Author: Staff Writer

  • Further delay to UK e-cigarette regulations

    The UK government’s plans to license e- cigarettes have been delayed further, according to a story in the Times Of London.

    The Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency began a consultation in February 2010, but it said in March 2011 that it would take another 18 months to gather greater evidence on the health risks of using these products and the consequences of regulating them.

    Now it emerges that whereas the government had expected to announce its regulatory plans this spring, it is no longer in a position to meet that deadline.

  • PMI, Spanish tobacco renew relationship

    Philip Morris International is strengthening its long-term commitment to the future of tobacco growing in Spain by renewing its Framework Collaboration Agreement with the Spanish Ministry for Agriculture, Food and the Environment for the next three years, the company said last week.

    “As part of the new Agreement signed today in Madrid and subject to the agreed terms, PMI will buy 33 percent more of the Spanish tobacco crop in 2013 compared to 2012,” the company said in a note posted on its website yesterday. “In 2014 and 2015 PMI will increase its tobacco purchases by an annual rate of approximately 5 percent.”

    The new agreement was signed by Spain’s Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Environment Miguel Arias Cañete, and Spaniard Drago Azinovic Gamo, president of PMI’s EU region.

    “We are pleased with this agreement, which reaffirms the support of the Spanish government, the regional government of Extremadura and PMI for the continued, sustainable growth of quality tobacco leaf in Spain,” said Drago Azinovic.

    “Despite the increasingly competitive and continually changing business environment, PMI remains committed to the future of this sector and the jobs it creates in Spain.

    “It is for this reason that, along with the entire tobacco sector, we are especially concerned about the impact the extreme proposals in the proposed European Tobacco Products Directive currently being debated in Brussels.

    “This directive could very negatively affect the entire sector that in our country generates 56,000 jobs and approximately 6 percent of the Spanish government’s total tax revenue.”

    The agreement is said to reaffirm the commitment that PMI, the government of Extremadura and the Spanish Ministry for Agriculture and Environment have made to focus on efforts to improve the quality of Spanish tobacco and make it more competitive, “particularly against the backdrop of an increasingly challenging economic and regulatory environment.”

    “It also includes provisions that will enhance the environmental sustainability of tobacco growing areas by encouraging good agricultural practices,” the note said. “To assist in putting these practices into place, PMI will offer tobacco growers’ associations and others involved in the growing and processing of tobacco, training sessions on good agricultural practices over the next three years.”

  • Zimbabwe: $200 million realized at tobacco auction floors

    Zimbabwe’s Tobacco Industry and Marketing Board (TIMB) has recorded close to $200 million from sales of the golden leaf as more farmers continue to deliver their crop, according to a story in the Zimbabwe newspaper NewsDay.

    The latest statistics from TIMB showed that as of Friday (Day 35), revenue had reached $191,243 million from the 51 million kg of tobacco sold so far.

    The total value is 25.57 percent above last year’s figure and 26.29 percent above last year’s output. The price of tobacco as of April 4 averages $3.74 per kg up from $3.72 per kg during the same period last year. The sales comprised 30,572 million kg contract and 20,504 million kg auction sales.

    On Friday, 7,555 million kg went under the hammer at Tobacco Sales Floor (TSF) while Boka Tobacco Auction Floors (BTAF) and Premier Tobacco Auction Floor (PTAF) sold 7,460 million kg and 5,488m kg respectively. In the period under review, TSF bought tobacco at an average price of $3,77 per kg, BTAF at $3,67 per kg and PTAF at $3,63 per kg. At least 720 888 bales were accepted, while 36 434 bales had been rejected for various reasons.

    According to TIMB weekly tobacco report, about 82,833 growers have registered for the 2013 season compared to about 58,801 who had registered by the same period last year.

    TIMB projects 170 million kg of the golden leaf to be brought to the auction floors this season. In the 2012/2013 marketing season, 144 million kg of tobacco were sold, earning the country $525 million.

  • JTI to challenge Scottish plain-packaging plans

    The tobacco giant Japan Tobacco International is preparing to challenge the Scottish Government’s plain cigarette packets plans in an advertising campaign this week, according to an article in The Scotsman.

    It will reveal correspondence, obtained through Freedom of Information, from the Department of Health in which officials state there is no hard evidence to suggest the change will cut smoking levels.

    SNP health minister Michael Matheson announced two weeks ago that Scotland would be the first part of the UK to introduce plain packaging and insisted this was based on “available evidence.” Scottish Government officials say the Public Health Research Consortium has found the plans will reduce attractiveness and stop youngsters taking up the habit.

    The FOI correspondence, which has been seen by The Scotsman, but cannot yet be published, will be part of an advertising campaign and dates from 2011.

    In December, Australia became the first country to use plain packaging for cigarettes.

    The tobacco firm says that the Scottish public should be made aware of the full facts.

    JTI UK managing director Jorge da Motta said: “We hope common sense will prevail and that the Scottish Government will disregard this proposal.”

  • Minimum warning wider than width of pack, leaves 5 mm for brand name

    The EU Commission has denied that proposed changes to its Tobacco Products Directive would have the effect of banning regular-sized cigarette packs produced in two factories in the Azores and sold in the Azores and Portugal.

    This is despite the fact that the minimum width of health warnings would be wider than the width of these regular packs.

    The issue arose following a written question by Nuno Melo, a member of the European Parliament representing Portugal.

    In his preamble, Melo said the measure that the commission proposed in December concerning the manufacture, presentation and sale of tobacco and related products required that 75 percent of the external area of tobacco product packaging should be covered with health warnings, which should be not less than 64 mm in height and 55 mm in width.

