British American Tobacco (BAT) on Friday forecast that the world's consumption of cigarettes was likely to remain fairly stable at 6 trillion cigarettes a year, one-third of which are sold in China.
The cigarette company, responsible for the Dunhill, Kent and Lucky Strike brands, plans to ensure it is well-placed to meet the needs of consumers, whether they are down-trading in times of recession or up-trading as the economic situation improves.
Six years ago, the UN conducted a study of the world's tobacco consumption and found that the number of smokers in the world was expected to grow from 1.1 billion in 1998 to about 1.3 billion this year, an increase of about 1.5 percent annually.
This is in direct contrast to BAT's estimations in its latest annual report, which states that the global legal market had shown a decline in consumption by 1.5 percent annually over the long term.
BAT chief executive Paul Adams said trends indicated that individual smokers would consume fewer cigarettes each and smaller percentages of populations would smoke.
"However, offsetting these trends, the number of adults in the world over the age of 20 continues to grow," he said.
He said volume declines had been evident in a number of markets last year and BAT expected global volumes to remain under pressure this year.
"We estimate that the global legal market, excluding China, fell by 3 percent last year compared with its long-term trend of declining 1.5 percent," he said.
But pricing had remained positive, and the global profit pool was expected to continue to grow.
"In many key markets, legal volumes have been affected as consumers move to illicit products," Adams said.
He said illicit trade in tobacco products - smuggled, counterfeit or tax evaded - was in effect one of the company's major global competitors and represented nearly 12 percent of world consumption.
BAT reported a gross turnover of £40.7 billion (R447bn) for last year. Adams reported that acquisitions continued to play a part in its growth strategy and explained that its latest acquisition - Bentoel in Indonesia - gave the group a strong position in the fourth-largest cigarette market.
The UN in its report predicted that more tobacco would be smoked in developing countries, where tobacco consumption was expected to grow to 5.09 million tons this year from 4.2 million in 1998.
понедельник, 29 марта 2010 г.
понедельник, 15 марта 2010 г.
City Tries to Shut Club It Says Flouts Smoking Ban
The Bloomberg administration is moving closer to shutting one of the largest and busiest nightclubs in the city, as part of an aggressive new strategy to revoke the operating licenses of clubs that health officials believe promote smoking.
The nightclub, the M2 UltraLounge on West 28th Street in Manhattan, went on trial last week at a special administrative court that the city uses when it seeks to take away property. If the case against the club succeeds, it would be the first time the city had closed a business solely for flouting a ban on smoking.
City officials have also moved to take several other clubs before the court, seeking to revoke their food and beverage licenses. It has been an open secret for years among the late-night set that there is a network of so-called smoke-easies throughout the city, from little neighborhood dives to glossy, exclusive boîtes, that let patrons smoke illegally.
Health department officials say that the vast majority of businesses comply with the 2002 law forbidding smoking in clubs and bars, but that inspectors have struggled to enforce it at a handful of high-end places that seem to market themselves as smoker-friendly, some even offering loose cigarettes for sale.
Generally, health officials have looked for signs of active tobacco use as part of their inspections concerning other rules, like those for food safety, and have cited clubs for violations that often result in fines of $200 to $2,000.
But they have had difficulty gaining access to the clubs when patrons are actually smoking.
“Some of the clubs where smoking is going on tend to be very, very cool clubs, and a bunch of guys showing up in jackets tend to be very, very uncool,” said Thomas Merrill, general counsel for the health department.
So in recent months, the department has deputized a team of inspectors — many of them younger and hipper-looking than the stereotypical bureaucrat — to work into the wee hours, posing as patrons and hunting for tolerance of smoking by clubs’ employees.
Because the inspectors found many instances of patrons smoking without being asked to stop, the department petitioned the administrative court, the Office of Administrative Trials and Hearings, known as OATH, to recommend revoking the food and beverage licenses of 16 bars and clubs.
“We found places with repeated nights of smoking, with sort of flagrant violations — selling cigarettes, clearly creating an atmosphere in which smoking appeared to be tolerated or even welcomed,” said Daniel Kass, the acting deputy commissioner for environmental health. “Those places are clearly not responding to the idea that we’re going to fine them periodically for violations.”
