18 juillet 2008
EU aims to stub out cut-price cigarettes
Smugglers of cut-price cigarettes into Ireland
have been targeted by the EU in a move designed to reduce smoking and stub out
the illicit tobacco trade.
The price of cigarette products across Europe
vary, with eastern European countries smokers paying less for a puff due to
lower taxes
But a new proposal revealed at press
conference yesterday could see EU-wide standard tax levied against cigarettes
and rolling tobacco.
If adopted by the member states, minimum
excise rates will be ratcheted up over five years, or as long as seven years
for some nations, that must be charged on cigarettes and other product, such as
fine-cut tobacco for roll-your-own smokes.
The change would mostly affect eastern
European countries that have joined the EU bloc since 2004. Raising the cost
may cut smoking by 10pc over five years while reducing the incentive for tax
evaders to illegally import into countries such as Ireland and the UK, where
cigarettes are as much as seven times more expensive than in Latvia.
More than 20pc of tobacco products in some
nations are imported, due to smuggling as well as legal cross-border shopping,
the commission said.
"The number one consideration is health
policy, more than budgetary reasons," Taxation and Customs Commissioner
Laszlo Kovacs said at a news conference.
The measure now requires the approval of the
EU’s 27 governments.
14 juillet 2008
Iran still buys American
WASHINGTON — Nuclear weapons? No way. But there are plenty of items on Iran's shopping list the United States is more than happy to supply: cigarettes, brassieres, bull semen and more.
U.S. exports to Iran grew more than tenfold during President Bush's years in office even as he accused it of nuclear ambitions and sponsoring terrorists. America sent more cigarettes to Iran — at least $158 million worth under Bush — than any other product.
Other surprising shipments during the Bush administration: fur clothing, sculptures, perfume, musical instruments and military apparel. Top states shipping goods to Iran include California, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio and Wisconsin, according to an analysis by The Associated Press of seven years of U.S. government trade data.
Despite increasingly tough rhetoric toward Iran, which Bush has called part of an "axis of evil," U.S. trade in a range of goods survives on-again, off-again sanctions originally imposed nearly three decades ago. The rules allow sales of agricultural commodities, medicine and a few other categories of goods. The exemptions are designed to help Iranian families even as the United States pressures Iran's leaders.
"I understand that these exports have increased. However, we believe that they are increasing to a segment of the population that we want to reach out to, we want to know and understand that the U.S. government, the U.S. people want to be friends with them, want to work with them to integrate them into the world economy and become partners in the future," Gonzalo Gallegos, a State Department spokesman, said Tuesday when asked by reporters about AP's findings.
The government tracks exports to Iran using details from shipping records, but in some cases it's unclear whether anyone pays attention.
Sanctions are intended in part to frustrate Iran's efforts to build its military, but the U.S. government's own figures showed at least $148,000 worth of unspecified weapons and other military gear were exported from the United States to Iran during Bush's time in office. That included $106,635 in military rifles and $8,760 in rifle parts and accessories shipped in 2004.
The Bush administration looked into those shipments after AP questioned whether the U.S. really approved the export of military rifles to Iran. A review found the rifles and parts actually went to Iraq; the wrong country was entered on the shipping record, Treasury Department spokesman John Rankin said. The government will correct the data, he said.
The remaining military gear is likely $33,000 in military apparel shipped to Iran under the humanitarian exemption to the trade sanctions, Rankin said.
AP's questions also prompted the government to look into U.S. records showing the export of at least $13,000 in "aircraft launching gear and/or deck arrestors," equipment needed to launch jets from aircraft carriers. Iran's navy is not believed to have carriers. It turned out they went to Italy rather than Iran, and the data is now being corrected, Rankin said.
U.S. law enforcement believes Iran is actively trying to acquire U.S. military technology, including aircraft parts that can sell for pennies on the dollar compared with what the Pentagon paid. Last year, federal agents seized four F-14 fighter jets sold to domestic buyers by an officer at Point Mugu Naval Air Station, Calif., for $2,000 to $4,000 each, with proceeds benefiting a squadron recreation fund. When F-14s were new, they cost roughly $38 million each.
