Category: News This Week

The 2013 meeting of the European Association for Tobacco Research and Experimentation (AERET – Association Européenne pour la Recherche et l’Expérimentation Tabacole) will be held on June 25-27 at the Château des Vigiers, near Bergerac, France.

The meeting will include sessions on tobacco varieties, plant protection, experimental programs, and the reduction of energy consumption during curing.

In addition, on June 26, participants will have the opportunity to visit experimental fields in Bergerac.

The Food and Drug Administration’s Center for Tobacco Products (CTP), is due to hold a one-day workshop to obtain public input on ‘topics related to the potential electronic submission of tobacco product applications and other information’.

The workshop will focus on the technical aspects of electronic submissions, including potential standards for content, format, and structure.

According to an FDA press note, the input from the public workshop might ‘assist the Agency in the potential development and implementation of an electronic submission standard for CTP’.

At the same time, the FDA is opening a public docket to receive comments on this topic.

Registration for the workshop is open until June 21; the workshop is due to be held on July 18; and comments directed to the docket have to be received by August 19.

More information is at:

http://www.regulations.gov/#!documentDetail;D=FDA_FRDOC_0001-3973.

White Cloud Electronic Cigarettes, which already claimed the title of the company with the most electronic cigarette flavors, has added another flavor to its portfolio: Atlantic Cut, according to a press note issued through PRNewswire.

The new flavor, which was inspired by the taste of flue-cured tobacco, is said to have subtle hints of caramel, apple, Canadian rye whiskey and maple.

Atlantic Cut is offered in nicotine strengths designated Light, Full, Xtra and XXtra.

“There are a large number of tobacco cigarettes on the market and each blend has its own distinct flavor,” said Michael Murray, managing director of White Cloud Cigarettes.

“Our Regular, Apache and Bora Bora tobacco flavors have all been very popular with our customers and all have their own distinct flavor as well.

“Atlantic Cut is our boldest, most complex flavor to date.

“Vapors will enjoy the rich, full-flavor.”

KT&G said on Monday that it had launched what it claims to be the world’s first ultra-slim cigarette with a filter containing a flavor capsule, according to a story in The Korea Herald.

‘Esse Change’ is a version of the company’s highly-successful ultra-slim cigarette, Esse, which has proved especially popular among young adult smokers.

The taste of Esse Change changes from mild to ‘apple mint-fresh’ after the smoker pops the capsule.

The new product delivers 1 mg of tar and 0.1 mg of nicotine, and is priced at WON2,500 per pack.

Developing countries face particular barriers to participating in the activities of the Conference of the Parties to the World Health Organization’s Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, according to the conclusions of a study recently posted on the Tobacco Control website.

And the engagement of developing countries in global tobacco control is likely to diminish in the absence of specific measures to support their effective participation, the study found.

The study, by researches at the University of Edinburgh, UK, was first published online on November 14.

It is available as an open access paper at http://tobaccocontrol.bmj.com/content/early/2013/06/09/tobaccocontrol-2012-050849.full.

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.’

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.