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Anti-tobacco conference: China, India, others may be barred

Sep 4th, 2016
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http://www.vanguardngr.com/2016/09/anti-tobacco-conference-china-india-others-may-barred/

To avert compromised outcome, countries owning tobacco entities may be barred from participating in the 2016 anti-tobacco conference scheduled to hold in New Delhi, India. In a document, organizers called for support for the conference to “ensure the exclusion of representatives and officials from fully or partially state-owned tobacco industries, including state tobacco monopolies.”

The conference, which functions as an international parliament on tobacco control, is slated to hold November 7-12 . It will feature delegates from over 180 nations.

World Health Organization holds a tobacco control conference every two years through a sub-agency called the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC).

According to statistics at the FCTC, governments are responsible for over 40% of the world’s tobacco production, while many nations maintain tobacco research centres and fund promotional agencies to support tobacco exports.

China, Cuba, Egypt, Bulgaria, Thailand and the convention’s host country, India, for the conference may have a hard time having delegates approved to attend the event and vote on issues that impact their citizens.

FTCT justifies the possible exclusion of countries who pay dues toward the event because representatives from tobacco-producing countries “may have prevented public health interests from prevailing in the policy discussions” at previous conferences.

 

Growth of tobacco biz good for shareholders: ITC chief

Jul 22nd, 2016
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http://echoofindia.com/kolkata-growth-tobacco-biz-good-shareholders-itc-chief-112320

The growth of tobacco business of ITC was good for its shareholders and there was no point of de-growing it for the benefit of the non-tobacco verticals, ITC chairman Y C Deveshwar Friday said.

During the April-June quarter, ITC’s revenue from cigarettes increased 6.42 per cent to Rs 8,230.60 crore from Rs 7,733.43 crore in the year-ago period.

“Some shareholders are saying that growth of the tobacco business should be less while that of others (non-tobacco) should rise. That is not the objective”, Deveshwar said at the company’s AGM here.

Deveshwar, who will step down as executive chairman and preside over as non-executive chairman at the next AGM, said, “We are not competing within the company”.

“The growth of the tobacco business will be good for the shareholders of the company,” he said.

The tobacco business was increasingly coming under prohibition by various government regulations but continued to be the prime revenue driver of the company.

ITC was in a unique position to explore new opportunities in the area of perishables including fruits and vegetables, he said in the chairman’s speech.

In this regard, ITC was exploring the opportunity to invest in state-of-the-art cold chain top cover farm produce including fresh, frozen and dehydrated fruits and vegetables.

Also, there are plans to cultivate medicinal and aromatic plants, he said.

“The company’s traditional, new and developing enterprises will help in achieving the Rs 1 lakh crore FMCG goal by 2030,” he said. (PTI)

How One Man and His Team Brought about a Complete Ban on Gutka Sales in Odisha

Jul 6th, 2016
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http://www.thebetterindia.com/60849/tobacco-addiction-odisha-gutka-ban/

Meet Imran, a young Odisha resident who has taken the battle against tobacco addiction in the state as a personal crusade and is fighting it with all his might.

“This campaign is like our addiction in the fight against addiction. We have decided to donate one rupee and one hour for the country each day,” says Md. Imran Ali about his crusade against tobacco and alcohol addiction in Odisha.

Imran came across the menace of tobacco in the city while pursuing his Master’s in Social Work degree. During one of his field visits to the Shantipali slum in Bhubaneshwar, he was shocked to see kids as young as 10 years old addicted to tobacco products, especially gutka. On further investigation, he found that the easy availability of tobacco products in the market and ignorance of parents make it easy for children to access these items. This addiction, in turn, becomes a stepping stone to other addictions, like alcohol and drugs, as the children grow up.

The gravity of the situation and its irredeemable impact stuck with Imran. He ended up writing and self-publishing a book named Bloody Gutka, in which he talks about the immense harm done by tobacco products.

NMYS1

This was followed by awareness programmes that he organised with his friends in the slums, where they talked to parents about this problem. Gradually, he brought together some like-minded young people in Bhubaneshwar to form Nasha Mukti Yuva Sankalp (NMYS), a voluntary campaign against tobacco/alcohol addiction and substance abuse.

The group comprises about 30 young people who work on a voluntary basis to contribute towards the cause whenever they can. They started by conducting awareness programmes in schools and colleges across the city, slowly moving on to advocacy in a planned manner.

