Category: Featured

  • China Tightens Smoking Restrictions

    China Tightens Smoking Restrictions

    Photo: Taco Tuinstra

    China is ramping up its efforts to control smoking. In 2023, 44 cities introduced or revised regulations, bringing the total number of cities with relevant regulations to 254 nationwide, according to national health authorities.

    According to the Xinhua News Agency, 24 regions at the provincial level in China have rolled out smoking regulations, and the proportion of the population protected by comprehensive smoke-free regulations is continuing to increase.

    Experts from the National Health Commission (NHC) released the data on Saturday ahead of World No Tobacco Day on May 31.

    Meanwhile, as China pledges to protect 80 percent of its population with smoke-free laws by 2030, experts on tobacco control on Sunday called for the country to introduce a national smoking control regulation as soon as possible.

    Smoking control, including preventing smoking and encouraging smokers to quit, is a viable approach for both population-wide disease prevention and individual healthcare, according to Wang Lu, a health expert from the NHC.

    Curbing smoking doesn’t aim to deprive people of their right to smoke, but to free people from being hurt by secondhand fumes, Zhang Jianshu, a senior expert at the Chinese Association of Tobacco Control, told the Global Times on Sunday.

  • Bidi Workers Demand Better Conditions

    Bidi Workers Demand Better Conditions

    Photo: Brandy Brinson

    During a public meeting in Rangpur, Bangladesh, representatives of the Bidi Workers Federation presented several demands for improving their working conditions, reports the Daily Sun.

    Among other things, they want multinationals to increase the price of low-end cigarettes from BDT45 ($0.38) to BDT65 per pack and the government to close down illegal bidi factories. The bidi workers also demanded a halt to “the brokering” of BAT.

    Rangpur Mayor Mostafizar Rahman, who also spoke at the gathering, urged the government to protect the bidi industry from “the conspiracies of international companies.”

    He highlighted that approximately 2 million workers across the country earn their livelihood by working in bidi factories. Rahman advocated for wage increases, the withdrawal of duties on bidi products and for the bidi industry to be declared a cottage industry, a designation that would give companies operating in this sector access to low-interest loans and subsidies on raw materials, among other benefits.

    A recent survey revealed that many bidi workers in Bangladesh are dissatisfied with their working conditions.

  • BAT Kenya Ups Leaf Price to Secure Supply

    BAT Kenya Ups Leaf Price to Secure Supply

    Photo: Taco Tuinstra

    BAT Kenya is paying more for leaf to ensure the security of its supply, reports Business Daily Africa.

    In fiscal year 2023, the cigarette manufacturer increased its per-kilo price by 5 percent to KES198.75 ($1.50) even as the number of contracted farmers dropped to 1,672, down nearly 20 percent from the previous fiscal year.

    Only five years ago, BAT had access to 5,700 tobacco growers in Kenya. The drop has been driven in part by farmers abandoning tobacco in favor of alternative crops such as beans and maize, along with pressure from anti-smoking activists.

    To help stem the decline, the company has been offering free tobacco seedlings, fertilizer and personal protective equipment. In addition, it has encouraged crop diversification by issuing farmers subsidized maize and avocado seeds, allowing them to earn extra income without abandoning tobacco.

    The company has also been introducing hybrid tobacco seed varieties to boost crop yields and disease resistance, and low-cost technologies such as mechanized ploughing and ridges to help growers cut cost and maximize returns.

    BAT Kenya paid KES954 million for its total tobacco requirements in 2023 compared with KES946 million in 2022. Last year, it purchased 4.8 million kg of leaf, down from 8.9 million kg in 2019.

  • Growers Reject Official Tobacco Price

    Growers Reject Official Tobacco Price

    Photo: Taco Tuinstra

    Tobacco grower representatives in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province accused Pakistan’s federal government of violating the tobacco law by fixing the leaf price for the current crop below the previous year’s rate, reports Dawn.

