Tag: United States

  • Quitting technically

    Quitting technically

    Researchers in the US are using wearable sensor technology to develop an automatic alert system to help people quit smoking, according to a story at medicalxpress.com.
    The smart-phone app, initially limited to android-based operating systems, automatically texts 20- to 120-second video messages to smokers when sensors detect specific arm and body motions associated with smoking.
    Recently, the story said, wearable technology had gained popularity in the fight against addiction.
    But, it added, the mobile alert system researchers at Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio, were testing might be the first that combined:

    • ‘an existing online platform with mindfulness training and a personalized plan for quitting;
    • ‘two armband sensors to detect smoking motions, a technology that demonstrated more than 98-percent accuracy in differentiating “lighting up” from other similar motions. (that compares to 72-percent accuracy in systems using a single armband);
    • ‘and a personalized text-messaging service that reminds the user of either their own plan to quit, or sends video messages that stress the health and financial benefits of quitting.’
  • E-cigs deserve credit

    E-cigs deserve credit

    Evidence suggested that electronic cigarettes deserved some of the credit for a fall in US smoking rates that, according to a recent Gallup announcement, had hit a record low of 16 percent, said Robert Goldberg, vice president at the Center for Medicine in the Public Interest, in an opinion piece at insidesources.com.
    While government initiatives, including smoking restrictions, higher taxes and education campaigns, had helped cut the national smoking rate by nearly two-thirds during the past half century, one in six US citizens still smoked.
    ‘Enter the private sector,’ he said. ‘The advent of e-cigarettes, which the Royal College of Physicians in Britain concludes are 95 percent less harmful than traditional cigarettes, have coincided with the biggest annual drops in cigarette smoking in decades. Just since 2012, when e-cigarettes began becoming popular, smoking rates have fallen by nearly one-quarter.’
    Goldberg quoted the results of a new survey conducted by the independent Center for Substance Use Research in Glasgow of e-cigarette users, which he said, added to a growing body of evidence suggesting that the negative association between e-cigarettes and smoking was causative, not merely correlative.
    Goldberg gives details of the survey results and says they are in in line with those of other research, which he describes and cites.
    ‘Given these public health implications, you’d think e-cigarettes would be welcomed with open arms by government officials,’ Goldberg said. ‘Yet the opposite is true. The Food and Drug Association’s “Deeming Rule” requires e-cigarettes to comply with an approval process so arduous and expensive that it will – in the FDA’s own estimate – result in 99 percent of products not filing applications. The rule is set to take effect in 2022.’

  • AOI to announce results

    AOI to announce results

    Alliance One International said yesterday that it would hold a conference call from 08.00 Eastern Time on August 2 to review its financial results for the first quarter ended June 30.
    A press release reporting the company’s first quarter 2019 results will be issued pre-market and prior to the call.
    Investors and analysts who want to access the call should dial (877) 260-1479, or (334) 323-0522 from outside the US, and use the conference ID 3939115.
    A live audio webcast of the call will be available through the Alliance One website at www.aointl.com.
    A replay of the conference call will be available for five days on (888) 203-1112, or (719) 457-0820 from outside the US, using the access code 3939115.

  • Universal to webcast results

    Universal to webcast results

    Universal Corporation said yesterday that it would webcast a conference call from 17.00 Eastern Time on August 7 following the release of its results for the first quarter of fiscal year 2019 after market close on that date.
    The conference call, which will be in listen-only mode, will be hosted by Candace C. Formacek, vice president and treasurer.
    A live webcast of the conference call will be available at www.universalcorp.com, while a relay of the webcast will be available at the same site through November 6.
    Additionally, a taped replay of the call will be available from 20.30 on August 7 through August 21 at (855) 859-2056, using the telephone replay identification number 1249369.

  • Rapid changes needed

    Rapid changes needed

    A proposal in the US to lower the maximum amount of nicotine in legally available cigarettes to non-satisfying and non-addictive levels would cause deadly problems for years to come, according to Jeff Stier, a senior fellow at the Consumer Choice Center and a policy advisor to The Heartland Institute, writing at blog.heartland.org.
    Stier described the Food and Drug Administration proposal as policy candy that provided public health groups with a head-rush, but he said that evidence was scant that it would help smokers quit. And he added that it would be a boon to the already-thriving black market for these highly addictive products.
    Stier was writing on July 27, a day ahead of the one-year anniversary of the FDA’s announcement about what it called a “new comprehensive plan for tobacco and nicotine regulation” that “places nicotine, and the issue of addiction, at the center of the agency’s tobacco regulation efforts”.
    ‘When rolling out the multi-year plan, [FDA] Commissioner Scott Gottlieb said that “the overwhelming amount of death and disease attributable to tobacco is caused by addiction to cigarettes”,’ said Stier ‘Never was a more obvious statement more necessary, given the recent media hysteria over e-cigarettes.’
    In his piece, Stier looks at the agency’s two-pronged approach to reduce smoking, the first of which involved a public dialogue about lowering nicotine levels in combustible cigarettes to non-addictive levels.
    ‘The second part of the plan voiced a commitment to reform regulations to foster innovation for both recreational (e-cigarettes) and medicinal (nicotine replacement therapy) products,’ he said. ‘This component of the plan gave hope to countless former smokers who are smoke-free today because of e-cigarettes.’
    But, Stier said, FDA regulations already in force had put a freeze on innovation within this category. ‘And unless the FDA quickly makes regulatory changes, nearly all currently available e-cigarettes will be removed from the marketplace in just a few years,’ he warned.
    Stier goes on to evaluate what the FDA has achieved one year into its plan.

