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January 22nd, 2012:

Australian Ethical: we don’t invest in guns, tobacco or pollution

Sydney Communications agency I.D.E.A.S is behind a campaign for Australian Ethical Investment that introduces the new slogan ‘Positive wealth creation’.

The campaign – titled ‘wake up’ – is based on the insight that many people do not know what their superannuation is invested in.

Australian Ethical: we dont invest in guns, tobacco or pollution    Wake up Cigarettes Still

Max Landrak, creative director at IDEAS, said: ”Ethical investing can be a difficult concept to get across. We found that it’s a lot easier to explain to people what Australian Ethical don’t invest in.”

Australian Ethical: we dont invest in guns, tobacco or pollution    Wake Up Guns Still

The campaign will run in print and online.

Australian Ethical: we dont invest in guns, tobacco or pollution    Wake Up Pollution Still

Paul Smith, GM of strategy and communication at Australian Ethical said: “Australian Ethical has a very clear position in the superannuation and investment space and we wanted a creative campaign that communicated this to new and existing customers alike”.

Credits:

  • ·        Campaign: ‘Wake Up’
  • ·        Executions: ‘Cigarettes’, ‘Guns’, Pollution’
  • ·        Client: Australian Ethical
  • ·        Client contacts: Paul Smith, General Manager, Strategy & Communication, Stephen Hyam, Marketing Manager
  • ·        Agency: I.D.E.A.S.
  • ·        Flash: Jimmy Pownall
  • ·        Creative director: Max Landrak

http://mumbrella.com.au/australian-ethical-we-dont-invest-in-guns-cigarettes-or-pollution-71884

No space for cigarettes in HK public libraries

http://asiancorrespondent.com/74210/no-space-for-cigarettes-at-hk-public-libraries/

The ban on smoking in certain premises do not only refer to physically lighting up cigars. The Hong Kong Public Library took it a step further to declare that any mention of cigarette products in any of its periodicals were promptly dealt with.

Proof is a page taken out of Popular Mechanics that is actually an advertisement of a “100% organically grown” tobacco. Oops, it is still visible through the white censor sheet but nevertheless, it is a consistent effort to suppress the promotion of cigarettes and tobaccos in public library premises.

http://asiancorrespondent.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/IMG_3450-621x465.jpg

Dark Knight 1 comment collapsed Collapse Expand

the main problem is the law was made deliberately potholed. Many bars still allow patrons to smoke, patios and outdoor seating areas of bars and restaurants still allow smoking and there should be a ban of say 10 meters from doorways. Overseas they rightly place the onus on licensees to ensure there is no smoking in the premises, or lose their licence to operate and sell liquor – not so in HKG where they prosecute the smokers only. Again the tobacco friendly Government allocates only 100 tobacco control officers for two shifts for the whole of HKG – that means they only operate on complaints and several days later. They actually have to catch someone smoking which is difficult in the upstairs bars. Luckily the apathetic Chief Executive wil be replaced in July but probably by a nincompoop who used to be his number 2 in prevarication and passing of flawed legislation that suits their business friendly colleagues in the Liberal Party.
Like, the biggest combined bus company is New World First Bus / Citybus and the Govt admits the roadside pollution comes from old diesels and buses but does nothing – maybe to do with the fact that Donald Tsang’s brother Tsang Yam Pui, the ex commission of police, is dep chairman of the bus company on HKD 8.8 million per year (after his pension).
It sucks.

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Frankie Fook-lun Leung 1 comment collapsed Collapse Expand

Hong Kong  citizens are law-abiding by and large.  PRC people ignore notices of no smoking and smoke as if there were no prohibition.  This reflects the cultural differences between H K and the Mainland.

British heart group calls for plain tobacco packs

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/12/29/us-british-tobacco-packs-idUSTRE7BS0P020111229

LONDON | Thu Dec 29, 2011 11:23am EST

LONDON (Reuters) – Heart health campaigners urged the British government Thursday to follow Australia’s lead and ban all eye-catching designs and branding from cigarette packs to stop young people being lured into smoking.

Australia is preparing to become the first nation to introduce so-called “plain” packaging on tobacco products by the end of 2012. The packs will show graphic health warnings about smoking but banish attractive colors and logos.

A survey by the British Heart Foundation charity released on Thursday found that more than a quarter of young people make assumptions about the relative harm of cigarettes based on the packaging alone.

The survey, which collated responses from more than 2,700 16 to 25 year-old smokers and non-smokers, found that three quarters of those who responded thought selling cigarettes in packs with no colorful brands or logos, and larger health warnings, would make it easier for people to smoke less or quit.