Five of the clubs have settled with the city, typically agreeing to devise a plan for correction and to pay for any violations, health officials said.
In all but one of the cases, if inspectors find indications of continued smoking during the next year, they can immediately shut the club down and bring it to trial.
Two clubs closed for other reasons, and most of the rest, including the downtown spots Lit Lounge, the Box, Tenjune and Southside, are weighing possible settlements against a looming trial date, city officials said.
The M2 case has gone the furthest. The administrative law judge hearing the case, Alessandra F. Zorgniotti, will make a ruling that will serve as a recommendation to the health commissioner, Dr. Thomas A. Farley.
In the trial, which could end as early as Thursday, the city has introduced photos of people with cigarette packs on their tables or with burning cigarettes held aloft on the dance floor.
One inspector testified that a bouncer told her she could smoke in a back area near an exit door; another said he was able to buy a loose cigarette for $2 from a collection of items for sale in the men’s bathroom.
But lawyers for the club say the city’s case is flawed, arguing that the undercover inspectors could not know whether the staff had tried to get patrons to stop smoking. The club, which has been under new management since July, submitted reports showing that bouncers had ejected at least two patrons for smoking, and Robert Bookman, a lawyer representing M2, said it had fired the two employees who had been selling loose cigarettes in the bathroom.
“The law is being misconstrued by the health department purposely to make it sound like it’s an automatic violation for a club having a patron smoking on their premises,” Mr. Bookman said. “All the law says is that we have to make a good-faith effort to inform patrons that they were breaking the law, and not with a nod and a wink.”
He added that investigators had found only a few smokers on each of their visits to the club, which can hold thousands of people. “Not only do the numbers bear out that this is not a smoking lair,” he said, “but it shows that they are in fact doing what they’re supposed to do.”
Mr. Bookman also criticized the city for not going after the smokers themselves, saying that officials were accusing employees of doing what the inspectors do when they see smoking, “which is not doing anything.”
Health officials contend that their obligation is to ensure that the clubs they license follow the law, and that cracking down on the clubs is a more effective deterrent. “The entity is the repeat offender,” Mr. Kass said. “On any given night there might be one person, or 2 people or 10 people or even way more than that, who on their own are welcomed to smoke or allowed to smoke, but they’re not necessarily back the next night.”
The nightclub, the M2 UltraLounge on West 28th Street in Manhattan, went on trial last week at a special administrative court that the city uses when it seeks to take away property. If the case against the club succeeds, it would be the first time the city had closed a business solely for flouting a ban on smoking.
City officials have also moved to take several other clubs before the court, seeking to revoke their food and beverage licenses. It has been an open secret for years among the late-night set that there is a network of so-called smoke-easies throughout the city, from little neighborhood dives to glossy, exclusive boîtes, that let patrons smoke illegally.
Health department officials say that the vast majority of businesses comply with the 2002 law forbidding smoking in clubs and bars, but that inspectors have struggled to enforce it at a handful of high-end places that seem to market themselves as smoker-friendly, some even offering loose cigarettes for sale.
Generally, health officials have looked for signs of active tobacco use as part of their inspections concerning other rules, like those for food safety, and have cited clubs for violations that often result in fines of $200 to $2,000.
But they have had difficulty gaining access to the clubs when patrons are actually smoking.
“Some of the clubs where smoking is going on tend to be very, very cool clubs, and a bunch of guys showing up in jackets tend to be very, very uncool,” said Thomas Merrill, general counsel for the health department.
So in recent months, the department has deputized a team of inspectors — many of them younger and hipper-looking than the stereotypical bureaucrat — to work into the wee hours, posing as patrons and hunting for tolerance of smoking by clubs’ employees.
Because the inspectors found many instances of patrons smoking without being asked to stop, the department petitioned the administrative court, the Office of Administrative Trials and Hearings, known as OATH, to recommend revoking the food and beverage licenses of 16 bars and clubs.
