A Dutch appeals court yesterday refused to order public prosecutors to open a criminal investigation into the activities of tobacco companies, according to an Associated Press story.
In a written ruling that upheld an earlier decision by prosecutors not to open an investigation, The Hague Appeals Court said that because cigarettes adhered to European Union regulations, there was no criminal behaviour by tobacco companies.
‘The fact that cigarettes can have an addictive character and can create health risks changes nothing,’ the court said.
Dutch lawyer Benedicte Ficq in 2016 sought a criminal prosecution on behalf of ex-smokers and a youth smoking prevention organization. Hospitals, doctors and other groups later joined the action.
Ficq called for the prosecution of Philip Morris, British American Tobacco, Japan Tobacco International and Imperial Tobacco Benelux.
Ficq’s complaint alleged that the tobacco companies were liable because of ‘the large-scale, decades-long and ongoing production and sale of addictive tobacco products in the Netherlands’. It alleged also that tobacco companies deliberately declared cigarette delivery levels of tar, nicotine and carbon monoxide that were lower than the actual delivery levels.
Jan Hein Straeter, director of the Dutch cigarette makers’ association, the VSK, welcomed the court’s ruling.
“The appeal court’s decision is no surprise for the VSK, given that the public prosecutor’s office already rejected the complaint in February in a strongly worded decision and concluded that tobacco companies adhere to the law,” Straeter said.
Meanwhile, a Dutch News story reported the court as saying that the complainants in the case were ‘at the wrong address’. Instead, they should be pressuring the government to change the laws.
Tag: Netherlands
Tobacco firms in the clear
It's been a long time coming
Fontem Ventures today filed comments on Health Canada’s proposed list of statements for use in the promotion of vaping products.
“As outlined in our filing, we think Health Canada has chosen the correct and responsible way to help smokers make the best, evidence-based decisions if they consider switching to vaping,” said Ross Parker, Fontem’s director of corporate affairs and communications.
Fontem is launching its myblu pod-based e-vapor device and myblu Intense flavors in retail outlets on a trial basis in Quebec, Canada, this month, ahead of a nation-wide launch in January.
In its filing, Fontem said that any promotional messages should reflect both the risks and the benefits of the category so that adult smokers can make informed choices.
‘Such information should not exaggerate risks to deter use, and Fontem believes Health Canada’s proposed statements strike a good balance,’ Fontem said in a note posted on its website.
‘If adopted, these statements would be the first authorised promotional statements to recognise and maximise the opportunities of vaping products in tobacco harm reduction.’
“More jurisdictions should follow Canada’s lead,” said Parker. “Informed consumers will make better choices, which could lead to better public health outcomes.”
Health Canada issued a request for comments on September 4, and said it was exploring options for future regulations that would permit the use of certain comparative statements in vaping product promotion, with the objective of preventing consumers from being misled about the health hazards of vaping products.
The selected permitted statements would be supported by science and expressed in clear terms to ensure that tobacco users were better informed about the relative health effects of using vaping products.
The statements proposed by Health Canada are:
* If you are a smoker, switching completely to vaping is a much less harmful option.
* While vaping products emit toxic substances, the amount is significantly lower than in tobacco smoke.
* By switching completely to vaping products, smokers are exposed to a small fraction of the 7,000 chemicals found in tobacco smoke.
* Switching completely from combustible tobacco cigarettes to e-cigarettes significantly reduces users’ exposure to numerous toxic and cancer-causing substances.
* Completely replacing your cigarette with a vaping product will significantly reduce your exposure to numerous toxic and cancer-causing substances.
* Switching completely from smoking to e-cigarettes will reduce harms to your health.
* Completely replacing your cigarette with an e-cigarette will reduce harms to your health.
Fontem’s response to Health Canada, including its suggested statements, can be found here.ITMGroup now 12 companies
Thomas Automation Management (TAM) has joined ITMGroup.
TAM will operate as an independent company within the group, continuing to serve its customers as a provider of automation solutions and technical services. TAM’s current management will continue to manage the business from its existing location in Woodlawn, Virginia, USA.
