Kentucky to Raise Cigarette Tax

A proposal to raise the cigarette tax 40 cents per package and raise taxes on all other smoking products acquired support a few days ago from Government representative. It was one of diverse changes to sakes tax code advised by the commission, which has a deadline till December 2012 to draft a proposal for lawmakers that would make Kentucky’s state tax more competitive.

The commission approved a proposal that would boost Kentucky’s tobacco tax from 60 cents to $1.00 per package and boost the taxes on all other tobacco products. The members of tax commission considered the tax increase as a way to discourage youngsters from smoking and lift revenue.

Several members lobbied for a $1.00 per pack boost. “In case you raised it by $1, you will drop smoking rate among youngsters by 15%. You will save thousands of dollars in health care costs,” stated Sheila Schuster, an executive director of the Advocacy Action Network.

Trends in Asian tobacco industry

Because in addition to the Chinese market, 42% of the market in Asia has not been occupied by multinational tobacco companies, tobacco companies around the active participation of local competition for market share.

Of local tobacco companies throughout Asia, they have a competitive advantage: implementation of ASEAN's internal policies and regulations on tobacco, and from Union countries to trade outside the tobacco companies will be punished, which means that they double-digit sales in the cigarette growth in the region by trade protection and benefit from. However, the multinational tobacco companies, the Asian market is still full of temptation. Vietnam tobacco in state ownership and local ownership on the relationship is unclear, leading to poor access to cigarette sales in the country, perhaps on the part of tobacco companies to privatize is an effective way to solve this problem. South Korea's KT & G Club will be the Asian region's most attractive acquisition targets, as Indonesia and Thailand Djarum tobacco company attractive. In addition to individual countries such as Singapore, most Asian countries, tobacco is still relatively moderate policy, and that in the short term there will be no significant change.

Also an issue of concern is: As cigarette taxes increase, the illegal cigarette trade has become increasingly rampant. Such as Malaysia, the domestic cigarette smuggling, cigarette smuggling in Asia accounted for 30% of total; and India, its domestic cigarette smuggling, cigarette smuggling in Asia accounted for 10% of the total to 15%. Asia, unlike Europe or Latin America, the overall situation as bad, but the local government should be noted that before the situation gets worse, "the smuggling of excise tax increase and the proportion of" problem.

In addition, Asia is still a good supply of leaf area. The development of tobacco production in India and Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam and the expansion of tobacco farming in Bangladesh making Asia and Latin America, Africa is also important tobacco supply zones. All EU tobacco producers rely heavily on imported tobacco, especially cigarettes and opponents in the current consumer demand for home-made cigarette case. To meet the needs of the EU tobacco companies, tobacco suppliers in Asia need to use its tobacco processing methods. Meanwhile, Asia is growing different spices spices smoke to reduce smoke production uncertainty due to the Turkish adverse effects. Looking ahead, the major tobacco-growing countries in Africa as the uncertainty of production and leaf production in Brazil by the Brazilian domestic economy and the impact of currency appreciation in Asia have the opportunity to become the world's most important tobacco supply zones.

Cigarette consumption as an important tobacco market and supply areas, the next decade, Asia may become the world tobacco trade on the market the most active areas. Any company seeking to participate in the tobacco growing business in Asia to be necessary, of course, is difficult to enter the market early.

Tobacco Tax Proposed to Fund Medicaid

More people are turning towards Utah's Medicaid program at a time when there's fewer dollars to go around. Since the recession began, the program has seen a 20 percent enrollment increase. The program went from 160,000 participants to 200,000 participants. "What Medicaid does in times like this is it catches those people who can't get health care coverage on their own anymore," said Lincoln Nehring, Utah's Medicaid Policy Director.

A new report by the Utah Health Policy Project made several recommendations as to how the state can not only save money but raise revenue for Medicaid. The report suggests the state work harder at preventing Medicaid fraud, revise the program's preferred drug list, and increase tobacco taxes from 70 cents per cigarette pack to two dollars per pack.

"If you look long term for the state of Medicaid, a tobacco tax increase will probably serve the program and the health of Utahns well." says Nehring.

Last year, a similar tax increase failed, but Medicaid advocates believe the state's current budget deficit will force lawmakers to act.

Top senate leadership responded to the tobacco tax idea. Senator Wayne Neiderhouser says he doesn't think it will solve Medicaid's problem in the long term. He would only support a tobacco tax increase if the money went towards Utah's tobacco trust fund.

Senator Michael Waddoups says the plan would likely have enough votes to pass the senate, but only if the governor approves.

Malawi Deports Universal

Malawi, the world’s largest burley tobacco producer, said it will deport officials of Alliance One Inc. and the local unit of Universal Corp. for paying below government-mandated prices for the leaf.