“We found places with repeated nights of smoking, with sort of flagrant violations — selling cigarettes, clearly creating an atmosphere in which smoking appeared to be tolerated or even welcomed,” said Daniel Kass, the acting deputy commissioner for environmental health. “Those places are clearly not responding to the idea that we’re going to fine them periodically for violations.”
Five of the clubs have settled with the city, typically agreeing to devise a plan for correction and to pay for any violations, health officials said.
In all but one of the cases, if inspectors find indications of continued smoking during the next year, they can immediately shut the club down and bring it to trial.
Two clubs closed for other reasons, and most of the rest, including the downtown spots Lit Lounge, the Box, Tenjune and Southside, are weighing possible settlements against a looming trial date, city officials said.
The M2 case has gone the furthest. The administrative law judge hearing the case, Alessandra F. Zorgniotti, will make a ruling that will serve as a recommendation to the health commissioner, Dr. Thomas A. Farley.
In the trial, which could end as early as Thursday, the city has introduced photos of people with cigarette packs on their tables or with burning cigarettes held aloft on the dance floor.
One inspector testified that a bouncer told her she could smoke in a back area near an exit door; another said he was able to buy a loose cigarette for $2 from a collection of items for sale in the men’s bathroom.
But lawyers for the club say the city’s case is flawed, arguing that the undercover inspectors could not know whether the staff had tried to get patrons to stop smoking. The club, which has been under new management since July, submitted reports showing that bouncers had ejected at least two patrons for smoking, and Robert Bookman, a lawyer representing M2, said it had fired the two employees who had been selling loose cigarettes in the bathroom.
“The law is being misconstrued by the health department purposely to make it sound like it’s an automatic violation for a club having a patron smoking on their premises,” Mr. Bookman said. “All the law says is that we have to make a good-faith effort to inform patrons that they were breaking the law, and not with a nod and a wink.”
He added that investigators had found only a few smokers on each of their visits to the club, which can hold thousands of people. “Not only do the numbers bear out that this is not a smoking lair,” he said, “but it shows that they are in fact doing what they’re supposed to do.”
Mr. Bookman also criticized the city for not going after the smokers themselves, saying that officials were accusing employees of doing what the inspectors do when they see smoking, “which is not doing anything.”
Health officials contend that their obligation is to ensure that the clubs they license follow the law, and that cracking down on the clubs is a more effective deterrent. “The entity is the repeat offender,” Mr. Kass said. “On any given night there might be one person, or 2 people or 10 people or even way more than that, who on their own are welcomed to smoke or allowed to smoke, but they’re not necessarily back the next night.”
вторник, 9 марта 2010 г.
Senecas See Comeback Over Cigarette Sales
An article in the New York Times last week provides an overview of the Seneca Nation and its strength in opposing legislation that would ban mail-order cigarette sales.
The Senecas control a cigarette “empire” that generates more than $1 billion a year, and subsequent to House and Senate bills to block the shipment of cigarettes, they began a campaign of “back-room lobbying” that for now has derailed the legislation while sustaining the tribe’s cigarette business.
“Isn’t that the way things go in the American system?” asked Richard Nephew, co-chairman of the Seneca Nation’s foreign relations committee. “It is something new for us to actively get involved in the American political process, [b]ut we are trying to learn what works in America, and I guess making political contributions is something that works.”
In November 2009, the Senate Judiciary Committee passed unanimously the Prevent All Cigarette Trafficking (PACT) Act — a bill that closes gaps in current federal laws regulating “remote” or “delivery” sales of cigarettes and smokeless tobacco products. The bill enhances penalties for violations and provides law enforcement with new tools to combat the innovative methods being used by cigarette traffickers to distribute their products. NACS supports passage of the PACT Act and is a member of the Coalition to Stop Contraband Tobacco.
However, according to the New York Times, a handful of senators told party leaders privately that they were considering blocking the bill. The Senecas viewed this as a victory, which had suffered a setback five years ago when then-Attorney General Eliot Spitzer banned FedEx and UPS from delivering cigarettes, leading to a decline of roughly 60 percent of the Senecas’ sales volume.
Since then, the tribe has increased its lobbying presence in Washington, spending more than $300,000 last year in lobbying fees.
