Category: People

Legal since it’s not illegal
Malaysia’s Health Minister seems to have confirmed by default that the use of electronic cigarettes not containing nicotine is permitted in public places where tobacco smoking is banned.
According to a story in The Star, the minister, Datuk Seri Dr. Dzulkefly Ahmad, had said that e-cigarettes that contained nicotine or tobacco [presumably heat-not-burn devices] could not be used in no-smoking zones.
But the Star was looking for an answer to the question of whether vaping devices without nicotine could be used in no-smoking zones.
The answer it received was, by default, yes. “If there is no nicotine in vapes, then the issue is whether it is tobacco based,” said Dzulkefly. “If it is tobacco based, then it is still not allowed. It is as simple as that.”
In October last year, deputy health minister Dr. Lee Boon Chye said the ban against tobacco smoking in public places and eateries would not be extended to vaping.
He said that under the current laws, the authorities could act on vape products only if they contained nicotine.
In the meantime, Dzulkefly said he was open to a suggestion by the chairman of the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), Tan Sri Lee Lam Thye, that the smoking ban should be extended to offices and enclosed areas such as toilets.
“We are willing to consider and always reassess and review, especially public places,” Dzulkefly said. “I will listen to the public on all suggestions and complaints.”
From the beginning of this year, tobacco smoking has been banned in all eateries.
January 15, 2019
Travel retail in China
The China Duty Free Group (CDFG), Central Japan International Airport (Nagoya), Alibaba, Ctrip.com and Lagardère Travel Retail are among the companies that are due to take to the stage at the 2019 Tax Free World Association (TFWA) China’s Century Conference.
According to a TFWA press note, the conference is scheduled to be held in partnership with the Asia Pacific Travel Retail Association (APRTA) at the Grand Hyatt hotel in Haitang Bay, Sanya, Hainan province, on March 5-7.
‘TFWA will welcome the Department of Commerce and Department of Finance of Hainan province as co-hosts and Sanya Phoenix International Airport as official airport of this year’s event,’ the note said. ‘CDFG has also confirmed its support as Diamond Sponsor, while Cartier and Interparfums join as Platinum Sponsors.
‘On the first day, following a welcome by the Hainan Department of Commerce, CDFG president Charles Chen will share his vision of the future of travel retail in China. Kevin Guo, general manager of strategic co-operation and marketing innovation for Ctrip.com, will examine the latest travel and shopping trends among Chinese tourists, while the changing tastes of Chinese travellers will be examined by Masanao Tomozoe, president and CEO of Central Japan International Airport Co. (Nagoya) and Eudes Fabre, CEO of Lagardère Travel Retail China.’
Delegates are due to be given highlights from an exclusive study commissioned by TFWA and APTRA and conducted by Counter Intelligence Retail, which looks at new trends and perceptions among young Chinese consumers. Additional insights will be presented by speakers including Mirko Wang, CEO of popular shopping comparison app Jessica’s Secret. And a panel of senior executives from WeChat and Alibaba will offer their perspectives on the rise of e-commerce and resulting changes to consumer behaviour.
‘Day two of the conference will explore further core themes affecting the Chinese market, ranging from the ever-growing influence of Key Opinion Leaders (KOLs) to new opportunities arising from the growth in the cruise market in China,’ the note said. ‘Economist and author Ann Lee will explore how the world is conducting business with China, while Dr. Eve Ren, president of the Institute for Tourism Studies, and Andrea Belardini, CEO Asia, ME and Australia at Dufry, will analyse the future of Chinese domestic tourism and resulting opportunities in travel retail.’
“As we mark the 40th anniversary of the Chinese duty free and travel retail industry, TFWA China’s Century Conference looks set to be as compelling as ever,” said
Alain Maingreaud, TFWA president. “I’d like to thank all our sponsors and speakers for supporting the event, which will provide delegates with exclusive insight into this fascinating and fast-evolving market.”
Registration and further information are available here.
January 15, 2019
Inhumane estates in Malawi
A minister in Malawi’s government has issued a stinging attack on the living conditions of tobacco-farm workers.
The Minister of Labor, Youth, Sports and Manpower Development Grace Chiumia said that tobacco tenants were living in appalling conditions in which a family of seven could be sharing a small shack made of grass and covered with mud, according to a Malawi News Agency story.
Chiumia was speaking during a visit to Kasungu on Wednesday to inspect tobacco estates and farms, and to check on child labor.
The minister said the way the estate owners kept tenants was not humane. They were rather kept like non-human animals.
“Look at a house a tenant is being kept in, very small and without any ventilation, and you find a family of seven staying in this house,” she said. “You will find the father, mother and the children and sometimes … chickens in the same room. The same room is also used as a kitchen.
“This is bad; how do you think the health of people will be? The estate owners come here and go to sleep in their good houses; how do they feel?”