“We noticed that many OMFED (Orissa State Cooperative Milk Producers’ Federation Limited) booths in the state were turning into tobacco and smoking hubs. One could find tobacco products more than milk in many of these booths. I, along with a friend Jitendra Kumar Sahoo, filed a PIL in the Odisha High Court, seeking a ban on the sale of tobacco products at milk parlours,” says Imran.

A senior HC advocate, Biren Tripathi, agreed to take up the case for free and it resulted in victory. The court ordered a ban on the sale of tobacco products in Odisha milk parlours in 2011.

NMYS3

“Winning the case gave us a lot of confidence. I felt that when you are doing some good work, it gets noticed and recognised,” says Imran.

Soon, the group started campaigning for a complete ban on the sale and business of gutka in the state to address the rising number of mouth cancer cases. According to reports, smokeless tobacco accounts for more than 40% of all cancers in Odisha. Over 43% of the population consumes smokeless tobacco in one form or the other.

When awareness drives and online campaigns did not lead to any positive impact, they filed another PIL in the High Court. This time, an NGO named CLAP (Committee for Legal Aid to Poor) stepped forward to help them. NMYS was successful once again and the state implemented a complete ban in 2013.

Continuing with his mission to make people aware about the hazards of tobacco, Imran directed an Odiya documentary called Salaam Jeevan, addressing the health, economic and environmental hazards of tobacco.

NMYS2

It was shown in 2,500 colleges in the state with the help of the youth wing of the Odisha government. Imran also wrote a book with the same name, which was followed by yet another documentary called Silent Killer. It is a short documentary that shows the effect of tobacco consumption on families in general and Imran circulated it on WhatsApp to reach more people.

Members of NMYS also assist mouth cancer patients by directing them to the Acharya Harihar Regional Cancer Centre that treats underprivileged people for free. Imran has started a counselling centre for tobacco users with one of his friends B Nayak, who is a doctor.

NMYS5

“Mouth cancer does not develop suddenly. It has many warning signs and symptoms, which if caught and medicated early, can help in the treatment of the disease. We focus on the preventive part of the disease at the counselling centre,” he says.

Imran feels blessed that he has people who are willing to help his team by contributing towards the cause in kind. Professional editors, voice-over artists, cameramen, etc., agree to volunteer for his movies for free.

NMYS4

All the members of the group work on a voluntary basis. They come from varying backgrounds – education, health, business, etc. Imran too works part time as a teacher in a college. He is originally from the Bhadrak district of Odisha but moved to Bhubaneshwar after completing his graduation in sociology.

Imran decided to dedicate his life to social work when he applied for a post-graduation course. No bank was willing to give him an education loan. He wrote to the then President of India, APJ Abdul Kalam, seeking help. And the President’s office replied with a notice to the bank demanding immediate attention. “I received the loan within two days. The incident made me think that if the first citizen of the country is so dedicated towards the welfare of common people like me, then my duty and responsibility toward the country become even greater,” he says.

“Every time we take patients to the hospital and help in their treatment, they show so much gratitude that I feel richer than any millionaire. It is a traumatising experience for people when they come to know about cancer. It is important for someone to support them and give them courage in such times. That is why I have decided to keep doing what I am doing,” he concludes with a smile.

Ceylon Tobacco invests Rs. 500m over 10 years empowering rural poor

Jun 18th, 2016
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http://www.island.lk/index.php?page_cat=article-details&page=article-details&code_title=147119

Ceylon Tobacco Company PLC, one of the country’s richest and most efficient business conglomerates has invested Rs. 500 million over 10 years in a Sustainable Agricultural Development Program (SADP) to empower the rural poor by maximizing the potential of their home gardens.

The program which notches its tenth anniversary this year involves no cash handouts whatever. It offers beneficiaries inputs of planting material and livestock (chickens and goats) and extensive advice to enable beneficiaries to help themselves.

“We concentrate on families below the poverty line, generally living in areas with 10 months of rainfall and owning 20 to 40 perches of cultivable land,” a senior company official said. “It’s all about self-help – helping them to grow the vegetables they need for a balanced diet for their families and produce milk and eggs.”

Stringent independent auditing is done to measure results. A value is placed on even a lime plucked from the garden, everything produced, and it has been found that the beneficiary households generate produce worth Rs. 10,000 to Rs. 12,000 monthly increasing their nutritional levels vastly.

An independent study done by Ernst and Young in July last year indicated that the average monthly income from home gardening of a beneficiary family in the first year topped Rs. 3,000 going up to Rs. 8,875 in between one to two years and Rs. 13,453 when ‘graduating’ after 30 months.

