10 / 51
24
TOBACCO BUSINESS INTERNATIONAL
JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2015
regulatory options by the end of 2015.
…Writing in the
Journal of Law and
Medicine
, Dr. Marilyn Krawitz of the
University of Notre Dame Australia’s
School of Law in Fremantle, Western
Australia called for legalizing the sale
of e-cigs and regulating them under
national law. She argued that the
current ban on nicotine-containing
e-cigs has led to uncontrolled
purchases of poor quality devices from
foreign websites, while depriving the
government of tax revenue that would
be generated if they were made and
sold domestically.
…In China, the world’s largest
cigarette market, the State Council
released the
Ordinance on Restricting
Smoking in Public Spaces
in November
for public consultation. The ban will
outlaw smoking in all indoor and
certain outdoor public places, require
manufacturers to print written and
graphic health warnings covering at
least 50 percent of the surface area of
tobacco product packs, curtail smoking
scenes in movies and TV shows,
and prohibit tobacco advertising,
promotion and sponsorship.
…At its regular meeting on
November 19, the Westminster,
Massachusetts board of health voted
2-1 to drop its controversial proposal
to ban the sale of all tobacco products
and e-cigs to anyone regardless of age.
…Phoenix, Arizona-based cigar
and pipe tobacco maker
Prime
Time International
and its related
companies said that it entered into
an asset purchase agreement with a
new financial backer, which allows
the company to finalize its exit from
Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The company
reported that it will “continue to
operate its businesses in the ordinary
course, and will emerge stronger and
more competitive,” as it implements
“an aggressive 2015 trade plan.”
…In what is reported to be the first
study to examine
markers of health
among cigar smokers
in the U.S., a
study of 25,522 Americans led by FDA
CTP epidemiologist Jiping Chen and
published in
Cancer Epidemiology,
Biomarkers & Prevention
reports that
the amount of a carcinogen called
NNAL in daily cigar smokers was as high
as the level in daily cigarette smokers.
Cigar smokers also reportedly had
higher levels of cotinine, cadmium,
lead and NNAL than nonsmokers,
with those who stopped smoking
cigarettes and picked up cigars having
significantly higher levels of cotinine
and NNAL. The findings suggest
that cigar smokers may be breathing
smoke particles into their lungs even
when they think they are only puffing
and not inhaling.
…If the
Cuban embargo is lifted
by Congress, the U.S. cigar industry
may possibly fall under pressure
from Cuban cigars. “It’s a non-event
at this point,” says Dan Carr, CEO of
General Cigar, who estimates that a
traveler could only bring in two Cuban
cigars at the $100 ceiling on legal
purchases and not have the right to
resell them. That equates to a small
sum relative to the estimated $6.7
billion U.S. cigar market. Imperial’s
sales of Cuban cigars globally brought
in just $43.9 million in net profits
based on its global sales relationship
with Cubatabaco. Under new trade
normalization rules that President
Obama announced after the U.S.
and Cuba exchanged prisoners on
December 17, licensed U.S. travelers
to Cuba will be authorized to import
$400 worth of goods, including up to
$100 worth of tobacco products and
alcohol combined.
…Greg Zimmerman, secretary of
the I
nternational Premium Cigar
& Pipe Retail Association
and
proprietor of The Tobacco Company,
a Pennsylvania-based retailer, said
the easing of the decades-long U.S.
trade embargo on Cuba is “something
that the industry has been looking
for[ward to] for a lot of years.”
However, he added, “there will be a
lot of legal battles ahead” over old
trademarks from Cuba that are no
longer exclusive to the island, as cigar
makers expropriated by Fidel Castro in
the 1950s and early 1960s continued to
use their trademarks on cigars made
with tobacco they started growing
in the Dominican Republic and other
countries, creating a situation where
the same cigar marks are produced in
both Cuba and elsewhere.
TBI
TMA REPORT
ON THE CIGAR INDUSTRY…