COUNTERFEIT cigarettes and illicit booze are being sold around Cheshire, experts have warned.
In a crackdown on black market crime, HM Revenue and Customs are now urging people to be on their guard in the New Year.
With clever packaging, it can often be difficult to spot dodgy goods.
But almost 17 million illegal cigarettes and more than 250,000 litres of alcohol have recently been seized from homes across the North West.
Graham Forbes, HMRC Special Investigations Manager, said: “We’ve active and effective teams of officers operating across the North West to disrupt this illicit trade which has a devastating impact on legitimate retailers.
He spoke of discovering counterfeit cigarettes and drink in pubs and newsagents, and even in the boot of a taxi.
среда, 22 декабря 2010 г.
Two men sentenced in cigarette fraud scheme
Two Glendale men were sentenced on Monday to 366 days in federal prison for their roles in cigarette trafficking scheme. Grigor Chivitchian, 57, and Sarkis Mkrtchyan, 47, were also ordered to pay $280,000 in restitution to the state.
The two men pleaded guilty to federal contraband trafficking and conspiracy charges in September, according to announcement from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
The investigation that started in 2007 found that Mkrtchyan and Chivitchian were not authorized to purchase or possess untaxed cigarettes in California.
The two men were also ordered to serve three years of probation.
By avoiding interstate taxes and reporting, smugglers can make millions that go unreported.
Another Glendale man sentenced to more than seven years in federal prison in April for cigarette fraud and tax evasion in 2008.
Between January 2002 and June 2005, Avedis Djeredjian, now 41, bought more than 367,960 cartons of cigarettes from North Carolina without adequate tax stamps from California regulators, depriving California of $3.2 million in tax revenue, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.
Djeredjian was also ordered to pay back more than $6.4 million. And upon completing his prison sentence, Djeredjian will have three years of parole.
The two men pleaded guilty to federal contraband trafficking and conspiracy charges in September, according to announcement from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
The investigation that started in 2007 found that Mkrtchyan and Chivitchian were not authorized to purchase or possess untaxed cigarettes in California.
The two men were also ordered to serve three years of probation.
By avoiding interstate taxes and reporting, smugglers can make millions that go unreported.
Another Glendale man sentenced to more than seven years in federal prison in April for cigarette fraud and tax evasion in 2008.
Between January 2002 and June 2005, Avedis Djeredjian, now 41, bought more than 367,960 cartons of cigarettes from North Carolina without adequate tax stamps from California regulators, depriving California of $3.2 million in tax revenue, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.
Djeredjian was also ordered to pay back more than $6.4 million. And upon completing his prison sentence, Djeredjian will have three years of parole.
Cigarette Smoke the Main Culprit in Building Warning Signs
The signs are all over Hermosa, hanging in parking garages, office buildings and apartment complexes.
"This area contains chemical substances known to the state of California to cause cancer, reproductive toxicity and birth defects," they read (see accompanying photo).
These notices have been a part of town, and the rest of the state, since 1986 when California voters passed the Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act under Proposition 65.
The measure made these signs mandatory in all businesses with 10 or more employees to inform people in the area that they could be exposed to harmful toxins.
An interesting facet of the law is that businesses are required to post a sign stating that chemicals only are present, not detailing which chemicals.
You have to contact the businesses if you want to know the particulars, and that's exactly what Patch did. The answer? Most of the "chemical substances" are cigarette smoke.
Nearly 50 percent of cancers are caused by cigarette smoke, with other environmental toxins accounting for much less of the diseases' rates, according to research.
"It's a major human cancer-causing agent," said Dr. Joseph Landolph, who served on the Proposition 65 advisory board of scientists who have studied these toxins.
An expert in carcinogens and an associate professor at the USC Keck School of Medicine, Landolph has also served on the committee that recommends to the state which substances should be recognized as cancer-causing agents.
"Cigarette smoking is responsible for between 30 to 50 percent of all human cancer" in those exposed to firsthand and secondhand smoke, Landolph told Patch. "Industrial carcinogens cause probably about 5 to 8 percent."
Here in Hermosa Beach, the signs that warn of cancer-causing chemicals are most visible at apartment buildings, such as The Gallery on 2nd Street, an Equity Residential property.
Management had to post the signs because the apartment complex allows smoking on the premises, said Ann Hemmila who serves as a leasing agent for The Gallery.
She was not aware of any other chemicals present that would fall under the signage requirement.
Cori Davis, a resident of The Gallery, told Patch that she hadn't noticed the signs, but she's alarmed by the thought of them.
"I would definitely want to know what substances are here that I need to be aware of," Davis said. "I think they should have to list it if they're going to say that something's toxic."
David Hattrup, a resident of the nearby Playa Pacifica apartment complex on Herondo Street, also managed by Equity Residential, said that he has noticed the signs in his building, but he's not concerned.
"I don't have any reaction to them," Hattrup told Patch. "They're just kind of everywhere as an 'inform-the-public' type thing. Thank you for informing me, but I'm going to keep doing my daily stuff."
But surprisingly, the signage posted in apartment buildings is not meant to notify tenants of the risk of exposure, but rather employees, said Eric Wiegers of the California Apartment Association.
"Apartment buildings are just another…public facility where [the signs] are required by law," he said. "That's a common misconception people have—it's not for residents of an apartment community, it's for employees," such as building managers or maintenance staff.
Regardless of whom the signs are for, Hermosans have a right to know whether toxins that cause cancer and birth defects are present in places of business, Landolph said.
"Should people in the apartment buildings jump out of the window? No, not at all," Landolph said. "They should find out what the sticker is there for, and they have a right to do that."
Once residents educate themselves, they then should focus on reducing their voluntary exposure to cancer causing agents, such as cigarettes, he added.
Viruses, such as the human papillomavirus (HPV) and hepatitis A and B, cause about 10 percent of cancers, Landolph said. Vaccines can help in some cases, such as the Gardasil shots that help keep the HPV virus from developing into cervical cancer in women and penile cancer in men.
But in addition to limiting exposure to cigarette smoke and getting the Gardasil vaccine, Landolph recommends that people watch their diet. "Eat green, leafy and yellow vegetables and fruits."
"This area contains chemical substances known to the state of California to cause cancer, reproductive toxicity and birth defects," they read (see accompanying photo).
These notices have been a part of town, and the rest of the state, since 1986 when California voters passed the Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act under Proposition 65.
The measure made these signs mandatory in all businesses with 10 or more employees to inform people in the area that they could be exposed to harmful toxins.
An interesting facet of the law is that businesses are required to post a sign stating that chemicals only are present, not detailing which chemicals.
You have to contact the businesses if you want to know the particulars, and that's exactly what Patch did. The answer? Most of the "chemical substances" are cigarette smoke.
Nearly 50 percent of cancers are caused by cigarette smoke, with other environmental toxins accounting for much less of the diseases' rates, according to research.
"It's a major human cancer-causing agent," said Dr. Joseph Landolph, who served on the Proposition 65 advisory board of scientists who have studied these toxins.
An expert in carcinogens and an associate professor at the USC Keck School of Medicine, Landolph has also served on the committee that recommends to the state which substances should be recognized as cancer-causing agents.
"Cigarette smoking is responsible for between 30 to 50 percent of all human cancer" in those exposed to firsthand and secondhand smoke, Landolph told Patch. "Industrial carcinogens cause probably about 5 to 8 percent."
Here in Hermosa Beach, the signs that warn of cancer-causing chemicals are most visible at apartment buildings, such as The Gallery on 2nd Street, an Equity Residential property.
Management had to post the signs because the apartment complex allows smoking on the premises, said Ann Hemmila who serves as a leasing agent for The Gallery.
She was not aware of any other chemicals present that would fall under the signage requirement.
Cori Davis, a resident of The Gallery, told Patch that she hadn't noticed the signs, but she's alarmed by the thought of them.
"I would definitely want to know what substances are here that I need to be aware of," Davis said. "I think they should have to list it if they're going to say that something's toxic."
David Hattrup, a resident of the nearby Playa Pacifica apartment complex on Herondo Street, also managed by Equity Residential, said that he has noticed the signs in his building, but he's not concerned.
"I don't have any reaction to them," Hattrup told Patch. "They're just kind of everywhere as an 'inform-the-public' type thing. Thank you for informing me, but I'm going to keep doing my daily stuff."
But surprisingly, the signage posted in apartment buildings is not meant to notify tenants of the risk of exposure, but rather employees, said Eric Wiegers of the California Apartment Association.
"Apartment buildings are just another…public facility where [the signs] are required by law," he said. "That's a common misconception people have—it's not for residents of an apartment community, it's for employees," such as building managers or maintenance staff.
Regardless of whom the signs are for, Hermosans have a right to know whether toxins that cause cancer and birth defects are present in places of business, Landolph said.
"Should people in the apartment buildings jump out of the window? No, not at all," Landolph said. "They should find out what the sticker is there for, and they have a right to do that."
Once residents educate themselves, they then should focus on reducing their voluntary exposure to cancer causing agents, such as cigarettes, he added.