Bush this year signed legislation prohibiting the Pentagon from selling leftover F-14 parts. The law was prompted by AP reporting that buyers for Iran, China and other countries exploited Pentagon surplus sales to obtain sensitive military equipment that included parts for F-14 "Tomcats" and other aircraft and missile components. Two men were indicted in Florida last week on charges they shipped U.S. military aircraft parts to Iran, including Tomcat and attack-helicopter parts.
Iran received at least $620,000 in aircraft parts and $19,600 worth of aircraft during Bush's terms. Iran relies on spare parts from other countries to keep its commercial and military aircraft flying. In some cases, U.S. sanctions allow shipments of aircraft parts for safety upgrades for Iran's commercial passenger jets.
Iran is a hot issue in Washington. The House plans a hearing Wednesday on U.S. policy toward Iran, and the Bush administration announced Tuesday it was freezing the U.S. assets of several people and entities accused of helping Iran develop nuclear weapons.
But the U.S. government seems uncoordinated on efforts to limit trade with Iran.
04 juillet 2008
Are Electronic Cigarettes Better For Your Health?
Ontario's anti-smoking law is one of the toughest in the country. So is Toronto's own bylaw.
Both ban smoking in offices and enclosed
spaces. And both force puffers to head outside for a butt - even in the dead of
a -30C
Smokers have been forced to grin and bear it all these years, while crying they've been discriminated against. And many have been looking for loopholes to get around the all encompassing bans. And now some think they've found it, thanks to an electronic cigarette.
They're made by a company called Crown Seven. The user puts a nicotine capsule inside, then puffs on one end. The other end lights up just like a cigarette even though this product does not burn.
The gizmo delivers a hit of nicotine but lets out a puff of odourless water vapour instead of a plume of smoke. It only contains nicotine and not the hundreds of other chemicals that can be in a standard smoke.
It comes with a rechargeable battery that heats up the liquid nicotine and turns it into a gas. And since it's not technically a cigarette and doesn't threaten anyone else's airway, it may not fall under the strict laws regarding indoor puffing. But how does it taste?
"It's got a bit of a bite, sort of tobacco-like bite but it doesn't really taste like tobacco," reports volunteer Leo Jablonski.
They're for sale all over the Internet at a range of strengths and prices, and advocates insist they have lots of benefits. There's no chance of fire since you don't light them, they don't stain your teeth, there's no second-hand smoke and they may make quitting easier.
But vendors also claim they don't harm your health because the tar and smoke that comes with normal coffin nails isn't present.
"I think people need to be cautious," warns Dr Roberta Ferrence, director of the Ontario Tobacco Research Unit. "It's an unknown."
"The concern is that the product will probably be promoted as something that's safer than smoking," she adds.
Dr Ferrence doesn't think they're safe at all.
In an interview with CityNews Medical Specialist Dr Karl Kabasele, she pointed out the many disadvantages of this "smokeless" cigarette:
We don't know for certain that they are less harmful than regular cigarettes. They're not regulated, and because they're available in different strengths, it's difficult to gauge the danger.
It keeps smoking visible, and therefore increases its social acceptance, at a time when the Ontario government is working to make smoking "uncool."
Kids will have easier access to the gadget, and it may act as a gateway to the real thing.
It's not a tool to help you quit smoking; it's just a way to get around the smoking ban laws. There's no evidence that it can help with smoking cessation.
Finally, inhaling nicotine is the most addictive of all delivery modes.
However, the company never claimed it could be used to help you quit smoking.
"It's intended just for smoking alternative...for smokers to get their nicotine in nonsmoking environments," agrees Ron MacDonald, President and CEO of Crown Seven.
Cigarette tax jumps $1 per pack
BOSTON -
The tax on a pack of cigarettes in Massachusetts will jump by a dollar under a bill signed into law by Gov. Deval Patrick.
The tax, one of the highest in the nation, goes into effect immediately.
Patrick signed the bill Tuesday, a day after House and Senate lawmakers rushed to approve the bill by the start of the new fiscal year.
