Tobacco prices 'falling, use growing'

In a startling revelation, a report says tobacco prices have been falling steadily since 2003 in Bangladesh due to 'faulty' taxation, encouraging new users. It says the real prices have, indeed, fallen as the different taxes were levied on different price slabs and were never based on inflation. Increasing real incomes have made the tobacco products affordable, the report notes and suggests specific cigarette tax of Tk 34 per 10 cigarettes, Tk 4.95 per pack of 25 bidis and ending existing price slabs. Read tobacco news and interesting articles about cigarettes.

 "It would encourage nearly 7 million cigarette and 3.4 million bidi smokers to quit and keep 10.5 million youths away from taking up the habit," Prof Abul Barkat, the lead author of 'The Economics of Tobacco and Tobacco Taxation in Bangladesh' said while revealing the report. Prof Barkat said, "If the government adopts the policy, it will earn Tk 15 billion more in tax revenue from cigarettes and Tk 7.2 billion from bidis." Thousands of lives would be saved in Bangladesh where more than 150 people are estimated to be dying every day due to tobacco-related illness. He said the most effective way to reduce tobacco use is to raise the price of tobacco through tax increase and ensuring that the tax increases are reflected in prices. "There is an inverse relationship between tobacco product prices and consumption.

Falling cigarette and bidi prices lead to increases in smoking while rising prices will reduce smoking. "A 10 percent increase in average cigarette prices in Bangladesh will lead to an over 5 percent reduction in cigarette consumption, while a 10 percent increase in average bidi prices will reduce their consumption by almost 7 percent," Prof Barkat maintained. Also the Chairman of state-owned Janata Bank, he warned that rising incomes could lead to significantly more smoking in Bangladesh 'unless steps are taken to reverse this trend'. The finds o the Bloomberg Philanthropies-funded study came out on Thursday, weeks before the 2012-13 fiscal budgets which will be presented in Parliament on June 7.

 As tobacco industries fight every year to block tobacco tax increase to keep their sales intact, anti-tobacco activists and civil society members this year raised their voice against the move. The government hiked cigarettes prices in different slabs and supplementary duties imposed on cigarettes vary from 36 percent to 60 in four tiers. It is only 20 percent in bidis. The different price tiers, anti-tobacco activists say, rather helped people to switch from costlier to cheaper ones. Prof Barkat said in the last decade, taxes were not adjusted to inflation, and worse, not to income. "That's why consumption soared," he said, adding bidi consumption has outpaced population growth. "Cigarette use rose by 40 percent between 1997 and 2010, from 50.9 billion to almost 71.4 billion cigarettes in Bangladesh. Between 1997 and 2010, bidi use rose by 80 percent, from 43 billion to over 81 billion bidis."

 As tobacco industries argue they pay Tk 73 billion in revenues, Prof Barkat said his conservative estimates found the economic costs of tobacco use was Tk 147.70 billion including healthcare and lost productivity costs. "Employment in tobacco cultivation and manufacturing constitutes only 0.5 percent of total labour force." Fearing a loss of revenue, the Ministry of Finance recently shot down plans for a tougher tobacco control law. Speaking at the report launching, Health Minister AFM Ruhal Haque hoped they would be able to pass the law after budget session, overcoming all 'hurdles'. The minister said the economic aspects of tobacco use would give 'new insights' into the fight against tobacco industries. Bangladesh ranks 20th among the tobacco-producing nations and the prices of tobacco here are said to be the cheapest in the world.

Tobacco marketing 'harms young'

Eight in 10 people questioned in Scotland think tobacco marketing is harmful to children, according to a new survey. The poll revealed 86% of those surveyed also believe children should not be exposed to any cigarette advertising. Cancer Research UK said it released the results as the UK Government consults on whether to put all tobacco in packs of uniform size, shape and design, with large health warnings on the front and back. It found 70% thought the colourful branding and striking logos make cigarettes more appealing to children. The charity is now urging people to sign their The Answer is Plain campaign, which is calling for all branding to be removed.

Vicky Crichton, public affairs manager for Scotland, said: "This survey shows people across the country clearly support action to get rid of one of the last ways the tobacco industry can market its products. So we're asking them to sign our petition and help end the 'packet racket'. "Many parents know their children are very attached to certain brands and cleverly-designed packaging plays a significant role in maintaining that attraction.

