Category: News This Week

A small majority of Dutch MPs voted last week for a motion calling for the reinstatement of a ban on smoking in all restaurants, bars and cafés, according to an Expatica story.

Small bars and cafés run by their owners and not employing other staff have been exempt since the ban was relaxed in 2010 by the previous government following a court ruling.

However, the ban, brought in nearly five years ago, is said to be widely flouted in bigger bars, cafés and nightclubs.

It was not clear from the report why, given the situation, the MPs decided to punish those running small bars and cafés within the law, rather than clamping down on those braking the law.

The government must now decide what to do with the motion.

Junior health minister, Martin van Rijn, said last month that he was working on a ‘broad package of [smoking] prevention’.

US-based LOGIC Technology has appointed Chris Colónto to its key executive team.

In his role as national director of key accounts, Colónto will establish and manage new accounts and oversee existing ones with retailers nationwide.

“We’re absolutely thrilled to add such an experienced e-cig category expert to our team,” said Eli Alelov, CEO of LOGIC. “Chris’s vision and leadership, coupled with his knowledge of industry, will contribute to making LOGIC a great partner to US retailers and top selling brand in the United States.”

Iggesund Paperboard’s production of Invercote last year surpassed all previous environmental achievements at its mill at Iggesund, Sweden, the company has reported. Despite record-high manufacturing levels, emissions of environmentally harmful substances were lower than ever before.

“In a paper industry, the environmentally harmful emissions, above all to water, are usually proportional to production: that is, the more you make, the more you emit,” said Anna Mårtensson, environmental manager at Iggesund Mill.

“But 2012 was a very positive exception for us. Even though our production was the most it’s ever been, our emissions were the lowest ever – or at least, as far back as we have reliable measurement data.”

Over the years, Iggesund has taken a variety of steps to reduce its emissions. Fairly early on, the mill began using a system of mechanical purification in sedimentation basins to separate out the leftover fibres that had passed through the pulping process. In the 1970s another step was taken with the construction of an aerated lagoon in which microorganisms clean the wastewater. And in 2009 the mill added a third stage, chemical purification, in which the wastewater is treated in the same way that drinking water is treated.

“Now we can clearly see the effects of the third stage,” Mårtensson said. “The oxygen-consuming substances have been greatly reduced and nutrients like phosphorus and nitrogen, which are so harmful to the marine ecosystem in the Baltic Sea, have been almost halved.”

Paper industry operations are so large scale that it often takes time to change course; so the Iggesund Mill is working in a strategic, targeted way to reduce its impact on the local environment. “Not one investment decision is made without first considering the environmental aspects,” Mårtensson said. “That is the constant question we ask every time we discuss how to develop our production. Things don’t always move as fast as our critics would like but systematic work on these issues is what gives results over time.”

Iggesund Mill has been making paper pulp on the same site for almost 100 years and has been refining the pulp into paperboard for 50 years. Half a century ago the seabed outside the mill was dead and the environmentally harmful emissions were considerable. Today it is not possible to distinguish between fish that live close to the mill and fish from unaffected reference areas. Sensitive species, such as seals and eagles, which have been absent for many years from the mill’s vicinity, are now back and increasing in numbers.

Over the past two years Iggesund Paperboard has invested more than €340 million in switching to production based on renewable energy. At Iggesund Mill alone the company has invested more than €100,000 a day for the past ten years, always with a focus on the environmental consequences of its investments.

More tobacco was sold in Zimbabwe on the opening day of this year’s auction sales than on the opening day of 2012’s auctions, but prices were lower and rejects were up, according to a story by Elita Chikwati for the Zimbabwe Herald.

The first day’s auctions saw 265,000 kg sold for US$784,000, up from 178,000 kg sold for $633,000 on the first day of 2012’s auctions.

However, prices were down by 16 per cent to US$2.96 per kg while rejects were increased by 27 per cent to 213 bales (out of 3,499 laid).

The Tobacco Industry and Marketing Board chairperson, Monica Chinamasa, has advised tobacco growers to reduce losses by planting only manageable areas to tobacco and aiming to produce higher yields and quality.

“The dynamics and requirements of our major export markets are changing. We are aware that they now prefer clean leaf of good maturity and quality from the upper stalk,” she said.

She urged growers to invest in efficient curing facilities because while good crops were appearing in the fields, there was less good quality tobacco on the sales floors.

“Growers should also invest in grading and presentation facilities or skills,” she said. “About half of the bales rejected in 2012 were declared ‘mixed hands’. This compromises the price offered and the buyers’ final export product,” she said.

About 170 million kg of tobacco is expected to be sold during the 2013 season.

Japan Tobacco Inc’s domestic cigarette sales volume during January, at 8.5 billion, was down by 0.8 per cent on its January 2012 volume, 8.6 billion, which itself was increased by 0.9 per cent on that of January 2011, according to preliminary figures issued by the company today.

Volume during the 10 months, April 2012-January 2013, at 97.9 billion, was up by 9.4 per cent on its April 2011-January 2012 volume, 89.4 billion, which was down by 22.5 per cent on that of April 2010-January 2011.

JT’s market share stood at 58.5 per cent in January, at 59.5 per cent during April 2012-January 2013, and at 54.9 for the full year to the end of March 2012.

JT has suffered huge domestic volume swings in recent times because of an unprecedented, mainly tax-driven price hike on October 1, 2010, and the massive disruption caused to the company’s manufacturing and distribution operations following the earthquake and tsunami of March 11 2011.

