Industry Spotlight

If indeed the legislation is passed and bland packaging becomes the norm, tobacco companies are likely to see the inside of the pack as the last bastion of communication left open to them (until, no doubt, even this avenue is closed down by the nanny state).

Possible strategies could include coloring the cigarette papers and filters and changing the shape of the sticks.

“There are certainly companies around the world experimenting with different looks, colored filters and sticks,” according to Professor Simon Chapman from the University of Sydney’s School of Public Health.

Brand images, colored packaging and other identifying marks mat soon become a thing of the past if Australian legislators get their way.

The government is debating a wide-range of anti-smoking initiatives that include plain packaging of tobacco products, including the use of designated fonts to identify brands rather than logos. The bulk of the packaging would be taken up with graphic health warnings.

If the measures, which are planned to be introduced July 1, 2012, are approved , Australia would become the first country in the world to adopt such harsh measures setting an uncomfortable precedent that other countries may attempt to adopt.

Famed Cuban tobacco grower Alejandro Robaina died last April 17 at the age of 91.

Robaina was an internationally acclaimed planter who had been working the fields for most of his long life.

A scion of one of Cuba’s oldest tobacco growing families, Robaina produced some of the world’s best cigar wrappers, and such was his status in Cuba that he was able to refuse an “invitation” from Fidel Castro to join a famer’s collective to boost productivity. 

Negotiators from 168 nations made progress on defining cooperation to put an end to counterfeit cigarette smuggling at talks held at the World Health Organization.

“There has been a great amount of progress,” Vijay Trivedi, policy advisor to the FCTC secretariat, told Reuters. “We made breakthroughs in important areas of the protocol, but just need to carry on with this momentum.”

The closed door meetings resulted in an outline for a “tracing and tracking” program that should aid countries in identifying smuggled cigarettes and smugglers. Duty-free cigarettes, though, proved to be a stumbling block, with no agreement taking place on this topic.

Researchers may have found the key to preventing cigarette-related lung inflammation that leads to a host of lung diseases including emphysema. Scientists at the University of Melbourne demonstrated that by blocking a certain protein they could severely reduce the inflammation in mice exposed to cigarette smoke and lower their risk for disease. 

Normally, inhalation of smoke causes the release of granulocyte macrophage-colony stimulating factor (GM-CSF), which when blocked stops the growth of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) cells and other cells responsible for other lung diseases. 

Cigarette excised targets have been raised to INR58.3 trillion (US$6.44 billion), an increase of 7% over last year’s revenue, according to a statement by Indonesia’s Finance Minstry. 

“Finance Minister Sri Mulyani (Indrawati) has asked to increase cigarette excise to INR58.3 trillion from an initial target set in the 2010 state budget of INR57.3 trillion rupiah,” said Finance Ministry excise director Bachtiar, quoted in the local media. “The increase in cigarette excise is in line with the government’s aim of controlling cigarette output for health reasons, Bachtiar added. 

An amendment to the Smoking (Control of Advertisements and Sale of Tobacco) Act is being debated by Singapore’s parliament that aims to ramp up regulations covering the importation of tobacco and tobacco-related products.

Among the amendments is a redefining of tobacco products to include tobacco derivatives and substitutes in a move intended to include smokeless and e-cigarettes in the legislative umbrella. 

Japan Tobacco Inc. has announced that it has applied to the Minister of Finance for approval to amend retail prices of Japanese domestic tobacco products in conjunction with the planned tobacco excise tax hike on October 1, 2010. 

In Japan, under the Tobacco Business Law, list prices for JT’s and imported tobacco products must be approved by the minister of finance. Tobacco retailers are only permitted to sell tobacco products at list prices that have been approved by the minister of finance.

The UK’s Imperial Tobacco Group Plc and Mumbai-based Barakat Food & Tobacco Pvt. Ltd. have announced the signing of an import and distribution agreement for the Davidoff brand of cigarettes in India. 

Under the agreement, premium Davidoff Classic ad Davidoff Gold cigarettes will become available in a number of key cities in India. 

“We are pleased that this agreement allows us to enter the Indian market with Davidoff, one of the Group’s flagship cigarette brands,” according to Colin Matthews, Imperial Tobacco regional managing director for Africa, West Asia and Indian sub-continent. “We are confident that Barakat’s expertise in FMCG distribution and merchandising will be mutually beneficial.”

Shrinking domestic demand is behind an Indian investment push by Japan Tobacco International (JT), the world’s third largest cigarette manufacturer by volume.

JT is awaiting Indian government approval for its new investment plans, executive deputy president Masakazu Shimizu told Bloomberg. He would not provide specific figures, but added that the investment intended “to expand production and sales [in the Indian market].”

JT officials did note that they hope to raise the company’s stake in its Indian subsidiary from 50% to 74% as part of the plan.