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AFP/SCMP: Death of French director prompts smoking controversy

from AFP (Paris)/SCMP:

When one of a country’s most brilliant artists has just died, is it appropriate for a government minister to point out that the heavy smoker succumbed to lung cancer?

That was the question exercising France yesterday as the country mourned the loss to the disease of acclaimed director Patrice Chereau at the age of 68. His best-known films were La Reine Margot and Intimacy.

Patrice Chereau died after "long illness", French media said

Michele Delaunay, the minister for the elderly, sparked the debate after the announcement of Chereau’s death due to what most French media described as a “long illness”.

Delaunay, in contrast, tweeted: “Chereau dead as a result of lung cancer: is it not time for cigarettes to be locked away in a cabinet for poison and sold only in pharmacies.”

The comment immediately triggered accusations on social media of the government health police exploiting a high-profile death for their own ends.

The furore forced the minister to respond, which she did by pointing out that she was speaking out as a qualified doctor. “I can no longer bear people dying because of tobacco,” she wrote. “It is immensely sad to see, once again, a talented man struck down by a legal weapon.”

9 Oct 2013

Smoking Costs Hong Kong Over $5 Billion Every Year

Download PDF : 71_presentation

price comparison Jan 2012 cigarette prices inclusive local taxes Hong Kong way behind first world countries in preventative tobacco control

Download PDF : 2012CIGRETAIL

$1 Spent On Smoking Cessation Saves $3

http://commonhealth.wbur.org/2012/01/1-spent-on-smoking-cessation-saves-3/
A program that helped low income Massachusetts residents stop smoking saved
three-dollars for every dollar spent. That’s the conclusion of a study from
George Washington University published online today in the journal PLoS One.

“While we have always known that helping people quit smoking is an
investment in their health, this study shows that our efforts are also a
sound financial investment for the Commonwealth,” said Governor Deval
Patrick in a statement. “This represents another positive outcome of health
reform in Massachusetts.”

http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0029665

Tobacco price hike to kick in

New Zealand – a packet of cigarettes now costs HK$ 83 in NZ versus HK$50 in Hong Kong and HK$ 72 in Singapore

Tobacco price hike to kick in (Source: ONE News)

Cigarettes on display in a shop – Source: ONE News

Vowing to give up cigarettes may be a New Year’s resolution for more smokers than usual this year as the tax on tobacco increases from the first day of 2012.

The last of the three-tiered tax increase will push the cost of the most popular brand of cigarettes to $13.80 for a 20 pack (HK$ 83) and to $31 for a 30g pack of loose tobacco.

Quitline Chief Executive Paula Snowden said January is a notoriously busy time of year and the tax increase will only increase the number of smokers looking for support.

“80% of smokers wished they’d never started smoking and we expect the January tax jump will be a trigger for many to quit,” said Snowden.

“Those who use Quitline support are up to five times more likely to succeed than going it alone.”

Snowden said the tax hike will mean smokers can look forward to saving $4500 in 2012 if they give up in time for the New Year.

“For a family with one adult smoking one packet a day, that equates to a tank of petrol a week.

“Over a month it’s an average week’s rent or a car payment -serious money out of the family budget,” said Snowden.

In January 2011, 9,383 people quit smoking with the help of Quitline – almost double the number who used the service in January 2010.

Anyone wanting support can call Quitline for free on 0800 778 778 or visit www.quit.org.nz for online support.

Activists fuming at Marlboro price cut

Anti-smoking lobby says Philip Morris’ marketing strategy will result in more smokers in Senegal, a poor country where one in three adults smokes

Philip Morris International has slashed the price of its best-selling Marlboro brand in Senegal, a 40 per cent discount that has left health officials and activists fuming and triggered calls to toughen tobacco laws.

The decision to cut the price of a pack of 20 Marlboros – the world’s top-selling cigarette sold in 180 countries – to a mere 400 CFA francs (HK$6.14) from 650 CFA francs makes Senegal the second cheapest place to buy the brand in the world, behind only Zimbabwe, where the same packet costs 60 US cents.

