Category: Packaging

  • Pack size matters

    Pack size matters

    While Malaysia has been debating long and hard over whether to reintroduce 10-piece packs of cigarettes, in part to help combat a rising illegal trade, illegal traders have been busy introducing 25-piece packs to the market, according to a story in The Independent Singapore.

    The chairman of the Malaysia-Singapore Coffeeshop Proprietors General Association (MSCSPGA) Ho Su Mong was quoted as saying that these bigger packs had been

    gaining converts, which could mean that smokers of illicit cigarettes were now smoking more than they used to do.

    The MSCSPGA was said to have lambasted the authorities for closing their eyes to the illegal trade in cigarettes. It was quoted as saying that while the authorities squabbled over how to curb sales of illicit cigarettes, more young people were being drawn toward these cheaper products.

    The association says the government should allow the sale of 10-piece packs of cigarettes as a pragmatic tool to address the illegal cigarette trade and reduce smoking overall.

    In addition, the association is urging NGOs to take into consideration that the authorities, including the Ministry of Health, have said that the incidence of smoking, especially amongst young people, had gone up over the years due to the widely-accessible and affordable illicit cigarettes.

    “By not addressing this reality, NGOs are only helping the illegal cigarette trade to continue to flourish and harm the very people they want to protect,” said Ho.

    “If we truly want to reduce overall smoking and accessibility, we need to fight the real threat which is illegal cigarettes.”

  • Final warning given

    Final warning given

    The US Food and Drug Administration has issued its final guidance on small-cigar-pack health-warnings, Compliance Policy for Required Warning Statements on Small-Packaged Cigars.

    From August 10, 2018, it will be unlawful for anyone to manufacture, package, sell, offer to sell, distribute, or import for sale or distribution within the US any cigar unless its product packaging bears one of the following warning statements:

    • WARNING: This product contains nicotine. Nicotine is an addictive chemical.
    • WARNING: Cigar smoking can cause cancers of the mouth and throat, even if you do not inhale.
    • WARNING: Cigar smoking can cause lung cancer and heart disease.
    • WARNING: Cigars are not a safe alternative to cigarettes.
    • WARNING: Tobacco smoke increases the risk of lung cancer and heart disease, even in non-smokers.
    • WARNING: Cigar use while pregnant can harm you and your baby; or SURGEON GENERAL WARNING: Tobacco Use Increases the Risk of Infertility, Stillbirth and Low Birth Weight.

    The FDA does not intend to take enforcement action with respect to cigars sold in packaging that is too small or otherwise unable to accommodate a label with the required warning statement once the compliance policy takes effect, if the warning statements appear either:

    • On the carton or other outer container or wrapper if the carton, outer container, or wrapper has sufficient space to bear the information; or
    • On a tag otherwise firmly and permanently affixed to the tobacco product package.

    The compliance policy does not apply to other labeling provisions, such as the random display and distribution of cigar warning statements on packaging in accordance with an FDA-approved warning plan.

  • Bigger is better in Taiwan

    Bigger is better in Taiwan

    Warning labels on cigarette packs sold in Taiwan are too small and not frightening enough to be effective, according to a story in The Taipei Times quoting academics speaking at a forum held in Taipei on Monday.

    The difference between the number of people who smoked in Taiwan, three million, and the number who smoked in Hong Kong, 640,000, might be due to the difference in the sizes of the warning labels, they said at the Tobacco Hazard and Prevention Forum for Cross-strait Locations, Hong Kong and Macau.

    This seems unlikely given that the population of Taiwan is about 23 million and that of Hong Kong is about seven million.

    There is a significant smoking-prevalence difference: about 15 percent in Taiwan and 10 percent in Hong Kong, but attributing this to health warnings seems to be a giant step.

    Warning labels in Taiwan took up 35 percent of tobacco packaging and were ‘a light reminder’, the academics said.

    On the other hand, warning labels and graphics take up 85 percent of tobacco packaging in Hong Kong. They include pictures of long-time smokers and the effects that smoking has on the body, and warning messages such as, ‘Smoking causes strokes and ‘Smoking kills’.

    University of Hong Kong professor Lam Tai-hing was quoted as saying that ‘pictures’ were thought to scare many young people off smoking.

    In Taiwan, the Health Promotion Administration said it was aware of the statistics, and that amendments to the Tobacco Hazards Prevention Act had been sent to the Executive Yuan.

    The amendments would increase the size of warning labels on cigarette packaging to 85 percent.

    And they would hike fines for the illegal distribution of e-cigarettes in a bid to deter sales and distribution of these devices.

    Meanwhile, the Ministry of Health and Welfare said it would convene a panel to discuss the kinds of pictures that would be a deterrent to smoking.

  • Standard the new norm

    Standard the new norm

    Standardized tobacco packaging has been adopted in eight countries and is under consideration in at least 15 others, according to the Framework Convention Alliance (FCA).

