Tag: United Kingdom

  • Range of products needed

    Range of products needed

    The UK smokers’ group Forest has welcomed a report that studied the risk of using heat-not-burn (HNB) tobacco products.

    The report, by the Committee of Toxicology (COT) for Public Health England, says that the level of exposure to harmful and potentially harmful compounds in HNB-product consumers is decreased by 50 percent to 90 percent [in those compounds measured] from that of a smoker’s exposure.

    “It’s vital consumers are given as much information as possible so they can make informed choices about the nicotine products they use,” said Simon Clark, director of Forest.

    “It’s clear from this report that while there may still be a risk, heat-not-burn products are significantly safer than traditional cigarettes.

    “There is no reason therefore for governments to restrict or discourage their use.”

    Clark said that electronic cigarettes were a step too far for many smokers; so if the government wanted smokers to quit there had to be a range of products that filled the gap between combustible tobacco and e-cigarettes.

    “Heat-not-burn products could encourage many more smokers to quit combustible tobacco because it’s obvious that millions are resistant to e-cigarettes,” he said.

    “Choice is paramount so if ministers are tempted to target heat-not-burn products with excessive regulations they would be making a big mistake.”

    The Committee investigated two HNB products, IQOS and iFuse, and found that both showed a decrease in the harmful and potentially harmful compounds (HPHCs) to which the user would be exposed, compared to the HPHCs from a conventional cigarette. For both products, there were some HPHCs where the reduction was approximately 50 percent, and the reduction in other HPHCs was greater than 90 percent.

    Nevertheless, the Committee concluded, in part, that there will be a risk to health from using HNB products.

    ‘It is currently not possible to quantify this risk,’ the committee said. ‘Heat-not-burn tobacco products are new and there is insufficient data available to enable a full assessment.

    ‘The exposure to compounds of concern in using heat-not-burn tobacco products is reduced compared to that from conventional cigarette smoke. It is likely that there is a reduction in overall risk to health for conventional smokers who switch to heat-not-burn tobacco products.

    ‘While the Committees [Committees on Toxicity, Carcinogenicity and Mutagenicity of Chemicals in Food, Consumer Products and the Environment (COT, COC and COM)] conclude there is a likely reduction in risk for smokers switching to heat-not-burn tobacco products, a risk remains and it would be more beneficial for smokers to quit smoking entirely.

    ‘A reduction in risk would be expected to be experienced by bystanders where smokers switch to heat-not-burn tobacco products.

    ‘The risk to the unborn child from use of these products by mothers during pregnancy is difficult to quantify and current NHS advice is to stop smoking entirely. The Committees consider that the risk to the unborn baby is likely to be reduced if these products were used during pregnancy instead of smoking, although the aim should be to stop smoking entirely.

    ‘Overall, the Committees conclude there are toxicological risks from novel heat-not-burn tobacco products though data on impacts to human health is very limited. Compared with the known risks from conventional cigarettes, they are probably less harmful. Even so, smokers would do better to quit entirely.’

  • BAT outperforming

    BAT outperforming

    British American Tobacco expects its full-year volume to be down about four percent.

    In its second-half pre-close trading update for 2017, the company said it had again outperformed the industry, driven by continued good share growth.

    Second-half organic volume was expected to benefit from the phasing of shipments in a number of key markets, including Pakistan, partly offset by the impact of a significant excise increase in the GCC.

    ‘The national rollout of glo in Japan is complete and glo has continued its excellent performance with national share now at 2.7 percent,’ said BAT.

    ‘glo has also been successfully launched in Canada, Switzerland, South Korea and Russia, and is now available in a total of five countries.

    ‘In vapour, our share in Western Europe continues to grow and the performance of VUSE in the US remains strong.’

    Meanwhile, the company said the integration of Reynolds American Inc. was on track, ‘with the businesses performing strongly, driven by good share growth and pricing’.

  • Vaping on the high street

    Vaping on the high street

    Vaping retail outlets will be established as part of most high streets in the UK during the next two years, according to the UK Vaping Industry Association (UKVIA).

    The UK vaping sector is forecast to become a £4 billion-plus industry by 2021.

    The UKVIA estimates that there are more than 2,000 stores across the country currently but that this is likely to grow exponentially during the next two to three years as the owners of retail brands embark on major store investment programs.

