Tag: United Kingdom

  • BAT-RAI deal approved

    BAT-RAI deal approved

    Shareholders of British American Tobacco and Reynolds American Inc. yesterday approved the takeover of the latter by the former, a move that involves BAT acquiring the 57.8 percent of shares it doesn’t already hold in RAI.

    “We are delighted with the overwhelming support we have received, both from BAT shareholders and from Reynolds shareholders,” BAT’s chief executive, Nicandro Durante, was quoted as saying in a note posted on BAT’s website.

    “The transaction is expected to complete on or around 25 July.

    “We look forward to welcoming Reynolds group employees to British American Tobacco and to realising the benefits of operating these two great companies as one stronger, global tobacco and next-generation-products business with direct access for our products across the most attractive markets in the world.”

  • You can’t please everybody

    You can’t please everybody

    A smokers’ group has criticised the targets set by the UK government in its new Tobacco Control Plan (TCP) and called on ministers to consult consumers before introducing any further measures.

    According to the Department of Health, the objectives of the TCP are, by 2022, to:

    • reduce the number of 15-year-olds who regularly smoke from eight percent to three percent or less;
    • reduce smoking among adults in England from 15.5 percent to 12 percent or less;
    • reduce the inequality gap in smoking prevalence, between those in routine and manual occupations and the general population; and
    • reduce the prevalence of smoking in pregnancy from 10.5 percent to six percent or less.

    “Setting targets encourages punitive measures,” said Simon Clark (pictured), director of the smokers’ group Forest. “The best tobacco control plan puts education and choice ahead of prohibition and coercion.”

    Commenting on the commitment to extend smoking bans to all hospitals, mental health facilities and prisons, Clark said that in the 21st century tobacco control policies should focus on harm reduction products, not on prohibition and other restrictive practises.

    “E-cigarettes and other harm reduction products are a game-changer because they offer consumers a pleasurable yet safer alternative to smoking,” he said.

    “If however adults choose to smoke that is their right and it must be respected. Denormalising or punishing smokers is unacceptable.

    “The most important stakeholder is the consumer yet they are routinely ignored by government. Ministers should stop lecturing smokers and engage with them.”

    Meanwhile, the TCP report, Towards a smoke-free generation: a tobacco control plan for England, has been welcomed by the UK Vaping Industry Association (UKVIA), which says that it provides two key measures relevant to vaping:

    • Public Health England will update their evidence report on e-cigarettes annually until the end of the Parliament in 2022 and will include messages about the relative safety of e-cigarettes within quit smoking campaigns; and
    • the government will review where the UK’s exit from the EU offers opportunities to review current regulation to identify where the UK can sensibly deregulate [and] will assess recent legislation such as the Tobacco Products Directive, including as it applies to e-cigarettes.

    In welcoming the TCP, Doug Mutter, a UKVIA board member and head of manufacturing & compliance at Vaporized, said the TCP contained welcome measures that the UKVIA had been calling for.

    “Public Health England has stated vaping is at least 95 percent less harmful than smoking, and it is about time we made this clear to smokers,” said Mutter. “That’s why we are particularly pleased to see the commitment that from now on this will be highlighted as part of Public Health England’s anti-smoking campaigns, a missed opportunity to date.

    “We also welcome the plan’s commitment to relook at the EU Tobacco Product Directive, and its impact on vaping products. The contradictory situation where vaping products are treated like tobacco, though they contain none, cannot continue.

    “The UKVIA will be pushing government to turn these words into action. Britain is a world-leader in health policy, and it is about time we had regulations that reflect our country’s own public health priorities.”

    The TCP report is at: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/629455/Towards_a_Smoke_free_Generation_-_A_Tobacco_Control_Plan_for_England_2017-2022.pdf.

  • No kudos for vaping

    No kudos for vaping

    Vaping advocates, particularly in the UK, have been left outraged after claims about the country’s falling smoking rate made no mention of vapor products or, indeed, harm reduction, according to an opinion piece by Fergus Mason published on vapingpost.com.

    On the 10th anniversary of the ban on smoking in pubs, most press releases and blog posts had focused on the fall in the incidence of smoking that had occurred since the ban was introduced – from around 21 percent in 2006 to just over 16 percent now, Mason said.

    But, in fact, the figures showed that smoking rates in the UK had been falling for years before the ban.

    Moreover, they showed that from 2007 to about 2011 this decline had stopped.

    ‘Smoking rates didn’t start heading down again until e-cigarettes became popular several years later, and then they began dropping at an unprecedented speed,’ Mason said.

    ‘However, you wouldn’t know this from the self-congratulatory outpourings from pressure groups.