“This drop is unacceptable. Senegal is the only country in the world where one can cut the price of cigarettes and nothing ever happens,” said oncologist Abdou Aziz Kasse, who also heads the Senegalese League Against Tobacco.

Philip Morris International, based in Lausanne, Switzerland, said the move was aimed at making Marlboros competitive with other cigarettes sold in the West African state.

“Cigarettes sold at or under CFA 400 have been available for many years, and even prior to the price change by Marlboro accounted for the majority of the cigarettes sold in Senegal,” it said.

“The recommended retail price of Marlboro was adjusted to this level so that Marlboro cigarettes can better compete for a share of these existing adult smokers in Senegal.”

A similar Marlboro pack costs about HK$50 in Hong Kong, HK$16 on the mainland, and anywhere from US$4.50 to US$10 in the US. The most expensive places to buy a packet of Marlboro 20s are Qatar and Australia, where it costs about US$15.

The Senegalese League Against Tobacco, which groups 15 anti-smoking bodies, has said it will ask the government to force the tobacco giant to reverse the decision.

“Tobacco companies are losing the fight in the West” where anti-smoking laws are gaining teeth, but the opposite is true of Africa, Kasse said.

The outrage has spilled over to other countries, including the US, where Philip Morris has its headquarters.

The US chapter of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids said: “Senegal suffers from alarming smoking rates, with nearly one out of every three adults and an estimated 20 per cent of youth already smoking.”

Its president, Matthew Myers, added: “It is imperative that Senegal’s government take action to counter PMI’s price ploy by increasing the taxes on tobacco products.

“Higher taxes are particularly effective in reducing tobacco use among vulnerable populations, such as youth and low-income smokers. Higher cigarette prices are scientifically proven to prevent young people from starting to smoke and encourage smokers to quit.”

Marlboro was launched in 1924 as a woman’s cigarette, based on the slogan “Mild as May”. The filter had a printed red band around it to hide lipstick stains.

It soon morphed into a macho cigarette with the iconic Marlboro man – a rugged cowboy – featured on billboards, magazines and television screens across the world.

Senegal’s Health Minister, Modou Fada Diagne, has denounced the decision as “catastrophic for the health of the people”.

The National Federation of Parents of Senegalese Students would “oppose it forcefully”, its chief, Bakary Badiane, said.

Badiane, who is vice-president of a continental body of parents of school pupils, said he could “take the fight to an African level to avoid the dangers that threaten children”.

Smoking can lead to lung cancer, heart disease and emphysema.

Cigarette prices were freed from state controls in 1994 in Senegal. A source in the commerce ministry said Philip Morris International’s decision was aimed “at paying lower taxes”.

Under the West African nation’s tax regime, high-end cigarettes such as Marlboro attract 45 per cent tax, while cheaper cigarettes are taxed at only 20 per cent.

Senegal ratified the World Health Organisation’s anti-smoking treaty, which came into force in 2005.

New Year to see 14.6% hike in cigarette price in New Zealand

Submitted by Nimisha Sachdev on Sun, 12/18/2011 – 03:42

In what clearly is a massive push in the direction of getting smokers in New Zealand to quit smoking, the cost of cigarettes will be increased from the New Year’s Day.

As a result of the increase to take effect from January 1, 2012, the cost of a standard pack of 20 cigarettes will witness a 14.6 percent rise; thus breaking through the NZ$15 price tag.

The tobacco-hike move in New Zealand comes in the wake of the observations by Dr Jeffrey Wigand – a scientist and tobacco industry whistleblower – who is of the opinion that even though the country has progressed in terms of fighting tobacco addiction, there was still a lot of more work required.

The forthcoming hike in the cost of the standard 20-pack of cigarettes will be third one since June 2010, and is largely an upshot of the yearly adjustments which are made to excise duty. It was last year that the government brought legislation to Parliament for increasing the excise duty on tobacco.