    In July, Norway joined Australia, France and the UK as countries that had implemented standardized-tobacco-pack regulations, the FCA said, while Hungary, Ireland, New Zealand and Slovenia had set dates for requiring cigarettes to be sold in such packs.

    Ireland was set to implement regulations at the end of this month, and, while Hungary’s law required cigarette manufacturers to use standardized packaging from May 20, 2018, any new brands launched after August 20, 2016, have been required to be sold in standardized packs.

    At the same time 15 other jurisdictions had taken formal steps toward requiring standardized tobacco packaging.

    The introduction of standardised tobacco packaging, the FCA said, comprised one of the recommendations within the World Health Organization’s Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC).

    Countries were said by the FCA to have committed to standardized packaging despite predictable, costly legal challenges from the tobacco industry.

    The Australian government, which, at the end of 2012, had become the first country to require standardized tobacco packaging, was said to have faced multiple lawsuits from Philip Morris: lawsuits brought both within the country and via an international investment agreement. The government won them all.

    And earlier this year it had been reported that the World Trade Organization had rejected a challenge to Australia’s law as an illegal barrier to trade. A final ruling was expected soon.

    In May last year, a UK High Court had rejected a tobacco industry lawsuit against standard packaging. The judge had found that the industry largely “ignores or airily dismisses the worldwide research and literature base which contradicts evidence tendered by the tobacco industry; and, is frequently unverifiable”.

  • Small-pack claims denied

    Small-pack claims denied

    The Malaysian Health Ministry has dismissed rumors that packs with fewer than 20 cigarettes would be allowed to return to the local market, according to a story by Nora Jaswa for FreeMalaysiaToday.com.

    It was widely reported, including here, yesterday, that Charles Santiago, the member of parliament for Klang, had said there was ‘talk’ that 10-stick cigarette packs – what he referred to as ‘kiddie packs’ – would be allowed to go on sale to combat the sale of illegal tobacco.

    But the Health Minister Dr. S Subramaniam said the ministry would not give approval for the sale of such packs.

    “The rumors of the ‘kiddie packs’ being sold are not true,” he was quoted as saying. “The ministry has not endorsed it.

    “Legislation prohibits the sale of small packs of cigarettes of fewer than 20 sticks. This is also consistent with the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) which Malaysia is a part of.”

  • Who sets tobacco policy?

    Who sets tobacco policy?

    Allowing the sale in Malaysia of packs containing fewer than 20 cigarettes would again demonstrate that tobacco lobbyists were determining government policy, questioning the sovereignty of policy making in the country, according to an opinion piece in the Malay Mail by Charles Santiago, the member of parliament for Klang.

    Santiago said that there was ‘talk’ that 10-stick cigarette packs – what he referred to as ‘kiddie packs’ – would be sold to combat the sale of illegal tobacco.

    Sales of packs with fewer than 20 cigarettes have been banned since 2010.

    For the past few years, the three major tobacco companies operating in Malaysia have been complaining about the steep increases in tobacco excise taxes that have been imposed and the level of illegal tobacco trade in the country.

    Santiago said, however, that allowing the smaller packs would ‘encourage the sales of cigarettes as they would become much more affordable, even for students, young adults and women’.

    ‘But to address the affordability of cigarettes, especially to lower income persons and youths, the Malaysian government introduced the Minimum Price Law (MPL) in 2010, in conjunction with a ban on selling cigarettes in packs of less than 20 sticks,’ Santiago said.

    ‘Last year, the Health Ministry told parliament that the government plans to introduce plain-packaging on cigarette packets as a way of reducing smoking in the country, a move successfully adopted in countries such as Australia and Uruguay.

    ‘But the government received brickbats from big tobacco companies following the announcement and the policy was shelved.

    ‘This time around tobacco lobbyists have bypassed the Health Ministry altogether, earning the wrath of its director-general Noor Hisham Abdullah who has been reported as being against the sales of kiddie packs.

    ‘Instead of pandering to the whims of tobacco lobbyists, the government must consult all stakeholders including the Health Ministry, anti-tobacco lobbyists and schools to weigh in on the sales of kiddie packs.

    ‘If these smaller packs come to be on sale, it would again demonstrate that tobacco lobbyists are determining government policy, questioning the sovereignty of policy making in the country.’

  • More bans due in Turkey

    More bans due in Turkey

    Turkey is expected to toughen its already-tough anti-tobacco regulations, according to a story by Ali Mustafayev for AzerNews.

    In 2008, Turkey introduced legislation banning smoking in workplaces and enclosed public places, and on public transport.

    Now, the Health Ministry has announced that the ban on smoking might be extended to private cars.

    And the Ministry reportedly said that a common standard would be applied to imported and locally-made tobacco products. ‘A tobacco producing company’s brand and logo cannot occupy more than five percent of the area on a pack of tobacco product,’ the ministry was quoted as saying.

