Category: People

  • Leaf price up – and down

    Leaf price up – and down

    The grower price for leaf tobacco produced during Japan’s 2018 harvest has been set at an average of ¥1,887.14 per kg for all leaf types, an increase of 0.51 percent on the previous year’s price of ¥1,877.57 per kg.

    The 2017 price was the same as that for 2016-season tobacco, but the 2016-season price was down by 2.2 percent on that of the 2015 season, ¥1,920.1 per kg, which was up 0.71 percent on that of the 2014 season, ¥1,906.47 per kg. The 2014 season price was the same as that of 2013 but up by 0.84 percent on that of 2012.

    Japan Tobacco Inc. said yesterday that the Leaf Tobacco Deliberative Council (LTDC), chaired by Yoshio Kobayashi, had released its annual determinations for the domestic leaf tobacco cultivation area and grower prices for 2018, in response to a proposal submitted by JT earlier in the day.

    ‘The Council was in general agreement with JT’s proposal, and determined that in 2018, the domestic tobacco cultivation area will be set at 7,436 ha, a decrease of 4.7 percent compared to the contracted area of the previous year.’

    The council went along too with JT’s price recommendation.

    The LTDC is described as a council that confers on important matters concerning the cultivation and purchase of domestically-grown leaf tobacco in response to inquiries by JT representatives. It comprises no more than 11 members who are appointed by JT with the approval of the Minister of Finance, from among representatives of domestic leaf tobacco growers and academics.

  • Cigarette traders jailed

    Cigarette traders jailed

    Three people in Fiji have been jailed for failing to pay fines imposed on them for selling loose cigarettes, according to a story in The Fiji Sun Online.

    Altogether, since July last year, 400 people are said to have been booked and issued with spot fines for failing to comply with tobacco control regulations.

    The story said that the ‘strong and effective’ measures implemented by the government had led to a major decline in smoking among teenagers, as measured by the Global Youth Tobacco Survey (GYTS).

    The current smoking prevalence rate among 13-15-year-olds in Fiji was said to be 5.1 percent: 6.8 percent in the case of males and 3.4 percent in the case of females.

    The GYTS report of 1995 put the smoking rate among this age group at 10.4 percent.

    Meanwhile, the story reported that the Ministry of Health and Medical Services had declared eight villages, 39 village community halls, a number of workplaces and all major markets tobacco free.

    The ministry is now reviewing current tobacco legislation with an eye to making further amendments in relation to outdoor smoking restrictions and the illegal trade in tobacco products.

  • Retailers face jail threat

    Retailers face jail threat

    South Korea’s Ministry of Gender Equality and Family yesterday announced that it would be designating heat-not-burn (HNB) tobacco products as harmful devices that may not be sold to minors, according to a story in The Korea Herald.

    Under current regulations, restrictions on the sale of vapor devices to minors apply only to electronic cigarettes.

    There are no restrictions on HNB systems.

    Once the new rules go into effect, those who sell HNB products to minors will be subject to a prison sentence of up to three years or a fine of up to 30 million won ($26,670).

  • E-cig consultation launched

    The Science and Technology Committee of the UK Parliament has launched a public consultation to ‘examine the impact of electronic cigarettes on human health (including their effectiveness as a stop-smoking tool), the suitability of regulations guiding their use, and the financial implications of a growing market on both business and the NHS’, according to a Bloomberg News story relayed by the TMA, and a report by Sarah Knapton for telegraph.co.uk.

    The chair of the committee, Norman Lamb MP, said that almost three million people in the UK now used e-cigarettes, but that there were still significant gaps in the research guiding their regulation and sale.

    “They are seen by some as valuable tools that will reduce the number of people smoking ‘conventional’ cigarettes, and seen by others as ‘re-normalising’ smoking for the younger generation,” Lamb said.

    “We want to understand where the gaps are in the evidence base, the impact of the regulations, and the implications of this growing industry on NHS costs and the UK’s public finances.”