    “Whilst only 10 years old as an industry, vaping is now big business and significant retail brands are beginning to emerge, taking vaping shops from the back street to the high street,” said Doug Mutter, a board member at UKVIA.

    “Just as Google disrupted communications; Uber travelling by taxi; and Airbnb accommodation provision; so vaping has done so through the seismic shift it has caused away from smoking. Vaping stores are mirroring the growth trajectory of coffee and mobile phone shops.

    “The recent advertising campaign by Public Health England – the first of its kind to promote vaping – and the government’s Tobacco Control Plan, which reinforced the critical role that vaping has to play in getting smokers to quit, have both been a massive boost to the industry.”

  • UK wholesaler goes under

    UK wholesaler goes under

    Imperial Brands said yesterday that it was disappointed that Palmer & Harvey (P&H), the UK’s biggest tobacco wholesaler, had called in the administrators.

    But in notes posted on their websites, Imperial and Japan Tobacco Inc. each said that the P&H’s demise would not ‘significantly’ affect the delivery of their products because they had contingency plans in place.

    ‘In October 2017 Palmer & Harvey (P&H) entered a period of exclusivity with the Carlyle Group with the intention of securing significant capital investment,’ Imperial said in its note. ‘We are disappointed to learn that despite Imperial’s on-going support, the directors of P&H have today [Tuesday] appointed administrators.

    ‘P&H has been a long-standing trading partner in the UK and for several months Imperial has been working to find a solution that provides the business, and its employees, with a sustainable long-term future. ‘Imperial was prepared to explore further alternatives and is disappointed that the other parties have been unable to pursue these to a successful conclusion.

    ‘We currently estimate that P&H’s decision to enter administration may have a one-off impact on Group operating profit in our current financial year by up to £160 million, the majority of which relates to excise duty which is non-recoverable.

    ‘We do not anticipate any significant disruption to our UK operations. We have well-prepared contingency plans which will ensure that the on-going supply to Imperial’s retail customers remains unaffected.’

    Meanwhile, JT said that P&H delivered about 25 percent of Japan Tobacco International’s volume in the UK but that, because of a contingency plan already in place it did not expect any significant interruption in the supply of its products.

    ‘The JT Group’s maximum credit exposure as of November 29, 2017 is £148 million,’ JT said. ‘It is not yet possible to determine the financial impacts at this time, as we need to allow the administration process to progress.’

  • UK taxing the poor

    UK taxing the poor

    UK campaigners have responded with anger to the announcement of another increase in tobacco duty.

    “This is the second increase this year,” said Simon Clark, director of the smokers’ group Forest. “Tobacco duty is already punitively high. A further tax hike discriminates against smokers who are less well off. Once again the poor are being sacrificed on the altar of public health.

    “The prime minister famously said her government wanted to help those who are just about managing. Instead of helping, the chancellor will push more people into poverty unless they quit smoking or turn to the black market.

    “Thanks to the chancellor more and more smokers will buy illicit tobacco at home or purchase their tobacco abroad. The loss of revenue to the treasury will far outweigh any health benefits to the nation.”

    Meanwhile, the director general of the UK’s Tobacco Manufacturers’ Association, Giles Roca, said there had been, in effect, three tobacco-price increases already this year: that caused by a March-budget increase, that caused by a ban on small packs and that caused by the introduction of a minimum excise tax.

    “Today’s [Wednesday’s] announcement will simply lose taxpayers money, push ever more smokers to avoid paying UK duty and boost the black market and the criminal gangs that operate it,” said Roca.

    “The most effective way to get smokers to quit is not high tax but the development of new products such as e-cigarettes.

    “Also, such an increase, just before the crucial Christmas trading period, will significantly impact on retailers including many corner shops for whom tobacco makes up around 35 percent of their business.”

  • E-cigs’ role with vulnerable

    A group of UK health bodies and charities has called for more to be done to help smokers with mental health conditions quit, including providing them with access to electronic cigarettes and other treatments, according to a story on cancerresearchuk.org.

    In its statement on e-cigarettes, the Mental Health & Smoking Partnership said that smoking remained ‘part of the culture in too many mental health settings’, and that vaping and nicotine replacement therapies should be made an easier choice than smoking.

    Professor Ann McNeill, co-chair of the partnership, said that people with a mental health condition were more than twice as likely to smoke as were others.

    “This is a great inequality leading to early death and years of chronic illness for many,” she said. “E-cigarettes provide a new opportunity for people to move away from smoking and avoid the terrible burden of death and disease it causes.”