Viruses, such as the human papillomavirus (HPV) and hepatitis A and B, cause about 10 percent of cancers, Landolph said. Vaccines can help in some cases, such as the Gardasil shots that help keep the HPV virus from developing into cervical cancer in women and penile cancer in men.
But in addition to limiting exposure to cigarette smoke and getting the Gardasil vaccine, Landolph recommends that people watch their diet. "Eat green, leafy and yellow vegetables and fruits."
понедельник, 21 июня 2010 г.
Rochester man arrested in tobacco smuggling probe
An investigation into major smuggling of hand-rolling tobacco and money-laundering has led to a fifth arrest.
Investigators from HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) searched an address in Rochester, Medway, and arrested a 41-year-old man on Friday.
HMRC criminal investigation assistant director John Kay said it followed four other arrests this month and searches of an industrial unit in Surrey.
Computers, documents and suspected drugs were seized in Rochester.
Mr Kay said investigators had already seized more than three tonnes of hand-rolling tobacco and £400,000 in cash during their investigation.
He added: "One of our key priorities is to identify the abuse of our tax systems by criminal gangs who smuggle illicit tobacco products into the UK for their own profit."
All five people arrested are still being investigated by HMRC.
Investigators from HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) searched an address in Rochester, Medway, and arrested a 41-year-old man on Friday.
HMRC criminal investigation assistant director John Kay said it followed four other arrests this month and searches of an industrial unit in Surrey.
Computers, documents and suspected drugs were seized in Rochester.
Mr Kay said investigators had already seized more than three tonnes of hand-rolling tobacco and £400,000 in cash during their investigation.
He added: "One of our key priorities is to identify the abuse of our tax systems by criminal gangs who smuggle illicit tobacco products into the UK for their own profit."
All five people arrested are still being investigated by HMRC.
понедельник, 14 июня 2010 г.
Tobacco in Italy - new market report released
(live-PR.com) - The Tobacco in Italy report offers a comprehensive guide to the size and shape of the market at a national level. It provides the latest retail sales data 2002-2007, allowing you to identify the sectors driving growth. It identifies the leading companies, the leading brands and offers strategic analysis of key factors influencing the market - be the new legislative, illustrate how the market is set to change. Product coverage includes: cigarettes, cigars and smoking tobacco Data coverage: market sizes historic and forecasts, company shares and brand shares. Why buy this report? * Get a detailed picture of the tobacco industry; * Pinpoint growth sectors and identify factors driving change; * Understand the competitive environment, the market’s major players and leading brands; * Use five-year forecasts to assess how the market is predicted to develop.
понедельник, 7 июня 2010 г.
Premium Electronic Cigarette Now Offering New PremiumOne Disposable Electronic Cigarettes
/EINPresswire.com/ VIRGINIA BEACH, VA - PremiumEcigarette.com, a revolutionary smokeless cigarette company, is excited to announce a brand new product to the electronic cigarette market. Along with the variety of e-cigarette kits and styles already available on the website, they are now offering the PremiumOne disposable cigarette that acts as a single piece electronic cigarette.
While many people may prefer to purchase their electronic cigarettes in a kit, providing them with extra batteries, cartridges and chargers, there are many people who are attracted to the PremiumOne disposable electronic cigarette style. These disposable cigarettes are equivalent to twenty-five traditional cigarettes or 360+ puffs. Complete with one battery, one atomizer and one cartridge, this disposable cigarette makes it possible for people to try e-cigarettes at a very low price before making the investment in a smokeless cigarette kit.
This e-cigarette comes in one single piece and is fully charged and ready to use. There is no assembly required, whereas with the other e-cigarettes people will need to recharge the batteries and screw the parts together. This disposable cigarette is available in two colors for customers to choose from including the black with LED as well as the white with yellow LED. The PremiumOne cigarette comes with three different nicotine levels to choose from including high, medium and low as well as tobacco or menthol flavors.
“These electronic cigarettes provide smokers with the freedom to smoke anywhere and it looks, feels and tastes like a real cigarette. We wanted to give our customers the option to try our smokeless cigarettes with the PremiumOne disposable cigarette. Not only do these disposable cigarettes allow people to sample the e-cigarettes at a low price, but they are also convenient for taking to such places as bars and restaurants,” says Premium Electronic Cigarette owner Vitali Servutas (http://www.premiumecigarette.com/).
Electronic cigarettes perform similarly to traditional smoking as it looks, feels and tastes like a cigarette. The difference, though is the e-cigarette is driven by a rechargeable battery and replaceable cartridge that contains water, propylene glycol, nicotine as well as a scent that tastes like the classic cigarette flavor. Depending on the model, there are also many different flavors to choose from for taste variations. This non-flammable technological advancement allows the smoker to inhale, satisfying the craving that traditional smokers seek as well as triggering simulated smoke that is actually a vapor mist that evaporates into the air.
About PremiumEcigarette.com:
Premium Electronic Cigarette, a subsidiary of PremiumEstore LLC, was established in December of 2008 and has since been providing the best brands of smokeless cigars and cigarettes all across the country. Based out of Virginia Beach, VA they offer same-day shipping. The company also has an office located in Europe for international orders.
While many people may prefer to purchase their electronic cigarettes in a kit, providing them with extra batteries, cartridges and chargers, there are many people who are attracted to the PremiumOne disposable electronic cigarette style. These disposable cigarettes are equivalent to twenty-five traditional cigarettes or 360+ puffs. Complete with one battery, one atomizer and one cartridge, this disposable cigarette makes it possible for people to try e-cigarettes at a very low price before making the investment in a smokeless cigarette kit.
This e-cigarette comes in one single piece and is fully charged and ready to use. There is no assembly required, whereas with the other e-cigarettes people will need to recharge the batteries and screw the parts together. This disposable cigarette is available in two colors for customers to choose from including the black with LED as well as the white with yellow LED. The PremiumOne cigarette comes with three different nicotine levels to choose from including high, medium and low as well as tobacco or menthol flavors.
“These electronic cigarettes provide smokers with the freedom to smoke anywhere and it looks, feels and tastes like a real cigarette. We wanted to give our customers the option to try our smokeless cigarettes with the PremiumOne disposable cigarette. Not only do these disposable cigarettes allow people to sample the e-cigarettes at a low price, but they are also convenient for taking to such places as bars and restaurants,” says Premium Electronic Cigarette owner Vitali Servutas (http://www.premiumecigarette.com/).
Electronic cigarettes perform similarly to traditional smoking as it looks, feels and tastes like a cigarette. The difference, though is the e-cigarette is driven by a rechargeable battery and replaceable cartridge that contains water, propylene glycol, nicotine as well as a scent that tastes like the classic cigarette flavor. Depending on the model, there are also many different flavors to choose from for taste variations. This non-flammable technological advancement allows the smoker to inhale, satisfying the craving that traditional smokers seek as well as triggering simulated smoke that is actually a vapor mist that evaporates into the air.
About PremiumEcigarette.com:
Premium Electronic Cigarette, a subsidiary of PremiumEstore LLC, was established in December of 2008 and has since been providing the best brands of smokeless cigars and cigarettes all across the country. Based out of Virginia Beach, VA they offer same-day shipping. The company also has an office located in Europe for international orders.
вторник, 1 июня 2010 г.
Teenagers have no problem getting tobacco
To mark No-Tobacco Day on Monday, Kelsey Chudiak and Megan Sequeira spent their lunch hour eating veggie-filled wraps in a cafe across from Western Canada High School.
"I'd never smoke, it's not healthy," says Kelsey, a 17-year-old aspiring medical student and ringette player. "Western Canada is a sports-oriented school, so I think there are way fewer smokers here than at some other high schools."
Megan, a 16-year-old soccer player, agrees.
"Smoking isn't cool, and hardly anyone we know smokes," she says of her school of 1,200 students. "The percentage of smokers here is very, very small."
To be fair to the athletic duo, they weren't aware it was World No-Tobacco Day. But they do know where I'll find the school's smokers.
"Just go behind the school grounds past the Dumpster," says Megan. "The rest of us don't go there, but that's where they huddle."
Around the back, their fellow students tell a different story.
"Just about everyone at this school smokes," claims Sally, an 18-year-old Western Canada High student who'll talk only if I don't use her last name.
"Just look at all of them," she says as she points to scores of students heading back to the school from behind the huge trash bin.
Though the estimates of smoking rates differ wildly between the smokers and non-smokers at this popular inner-city high school, all agree on one thing: if you do want to light up, being under 18 is no detriment.
"I just turned 18, and I've been smoking for years," says Sally as a group of nearby boys puffs away. "You can always find someone willing to sell to you -- I always pick the convenience stores where the cashier is close to my age."
According to a newly released Health Canada report, it's easier than ever for teens to purchase cigarettes -- especially if you live in Alberta. Tobacco sales to minors have increased for the past three consecutive years, with 17 per cent of retailers willing to sell to underage test shoppers in 2009, nearly double the 2006 figure. When it comes to selling to those just shy of 18, Alberta is second in the country only to Nova Scotia.
Such findings hardly surprise Les Hagen, executive director of Action on Smoking and Health, Western Canada's leading tobacco control organization.