    Written submissions will be accepted until December 8.

  • Macau creates gray area

    Macau creates gray area

    Starting from January, tobacco smoking is to be banned within 10 meters of Macau’s bus stops, according to a story in The Macau Daily Times.

    The Health Bureau (SSM) director, Lei Chin Ion, said the SSM would co-ordinate with the Civic and Municipal Affairs Bureau (IACM) to delineate the boundaries of non-smoking areas.

    According to Lei, the border will be marked with a gray line to make it easy for the public and law enforcement officers to identify the tobacco-free areas.

    ‘Related work’ is said to have started already and is due to be completed before the end of the year.

    Asked whether a person passing a bus stop while smoking would be performing an illegal act, Lei said that such a person should put out their cigarette before entering a smoke-free zone. Currently, he said, people were unable to avoid second-hand smoke.

    At the same time, Lei admitted that smoking was not a crime and that it was difficult to put an end to it. The government could only try its best to control smoking through public education and enhanced law enforcement.

    According to the SSM, in most of the world, law enforcement can reduce the use of tobacco by only about 20 percent. The remaining 80 percent mainly stems from publicity and education.

    The SSM said that it would continue to conduct anti-smoking inspections.

    In addition, the bureau said that some tobacco-control associations would use Facebook and WeChat, along with other new media sources, to collect the public’s reports of cases of illegal smoking.

  • Production ended

    Production ended

    The last pack of cigarettes has rolled off the production line at Japan Tobacco International’s facility in Ballymena, Northern Ireland, according to a BBC Online story relayed by the TMA.

    It wasn’t clear from the TMA abstract of the story on which day manufacturing ceased but the story was dated October 24.

    JTI is closing its production facility in Northern Ireland and shifting manufacturing operations to Poland, a move expected to result in the loss of 800 jobs in Northern Ireland.

    Again, it wasn’t clear how many of those jobs had already disappeared.

    The JTI UK website on October 26 was showing that the company had 900 employees across the UK, but at three locations, all of which were in England.

    A JTI spokesman was quoted as saying that the company would like to “extend its deepest thanks to all current and past members of the Lisnafillan factory team for their dedication over the years and their continued commitment and professionalism until the very end of production”.

  • Vaping blasts bugs

    Vaping blasts bugs

    A study by scientists based in Glasgow, Scotland, suggests that one of the chemicals in e-liquids kills off bugs that make people ill, according to a story by Mark Howarth for the Sunday Post.

    A report of the study published in the journal Medical Hypotheses suggests that breathing in the fumes of propylene glycol could help destroy even long-term infections.

    The new research describes the case of a woman who had suffered tonsillitis for nine years and whose symptoms vanished within weeks of taking up vaping.

    The 26-year-old computer scientist, who had never smoked, had come to accept there was no medical treatment for her condition and had stopped seeking help.

    She took up vaping when her partner quit smoking for e-cigarettes and, within about three months, realized that her symptoms had disappeared.

    ‘She has now been vaping for eight months and her tonsillitis has not recurred,’ the report says. ‘She has not suffered a single respiratory infection or common cold.’

    “As this is a never-smoker, the improvements cannot be attributed to smoking cessation,” said lead author Dr. Joanna Astrid Miler, of the Glasgow-based Centre for Substance Use Research. “One possible explanation is that the improvement was due to antimicrobial properties of propylene glycol.

    “A trial of vaping zero-nicotine e-cigarettes in patients with recurrent throat infections could clarify whether this is an effect that could benefit others.”

    Previous research has found that propylene glycol, which is a synthetic compound of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen, is effective in tackling bacteria linked to the onset of colds and sore throats, such as Streptococcus and Staphylococcus.

    The latest study was produced in conjunction with Queen Mary University, London.