    The story is at: http://www.cancerresearchuk.org/about-us/cancer-news/news-report/2017-11-15-vaping-should-be-part-of-support-to-help-smokers-with-mental-health-conditions-quit.

  • Murder, she suggested

    Murder, she suggested

    The idea that tobacco companies could face murder trials should be treated with contempt, according to a story by Rob Lyons on Spiked.

    Part of a Sunday Times report of November 12 that was reprinted on the ASH UK (Action on Smoking and Health) website on November 13 quoted the organization’s chief executive Deborah Arnott, as saying that, in the light of the Dutch action, ASH was assessing the feasibility of pressing the Director of Public Prosecutions to prosecute British American Tobacco, Philip Morris International, Imperial Brands and Japan Tobacco International, or obtaining permission for a private prosecution.

    “The lesson from the Netherlands is that the prospect of criminal charges has had a sensational impact,” Arnott said. “Smokers have been angry to find out low tar cigarettes are no healthier, because smokers inhale more tar and nicotine from low tar cigarettes than the tests show. Sick smokers have come forward in their thousands to take action against the industry.”

    According to the ASH rendition of the Times’ story, campaigners in nine countries are working on comparable cases. This followed a meeting of activists in Geneva this summer convened by ASH US.

    Lyons dismissed the two main grounds on which such prosecutions would apparently be based: that smokers were misled into believing that low-tar cigarettes were safer than were regular cigarettes, and that many people started smoking when they were children and should have been protected.

    Lyons said that anti-smoking campaigners were facing an existential crisis because they had largely won the argument about restricting people’s freedom to smoke; and that’s why they were now coming up with hare-brained strategies.

    It was high time that those people who believed in choice fought back, he said.

    Lyons piece is at: http://www.spiked-online.com/newsite/article/no-big-tobacco-is-not-murdering-people/20535#.Wg1RM4inxPZ.

    The ASH piece is at: http://ash.org.uk/media-and-news/ash-daily-news/ash-daily-news-13-november-2017/

  • Still working with farmers

    Still working with farmers

    British American Tobacco says that its commitment to working to enable prosperous livelihoods for all farmers who supply its leaf tobacco is the focus of its latest report: Sustainable Agriculture and Farmer Livelihoods.

    ‘This new report provides an overview of how BAT invests over £60 million each year in advancing sustainable agriculture, through its global leaf research and development, and supporting farmers through a network of expert field technicians,’ BAT said in a note posted on its website today.

    ‘It also shows how the group is managing and monitoring supply chain risks and opportunities through global programs; and how it is working in multi-stakeholder partnerships, including the Eliminating Child Labour in Tobacco Growing (ECLT) Foundation, to solve complex problems and long-term issues in farming communities.’

    Chief executive Nicandro Durante was quoted as saying that BAT had been working in partnership with tobacco farmers for more than a century. “Over that time, we’ve evolved our approach to take advantage of new opportunities, focused on creating value for the future of our business and the farmers we work with,” he said.

    “We understand that there are many challenges facing agriculture and rural communities, so our work also includes multi-stakeholder projects that aim to enhance livelihoods, protect human rights and lessen the environmental impacts of agriculture.”

    The press note then went on to say that leaf tobacco remained at the core of BAT’s products, so the farmers who grew it were at the heart of its supply chain.

    ‘British American Tobacco sources tobacco leaf from 350,000+ farmers in 34 countries, which includes 90,000+ directly contracted by BAT leaf operations and 260,000+ contracted by our third-party suppliers,’ the press note said.

    ‘This report provides an in-depth look at how BAT is implementing its sustainable agriculture objectives to ensure the continued success and long-term security of our business and, crucially, to fulfilling our role in wider society to support farmers and their communities, now and in the future.’

