Australian Medical Association accuses The Australian of promoting smoking

The Australian Medical Association has accused Rupert Murdoch’s The Australian newspaper of promoting smoking and “big tobacco” by publishing a series of articles undermining the nation’s plain packaging legislation.

The Australian, owned by News Corp, has previously argued that plain packaging deprives tobacco firms of their intellectual property rights, and earlier this month went further and claimed that plain packaging had led to an increase in tobacco sales.
“The AMA urges the government to restate its support for the plain packaging laws and tobacco control generally, and we urge the Australian and other media to stop giving Big Tobacco a free ride in promoting its killer products,” the AMA president, Associate Professor Brian Owler, said.
The intervention of the peak medical body came after The Australian published another five articles on Wednesday critical of public health initiatives to decrease smoking rates, including plain packaging.
The series of news reports and opinion pieces were in response to the ABC’s Media Watch program, which slammed The Australian’s earlier exclusive story claiming that there had been an increase in consumption as “garbage”.
On 6 June The Australian ran a front-page story headlined “Labor's plain packaging fails as cigarette sales rise”.
“Labor’s nanny state push to kill off the country’s addiction to cigarettes with plain packaging has backfired, with new sales figures showing tobacco consumption growing during the first full year of the new laws,” the newspaper reported.
But the accuracy of the evidence presented in the report was immediately called into question by some economists and health experts, as it directly contradicted government figures.
One of the economists who condemned the story, Stephen Koukoulas, said tobacco consumption in the first quarter of 2014 was the lowest ever recorded.
The professor of health policy at Curtin University, Mike Daube, also condemned the report: “Every bit of the report is dodgy, from the way it was set up, to what’s in it, to the lack of analysis.”
Media Watch quoted the two experts in its story, and suggested The Australian had been influenced by the views of the Institute of Public Affairs (IPA), a right-wing thinktank.
Undeterred by the Media Watch report, The Australian returned fire, publishing a full broadsheet page of stories on Wednesday.
One of the opinion pieces was written by Professor Sinclair Davidson, an economist at RMIT and a senior fellow at the IPA, which has reportedly received funds from the tobacco industry. British American Tobacco Australia told the Sydney Morning Herald in 2012 it was a member of the IPA.
Davidson wrote that plain packaging policy introduced by the previous Labor government was “state-sponsored persecution of that minority who consume tobacco”.
Davidson was also quoted in the newspaper as saying: “I have no doubt that the consumption of cigarettes has risen since plain packaging was introduced; we just can’t be sure whether it is by existing smokers or new smokers.”
But according to the department of health, recent figures released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) show that total consumption of tobacco and cigarettes in the March quarter 2014 is the lowest ever recorded.
It has dropped from $3.508bn in December 2012 to 3.405 billion in March 2014.
The Guardian's Data Blog analysed the figures used by The Australian on June 6 and found there was indeed a small 0.28% increase in sales year on year but the paper had failed to account for the increase in the population between 2012 and 2013.
"Adjusted for population, tobacco sales per person have actually continued to decrease from 920.4 in 2012 to 906.9 in 2013," the Data Blog reported.
The AMA was joined by the Cancer Council in pointing the finger at the tobacco industry for driving a misinformation campaign to undermine the effectiveness of plain packaging, but stopped short of naming the Australian.
The Cancer Council CEO and medical oncologist, Professor Ian Olver, cited new Treasury figures which he said were a further indication of a decline in smoking, with tobacco clearances (including excise and customs duty) falling by 3.4% in 2013 relative to 2012, when tobacco plain packaging was introduced.
“The so-called data being spun by the tobacco industry to claim that plain packaging has not worked is plain wrong," Olver said in a statement.
“If we used tobacco industry claims to guide health policy, life expectancy in Australia would be much lower than it is today.”
The Cancer Council said the tobacco industry’s misinformation campaign was “aimed at undermining the introduction of plain packaging in the UK”.
“In a country of 63 million people, plain packaging would be a major blow to the tobacco industry’s profits,” Prof Olver said.
In Wednesday's report The Australian claimed that the government's anti-smoking measures were driving a boom in cheap cigarettes because smokers were "buying more cigarettes from the lowest market segment".
"Neilsen data indicates that 42.3 per cent of all cigarettes now purchased are priced at less than $15 a pack, a rise from 25.6 per cent of the market in 2011 and 35.2 per cent at the end of last year," the report said.
The report quoted tobacco industry executives to back this claim. The managing director of Philip Morris, John Gledhill, told The Australian: “As industry and market experts have previously warned, the government’s forced removal of tobacco brands and trademarks has triggered intense price competition.”