But when we are talking about tobacco, then it's time to change the law. "We have a unique opportunity to protect children from the marketing of this deadly product. "This is not about 'the nanny state'. This is about us as a society saying that it is wrong for tobacco - a product that kills half of all its long-term users - to be marketed to children as though it were a bag of sweets."

Click here for more articles about cigarettes.

Bingo crowds smaller after smoking ban

The atmosphere is a little clearer, but fewer people seem to be taking in the air at the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 1298 on bingo nights.
One week after the veterans organization voted to go smoke-free for nights when it hosts charitable gaming events, attendance for those events - which are held to raise money for the local post - has fallen off noticeably.
Malcolm Cherry, past quartermaster for the VFW, said the post is now holding charitable gaming two nights a week after years of doing it weekly.
"I don't know at this point by averaging the two nights together if we're at about the same amount of income as we used to be," Cherry said.
The VFW and American Legion Post 23 were involved in a months-long legal tangle with the city over the ordinance banning smoking in public buildings.
Both veterans organizations claimed that the ordinance should not apply to their facilities, claiming in legal documents that they were private organizations that catered specifically to members and their guests.
Cherry claimed in affidavits and courtroom testimony that the ordinance had a harmful effect on both organizations, driving down attendance at charitable gaming events and reducing the revenue each organization saw from gaming.
City police issued multiple citations at the VFW and Legion posts, but a ruling last month from Warren District Court Judge Brent Potter that dismissed one of the citations issued at the American Legion post led to an agreement in which the city would stop enforcing the citation at both facilities.
After the court victory, the VFW's membership voted last week to go smoke-free, and the American Legion will entertain a similar vote Jan. 25.
Cherry said the vote to go smoke-free was taken to prevent further controversy, as well as a decision that should have been the post's to make from the beginning.
"I'm still of the opinion that the City Commission should revisit this thing," Cherry said. "After all, they did revisit the fireworks ordinance and I'd like to see if they wouldn't reconsider just doing away with that smoking ban and leaving it up to the business owners as it should have been in the first place."
If low attendance persists at the VFW, Cherry said the post will consider additional fundraisers, such as having a band fronted by one of the post's members play regular performances.
Cherry also mused about the possibility of putting the VFW post's kitchen to use for a pop-up restaurant.
"We do have a fully equipped kitchen out there," Cherry said. "We feed the National Guard and the Army Reserve all the time on their weekend drills; we can feed other people, too."

Stony Stratford Smoking Ban Back On Town Council's Agenda

Councillor Paul Bartlett's proposal to ban smoking in large areas within the Stony Stratford will be discussed again at the Town Council meeting tomorrow evening, Tuesday 17th January.

The new proposal reads as follows:

Stony Stratford Town Council seeks the implementation of a smoking ban by means of a bye-law and relevant consultation at the following locations:
All publicly owned spaces (Parks Trust, NHS, MKC, SSTC etc) that are parkland, children's play areas; public car parks (including inside vehicles); within 25 metres of school premises; 'greens' such as Horsefair Green, Fullers Slade; Galley Hill, all allotments, bus shelters and within 25 metres of public toilets and public buildings.

Two previous proposals relating to the proposed smoking ban were discussed at the Town Council meeting in July 2011. Both proposals were rejected as nobody present at the meeting was prepared to second either of them.

Gaston College bans smoking

When Gaston College students returned to classes after Christmas break, they found a slightly altered environment.

As of Jan. 1, the college became tobacco-free. The new rule applies to all three campuses - Dallas, Belmont and Lincolnton.

About six months ago, the N.C. Community College system had 30 tobacco-free campuses, but Gaston wasn't on the list.

But the campus is now smoke-free through the efforts of the Gaston Student Government Association. In 2010, the group formed a campuswide committee to survey students about the possibility of banning tobacco.

The majority favored the idea, and the Board of Trustees approved it last May.

That's good news - for smokers and nonsmokers. Students who don't use tobacco will no longer have to dodge second-hand smoke; and smokers may be inspired to give up the habit.