    Martial Law Order 487 requires the weighted average price for the tobacco crop of any year to be equal to or higher than the weighted average price paid to them for the crop of the immediately preceding year.

    According to the grower representatives, the Federal Ministry of National Food Security and Research has set the minimum indicative price at PKR505 ($1.81) per kilogram for flue-cured Viriginia tobacco this year. Last year, the weighted average price was PKR709 per kilogram.

    The growers said the move was a flagrant violation of the tobacco marketing law that should be immediately corrected.

  • Azerbaijan Mulls Stricter Rules for Importers

    Azerbaijan Mulls Stricter Rules for Importers

    Photo: Taco Tuinstra

    Lawmakers in Azerbaijan want to introduce stricter rules for cigarette importers, reports the Azerbaijani Press Agency.

    Among the proposed conditions is a requirement for importers to have operated at least one year in the tobacco business before they can bring in product from abroad.

    On May 24, legislators proposed to amend the law on tobacco and tobacco products. The objectives cited were to protect the domestic market, increase the potential for exports and “control a person’s sustainable and purposeful activity.”

  • Bangladesh Urged to Raise Cigarette Prices

    Bangladesh Urged to Raise Cigarette Prices

    Photo: Shahadat222

    Anti-tobacco organizations are urging Bangladesh to increase cigarette prices in fiscal year 2024–2025, reports The Business Post.

    Even as the prices of essential goods have soared, cigarette prices have remained comparatively stable in Bangladesh. Over the past five fiscal years, the price of low-tier cigarettes has increased by only BDT10 ($0.09), averaging an increase of BDT2 per year. Since 2019–2020, the price of such cigarettes has increased only once, by BDT1.

    Critics say the failure to adjust cigarette prices in line with inflation has made smoking more accessible and attractive to low-income groups. Low-tier cigarettes now account for 80 percent of the cigarette market.

    Experts have suggested raising the price of a 10-stick pack of low-tier cigarettes from BDT45 to BDT60. Aligning prices with inflation, they suggest, would increase government revenue by approximately BDT100 billion.

    “Low-income individuals are the most affected by malnutrition,” said Nasrin Sultana, a professor at the Institute of Health Economics at Dhaka University. “Increasing the price of low-tier cigarettes would reduce the number of smokers in this demographic. This would not only decrease health risks but also enhance revenue flow even amid economic downturns.”

  • China Tobacco Deputy Head Investigated

    China Tobacco Deputy Head Investigated

    Photo: RomanR

    Chinese authorities are investigating Xu Ying, deputy head of China’s State Tobacco Monopoly Administration, for suspected “severe violations of disciplines and laws,” reports China Daily, citing the Communist Party’s Central Commission for Discipline Inspection and the National Commission of Supervision.

    Xu started his career in the administration in 1988. In March 2014, he became the deputy head of the administration.

    Earlier this month, law enforcement officers arrested former STMA head Ling Chengxing on suspicion of accepting bribes and abusing power.

  • Industry Still Targeting Children: WHO

    Industry Still Targeting Children: WHO

    Photo: v-a-butenkov

    Despite its talk about harm reduction, the tobacco industry is still targeting youth via social media, sports and music festivals and flavored products, according to the World Health Organization, reports Reuters.

    In a joint report issued with STOP, an industry watchdog, the global health body alleged that tobacco companies’ alternative smoking products such as vapes are often marketed with designs and flavors that are appealing to young people.

    “It’s dishonest to talk about harm reduction when they are marketing to children,” said Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the WHO’s director-general.

    The WHO pointed to flavors like bubblegum as a driver of youth vape use increases. The industry, however, argues that flavors are a key tool in helping adult smokers switch to less harmful alternatives. Most large companies have moved away from youth-appealing flavors.

    The WHO says that companies use social media and sponsorship of music festivals and sports festivals to target youth, allowing the companies to promote their brands to younger audiences and to hand out free samples.

    In addition, the WHO argues that there is insufficient evidence that vapes help smokers quit. Rather, the entity said that there is evidence vaping increases traditional cigarette use, especially among youth.