Japan Tobacco to buy UK e-cigarette brand E-Lites

Japan Tobacco Inc has agreed to buy the maker of E-Lites, a leading brand of e-cigarettes in Britain, giving it entry into the fast-growing market for tobacco alternatives.
Japan Tobacco said on Wednesday that it had agreed to buy all outstanding shares of E-Lites' parent company Zandera, founded in 2009.
Financial terms were not disclosed, though the company said it would fund the purchase with existing cash and debt. It said the deal is expected to have a minor effect on its performance and cash flow in fiscal 2014.
As rates of smoking decline, big tobacco companies such as Philip Morris International, British American Tobacco and Imperial Tobacco Group have been jostling for position in the growing market for electronic cigarettes, which use nicotine-laced liquid.
Some analysts believe e-cigarettes will eventually outsell traditional cigarettes in some markets.
Japan Tobacco, the maker of Winston, Camel and Mild Seven, already sells outside the United States a smoking device called Ploom that heats, but does not burn, pods of tobacco. E-Lites, one of the leading brands in the UK, is the company's first tobacco alternative.
E-Lites' parent had revenue of about 16 million pounds ($26.87 million) in the fiscal year ended March 2014.

Smoking In Cars Might Lead To Fines And Health Problems

Smoking In Cars Might Lead To Fines And Health Problems

Raising Number of Smoking People In Czech Republic

Raising Number of Smoking People In Czech Republic

Plan to allow smoking sections on beaches draws criticism from both sides

Patrons once segregated between smoking and nonsmoking sections in restaurants prior to a complete ban in 2006 may soon be faced with the same choice at beaches and public parks.

A long-gestating bill that would ban smoking in recreational areas is closer than ever to being passed by the New Jersey Legislature, but a recent amendment could allow for special smoking sections in the great outdoors.

That amendment has stirred just as much controversy as the proposed ban itself. Environmental and health advocates see a cop-out, smokers see a flawed compromise, and municipalities worry about enforcement headaches to come.

“Say the wind changes from the north to the south,” said Margate City Clerk Thomas Hiltner, with a chuckle. “You can’t change your designated areas with the wind, so you’ll have people saying, ‘I smell smoke.’”

A number of communities — from Belmar to Lower Township’s Sunset Beach — have already instituted smoking bans, but Margate has held off while the statewide bill works through the Legislature. There are still many unanswered questions, Hiltner said.

The biggest one is who will enforce such a ban: Beach badge checkers? Code enforcement officers? Lifeguards? Police?

“Manpower needs are already spread thin in the summertime, especially in shore communities,” Hiltner said.

Inevitably, a lot of it will have to come down to signage and common courtesy between beachgoers, he said, with the possibility of city officials getting involved as a last resort.

While Sea Isle City hasn’t pursued a smoking ban on its beaches, Mayor Len Desiderio — a longtime bar owner who’s worked around smoke — said his city will abide by whatever law is passed down.

“We would have a swimming beach, a surfing beach, a kayak beach and now a smoking beach,” he said. “Sounds like it would be fair, if it becomes the law of the land.”

A number of the ban’s supporters have criticized the concept of segregated outdoor smoking areas as ridiculous.

“It’s a loophole big enough to throw an ashtray through,” said Jeff Tittel, director of the New Jersey Sierra Club.

He said the ban would improve public health and help protect beaches from errant cigarette butts — one of the most common items found in beach cleanups — but the amendment undermines the intent.

“I think it undermines all the money people are spending to rebuild beaches and promote tourism,” he said.

Smokers’ rights groups, which have criticized the proposed ban as legislative overreach, have been ambivalent toward the latest development.