With the livestock component added on, those on SADP for between one to two years earn an average 12,781 monthly while the 30-month group average Rs. 18,251.

“Most of the efforts that go into the home gardens come from the womenfolk,” officials who took a press group to several homesteads in the Galle and Matara districts to demonstrate what had been achieved said. “Often the men help when they can. But you can see that most of the work is done by the women in the family.”

Surplus produce is marketed and neighbors visit beneficiary homes to buy eggs and goat’s milk in addition to vegetables so that there is an element of cash income in the program. Produce is also sometimes marketed at the local pola.

The extension services offered by CTC who use a corps of field officers who frequently visit homes in the program, giving advice and guidance and also providing quality seed stock and planting material and in some cases livestock.

A pilot project with 100 families was started in 2005 and the program proper was launched a year later. It has now grown to cover 16 districts with over 18,000 families accounting for 71,000 beneficiaries.

The selected families are part of the program for two and a half years after which they “graduate” and are on their own. However, field staff do occasionally visit ‘graduates’ and offer advice though there are no material inputs, they said.

Visiting the home gardens was an experience by itself where the potential of the land available and space above it had been maximized with plastic junk like used cans, decapitated bottles etc. have been ingeniously used as hanging pots where crops are grown and ingenious drip watering systems.

The process begins with the compost pit providing organic fertilizer. Natural pesticides from margosa (kohomba) and crushed marigolds among others are used in a process involving no artificial fertilizer or pesticides.

In many homes virtually every inch of available land plus more (hanging pots) have been utilized.

Cultivating mushrooms and bee keeping is part of SADP although it’s not all beneficiaries who are into these areas; so also livestock. CTC sometimes buys goats bred under the program and gives them to other beneficiaries branching into that activity. One of the families visited had sold a pair a few days ago for Rs. 21,000.

Ceylon Tobacco has drawn on its expertise and experience with tobacco out-growers who at one time provided the company with lucrative tobacco leaf export business in addition to meeting its own requirements for the domestic cigarette industry.

Last year SADP was recognized in the Social Empowerment Category at the Asia Responsible Entrepreneurship Awards (AREA) held in Macau.

State bans sale of e-cigarettes

Jun 15th, 2016
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http://www.tobaccojournal.com/E-cigarette_sales_banned.53643.0.html

The government of Karnataka has banned the sale of e-cigarettes in the state, effective immediately, newspaper The Times of India reported.

The decision announced today follows the recommendation of the state’s Minister for Health and Family Welfare, U T Khader, who said a study on e-cigarettes conducted by a committee together with an NGO found that youth were becoming addicted to the products, the newspaper reported.

“The state hereby prohibits the sale (including online sale), manufacture, distribution, trade, import and advertisement of Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems, its parts and components in any shape or size of cartridges containing nicotine in the interest of the public,” the newspaper quoted a government notice as saying.

WHO report on e-cigs to be presented at COP7 conference

Jun 6th, 2016
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Tobacco control leaders from around the globe will be presented with the latest findings of the World Health Organization (WHO) on e-cigarettes and public health at a meeting in India this November.

The seventh Conference of the Parties to the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) – generally known as COP7 – will take place in Delhi from 7th to 12th November, and may issue recommendations on e-cigarette regulation after hearing the WHO’s views.

On the agenda, under the heading “control and prevention of globally emerging products”, is the presentation of a report by the WHO that the last meeting, COP6, requested in 2014.

That report is expected to be published before the Delhi conference, most likely during September.

Both the FCTC and the broader WHO, the international body under whose aegis it stands, have become notorious for their sceptical attitude toward e-cigarettes.

The COP6 meetin g suggested that member countries, which include nearly all major nations with the notable exception of the U.S., should consider a regulatory repertoire that could include restrictions on vaping in public places, advertising bans, or even complete prohibition of e-cigarettes and similar products.

What This Means: FCTC recommendations are not necessarily binding on members, but they – and WHO attitudes – have a strong influence on policy. This is especially true in the developing world, and is undoubtedly one reason why India (for example) is cracking down so hard on e-cigs; and even in other countries it adds considerable weight to arguments for tight regulation.

We wrote in 2014 that “there is no escaping the fact that [COP6] is encouraging governments to approach [ecigarettes] with grave suspicion”, and given the tenor of the WHO’s attitude toward vaping – infused by loathing of combustible tobacco and its history – we suspect we will be writing much the same this November.

