The Zambia Consumer Association (ZACA) has expressed concern about shisha smoking among young people and has called for a ban on the product, according to a story in The Zambia Daily Mail.
ZACA executive secretary Juba Sakala said in an interview that unlike tobacco, which is regulated, the use of shisha should be banned completely, as was the case with marijuana.
Japan Tobacco International Leaf Zambia and Alliance One Zambia have filed a notice in the Lusaka High Court principal registry seeking leave to start judicial review proceedings over a levy placed on tobacco sales that was allegedly retroactive and illegal, according to a story in The Mast, relayed by the TMA.
The sales in question were said to have been completed before the effective date of Statutory Instrument No 67.
The companies want to challenge the decision of the Tobacco Board of Zambia (TBZ) to collect the tobacco levy from them.
They are seeking to ask the court to rule that a minister’s decision to demand the two percent levy from them on completed purchases retroactively was illegal.
The applicants argue that the minister cannot demand payments of the levy for purchases that were made prior to August 31, 2018.
The two firms are challenging too the minister’s decision to issue SI 84 and 85 of 2018 which restrict their operating tobacco sales floors. That decision they allege went beyond the powers granted under the Tobacco Act.
The companies are asking for an order prohibiting the minister from implementing or enforcing SI 84 and 85.
The Chinese city of Shenzhen is to strengthen its regulations on tobacco smoking in public places, according to a story in The China Daily citing a Nanfang Daily report.
The change in direction has been made necessary because the city authorities have reportedly run into problems in implementing their original regulations.
The problems apparently arose in the form of difficulties with law enforcement and evidence collection, complex punishment procedures and excessive fines.
Since the implementation of tobacco smoking regulations in Shenzhen on March 1, 2014, the authorities have raked in 3.745 million yuan in fines, comprising 3.325 million yuan in fines on smokers and 420,000 yuan in fines on venues.
Deputies of the Shenzhen People’s Congress on January 18 proposed that Shenzhen should revise its policy on tobacco smoking in public places to make the regulations more practical.
The revised draft of the Regulation on Smoking Control expands the definition of smoking to include the use of electronic cigarettes and other lit tobacco products.
It expands the scope of smoke-free areas, which now include outdoor queuing areas for public transport, such as buses, coaches, taxis, subways, ships and civil aircraft. Smoking is prohibited also within five meters of subway entrances and exits.
And it stipulates that no tobacco products are to be sold within 100 meters of kindergartens, primary and secondary schools, and children’s activity centers.
Swedish Match’s volume shipments of snus in Scandinavia during the 12 months to the end of December, at 263.4 million cans, were increased by six percent on those of the year to the end of December 2017, 247.6 million cans.
But despite the volume increase, SM’s share of Sweden’s snus market fell by 2.3 percentage points, from 65.7 percent during 2017 to 63.4 percent during 2018. And it’s share of Norway’s snus market fell by 0.8 of a percentage point to 51.3 percent.
Meanwhile, SM’s volume shipments of moist snuff on the US market during 2018, at 126.3 million cans were down by one percent on those of 2017, 127.4 million cans.
Also in the US, the company’s volume shipments of cigars in 2018, at 1,703 million, were increased by five percent on those of 2017, 1,629 million.
But, during the same period, volume shipments of chewing tobacco, excluding contract manufacturing volumes, at 6,093,000 pounds, were down by four percent from 6,341,000 lb.
SM’s worldwide shipments of matches during 2018, at 64.5 billion sticks, were down by one percent on those of 2017, 65.0 billion sticks.
During the same period, worldwide shipments of lighters fell by nine percent from 368.1 million to 333.9 million.
In announcing its results, SM said that, in local currencies, sales had increased by seven percent for the fourth quarter and by nine percent for the full year. Reported sales had increased by 12 percent to SEK3,301 million for the fourth quarter and by 10 percent to SEK12,966 million for the full year.
In local currencies, operating profit from product segments (excluding larger one-off items and other operations) increased by eight percent for the fourth quarter and by 12 percent for the full year. Reported operating profit from product segments increased by 14 percent to SEK1,246 million for the fourth quarter and by 14 percent to SEK4,936 million for the full year.
Operating profit amounted to SEK1,196 million for the fourth quarter and to SEK4,812 million for the full year.
Profit after tax amounted to SEK925 million for the fourth quarter and to SEK3,578 million for the full year.
Earnings per share increased by six percent to SEK5.41 for the fourth quarter and by nine percent to SEK20.63 for the full year. Adjusted earnings per share increased by 28 percent to SEK5.41 for the fourth quarter and by 26 percent to SEK20.63 for the full year.
