up quicker for the lower-level brands compared with the most popular.

     

  • Philip Morris embraces e-cigarettes

    Philip Morris USA will launch an e-cigarette under the MarkTen brand in Indiana in August, reports The Wall Street Journal.

    MarkTen is a disposable e-cigarette but can be reused by buying a separate battery recharging kit and additional cartridges. Made in China by a contact manufacturer, the e-cigarette is expected to sell for about $9.50.

    PM USA is the last of the major U.S. tobacco companies to introduce an e-cigarette in an industry-wide effort to diversify beyond the traditional cigarette business, which has become more challenging in the face of tax increases, smoking bans, health concerns and social stigma.

    Last week, R.J. Reynolds Vapor Co., a subsidiary of Reynolds American, announced it would start selling its Vuse e-cigarette to retail outlets throughout Colorado in June.

    Vuse was developed in-house by R.J. Reynolds R&D experts, and will be manufactured in the United States.

    In April 2010, Lorillard acquired e-cigarette maker Blue Ecigs. It has expanded into more than 80,000 retail outlets.

    Analysts estimate sales of e-cigarettes could double this year to $1 billion. Some have even said consumption of e-cigarettes could surpass consumption of traditional cigarette within the next decade. The Food and Drug Administration plans to assert regulatory authority over e-cigarettes in the near future.

    Electronic cigarette maker Njoy said Monday it had raised $75 million in financing from investors including Napster founder and ex-Facebook president Sean Parker.

     

  • Sunel embraces CA pest control

    Sunel Tobacco has signed a contract with b-Cat Insect Treatment for the construction of controlled atmosphere rooms at the company’s facility in Izmir, Turkey.

    Situated on 100,000 square meters of land, Sunel Tobacco’s facility includes a modern, 80,000 square-meter warehouse and a 24,000 square-meter processing building.

    Earlier this year, b-Cat installed controlled atmosphere facilities at JTI in Malaysia and at Santa Fe Natural Tobacco in the United States.

  • Ex-Facebook president invests in e-cigarettes

    A group including Silicon Valley entrepreneur Sean Parker is investing $75 million is NJOY, a leading manufacturer of e-cigarettes, reports The Wall Street Journal. Parker co-founded the music-sharing site Napster, was the first president of Facebook and has been a big donor to cancer research.

    NJOY accounted for 35.6 percent of the U.S. cigarette market in U.S. convenience stores in the four weeks ended May 11, according to Wells Fargo Securities. NJOY Kings’ brand more closely resembles regular cigarettes than do some competing products. The company has been advertising on TV and attracted celebrity endorsers such as musicians Courtney Love and Bruno Mars.

    In March, former U.S. Surgeon General Richard Carmona joined NJOY’s board, saying it is important to explore alternatives to traditional cigarettes because the adult smoking rate has remained stuck at around 20 percent of the population.

    E-cigarettes are believed to be less harmful than traditional cigarettes because they don’t rely on combustion However, the Food and Drug Administration warned consumers in 2009 the new technology could pose its own health risks and required further study. The long-term impact of inhaling e-cigarette vapor, which contains substances such as propylene glycol, has yet to be determined. The agency is planning regulation that would treat e-cigarettes as tobacco products.

    Industry experts says U.S. retail sales of e-cigarettes could reach $1 billion this year—just 1 percent of the country’s cigarette market but twice that of 2012.

  • Another illicit-trade initiative from EU

    The European Commission has adopted a package of measures to step up its fight against the illicit tobacco trade, especially cigarette smuggling, according to a press note issued by the Commission on Thursday.

    The Commission claimed that the illicit tobacco trade was a ‘global threat’ depriving EU member states of more than €10 billion in tax and duty revenue.

    ‘Not only does this hit national revenues hard, illicit trade also fuels the shadow economy since it is almost exclusively the domain of organised criminal groups operating across borders,’ the note said .

    ‘Furthermore, it also undermines health policy initiatives aimed at discouraging the consumption of tobacco products and legitimate business as most illicit products are not made in line with EU rules on tobacco products.

    ‘To effectively tackle the problem of illicit tobacco trade, the Commission’s strategy sets out a number of co-ordinated measures at national, EU and international level.’

    “Every year €10 billion is lost to the EU and its member states due to cigarette smuggling,” said Algirdas Šemeta, Commissioner for Taxation, Customs Union, Anti-Fraud and Audit.

    “In particular in these times of drastic spending cuts, this is an unacceptable loss. It’s necessary to stop the illegal activities of sinister criminals that fuel the shadow economy. With today’s package of measures to clamp down on cigarette smuggling, we can help to better protect the public purse, the health of our citizens and legitimate businesses.”