    ‘ASH, who claim to be supportive of vaping, didn’t mention tobacco harm reduction at all in their numerous statements on the ban. Instead they credited the fall to plain packs, which were only introduced this May, and the ban on smoking in cars with children.

    ‘Cancer Research also failed to mention vapor products.

    ‘However, a statement by Public Health England [PHE] made clear that vaping had played a role in the decline.’

    Meanwhile, Mason reported a British politician as having criticised the EU’s approach to vapor products, saying the Commission’s scaremongering could have a “perverse effect” and risk reversing progress made on reducing smoking.

    ‘Anne Main, the Conservative MP for St Albans, highlighted the landmark 2015 PHE report which estimated vaping to be at least 95 percent safer than smoking, and argued that the UK is not doing enough to support science-based solutions to tobacco use,’ Mason said.

    ‘She said that continuing with the regulations in their current form was likely to make this worse.

    ‘In particular, she said the use of health warnings similar to the ones on tobacco could dissuade people from making the switch to reduced-harm products.

    ‘Main also urged the British government to rethink the regulations once the UK has left the European Union.’

  • Vapor no bar to healing

    Vapor no bar to healing

    Laboratory wound-healing assays have revealed that whereas cigarette smoke completely prevents wound healing at concentrations of more than 20 percent, electronic-cigarette vapor has no such effect, even at 100 percent concentration and double the amount of nicotine relative to that in smoke.

    According to a British American Tobacco press note, the scratch tests involved growing in the laboratory a layer of endothelial cells (cells that line the inside of blood vessels), creating a wound/scratch in the layer of cells, and observing how long it took to heal.

    It was found that the wound healed normally when exposed cells were untreated or when they were exposed to e-cigarette vapor, but not when exposed to cigarette smoke.

    The results are published today in Toxicology Letters (DOI is 10.1016/j.toxlet.2017.06.001).

    “Our results suggest that chemicals in cigarette smoke that inhibit wound healing are either absent from e-cigarette vapor or present in concentrations too low for us to detect an effect,” Dr. James Murphy, head of reduced risk substantiation at BAT was quoted as saying.

    The press note went on to say that it was thought that the presence of damaged endothelial cells, which have an impaired ability to repair, might be a factor in the development of heart disease. Smoking was known to be a risk factor for the development of heart disease.

    ‘The basic steps of the test involve creating a wound in a single layer of cells grown in the lab, capturing images of the beginning and at regular intervals during the “healing” process, as the cells move together, and then comparing the images,’ the press note said.

    ‘In this way, it is possible to measure the ability of a tissue to repair an artificial injury in the presence of various substances. To repair the wound created by a scratch, cells must move into the wound and close the gap, and it’s the rate at which they do it that the test measures.

    ‘Scientists at British American Tobacco used the scratch test to compare the effects of smoke extract from a reference cigarette (3R4F) and vapor extract from two commercial e-cigarettes, Vype ePen (a closed modular device) and Vype eStick (a cig-a-like device), on the wound healing process.

    ‘When a person smokes or vapes, water-soluble chemicals pass into circulation and interact with endothelial cells lining blood vessels. So to mimic this exposure, the scientists tested aqueous extracts – the water-soluble fraction – of smoke or vapor. Aqueous extracts were obtained by bubbling puff-matched amounts of smoke or vapor through cell-growth medium to produce a stock that could be diluted into various concentrations. Smoke extract was then assessed at concentrations from 0 percent to 30 percent. To ensure that e-cigarette extracts were tested at equivalent and higher nicotine concentrations than smoke (as possibly experienced by a heavy vaper), vapor was tested at concentrations between 40 percent and 100 percent (over twice the nicotine).

    ‘Immediately after the wound was made, the cells were immersed in smoke or vapor extract for 20 hours. Smoke decreased cell migration rate in a concentration-dependent manner, completely inhibiting movement of cells towards the wound at concentrations over 20 percent. In stark contrast, vapor from both types of e-cigarette had no effect – cells could migrate into the wounded area, as normal, even at 100 percent concentration and double the amount of nicotine.’

  • English pubs decimated

    English pubs decimated

    The smoking ban has decimated England’s pubs and hurt local communities, according to a report published today by the smokers’ group Forest.

    New figures obtained by Forest are said to show there are now 11,383 fewer pubs in England than there were in 2006, a decline of 20.7 percent since the smoking ban was introduced on July 1, 2007.

    While the fall in the number of pubs is part of a long-term trend and is not solely down to the smoking ban, the report found there was a clear acceleration in pub closures after the ban was enforced, with pubs in poorer urban areas suffering most.