“This is the action I have taken,” President Bingu wa Mutharika said in a speech broadcast live on the state-owned Malawi Broadcasting Corp. radio station today. “They have been defying my orders to pay better prices and I have decided to chase them.”

The government yesterday revoked temporary work permits for officials of Alliance One, Universal-unit Limbe Leaf Tobacco, and Premium Tama Tobacco Co., and issued them with 24-hour deportation orders.

Karen Whelan, spokeswoman for Richmond, Virginia-based Universal, didn’t immediately return a message left on her office phone. Henry Babb, a spokesman for Morrisville, North Carolina-based Alliance One, didn’t return a message left at his office. A receptionist at Premium Tama’s Lilongwe office said Managing Director Tom Malata isn’t available to comment.

Malawi started setting minimum prices for the various grades of tobacco two years ago after it accused merchants of putting farmers out of business. While dealers denied that they underpaid farmers, Wa Mutharika on April 6 threatened to deport buyers if prices didn’t improve.

‘Can’t Allow It’

“They have been telling our farmers to grow better quality leaf and yet what they are buying at the auction floors is the low quality tobacco,” he said today. “They have been doing this deliberately to accuse the farmers of producing low quality leaf and paying them less. I can’t allow that.”

This season Malawi set a price of $2.15 a kilogram (2.2 pounds) for burley tobacco and $3.09 a kilogram for flue-cured tobacco. Tobacco Control Commission Chief Executive Officer Bruce Munthali on Sept. 4 reported to the government that buyers were ignoring these prices, the president said today.

The southern African nation relies on sales of the leaf for 60 percent of its export earnings. Burley tobacco is a lower- grade variety of the leaf used to fill cigarettes flavored with higher-grade flue-cured tobacco.

Malawi is forecast to produce 245 million kilograms (539 million pounds) of burley this year, according to the Web site of Universal. That’s more than double its closest rivals, Brazil and the U.S., and more than a quarter of global output. Flue- cured production of 25 million kilograms is about 0.6 percent of the projected world crop.

Universal, the world’s largest tobacco merchant, owns 58 percent of Limbe Leaf through its Continental unit, with the remainder owned by Press Corp. Ltd. of Malawi, according to Limbe’s Web site.

Calls to the local office of Alliance One in Lilongwe were not answered. A person who answered the phone at Limbe Leaf in the city said Chairman Mathews Chikaonda is the only official authorized to speak to the press and he is unavailable because he’s in China.

Tobacco Plant Used to Create First-Ever 'Cruise Ship' Virus Vaccine

As one of the main ingredients in cigarettes, tobacco certainly gets a bad rap.

But the tobacco plant has been used to develop a new vaccine to thwart the dreaded norovirus – an illness that has been know to wreak havoc on cruise ships sickening passengers (sometimes hundreds of passengers) with diarrhea and vomiting.

The vaccine is unique in its origin as it was made in a tobacco plant using an engineered plant virus. Researchers are using plants in the battle against norovirus, swine flu, bird flu, and other infectious diseases, said Dr. Charles Arntzen, speaking Tuesday at the 238th National Meeting of the American Chemical Society.

The norovirus, like the flu virus, is constantly changing, which has made creating a vaccine for it challenging for pharmaceutical companies, Arntzen said.

“The recent outbreak of H1N1 influenza virus has once again reminded us of the ability of disease-causing agents to mutate into new and dangerous forms,” he said in a news release.

The norovirus will continue to evolve into new strains, so Arntzen’s team designed a vaccine manufacturing process quick enough to keep up with it and other shape-shifting viruses, he said.

“We think we have a major advantage in using engineered plant viruses to scale-up vaccine manufacture within weeks instead of months,” he said.

While not as dangerous as the flu, norovirus spreads rapidly and can sicken people with diarrhea and vomiting for up to three days.

“It essentially closes down wings of hospitals, schools, day care centers and homes for the elderly. In the case of the military, it can shut down an entire ship and delay military operations while there is a cleanup in process. Because the disease spreads so rapidly, the major economic consequences are caused by the disruption of normal daily life and commerce,” Arntzen said.

To battle each new strain of the norovirus and to keep full resistance to older strains, Arntzen says the vaccine could be administered as a booster every 12 to 18 months. After successful experiments in mice, his team is developing a nasal delivery system for the virus-like particles. Arntzen expects to start clinical trials in late 2009 or early 2010.

Raising cigarette tax may backfire

Raising Michigan's $2-a-pack cigarette tax another 25 cents -- an idea floated by Gov. Jennifer Granholm -- would generate minimal revenue and encourage more smuggling from other states with lower cigarette taxes, according to a new study.

The report by three economists was commissioned by a lobby group for gas station convenience stores, which plans a news conference today. The study concludes that a 25-cent tax cigarette tax hike -- a 12.5% increase -- would produce 8.5% more in tobacco tax revenue.