One in six, or 16 percent, said they would consider the pack design when deciding which cigarettes to buy, and 12 percent said they would choose a brand because it was considered ‘cool’.

Experts say half of all smokers will eventually die of a tobacco-related disease and the World Health Organization (WHO)describes tobacco as “one of the biggest public health threats the world has ever faced.”

Smoking causes lung cancer, which is often fatal, and other chronic respiratory diseases. It is also a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease, the world’s number one killer.

The BHF is calling for the introduction of plain packaging which has no eye-catching colors or brands but is mostly covered with graphic warnings about the health dangers of smoking. An example of the sort of packs they would like to see is here: bit.ly/sqTlRg

The British government is due to start a public consultation early in 2012 on whether the nation should switch to plain packaging for tobacco.

“As informed adults we know that smoking is a deadly addiction,” said Betty McBride, BHF’s director of policy and communications. “But young people are not always fully aware of the risks, and the power of branding holds more sway.”

Australia is planning to complete the introduction of its tough and world-first legislation by the end of 2012. The proposed law was cleared by parliament in November and is being closely watched by governments considering similar moves in Europe, Canada and New Zealand.

But it has angered cigarette makers and three of the world’s four largest tobacco firms, Philip Morris International, British American Tobacco and Imperial Tobacco are fighting it in Australia’s High Court.

In Britain, Health Secretary Andrew Lansley says he is eager to cut the number of young people who take up smoking. Smoking-related illnesses kill 80,000 Britons a year and Lansley has said dissuading people from taking up the habit is a public health priority.

Government data show some 200,000 children and young people in England start smoking each year and more than two thirds of Britain’s 10 million smokers started before they turned 18.

Tobacco advertising is banned in the UK, but campaigners say the fact that tobacco companies can still use their packs to promote their brand is “an absurd loophole” in the law.

“The tobacco industry takes full advantage … to lure in new young smokers,” McBride said.

HK helps smash illicit mainland tobacco trade

South China Morning Post – 22 Jan 2012

City authorities praised by British counterparts for helping stem flow of smuggled cigarettes

International co-operation involving Hong Kong is helping to smash illegal tobacco-growing operations on the mainland.

British authorities working to stem the flow of illicit cigarettes from China to Europe have heaped praise on their counterparts in Hong Kong and mainland China for their achievements, which include the seizure of 10 tonnes of tobacco and 713 cigarette manufacturing machines.

“These Chinese efforts really have had a market impact in the UK and other European states because they have driven down production,” said Euan Stewart, deputy director of criminal investigations at Britain’s HM Revenue and Customs. “It has been so successful that from seven provinces where illicit tobacco was manufactured and smuggled out of China to the European market, this has now been driven down to two provinces.”

Hong Kong customs and excise commissioner Clement Cheung Wan-ching said the recent seizure of 10 tonnes of hand-rolling tobacco bound for Britain was an example of the success of the partnership.

“We’ve been working very closely with our UK and mainland colleagues,” Cheung said. “Their revenue officers have been in communication with our officers and the latest incident when we uncovered the largest single police case involving the smuggling of tobacco into the UK is a testament to the co-operation that has been going on.”

Stewart said he had seen a growing willingness to share information from Beijing’s Anti-smuggling Bureau and the State Tobacco Monopoly Administration.

“You need good dialogue and trust to work with any Chinese official, either in Hong Kong or the mainland, and I believe we have achieved that,” Stewart said. “We’ve created an environment of trust where both parties benefit and operate effectively.

“There’s a definite willingness to share, sometimes quite sensitive intelligence, and we’re very grateful for that. We see it making a difference. There’s a whole lot less product reaching our frontiers.”

Anil Gogna, a fiscal and drugs liaison officer at the British consulate in Hong Kong, said Hong Kong was a key anti-smuggling partner in Asia.

“In China, counterfeit cigarettes have been seized and illicit tobacco factories have been found and shut. It has all had a knock-on effect on smuggling into the UK and Europe,” he said.

Cheung said Hong Kong customs had two main areas of co-operation with the mainland.

The first is when tobacco is seized and its mainland source is identified. Information is shared with mainland authorities to see if enforcement action can be taken. The second comes when mainland internet portals are used to sell tobacco to Hongkongers.

“Hong Kong is a free port, anyone can carry a reasonable amount of commodities across the border. But seeing as those commodities may be taxable on the mainland, we have a lot of co-operation. It’s very much a two-way street,” Cheung said.

john.carney@scmp.com