    “These measures jeopardise the continued production of ‘regular-sized’ packs of tobacco products in the Azores, since the dimensions the commission requires are not compatible with about 50 percent of these factories’ output,” he said. “Two tobacco factories are currently operating in the Azores, employing 133 people directly.”

    Melo then asked: “Does the commission agree that this proposal for a directive ignores the fact that the cigarette market in Portugal, and especially the Azores, would be badly affected by the possible disappearance of ‘regular-sized’ packs, unlike the markets in other Member States, where this size pack is hardly ever sold?”

    In its answer, the commission said, in part, the proposal to revise the Tobacco Products Directive was underpinned by a thorough analysis of the scientific evidence base for the measures proposed, as well as economic, internal market, social and health impacts. The commission had carried out extensive stakeholder consultations, including with tobacco growers and manufacturers and had carefully considered the concerns expressed.

    “The proposal does not ban regular cigarettes in any way,” the commission said. “The proposal foresees a minimum size for the dimension of health warnings to ensure the visibility and effectiveness of the health warnings. Based on the size of a standard cigarette package, which is the predominant package for cigarettes on the EU market, the total maximum surface of the package regulated under the Directive would amount to about 70 percent of the package. Trademarks can continue to be put on the remaining surfaces.”

    But the answer did not seem to address specifically the question of ‘regular-sized’ packs and now, another MEP, Nuno Teixeira, has followed up with further questions in which he points out that the size of a regular pack is 69 mm by 54 mm; so the height would leave only 5 mm for trademarks on the front, and the width would not be enough to comply with the minimum requirements.

    Teixeira has asked:

    • “Why does the commission not respect Portuguese consumers’ preference for regular size cigarettes?
    • “Does the commission have any evidence to show that cigarettes of this type are more harmful than other, longer cigarettes or other tobacco products?
    • “Is the commission aware that the gradual elimination from the market of this type of cigarette is likely to lead to thousands of workers being laid off in Portugal?”
  • 2012 cigarette sales decline in France, fine-cut sales increase

    Cigarette sales fell by 3.4 percent in France during 2012, the most significant decline since 2005, according to a story in Le Figaro.

    The decrease was thought to be due to increases in prices that were imposed in October 2011 and 2012.

    Last year, sales of hand-rolling tobacco increased by 6.4 percent.

  • Concern in Poland over proposed new Tobacco Products Directive

    A member of the European Parliament has asked the EU Commission whether it has any plans to help if the revisions to its Tobacco Products Directive negatively affect Polish tobacco farmers.

    Michał Tomasz Kamiński, representing Poland, said in a written question that the new draft directive would ban menthol and slim cigarettes.

    “Revenue from tobacco production in Poland accounts for 36 percent of all revenue from agricultural products, and the country is the largest exporter of tobacco products in the EU,” he said.

    “The new directive may be detrimental not only to the Polish agriculture sector, but also to the country’s entire economy and to the prosperity of its citizens.

    “In addition, it may boost the black market in this sector.”

    Kamiński then asked:

    • “What is the most up-to-date status of work on the Tobacco Products Directive?
    • “What is the commission’s assessment of the impact of the potential changes on tobacco markets in Europe, including the Polish market?
    • “If the new directive comes into force, does the EU have any solutions to the possible negative effects it may have on Polish farmers?”
  • Cigarette sales fall steeply in Spain

    The value of tobacco sales in Spain increased by 5.6 percent to €1.778 billion during the first two months of this year, according to an Expanśion story quoting data from the tobacco market authority.

    But volume cigarette sales fell by 7.2 percent to 363 million packs, while the value of those sales rose by 1 percent to €1.537 billion.

    Volume fine-cut sales increased by 59 percent to 1.1 million kg, while volume pipe tobacco sales fell by 75 percent to 72,889 kg.

    The consumption of cigars was said to have increased by 17 percent.

  • Slow tobacco deliveries at Malawi’s Mzuzu Auction Floors

    The pace at which tobacco is flowing to Mzuzu Auction Floors has been described as slow just few days before the market officially opens on Monday, April 8, according to Malawi’s The Daily Times.

    Mzuzu Auction Floors Assistant Manager Joseph Kawinga said the pace of tobacco deliveries is low as most farmers are still processing their leaf.

    He said by Tuesday, the floors had received around 137 bales. He, however, remained optimistic that the numbers should pick up as the official opening draws close.

    He allayed fears that the low traffic signals the decline in production of the green gold, the country’s top foreign exchange earner, which currently battles anti-smoking lobbies from international groups including the World Health Organization. Kawinga maintained that farmers are not shunning the crop arguing that the floors will meet its targeted tobacco tonnage.

  • Hoffmann awarded World Star

    Winston_Avant_Edition_smallHoffmann Neopac has won a World Star Award for its Winston Avant Edition cigarette pack. The World Star Organization gives out awards annually for innovations in packaging. This year, more than 315 entrants competed.

    Previously, the Winston Avant Edition had won the German Packaging Award.

    According to Hoffman, the Winston Avant Edition has redefined cigarette promotional packaging. The company developed a mechanism that simultaneously opens and lifts the product. Both functions can be triggered using only one hand. Despite its sophisticated features, the package is slim.

    Also unique is the combination of tin plate and plastic. The tin plate shell enhances the premium character of the packaging. It adheres to the plastic part with an innovative adhesive bond using specially designed gluing machines.

    Hoffmann also won a World Star Award for a tube it developed for the medical industry.

    Based in Switzerland, Hoffmann Neopac is a family-owned business with a history of more than 100 years. The company produces pocket packs using metal or combinations of metal and plastic, as well as tins for the tins for a variety of industries, including tobacco.