The report says the 25-cent tax increase would cost convenience stores a combined $6.5 million because smokers, who buy other things at the stores, would buy fewer cigarettes or shop elsewhere, such as Ohio and Indiana, where tobacco taxes are lower.
State senators' spat won't require discipline

A state Senate investigation into a heated exchange between two members in a Capitol elevator June 17 found insufficient evidence of behavior that would require disciplinary action, Majority Leader Mike Bishop, R-Rochester, announced Monday.

Bishop, in a letter sent to Sen. Irma Clark-Coleman, D-Detroit, said he would not take any formal action against Sen. Roger Kahn, R-Saginaw, whom Clark-Coleman had accused of acting in a threatening manner during an argument over state spending.

The investigation by Senate staff concluded that there was little evidence beyond Clark-Coleman's assertion.

Shands Healthcare plan to go tobacco-free

Patients, visitors and employees at the University of Florida Health Science Center campus and Shands HealthCare facilities throughout north central Florida are going Tobacco-Free Together, officials announced today (Aug. 4).

As of Nov. 1, the use of cigarettes or other tobacco products in any of the Health Science Center, Shands or UF Physicians buildings and parking lots, or in vehicles in these areas, will not be permitted. UF plans to implement the policy on its main campus in July 2010.

“Going tobacco-free on our health-care campuses is the right thing to do for our patients and visitors — and for each other,” said Dr. David S. Guzick, UF’s senior vice president for health affairs and president of the UF&Shands Health System. “Coinciding with Tobacco-Free Together will be the opening of the Shands Cancer Hospital at UF, which reflects our commitment to the prevention and treatment of cancer.”

The new rule mainly affects a few designated outdoor smoking and tobacco-use areas and the properties surrounding Health Science Center and Shands HealthCare facilities. Smoking and tobacco use are already prohibited indoors.

“The decision to have tobacco-free campuses systemwide supports our commitment to providing a healthy environment for our patients and to improving health in our communities,” said Tim Goldfarb, chief executive officer of Shands HealthCare. “We not only provide outstanding medical treatment and patient care, but also work hard to promote wellness and disease prevention.”

Tobacco dependence is the nation’s most preventable cause of death and disease, including cancer, heart disease and stroke. Nationally, tobacco use is responsible for nearly one in five deaths or an estimated 440,000 deaths per year, according to the Florida Hospital Association. That’s approximately 1,200 people each day — more than deaths caused by alcohol, cocaine, crack, heroin, homicide, suicide, car crashes, fires and AIDS combined. Currently, one out of every seven adults hospitalized at Shands at UF is treated for cancer or cancer-related illnesses.

Throughout Florida, more than 70 hospitals support the Florida Department of Health’s “Tobacco Free Florida” campaign and have tobacco-free campuses. Shands Jacksonville and the UF Health Science Center-Jacksonville went completely tobacco-free last November.

The Health Science Center and Shands HealthCare are providing information and resources to assist employees, patients and visitors who would like to break the habit. A wide selection of counseling services, self-help materials and medicines are available to help smokers and tobacco-users quit successfully. More information is available at www.tobaccofree.health.ufl.edu.

The University of Florida Health Science Center — the most comprehensive academic health center in the Southeast — is dedicated to high-quality programs of education, research, patient care and public service. The Health Science Center encompasses the colleges of Dentistry, Public Health and Health Professions, Medicine, Nursing, Pharmacy and Veterinary Medicine, as well as the Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital and an academic campus in Jacksonville offering graduate education programs in dentistry, medicine, nursing and pharmacy. Patient care activities, under the banner UF&Shands, are provided through teaching hospitals and a network of clinics in Gainesville and Jacksonville. The Health Science Center also has a statewide presence through satellite medical, dental and nursing clinics staffed by UF health professionals; and affiliations with community-based health-care facilities stretching from Hialeah and Miami to the Florida Panhandle.

Philip Morris, Reynolds Top Analyst Profit Estimates

Philip Morris International Inc., the world’s largest publicly traded tobacco company, and Reynolds American Inc., the second-largest U.S. cigarette maker, reported second-quarter profit that topped analysts’ estimates and raised their 2009 earnings forecasts.

Higher prices helped Philip Morris, the maker of top- selling Marlboro cigarettes, earn 83 cents a share excluding some items, beating the average analyst estimate of 77 cents. Reynolds’ profit of $1.29 a share topped analysts’ expectations by 13 cents.

Philip Morris and Reynolds joined Altria Group Inc., the largest U.S. tobacco company, in saying price increases contributed to earnings and helped counter declining or little- changed shipments. Altria reported second-quarter earnings yesterday that also exceeded analysts’ projections.

“Everybody’s pricing has been impressive and shows the resilience of the tobacco space,’‘ Brian Barish, who manages Philip Morris and Altria shares at Cambiar Investors, said today in an e-mail. The Denver-based firm oversees $4.7 billion.