"Considering we have no provincial regulation," says Hagen, who notes that every other province in the country has its own rules, and enforcement, on retail sales of tobacco, "we're in fact inviting the problem."
According to Hagen, Alberta has shirked its responsibility in this area.
"We rely entirely on the federal government for this," he says. "When does Alberta rely entirely on the federal government for anything?"
Hagen says it's a simple matter of tweaking the province's Tobacco Reduction Act, which came into force in 2008, and that bans the sale of tobacco products from all health-care facilities, post-secondary campuses and pharmacies. He'd like to see provincial rules, and enforcement, of tobacco sales at the retail level, and a crackdown on the growing number of violators.
Even with tighter enforcement, say kids like 15-year-old Jortinder Robinson, for the 16 per cent of Alberta teens smoke like him, where there's a will, there's a way.
"You can always find the ones who don't ID," he says as he and friend Joey Kraft share a cigarette on a park bench right in front of the school. "And if that doesn't work, you can get an 18-year-old to buy it for you."
Just for the record, I didn't check the boys for ID, and thus will have to trust them that those are their real names.
But if a tightening of access to cigarettes and the health warnings that come from this dangerous habit don't scare off the likes of Jortinder and Joey right now, hopefully the verdict from the healthier among them might, in time, prompt them to butt out for good.
"I would never date a smoker," says Kelsey. "I hate the smell, and I don't like guys who don't care about their health."
"I'd never smoke, it's not healthy," says Kelsey, a 17-year-old aspiring medical student and ringette player. "Western Canada is a sports-oriented school, so I think there are way fewer smokers here than at some other high schools."
Megan, a 16-year-old soccer player, agrees.
"Smoking isn't cool, and hardly anyone we know smokes," she says of her school of 1,200 students. "The percentage of smokers here is very, very small."
To be fair to the athletic duo, they weren't aware it was World No-Tobacco Day. But they do know where I'll find the school's smokers.
"Just go behind the school grounds past the Dumpster," says Megan. "The rest of us don't go there, but that's where they huddle."
Around the back, their fellow students tell a different story.
"Just about everyone at this school smokes," claims Sally, an 18-year-old Western Canada High student who'll talk only if I don't use her last name.
"Just look at all of them," she says as she points to scores of students heading back to the school from behind the huge trash bin.
Though the estimates of smoking rates differ wildly between the smokers and non-smokers at this popular inner-city high school, all agree on one thing: if you do want to light up, being under 18 is no detriment.
"I just turned 18, and I've been smoking for years," says Sally as a group of nearby boys puffs away. "You can always find someone willing to sell to you -- I always pick the convenience stores where the cashier is close to my age."
According to a newly released Health Canada report, it's easier than ever for teens to purchase cigarettes -- especially if you live in Alberta. Tobacco sales to minors have increased for the past three consecutive years, with 17 per cent of retailers willing to sell to underage test shoppers in 2009, nearly double the 2006 figure. When it comes to selling to those just shy of 18, Alberta is second in the country only to Nova Scotia.
Such findings hardly surprise Les Hagen, executive director of Action on Smoking and Health, Western Canada's leading tobacco control organization.
"Considering we have no provincial regulation," says Hagen, who notes that every other province in the country has its own rules, and enforcement, on retail sales of tobacco, "we're in fact inviting the problem."
According to Hagen, Alberta has shirked its responsibility in this area.
"We rely entirely on the federal government for this," he says. "When does Alberta rely entirely on the federal government for anything?"
Hagen says it's a simple matter of tweaking the province's Tobacco Reduction Act, which came into force in 2008, and that bans the sale of tobacco products from all health-care facilities, post-secondary campuses and pharmacies. He'd like to see provincial rules, and enforcement, of tobacco sales at the retail level, and a crackdown on the growing number of violators.
Even with tighter enforcement, say kids like 15-year-old Jortinder Robinson, for the 16 per cent of Alberta teens smoke like him, where there's a will, there's a way.
"You can always find the ones who don't ID," he says as he and friend Joey Kraft share a cigarette on a park bench right in front of the school. "And if that doesn't work, you can get an 18-year-old to buy it for you."
Just for the record, I didn't check the boys for ID, and thus will have to trust them that those are their real names.
But if a tightening of access to cigarettes and the health warnings that come from this dangerous habit don't scare off the likes of Jortinder and Joey right now, hopefully the verdict from the healthier among them might, in time, prompt them to butt out for good.
"I would never date a smoker," says Kelsey. "I hate the smell, and I don't like guys who don't care about their health."
понедельник, 10 мая 2010 г.
Time to think about the cost of smoking
Do your children smoke? Then ask them to think about two people aged 20. Assume that one chooses to smoke, and the other chooses to invest the price of a large packet of cigarettes a day ($20 a day or $608 a month) into a managed fund that invests her money into a range of blue chip shares. The price of cigarettes rises at least as fast as inflation, so if we assume inflation runs at 4 per cent per annum, the price of cigarettes will rise by 4 per cent per annum.
If the non-smoker increases their investment by 4 per cent per annum too, the amount invested, or spent on cigarettes, by age 65 will be $818,000. If the share trust returns 10 per cent per annum, (a realistic return if inflation is 4%) the sum accumulated by the investor will be $8.2 million at age 65. The smoker’s return on their investment is ongoing health problems, the non-smoker has become seriously wealthy.
You may argue that $8.2 million won’t be a huge sum in 45 years time after inflation is taken into account, but it is equivalent to about $1.6 million in today's dollars.
Put it another way. If a person who is young now wants to retire at age 65 with the equivalent of nearly $2 million in today's dollars, all they have to do is invest the equivalent of a packet of cigarettes a day from the day they start work.
What if you are older and have a mortgage.
CASE STUDY
You are age 35 and have a home loan of $400,000 over 30 years which you are repaying it at $2661 a month. If you quit smoking and use the $608 a month saved to increase your payments to $3269 a month you will pay off the loan in 18 years. You will be debt free at 53 instead of 65 and save a huge $255,000 in interest. Home loan interest is not tax deductible so saving $255,000 is equivalent to your earning nearly $420,000 from your job. Just giving up smoking gives you the equivalent of $420,000 in extra salary.
If you give up smoking make sure you commit the money that you are going to save, otherwise, it’ll be quickly frittered away like your last pay rise. If you have a home loan immediately increase the repayments by the amount you no longer spend on cigarettes, f you don’t have a loan, talk to an adviser about a regular savings plan. Above all get serious – as my GP says “they all stop after the first heart attack."
Reader questions:
Question: It has been my understanding that a person’s tax return is to record income that has been received, during the financial year of that return and after 30 June, any new receipts are part of one’s income for the following financial year.
A number of companies when forwarding dividends, and associated cover notes, after the end of a financial year, state that these earnings were made in the preceding financial year, and should be shown on the recipient’s tax return for that year.
If a person, in early July, has already submitted a tax return, based on the amounts actually received, during the preceding financial year, will the ATO accept that these late received dividends become income for the year in which they are actually received?
Answer: You are correct in your assumption about dividends from direct shares – they should be included as income in the financial year that you receive the payment. But it's a different matter with some managed funds because they have transactions throughout the financial year but the book keeping is not completed until well after June 30th. This is why they forward you a statement which will detail the numbers that are to be included in your tax return for the financial year that is passed.
-------------------
Question: My wife has earned less than $6,000 per annum for a number of years. We have about $60,000 worth of shares in her name. When we bought them three years ago they were worth $20,000. If we cash them in now how much CGT will she pay?
Answer: The capital gain will be approximately $40,000 but as she has owned the shares for more than a year she will be entitled to the 50% discount. Therefore $20,000 will be added to her taxable income in the year of sale. If she earns no more than $6,000 in addition to this, the total CGT will be about $3,000.
-------------------
Question: We are in our forties and have small children. We have paid off the mortgage but are now saving and planning on renovating in about a year. In the meantime we are paying tax on interest on our savings. Can we put our savings - $30,000 - in the names of our children to save on tax?
Answer: If you transfer the money to your children and then transfer it back to yourselves the ATO will almost certainly take the view that it was your money at all times and assess the interest to you. While you are waiting to renovate the best option would be to hold this in the name of the lowest income earning spouse.
If the non-smoker increases their investment by 4 per cent per annum too, the amount invested, or spent on cigarettes, by age 65 will be $818,000. If the share trust returns 10 per cent per annum, (a realistic return if inflation is 4%) the sum accumulated by the investor will be $8.2 million at age 65. The smoker’s return on their investment is ongoing health problems, the non-smoker has become seriously wealthy.
You may argue that $8.2 million won’t be a huge sum in 45 years time after inflation is taken into account, but it is equivalent to about $1.6 million in today's dollars.
Put it another way. If a person who is young now wants to retire at age 65 with the equivalent of nearly $2 million in today's dollars, all they have to do is invest the equivalent of a packet of cigarettes a day from the day they start work.
What if you are older and have a mortgage.