  • Ending tobacco within sight

    Ending tobacco within sight

    Governments should consider holding the tobacco industry criminally liable for the harm they cause, according to a statement by the US’ Action on Smoking and Health (ASH US).
    And it should consider taking steps to phase cigarettes out of the market.
    Ending the completely preventable tobacco epidemic was a human rights and development challenge that the world could overcome this century.
    ‘Cigarettes are the only consumer product that kill when used exactly as their manufacturer intends, causing more than seven million deaths every year,’ ASH US said. ‘It is time to regulate these products in a way that is proportional to the harm they cause.’
    ASH made its case in a statement welcoming to its Board of Trustees Dr. Cheryl Healton, whose extensive experience in public health would be a remarkable asset to ASH as it worked towards zero deaths from tobacco.
    ‘Dr. Healton’s deep understanding of the tobacco control field, as well as her collaborations with top public health researchers globally, will strengthen ASH’s cutting-edge approaches to ending the tobacco epidemic,’ the statement said. ‘Dr. Healton shares ASH’s view that we are not doing enough to address the tobacco epidemic. She has repeatedly shown an ability to turn visions into reality.’
    According to ASH, Healton is the Dean of the New York University College of Global Public Health where she builds the academic, service, and research programs on health prevention [sic], systems intervention, and innovation in public health practice. She is also a professor at the NYU College of Global Public Health.
    ‘Previously, as the founding president and CEO of Legacy (rebranded as The Truth Initiative) – a leading organization dedicated to tobacco control – Dr. Healton worked to further the foundation’s mission: to build a world where young people reject tobacco, and anyone can quit,’ the statement said. ‘During her time with Legacy, she guided the national youth tobacco prevention counter-marketing campaign, truth®, which has been credited with reducing youth smoking prevalence to record lows. Legacy launched a national smoking cessation campaign, public education campaigns, technical assistance, and a broad program of grant making. Additionally, Legacy established the Steven A. Schroeder Institute for Tobacco Studies.
    ‘Prior to Legacy, Dr. Healton held numerous roles at Columbia University where she worked to expand the scope of public health programs and undertook innovative educational initiatives to advance public health practice. She served as assistant vice president for the Health Sciences, associate dean of the medical school and later the associate dean of the School of Public Health, chair of the Department of Sociomedical Science, and professor of Clinical Public Health.’

  • Growing worries for farmers

    Growing worries for farmers

    In addition to the problems caused to them by ongoing international tariff-related trade battles, North Carolina tobacco farmers face a new hurdle to selling their crop because the US Food and Drug Administration is pushing to reduce nicotine levels in cigarettes to non-addictive levels, according to a story by Cullen Browder for WRAL-TV.
    North Carolina has long been the number-one tobacco-producing state in the US, and while it grows only half the amount of tobacco it did 20 years ago, changing this cash crop would impact about 1,500 farm operations across the state.
    Sixty percent of North Carolina tobacco is sold overseas, and Graham Boyd, executive vice president of the Tobacco Growers’ Association of North Carolina, said the US already faced tough competition from countries that wouldn’t face the same nicotine restriction.
    Both the association and the North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services have raised concerns about the FDA plan.
    “What matters to us is, does this put us at a competitive disadvantage in the marketplace from a global perspective?” Boyd said.
    Meanwhile, Loren Fisher, the Philip Morris Professor in the Crop and Soil Sciences Department of North Carolina State University, said that reducing nicotine in tobacco plants was no easy task.
    “Those varieties don’t exist,” Fisher said. “It would take some time with plant breeding. It would be a conventional breeding program. If you were starting at ground zero, it could take 10 to 12 years.”
    Genetically modified plants would provide a quicker transition, but Fisher said international buyers were leery of GMO products.
    “That is not accepted by consumers and especially our customers outside the US who purchase tobacco that we grow in the United States,” he said. “Transgenic tobacco is not acceptable.”