Philip Morris advanced $2.14, or 4.9 percent, to $46.02 at 4 p.m. in New York Stock Exchange composite trading. The shares have risen 5.8 percent this year. Reynolds gained $1.04, or 2.5 percent, to $42.22.

Net income at New York-based Philip Morris, which generates all of its revenue outside of the U.S., fell 8.6 percent to $1.55 billion, or 79 cents a share, in the second quarter from $1.69 billion, or 80 cents, a year earlier. Revenue declined 8.9 percent to $15.2 billion.

Philip Morris Forecast

Higher prices in Argentina, Germany, Russia and other major markets added to Philip Morris’ earnings while shipments of 223.2 billion cigarettes were little changed.

The company said currency fluctuations will hurt earnings less than it anticipated this year. It expects to earn $3.10 to $3.20 this year, higher than its February forecast of $2.85 to $3 a share.

Some analysts such as Christopher Growe of Stifel Nicolaus & Co. in St. Louis already raised their full-year expectations because of currency changes, pushing the average estimate to $3.11 a share.

The higher forecast “should bolster investor confidence that Philip Morris can sustain its solid underlying business momentum,’‘ Judy Hong, a Goldman Sachs Group Inc. analyst in New York, wrote today in a note to clients. She recommends buying the stock.

Through yesterday, the U.S. currency had fallen over the past month against all 16 most-traded currencies tracked by Bloomberg. The dollar’s decline helps revenue by increasing the value of overseas sales when converted to the U.S. currency.

Reynolds Earnings

Reynolds, based in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, said higher prices countered a 6 percent drop in shipments in the second quarter to 22.4 billion cigarettes.

Camel’s share of U.S. cigarette sales remained unchanged at 7.5 percent, while Pall Mall‘s share rose 2.6 percentage points to 5.2 percent. Reynolds’ total market share increased to 28.7 percent.

Reynolds “gained market share at the retail level, the first time in many years that the company was able to accomplish this,’‘ Thilo Wrede, a Credit Suisse analyst in New York, wrote today in a note to clients. He rates the stock as “neutral’‘ and said promotions contributed to the market share gain.

The company’s smokeless tobacco unit increased its market share to 29.4 percent from 27.5 percent, led by Grizzly snuff.

Reynolds projected 2009 profit of $4.40 to $4.60, an increase from a forecast of $4.15 to $4.45 in April.

Altria, based in Richmond, Virginia, reported yesterday adjusted earnings of 50 cents, helped by price increases and manufacturing cost cuts. The profit beat the average analysts’ estimate by 3 cents. Altria also raised its full-year profit forecast.

Tobacco tax will save lives, cut medical costs

As a practicing physician for over 20 years in Kern County, I have seen many patients who have been affected by smoking -- including those who have never smoked -- and I want to do everything in my power to make sure that early detection of lung disease, cancer research and smoking prevention programs are growing in California.

SB 600, a bill authored by state Sen. Alex Padilla and co-sponsored by the American Cancer Society, the American Heart Association, the American Lung Association and other health organizations, does just that.

SB 600 would increase the cigarette and tobacco tax in California by $1.50 per pack, a portion of which would go the tobacco control and lung cancer research, and would most importantly reduce the number of teen smokers. Smoking is the largest preventable cause of death in California, and by reducing consumption through an increased tax, we can save hundreds of thousands of lives and millions of dollars in health care costs. It's about time that California increase the cigarette and tobacco tax.

SB 600 will not only save lives, but will keep nearly 361,000 kids from becoming addicted. In my years as a doctor in the San Joaquin Valley, where air pollution is higher and asthma more prevalent than other parts of the state, I understand the need to detect and treat emphysema, asthma, bronchitis and other lung diseases immediately, especially in children.

One in five children in the San Joaquin Valley have asthma, in Kern County alone there are over 20,000 cases of pediatric asthma and nearly double the amount of adult asthma cases. SB 600 will help to reduce the growth of those numbers by expanding the tobacco control program, deterring teens from starting to smoke and reducing the number of smokers.

California hasn't increased the tax on cigarettes and tobacco in 10 years, but the incidence of heart and lung disease and smoking related cancers continues to rise, claiming nearly 40,000 lives annually. SB 600 is projected to reduce youth smoking by 21 percent, cause nearly 190,000 current smokers to quit, prevent more than 165,000 premature deaths and save California $8.1 billion in health care costs.

SB 600 will also help California get back on track by contributing $1.2 billion to the state's general fund in the first year alone. The budget deficit in California has forced already existing health and education programs to be cut and in some cases, eliminated, but SB 600 would help close that gap by contributing to the general fund.

The funds not used for tobacco prevention can help save some of the vital health and education programs threatened by California's budget deliberations.