CASE STUDY
You are age 35 and have a home loan of $400,000 over 30 years which you are repaying it at $2661 a month. If you quit smoking and use the $608 a month saved to increase your payments to $3269 a month you will pay off the loan in 18 years. You will be debt free at 53 instead of 65 and save a huge $255,000 in interest. Home loan interest is not tax deductible so saving $255,000 is equivalent to your earning nearly $420,000 from your job. Just giving up smoking gives you the equivalent of $420,000 in extra salary.
If you give up smoking make sure you commit the money that you are going to save, otherwise, it’ll be quickly frittered away like your last pay rise. If you have a home loan immediately increase the repayments by the amount you no longer spend on cigarettes, f you don’t have a loan, talk to an adviser about a regular savings plan. Above all get serious – as my GP says “they all stop after the first heart attack."
Reader questions:
Question: It has been my understanding that a person’s tax return is to record income that has been received, during the financial year of that return and after 30 June, any new receipts are part of one’s income for the following financial year.
A number of companies when forwarding dividends, and associated cover notes, after the end of a financial year, state that these earnings were made in the preceding financial year, and should be shown on the recipient’s tax return for that year.
If a person, in early July, has already submitted a tax return, based on the amounts actually received, during the preceding financial year, will the ATO accept that these late received dividends become income for the year in which they are actually received?
Answer: You are correct in your assumption about dividends from direct shares – they should be included as income in the financial year that you receive the payment. But it's a different matter with some managed funds because they have transactions throughout the financial year but the book keeping is not completed until well after June 30th. This is why they forward you a statement which will detail the numbers that are to be included in your tax return for the financial year that is passed.
-------------------
Question: My wife has earned less than $6,000 per annum for a number of years. We have about $60,000 worth of shares in her name. When we bought them three years ago they were worth $20,000. If we cash them in now how much CGT will she pay?
Answer: The capital gain will be approximately $40,000 but as she has owned the shares for more than a year she will be entitled to the 50% discount. Therefore $20,000 will be added to her taxable income in the year of sale. If she earns no more than $6,000 in addition to this, the total CGT will be about $3,000.
-------------------
Question: We are in our forties and have small children. We have paid off the mortgage but are now saving and planning on renovating in about a year. In the meantime we are paying tax on interest on our savings. Can we put our savings - $30,000 - in the names of our children to save on tax?
Answer: If you transfer the money to your children and then transfer it back to yourselves the ATO will almost certainly take the view that it was your money at all times and assess the interest to you. While you are waiting to renovate the best option would be to hold this in the name of the lowest income earning spouse.
понедельник, 3 мая 2010 г.
E-cigarettes can help kick the butt
E-cigarettes are electronic nicotine delivery devices that resemble cigarettes but do not use tobacco. They release a small dose of nicotine with each puff.
“The e-cigarettes that we tested appeared to be as effective as a standard nicotine replacement therapy inhalator in reducing the desire,” says Chris Bullen, associate professor at the University of Auckland, who led the study.
“Our results indicate that e-cigarettes have potential as a method to help people stop smoking, in the same ways as a nicotine inhalator. However, our findings should be seen as preliminary and need to be confirmed for this and other e-cigarette brands.”
“E-cigarettes are popular in the United States and Asia where people report buying them to reduce the cost of smoking, cut down on cigarette consumption, use in smokefree places, relieve tobacco withdrawal symptoms, or help quit smoking,” says Bullen.
But this is the first reputable clinical study to actually examine their effect on smokers,” says Bullen.
The study compared 40 adult smokers who on different days used a Ruyan V8 e-cigarette delivering either nicotine or placebo; a Nicorette nicotine inhalator; or their usual cigarette, says an Auckland release.
“We found that the device delivered nicotine to the bloodstream in a similar way as an inhalator, reduced the desire to smoke, and was acceptable to most users,” says Bullen.
“The e-cigarettes that we tested appeared to be as effective as a standard nicotine replacement therapy inhalator in reducing the desire,” says Chris Bullen, associate professor at the University of Auckland, who led the study.
“Our results indicate that e-cigarettes have potential as a method to help people stop smoking, in the same ways as a nicotine inhalator. However, our findings should be seen as preliminary and need to be confirmed for this and other e-cigarette brands.”
“E-cigarettes are popular in the United States and Asia where people report buying them to reduce the cost of smoking, cut down on cigarette consumption, use in smokefree places, relieve tobacco withdrawal symptoms, or help quit smoking,” says Bullen.
But this is the first reputable clinical study to actually examine their effect on smokers,” says Bullen.
The study compared 40 adult smokers who on different days used a Ruyan V8 e-cigarette delivering either nicotine or placebo; a Nicorette nicotine inhalator; or their usual cigarette, says an Auckland release.
“We found that the device delivered nicotine to the bloodstream in a similar way as an inhalator, reduced the desire to smoke, and was acceptable to most users,” says Bullen.
понедельник, 26 апреля 2010 г.
Philip Morris International 1Q profit rises
Higher selling prices helped boost cigarette maker Philip Morris International Inc.'s first-quarter profit 15 percent, but results missed expectations due to pressure from steep excise taxes in some countries, and the weak economy.
The seller of Marlboro and other brands overseas says profit rose to $1.7 billion, or 90 cents per share, up from $1.48 billion, or 74 cents, a year earlier.
Revenue rose 17 percent to $15.59 billion from $13.29 billion. Excluding the benefit of the weaker dollar, revenue rose 8 percent, mainly due to higher cigarette prices across all business segments.
The world's second-biggest cigarette maker also reaffirmed full-year guidance of $3.75 to $3.85 per share. Analysts expect a profit of $3.84 per share
Cigarette shipment volume edged up less than 1 percent. Volume fell in the Baltics, Romania, Turkey and the Ukraine because of a steep excise tax. Volume was stronger in Asia, particularly in Indonesia, Korea and volume from a new business combination in the Philippines.
While tax hikes, smoking bans, health concerns and social stigma have cut cigarette demand worldwide, the decline is less stark in markets outside of the United States.
The company, which has offices in Lausanne, Switzerland, and New York, has compensated for consumers buying cheaper cigarettes worldwide _ and for the weak economy _ by raising its prices, increasing its market share and cutting costs.
Growing demand in Africa, Asia and the Middle East also has helped to offset declines in the European Union, Latin America and Canada.
In recent quarters, Philip Morris International's earnings have been hindered as the stronger dollar shrank the profit it earned in other currencies. But the weaker dollar helped results in the current quarter.
When the dollar is strong, companies that sell goods internationally and must convert revenue from foreign currencies usually take a hit unless they raise prices abroad. Conversely the weaker dollar is a benefit.
That effect is particularly strong for Philip Morris International, because all its business is overseas.
Altria Group Inc. in Richmond, Va., owner of Philip Morris USA, spun off Philip Morris International in 2008.
The seller of Marlboro and other brands overseas says profit rose to $1.7 billion, or 90 cents per share, up from $1.48 billion, or 74 cents, a year earlier.
Revenue rose 17 percent to $15.59 billion from $13.29 billion. Excluding the benefit of the weaker dollar, revenue rose 8 percent, mainly due to higher cigarette prices across all business segments.
The world's second-biggest cigarette maker also reaffirmed full-year guidance of $3.75 to $3.85 per share. Analysts expect a profit of $3.84 per share
Cigarette shipment volume edged up less than 1 percent. Volume fell in the Baltics, Romania, Turkey and the Ukraine because of a steep excise tax. Volume was stronger in Asia, particularly in Indonesia, Korea and volume from a new business combination in the Philippines.
While tax hikes, smoking bans, health concerns and social stigma have cut cigarette demand worldwide, the decline is less stark in markets outside of the United States.
The company, which has offices in Lausanne, Switzerland, and New York, has compensated for consumers buying cheaper cigarettes worldwide _ and for the weak economy _ by raising its prices, increasing its market share and cutting costs.
Growing demand in Africa, Asia and the Middle East also has helped to offset declines in the European Union, Latin America and Canada.
In recent quarters, Philip Morris International's earnings have been hindered as the stronger dollar shrank the profit it earned in other currencies. But the weaker dollar helped results in the current quarter.
When the dollar is strong, companies that sell goods internationally and must convert revenue from foreign currencies usually take a hit unless they raise prices abroad. Conversely the weaker dollar is a benefit.
That effect is particularly strong for Philip Morris International, because all its business is overseas.
Altria Group Inc. in Richmond, Va., owner of Philip Morris USA, spun off Philip Morris International in 2008.
понедельник, 19 апреля 2010 г.
Smokeless tobacco products target teens
They bear the names "Wild Honey" blunt wraps and "Peppermint" snus, but they are not the latest confections from Willy Wonka.
They are part of an effort by tobacco companies to market products to adolescents and teenagers, said Judith Coykendall at Partners for Clean Air, a Seven Hills Behavioral Health program in New Bedford.
"They smell delicious," she said, reaching into her American Cancer Society tote bag, which she calls her "bag of poisons," to pull out the cheerfully colored packets of "blunt wraps," which look to the undiscerning eye like fruit rollups and come in enticing flavors — watermelon, strawberry, blueberry and "sexual chocolate," the wrapper of which features a pair of bare female legs dripping with what appears to be melted chocolate.