    The press note said that highlights of the report included:

    • ‘A viewpoint from Alan Davy, BAT’s group operations director, in which he responds to challenging questions and explains why supporting sustainable agriculture remains such a priority.
    • ‘An independent stakeholder viewpoint from Professor Dr. Heiko Hosomi Spitzeck, director of the Center for Sustainability at Fundação Dom Cabral, Brazil, which has been recognised as the best business school in Latin America for 11 consecutive years by the Financial Times.
    • ‘Information on BAT’s Global Leaf R&D which develops improved seed varieties to increase farmers’ yields by up to 20 percent, as well as new and innovative sustainable farming technologies, such as drip irrigation which increases water efficiency by up to 90 percent.
    • ‘Details of BAT’s global Thrive program which takes a holistic and collaborative approach to identifying and addressing long-term challenges that have an impact on the livelihoods of farming communities and the sustainability of agriculture.
    • ‘Since 2011, through the work of the industry’s ECLT Foundation, 162,000 children have been removed or kept away from child labour and 455,000 community members have been reached through awareness-raising activities.
    • ‘The company’s Florece child labour prevention program in Mexico, in partnership with the government and other local stakeholders, which has helped 14,400 children since 2001.
    • ‘100 years of supporting farmers in Brazil and UN recognition for the company’s program to inspire a new generation of Brazilian farmers.
    • ‘75,000 beneficiaries in 19,000 rural families who have been empowered through the Sustainable Agriculture Development Programme in Sri Lanka.
    • ’75 million trees planted through a long-standing afforestation program in Pakistan, and 78,000 Pakistanis in rural communities treated for free each year by Mobile Doctor Units.
    • ‘The results of an independent impact measurement study of the company’s community programs in Bangladesh, which found that its water filtration units have reduced the number of people suffering from waterborne diseases, from 32 percent down to 0.3 percent.’

    The report is at: www.bat.com/sustainabilityfocus.

  • Volumes down at Imperial

    Volumes down at Imperial

    Imperial Brands’ volume shipments of cigarettes and other tobacco products calculated as ‘stick equivalents’ (SE) during the 12 months to the end of September, at 265.2 billion, were down by 4.1 percent on those of the 12 months to the end of September 2016, 276.5 billion.

    The company said that its volume performance had bettered the industry’s, whose volume fell by 4.4 percent.

    In announcing its preliminary results for the year to the end of September, the company said that, during the same period, its Growth Brand volume had increased by 5.5 percent to 159.6 billion SE.

    Growth Brands were said to account for 60.2 percent of group tobacco volumes and for 47.6 percent of overall tobacco net revenue.

    Tobacco net revenue was up by 8.2 percent, from £7,167 million to £7,757 million; tobacco adjusted operating profit was up by 7.0 percent, from £3,360 million to £3595 million; and total adjusted operating profit was up by 6.2 percent, from £3,541 million to £3,761 million.

    “This was an important year of progress,” said chief executive, Alison Cooper. “Building on the work we have done to strengthen the brand portfolio, we significantly increased investment behind our key brand equities and have delivered share gains in most of our priority markets.

    “Our results benefited from the overall share momentum which supported improved second half net revenue despite a particularly tough industry backdrop.

    “As anticipated, whilst the increased investment impacted current year revenue and profit it is strengthening the business to support improved top-line growth going forward from both tobacco and next generation products.

    “Our Growth Brands performed well, reinforcing our focus on quality growth, which we will be building on in FY18. We will also be stepping up our activities in next generation products, with new e-vapour launches in new and existing markets and consumer trials of heated tobacco products.

    “We have continued to take decisive cost action to mitigate a tough trading environment and to protect our investments. Cash conversion remains strong and this is our ninth consecutive year of 10 percent dividend growth.

    “We are well placed to continue to enhance shareholder value by building on the momentum in our tobacco business and realising opportunities in next generation products.”

  • Call for tobacco-duty freeze

    Call for tobacco-duty freeze

    There is little public support in the UK for a further increase in tobacco duty, according to the results of a new poll announced yesterday.

    The survey, conducted by Populus for the smokers’ group Forest, found that 76 percent of adults think the current level of tax – more than 80 percent on an average pack of cigarettes – is either about right (44 percent) or too high (32 percent). Twenty-four percent think it’s too low.

    Sixty-eight percent said that buying illicit tobacco was an “understandable” response to the soaring cost of tobacco purchased legally. Twenty-two percent found it “not understandable”.

    “Tobacco duty in the UK is exceptionally high compared to most other EU countries,” said the director of Forest, Simon Clark, ahead of the autumn budget due to be brought down on November 22.

    “Another tax hike will discriminate against the less well-off and those who are just about managing.

    “It will also encourage more smokers to buy tobacco on the black market because there isn’t the stigma associated with other illicit transactions.

    “We urge the Chancellor to give smokers a break, take public opinion into account and freeze tobacco duty at the current levels.”