    The full story is at: https://www.sundaypost.com/fp/holy-e-smoke-experts-say-vaping-can-help-cure-sore-throats/

  • Grower registrations up

    Grower registrations up

    Registrations for growing flue-cured tobacco during Zimbabwe’s 2017/18 season, at 91,693, have increased by 39 percent from those of the 2016/17 season, 65,750, according to a story in The Chronicle citing Tobacco Industry and Marketing Board (TIMB) figures.

    Agronomist Stacy Chiware was quoted as saying that the number of registered tobacco growers was expected to surge due to favorable prices at the auction floors.

    “With regards to tobacco growers’ registration, Zimbabwe has since 2009 been improving on the numbers,” she said.

    “We expect the upward trajectory to continue in the 2017/18 season and beyond because of the favorable prices auction floors continue to offer.”

    The average grower price for flue-cured in Zimbabwe in 2016, at US$2.95 per kg, was lower than it was in 2009, US$2.98 per kg.

    In only two of the seven years from 2009 to 2015 was the price lower than it was in 2016: in 2010, when it was US$2.88 per kg, and in 2009, when it was US$2.73 per kg.

    In 1996, the average price was US$2.94 per kg.

  • Tobacco under pressure

    Tobacco under pressure

    The leader of Turkey’s main opposition party, Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, has said that Turkey’s oriental tobacco is being eradicated, according to a story by Zülfikar Doğan for Al-Monitor.

    “In 2002, 405,882 families were making a living from tobacco,” said Kılıçdaroğlu during a CHP [Republican People’s Party, Cumhuriyet Halk Partisi] parliamentary meeting. “In 2015, that shrunk to 56,000. We gave up growing our own tobacco. Foreigners began importing, and as of 2012, Turkey suddenly became a net tobacco importer.”

    Another problem, Kılıçdaroğlu said, concerned cigarette taxation, which stood at 84 percent and which had caused a sharp rise in the number of people rolling their own cigarettes.

    The story reported that Turkey’s farmers, livestock producers and their related unions were emerging as a new and unexpected mass opposition in the country, staging rallies and marches to protest against sustained heavy economic losses.

    Meanwhile, in the tobacco sector, growers are said to have reacted with fury to threats of heavy prison sentences and fines.

    Tobacco growers have protested against new regulations restricting how, where and when Turks can produce tobacco.

    The aim of the legislation was said to be aimed at preventing tobacco smuggling.

    But the Tobacco Experts Association said that with the new restrictions, thousands of tobacco growers would be facing years in jail and heavy fines.

    The association expressed opposition also to the liberalization of electronic cigarettes and alleged that the new regulations were drafted in line with wishes of foreign cigarette companies and would soon mean the end of the local tobacco industry.

    The full story is at: http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2017/10/turkey-farmers-protest-against-government-policies.html.

  • Illegal trade undercut

    Illegal trade undercut

    A recent study by KPMG has found that one eighth of the cigarettes consumed in Morocco last year were illegally traded, according to a story in The Morocco World News.

    Smuggled cigarettes enter Morocco from its neighbors, Algeria and Mauritania, with Algeria accounting for 65 percent of the inflow even though the border with Algeria has been officially closed since 1994.

    A pack of Marlboro cigarettes sells in Morocco for US$3.38, while a pack smuggled from Algeria sells for US$1.91 and a pack smuggled from Mauritania sells for US$1.35.

    The KMPG study found that one of the reasons for the relatively high level of illicit cigarette consumption in Morocco is that cigarettes – 38 percent of them – are sold as single cigarettes.

    It is estimated that if consumers smoked licit rather than illicit cigarettes, the government would benefit from additional tax revenue of about US$143 million a year.

    Morocco has had some success in reducing the illegal trade through increasing law-enforcement and border-security activities.

    And the introduction in 2015 of lower-priced brands that sell for the same price as illicit products has aided the decline of the illegal trade. In fact, sales of licit cigarettes increased by eight percent in 2016.