Snus are marketed on the Camels website as a "smoke-free, spit-free" product and come in intriguing flavors, such as "frost" and "mellow." According to the American Cancer Society website, snus are commonly used in Scandinavia as quitting aids. The clinical-sounding "Nicogel," which looks exactly like a portable hand wipe and absorbs through the skin, is also marketed as a quitting aid.
However, Coykendall said she is concerned that what might help alleviate a seasoned smoker's cravings might also get a young person hooked for the first time. After all, she said, although most teenagers have heard that smoking is bad for their health, nicotine and tobacco are harmful whether smoked or not.
"Their natural assumption is that, if it doesn't have smoke, it doesn't have the dangers," Coykendall said. According to the U.S. National Library of Medicine, smokeless tobacco can still increase risk of mouth or nasal cancer and cause high blood pressure. Then there is the risk of becoming addicted to nicotine, Coykendall said, which leads to smoking.
According to the National Institute for Drug Abuse, "The amount of nicotine in smokeless tobacco is three to four times greater than that delivered by a cigarette." The nicotine also stays in the bloodstream longer.
In 2009, largely because of smoking bans and anti-smoking campaigns, cigarette use among high school students in Massachusetts fell to 16 percent, an almost 20 percent reduction since 1995. However, according to the same study, released by the Department of Public Health and the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, sales of cigars and smokeless tobacco products in Massachusetts, like the Snus, have surpassed sales of regular cigarettes among minors in the last year, at 17.6 percent, a steady increase since 2003.
Over the past year, Nic Charest, director of the Greater New Bedford Tobacco Control Program, said he has seen these alternative tobacco products gain in popularity throughout New Bedford, Fairhaven and Dartmouth.
Charest works with a dozen high school students in Greater New Bedford, ages 15 to 17, to do compliance checks on the sale of cigarettes, part of a state initiative to make sure that stores are not selling tobacco-related products to minors — those under 18. In a carefully planned sting, the students try to buy cigarettes without producing identification.
State law requires retailers to ask for an ID if a customer appears to be under 27. "If they're successful" buying cigarettes, Charest said of his undercover crew, "we have enforcement that we'll follow up on."
Over the past few years, Charest said, tobacco sales to minors took place at 13 percent of the stores in Greater New Bedford, although that number dipped to 5 percent last year.
There might be a bright side for concerned anti-smoking advocates: A lot of teenagers around here haven't yet heard of products such as snus or Nicogel. In a room filled with teens at the Boys & Girls Club of New Bedford, no one nods when asked whether they have friends who use snus.
Cameron Lewis, an eighth-grader at Keith Middle School, and Katherine Sullivan, a 10th-grader at New Bedford High School, have parents who smoke, but neither uses tobacco.
Coykendall, however, said it might only be a matter of time for the trend to catch on.
"The tobacco industry had to come up with a product that could get their sales up tremendously," she said.
Alesha Gilbert and Markus Watson, both juniors from BMC Durfee High School in Fall River, have participated in Teaching Against Drug Abuse, an extracurricular program in Fall River that surveyed 49 stores that sell tobacco, looking at marketing rather than compliance.
Watson said he discovered that in most of the stores, the ads were placed at a 3-foot eye level.
"So it's not really targeting adults," he said. "Because most adults are not 3 feet tall."
Asked what makes her friends buy cigarettes, Gilbert said, "I think it's whatever is cheap. Whatever you can get your hands on."
According to information from the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, the price difference between cigarettes and snus is significant. Camel's frost-flavored snus, for instance, which come in a pack of 12, cost less than $4. Cigarettes cost at least $9 a pack.
Coykendall said these products fall into a legal "loophole" in which they are not subject to the state's cigarette tax. Nor do they fall under the state's ban on flavored cigarettes.
She also said the packaging for these products is attractive and enticing. Plus, snus dissolve in the mouth, making it hard to detect in school.
"If I used tobacco, I can imagine I would probably turn to another tobacco product that's more concealable so that I can get my nicotine for the day," Watson said. "Like kids who have to go through that eight-hour day and are not allowed to smoke."
Is nicotine consumption in class that easy?
"Like texting isn't allowed, but somebody manages to do it anyway," Gilbert said.
They are part of an effort by tobacco companies to market products to adolescents and teenagers, said Judith Coykendall at Partners for Clean Air, a Seven Hills Behavioral Health program in New Bedford.
"They smell delicious," she said, reaching into her American Cancer Society tote bag, which she calls her "bag of poisons," to pull out the cheerfully colored packets of "blunt wraps," which look to the undiscerning eye like fruit rollups and come in enticing flavors — watermelon, strawberry, blueberry and "sexual chocolate," the wrapper of which features a pair of bare female legs dripping with what appears to be melted chocolate.
Snus are marketed on the Camels website as a "smoke-free, spit-free" product and come in intriguing flavors, such as "frost" and "mellow." According to the American Cancer Society website, snus are commonly used in Scandinavia as quitting aids. The clinical-sounding "Nicogel," which looks exactly like a portable hand wipe and absorbs through the skin, is also marketed as a quitting aid.
However, Coykendall said she is concerned that what might help alleviate a seasoned smoker's cravings might also get a young person hooked for the first time. After all, she said, although most teenagers have heard that smoking is bad for their health, nicotine and tobacco are harmful whether smoked or not.
"Their natural assumption is that, if it doesn't have smoke, it doesn't have the dangers," Coykendall said. According to the U.S. National Library of Medicine, smokeless tobacco can still increase risk of mouth or nasal cancer and cause high blood pressure. Then there is the risk of becoming addicted to nicotine, Coykendall said, which leads to smoking.
According to the National Institute for Drug Abuse, "The amount of nicotine in smokeless tobacco is three to four times greater than that delivered by a cigarette." The nicotine also stays in the bloodstream longer.
In 2009, largely because of smoking bans and anti-smoking campaigns, cigarette use among high school students in Massachusetts fell to 16 percent, an almost 20 percent reduction since 1995. However, according to the same study, released by the Department of Public Health and the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, sales of cigars and smokeless tobacco products in Massachusetts, like the Snus, have surpassed sales of regular cigarettes among minors in the last year, at 17.6 percent, a steady increase since 2003.
Over the past year, Nic Charest, director of the Greater New Bedford Tobacco Control Program, said he has seen these alternative tobacco products gain in popularity throughout New Bedford, Fairhaven and Dartmouth.
Charest works with a dozen high school students in Greater New Bedford, ages 15 to 17, to do compliance checks on the sale of cigarettes, part of a state initiative to make sure that stores are not selling tobacco-related products to minors — those under 18. In a carefully planned sting, the students try to buy cigarettes without producing identification.
State law requires retailers to ask for an ID if a customer appears to be under 27. "If they're successful" buying cigarettes, Charest said of his undercover crew, "we have enforcement that we'll follow up on."
Over the past few years, Charest said, tobacco sales to minors took place at 13 percent of the stores in Greater New Bedford, although that number dipped to 5 percent last year.
There might be a bright side for concerned anti-smoking advocates: A lot of teenagers around here haven't yet heard of products such as snus or Nicogel. In a room filled with teens at the Boys & Girls Club of New Bedford, no one nods when asked whether they have friends who use snus.
Cameron Lewis, an eighth-grader at Keith Middle School, and Katherine Sullivan, a 10th-grader at New Bedford High School, have parents who smoke, but neither uses tobacco.
Coykendall, however, said it might only be a matter of time for the trend to catch on.
"The tobacco industry had to come up with a product that could get their sales up tremendously," she said.
Alesha Gilbert and Markus Watson, both juniors from BMC Durfee High School in Fall River, have participated in Teaching Against Drug Abuse, an extracurricular program in Fall River that surveyed 49 stores that sell tobacco, looking at marketing rather than compliance.
Watson said he discovered that in most of the stores, the ads were placed at a 3-foot eye level.
"So it's not really targeting adults," he said. "Because most adults are not 3 feet tall."
Asked what makes her friends buy cigarettes, Gilbert said, "I think it's whatever is cheap. Whatever you can get your hands on."
According to information from the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, the price difference between cigarettes and snus is significant. Camel's frost-flavored snus, for instance, which come in a pack of 12, cost less than $4. Cigarettes cost at least $9 a pack.
Coykendall said these products fall into a legal "loophole" in which they are not subject to the state's cigarette tax. Nor do they fall under the state's ban on flavored cigarettes.
She also said the packaging for these products is attractive and enticing. Plus, snus dissolve in the mouth, making it hard to detect in school.
"If I used tobacco, I can imagine I would probably turn to another tobacco product that's more concealable so that I can get my nicotine for the day," Watson said. "Like kids who have to go through that eight-hour day and are not allowed to smoke."
Is nicotine consumption in class that easy?
"Like texting isn't allowed, but somebody manages to do it anyway," Gilbert said.
четверг, 15 апреля 2010 г.
Cigarette Makers' India Pipe Dreams
Some hopes may have gone up in smoke.
After much deliberation, India has banned further foreign direct investment in the cigarette business.