Big tobacco companies have paid hundreds of millions of dollars to avoid a tax increase in California- and they've gotten away with it for over a decade. Nine states (with both Democratic and Republican governors), Arkansas, Delaware, Florida, Hawaii, Kentucky, Mississippi, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Wisconsin, have enacted tobacco increases in 2009. There is no better time than right now to increase the tax; it will save lives, prevent tobacco addiction by our teens, reduce future health care costs and help balance the state budget. It's about time.

Ravi Patel, MD, is a board certified oncologist and founder of the Comprehensive Blood and Cancer Center. He lives in Bakersfield.

Stearns could get up to $917,000 to counteract obesity, tobacco

Area public health agencies are anticipating several million in state grant dollars over the next two years to combat obesity and tobacco use, underlying factors in the leading causes of death in Central Minnesota.

The money is part of the Statewide Health Improvement Program passed by the Legislature in 2008 as part of state health care reform. Lawmakers allocated $47 million for the program.

All three St. Cloud-area counties have applied for the program. Sherburne County has been told it will receive $601,000 over the next two years, said Vonna Henry, public health director.

Stearns County could get as much as $917,000, public health director Renee Frauendienst said.

Benton County's amount is still uncertain.

SHIP is modeled on an initiative called Steps to a HealthierUS, which was tested in Minneapolis, St. Paul, Willmar and Rochester.

The goal was to reduce the state's health care costs by getting "upstream" of health problems, said Cara McNulty, program director with the Minnesota Department of Health.

SHIP aims to encourage policy and environmental changes that make it easier for people to make more healthful choices, she said.

The program focuses on obesity and tobacco use because they are both common in Minnesota and the leading causes of chronic diseases such as heart diseases, diabetes and cancer. Many of the deadly diseases driving up health care costs are preventable, McNulty said.

An estimated 38 percent of Minnesota adults are classified as overweight and one quarter are obese as measured by body mass index. Only 51 percent get 30 minutes or more of moderate physical activity five days a week. Eighteen percent of adults smoke.

SHIP is different from past prevention programs because it doesn't just tackle one risk factor in a single setting such as schools, McNulty said. Rather, it involves communities, schools, workplaces and health care systems using strategies proven to work, she said.

Some examples: working with schools to make sure they are providing healthful, affordable breakfasts so students aren't hungry during the day; helping to make communities safer and easier to walk or bike; and promoting farmers markets to make sure the community has access to locally grown fruits and vegetables.

CC tobacco stats reveal younger smokers

While less Oregonians are lighting up than years past, Coos County continues to exceed the state average. Now, some specialists fear that this trend could breed younger smokers.

According to the Oregon Tobacco Prevention and Education Program, Coos County ranks the fourth highest in tobacco consumption in the state, with roughly 27% of the adult population using tobacco products.

But the addiction starts young, with as much as 14% of 8th graders and 34% of 11th grade students using tobacco in the county.

According to Tobacco Program Coordinator, Stephen Brown, over 90%of all nicotine products are sold to people who started before age 21.

"Most long term smokers begin smoking when they're 12,13 or 14 years old and if you start at that age, you're much more likely to become addicted and become a long term smoker," says Brown.

Brown adds that one of the big misconceptions among the youth is that they think smoking and chewing is far more common then it really is. In fact, nearly three-quarters of Coos County's population doesn't use tobacco.

But despite all the education surrounding the dangers of this product, Brown says the only way to change the status quo is by limiting its public consumption.

"A community as a whole indicates to kids that smoking is not a good behavior and the best way for a community to do that is to not smoke," says Brown. "Especially to not some around children and to not smoke in public places."

Occasional Smoker, 47, Signs Tobacco Bill

President Obama does not discuss the fact that he still occasionally smokes, a habit he very publicly tried to kick during his race for the White House.

But there he was on Monday, talking about cigarettes. As he signed legislation bringing tobacco products under federal control for the first time, the president conceded that the new law, aimed at keeping children from starting to smoke, could have helped him three decades ago.

Mr. Obama noted that 90 percent of smokers began on or before their 18th birthday.

“I know — I was one of those teenagers,” he said, standing beneath a punishing afternoon sun at a Rose Garden ceremony. “I know how difficult it can be to break this habit when it’s been with you for a long time.”

With that, Mr. Obama moved on. He did not mention whether he still smokes, a topic that has been a subject of considerable curiosity, and family drama, for years. Instead, he talked about the dangers of the addiction and its causes.

“Kids today don’t just start smoking for no reason,” he said. “They’re aggressively targeted as customers by the tobacco industry. They’re exposed to a constant and insidious barrage of advertising where they live, where they learn and where they play.”

The new law, the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act, allows the Food and Drug Administration not only to forbid advertising geared toward children but also to lower the amount of nicotine in tobacco products, ban sweetened cigarettes that appeal to young taste buds and prohibit labels like “light” and “low tar.”