The minister warned that such behavior should stop immediately. She said if estate owners wanted to grow tobacco and keep people as tenants, they had to provide standard houses.
The minister noted that most of the tenants’ children did not attend school. Some helped their parents while others stayed home.
According to the story, estate manager Yusuf Bonongwe said managers tried their best to keep the tenants ‘safe’ but sometimes the tobacco market was not good, which forced them ‘not to give the tenants the necessary requirements’.
“We cannot do all but we try our best,” he said. “Most of the tenants stay in good shelter that are just good enough to dwell in despite being shacks.”
Bonongwe said that his estate was free of child labor and encouraged workers to send their children to school.
Kasungu has more than 22,000 tobacco farms, according to the district’s labor office.
January 14, 2019
Shisha ban unofficial
The Kenya Tobacco Control Alliance has called on the Health Ministry to make a ban on shisha smoking official, according to a story in The Star.
The Alliance’s chairperson Joel Gitali said yesterday that the ministry had limited time to follow due process and make the ban official.
The ban was reportedly imposed on December 28, 2017, by the-then Health Cabinet Secretary Cleopa Mailu who claimed shisha use had encouraged the peddling of hard drugs.
But, according to Gitali, traders and manufacturers went to court to challenge the ban and, while the court on July 27, 2018, upheld the ban, it noted that the Ministry had not followed the correct procedure.
The court gave the Ministry nine months to follow the correct procedure, but so far it has not done so, and the nine-month period is due to expire in April.
“The ministry is supposed to do a public participation and come up with a law on the ban within the stipulated time to make it official,” Gitali said.
“Should the nine months elapse, someone can challenge the ban and the court can reverse it.”
The upshot of this is that, reportedly, and despite the ban, smokers are still using shisha behind the scenes.
Meanwhile, Gitali called on the Ministry to constitute a working Tobacco Control Board, adding that failure to have one would go against the spirit of the tobacco control Act 2007.
“We reckon that these unnecessary delays in constituting the board and operationalizing of the tobacco control fund are not only retrogressive but also frustrating the tobacco control fraternity,” Gitali said.
January 14, 2019
China craves Cohibas
Habanos will this year seek to expand and diversify its presence in China, according to the company’s development vice president Jose Maria Lopez, speaking during an interview with the Xinhua News Agency.
Lopez said there was great potential for increasing sales in China, which, in the medium term, could become Habanos’ most important market.
The story said that, according to ‘official figures’, China became the third largest market for the company in 2017, after Spain and France, with an increase in sales of 33 percent on those of 2016.
Due to a growing demand for premium cigars in China, Habanos reached an agreement with the China National Tobacco Corporation in the summer of 2017 to increase sales and work together to promote a knowledge of, and taste for, Cuban cigars in China.
Lopez said that Chinese consumers preferred Habanos’ most exclusive products, including its Cohiba brand, “which is our most important trademark and greatest exponent of luxury within the Cuban cigar market”.
“Between 40 and 50 percent of the Chinese demand is concentrated in the Cohiba brand, which is very high,” said Lopez. “One of our intentions when we talk about developing the tobacco culture in that country is to educate the Chinese consumer that not all cigars are Cohiba.”
Working with the State Tobacco Monopoly Administration, through which domestic imports are made to the Chinese mainland, growth rates of between 20 and 30 percent per year were expected, said Lopez.
In addition, the company has shops in China’s Hong Kong and Macao special administrative regions, and it is working to attract customers through the China Duty Free Group in the two regions.
January 14, 2019
Smoking ban sought
Tobacco-control advocates have called for an outright ban on smoking throughout China’s railway network, according to a Xinhua news agency story quoting the China Daily.
The call for a ban came after air-quality inspections reportedly found ‘dangerous levels of harmful pollutants’ on slow trains, most of which currently allow tobacco use in designated areas.
Researchers led by the Chinese Association of Tobacco Control examined four slow trains in October. Three of the trains had designated smoking areas, while one had banned tobacco use due to an earlier lawsuit filed by a passenger.
The story said that the results of the inspections, released yesterday, showed that the concentrations of PM2.5 particles [fine particulate matter] ‘in carriages of the three trains where passengers can smoke’ exceeded 500 micrograms per cubic meter, meaning the air could be considered hazardous to human health.
China’s high-speed rail networks all prohibit smoking, but passengers on slow trains can smoke in designated areas, often in the connecting areas between carriages.
Cui Xiaobo, deputy director of the Beijing Tobacco Control Association, said second-hand smoke was likely to cause life-threatening, acute illnesses.
“A lot of emergency medical requests occurring on trains are linked to vulnerable groups, including the elderly, children, pregnant women and those with chronic diseases who breathe in smoke,” he said.
The researchers interviewed 94 passengers on the four trains and found that 77 of them would applaud a complete ban on smoking on slow trains.
People made 3.37 billion railway trips in China during 2018.