    According to the report, Road to Ruin? The impact of the smoking ban on pubs and personal choice, many communities have lost important meeting places and social hubs. At a time when the dangers of social isolation and loneliness have been increasingly recognised, the smoking ban has affected local communities and many individuals who now smoke and drink at home.

    “The smoking ban has been a kick in the teeth for the traditional British boozer, especially in our urban inner cities,” said the report’s author, Rob Lyons. “Ten years on from the introduction of this damaging policy the government should order a full review of the impact of the legislation and consider alternatives to the current comprehensive ban.”

    Meanwhile, Simon Clark, director of Forest, said there was very little evidence that the health of the nation had benefitted significantly from the smoking ban. Instead thousands of pubs had closed and choice had been sacrificed on the altar of tobacco control.

    “Allowing separate well-ventilated smoking rooms or relaxing the unnecessarily strict regulations on outdoor smoking areas would reignite freedom of choice and give publicans greater control over their business,” Clark said.

    “Proposals to extend the smoking ban to outdoor areas including beer gardens will be fiercely resisted. Smoking is a legitimate activity and pubs must be allowed to accommodate adults who choose to smoke.”

    The report can be downloaded at: forestonline.org.

  • End ‘in sight’

    End ‘in sight’

    Last year, 15.8 percent of UK adults smoked, down from 17.2 percent in 2015, according to a story in The Guardian newspaper citing data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

    The prevalence of adult smoking stands at 15.5 percent in England, a figure that rises to 16.9 percent in Wales, 17.7 percent in Scotland and 18.1 percent in Northern Ireland.

    Duncan Selbie, chief executive of Public Health England, said there were now more than half a million fewer smokers in England than in 2015 and that the UK had the second-lowest smoking rate in Europe after Sweden.

    “What is really fantastic news is that this steep decline is even greater among young adults [aged 18 to 24], where smoking has fallen by a staggering quarter since 2010, reversing a long trend,” he said

    In 2010, 26 percent of the 18-24 age group smoked, but this had dropped to 19 percent in 2016.

    “It’s now hard to believe that back in 1974 almost half of adults smoked,” said Selbie. “But now an end really is in sight and we have a real opportunity to virtually eliminate all the harm, misery and death caused by smoking.”

    However, Dr. Penny Woods, chief executive of the British Lung Foundation, warned against complacency. Smoking, she said, was still the UK’s biggest cause of early preventable death.

    “Approximately 100,000 people die needlessly from smoking-related diseases every year in our hospitals – it’s time to tackle the human and financial cost the tobacco industry creates,” she said.

    “These statistics confirm that e-cigarettes are mainly being used to help people quit. Given half of long-term smokers die as a result of their habit, using vaping to help someone stop smoking could literally save their life.”

    Meanwhile, the director general of the UK’s TMA Giles Roca said that the drop in smoking prevalence during the past few years had been due to the emergence of harm reduction technology, such as electronic cigarettes, which the tobacco industry had been at the forefront of developing and putting onto the market.

    “This stands in direct contrast to the impact of the tranche of tobacco control measures implemented by successive governments over the last decade that have had minimal effect or indeed negative consequences such as making the problem of black market tobacco even worse,” Roca said.

    “As the government looks at its next tobacco control strategy and the measures within it, it would be worth reflecting on these findings and the reasons for them.”

    Across the UK, 5.6 percent of people – around 2.9 million – used e-cigarettes in 2016.

  • BAT glowing in Japan

    BAT glowing in Japan

    British American Tobacco said today that the performance of its heated-tobacco product, glo, in Sendai, Japan, was continuing to exceed its expectations.

    Presenting its First Half Pre-Close Trading Update 2017, the company added that it was on track for further ‘Japanese and international rollout in the second half’.

    ‘In vapor, our share growth in Western Europe continues and we are making encouraging progress with the rollout of Vype Pebble,’ BAT said in a note posted on its website.

    ‘A city test of Vype e-Pen III is on track for Q4.’

    Meanwhile, the company said that, as highlighted in February, its first-half volumes were ‘lapping a strong prior year comparator’ and would be impacted by the phasing of shipments in some key markets, including Pakistan.

    ‘Full year volume is expected to outperform the industry, which we anticipate will be down around four percent,’ the company said.

    ‘We expect our market share to continue to grow, driven by the GDBs [global drive brands].

    ‘Trading in our key markets continues to reflect the trends discussed at the preliminary results in February with Canada, Romania, Bangladesh and Ukraine performing well and conditions remaining challenging in Brazil, South Africa, Malaysia, France and the UK.’

    BAT said that its first-half revenue was expected to benefit from good pricing.

    ‘As previously stated, profit growth is expected to be weighted to the second half of the year, mainly due to the timing of volume shipments, as well as the phasing of NGP [new generation product] investments and marketing spend,’ the company said.