JT’s domestic cigarette revenue during January, at ¥46.7 billion, was down by 0.7 per cent on its January 2012 revenue, ¥47.1 billion, which was up by 0.4 per cent on that of January 2011.

Revenue during April 2012-January 2013, at ¥538.7 billion, was up by 9.6 per cent on its revenue during April 2011-January 2012, ¥491.7 billion, which was down by 3.6 per cent on that of April 2010-January 2011.

Israel’s Ministry of Finance is halving the country’s duty-free allowance for cigarettes, which even now is hardly generous.

According to a Globes online story quoting the Hebrew daily Ma’ariv, from April, passengers returning to Israel from overseas will be allowed only 125 gm of duty-free tobacco products, equal to one pack of cigarettes.

The Israel Tax Authority says that the new measure, which will cancel the current limit of two packs of duty-free cigarettes per passenger, will generate NIS150 million a year in revenues.

“There is no reason in [the] world for Israel to subsidize cigarettes, especially for people able to travel abroad,” said a top Tax Authority official. “This is not the social justice that the public wants.”

Many people might applaud such a stance, but the question arises as to why one pack is acceptable while two packs aren’t.

Efforts are being made in Andhra Pradesh, India, to have 50 villages declared tobacco-free by the end of May.

After the village of Pongalipaka in the Madugula division of the Visakhapatnam district of Andhra hit the headlines for becoming the state’s first tobacco-free village on May 31, 2012, efforts have been under way to make 50 villages spread over six districts of the state tobacco-free by this year’s World No Tobacco Day.

Kishore Mogulluru, state consultant with STEPS, Strengthening Tobacco Control Efforts Through Innovative Partnerships and Strategies, said that the organization was leaving no stone unturned to score the half century of villages, a majority of them in Visakhapatnam.

He told The Hindu that bottom-up and top-down approaches were being followed to encourage villagers to convince tobacco product vendors to shut up shop, users to give up their addiction, and tobacco growers to shift to alternative crops such as green gram and tomato.

Andhra is one of two states, the other being Karnataka, that produce the nations export flue-cured tobacco.

Lorillard’s domestic shipment volumes during the 12 months to the end of December 2012, at 39,490,890,000, were down by 1.4 per cent on those of the previous 12 months.

Including shipments to Puerto Rico and US Possessions, shipments were down by 1.4 per cent to 40,152,192,000.

Shipments of Newport cigarettes fell by 1.8 per cent to 33,125,424,000, and shipments of premium brands taken together decreased by 2.0 per cent to 33,487,272,000, with shipments of Kent down by 13.9 per cent to 175,116,000 and shipments of True down by 13.3 per cent to 186,732,000.

Shipments of price/value brands increased by 2.2 per cent to 6,003,618,000, with shipments of Old Gold down by 10.7 per cent to 494,166,000 and shipments of Maverick up by 3.5 per cent to 5,509,452,000.

Lorillard’s market share during 2012, at 14.4 per cent was up by 0.3 of a percentage point on that of 2011, with Newport’s share up by 0.2 of a percentage point to 12.1 per cent.

Menthol cigarettes last year held a 31.1 per cent share of the US market, up by 0.6 of a percentage point from that of the previous year, and Lorillard held a 39.3 per cent share of the total US menthol segment, up by 0.2 of a percentage point. Newport’s share of the US menthol segment was 36.1 per cent, down by 0.1 of a percentage point.

Meanwhile, during the three months to the end of December, Lorillard’s domestic cigarette shipments, at 9,846,815,000, were up by 0.4 per cent on those of the three months to the end of December 2011. Including Puerto Rico and US possessions, shipments were up by 0.3 per cent to 10,012,223,000.

Newport’s shipments during the final quarter were up by 0.9 per cent to 8,263,979,000, and total full price brand shipments were up by 0.7 per cent to 8,353,055,000. Total price/value brand shipments were down by 1.4 per cent to 1,493,760,000.

Lorillard’s net sales during the 12 months to the end of December, at $6,623 million, were up by 2.4 per cent on those of the previous 12 months period.

Reported operating income was down by 0.7 per cent to $1,878 million while adjusted operating income was up by 0.9 per cent to $1,883 million.

Net income was down by 1.5 per cent to $1,099 million while adjusted net income was up by 0.2 per cent to $1,103 million.

Reported diluted earnings per share were up by 5.6 per cent to $2.81 while adjusted diluted earnings per share were up by 7.2 per cent to $2.82.

“Lorillard delivered strong financial and market share results in both the fourth quarter and full year of 2012 despite a heightened competitive environment,” said chairman, president and CEO, Murray S. Kessler, in announcing the results yesterday.

“We are very pleased to have delivered a double-digit shareholder return as measured by EPS growth and the dividend yield during 2012, and to have grown market share for the tenth consecutive year.

“We are confident in our ability to continue this strong financial performance in 2013, as reflected by our recent 3-for-1 stock split and today’s announcement of a 6.5 per cent dividend increase.”

Philip Morris International is due to host a live audio webcast of a presentation and question-and-answer session by its CFO, Jacek Olczak, at the Consumer Analyst Group of New   York (CAGNY) Conference.

The entire session will be available in listen-only mode at www.pmi.com starting about 09.15 hours Eastern Time on February 20.

An archived copy of the webcast, presentation slides and the script will be available at the same website until 17.00 hours on March 21.