“It’s a crumb, but at least they’re stepping in the right direction,” said George Koodray, assistant director of Citizens Freedom Alliance, a smokers’ rights group. “It would be good for municipalities to designate areas where people can engage in a completely legal activity.”

Jon Moran, a legislative analyst with the New Jersey League of Municipalities, said it strikes a fair compromise between public health and the needs of users. For instance, he said, many people smoke while they fish on lakes or back bays.

“If a municipality chooses — and it’s their choice — it would make clean-up easier,” he said.

The league supported the ban because it gives municipalities another tool to protect the rights of those who choose not to be exposed to smoke in public places, Moran said.

And while enforcement is a concern, he said, it will likely be enforced through the observations of those using beaches and parks.

Meanwhile, visitors to Atlantic City’s beach this weekend were similarly ambivalent.

Nicole Wendelbo, 47, of Sante Fe, N.M., grew up in New York and remembers spending long days at the beach next to smokers. She doesn’t want her children exposed to it.

“There are definite health concerns and the smell is obnoxious,” she said. “It’s just awful to be outside and have to deal with someone else’s cigarettes.”

Wayne Koch, 64, of Deptford, Gloucester County, said the ban wouldn’t affect him — he quit smoking four decades ago — but wonders how big a deal it actually is.

“In an open environment like this, I’m pretty sure the effect has got to be minimal,” he said.

Desiderio said the days of smoking seem to be disappearing, so having a designated smoking beach seems to be a good compromise with smokers. Just as with prior bans, he said, there will be a period of adjustment.

“I remember when (the ban) first started in the bars,” he said. “Everyone at the bar would say, ‘Whoa, you can’t smoke in here.’ And that’s how it went.”

Marlboro cigarettes online

The history of cigarettes "Marlboro", which are now made in St. Petersburg, and, sadly, are available to each student. They appeared in 1924 in America as the ladies ("soft as May Day") and issued with a mouthpiece ivory or red - that was not visible traces of lipstick. In 1954 he established a production of "Marlboro" and stronger, and that cigarettes like men, but released them from the filter and - for the first time in the history of cigarette cases - packs a solid opening to the top, so that men could wear them in the pockets of jeans. In 1964 the country was invented "Marlboro", and by 1975 they became the best selling cigarettes in the world. Official appearance of cigarettes "Marlboro" in Russia refers to 1990. At the end of this beautiful story, I note that Wayne McLaren, the same "cowboy" with a cigarette in his mouth, which became a symbol of "Marlboro", died of lung cancer in 52 years.

But back to the Soviet Union of the 1970s.

Major Leningrad factory continued to operate for decades in producing their products. Sons smoked "White Sea" also because he smoked their fathers and grandfathers. True, not all the sons ... daughters prefer the cigarette.

Tobacco factories continued to evolve. In 1970-1986 years he factory. Uritskogo called Leningrad industrial association of the tobacco industry to them. Uritsky. In the early 1990s, the factory suffered third birth. It was acquired by American holding PJR Nabisco, then gone over to the Japanese company Japan Tobacco Inc. (Which is Headquartered in Geneva and has offices in over 40 countries). The owner of the factory became the company JT International. The total investment in the company's St. Petersburg factory "Petro" (formerly named. Uritskogo) totaled $ 400 million. After upgrading and renaming of Joint-Stock Company (JSC), "Petro" the company has become the largest and most modern cigarette production in Russia and the largest factory of JT International in the world. In 2008 it produced 8000 cigarettes per minute (about 50 billion pieces per year). Stamps issued "Petro" cigarettes and cigarettes (more than 20 titles), including "Peter I» (first released in 1995), "Russian style" license "Samel" (appeared in the U.S. in the early 1920s under the slogan of the advertising "Get yourself a camel»), «Winston», «Sakm» and others, are well known in St. Petersburg. In 2003, "Peter I» added "light" version - "Peter I Mild flavor," "Peter I light taste," "Peter I Super-light taste." Tsar Peter, founder of the tobacco business in Russia, did not expect, that's how things will turn that his name will be called the cigarette factory ...