The increase brings Massachusetts' cigarettes tax to $2.51 per pack. New York has the highest cigarette tax in the nation at $2.75 per pack.
Supporters say the tax increase would help raise $174 million in revenues. They say the extra money will go to help cover the cost of the state's landmark health care law.
They also defended taking up the final version of the bill one day before the tax was intended to take effect.
Opponents say the measure unfairly targets one group of people and will hurt small Massachusetts businesses that sell cigarettes close to the New Hampshire border.
The House approved the measure by a 93-52 vote after a brief debate and sent the bill to the Senate, where it was also approved by a 26-9 vote Monday.
Neighboring states are also eyeing higher cigarettes taxes, though not as dramatic an increase.
Vermont's cigarette tax rate climbs by 20 cents to $1.99 per pack effective Tuesday, a jump that follows a 60-cents-per-pack increase in 2006.
New Hampshire's cigarette tax, now $1.08 per pack, is slated to jump to $1.33 in October if it doesn't generate at least $48 million in revenues between July and October.
Some Massachusetts stores had begun collecting the tax earlier in the day on Monday anticipating that Patrick would sign the bill into law.
Anti-smoking advocated hailed the new tax.
"Increasing the tobacco tax is one of the most effective tobacco control strategies with the impact on our youth undeniable," said Marc Hymovitz, spokesman for the American Cancer Society. "The effect of this tax increase will be an estimated 25,000 smokers quitting and 46,000 youth never starting to smoke."
30 juin 2008
Big Tobacco
NEW YORK - Big tobacco companies should be able to raise prices and keep profits growing despite weakening sales, a Citi Investment Research analyst said Tuesday.
Adam Spielman said Philip Morris International Inc. could post 12 percent annual profit growth over the next few years, and Altria Group Inc. could grow at a 9 to 10 percent clip. That's as good as a lot of other big consumer product makers, he said, but the stocks are trading at a discount because of concerns about litigation and declining sales.
But the companies can keep increasing their profits as long as prices rise faster than sales fall, he wrote. Spielman said a pack of Marlboros costs $11 in the U.K., and prices are still going up to keep pace with wages.
"This implies U.S. prices have plenty of room to increase," he wrote. Costs are also coming down, he added.
Spielman expects the sector to outperform, and he started coverage of PMI and Altria with "Buy" ratings. He placed a "Hold" rating on shares of Reynolds American Inc., and said PMI and British American Tobacco PLC are his top picks.
He said fewer lawsuits are being filed against
tobacco companies, so their legal risk has declined.
23 juin 2008
IMPERIAL'S REIGN REACHES ITS END
Imperial Tobacco is closing its last factory in Bristol Bristol University Bristol Wills Building Cabot Tower City Museum Art Gallery Homeopathic Hospital
The legacy of their generous endowments can still be clearly seen in landmark
structures such as the
Their
trade put money into these and countless other projects, as well as into the
pockets of thousands of workers engaged in the production of the cigarettes and
tobacco products which were puffed by millions right around the globe. Winterstoke Road Spain Winterstoke Road Bristol Virginia America Avon Bristol Bristol Europe 57 acres East
Street Upton
Road Bristol Winterstoke
Road
Now, finally, all that is about to come to an end.
The axe is falling on Imperial Tobacco's cigar factory in
All that will remain is an Imperial administrative headquarters in Southville,
not far away from what was once the hub of a vast business empire.
Today, as tobacco use is subject to endless assault and constraint from a
Government still, ironically, happy to benefit from its taxation, and those who
smoke in public are bracketed as social outcasts, the decision to shut up shop
in
But where did it all begin? Just how did
For that you have to go back to the 16th century when tobacco - dubbed
"the noxious weed" - was imported from British colonies in
Up the
It was founded in 1786 by Henry Overton Wills and was originally known as
Wills, Watkins and Co. It only became WD and HO Wills in 1830 and traded as
such until 1982.