  • Consuming question

    Consuming question

    Sales of illicit cigarettes have been rising in New York City for more than 10 years and now outnumber sales of licit cigarettes, according to a story by Gregory Bresiger for the New York Post quoting Scott Drenkard of the Tax Foundation.
    New York had “the worst smuggling problem in America,” said Drenkard, adding that the least a smoker could now legally pay for a pack in New York City was $13, which was recently raised from $10.50.
    Cigarette taxes and a new minimum price rule have raised the price of a pack by about 200 percent over the past decade.
    Consequently, smugglers buy cigarettes in a low-tax state such as Virginia, which imposes a 30-cent tax, and sells them in New York, where the combined city-and-state tax is £5.85.
    “Price disparities create incentives for illegal activity,” said Kim Kessler, assistant commissioner for the bureau of chronic disease prevention and tobacco control, NYC Health Department.
    “But we know that despite this activity, raising the price of tobacco products still reduces consumption. The lives we save by raising the price of tobacco far outweigh any lost taxes due to illegal sales,” Kessler told The Post.
    “The adult smoking rate has decreased from 21.5 percent in 2002 to 13.1 percent in 2016. Increasing the cigarette price floor to $13 is projected to lead to a 6.4 percent decline in adult cigarette smoking.”

  • Volume decimated

    Volume decimated

    Philip Morris USA’s cigarette shipment volume during the three months to the end of June, at 27,266 million, was down by 10.8 percent on that of the three months to the end of June 2017, 30,569 million.
    Marlboro shipments were down by 10.0 percent to 23,529 million; shipments of other premium brands fell by 9.4 percent to 1,404 million; while shipments of discount brands fell by 18.5 percent to 2,333 million.
    PM USA’s share of the retail cigarette market during the three months to the end of June, at 50.2 percent, was down by 0.7 of a percentage point from that of the three months to the end of June 2017. Marlboro’s share, at 43.2 percent, was down by 0.3 of a percentage point; the share of its other premium brands was down by 0.1 of a percentage point to 2.6 percent; while the share of the company’s discount brands was down by 0.3 of a percentage point to 4.4 percent.
    The Altria Group yesterday published its second-quarter and first-half results for 2018.
    Middleton’s cigar shipment volume during the three months to the end of June, at 417 million, was increased by 2.7 percent on that of the three months to the end of June 2017, 406 million.
    Black & Mild brand shipments were up by 3.0 percent to 414 million, while shipments of other brands fell by 25.0 percent from four million to three million.
    USSTC’s smokeless-products shipment-volume during the three months to the end of June, at 215.7 million cans and packs, was down by 2.4 percent on that of the three months to the end of June 2017, 221.0 million.
    Shipments of Copenhagen were up by 0.4 percent to 138.1 million; those of Skoal were down by 9.1 percent to 59.8 million; while those of other brands were increased by 0.6 percent to 17.8 million.
    USSTC’s share of the US market for smokeless products during the three months to the end of June, at 54.1 percent, was down by 0.2 of a percentage point from that of the three months to the end of June 2017. Copenhagen’s share was unchanged at 34.3 percent; Skoal’s share was down by 0.4 of a percentage point to 16.4 percent; while the share of other brands was increased by 0.2 of a percentage point to 3.4 percent.
    Altria’s net revenues during the second quarter, at $6,305 million were down by 5.4 percent on those of the second quarter of 2017, while revenues net of excise taxes were down by 3.7 percent to $4,879.
    Altria’s second-quarter reported diluted earnings per share (EPS) were down by 3.9 percent to $0.99, while its second-quarter adjusted diluted EPS increased by 18.8 percent to $1.01.
    “We continued our strong start to the year with adjusted diluted earnings per share growth of 18.8 percent in the second quarter,” said Howard Willard, Altria’s chairman and CEO.
    “Our core tobacco businesses performed well as they continued to make strategic investments in support of their long-term objectives.
    “Of course, our results benefited from a lower corporate tax rate.
    “We continued to reward shareholders in the quarter by paying out over $1.3 billion in dividends and repurchasing approximately $437 million in shares.
    “To reflect a strong first half and continued confidence in our core tobacco businesses, we are raising the lower-end of our guidance and now expect full-year adjusted diluted EPS growth of 16 percent to 19 percent.”

  • Eclipse to light up market

    Eclipse to light up market

    British American Tobacco says that it has received from the US Food and Drug Administration clearance in respect of two substantial equivalence applications for its improved, carbon-tipped tobacco-heating product (THP), Eclipse and Eclipse Menthol, according to a story in the Winston-Salem Journal relayed by the TMA.
    The clearance, which was apparently received on July 19, was referred to in the company’s first half report, published yesterday.
    The story said that Eclipse had been developed in the 1990s and was in distribution from 2003 to 2007 as R.J Reynolds’ first national attempt at the HTP category.
    BAT’s chief Executive Nicandro Durante said his company was delighted to be the first tobacco company to be able to launch a THP in the US.
    He said the company planned to launch the products within a small test market by the end of the year, with national distribution likely in 2019.
    The plant in Tobaccoville, North Carolina, which manufacturers Eclipse and Vuse, could experience demand for a substantial production increase as a result of the new products having been given clearance.