Noting that the last two tax increase witnessed an approximate 93 percent increase in the demand for Quitline services, Bruce Bassett –Quitline’s spokesman – told the NZ Herald that with household price thresholds apparently determining spending, price increases to a certain point “shocks people into realising how much of their discretionary income is being put into feeding their addiction.”

http://www.frenchtribune.com/teneur/118597-new-year-see-146-hike-cigarette-price-new-zealand

New Zealand year on year tobacco excise increase Standard packet of cigarettes will cost HKD 90.4 from January 1st 2012

http://www.frenchtribune.com/teneur/118597-new-year-see-146-hike-cigarette-price-new-zealand

New Year to see 14.6% hike in cigarette price in New Zealand

Submitted by Nimisha Sachdev on Sun, Dec 18/2011 – 03:42

In what clearly is a massive push in the direction of getting smokers in New Zealand to quit smoking, the cost of cigarettes will be increased from the New Year’s Day.

As a result of the increase to take effect from January 1, 2012, the cost of a standard pack of 20 cigarettes will witness a 14.6 percent rise; thus

breaking through the NZ$15 price tag (HKD 90.4).

The tobacco-hike move in New Zealand comes in the wake of the observations by Dr Jeffrey Wigand – a scientist and tobacco industry whistleblower – who is of the opinion that even though the country has progressed in terms of fighting tobacco addiction, there was still a lot of more work required.

The forthcoming hike in the cost of the standard 20-pack of cigarettes will be third one since June 2010, and is largely an upshot of the yearly adjustments which are made to excise duty. It was last year that the government brought legislation to Parliament for increasing the excise duty on tobacco.

Noting that the last two tax increase witnessed an approximate 93 percent increase in the demand for Quitline services, Bruce Bassett – Quitline’s spokesman – told the NZ Herald that with household price thresholds apparently determining spending, price increases to a certain point “shocks people into realising how much of their discretionary income is being put into feeding their addiction.”

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10723986

Tobacco sales drop 10pc after tax rise By Martin Johnston

5:30 AM Saturday May 7, 2011

Tobacco sales have slumped by 10 per cent following a tax increase that led many smokers either to quit or cut down.

“The number of cigarettes released for sale per adult is now at its lowest in 90 years,” said the chairman of the End Smoking Trust, Dr Murray Laugesen, a public health specialist.

“This result is in line with the 15 per cent decrease in supermarket sales we reported after the 12 per cent May increase in tobacco excise 12 months ago,” he said.

A spokeswoman for Associate Health Minister Tariana Turia said yesterday that the minister, who was to return from overseas last night, would be delighted by the decrease, although she had not yet seen the figures.

Around 20 per cent of adults smoke. Based on Government tobacco tax data, Dr Laugesen calculated that the equivalent of 969 cigarettes per adult were sold in 2010, down from 1080 the previous year.

The figures include all adults, not just smokers, and loose tobacco as well as factory-made cigarettes.

He said it was impossible to know from the data what the contributions of quitting and cutting down were to the overall sales reduction.

However, figures released earlier by the government’s Quit Group suggest the number of smokers giving up the habit has increased as a result of last May’s tax hike – which was followed by another in January, ahead of the third and last of the trio of tax rises next January.

The number of people who called the Quitline last May was nearly double the number recorded in May 2009. A check later last year found that after six months, 17.2 per cent of smokers who had called the Quitline in May were still not smoking. The organisation said this was “comparable to Quitline’s standard quit success measure of 20.9 per cent”.

“The key outcome is that there were 59 per cent more people successfully quit at six months than there would have been without the tax increase …”

By Martin Johnston | Email Martin

Malawi Tobacco Sells for 39% Below Government-Set Price, Daily Times Says

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-07-28/malawi-tobacco-sells-for-39-below-government-set-price-daily-times-says.html

The average price of tobacco in Malawi, the world’s largest producer of the burley variety, is selling for 39 percent less than the government’s recommended price, the Daily Times reported.

The leaf is selling for an average $1.10 per kilogram (2.2 pounds) since the auction season started on March 14, the Blantyre-based newspaper said, citing Bruce Munthali, the chief executive officer of the Tobacco Control Commission. The country has generated $104.8 million from tobacco sales this year, it said.