That seems to be a blow to the likes of Japan Tobacco and British American Tobacco, which were lobbying to expand their small presence in the growing and increasingly affluent market. But the protectionist move should hardly come as a surprise, especially given that ITC, which has nearly 80% of the cigarette market, is 34%-government owned through state-run insurance companies. And it should give companies time to think if they really are missing out.
Despite rapid growth in disposable income and massive migration of people from rural to urban areas, cigarettes are the choice of only a slim segment of Indian tobacco users. Many prefer chewing tobacco. Among those who smoke, hand-rolled leaf tobacco is favored; a mere 15% smoke cigarettes.And profit margins are tight, in part because of competition from contraband cigarettes smuggled across the borders and illegally made local smokes. Though there are no specific estimates of how many such smokes circulate in the market, ITC says they are its biggest challenge.
On top of that, New Delhi, particularly the Health Ministry, is increasingly vocal about curbing smoking. Even before the formal investment ban, the government had rejected proposals by foreign players to increase their presence in India. Existing rules use licenses to cap the number of cigarettes a company can produce in a year, and there are loud calls for higher tax rates to reduce tobacco use. The country's tobacco tax already represents 69% of the retail price of a cigarette -- among the highest percentages in the region, according to the Tobacco Institute of India, a trade group.
And cigarette makers bear a disproportionate share of the tobacco tax. Though cigarettes represent only about 40% of India's $12 billion tobacco market, they generated 80% of the revenue collected from the tobacco industry in 2007-08. The non-cigarette industry is fragmented, consisting of many small-scale players.
Certainly, global companies may have hoped a market like India -- where cigarette consumption is growing around 5% a year, according to Datamonitor -- could offer growth potential they lack at home. Japan Tobacco is hunting for new markets as its domestic market shrinks due to a declining population and fewer people lighting up.
But when the smoke clears, foreign firms may see India's protected market has its own shortcomings.
After much deliberation, India has banned further foreign direct investment in the cigarette business.
That seems to be a blow to the likes of Japan Tobacco and British American Tobacco, which were lobbying to expand their small presence in the growing and increasingly affluent market. But the protectionist move should hardly come as a surprise, especially given that ITC, which has nearly 80% of the cigarette market, is 34%-government owned through state-run insurance companies. And it should give companies time to think if they really are missing out.
Despite rapid growth in disposable income and massive migration of people from rural to urban areas, cigarettes are the choice of only a slim segment of Indian tobacco users. Many prefer chewing tobacco. Among those who smoke, hand-rolled leaf tobacco is favored; a mere 15% smoke cigarettes.And profit margins are tight, in part because of competition from contraband cigarettes smuggled across the borders and illegally made local smokes. Though there are no specific estimates of how many such smokes circulate in the market, ITC says they are its biggest challenge.
On top of that, New Delhi, particularly the Health Ministry, is increasingly vocal about curbing smoking. Even before the formal investment ban, the government had rejected proposals by foreign players to increase their presence in India. Existing rules use licenses to cap the number of cigarettes a company can produce in a year, and there are loud calls for higher tax rates to reduce tobacco use. The country's tobacco tax already represents 69% of the retail price of a cigarette -- among the highest percentages in the region, according to the Tobacco Institute of India, a trade group.
And cigarette makers bear a disproportionate share of the tobacco tax. Though cigarettes represent only about 40% of India's $12 billion tobacco market, they generated 80% of the revenue collected from the tobacco industry in 2007-08. The non-cigarette industry is fragmented, consisting of many small-scale players.
Certainly, global companies may have hoped a market like India -- where cigarette consumption is growing around 5% a year, according to Datamonitor -- could offer growth potential they lack at home. Japan Tobacco is hunting for new markets as its domestic market shrinks due to a declining population and fewer people lighting up.
But when the smoke clears, foreign firms may see India's protected market has its own shortcomings.
понедельник, 29 марта 2010 г.
N.Y. Top Court Weighs Tax Claim On Indian Cigarettes
New York state and county attorneys argued last week in New York’s top court that the government can lawfully tax Indian cigarette and prosecute sellers of untaxed smokes, The Associated Press reports.
The Cayuga Indian Nation, in response, argued that such actions encroach on tribal rights and that the Cayugas do not have to collect the tax for the state from non-Indian smokers. "The liability for the tax is on the consumer," an attorney for the Cayugas said.
More than one-third of the cigarettes sold in New York go without tax stamps to Native American merchants, state officials said. If all were stamped and taxed, New York would have collected $825 million in revenue in 2008.
Governor Paterson has proposed enforcement rules that would limit supplies of tax-free reservation cigarettes to those for use by tribal members only.
The court is expected to rule on the issue, which has been a long and contentious one, next month.
The Cayuga Indian Nation, in response, argued that such actions encroach on tribal rights and that the Cayugas do not have to collect the tax for the state from non-Indian smokers. "The liability for the tax is on the consumer," an attorney for the Cayugas said.
More than one-third of the cigarettes sold in New York go without tax stamps to Native American merchants, state officials said. If all were stamped and taxed, New York would have collected $825 million in revenue in 2008.
Governor Paterson has proposed enforcement rules that would limit supplies of tax-free reservation cigarettes to those for use by tribal members only.
The court is expected to rule on the issue, which has been a long and contentious one, next month.
понедельник, 15 марта 2010 г.
URA destroys over 1,300 cigarette cartons
THE Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) has destroyed cartons of contraband Supermatch cigarettes that were impounded while being smuggled into the country.
James Abodi, a URA official, said 1,340 cartons of the cigarettes were seized between April 2009 and last month from Dibia, Arua, Adura and Lira.
The cigarettes were destroyed at the Bank of Uganda incinerator in Jinja on Friday.
Abodi said the cigarettes were valued at sh600m and about sh840m in taxes.
He explained that the three vehicles involved in the smuggling were also seized.
“We have managed to contain the smuggling and it has decreased,” Abodi said, adding that most smugglers hide the cigarettes in clothes, sacks or wrap the packets around their bodies.
He said the smugglers use ungazatted routes, warning that the roads are now known to URA enforcement officials.
Abodi cautioned business people to desist from smuggling, saying they risk being arrested and charged.
James Abodi, a URA official, said 1,340 cartons of the cigarettes were seized between April 2009 and last month from Dibia, Arua, Adura and Lira.
The cigarettes were destroyed at the Bank of Uganda incinerator in Jinja on Friday.
Abodi said the cigarettes were valued at sh600m and about sh840m in taxes.
He explained that the three vehicles involved in the smuggling were also seized.
“We have managed to contain the smuggling and it has decreased,” Abodi said, adding that most smugglers hide the cigarettes in clothes, sacks or wrap the packets around their bodies.
He said the smugglers use ungazatted routes, warning that the roads are now known to URA enforcement officials.
Abodi cautioned business people to desist from smuggling, saying they risk being arrested and charged.
вторник, 9 марта 2010 г.
North Korea Re-exported Cigarettes to Generate Currency, FT Says
North Korea has been generating foreign exchange by re-exporting cigarettes manufactured by British American Tobacco Plc, the Financial Times reported, citing documents that it had seen.
BAT sold the cigarettes, made and packaged in Singapore for the North Korean market, to a Singaporean distributor for shipment to Nampo, a port near Pyongyang, the FT said. At least 15,000 cases, worth $6.3 million, were re-exported out of Nampo to ports in Vietnam and the Philippines to go to markets where they commanded a higher price, the FT said.
BAT said it halted exports to North Korea after discovering a diverted cargo in August, the FT reported.
BAT sold the cigarettes, made and packaged in Singapore for the North Korean market, to a Singaporean distributor for shipment to Nampo, a port near Pyongyang, the FT said. At least 15,000 cases, worth $6.3 million, were re-exported out of Nampo to ports in Vietnam and the Philippines to go to markets where they commanded a higher price, the FT said.
BAT said it halted exports to North Korea after discovering a diverted cargo in August, the FT reported.
понедельник, 1 марта 2010 г.
Tobacco Category in Flux
Since gaining a tremendous share of market from supermarkets and drug stores in the last decade, the c-store industry's share of the tobacco category, particularly cigarettes, has been stable. But last April's increase in federal excise taxes (FET), further restrictions on public smoking and changing consumer preferences are stirring the pot.
On the radar: Some headway by the drug channel in cigarette sales, and greater consumer interest in other tobacco products (OTP), which is lifting sales at tobacco outlet stores and infiltrating convenience store strategies.
According to industry market share figures provided by c-store wholesaler Eby-Brown Co., the c-store/gas segment holds a 67-percent share of the cigarette market, up from 55 percent in 1998. Tobacco outlets account for 10 percent of the market -- the same as a decade ago -- and supermarket and grocery combined account for 9 percent, down from 22 percent. The drug channel accounts for 5 percent, up 1 percentage point, while liquor stores and "all other" retail sites maintained market share at 3 percent and 6 percent, respectively.
Sales in the last 10 months, though, have been shaken by unexpected, fast-changing shifts in consumer demand following the FET increase.