    The strategy proposes actions in what are said to be four key areas so as efficiently to tackle the illicit trade in tobacco products:

    1. Measures to decrease incentives for smuggling activities;
    2. Measures to improve the security of the supply chain;
    3. Stronger enforcement of tax, customs, police and border authorities; and
    4. Heavier sanctions for smuggling activities.

    ‘The strategy also analyses existing legislation and policies, identifies weaknesses and gaps, and proposes additional reinforced actions,’ the note said. ‘It also seeks to better co-ordinate existing policies and tools as the fight against illicit trade is a cross-cutting issue, as well as to improve co-operation between the various actors at EU, national and international level. The implementation of concrete measures and actions in the strategy are set out in an Action Plan.’

  • Criminal charges against Dalli unlikely

    John Dalli, who last year resigned as Malta’s European commissioner following allegations of a lobbying scandal, is most unlikely to face criminal charges in Malta, according to a story in the European Voice citing the country’s police commissioner.

    Dalli resigned from his position as commissioner for health and consumer affairs in October, shortly before the European Commission unveiled its proposed revisions to the Tobacco Products Directive.

    In an interview with a Maltese television station, Peter Paul Zammit, who became Malta’s police commissioner in April, reportedly said that investigations were continuing into the allegations against Dalli.

    But, he added, having discussed the case with the attorney general, he did not feel there was, at the moment, sufficient evidence for a criminal case against Dalli.

    The police commissioner’s announcement was seized upon by critics of Giovanni Kessler, the head of the EU’s anti-fraud office, OLAF. It was a report by OLAF, based on an investigation in which Kessler was involved, that prompted José Manuel Barroso, the president of the Commission, to demand Dalli’s resignation.

    Kessler is due to appear before the European Parliament’s budgetary control committee on 18 June.

  • Public-places vaping ban proposed

    The Italian health ministry’s top advisory body has recommended a prohibition on the smoking of electronic cigarettes in public places and a ban on their sale to pregnant women and minors, according to a story on the Indo-Asian News Service.

    The recommendation by the ministry’s Superior Health Council came after France’s Health Minister, Marisol Touraine, said she was planning similar restrictions.

  • TFWA offers preview and review

    Registration for the TFWA World Exhibition, which is to be held in Cannes, France, on October 20-25, has opened at: http://www.tfwa.com/duty_free/index.php?id=1152.

    At the same time, a digital review of the TFWA’s Asia Pacific Conference and Exhibition 2013, which was held on May 12-16, is now available at: http://www.tfwa.com/inreview/TFWA-Asia-Pacific-Conference-Exhibition-in-Review/Home.

  • Not-so power-full savings program

    Employees at Imperial Tobacco’s Radom factory in Poland have helped reduce emissions and costs through the application of an energy saving program.

    A pilot scheme has seen energy use cut by 19 per cent, carbon dioxide emissions reduced by 2,000 tonnes per annum and the factory’s annual energy bill fall by more than a fifth.

    One of the biggest benefits was said to have resulted from engaging with the workforce to help find ways to save energy, such as through the use of more efficient lighting and air-conditioning.

    ‘Energy ambassadors’ have been appointed throughout the factory, a move that is said to have stimulated involvement in the scheme and the search for further savings.

    “This programme has been perfect for the development of our people and the factory,” said Dariusz Kierasiński, project co-ordinator at Radom.

    “Our energy ambassadors, along with a new energy management system to pinpoint areas of high usage, contributed to this success.”

    Similar initiatives are due to get underway at plants in Logroño (Spain), Ain Harrouda (Morocco), Tarnowo (Poland), Nottingham (UK) and other sites during the next 12 months, with the aim of cutting Imperial’s global energy bill by £10 million by 2020.

  • Club atmosphere smoke free

    Dubai Ladies, Club, in conjunction with DubaiHealthcareCity, recently organised nicotine tests and facilitated tobacco education sessions for its members and guests, according to an AME Info report.

    The club set up a purpose-designed smoking cessation and awareness booth where visitors were able to be tested for nicotine and consult a doctor about the health risks related to smoking.

    “As a women-only recreational facility, Dubai Ladies Club is committed to the health and wellbeing of our guests and staff,” said Lamia Abdulaziz, director of the club.

    “With a mission to improve the health and well-being of the communities we serve, we believe that we have a responsibility to take a leadership role on this major health issue, and allowing people to use tobacco products defeats this purpose.