However, it was also part of Imperial Tobacco, a company formed in 1901 to
fight off American competitors. It was an amalgamation of Wills and a dozen
other tobacco factories. Wills, though, kept its name as a division of
Imperial.
It took a war to hook a nation on cigarettes. The Crimean War.
Troops fighting there picked up the Turkish habit of rolling tobacco up into
thin paper before lighting and inhaling. As a consequence, in 1881, the first
cigarette appeared.
Wills opened a succession of factories. Its East Street, Bedminster, one
arrived in 1886, others in Ashton and Raleigh Road, Southville, followed.
Business was booming, with sales of brands such as the world-famous Wills Woodbines,
In the early 1970s Wills took the logical step of any thriving firm. It upped
sticks and moved out of town - to Hartcliffe. Bedminster and Southville
economies were devastated. Wills workers were essential to the businesses in
this part of town. It took years for the area to recover.
Yet the Hartcliffe complex was truly spectacular, both in its concept and its
operation. It was the largest of its kind anywhere in
Its vast assembly hall was unique. there were no internal supports and it was
the size of a number of football pitches. Adjacent was an office block as well
as the sort of facilities Wills workers had become used to - their own
supermarket, post office, medical centre, dentist, bank, six restaurants and
lounges, even a bus station. It cost £15m, covered
Many must have viewed it as a job for life. It always had been - surely, it
always would be. They could not have been more wide of the mark.
In 1982, Imperial had abolished the old Wills board. Four years later Imperial
was taken over by the Hanson Trust. By 1991 it was shut.
Drive by the site today and this spectacular and innovative factory has been
replaced by an out-of-town retail park. Nearby work proceeds apace on
converting the old shell of what was once the landscaped office block into an
apartments scheme.
Back in Bedminster, the
Imperial HQ is close by in
That, however, should not detract from the fact that the company's decision to
shut up shop at its last remaining
Altria stubs out Marlboro Ultra Smooth
NEW YORK - Altria Group Inc's Philip Morris USA has cancelled
its Marlboro Ultra Smooth cigarettes, highlighting challenges it faces in
trying to grow its tobacco business despite a decline in U.S. cigarette sales,
The Wall Street Journal reported on Monday.
Altria gets nearly all its
revenue from Philip Morris USA after spinning off its Philip Morris
International operations, the Journal reported.
Philip Morris's sales volume
fell 4.6 percent last year, worse than the 4 percent decline in the overall
U.S. cigarette market, the Journal reported. Underlying sales volume fell 3.6
percent, the Journal added.
The company expects overall
cigarette sales to fall at an annual rate of 2.5 percent to 3 percent in coming
years, the Journal reported.
Philip Morris has turned to
developing tobacco products that are not as risky to their user's health, the
Journal said. Ultra Smooth cigarettes include an activated carbon filter that
delivers nicotine but with potentially less exposure to the carcinogens of
conventional cigarettes, the Journal reported.
A Philip Morris spokesman was
unavailable for comment.
04 juin 2008
N.Y.'s cigarette tax climbs to nation's highest
ALBANY, N.Y.— New Yorkers start paying the highest cigarette taxes in the nation Tuesday with the latest $1.25 spike per pack that officials expect to bring in $265 million a year.
Convenience stores across the state and the smokers who will be paying the price are angry about the change, but health officials hail the tax increase as a success. Cigarette taxes will raise a total of $1.3 billion for the state budget in fiscal year 2008-2009, including the new tax.
"Isn't that something — to say that I'm excited about a tax increase? But I am," said Dr. Richard Daines, the New York health commissioner. "This is a public health victory. We know one of the really effective tools to get people off of their nicotine addiction is to the raise the price."
Smokers will be paying $2.75 per pack in state taxes, a jump from the previous tax of $1.50. Before the new tax, the average price of a pack of cigarettes was $5.82 statewide, and about $8 a pack in New York City, which levies its own taxes, Daines said. The new retail price for a pack in the city could now soar past $10 depending on the store.
An estimated 140,000 New Yorkers will stop smoking with this tax increase, Daines said. That number is based on prior tax increases and cigarette consumption.