When Mr. Obama entered the presidential race, he said his candidacy had been contingent on a deal with his wife, Michelle, that he quit smoking. The couple discussed his habit on “60 Minutes,” where Mrs. Obama declared, “I hate it.”

“That’s why he doesn’t do it anymore, I’m proud to say,” she continued. “I’m the one who outed him on the smoking. That was one of my prerequisites for, you know, entering this race, is that he couldn’t be a smoking president.”

Now there are few touchier questions inside the White House than whether Mr. Obama is still smoking. One senior administration official declined to answer, but pointed out that the president spoke Monday in the present tense, saying, “I know how difficult it can be to break this habit,” as opposed to “I know how difficult it was to break this habit.”

As Mr. Obama shook hands with some of the guests at the bill-signing ceremony, he wandered near a group of reporters. Dan Lothian, a correspondent for CNN, asked, “Mr. President, how difficult has your struggle been with smoking?”

The president, a mere few feet away, did not reply.

Several minutes later, the question came up at the daily White House press briefing. When asked directly if Mr. Obama was still smoking, Robert Gibbs, the president’s press secretary, replied: “He struggles with it every day. I don’t honestly see the need to get a whole lot more specific than the fact that it’s a continuing struggle.”

Philip Morris test new filter Marlboro cigarettes

Philip Morris USA, the No. 1 U.S. tobacco company, said Monday it has ended test markets of Marlboro-branded cigarettes that use a high-technology filter.

The operating company of Altria Group Inc. said it pulled the plug on Marlboro Ultra Smooth and Marlboro Ultra Light cigarettes, which used an activated carbon filter to deliver nicotine with potentially less exposure to carcinogens than in conventional cigarettes.

Philip Morris said it stopped making new shipments of Marlboro Ultra Smooth to wholesalers on April 1. Those cigarettes were being tested in Atlanta, Tampa (Florida), and Salt Lake City for more than three years. Marlboro Ultra Lights in Phoenix and North Dakota, and Basic Ultra Lights in Washington state also were discontinued, the company said.

"We did see lower consumer acceptance of those products in some of the test markets," said spokesman Bill Phelps. "These are test markets and they're designed to help us learn a lot of things. In the case of Ultra Smooth, it was designed to help us understand consumer acceptance of those particular products' taste and flavor."

Phelps said the company had made no claims that the products reduced health risks.

Shares of Altria rose 18 cents to $20.96 in midday trading.

Philip Morris saw a 4.6 percent decline in cigarette sales volume last year, but said that is estimated to be down 3.6 percent when adjusted for calendar differences and other factors. The industrywide decline is estimated at 4 percent in the United States.

The company has projected that cigarette sales volume will fall between 2.5 percent to 3 percent in the U.S. over the next few years because of concerns about health, smoking bans and price increases.

In turn, Philip Morris is looking to growing its business in other tobacco categories and reduced-risk products, Phelps said.

"We remain committed to our overall objective of reducing the harm caused by cigarette smoking," Phelps said. "That work will continue both for conventional lit-end cigarettes as well as what we would describe as noncombustible tobacco products."

Last year, the company began testing of its Marlboro-branded moist smokeless tobacco product — cut tobacco placed in the mouth — in Atlanta and recently expanded to counties in the surrounding metropolitan area. It also began testing a moist powdered tobacco called Marlboro Snus in Dallas last year, and also has expanded the test to Indianapolis.

Vietnam opens non-smoking week

Vietnam launches the inaugural National Non-Smoking Week today in an effort to raise awareness of the consequences of smoking and protect young people from such dangers.
During National Non-Smoking Week, all forms of advertisement, trade promotion and sponsorship by tobacco companies will be prohibited.
In addition, cigarettes retail prices and import taxes will see a hike and aban on selling cigarettes to people under 18 years of age will also go into effect.
The week will end on Saturday.
The Ministry of Health as well as the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism will work with the World Health Organization to implement the week to mark World Non-Smoking Day, May 31.
The survey also showed that 56 percent of men and close to 1.8 percent of women in Vietnam smoke regular cigarettes , 31 percent of whom are young people.
The number of tobacco-related deaths in Vietnam hits 40,000 on average annually.

Global factors see AP tobacco auction prices at all-time high

BANGALORE: Prices of FCV (Flue-Cured Virginia) tobacco in the ongoing auctions in Andhra Pradesh have touched all-time high. At the end of May 8, the 76th day of the AP auction conducted by the Tobacco Board, 111.33 million kg (mkg) had been sold for an average per kg price of Rs 78.44, almost 63% higher than the average of Rs 47.59 realised from the sale of 110.85 mkg in the corresponding period of last year’s auction.
Industry sources say the steep spurt in prices is because of a global supply constraint following factors like withdrawal of Chinese cigarettes from the export market because of stock adjustments to meet rising domestic demand. All of this has seen auction prices for high grades from AP’s NLS (Northern Light Soil) region crossing the per kg price of Rs 100 for the first time ever.
Prices for NLS high grades are ruling in the range of Rs 105 to Rs 118 per kg. With 111 mkg being auctioned out of this year’s AP crop of 170 mkg, farmers expect the brisk pace of sales to continue and the auction to be completed by the middle of June.