At United Refining Co. of Pa., operator of more than 290 Kwik Fill/Red Apple Stores and 25 Smoker Outlets tobacco stores, cigarette volume fell quickly, as smokers cut back or went to other sources, such as the Internet or Native American stores, after the FET increase, according to Cliff Brazie, director of retail marketing at the company. However, thanks to rethinking the generic category, aggressive promotional activity and additional buydowns, the retailer recovered to within 3 percent of last year's cigarette volume.
Sales in Kwik Fill/Red Apple Stores were strong last January through March, fell drastically after federal and state tax increases, whimpered through the summer, then began moving again last September. "We moved as many promotions out of Philip Morris and R.J. Reynolds as we could," Brazie said. "The Indian reservations can't tap into these promotions, so offering $2 off a pack was significant for our customers."
Lorillard's buydown allowances also helped the chain, especially on the Newport brand. Particularly powerful was the introduction of Liggett's Pyramid, which Kwik Fill/Red Apple began promoting in June. The stores displayed 38- by 48-inch signs outside that read "You deserve a bailout too," offering Pyramid at a very competitive price.
"They were the least expensive cigarette I could offer our customers," Brazie said.
Despite such creative marketing by c-store operators, the industry continues to buzz about Walgreens' attempts to increase its cigarette sales and the drug channel's threat. Total tobacco and tobacco accessory unit sales in drug stores (with at least $1 million in sales) grew nearly 12 percent for the 52 weeks ending Nov. 28, 2009, according to Nielsen. Unit sales of cigarettes were up nearly 14 percent, while chewing tobacco unit sales rose 10 percent.
Indeed, drug store customers spend almost twice the amount on cigarettes as on cold/allergy remedies, according to The Nielsen Co. Tobacco also accounted for nearly $3 billion in sales as of August 2009, an increase of 18 percent from the year before.
But some industry players see little threat from drug stores. "It will be a battle between the c-store channel and the tobacco outlet channel to win over the consumer who has been abandoned by drug, grocery and mass merchant," said Frank Davoli, director of purchasing for South Bend, Ind.-based Richmond-Master Distributors Inc., a supplier that owns and operates 10 Bonkers c-stores and 37 Low Bob's Discount Tobacco stores, plus has another 85-plus Low Bob's Discount Tobacco licensee sites.
Shoring up the discount tobacco channel: growing demand for OTP products. OTP sales were up nearly 5 percent in c-stores for the 52 weeks ending Oct. 31, 2009, according to Nielsen. Behind this growth was a 5.7-percent increase in cigars, 7.7-percent gain in papers and 4.1-percent bump in smokeless tobacco.
The April FET increase has some consumers moving to smokeless, cigars and pipe tobacco, which roll-your-own smokers are using instead of higher-priced cigarette tobacco, Davoli noted. Also on Davoli's watch list: Camel Snus, which gained wider distribution last winter, and new dissolvable products by R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co.
The tobacco store channel has shrunk in recent years, accounting for 12 percent of the tobacco market today, down from a high of 16 percent in 2001, after which manufacturers no longer offered the channel special allowances based on the size of their inventory. Even so, survivors are positioned to gain market share, as they offer more variety and adults shop freely in stores that require consumers to be of legal age to enter, Davoli noted.
To keep up with the quick-changing dynamics of the tobacco category, Richmond-Master Distributing changes tobacco planograms daily. "It sounds nuts, but we went through a three-to-four month period where even the manufacturers were caught short on OTP products," Davoli said. "We thought the excise tax increase would wipe the OTP category out, but we saw the opposite. We learned a big lesson: Consumer moves are not always predictable and we better move fast."
One prime example was huge increases in pipe tobacco sales. "We reset the roll-your-own and pipe tobacco section five times between April and January," Davoli said.
The emergence of large-filter cigars also happened quickly. "As little cigars increased at retail more than $1 a pack, many shoppers shifted to large-filter cigars," Davoli said. "That is a segment that popped up overnight. If you were an operator who was aware of that, you gained new customers. But reaction time had to be very quick."
At United Refining's convenience stores, Brazie has seen "a nice increase" in sales of cigars of all types and of Copenhagen Wintergreen, "which has soared. Our customers see cigars as a treat they deserve, unlike cigarettes. Now Swisher and other OTP makers are stepping up with promotions and new products, making the segment very competitive."
A change in the tobacco company's strategies has led Brazie to adapt new cigarette sets in the convenience stores and Smoker Outlet sites. "We had 8 feet of cigarette packs and 10 feet of cartons in our Smoker Outlet sites. We are adjusting our sets to provide more room for new opportunities in OTP.
"Manufacturers are emphasizing OTP now, wanting us to take out cigarette SKUs," he said. "They want us to scale back on cartons and scale up on OTP -- for good reason."
On the radar: Some headway by the drug channel in cigarette sales, and greater consumer interest in other tobacco products (OTP), which is lifting sales at tobacco outlet stores and infiltrating convenience store strategies.
According to industry market share figures provided by c-store wholesaler Eby-Brown Co., the c-store/gas segment holds a 67-percent share of the cigarette market, up from 55 percent in 1998. Tobacco outlets account for 10 percent of the market -- the same as a decade ago -- and supermarket and grocery combined account for 9 percent, down from 22 percent. The drug channel accounts for 5 percent, up 1 percentage point, while liquor stores and "all other" retail sites maintained market share at 3 percent and 6 percent, respectively.
Sales in the last 10 months, though, have been shaken by unexpected, fast-changing shifts in consumer demand following the FET increase.
At United Refining Co. of Pa., operator of more than 290 Kwik Fill/Red Apple Stores and 25 Smoker Outlets tobacco stores, cigarette volume fell quickly, as smokers cut back or went to other sources, such as the Internet or Native American stores, after the FET increase, according to Cliff Brazie, director of retail marketing at the company. However, thanks to rethinking the generic category, aggressive promotional activity and additional buydowns, the retailer recovered to within 3 percent of last year's cigarette volume.
Sales in Kwik Fill/Red Apple Stores were strong last January through March, fell drastically after federal and state tax increases, whimpered through the summer, then began moving again last September. "We moved as many promotions out of Philip Morris and R.J. Reynolds as we could," Brazie said. "The Indian reservations can't tap into these promotions, so offering $2 off a pack was significant for our customers."
Lorillard's buydown allowances also helped the chain, especially on the Newport brand. Particularly powerful was the introduction of Liggett's Pyramid, which Kwik Fill/Red Apple began promoting in June. The stores displayed 38- by 48-inch signs outside that read "You deserve a bailout too," offering Pyramid at a very competitive price.
"They were the least expensive cigarette I could offer our customers," Brazie said.
Despite such creative marketing by c-store operators, the industry continues to buzz about Walgreens' attempts to increase its cigarette sales and the drug channel's threat. Total tobacco and tobacco accessory unit sales in drug stores (with at least $1 million in sales) grew nearly 12 percent for the 52 weeks ending Nov. 28, 2009, according to Nielsen. Unit sales of cigarettes were up nearly 14 percent, while chewing tobacco unit sales rose 10 percent.
Indeed, drug store customers spend almost twice the amount on cigarettes as on cold/allergy remedies, according to The Nielsen Co. Tobacco also accounted for nearly $3 billion in sales as of August 2009, an increase of 18 percent from the year before.
But some industry players see little threat from drug stores. "It will be a battle between the c-store channel and the tobacco outlet channel to win over the consumer who has been abandoned by drug, grocery and mass merchant," said Frank Davoli, director of purchasing for South Bend, Ind.-based Richmond-Master Distributors Inc., a supplier that owns and operates 10 Bonkers c-stores and 37 Low Bob's Discount Tobacco stores, plus has another 85-plus Low Bob's Discount Tobacco licensee sites.
Shoring up the discount tobacco channel: growing demand for OTP products. OTP sales were up nearly 5 percent in c-stores for the 52 weeks ending Oct. 31, 2009, according to Nielsen. Behind this growth was a 5.7-percent increase in cigars, 7.7-percent gain in papers and 4.1-percent bump in smokeless tobacco.
The April FET increase has some consumers moving to smokeless, cigars and pipe tobacco, which roll-your-own smokers are using instead of higher-priced cigarette tobacco, Davoli noted. Also on Davoli's watch list: Camel Snus, which gained wider distribution last winter, and new dissolvable products by R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co.
The tobacco store channel has shrunk in recent years, accounting for 12 percent of the tobacco market today, down from a high of 16 percent in 2001, after which manufacturers no longer offered the channel special allowances based on the size of their inventory. Even so, survivors are positioned to gain market share, as they offer more variety and adults shop freely in stores that require consumers to be of legal age to enter, Davoli noted.
To keep up with the quick-changing dynamics of the tobacco category, Richmond-Master Distributing changes tobacco planograms daily. "It sounds nuts, but we went through a three-to-four month period where even the manufacturers were caught short on OTP products," Davoli said. "We thought the excise tax increase would wipe the OTP category out, but we saw the opposite. We learned a big lesson: Consumer moves are not always predictable and we better move fast."
One prime example was huge increases in pipe tobacco sales. "We reset the roll-your-own and pipe tobacco section five times between April and January," Davoli said.