“This merge is the natural progression of our eight-year relationship with ITMGroup”, says Ricky Thomas, CEO of TAM. “Our common customers in the tobacco industry will definitely benefit from the combined experience of our two companies. TAM is very excited to be part of a strong and well-respected group, with such a rich history.”
“We are proud to have such a capable representation in this part of the world for services and upgrades, close to our main customers in the tobacco industry,” says Arend van der Sluis, chairman of the board of ITMGroup.
“TAM’s strong innovative spirit is a great fit to our group and over the past years, many colleagues from TAM have mastered the most advanced machines of our portfolio, such as Capricorn, Saturn, Gemini, Polaris and Solaris,” says Van der Sluis.
“The TAM team have installed and serviced these machines not only in the U.S., but across the globe. This is a very solid base to deploy new projects together, both in the combustible area as in the area of next-generation products.”
TAM was established in 2010 and has become a regional provider of automation integration services in a variety of U.S. industries, including tobacco. From the beginning, TAM has worked closely with ITMGroup on multiple projects.
Following the addition of TAM, ITMGroup comprises 12 companies, with 22 sites and service centers worldwide. Headquartered in Kampen, the Netherlands, ITMGroup now employs more than 1200 people.
A holey argument
A Netherlands-based anti-tobacco coalition comprising ex-smokers and medical associations is threatening to bring legal action to ban cigarettes that exceed ‘European norms for nicotine, tar and carbon monoxide,’ according to a story in DutchNews.nl relayed by the TMA.
Tests performed on 100 brands of cigarettes, the results of which were published by the Dutch public health institute RIVM in June, were said to have found that ‘the amount of tar can be up to 26 times the official norm’, while ‘nicotine and carbon monoxide levels were also high’.
The tests were carried out with the ventilation holes in the cigarette filters covered, whereas the official government test leaves these holes uncovered, which allows more environmental air – and therefore less smoke – to enter the testing machine.
Both the RIVM and the health and safety watchdog NVWA had previously pulled out of a commission which designed the European measuring method because 10 of the 12 members worked in the tobacco industry.
Philip Morris and British American Tobacco said their cigarettes complied with European norms and national Dutch legislation regarding tobacco.
“[T]he European test was never meant to measure “actual exposure” of smokers to tar, nicotine and carbon monoxide,’ said Peter van den Driest, spokesperson for Philip Morris. ‘It was meant to enable to compare brands of cigarettes that are smoked in an identical way.’
The coalition said that if the safety watchdog NVWA failed to enforce the tobacco legislation, it would go to court.
This issue has been the subject of at least one question posed to the European Commission. Last month, in answer to one such question, the Commission said that it was aware of the limitations of currently available methods for the measurement of cigarette deliveries of tar, nicotine and carbon monoxide.
It said that this issue was carefully considered during the revision of the Tobacco Products Directive (TPD) and that it was concluded there was insufficient evidence that would support the revision of the existing provisions.
The Commission said the results presented recently by the RIVM were in line with the measurements conducted by Hammond et al. in 2006, which indicated that ‘none of the smoking regimens currently in use adequately “represent” human smoking behaviour and none are significantly associated with measures of nicotine uptake among human participants’.
‘As the Commission pointed out in its replies to written questions E-003557/2017 and E-001317/2018, Article 4(3) of TPD empowers the Commission to adopt delegated acts to adapt the measurement methods, based on scientific and technical developments or internationally agreed standards,’ the Commission said. ‘The Commission will report on the application of the TPD by 2021.’ITM an industry powerhouse
The ITMGroup said today that it had taken an important step toward being self-sufficient in electrical power.
‘With the official activation of Elestor’s hydrogen bromide flow battery [HBr], ITMGroup has taken its first steps to expand its smart grid in Kampen [the Netherlands] with a sustainable and cost-effective electricity storage technology,’ the company said in a press note. ‘It enables the machine builder to take an important step in fully self-generating the electricity the company needs.’