    ‘If exchange rates stayed the same for the remainder of the year, there would be an adverse transactional impact on operating profit of two percent for both the first half and the full year. For translation, this would be a tailwind on operating profit of approximately 13 percent for the half year and seven percent for the full year.

    ‘First half EPS is expected to benefit from a significant translational foreign exchange tailwind of around 14 percent.’

  • Kaymich software extended

    Kaymich software extended

    The adhesive-application and fluid-control systems supplier, C.B. Kaymich, said yesterday that it had developed its Gemini Data Capture software to include the option of barcoding.

    ‘The Gemini Data Capture software is a quality assurance package, providing batch traceability of filters, foil or cigarette,’ Kaymich said in a press note.

    ‘Originally developed for the production of mentholated foil bobbins, the barcode printer enabled users to quickly and easily apply a label which identified what the foil bobbin was, when it was made and which brand it was for.

    ‘The concept was then developed further to provide the same capability for any batch production resulting in the add-on product now available for the Gemini Flavour Application System.’

    “This additional Gemini capability makes it incredibly simple and easy to identify the brand and examine all the production settings for the finished product”, said Kaymich’s Tim Williams.

    “The system can be configured to suit the company’s specific process needs and even to offer personalised user permissions.

    “Put simply, it allows users to record production settings for later analysis and better understanding of each production batch.”

    More information about the Gemini Data Capture is at: www.kaymich.com.

  • Imperial appoints director

    Imperial appoints director

    Imperial Brands said today it had appointed Simon Langelier as an independent non-executive director of the company.

    Langelier, who joined the board yesterday, will be a member of both the Audit and Succession and Nominations committees.

    In announcing the appointment, Imperial said that Langelier had significant international experience within the tobacco industry.

    ‘He held a number of senior commercial positions during a 30-year career with Philip Morris International, including in Latin America, Asia, Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa,’ it said in a note posted on its website.

    ‘In addition, he was president of their Next Generation Products & Adjacent Businesses.

    ‘Simon is chairman of PharmaCielo Limited, a Canadian based supplier of medicinal-grade cannabis oil extracts and related products.’

    In welcoming Langelier, Imperial’s chairman Mark Williamson said his extensive international experience in tobacco and “wider consumer adjacencies” would be a great asset to the board.

  • Hybrid device less risky

    Hybrid device less risky

    British American Tobacco has said that new laboratory data has revealed that vapor from its novel hybrid tobacco heating product (THP), iFuse, and two standard THPs produced little or no effect on human cells in biological testing.

    “Our results suggest that these standard THPs and our novel hybrid product have the potential to reduce smoking-related disease risks when compared with cigarette smoking,” Dr. James Murphy, head of reduced risk substantiation at BAT was quoted as saying in a note posted on the company’s website.

    “However, further pre-clinical and clinical research is required to substantiate conclusive risk reduction of these products.”

    ‘A series of lab-based biological studies were used to assess and compare the toxicological and biological effects of exposure to vapor from the hybrid iFuse, two different standard THPs, and smoke from a 3R4F reference cigarette,’ the note said. ‘The tests looked at the general health of the cells, mutations and damage to DNA, tumor promotion, oxidative stress and wound repair, all of which are involved in development of many smoking-related diseases.

    ‘Results show that cigarette smoke tested positive on all counts, whereas the hybrid and standard THPs did not cause mutations or damage to DNA, and showed considerably reduced responses in the other tests. ‘Overall, the novel hybrid tobacco heating product had the least effect, showing little to no biological activity in any of the assays in which it was tested.’

    The results are published today in the Journal of Food and Chemical Toxicology (DOI: 10.1016/j.fct.2017.05.023).

    ‘The hybrid device, iFuse, combines the workings of an e-cigarette with a pod containing tobacco,’ the note said. ‘An e-liquid is heated to produce an aerosol that passes through the tobacco pod. The aerosol cools from around 35°C to 32°C as it passes over the tobacco, heating up the pod sufficiently to extract flavor without any direct heating of the tobacco.

    ‘This device operates at a very different temperature to standard THPs: THPs generally heat tobacco to between 240°C and 350°C, whereas the hybrid product heats tobacco to around 34°C.

    ‘These temperatures are not high enough to burn the tobacco and the resulting vapors contain far fewer and lower levels of toxicants than cigarette smoke, which can reach temperatures of over 900°C during puffing (http://ow.ly/1mag30cbv3x). The vapour produced by iFuse is similar to that produced by Vype ePen.’

    BAT said that Vype ePen had been shown to have significantly reduced levels of toxicants in its vapor and that the current expert estimate was that using e-cigarettes was about 95 percent safer than was smoking cigarettes.