In 2001, the factory "Petro" from the Middle Avenue Vasilevsky Island was transferred to the Peterhof highway, 71. Having visited the factory in April 2005, the author of this book with pleasure and surprise at cheap dinner in an excellent working the dining room, a cigarette is not tried, so to say anything about them can not, moreover, that a glass of juice would not exchange even a pack of cigarettes. Or even tobacco Zhukov.

In 2003 JSC "Petro" has been the largest taxpayer in our city. Heavy industry here, "smokes."

Let's go back to the factory to them. Clara Zetkin. In 1991 the factory was transformed into joint-stock company (JSC) from 1992 - JSC "Nevo Tabak". For more than 130 years, it is at the same address - Klin Ave, corner Bronitskaya street. This is one of the largest Russian tobacco companies without foreign capital. Every year, "Nevo Tabak" produces over 12 billion cigarettes - AN Shaposhnikov, founder of the production volumes are not even dream of. Now the company produces about 20 brands of cigarettes in the name of which sounds "Petersburg-North" theme. This Cigarette "Leningrad", "Peter the Great," "The Emperor", "Aurora", "Northern Palmira", "Prima Nebo" and others, as well as your favorite cigarette of the Russian North - "Arctic". On the 300th anniversary of St. Petersburg in the firm released a brand of cigarettes, "1703" and bought his own equipment filtrodelatelnoe.

In 1994, the leasable area of ​​one of St. Petersburg companies founded the first factory of "Rhillip Morris» in North-West - "Philip Morris Neva." The second - "Philip Morris Izhora", the most powerful of the Russian factories «Phillip Morris», was built in the Leningrad Region "from scratch" and began work in February 2000. It is the largest investment project in Eastern Europe. In early 2002, «Phillip Morris» stopped production on "Philip Morris Neva", the company dismantled the equipment and all staff have moved on, "Philip Morris Izhora."

In 2003 the company «Phillip Morris» announced its intention to invest in expanding production 240 million dollars. In 2005, to be released 70 billion cigarettes.

In 1997 released their first cigarette at the factory "BAT-SPb", which was called to this "Rothmans Nevo". At that time it was one of the most modern plants of the tobacco industry in Russia. It belonged to an international company «BritishAmerican Toasso" (BAT), which produces light in such well-known in the camp of smokers around the world, from the Kuril Islands to the Cape of Good Hope, marks, as «Kent», «PallMall», «Lucky Strike», «Java ". In 2002 the factory had produced 20 billion cigarettes.

The company is located in Lahti, near St. Petersburg, where the next cigarette complex built warehouse.

Factory "Cres Neva", one of Russia's leading processors of raw tobacco, was founded in 1998. Then, the international tobacco group «Standard Commercial» acquired the unfinished plant from a representative of the defense industry JSC "Kirov Plant" in Gorelovsky district of Leningrad region. By investing in the construction and equipment company 18 million dollars, «Standard Commercial Group» has opened Russia's first factory for the production of "blow up" or expanded stem, which is used to produce "lighter» («light») cigarettes. Until that time, tobacco streak cigarette factory purchased abroad.

Other old St. Petersburg tobacco production has long been abolished and forgotten. Since the late 1990s, more polluting. True, thanks for the tobacco companies that no one has said.

Almost the only cigarettes, then coming on the market, was the "Space". It is worth recalling how many countries were involved in the manufacture of these cigarettes is very low quality. The "Cosmos" was the Austrian filter rim Austrian, French cigarette paper, Bulgarian or Indian tobacco, packaging boards Finnish, English and German film cellophane ribbon breaking.

The peak of enthusiasm for space theme cigarettes became "Soyuz-Apollo" who were born after the pilot flying the American "Apollo" and Soviet "Union" in July 1975 (although they appeared in the USSR, but not in the U.S.). Cigarette company released "Phillir Morris» with the participation of the tobacco industry in the USSR. Then in five cities in the former Soviet Union: Moscow, Leningrad, Kishinev, Baku and Sukhumi - established licensed production of "Marlboro". Truly - a space has no boundaries!