The lobbying effort has appeared to work, painting anti-mail order cigarette trade as a ploy by tobacco companies to scapegoat the Indians for teen smoking. Additionally, the Senecas warned that the ban could cost 1,000 jobs in the cigarette business.
By mid-December, the campaign had won two converts: Democratic New York Reps. Brian Higgins and Eric Massa, who have since urged Sens. Charles Schumer and Kristen Gillibrand to block a proposed Senate ban. “I do not believe that western New York can afford any more job losses,” Higgins wrote to the senators.
The Senecas have dedicated $1 million to fight New York officials whose proposals countered the tribe’s activities. In January, it approved an expenditure of $250,000 to oppose Sen. Gillibrand’s reelection campaign because she supports the PACT Act, according to the newspaper.
Meanwhile, not all New York legislators share the Senecas stance against the PACT Act. Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-NY) is the lead sponsor of the PACT Act in the House, H.R. 1676, which overwhelmingly passed the House by a 397-11 vote on May 21, 2009.
“We must crack down on the illegal sale of tobacco, which gives terrorists and criminals the ability to raise more money,” said Weiner during a press conference in November. “Every day we delay is another day that states lose significant amounts of tax revenue and kids have easy access to tobacco products sold over the Internet. I urge my colleagues in the Senate to pass the bipartisan PACT Act.”
The Senecas control a cigarette “empire” that generates more than $1 billion a year, and subsequent to House and Senate bills to block the shipment of cigarettes, they began a campaign of “back-room lobbying” that for now has derailed the legislation while sustaining the tribe’s cigarette business.
“Isn’t that the way things go in the American system?” asked Richard Nephew, co-chairman of the Seneca Nation’s foreign relations committee. “It is something new for us to actively get involved in the American political process, [b]ut we are trying to learn what works in America, and I guess making political contributions is something that works.”
In November 2009, the Senate Judiciary Committee passed unanimously the Prevent All Cigarette Trafficking (PACT) Act — a bill that closes gaps in current federal laws regulating “remote” or “delivery” sales of cigarettes and smokeless tobacco products. The bill enhances penalties for violations and provides law enforcement with new tools to combat the innovative methods being used by cigarette traffickers to distribute their products. NACS supports passage of the PACT Act and is a member of the Coalition to Stop Contraband Tobacco.
However, according to the New York Times, a handful of senators told party leaders privately that they were considering blocking the bill. The Senecas viewed this as a victory, which had suffered a setback five years ago when then-Attorney General Eliot Spitzer banned FedEx and UPS from delivering cigarettes, leading to a decline of roughly 60 percent of the Senecas’ sales volume.
Since then, the tribe has increased its lobbying presence in Washington, spending more than $300,000 last year in lobbying fees.
The lobbying effort has appeared to work, painting anti-mail order cigarette trade as a ploy by tobacco companies to scapegoat the Indians for teen smoking. Additionally, the Senecas warned that the ban could cost 1,000 jobs in the cigarette business.
By mid-December, the campaign had won two converts: Democratic New York Reps. Brian Higgins and Eric Massa, who have since urged Sens. Charles Schumer and Kristen Gillibrand to block a proposed Senate ban. “I do not believe that western New York can afford any more job losses,” Higgins wrote to the senators.
The Senecas have dedicated $1 million to fight New York officials whose proposals countered the tribe’s activities. In January, it approved an expenditure of $250,000 to oppose Sen. Gillibrand’s reelection campaign because she supports the PACT Act, according to the newspaper.
Meanwhile, not all New York legislators share the Senecas stance against the PACT Act. Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-NY) is the lead sponsor of the PACT Act in the House, H.R. 1676, which overwhelmingly passed the House by a 397-11 vote on May 21, 2009.
“We must crack down on the illegal sale of tobacco, which gives terrorists and criminals the ability to raise more money,” said Weiner during a press conference in November. “Every day we delay is another day that states lose significant amounts of tax revenue and kids have easy access to tobacco products sold over the Internet. I urge my colleagues in the Senate to pass the bipartisan PACT Act.”
понедельник, 1 марта 2010 г.
