Tag: tobacco

  • Retailers say PM still on top, e-cigs will continue to grow

    The first quarter of 2013 has come and gone, and with it, a UBS-CSP survey of a variety of convenience store operators–whose sizes ranged from one store location to more than five hundred—on a range of tobacco-related issues. The exclusive study brought good news for industry leader Philip Morris and even better news for the growing e-cigarette segment.

    When asked which of the Big Three premium cigarette brands would gain the most market share in 2013, the majority (54 percent) of retailers surveyed named Marlboro; By comparison, 27 percent picked Camel and 18 percent picked Newport, according to a story on CSPnet.com

    The majority of survey respondents expected only modest market share for Philip Morris’ new offerings: 60 percent anticipate Marlboro NXT (the company’s capsule cigarette) to have a .25-.5 percent market share by the end of 2013; 71 percent believe Marlboro Southern Cut will have a .25-.5 percent share.

    E-Cigarettes

    The news was even more positive for e-cigarettes: more than three quarters of surveyed retailers are carrying at least one e-cigarette in their stores and over half are carrying more than one brand. The study results showed retailers are trying a multitude of e-cigarette brands, although blu and NJOY are leading the way.

    “Blu is going like gangbusters right now,” said one retailer. Another said he liked the Lorillard-owned company’s “combination of good merchandising and marketing.”

    Meanwhile, retailers like the wide availability and distribution of NJOY, along with the fact that the new NJOY Kings product “feels and looks like a real cigarette.”

    While retailers were somewhat mixed on which brand will lead the pack, they largely agreed that the segment is here to stay: 95 percent said they believe electronic cigarettes will continue to grow as a category. When asked to explain their opinion, respondents cited the high cost of cigarettes, smoking bans and health concerns as reasons for continued growth.

  • Few complaints lead to secondhand smoke warnings for non-gamblers

    About two, meaning usually one, complaints a month are lodged with the Wheeling-Ohio County Health Department regarding tobacco smoke leaking from video gambling rooms inside restaurants, so obviously something needed to be done in this West Virginia, USA, town.

    ”When we get these types of complaints, we still make a site visit to make sure they are in compliance with the regulation and to see if we can advise them on making some corrections to limit the smoke coming into the general area,” Administrator Howard Gamble was quoted as saying in a story published in the The Intelligencer: Wheeling News-Register

    There was no mention as to whether or not it was the same person complaining every month.

    Eateries and bars with video gambling rooms are now required by the health department to post signs warning customers that smoking is permitted inside and that patrons may be exposed to secondhand smoke.

    ”This posting shall be conspicuously placed. This advisory shall include, but is not limited to, the following: ‘Health warning: Smoking is permitted within this facility, you will be exposed to secondhand smoke. Such exposure can cause or contribute to cancer, heart disease, respiratory illness, and other serious health problems,”’ said Gamble.

    The health department’s smoking ban allows restaurants to have these gambling rooms, but there is no regulation forcing the owner to install a separate air handler to filter out the smoke.

  • International anti-tobacco conference to be staged in tobacco country

    India, the third largest producer of tobacco, is due to host an international anti-tobacco conference in Delhi later this year.

    The International Conference on Public Health Priorities in the 21st Century: The Endgame for Tobacco will take place on September 10–13.

    “The conference is a call for collective resolution to fight tobacco through global cohesion and integration of tobacco control into broader health and development agendas for the achievement of our common health and development goals,” said professor K. Srinath Reddy, president of the Public Health Foundation of India, speaking on behalf of the organizing committee.

    “With India making concerted efforts towards ending the tobacco epidemic, by banning [some forms of] smokeless tobacco and introducing strict tobacco control laws, we recognize this as an opportune time for hosting a confluence of multi-sector stakeholders to evaluate current global strategies to fight tobacco and develop a way forward collaboratively.

    “The premise for choosing the theme “The Endgame for Tobacco” was that while tobacco control has been identified as key determinant in the global public health agenda, there is a need to mobilize tobacco control measures in addressing the larger development agenda. It is imperative that tobacco control efforts be stepped up, at pace with progressive, ground-breaking and radical international measures moving towards a tobacco-free society …”

  • Manila FDA will not register e-cigarettes

    The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced it will not register e-cigarettes, as health products as these devices are against the intent of the country’s tobacco regulation law, according to a story on MB.com.ph, a Minilan news website.

    In an advisory, FDA acting Director General Kenneth Hartigan-Go said e-cigarettes are “contrary to the intent and provisions of Republic Act No. 9211, otherwise known as the Tobacco Regulation Act of 2003.”

    He said the law aims to protect the youth from nicotine addiction and chronic respiratory ailments including cancer that are caused by inhalation of highly toxic substances found in tobacco and cigarettes. “Wittingly or unwittingly, the electronic cigarette promotes smoking among children and the youth. It makes them less fearful of hazards and risks of smoking. It is opposed to the DOH health goal to stop cigarette smoking and tobacco use,” he said, adding that the FDA has not registered any e-cigarette products and will not register these as health products under the FDA Act of 2009.

  • Growers angry as kwacha replaces dollar in Zambian leaf sales

    Zambian tobacco will this year be sold in kwacha instead of U.S. dollars, according to a story in The Times of Zambia.

    The decision to move to kwacha was made by the government, but the Tobacco Board of Zambia (TBZ) secretary Samson Muyembe, was quoted as saying that the TBZ did not see anything wrong with selling in the local currency.

    But some farmers have condemned the move. Chishala Chilufya was quoted as saying farmers would lose out because the exchange rate for local currency keeps fluctuating.

    He said the move would discourage farmers from growing tobacco next season. And he accused the TBZ of not providing enough information to farmers about the tobacco-buying changes that had been made.

