Category: News This Week

The European Commission is considering providing more public information about the circumstances that led to John Dalli’s resignation as health commissioner, but it says it first has to establish what it can legally divulge, according to a Times of Malta story.

Confirming that Commission president, José Manuel Barroso, had received a letter from the European Parliament president, Martin Schultz, spokesman Olivier Bailly said the Commission was examining what further information it could release.

“I can confirm that Mr Schultz has asked us for additional information on what led to the resignation of the former commissioner and to have access to the contents of the OLAF [the EU’s anti-fraud agency] investigation report,” Bailly said.

“The president will be replying to this letter but the Commission will first have to consider the legal constraints before sending an official reply to MEPs,” he added. Commission sources were quoted as saying that though MEPs had asked to see the contents of the OLAF report on a confidential basis, the Commission was not sure whether this was permitted because the report’s contents did not involve only Dalli, but also other parties investigated and interrogated by OLAF.

Normally, OLAF does not publish its reports but passes the results of its investigations to national authorities.

OLAF’s investigation, which followed a complaint by Swedish Match, allegedly linked Dalli to Maltese businessman, Silvio Zammit, who allegedly approached Swedish Match and offered to meet with Dalli regarding the EU’s policy on snus in exchange for €60 million.

OLAF did not find conclusive evidence of Dalli directly participating in the approach. Dalli resigned on October 16 denying any wrongdoing.

A number of individual MEPs have tabled questions for written answer by the Commission, mostly seeking further information on the circumstances surrounding Dalli’s resignation.

But MEP Adrian Severin tabled a question about OLAF’s working methods in the context of the Dalli case.

Severin said the case of Commissioner John Dalli had shed light on the dubious way in which OLAF operated. He asked:

1.    Whether the Commission endorsed OLAF’s current working methods and assumed responsibility for it?

2.    Whether it intended to forbid OLAF’s practice of drawing conclusions based solely on circumstantial or incomplete evidence or ongoing investigations?

3.    Whether it intended to take steps to ensure that OLAF complied with the presumption of innocence and benefit of the doubt?

The ‘plain’ cigarette packs starting to appear in Australian shops are causing problems for retailers, according to a story in the Canberra Times.

The owner of the IGA supermarket in Hughes, Canberra, Michael Makas, was quoted as saying that he had so far sold a few of the new packs, which are required by law to be of a standard design, except for the brand names, though even those have to appear in a standard font.

Makas said that selling the new packs had proved already to be a “logistical nightmare” because his staff had had problems distinguishing between brands.

“The customers get annoyed because they’re kept waiting while we find the specific brand they want,” he said.

Meanwhile, the manager of the IGA supermarket in Ainslie,Canberra, Manuel Xyrakis, said he noticed he was selling a customer the wrong brand only as he handed it over.

He said he was keeping brands on set shelves to help his staff.

The new packs, which were designed at the behest of the government to be as ugly as is possible, will become mandatory at retail on December 1.

A company in Finland that sells fine-cut tobacco and filter tubes is offering its customers the opportunity of putting those items through a machine that can produce 190-200 cigarettes from 200 g of tobacco in eight minutes.

According to an Esmerk Finnish News story, Feel, has started to offer this service from a tobacco shop in the center ofHelsinki.

A carton of cigarettes made in this way costs under €30 in the Feel shop, which is about €10 less than a smoker would usually pay for a carton of factory-made cigarettes.

Such services started to become big business in theUSuntil the courts recently decided that retailers offering the use of such machines were tobacco manufacturers subjected to all of the regulations and obligations of such manufacturers.

And the same seems to be about to happen inFinland. According to the National Supervisory Authority for Welfare and Health, Valvira, Feel is a producer of cigarettes. The company should therefore put warning labels on its cartons, ensure that the harmful components of the cigarettes did not exceed certain limits, and ensure that the cigarettes were fire-safe, it said.

Feel has replied that its aim was to start the business as soon as possible and that the company will comply with Valvira’s requirements.

The market for electronic cigarettes is growing rapidly in the UK, where there are now an estimated 650,000 users and associated sales worth £60 million, according to a press note released by VIP Electronic Cigarette through PRNewswire.

In order to meet demand for these products, VIP says that it has undergone
significant expansion in recent months.

Having expanded into retail, the company now operates a number of kiosks and booths nationwide.

At the same time, the VIP range is sold to around 300 pharmacies and newsagents in theUK.

VIP says it has plans to increase its retail expansion further next year.

Tobacco smoking has been banned on sidewalks aroundTaipei City Hall station, according to a story by Jake Chung for the Taipei Times quoting the city government’s Department of Health.

The multi-storey building comprises an MRT station, a bus station and stores.

The department said it was the first time sidewalks around a building had been designated as non-smoking.

Meanwhile, the department’s health promotion division chief, Lin Li-ju, said that should businesses or other locations wish to help limit outdoor second-hand smoke inhalation, they could submit a local area smoke control proposal to the department.

A total of 45 outdoor areas in Taipei are now designated non-smoking areas, including that around the First and Second Funeral Parlors, under the Taipei Mortuary Services Office.

The Asian Forum on Corporate Social Responsibility (AFCSR) has conferred on ITC the AIM Asian CSR Award in recognition of ITC’s contribution to the creation of ‘sustainable livelihoods and fostering economic growth in rural communities in India’, according to a note posted on ITC’s website.

‘ITC won the award in the Governance and Society category for adopting the Triple-Bottom-Line model, which focuses on augmenting economic, social and environmental capital,’ the note said. ‘ITC was also recognised for designing innovative social investment programmes that are integrated into its business models and support competitive value chains, encompassing the weaker sections of society. ITC’s businesses and value chains support more than 5 million livelihoods.’

The awards were presented byThailand’s deputy prime minister, Kittiratt Na-Ranong, at an event held on Friday inBangkok.

“Recipients of the AIM Asian CSR Awards demonstrate leadership, sincerity, and commitment in incorporating ethical values, compliance with legal requirements, respect for individuals, involvement in communities, and protection of the environment into the way they do business,” said Professor Felipe B. Alfonso, conference director of AFCSR 2012.

“It is our belief that CSR can only be truly sustainable when it is integrated into the company’s business model and is considered as fundamental to its business strategy, and we hope that through the Asian CSR Awards, we are providing the private sector across the region with examples of best practices.”

More than a quarter of a million people pledged to stub out their last cigarette during the UK’s “Stoptober” anti-smoking campaign, according to a Press Association story published by the Lakeland Echo and quoting a government source.

The month-long NHS [National Health Service] quit drive was aimed at encouraging some ofBritain’s eight million smokers to kick the habit.

Health minister, Anna Soubry, was quoted as saying the £5.7 million campaign had “exceeded expectations”.

She said that most smokers wanted to give up, which was why it was necessary to keep encouraging them to take that step.

“I congratulate everyone who gave up for Stoptober – it’s a fantastic achievement,” she said. “They are five times more likely to give up for good after 28 days and I hope they will.

“For those who didn’t manage to stop for Stoptober, I would urge them to keep at it. People can start their own 28 day quit challenge at any time.”

Soubry added that half of all smokers would die because of their habit.