Smoking is smoking
In an era of increasing awareness about the negative health effects of tobacco, it seems to me that we may be missing the boat on tobacco prevention in ways other than cigarette smoking and chew tobacco. With the help of Amendment 35 funding, Colorado has achieved tremendous success in the prevention of tobacco in our state in regard to cigarette smoking and tobacco use. From 2001 to 2008, Coloradans consumed 66.3 million fewer packs of cigarettes, Colorado’s high school smoking rate has dropped to 11.9 percent — well below the US Dept. of Health and Human Services Healthy People 2010 goal of 16 percent — 85 percent of Colorado’s homes have smoke-free home rules and the Colorado Quitline has enrolled 100,000 tobacco users in the past seven years.
Locally, we are seeing achievements being made that will help our community be healthier in regard to tobacco use. However, tobacco in any form is not a healthy product and much of the marketing from tobacco companies and retailers is targeted toward youth ensuring an ongoing consumer base. Once addicted, they may continue to purchase and use tobacco for a lifetime. Smokeless tobacco may not impose secondhand smoke on others, but it carries many of the same risks to the user as cigarettes.
As a community, our best defense and method of prevention is awareness and education for ourselves and especially our youth. Did you know that there are many additional tobacco products available in our local marketplace? These products are “sold cold,” “spitless,” flavored in “yummy” flavors and the packages are very appealing to males and females alike. The common component to all of these products is that they contain nicotine, are highly addictive, and can kill you if used as directed.
As for smoking, whether it be cigarettes, cigars, natural cigarettes or hookah, there is no safe form of smoking. Even all natural, herbal cigarettes produce harmful toxins when they burn and emit smoke. According to the CDC, during a one-hour hookah session, a hookah smoker may inhale 100 to 200 times the volume of smoke inhaled from a single cigarette. The American Lung Association has released a statement that “smoking hookah is not a safe alternative to smoking cigarettes.” Think of smoking as smoking, no matter what the form. And secondhand or even third-hand smoke exposures are proven environmental health hazards.
As a community health educator and registered nurse, I work with individuals who struggle to end their addiction to nicotine and see the damage that has been caused. Our youth have the opportunity to never start. If they never start, they never will have to quit. What an awesome gift we will be giving our children, our future generations. Tobacco is not a benign product in any form. As a community, we can help undo the damage that can be caused by tobacco. Early education to our youth and awareness for us all can change and improve all of our lives.
Locally, we are seeing achievements being made that will help our community be healthier in regard to tobacco use. However, tobacco in any form is not a healthy product and much of the marketing from tobacco companies and retailers is targeted toward youth ensuring an ongoing consumer base. Once addicted, they may continue to purchase and use tobacco for a lifetime. Smokeless tobacco may not impose secondhand smoke on others, but it carries many of the same risks to the user as cigarettes.
As a community, our best defense and method of prevention is awareness and education for ourselves and especially our youth. Did you know that there are many additional tobacco products available in our local marketplace? These products are “sold cold,” “spitless,” flavored in “yummy” flavors and the packages are very appealing to males and females alike. The common component to all of these products is that they contain nicotine, are highly addictive, and can kill you if used as directed.
As for smoking, whether it be cigarettes, cigars, natural cigarettes or hookah, there is no safe form of smoking. Even all natural, herbal cigarettes produce harmful toxins when they burn and emit smoke. According to the CDC, during a one-hour hookah session, a hookah smoker may inhale 100 to 200 times the volume of smoke inhaled from a single cigarette. The American Lung Association has released a statement that “smoking hookah is not a safe alternative to smoking cigarettes.” Think of smoking as smoking, no matter what the form. And secondhand or even third-hand smoke exposures are proven environmental health hazards.
As a community health educator and registered nurse, I work with individuals who struggle to end their addiction to nicotine and see the damage that has been caused. Our youth have the opportunity to never start. If they never start, they never will have to quit. What an awesome gift we will be giving our children, our future generations. Tobacco is not a benign product in any form. As a community, we can help undo the damage that can be caused by tobacco. Early education to our youth and awareness for us all can change and improve all of our lives.
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