In commenting on the results, CEO Lars Dahlgren (pictured) said 2018 had been a successful year for Swedish Match with very healthy growth in sales and operating profit from product segments. “While our base businesses in our two largest product segments performed well, our growth initiatives continued to demonstrate very promising developments, with exceptional momentum for ZYN in the US,” he said.
“More and more, we see evidence of a trend where the global consumption of nicotine products is shifting away from traditional combustible cigarettes, and the best alternatives to cigarettes lie in smokeless products.
“While we continue to believe that the global regulatory stance towards smokeless products is disproportionate given the role that such products can play in harm reduction, we are encouraged to see positive regulatory developments in the smokeless arena and our strategy and focus position us well to compete in pursuit of our vision.”
The Government of Hong Kong seems to be intent on bringing in a vaping law that does not ally with its own policy on vaping.
According to a story in The Hong Kong Free Press, a proposed draft law states that anyone who imports, manufactures, sells, distributes, possesses [basically, commercial quantities] or promotes alternative smoking products, including e-cigarettes, heat-not-burn products and herbal cigarettes, will be subject to a maximum HK$50,000 fine and six months behind bars.
But the territory’s deputy secretary for food and health Amy Yuen said at a press conference on Wednesday that the draft law did not intend to criminalize those who used alternative smoking products. “It may not be feasible if we ban the use of these products,”. “We also don’t want to disturb people too much.”
It was not clear from the story how it could be that making vaping devices unavailable on the open market would not amount to disturbing users ‘too much’.
Nevertheless, it is apparent that the authorities accept that people will continue to use these products, presumably by buying them on the black market, because the draft law makes provision for punishing people for using alternative smoking products in non-smoking areas: either with a fixed penalty of HK$1,500 or a fine of HK$5,000 upon conviction.
The thinking behind the policy seems deeply flawed. “For users of these new products, the answer is not to go back to conventional smoking products,” Yuen was quoted as saying. “This is not what we are trying to do. We want them to quit altogether.”
Yuen apparently gave no suggestion as to how a former smoker, still addicted to nicotine and deprived of her vaping device, could prevent herself from returning to smoking.
On the question of travellers, Yuen said the government was inclined to adopt a measure applied in Singapore whereby, for a limited time, tourists could surrender their alternative smoking products at the airport. Presumably, thereafter they will be banged up for six months.
The first and second readings of the draft law are due next Wednesday.
The government said it hoped the law would be effective six months after it is passed by the legislature.
Some members of a Tobacco Product Scientific Advisory Committee have argued that if a product such as snus does not qualify for the US Food and Drug Administration’s modified risk tobacco product (MRTP) status, the designation might as well not exist, according to a MedPage Today story relayed by the TMA.
“I think the health [benefits] are really clear compared to smoking – more so than for any other smokeless tobacco product,” committee member Kenneth E. Warner, PhD, of the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, was quoted as saying. “My sense is that if this is not approved, it might be the death knell for the [MRTP] process because we would be basically saying you can’t get anything through this process.”
The committee was considering an MRPT application by Swedish Match North America in respect of its General snus brand. The company has been trying for years to have a health warning changed in respect of its General snus brand, but the issue has been kicked down the road.
Most people believe that the consumption of snus is hugely less risky than is smoking and that health warnings should reflect this.
However, some members of the Committee reportedly expressed concerns that increased popularity of General snus could lead to increased uptake among young people.
In fact, according to the findings of an FDA-requested Swedish Match study, Swedish Match snus product users in the US are mostly male, have a median age of 35, are fairly well educated, are slightly more affluent than general smokeless tobacco users, and are largely Caucasian.
The Committee met in Washington DC on February 6 to review the scientific evidence, health risk, claim development, testing and population impact revealed in a 10,000-person Consumer Research study requested by the FDA of Swedish Match.
It considered the statement that consumers in the 10,000-person study found to be the most understandable the warning: ‘Using General Snus instead of cigarettes puts you at a lower risk of mouth cancer, heart disease, lung cancer, stroke, emphysema, and chronic bronchitis’.
One Committee member was quoted as saying: “Swedish Match is a company that has never marketed to youth, it has a history I trust. Semantic issues can be fixed, but the public needs to be informed about tobacco harm reduction products”.
And, in summarizing the proceedings, the chairman of the panel, Dr. Robin Mermelstein of the University of Illinois at Chicago, said she believed there had been a fair amount of consensus against a background of a range of opinions. There had been consensus around the importance of providing accurate information about relative harms.
The goal of getting people who were unable to quit smoking off combustibles and on to less harmful products was certainly a laudatory one, Mermelstein said. She seemed to indicate, too, that there was a fair amount of consensus around the fact that whatever could be done to promote such switching was worthwhile, and that the Swedish Match approach was a potential path to such switching.