Tobacco prices up in smoke

http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk/news/zimbabwe/51038/tobacco-prices-up-in-smoke.html?utm_source=thezim&utm_medium=homepage&utm_campaign=listarticle&utm_content=headinglink

When President Robert Mugabe embarked on the infamous and chaotic land reform programme in 2000, Zanu (PF) officials and supporters immediately benefited and many recipients of land hoped to cash in on commercial farming.

Chinese buyers from Tian Ze debate tobacco quality.

Chinese buyers from Tian Ze debate tobacco quality.

Elisha Mavhezha, a small-scale tobacco farmer based in Headlands, expected handsome rewards from the just ended tobacco selling season, but instead recorded huge losses.

“I ventured into tobacco farming in anticipation of better returns, but all my hope has been transformed into nightmares. I had to sell two oxen to buy the inputs for my tobacco preparations. I used more than US$2000 in expenses for my two hectares, but when I went to Boka Tobacco Auction floors my crop fetched poor prices, a feat that forced me to sell another ox to settle my labour costs and other debts,” he said.

“These buyers are crooks. It is good as giving them our tobacco for free. They don’t want to pay good prices to us because we, as black people, are now in control of the farms. In the past whites made a lot of money through farming, but now blacks own those farms and we have failed to make money. We also want to drive new cars like what they (whites) did,” said the fuming farmer, adding that he had remained poor despite his efforts.

Forced out of business

Other farmers in the Headlands area said the poor tobacco price would force them out of tobacco farming if no corrective measures were taken before the next season. They complained that the Tobacco Industry Marketing Board (TIMB) was doing nothing to protect them.

Topira Mutasa, a retired colonel, who is a resettled farmer on Rungutai Farm described the situation as a “big swindle”.

“These buyers are ripping farmers off. Their acts are bent to frustrate and push farmers out of business. We are no longer able to pay transporters, our workers and bank loans,” he said.

The farmers said some of the buyers offered between 98 cents and one dollar per kilogram; a price they said was a mockery of their business. A more respectable price would be US$4 per kilogram.

“Do you think the farmers are going to plant tobacco next season when things went like that last season? This is the highest level of slave trade. Where is TIMB? Where are those farm organisations? Who will protect us then?” asked the ex-Colonel.

Ministers profit from farmers’ loss

The small-scale farmers also accused some top Zanu (PF) ministers of profiteering at the expense of the small-scale farmers.

“These buyers pay good prices of up to US$5.50 per kilogram to selected and feared Zanu (PF) cabinet ministers and officials. These ministers and senior officials have failed to protect us because they know that they are OK. What about us small-scale farmers who are powerless. Is this what the land reform is all about?” asked another tobacco small-scale farmer who requested not to be named for fear of victimization.

Popular businessman and former football personality, Lovemore Gijima Msindo, who is also a tobacco farmer said the government should bring sanity to the tobacco industry.

“The government should now subsidise the small-scale farmers that have already been ripped off. If it fails to do that then many farmers are not going to plant tobacco next season. If people quit tobacco farming it will be a disaster for the nation,” he added.

Chinese buyers unfazed

Chinese companies buying on behalf of the Chinese market said what they had been offering (US$3.60 per kilogram) was the best price.

“A number of farmers are not registered and this affects our planning capabilities. We already sourced money from international markets that is in accordance with available tobacco, that’s why we settle for these prices,” said Ting Yang, a buyer from Chinese firm, Tian Ze.

“Maybe those low offers were on poor quality tobacco,” he added. While the number of indigenous small-scale farmers has increased, less of the top quality “lemon tobacco”, which is used to flavour cigarettes, has been grown. “Flavour tobacco is in short supply,” said Nathan Harawa a resettled small scale farmer from Rusape.

US-based buyers Standard Commercial, Universal and Dimon have traditionally bought the bulk of Zimbabwe’s crop to flavour cigarette brands, such as Marlboro and Camel. However, Zimbabwean tobacco, once considered by buyers to rival US varieties, has now been excluded from blends used by the biggest cigarette makers because the quality and quantity of the crop is declining.

Some local observers interviewed said the country was at the mercy of Chinese buyers and emphasized that there was need for policy interventions to protect all stakeholders involved.