"Youth are particularly sensitive to the price of cigarettes, so this price increase is expected to prevent 243,000 youth from smoking," Daines said.
Daines said the tax increase is just one part of an $83 million anti-smoking effort that includes advertising and public service announcements, attempts to get tobacco consumption out of youth rated movies and cessation centers around the state.
"What we really want people to do is not to pay the price, but to stop smoking," he said.
Audrey Silk, who heads NYC Citizens Lobbying Against Smoker Harassment, said it's ridiculous to expect smokers to quit just because the price is climbing. She switched to rolling her own cigarettes since the last New York City tax increase and suggests other smokers will find similar ways to satisfy nicotine cravings.
"No product has a tax at this rate on it," Silk said. "If there was, there would be screaming, but since we've been beaten into submission and nobody listens to us, what else is there to do? It's unjustifiable and you turn to alternatives, and any consumer group would do the same."
Convenience stores, which historically count on cigarette sales, have also objected to the tax, saying it will drive smokers — and dollars — elsewhere.
"The tax increase is only going to feed that epidemic," said Jim Calvin, president of the New York Association of Convenience Stores. "More and more smokers in New York state are going to abandon our stores that have to charge the tax and shift their purchases to places that don't charge the tax, most notably Native American stores, the Internet and bootleggers."
New York Smokers Cross the Line for Cheaper Cigarettes
A new cigarette tax in
New York has smokers flocking across the border to Pennsylvania.
On any day it's not hard
to find New York license plates in Great Bend Township just a few miles across
the border from the Empire State.
On this day there was car
after car after car of cigarette smokers who are now coming to Pennsylvania to
buy their favorite pack.
It comes after New York
hiked its tax on cigarettes an additional $1.25 a pack.
Stanley Potter drove 13 miles
"Because they went
up a buck and a quarter up there in New York. The taxes are outrageous! I'm not
going to pay $6.50 for a pack of cigarettes anymore," Potter said.
His pack of Marlboros is
less than $5 at Smokin' Joe's in Great Bend Township.
Next door, at Tobacco
Junction, Bob Auble noticed a lot of New Yorkers coming in to buy smokes, even
before the new tax.
"They were coming in
buying two or three cartons at a time. It's going to be even worse now,"
Auble said.
New York's new cigarette
tax is considered the highest in the nation.
Smokers there now pay $2.75 a pack just in taxes alone. It's even worse in New
York City, which has it's own tax on cigarettes. Smokes in the Big Apple could
now cost more than $10 a pack.
Dave Homza of Kirkwood
sums up his reaction. "I'm going to try to quit. It's easier said than to
be done," Homza said. He's not alone.
The Empire State's health
commissioner expects 140,000 New Yorkers to quit smoking because of the
increase.
Stanley Potter knows he
won't be one of them. "Either that or quit smoking. I'd rather just come
down here, you know," Potter added.
Now the bad news for
smokers here in Pennsylvania.
There's a proposal in
Harrisburg this year to hike Pennsylvania's cigarette tax an extra 10-cents per
pack to help pay for expanded health care coverage.
26 mai 2008
Cigarettes to be available only as ‘under the counter’ purchase
cigarettes will no longer be available over the counter and cigarette vending machines will be outlawed under plans to be announced this week.
Only months after the Governm
ent raised the age for buying cigarettesto 18, the Health Secretary said that more anti-smoking measures were likely to be introduced, including banning packets of ten.
Alan Johnson said that packs of ten Woodbines had encouraged him to start smoking when young. He backed plans to enforce nationwide the decision in Scotland to force cigarettes “under the counter”. Speaking on Sunday AM on BBC One, he said: “I think they are right to do that and indeed we are considering that as well. We will launch a consultation document on that next week.”
He said that many European countries had banned vending machines, with “startling” results. “Whether you should still be able to buy ten cigarettes or whether you should insist you can only buy 20 is an issue we need to look very closely at,” he said.
He also gave a broad hint that the price of alcohol would rise: “The instinctive reaction . . . is that if you’re selling lager at less than . . . mineral water, then that’s wrong.”