As a former smoker, I know quitting isn't easy. I loved every one of the million or so cigarettes I puffed: filtered, nonfiltered, menthol, regular, foreign, domestic, lights, full-strength, name brands, off brands. Cigars. Pipes. Even chewing tobacco. I tried them all.

But with the support of my wife, I walked away from tobacco. It was like stepping into a new world. I no longer smelled like an ashtray. I felt clean. And in the clarity that came my way, smokers suddenly stood out. When I saw somebody dangling a cigarette out of a car window at a traffic light, I wanted to yell: "Coffin nails will kill you."

I'm offended when I pass somebody smoking on the Gastonia greenway or a school walking track. That happened twice last weekend. The guy getting his exercise while puffing on a cigar took the cake. I wanted to warn him about the dangers of smoking but kept quiet; it was none of my business.

Fire Destroys Two Arturo Fuente Tobacco Warehouses

An early Tuesday morning fire burned down two large tobacco warehouses of Tabacalera A. Fuente y Cia., the manufacturer of Fuente Fuente Opus X and Arturo Fuente cigars. The fire in Villa Gonzalez, near the company's main offices in Santiago, Dominican Republic, completely destroyed large inventories of aged tobacco and possibly caused smoke damage to some other nearby storage facilities.

"We don't really know how much tobacco we have lost," said Carlos Fuente Jr. in a telephone interview from the Dominican Republic today. "But it was a lot—a lot of tobacco."

Fuente Jr. declined to give any specific figures about the quantity or the dollar value of the tobacco lost. But, he said that it included bales of some irreplaceable tobacco that had been purchased in 1990 from a Connecticut grower and may have been harvested as long ago as 1960. Fuente Jr. said the tobacco was still being saved for some special projects. He added, however, that the bulk of the tobacco was regular filler leaves, and that there was very little wrapper tobacco in the burned buildings.

"It's just so sad. You save it. You wait. You save it some more. In my lifetime, we won't be able to recreate some of this tobacco," Fuente Jr. said.

He said that the company had been moving tobacco around to different warehouses in recent months to be sure that the leaves used in their products weren't all in the same place. But he admitted that fire would force them to cut back production for the next year, possibly even for two years. The company also makes cigars for the Ashton and J.C. Newman brands.

"At our current production levels, we just have to cut back so that we can maintain the consistency of our cigars," Fuente Jr. said. He added that they still had plenty of aged tobacco spread around other warehouses throughout the Dominican Republic, but the cutbacks were going to be necessary to ensure the consistency and quality of all the company's cigars.

Fuente Jr. said that Tabacalera A. Fuente production for 2011 was going to be in the range of 22 to 23 million cigars.

The company, which will celebrate its 100th anniversary in 2012, has suffered nine fires during its history.

"Thank God, every one is okay, and no one was hurt," Fuente Jr. said. "So, we're doing pretty well. You just hate to see all that hard work lost."

Tobacco display ban set for spring

A ban on displaying cigarettes in shops will not begin until next spring at the earliest, the health minister has said.
Edwin Poots wants to introduce regulations barring the tobacco products from view in stores and scrapping vending machines.
Mr Poots said: "Despite all the available evidence on the harm caused by smoking, hundreds of children and young people are still taking up this life-limiting habit each year. By removing displays of tobacco products from view in shops, and preventing children from accessing them through vending machines, we are building upon measures already in place aimed at reducing the prevalence of smoking."
Shop owners have highlighted the time it will take them to be ready for the new legislation. There are also legal challenges to the equivalent regulations in England.
Mr Poots said the ban will not commence in Northern Ireland until next spring at the earliest. Vending machine sales should end from February 1 next year.
In March 2009 the Assembly approved the ban on the display of tobacco items in shops in Northern Ireland. Then health minister Michael McGimpsey wanted to introduce the prohibition in 2010 but the DUP argued for a delay to 2013 to give retailers time to fund changes to their premises.
Following delays caused by ongoing legal action, England and Scotland are now proposing an introduction date of April 6 2012 for large stores and April 6 2015 for small stores. Wales has yet to announce a new date. The Republic of Ireland introduced a display ban and further restrictions on underage access to vending machines from July 1 2009.
The latest survey results available show that almost 9% of 11 to 16-year-olds in Northern Ireland are regular smokers.