    Sarah Jackson, principal research fellow at University College London’s Tobacco and Alcohol Research Group, contradicted that view, however, saying that the WHO statements, “do not accurately reflect current evidence on e-cigarettes.”

  • Caribbean Habanos Days in St. Maarten

    Caribbean Habanos Days in St. Maarten

    Credit: Reimar

    The fourth annual Caribbean Habanos Days was held on Sint Maarten from May 17 -19. Sponsored by Habanos S.A. and Caribbean Cigars Corporation N.V., the Cuban cigar distributor for the Caribbean and Central America, the event attracted nearly 200 attendees from 19 countries.

    Activities included a cigar-rolling demonstration by torcedor Jose Castelar “Cueto” Cairo. The 80-year-old cigar roller is best known for rolling the Guinness World Record cigar, which is 295 feet long and was rolled to commemorate Fidel Castro’s 90th birthday in 2016 (he’s broken the record several times since). After his presentation, patrons participated in rolling their own cigars.

    The first day culminated in an evening cocktail party featuring music by Yuyo Herrera. The evening celebrated brands including Cohiba, Montecristo, Trinidad, Partagas, Romeo Julietta, Quai Dorsay, La Gloria Cubano, and El Rey Del Mundo, according to an emailed press release.

    On day two, attendees could take a land tour or a boat cruise.

    The event closed with a Gala Dinner party held at The Morgan. Montecristo cigars, along with special Montecristo lighters and cutters, were presented throughout the evening. After the dinner, attendees participated in a premier humidor auction, featuring two hand-crafted humidors created by Cuban artisan Ernesto Aguilera Reina.

    Gary Heathcott, director of Cuba Films, conducted the auction. The event raised $75,000 that will be donated to Cuba’s Public Health system for Children’s Cancer Research.

  • Sunak’s Ban on Hold

    Sunak’s Ban on Hold

    Image: Mark

    Britain’s proposed generational tobacco ban will not become law before the July 4 election announced by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak this week, reports Reuters.

    The U.K. Tobacco and Vapes Bill aims to phase out the sale of cigarettes. It would make it illegal to sell tobacco products to anyone born on or after Jan. 1, 2009, after they turn 18. It would also provide powers to address vaping among young people.

    The bill had passed its first parliamentary hurdle in April despite dozens of lawmakers in Sunak’s Conservative party voting against it.

    However, the government failed to put forward the tobacco and vapes bill as part of the legislation to be passed in the “wash-up” period before parliament dissolves.

    Unless ministers resuscitate the bill at the last minute with an emergency statement today, it will be up to the next government to re-introduce the smoking ban in a fresh bill. The Labour party is committed to the policy and could include it in its manifesto. “Our position hasn’t changed so if it doesn’t come through, then we will look at putting it in the manifesto and introducing a bill,” a Labour representative told The Guardian.

    The U.K. Vaping Industry Association (UKVIA) welcomed the news that the  bill would not be rushed through the legislative process. Earlier, the group had complained that the Department of Health and Social Care had failed to carry out any risk assessments into the health impacts of fewer people using vapes to quit smoking as a result of potential changes to flavor offerings, point of sale displays or packaging and product presentation.

    “It is wrong to rush any legislation through parliament without proper scrutiny but with a bill like this, where lives are quite literally at stake, it is even more important that the correct checks and balances are in place when considering what new powers to introduce,” said UKVIA Director General John Dunne in a statement.

    “We believe that properly drafted new measures to ban child-friendly designs and flavor names and ensure that products, backed up by a powerful and effective enforcement regime will continue to see smoking rates fall while ensuring that youth uptake rapidly comes down.”

    Anti-smoking activists took the news in stride. “While the tobacco and vapes bill appears to be a victim of a snap election, all is not lost,” said Deborah Arnott, chief executive of Action on Smoking and Health. “This bill has the strong support of the chief medical officers of all four nations in the U.K. as well as the overwhelming majority of the public.”