Fire-Safe Cigarettes Will Prevent Fires

HONOLULU -- The Honolulu Fire Department said it is already looking forward to next year, when a new law kicks in aimed to making cigarettes less likely to start fires.
KITV's Shayne Enright reported that a home in Kapolei was destroyed last year by a cigarette thrown in the trash.
One person was injured and a family was left without a home.
The HFD said it hopes to avoid incidences like that when the new law is enacted.
"Actually, what we want to do is put ourselves out of business if we can prevent a fire. Not only do we help the community, but we also help the responders," said HFD Chief Kenneth Silva.
The new cigarettes have bands of paper that have a higher density, and if a cigarette is left unattended, it will self-extinguish, Enright said.
Lawmakers said cigarette manufactures support the safety measure, and smokers shouldn't expect to pay higher costs, they said.
"When the fires came through, it shut down our only highway that we have, stranding tons of visitors and residents who couldn't get to the airport," said Rep. Angus McKelvey. "The thing grew out of control so fast, and a lot of it could have been prevented."
A large brushfire last year in Lahaina prompted Maui officials to take action.
Some smokers said fire-safe cigarettes will prevent fires from starting.
"Normally I try to avoid smoking in the bedroom and places like that, and you try to keep an eye on it. It could be potential danger -- you never know what happens," smoker Bart Van Kerkhove.
The special cigarettes show up on store shelves in September 2009, Enright said.

SMOKING CELEBRITIES

There's absolutely no doubt that celebrities have an impact on the rest of us and there's a hot debate currently on whether the influence that fame brings should also demand a certain amount of responsibility.

Is it true that celebrities really desist from endorsing cigarettes of all hues? Is it because they are conscious of their social responsibilities? Pictures of celebrities smoking appear glamorous and civilized, regardless of the context of the scene in a movie and thus it strikes a cord with teens. They are shown at parties with a cigarette which pushes young people to emulate them. The brands they smoke, cigarettes , Camel, Winston, Virginia Slims, Salem etc, become a point of campus discussion.

Could it be that the stars themselves have been influenced by the glamour that was once associated with cigarettes? Perhaps if you spend long enough in the fantasy world of film you start to believe in the celluloid image. Just like Gloria Swanson in 'Sunset Boulevard' you lose touch with reality.

After all, it's not so long ago that everybody who was somebody in Hollywood smoked and was proud of it. cigarettes smoking was glamorous and sophisticated. Just think of the iconic image of Audrey Hepburn in 'Breakfast at Tiffany's' as Holly Golightly posing elegantly with her long cigarette holder, upswept chignon and little black dress.

What's not so elegant of course is the way Audrey Hepburn succumbed to the smoking habit herself. Ignoring her mother's 'beauty tip' to: "keep to six cigarettes a day only", Hepburn managed two or three packs at her worst times - even smoking in her nun's habit on the set of 'The Nun's Story' and chain smoking her way through 'My Fair Lady'. Unsurprisingly, she suffered from asthma for most of her life and died of cancer at only 63 - looking frail and old for her years. Not the kind of ending we like to imagine for the sublime Holly Golightly.

There's no doubt that the very nature of the movie business has caused many a celebrity to start treading the nicotine path. Smoking is as common in movies today as it was back in the 1950's although overall smoking in the population at large has reduced. Could it be that a cigarette has become the film prop of choice for actors looking for an easy way to inhabit another skin?

For some celebrities - tired of the constant criticism and the ciggy shots splashed across the tabloids - a kind of smoking defiance has crept in. As Gwyneth Paltrow once said, "I smoke and I'm not going to stop!" Paltrow - famous for getting through a pack of Camel Lights a day in her teens and twenties - has only very recently quit smoking. Perhaps she started to wonder how her fine, fair skin and ethereal beauty would cope with the collagen depletion in her fourties and fifties.

Some celebrities keep going with the smoking habit whatever the consequences and even if it impacts on their relationships. It's well known that smoking was a bone of contention between Brad Pitt and Jennifer Anniston during their marriage. Brad Pitt is on record as saying how much he hated his ex-wife's chain smoking. His disapproval didn't cut much ice with Jennifer though - as recent paparazzi photos show. You have to ask why one of the worlds most loved and naturally attractive women would do this to themselves?