– Barnaby Page ECigIntelligence staff

Study nails doubters of pictorial smoke warnings

Jun 6th, 2016
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http://www.telegraphindia.com/1160607/jsp/nation/story_89774.jsp#.V1bBFGZf12E

New Delhi, June 6: Pictures that portray the health hazards of smoking when printed on cigarette packets appear to increase smokers’ attempts to quit, new research has suggested, challenging claims by the tobacco industry that there isn’t evidence to support such warnings.

A clinical trial in the US has demonstrated the impact of pictorial warnings, showing that 40 per cent of smokers whose cigarette packs had pictorial warnings tried to quit compared with 34 per cent whose cigarette packets had text-only alerts.

Public health specialists say the findings are relevant to India where the health ministry earlier this year made mandatory pictorial warnings on 85 per cent of the surface area of tobacco packs, resisting persistent opposition by sections of MPs and the tobacco industry.

The New Delhi-based Tobacco Institute of India, which represents the domestic cigarette industry, has described the 85 per cent pictorial warnings images on tobacco packs as “large and gruesome warnings… directed at creating shock and evoking emotion among consumers”.

Under the old rules, the warnings in India had to cover 40 per cent of the pack’s front portion.

The US has seen similar disagreements between industry and public health professionals about the need for and the effectiveness of pictorial warnings. Sections of the US tobacco industry had used a lawsuit to stall the implementation of the 2009 Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act. A US court had ruled against nine pictorial warnings proposed by the Food and Drug Administration, saying the FDA had “not provided evidence” that the pictorial warnings reduced smoking.

“The court said there was inadequate evidence to support the warnings. I and many others disagreed with the court at the time,” Noel Brewer, associate professor of health behaviour at the University of North Carolina, who led the new study, told The Telegraph.

“Our new trial provides strong evidence that we believe the court will find compelling,” Brewer said.

The study’s findings, published today in JAMA Internal Medicine, a journal of the American Medical Association, also show that 5.7 per cent of smokers who had pictorial warnings on their cigarette packs had quit smoking for at least a week, compared to 3.8 per cent of smokers who had packs with text-only warnings.

Public health experts in India have in the past argued that pictorial warnings are all the more necessary in this country, where text-only warnings may have limited impact due to literacy barriers. The new US study found that pictorial warnings also increased forgoing a cigarette, intentions to quit smoking, negative emotional reactions, thinking about the harms of smoking and conversations about quitting.

In their trial, Brewer examined the smoking patterns and behaviour of 2,149 smokers, some of whom were given cigarette packs with pictorial warnings, while the others had packs with text-only warnings. The scientists say the effectiveness of the pictorial warnings was apparent despite the short duration of the trial that lasted only four weeks.

FDA seizes Rs 124-crore worth cigarette packs for flouting pictorial warning norms

May 28th, 2016
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Manufacturers to be issued warnings to cover 85% of packet surface with visuals on adverse health effects.

http://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/regional/fda-cigarette-packs-flouting-pictorial-warning-2822567/

According to the Food and Drug Administration, cigarette packets and other tobacco products, which should display pictorial warnings on 85 per cent of the packet surface about the adverse health effects as per the new law, are clearly flouting the rules in Pune district.

The FDA team conducted a massive operation beginning April this year and seized cigarette packets worth a whopping Rs 124.53 crore from 14 places across Pune district.

Joint Commissioner (FDA) Shashikant Kekare told The Indian Express that they have seized the packets worth Rs 124.53 crore from April till date. “We have decided to re-send the packets to the manufacturing companies, mainly ITC and Godfrey Phillips, and issue a warning to them to cover 85 per cent of the packet surface with large visual warnings within two months,” said Assistant Commissioner FDA Dilip Sangat.

In Pune district in the last four years, the FDA has also collected fines amounting to Rs 50,000 from 350 people, who were found smoking at public places and Rs 11,400 from 77 people who were found selling tobacco and related products within 100 metre distance of schools. The gutkha collected, however, has been phenomenal and packets worth Rs 8.68 crore have been seized from 638 places in the district.

As per the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products (Packaging and Labelling) Amendment Rules, 2014, the size of the pictorial warning was increased and were to come into effect from 2015 onwards. However, the Centre had on April 1, 2016 brought in the 85% pictorial warning rule. The Supreme Court too directed the tobacco manufacturing companies to comply with the rules to display the pictorial warnings across 85% of the surface of packets of cigarettes.

