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24
TOBACCO OUTLET BUSINESS
MAY/JUNE 2012
Harm Reduction (continued):
TMA REPORT
for Smoke-Free Alternatives Association and Prof.
Michael Siegel of Boston University’s School of Public
Health, urging regulators not to place major obstacles
in the way of a potentially life-saving alternative.
…In March, Star Scientific, Inc. announced that
the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office has granted
patent claims for
a new “Tobacco Curing Method,”
developed by CEO Jonnie Williams. Star says the
method minimizes tobacco-specific nitrosamine
formation in tobacco “by subjecting it to a controlled
environment while a majority of the leaf is in a green,
uncured state” and is particularly well-suited for curing
tobacco for smokeless tobacco products.
…In a February 16 op-ed in
Forbes
, Dr. Gilbert
Ross, the executive and medical director at the
American Council on Science and Health, says
that the “tunnel-visioned” public health regulators
in the U.S. are “killing” smokers with their “willful
resistance” to
tobacco harm reduction strategies
and their abstinence-only attitude. That approach,
he noted, refuses to acknowledge the documented
benefits of smokeless tobacco products as a less
harmful alternative to cigarettes, as shown by the
“Swedish Experience,” or the apparent benefits of
newer products such as dissolvables and electronic
cigarettes, while continuing to insist that smokers
stick to traditional cessation medications even though
studies have demonstrated their poor success rates.
Packaging & Labeling:
…With the UK government expected to announce
shortly a public consultation on plain packaging
for tobacco products, economic and public policy
consultancy group London Economics released a
study of 3,000 UK residents on March 9 that used
“online simulation techniques to assess consumer
behavior in a
plain packaging environment.
” The
study found that consumers opt for cheaper brands
when cigarettes (or any other product) are sold in plain
packaging, suggesting that if manufacturers respond
by competing on price to maintain market share,
there may be unplanned outcomes such as increased
demand.
…Bloomberg reports citing two unnamed sources
that Australia may soon face a complaint at the World
Trade Organization that says the country’s
plain
packaging law
violates global intellectual property
rules. The claim involves at least three governments,
including Ukraine’s, which said at a February 28 WTO
meeting that “a number of othermember governments
and leading international intellectual property and
business organizations” have raised concerns about
the lack of consistency in Australia’s law. Morgan
Stanley analysts said they are “encouraged” by the
report of a WTO complaint, noting that: a WTO claim
can only be brought by a foreign country and not a
manufacturer; there is a strong legal and factual
basis for a WTO claim; and the action underscores
international opposition to plain packaging, potentially
influencing the trajectory of such legislation in other
markets.
…Following focus group tests conducted in all 27
EU member nations, the European Commission has
adopted
14 new text warnings
for tobacco product
packaging.
…At a discussion in the European Parliament
organized by the Smoke Free Partnership last week,
EU Health Commissioner
John Dalli said tobacco
products need to be “presented in a manner that does
not encourage or facilitate the uptake of smoking
among young people,” adding that he is also looking
into the inclusion of electronic cigarettes in the tobacco
products directive, which is currently undergoing a
revision.
…On March 8, Philippine Health Secretary Enrique
Ona said that the Department of Health will continue
to push for a proposal to require cigarettes sold in
the country to carry
pictorial health warnings
to help
the government campaign to curtail smoking in the
country.