Similarly, iconic top model Kate Moss is regularly photographed with her cigarettes , a lighter and a mobile phone as her only fashion accessory. As a supreme super model its probably not surprising that Moss still manages to appear effortlessly elegant and beautiful however she's photographed - at least for now. She certainly shows no signs of wanting to quit smoking any time soon. Perhaps like so many in her world - she associates smoking with thinness. Or perhaps, for her, it's the least troubling of her addictions.

When celebrities do chose to quit its fascinating that the reasons given are so often not about looks. Catherine Zeta-Jones for instance, quit smoking - so she said - because she didn't want her children to start asking questions. Not as you might have thought - because beauty is her personal trademark and smoking would kick-start skin aging and undermine her potential to earn huge sums of money.

Whatever the reasons celebrities have for smoking or for deciding to quit - the truth about skin damage and smoking very rarely features as a major factor in the debate. Well - we think it should. So our advice to all you celebrity smokers out there - carry on smoking if you want but don't expect your fickle public not to notice the effect on your looks. And when you hit a deluded middle age you may still be able to say, like Gloria Swanson in 'Sunset Boulevard': "I'm ready for my close-up now Mr de Mille" - but only if it's filmed in heavy soft-focus, expertly back-lit and then extensively re-touched afterwards.

Bill Would Mandate Fire-Safe Cigarettes Be Sold In Tennessee

Legislation that would allow only fire-safe cigarettes to be sold in Tennessee is headed to the governor for his consideration.

The measure sponsored by Senate Speaker Pro Tempore Rosalind Kurita, a Clarksville Democrat, unanimously passed the Senate last year and was approved in the House 97-1 earlier this month.

But the bill didn't go to the governor until Thursday because both chambers had to work out some differences.

The law would only allow the sale of cigarettes made with paper that self-extinguishes if left untouched by the smoker.

Supporters say they reduce the risk of accidental fires.

Six states have mandated the sale of fire-safe cigarettes and 20 others are considering it.

Gov. Phil Bredesen could not be immediately reached for comment about whether he will sign the bill.

Tobacco groups, retailers face OFT price fixing allegations

LONDON - The United Kingdom Office of Fair Trade is set to unveil wide-ranging allegations that tobacco companies and retailers fixed cigarettes prices, the Financial Times reported citing people familiar with the tobacco investigation.
The allegations come two days after the OFT was forced to apologise to Wm Morrisons and agreed to pay 100,000 pounds in damages and costs after admitting inaccuracies in another antitrust probe.
cigarettes announcement, expected today, relates to alleged deals between the tobacco companies and a range of retailers, with cigarette suppliers the main focus of the enquiry, the report added.
The OFT launched the probe in 2003 and both Gallaher and Imperial Tobacco have previously said they are complying with requests for information.
Companies involved in price-fixing face fines of up to 10 percent of annual turnover although this is usually lower if companies co-operate with an investigation.

Solons eye replacing text with pictures on cigarette packs

A bill aiming to replace the current text warnings on cigarettes packs with pictures on the effects of smoking will be discussed in the committee on health Tuesday at the House of Representatives.
Under HB 3364 or the Picture-Based Health Warning Bill, all packages of cigarettes and other tobacco products shall have colored and graphic health warnings on their front and back panels to warn the public about the hazardous effects of smoking.
"Madali lang po makinig [pero] hindi naman natin talaga nakikita yung mga nangyayari. Pag nakita po talaga natin, baka magdalawang isip na tayo, [It's easy to listen, we never really get to see the effects. Maybe if we do, we may change our minds]" Congresswoman Anna York Bondoc, co-author of the bill, said.
If the bill is implemented, the sale of cigarettes that do not have the graphic health warnings will be banned, while descriptions of the brand such as "low tar, "light," ultra-light," and "mild" that might mislead the public will be removed, Bondoc said.
Cigarette manufacturers will also be mandated to shoulder the printing expenses of the picture-based health warnings, she said.
Manufacturers, importers, exporters, and distributors not complying with the rules will pay a fine of P1 million on the first offense, P5 million on the second offense, and P20 million on the third offense. An imprisonment of not more than one year may also be imposed on the third offense upon the discretion of the court, according to the bill.
Implementation of the bill is targeted for Sept. 6, 2008, the deadline of the compliance of the Philippines with the World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), according to Congresswoman Risa Hontiveros-Baraquel, co-author of HB 3364.
The FCTC is a world treaty on smoking which took effect in 2005 with 350 countries, including the Philippines, as signatories. Other countries, such as Canada and Singapore have imposed the use of picture-based health warnings on cigarette packs.
"Kung nagawa nga ng iba, bakit hindi natin magawa dito [If other countries were able to implement it, why not here]?" said Dr. Ulysses Dorotheo, FCTC Program Manager of the Southeast Asia Tobacco Control Alliance.
He cited the cigarette packs with image warnings that were being sold in Thailand but manufactured in the Philippines.