    A new wave of restrictions on tobacco products were introduced from January 2015 under which all tobacco products in Turkey are sold in black packs so as to be less attractive.

    Nevertheless, smoking in Turkey is extremely popular at all levels of society. ‘Turkish people consider smoking almost as a favorite pastime,’ the writer said.

    Turkey has a smoking incidence of about 31 percent, and, in 2015, cigarette consumption there was 125 billion, a figure that includes contraband cigarettes and loose tobacco.

  • Saint Lucia goes graphic

    Saint Lucia goes graphic

    Tobacco-product packs sold in Saint Lucia are to include graphic health warnings, according a StLuciaNewsOnline.com story.

    And the Caribbean island nation is proposing to introduce a tobacco smoking ban in enclosed public places.

    In a change that was implemented on August 16, the Saint Lucia Bureau of Standards (SLBS) revised the standard for tobacco-products labelling, making it mandatory for tobacco-product packs to carry graphic warnings.

    Hubert Reynolds head of the SLBS Compliance Department said vendors with tobacco products shipped prior to the August 16 change would be allowed to sell their products until those supplies were exhausted.

    He said the SLBS would use the country’s previous rules to evaluate consignments coming into St. Lucia for which the bill of lading was dated before August 16.

    This meant that consumers would continue to see the old labels on the market for a while.

    However, it was expected that, during the next six months, consumers would start to see the arrival of products with the new labels.

    Meanwhile, Reynolds said that the health department would be looking to revise legislation with a view to reducing the impact of smoking.

    “The Ministry of Health is also working on legislation to prevent people from smoking indoors,” he said.

    “So you would see, in terms of public buildings, the passing [of] laws to reduce the impact of second-hand smoke.”

  • Coesia acquires Molins

    Coesia acquires Molins

    The Coesia Group, which includes G.D, Sasib and Flexlink, said today it had completed the acquisition of the Molins Instrumentation and Tobacco Machinery business.

    The acquisition was foreshadowed on June 8.

    ‘The Instrumentation and Tobacco Machinery division, with 2016 revenues of approximately GB£40 million, is a global player in the design, development and manufacturing of secondary tobacco processing machinery, under the brand name Molins, as well as a leading player in process and quality control instruments and analytical smoke constituent capture machinery, under the brand name Cerulean,’ Coesia said in a press note.

    “With the acquisition of Molins and Cerulean, Coesia will strengthen its leadership in the tobacco machinery industry and enhance its portfolio and product offering in the packaging and instrumentation markets” Angelos Papadimitriou, the Coesia Group’s CEO was quoted as saying.

    ‘Coesia is a group of innovation-based industrial and packaging solutions companies operating globally, headquartered in Bologna, Italy, fully owned by Isabella Seràgnoli,’ the note said. ‘The Group has 89 operating units (52 of which with production facilities) in 32 countries, a turnover in 2016 of €1,457 million and over 6,000 employees.’

  • Non-disclosure “absurd”

    Non-disclosure “absurd”

    Part of a recent ruling by the Permanent Court of Arbitration has exposed the unacceptable nature of the international tribunal system’s Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) provision, according to story in Scoop, relayed by the TMA and quoting a trade and investment expert.

    As was reported here yesterday, the Court on the weekend made public a heavily redacted ruling ordering Philip Morris Asia (PMA) to pay the Australian government an undisclosed sum in legal costs relating to its failed case against the country’s plain [standardized] packaging law.

    While generally welcoming the court’s decision, the Australian Fair Trade and Investment Network (AFTINET) convener Dr. Patricia Ranald said that it was “absurd and unacceptable” for the tribunal not to disclose the amount of the costs – something the Australian public had a right to know.

    This non-disclosure “exposes the unacceptable nature of the international tribunal system known as Investor-Disputes (ISDS), which enables global corporations to bypass national courts and sue governments in international tribunals over public health and other public interest laws”, she was quoted as saying.

    ISDS tribunals lacked the proper legal safeguards present in national court systems, having no independent judiciary, precedents or appeals, while enjoying wide discretion, she said.

    AFTINET, which is a network of community groups, has called on the government to release the costs of the PM case immediately, and to oppose the inclusion of ISDS in all trade agreements.

    Although the amount of the award has not been made public, there has been speculation that it is about $50 million (US$38 million), plus a percentage of the arbitration costs.

    PMA reportedly argued that Australia’s claim for costs was ‘excessive’ given that its legal team ‘consisted primarily of public servants’, and that it was well above what was claimed by Canada (US$4.5 million) and the US (US$3 million) in similar investment disputes.

    The Australian government said its claim, which included the cost of its own lawyers, outside counsel, expert reports and witnesses, plus travel and accommodation, was justified, and the court agreed. The court found that the Tribunal ‘does not consider that any of these costs claimed by the respondent were unreasonable and should not have been incurred’.