The FDA did not ask the Committee for a vote because, according to its spokesperson: “We felt what would be most useful [to us] was to have the qualitative discussion to make sure we hear the points that are concerning [the panel]”.
After listening to the proceedings, tobacco harm reduction expert David Sweanor, of the University of Ottawa’s Centre for Health Law, Policy and Ethics said the data on snus being dramatically less hazardous than smoking was overwhelming; as was the data on smokers not knowing this fact.
“In many ways, the FDA proceedings are less a test for Swedish Match than of the FDA itself,” he said. “After a decade of the tobacco law, and literally millions of American deaths from cigarettes, can the agency simply allow people to be told the truth? This should be no more complicated than allowing the public to know that three-point seatbelts – another Swedish innovation – reduce the risks of driving.”
A Kenyan man has been told he must pay a Sh15,000 fine or serve five months in prison for selling single cigarettes, according to a story in The Nairobi News.
The punishment was handed down by a Nyeri Court on Tuesday.
The man, Simon Gichuki Maina, appeared before resident magistrate Ruth Kefa where he pleaded guilty to selling single cigarettes.
The law states that cigarettes may be sold only in packs.
The Court heard that Maina was arrested by Nyeri police at the Kasuku bar on February 11.
Maina asked the court for leniency on the grounds that he did not know that selling single cigarettes was a crime.
The Malaysian Health Ministry is considering introducing standard packaging for cigarettes, according to a story by Robin Augustin for Free Malaysia Today.
Deputy Health Minister Dr. Lee Boon Chye was said to have told Today that standardized tobacco packaging was part of the World Health Organization’s Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, which Malaysia had become a party to in 2005.
“This has been done in countries like Australia, and the results can be seen,” he said.
Lee acknowledged that there would be opposition to the move from industry players and traders.
“They will cite reasons like the cost of the exercise and how it will affect their business or the intellectual property rights of tobacco companies,” he said.
“We are considering it. There is no timeline set. We have to study the matter and hold talks with stakeholders.”
The Galen Center for Health and Social Policy was said to have told Today it would support a move to introduce standardized tobacco packaging but noted several matters that should be considered firstly.
The think tank’s CEO Azrul Mohd Khalib said these matters included the need for new and specific legislation to ensure the parameters of standardized tobacco packaging were clear on intellectual property rights.
“There are legitimate concerns from businesses regarding how their trademarks would be affected by this move,” he said.
“Their worries and issues need to be fairly heard and addressed.”
Azrul warned that the imposition of standardized tobacco packaging could result in smokers choosing cheaper tobacco products, which could lead to an increase in smoking rates.
“It could increase the preference for illicit tobacco products which would likely be the cheapest on the shelf,” he said, adding that the government must be prepared to implement more enforcement regarding the illicit cigarette market.
In light of recent press speculation, Imperial Brands said yesterday it was confirming that, in anticipation of the requirements of the new UK Corporate Governance Code regarding a chairman’s tenure on a board, the company had recently started searching for a non-executive chairman to succeed Mark Williamson.
‘This is in accordance with its planned and orderly approach to board succession,’ it said in a note posted on its website.
‘Mark will remain as chairman until his successor has been found and to ensure an orderly handover of responsibilities.
‘A further announcement will be made upon the appointment of his successor.’
New Zealand is planning to ban vaping and tobacco smoking in vehicles when people under 18 are present, according to a story in The New Zealand Herald quoting the associate health minister Jenny Salesa.
The ban would apply to all vehicles and whether they are parked or on the move.
“Public education and social marketing campaigns over many years have had some impact, but the rate of reduction in children exposed to smoking in vehicles is slowing,” Salesa said. “It is now time to do more by legislating.”
Salesa said that she expected the Smoke-free Environments Act 1990 to be changed by the end of this year so that police would be able to use their discretion about whether to give warnings, refer people to stop-smoking support services, or issue infringement fees of NZ$50.
The focus of the ban is said to be on education and changing social norms – not on issuing infringement notices; so the legislation will be backed up with what is described as a new and innovative public education and social marketing effort.
“First and foremost, this change is about protecting children,” said Salesa. “However, it is also part of the Government’s commitment to achieving Smokefree 2025.
“Too many New Zealand children, particularly Māori and Pacific children, are exposed to second-hand smoke in the vehicles they usually travel in.
“Children are especially vulnerable to the harmful effects of second-hand smoke due to their smaller lungs, higher respiratory rate and immature immune systems.
“Second-hand smoke accumulates in vehicles, even with the windows open. It reaches much higher levels than in homes.”
The story said there was likely to be strong support for the move because several surveys had shown that about 90 percent of people support the idea of a ban on smoking in cars with children present.