  • Tobacco use a pre-existing medical condition

    D.C. is moving ahead in creating its health exchange—the marketplace for individual and small group insurance plans required under the provisions of President Obama’s health care reform—and the board responsible for it yesterday voted to bar insurers from charging smokers and other tobacco users higher premiums.

    Under the Affordable Care Act, insurers are allowed to charge up to 50 percent more in premiums for people who smoke. The decision stems from the reality that smokers face higher health risks, and many insurers across the country can already charge more for those who light up often—currently 46 states and D.C. allow insurers to charge higher premiums for smokers. Many private employers also charge a penalty, according to a story on the dcist website.

    But various health policy experts—including organizations that have otherwise sided with the use of government power to stamp out smoking—have warned that the higher premiums could negate the broader goal of the law, which is to provide universal health insurance. Additionally, they say, the higher premiums would fall heavily on low-income residents.

    “Tobacco use is a pre-existing medical condition and a central tenet of our health reform efforts is to open the health insurance market to millions of people who have been shut out due to their health,” said Dr. Mohammad Akhter, the chair of the Health Exchange Board and former director of the D.C. Department of Health. “Charging smokers significantly more for health insurance is in direct conflict with our efforts to help people quit smoking.”

    According to the exchange board, one in five D.C. residents uses tobacco, and 30 percent of African American residents—who tend to post lower incomes than white residents—are smokers. Additionally, smoking rates are higher among those with lower educations: according to the CDC, close to half of all smokers in D.C. have less than a high school degree.

    At its meeting on March 27, the board’s Standing Advisory Committee recommended doing away with the penalty. It’s decision was motivated in part by advocacy by the American Cancer Society, which said in a handout: “Charging smokers more for health insurance is an unproven way to address tobacco use when we have decades of success in several thoroughly tested, evidenced based ways to improve public health through raising the price of tobacco products, creating smoke-free venues and implementing tobacco use prevention and cessation programs.” Two of three insurance companies present at the meeting said they would have imposed the penalty.

    Still, the move might fly in the face of what many non-smokers believe is wise. According to an October 2011 poll by Thomson Reuters, 58.5 percent of respondents say that smokers should have to pay more for health insurance. The percentage was obviously higher among non-smokers, but even 32 percent of smokers agreed that they should pay some sort of penalty for their habit.

    California and Connecticut have similarly moved to eliminate the penalty for smokers in health exchanges, while Colorado and Alaska have kept it.

  • Hail & Cotton – Global Sales Director

    Hail & Cotton

    2500 South Main Street
    Springfield, Tennessee USA
    www.hailcottonintl.com

    Now Hiring – Global Sales Director

    Hail & Cotton International Group (“HCIG”), recognized world-wide as a quality supplier of all types of leaf tobacco, is actively recruiting for the position of Global Sales Director. This position will report directly to the President and will oversee an experienced world-wide sales team. The successful candidate will have broad industry experience, excellent sales and communication skills and demonstrate initiative, drive and enthusiasm.

    This position is responsible for the development and implementation of sales plans, allocation of resources, and the development of key customer relationships. The position is located in USA, fluent English required and other language skills a plus. Significant international travel required.

    HCIG is an equal opportunity employer and offers competitive compensation and benefit packages. Interested applicants should send their CV and compensation requirements to cv@hailcotton.com

  • Getting my bearings

    One of the local leaf companies kindly let me borrow a car for the week, which should facilitate logistics considerably.

    I spent the day with my friend Makiwa, getting my bearings in Harare. I have a basic knowledge of the city from previous visits, but things are different when you are driving yourself.

    For starters, I am unaccustomed to driving on the left-hand side of the road. It took me a while to stop activating my windshield wipers when I intended to use my turn signal. And I constantly have to remind myself to look in the right (or should it be left?) direction for oncoming traffic.

    More troubling for the out-of-town motorist is the general lack of pavement markers, street name signs and functioning traffic lights.

    Makiwa blamed the absence of street signs on “unscrupulous people”—i.e. vandals. But during a previous visit, I heard a more macabre explanation. AIDS has wreaked havoc among Zimbabweans (one in four is said to be infected), and coffin manufacturers are one of the few professional groups doing brisk business. The easily bendable street signs apparently make good coffin handles.

    Many traffic lights—which Makiwa consistently referred to as “robots”—are so faint that it’s difficult to tell whether they are red, yellow or green. Others don’t work at all, leaving drivers to work out the right of way among themselves.

    In practice this means the biggest vehicles and most assertive drivers go first. I am afraid my Toyota Vista is not much of a match for some of the tinted-windowed 4X4s on the road. And it certainly wasn’t a match for the presidential motorcade that crossed our way.

    It started with a police siren. I slowed, but Makiwa insisted I pull off the road and stop now. After the procession had passed, I asked what the fine would have been for failing to yield.

    “Zero,” said Makiwa. “They’d shoot you.”

  • Life is good again

    Life is good again

    After traveling for nearly 24 hours, watching four movies and almost finishing a badly written book on the Hells Angels motorcycle club, I am enjoying a Zambezi beer in front of my room at York Lodge in Highlands, Harare.

    During past visits, I’ve flown from the United States through either Johannesburg or London. Due to the flight connections, however, this meant either spending the night in Johannesburg or an entire day in London.

    This year, I tried something different, flying through Addis Ababa instead. It’s a long sit, but you don’t waste an entire day waiting.

    My joints are still aching from too many hours in economy class (we wouldn’t dare waste your advertising dollars on frivolous upgrades), but the pleasant weather and agreeable surroundings make it well worth the ride.

    The temperature is a mild 20 degrees Celsius and I am writing in the shade of an acacia tree listening to the songs of birds I cannot identify.

    It’s from this bubble of comfort that I will be reporting on the collapse—and possible rebirth—of the Zimbabwean tobacco industry.