In 2004, in St. Petersburg had a few tobacco plants: in addition to "Petro" is Bat-Petersburg, nab. Sinks, 11, former "Rotmens-Neva", "British American Tobacco St. Petersburg", 3rd Cavalry Lakhta, 38, "Cres Neva" Volkhonskoye Highway 4, ZAO Philip Morris pluralism, Volkhonskoye Highway 7. All of them were members of the association of tobacco product manufacturers Tabakprom. There were also a few specialist shops selling tobacco, tobacco shops including a network of "snuffbox" (25 distribution centers). Tobacco products sold numerous kiosks.

In 2005, in St. Petersburg began to finally get rid of the many stalls surrounding the station. Cigarettes sold in these stalls all day and night units, packs and individually.

Up in smoke? Alamance e-cigarette store operators concerned about proposed regulations

After 35 years of smoking, Ralph Easter switched to electric cigarettes in 2012 and isn’t looking back.

He was so impressed with the product, he opened two e-cigarette stores in Alamance County, one in Gibsonville and the other in Mebane. Now, Easter said he’s concerned about new regulations proposed on the Food and Drug Administration and how it could impact his business.

“If something is working for people, leave it alone,” he said.

The federal proposal extends the legal definition of tobacco products to include electronic cigarettes, cigars, pipe tobacco and hookah tobacco. By expanding the statutory definition, all e-cigarettes would come with a warning stating they contain nicotine and individuals interested in purchasing the devices must be at least 18 years old.

E-cigarette companies would be barred from offering free samples, under the preliminary proposal. The proposed regulations would not ban any e-liquid flavors — which can range from vanilla and mint to Worcestershire sauce and crab legs — but producers would be required to provide its products' ingredients and disclose their manufacturing process for approval.

According to Burlington-based e-cigarette liquid suppler Wil Sutton, the regulations would “effectively destroy the industry” and prevent small suppliers from competing in the market.

The FDA’s Frightening Anti-Smoking Campaign for Teens Hits Them Where It Hurts

The last time the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) tried to use graphic images to deter smokers in 2012, a judge ruled its graphic labels–which included images of rotting lips, corpses, and diseased lungs–unconstitutional. Two years later, the FDA has revealed its latest move, announcing its first national anti-smoking campaign aimed at teens. At first look, the result is similarly dramatic, though slightly less frightening: One ad features a teen pulling out a tooth with a wrench to pay for a pack of cigarettes, while another simply focuses on a young woman with wrinkles.
Called “The Real Cost,” the campaign aims to decrease the number of teens between the ages 12 and 17 from becoming hooked on tobacco by emphasizing the bodily harm smoking can inflict–and tapping into teens’ concerns about their appearance. “The FDA has collaborated with some of the brightest and most creative minds to develop a multimedia initiative designed to make the target audience acutely aware of the risk from every cigarette by highlighting consequences that young people are really concerned about,” said Mitchell Zeller, director of the FDA’s Center for Tobacco Products said in a statement. The campaign also underscores the addictive quality of nicotine, since many young people presume they can quit whenever they want.
The ads, which will begin appearing nationwide on Feb. 11, will be seen in 200 different markets on TV, radio, print, and online. You can watch a preview here:
Before launch, the FDA conducted massive ad testing and found the ads to be memorable and engaging among their target audience. The agency plans to track the effectiveness of the campaign by monitoring 8,000 people between the ages of 11 and 16 for two years to see whether there are any changes in tobacco knowledge and attitudes. “As a regulatory agency, everything the FDA does is grounded in science,” Zeller said.
Tobacco use had a sharp drop among teens between 1997 and 2003, but began to slow in 2003 and came to almost a halt between 2009 to 2011, according to data released from the CDC in 2012. Health experts speculate that the reasons for the range from lower state dedication to the cause to teen’s growing interest in other products like small cigars. Emerging research shows that teens are also taking a liking to e-cigarettes, which don’t contain tobacco but still have nicotine.
The FDA’s latest initiative is part of their overall move to tighten their control over the tobacco industry. Every day, more than 3,200 young people under the age of 18 try their first cigarette, and more than 700 of them will become daily smokers. It is the leading cause of preventable disease, disability, and death in the U.S., and responsible for 480,000 deaths every year.