This year, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has stressed upon plain packaging of cigarettes and tobacco products on No Tobacco Day (May 31).

PACE team to reach out to more students, train medical interns

About one million people die each year from tobacco-related diseases. By 2020, that number is expected to touch 1.5 million, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO). May 31 is observed as No Tobacco Day to spread awareness on the harmful effects of tobacco consumption. The Association of Hospital (AOH) urges people to control and gradually reduce tobacco usage.

In Pune, the team of doctors at the Prevention of Addiction through Children’s Education (PACE) has actively reached out to more than one lakh students in the city and Mumbai. Dr Vandana Joshi, ENT surgeon, who heads PACE and is supported by a team of activists including Dr Neeta Ghate, Anuya Chabukswar and others, have now decided to focus on private schools this year. “We also want to train students of medical and dental courses so that they can take up the campaign to prevent gutka and smoking,” Joshi said.

Pictorial warnings welcome, but poor implementation: Docs

Cancer surgeons have welcomed the move to display pictorial warnings on cigarette packs but say it is poorly implemented. Dr Kamalesh Bokil, who is flooded with oral cancer patients at Ruby Hall Clinic, said the visual warnings really work.

“We need to sustain this movement. No firm can sell tobacco without displaying 85 per cent warning visuals on packs,” said Dr Pankaj Chaturvedi, head and neck cancer surgeon from Tata Memorial Hospital.

How India’s cigarette makers got their butts kicked for resisting graphic warnings on packets

May 10th, 2016
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http://qz.com/678661/indias-largest-cigarette-maker-got-its-butt-kicked-for-resisting-graphic-warnings-on-packs/

A heads-up for smokers in India: your cigarette packet will soon be wrapped in a bigger, more graphic, health warning, especially if you are partial to those made by ITC.

After a month of back and forth, India’s largest cigarette maker has fallen in line with a health ministry notification that requires 85% of cigarette packets to be covered with pictorial health warnings. The Indian government is pushing for tighter regulations on sale of tobacco products, which cause over a million deaths in the country every year.

Although notified in October 2014, the new rules were to be implemented by April 2016. But cigarette makers kicked up a storm and halted production for over a month, arguing that complying with these rules was simply too difficult.

On April 2, for instance, ITC announced a temporary closure of its five plants. “The implementation of any change in the health warnings on the cigarette packages is an elaborate process for the manufacturers, entailing months of preparation involving substantial cost and effort,” the Kolkata-based company said in a statement (pdf).

A fortnight later, it briefly commenced operations on April 15, even as the Karnataka Beedi Industry Association—an industry body representing local beedi workers in the state—went to the Karnataka high court seeking a stay order on implementing the new rules.

The association argued that the new rules would adversely impact India’s tobacco industry, already struggling with growing taxation burden and an increasingly long list of regulations. Sale of tobacco products generates about Rs28,000 crore in excise duty and state taxes every year, according to the Tobacco Institute of India (TII), a lobbying body for cigarette makers.

Even as it awaited the Karnataka high court’s decision, ITC pulled down the shutters again on May 4.

However, the same day, India’s supreme court took a hard stand, directing all cigarette companies to follow the new rules on pictorial warnings as move “necessary to educate people.” “You have a duty towards the society,” a two-judge bench told industry members during a hearing.

Knuckles sharply rapped, on May 08, ITC announced that it will commence operations and print new graphical warnings packets. “ITC factories have resumed production in a phased manner with the specified 85% graphical warning pending a hearing by the Karnataka high court,” a company spokesperson said.

Other cigarette makers such as Godfrey Philips and VST Industries also temporarily halted production of tobacco products to oppose the government’s decision. But with the biggest player in India’s cigarette market now towing the line, the rest are likely to swiftly follow.

India’s ITC resumes cigarette production with larger health warnings | Reuters

May 9th, 2016
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http://www.firstpost.com/fwire/indias-itc-resumes-cigarette-production-with-larger-health-warnings-reuters-2773144.html

NEW DELHI India’s biggest cigarette maker, ITC Ltd, said on Monday it had resumed production in phases, complying with new rules on pictorial warnings from the federal government.

The company had shut its plants from May 4 as it worked to get much larger health warnings on cigarette packs, even as a court hears objections to the new rules.

“ITC cigarette factories have resumed production in a phased manner, with the specified 85 percent graphical warning pending hearing by the Karnataka High Court,‎” a company spokesman told Reuters in an email.

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