January 11, 2019
EU response co-ordinated
The European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) makes every effort to co-ordinate the EU’s fight against tobacco-products smuggling, the EU Commission said yesterday.
The Commission was replying to a question from a Czech member of the EU Parliament who had questioned whether the high number of illicit cigarettes entering France should be principally a matter for the French authorities as the Commission had previously suggested.
In a preamble to his question, Tomáš Zdechovský said that, in its response to parliamentary question E-003300-18 [see TR’s story of September 21, 2018: Going it alone], the Commission had confirmed that, ‘OLAF can bring significant added value by helping co-ordinate anti-smuggling operations’.
However, in relation to the cigarettes smuggled from Algeria to France, it had stated ‘France has so far not requested OLAF’s assistance in this regard’.
‘It is estimated that the annual revenue losses to the EU due to cigarette smuggling amount to as much as €10 billion every year; France has the highest volume of illegal cigarettes in the EU, and OLAF has the unique investigative mandate to fight tobacco smuggling into the EU,’ Zdechovský said, before asking:
‘Given that the issue in France is precisely that of tobacco smuggling into the EU, should OLAF not be more proactive?’
In reply, the Commission said that OLAF was proactive and made every effort to co-ordinate member states’ actions to fight the smuggling of tobacco products into the EU.
‘A new European Commission Action Plan on fighting illegal tobacco trade, published on 7 December 2018, addresses the increasing global dimension of tobacco smuggling by proposing a combination of targeted policy and enforcement initiatives, including actions by OLAF,’ the Commission said.
‘As regards cigarette smuggling from Algeria into France specifically, OLAF has informed the European Commission that it is in contact with the French customs authorities with a view to assessing the issue and contributing to their actions to counteract this illegal business.’
January 11, 2019
Healthy tobacco taxes
All residents of Kediri City, East Java, Indonesia, are due to be registered into a healthcare and social security (BPJS) system that will be funded entirely by excise taxes paid by the local cigarette manufacturer Gudang Garam, according to a Tempo story.
“Every resident will own healthcare insurance by 2020,” Kediri City Healthcare Agency head Fauzan Adima was reported to have said.
The Finance Ministry’s Decree No.222/PMK.07/2017 mandates that 30 percent of the excise income is to be allocated to the national health insurance (JKN) program.
The Kediri City BPJS marketing assistant manager Budi Wusono Adi said the strategy taken by the city administration would fulfil the people’s need for affordable healthcare insurance.
January 11, 2019
Retail restrictions sought
A leading New Zealand-owned and operated vaping company, Alt, is supporting calls for tobacco to be removed from all dairies, according to a story at Voxy.co.nz.
Alt New Zealand’s director, Jonathan Devery reportedly said that such a move would bring considerable health and security benefits.
Devery said that dairy owners needn’t worry about losing income because ongoing hikes in tobacco tax and dwindling smoking rates were already contributing to lower retailer revenue.
At the same time, vaping products, which were much better for society, were proving increasingly profitable for dairy owners.
In recent days, dairy owners have reportedly raised concerns that a New Year rise in tobacco tax had put them at greater risk of theft.
Meanwhile, the Maori public health organization Hapai Te Hauora has called on tobacco’s availability to be limited, noting that smokers trying to give up are more likely to relapse if a cigarette stockist is only a short distance away.
Devery agrees. Although ramping up excise taxes would help toward achieving New Zealand’s Smoke Free 2025 goal, the Government needed to consider the availability of tobacco. Getting cigarettes out of corner dairies would be a great start.
Additionally, Devery said that if the smoke-free goal was to be achieved, vaping products had to be readily available and advertised in a regulated and responsible manner.
Alt was said to be looking forward to the Government this year amending the Smokefree Environments Act 1990, which, among other things, would help distinguish the considerably-safer vaping products from smoking products.
January 11, 2019
Excise tax rise in Georgia
Cigarette prices in Georgia have risen by an average of 50 tetri (US$0.19) a pack following the introduction of a new tax code that came into force on January 1, according to a Georgia Today story.
Since the beginning of the year, the excise tax on a pack of 20 filtered or unfiltered cigarettes has been set at 1.70 lari (100 tetri = 1 lari). Previously, unfiltered cigarettes were taxed at the rate of 60 tetri for a pack of 20.
The tax code amendments have their supporters and opponents. The former hope that the increased excise tax will cut the number of smokers in the country.
Tobacco importers on the other hand say the resulting price rises could increase the number of contraband cigarettes on the market.
However, the head of the Parliament’s Health Committee Akaki Zoidze believes this is unlikely as contraband currently accounts for less than one percent of tobacco products on the market.
He said he hoped the tax increase would “encourage” smokers to quit.
The World Health Organization, he added, had calculated that 35,000 people could be saved from early death during the next 15 years, while the country’s economy would receive a 2.2 billion lari boost.
The story mentioned also that the excise tax increase had been encouraged by the EU.
January 10, 2019