‘The installation at ITMGroup is intended to demonstrate on a limited scale, that the HBr flow battery, developed inhouse by Elestor, is cost-effective for companies. The technology can thus contribute to reducing CO2 emissions and achieving climate targets.’
The installation at ITMGroup is the first commercial installation that Elestor has made.
ITMGroup said that, from 2019 onwards, its storage capacity would be expanded, something that would allow it to become self-sufficient in energy needs, even when its own smart grid did not generate sufficient electricity.
‘An HBr flow battery makes energy storage more economical and environmentally friendly, compared to existing technologies such as lithium-ion batteries,’ the note said. ‘The economic yield of, for example, solar panels and windmills, is much higher due to the storage capacity. This makes it more attractive for more companies to invest in sustainable energy generation and storage.’
Because ITMGroup has a smart grid with, among other things, 1,700 solar panels, two heat pumps and a wood chip boiler, it offered Elestor the perfect environment for applying its innovative energy storage technology.
“Worldwide we are faced with an enormous task when it comes to the energy transition,” said ITMGroup board member Hester Kuypers. “By only installing more solar panels and windmills, we will not make the switch to sustainable energy. Making electricity storage affordable is therefore a necessity and Elestor’s technology brings it within reach. We think, it is important that we, as an international company, can demonstrate that it works!”
Meanwhile, Elestor director Guido Dalessi said his company was very pleased with the co-operation that ITMGroup had provided. “Everyone is willing to buy the fiftieth installation of a proven technique; but the first sales are often much more difficult,” he said. “ITMGroup fulfils a pioneering role in scaling up our technology. In addition, ITMGroup has plenty of technical experts who want to share their knowledge with us. They think along with us to further optimize this innovative way of storing electricity.”
ITMGroup said that, as a family business, it strived to minimize its ecological footprint. In addition to investing in sustainable energy, it supplied electric bikes and cars for the daily transport of its employees, and it was keeping bees on the company premises, it added.
“As a global player, we want all our sites to operate as energy-neutral as possible, in 10 different countries and we are happy to support our approximately 1,200 employees in realizing sustainable solutions,” said Kuypers. “In this way we not only leave a beautiful company to future generations, but hopefully also a world as beautiful as possible.”Only one 'option'
The Netherlands’ junior health minister Paul Blokhuis is drawing up rules to govern the use of heat-not-burn products, according to a story in dutchnews.nl.
There are currently no restrictions on the use of such products, which don’t fall under the current tobacco laws.
Under Blokhuis’ plans, the sale of these products would become subject to an age limit, and, reportedly, bans would be imposed on ‘advertising and new packaging’.
These sorts of products were treated as a clever alternative to ordinary cigarettes, Blokhuis told MPs during a briefing. But users were still inhaling cancer-causing ingredients and other dangerous substances he said.
The minister said he planned to take action against the products because he did not want people to get the idea that using them was a sensible option.
“The only sensible option is not smoking,” he said.Quitting record
Last year set a record for the number of people who quit smoking in the Netherlands: 110,000, according to a DutchNews.nl story citing new figures from the national statistics office CBS, compiled by the Trimbos addiction clinic.
The percentage of adult smokers in the population was said now to stand at 23.1 percent, but it was not said what the proportion was previously.
In addition to the quitters, tens of thousands of people are smoking less, the CBS said. The 2.35 million people who said they smoked every day was down by 170,000 on the figure for 2016.
About 27 percent of men say they smoke, of whom over 19 percent do so every day.
And just under 20 percent of women say they smoke, while 14.5 percent have at least one cigarette a day.
The Trimbos institute said it was notable that the biggest proportion of occasional smokers comprised young adults, with 32.6 percent of people aged 20 to 24 saying they smoked, but not every day.
Just under 20 percent of those aged 40 to 65 said they smoked on a daily basis.JTI fined in the Netherlands
The NVWA, the Dutch Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority, has fined Japan Tobacco International for allegedly making agreements that paid student associations to sell only Winston and Camel brands in cigarette vending machines on student association properties, according to a NL Times story relayed by the TMA.
The potentially illegal agreements came to light due to an investigation by Tabak, which was said to have been a collaboration between investigative journalists and the Dutch Journal of Medicine.
The investigation was followed up by the NVWA.
The NVWA’s spokesman said he could not reveal the number or amounts of the fines.
However, the Dutch daily newspaper, Trouw, reported that there were nine fines, and the spokesman said that fines started at €45,000 but could go ‘much higher’.Into the Cosmic Fog
The Netherlands-based Fontem Ventures said today that it had acquired an equity stake in Cosmic Fog Vapors, which it described as ‘an iconic innovator in high quality e-vapor liquids’.
‘Founded in 2013 [in California, US] by Brant Peto and Rob Crossley, Cosmic Fog has an excellent reputation for developing unique flavours with significant appeal to adult vapers,’ Fontem said in a press note. ‘Their products are sold in more than 5,000 vape stores in the USA and in more than 60 countries around the world.’
Liquids are the largest contributor to the value of the global e-vapor sector.
“[W]e’re excited about this partnership with Cosmic Fog,” said Fontem’s CEO, Titus Wouda Kuipers (pictured). “Working alongside them shows our commitment to seeing the vaping category grow and prosper.
“Becoming a partner in Cosmic Fog demonstrates that we love their passion and entrepreneurship. We see a great opportunity to learn from their expertise, particularly in the vape shop sales channel.
“Cosmic Fog will continue to do what it does best – develop unique, high quality liquids with huge appeal to adult vapers.”
Meanwhile, Peto said the partnership allowed Cosmic Fog to leverage Fontem’s experience in e-vapor, including in regulatory compliance, ensuring that Cosmic Fog’s customers enjoyed continued access to its products as international e-vapor markets matured.
And Crossley was quoted as saying the partnership was hugely beneficial, not only to Cosmic Fog but to the category as a whole, because it demonstrated Fontem’s support for a variety of vaping formats, including open systems.Smoking deadly but lawful
The Netherlands’ Public Prosecutor has rejected calls for an investigation into allegations of murder or manslaughter against four multinational tobacco companies, according to a number of media reports.
An Associated Press story described the decision as a blow to what Dutch anti-smoking organizations had hoped would be a new legal front in their battle against the tobacco industry.
Benedicte Ficq, the lawyer who filed the criminal complaint against the tobacco companies, said she would petition an appeals court to order prosecutors to investigate.
And Anne Marie van Veen, a lung cancer patient who is one of the complainants was quoted as saying, “We won’t give up the fight”.
Ficq filed what she called a world’s-first criminal complaint in 2016 seeking a prosecution on behalf of Van Veen, another ex-smoker and a youth smoking prevention organization. Hospitals, doctors and other groups later joined the call.
Ficq had called for the prosecution of Philip Morris, British American Tobacco, Japan Tobacco International and Imperial Tobacco Benelux.
The complaint alleged that the tobacco companies were liable because of ‘the large-scale, decades-long and ongoing production and sale of addictive tobacco products in the Netherlands’. It alleged also that tobacco companies had acted in such a way as to render misleading the results of laboratory tests aimed at determining tar, nicotine and carbon monoxide deliveries.
But the Dutch Public Prosecution Service (DPPS) said in a written statement that it saw no prospect within current laws of a conviction.
‘Smoking is deadly and the design of cigarettes does add to this but according to the DPPS, the tobacco manufacturers have not acted in violation of either the law or the current regulatory framework,’ the DPPS said in an English-language statement.
Prosecutors added that tobacco companies could not be held criminally liable for the deaths or ill health of smokers because smokers knowingly exposed themselves to health risks.
‘Not everyone starts to smoke and there are people who do manage to stop,’ the DPPS said. ‘This element of freedom of choice in the chain of cause and effect means that the negative consequences of smoking cannot be attributed to the tobacco manufacturers under criminal law.’