The emergence of large-filter cigars also happened quickly. "As little cigars increased at retail more than $1 a pack, many shoppers shifted to large-filter cigars," Davoli said. "That is a segment that popped up overnight. If you were an operator who was aware of that, you gained new customers. But reaction time had to be very quick."
At United Refining's convenience stores, Brazie has seen "a nice increase" in sales of cigars of all types and of Copenhagen Wintergreen, "which has soared. Our customers see cigars as a treat they deserve, unlike cigarettes. Now Swisher and other OTP makers are stepping up with promotions and new products, making the segment very competitive."
A change in the tobacco company's strategies has led Brazie to adapt new cigarette sets in the convenience stores and Smoker Outlet sites. "We had 8 feet of cigarette packs and 10 feet of cartons in our Smoker Outlet sites. We are adjusting our sets to provide more room for new opportunities in OTP.
"Manufacturers are emphasizing OTP now, wanting us to take out cigarette SKUs," he said. "They want us to scale back on cartons and scale up on OTP -- for good reason."
понедельник, 22 февраля 2010 г.
Gentleman NRI shopkeeper killed for cigarettes, sweets
London, Feb 22 (IANS) British police have launched a murder hunt after a gang of teenagers in northern England killed an Indian-origin shopkeeper described by locals as a “gentleman, who would do anything for anyone”.
Gurmail Singh, a 63-year-old father of two, suffered head injuries in the robbery by four teenagers at his shop in Huddersfield Saturday and died in hospital Sunday.
The four youths in their late teens entered the store at around 8.30 p.m. and left with a small amount of cash, cigarettes and confectionary, police said.
“It was a robbery but they stole the takings from the till, some cigarettes and sweets. It is hardly a major crime and that makes it all the more sad that he died in this way,” a police spokesman said.
Six men from a nearby pub tried to stop the robbers, but they managed to escape after a struggle, a spokesman for the regional West Yorkshire police said.
“We are also investigating whether there is any link with an incident on Thursday evening in which two youths tried to steal something from the shop and were in an altercation with Mr Singh,” the spokesman said.
After Thursday’s reported incident, Singh was said to have told neighbours he did not want to confront the youth because they were “a lot bigger” than him.
Singh, a long-time resident of the area, was popular with locals, who were shocked by the murder.
“You couldn’t wish to meet a nicer bloke than Mr Singh,” neighbour Ian Davison said.
“Even in the snow he was pulling his sledge up here with his grandson, making sure the papers got delivered.”
Sandra Ward, another neighbour, described him as “a gentleman” who provided the local community with a “fantastic service” by working long hours seven days a week.
The landlord of the nearby Shepherds Arms pub said: “Gurmail was a lovely man - he’d do anything for anyone. It’s tragic.”
Gurmail Singh, a 63-year-old father of two, suffered head injuries in the robbery by four teenagers at his shop in Huddersfield Saturday and died in hospital Sunday.
The four youths in their late teens entered the store at around 8.30 p.m. and left with a small amount of cash, cigarettes and confectionary, police said.
“It was a robbery but they stole the takings from the till, some cigarettes and sweets. It is hardly a major crime and that makes it all the more sad that he died in this way,” a police spokesman said.
Six men from a nearby pub tried to stop the robbers, but they managed to escape after a struggle, a spokesman for the regional West Yorkshire police said.
“We are also investigating whether there is any link with an incident on Thursday evening in which two youths tried to steal something from the shop and were in an altercation with Mr Singh,” the spokesman said.
After Thursday’s reported incident, Singh was said to have told neighbours he did not want to confront the youth because they were “a lot bigger” than him.
Singh, a long-time resident of the area, was popular with locals, who were shocked by the murder.
“You couldn’t wish to meet a nicer bloke than Mr Singh,” neighbour Ian Davison said.
“Even in the snow he was pulling his sledge up here with his grandson, making sure the papers got delivered.”
Sandra Ward, another neighbour, described him as “a gentleman” who provided the local community with a “fantastic service” by working long hours seven days a week.
The landlord of the nearby Shepherds Arms pub said: “Gurmail was a lovely man - he’d do anything for anyone. It’s tragic.”
понедельник, 15 февраля 2010 г.
Senate OKs tax on some foods to balance budget
The Senate approved a $5.5 billion state budget early Sunday that's balanced by reinstating New Mexico's sales tax on certain foods and increasing the cigarette tax.
The food tax will generate $138 million, but it's expected to run into strong opposition in the House.
The Senate voted 23-19 to impose the gross receipts tax on a wide range of food products, including white flour tortillas, hard taco shells, candy and soft drinks.
New Mexico lifted its tax on food in 2005. The Senate proposal narrows the definition of food. It leaves products tax free if they are considered food under the federal Women, Infants and Children program. Supporters said it will encourage New Mexicans to eat healthier foods and could help reduce obesity.
"It is in effect a tax on salt, on sugar, on white flour and prepared foods," said Sen. Dede Feldman, D-Albuquerque.
The Senate approved tax measures to generate more than $180 million to balance next year's budget for public schools, colleges and government programs, including health care for the needy. The Senate worked past midnight to finish work on the budget, which passed 25-17.
Senate leaders fine-tuned the financial package Saturday to line up enough votes in the fractured chamber to pass the budget package, which relied on politically painful tax increases and spending cuts for education and governmental services.
The Senate approved:
u A House-passed measure generating nearly $16 million by expanding tax withholding requirements on partnerships and certain small corporations. The goal is to improve tax compliance by out-of-state residents. It passed 40-1.
u An increase in the tax on cigarettes by $1 a package to generate $33 million. New Mexico currently imposes a 91-cent tax on a pack of cigarettes. With the proposed increase, only 15 states would levy a higher cigarette tax. The bill passed 24-18 and was sent to the House.
With the revenues from the cigarette tax, the Senate dropped a proposal that would have cut the take-home pay of state workers and educators by requiring them to increase their pension contributions.
Public employee and educational unions opposed the higher pension payments, which would have lowered contributions by governmental employers by $27 million and increased employee contributions by a similar amount.
The Senate-passed budget will lower spending by about 3 percent next year from what public education, courts, colleges and state agencies were provided this year. The upcoming 2011 budget year starts in July.
"We've tried to spread this pain but we can't cover all of our bases," said Sen. John Arthur Smith, a Deming Democrat and chairman of the committee that developed the budget. "This is not a fun job, but we have to have a balanced budget."
With the Legislature scheduled to adjourn Thursday, the House and Senate will have little time to negotiate a a compromise budget and tax package.
A House-passed budget would cut total spending on education and government programs by about 1 percent next year. The House has approved $300 million in tax increases, including an upper-income surtax and a half-cent sales tax increase, to balance its budget proposal.
A special legislative session will be required later this year if the House and Senate fail to agree on a budget — as well as tax increases to balance the spending plan — before adjourning.
"That's the worst case scenario for us," said Smith.
The food tax will generate $138 million, but it's expected to run into strong opposition in the House.
The Senate voted 23-19 to impose the gross receipts tax on a wide range of food products, including white flour tortillas, hard taco shells, candy and soft drinks.
New Mexico lifted its tax on food in 2005. The Senate proposal narrows the definition of food. It leaves products tax free if they are considered food under the federal Women, Infants and Children program. Supporters said it will encourage New Mexicans to eat healthier foods and could help reduce obesity.
"It is in effect a tax on salt, on sugar, on white flour and prepared foods," said Sen. Dede Feldman, D-Albuquerque.
The Senate approved tax measures to generate more than $180 million to balance next year's budget for public schools, colleges and government programs, including health care for the needy. The Senate worked past midnight to finish work on the budget, which passed 25-17.
Senate leaders fine-tuned the financial package Saturday to line up enough votes in the fractured chamber to pass the budget package, which relied on politically painful tax increases and spending cuts for education and governmental services.
The Senate approved:
u A House-passed measure generating nearly $16 million by expanding tax withholding requirements on partnerships and certain small corporations. The goal is to improve tax compliance by out-of-state residents. It passed 40-1.
u An increase in the tax on cigarettes by $1 a package to generate $33 million. New Mexico currently imposes a 91-cent tax on a pack of cigarettes. With the proposed increase, only 15 states would levy a higher cigarette tax. The bill passed 24-18 and was sent to the House.
With the revenues from the cigarette tax, the Senate dropped a proposal that would have cut the take-home pay of state workers and educators by requiring them to increase their pension contributions.
Public employee and educational unions opposed the higher pension payments, which would have lowered contributions by governmental employers by $27 million and increased employee contributions by a similar amount.
The Senate-passed budget will lower spending by about 3 percent next year from what public education, courts, colleges and state agencies were provided this year. The upcoming 2011 budget year starts in July.
"We've tried to spread this pain but we can't cover all of our bases," said Sen. John Arthur Smith, a Deming Democrat and chairman of the committee that developed the budget. "This is not a fun job, but we have to have a balanced budget."
With the Legislature scheduled to adjourn Thursday, the House and Senate will have little time to negotiate a a compromise budget and tax package.
A House-passed budget would cut total spending on education and government programs by about 1 percent next year. The House has approved $300 million in tax increases, including an upper-income surtax and a half-cent sales tax increase, to balance its budget proposal.
A special legislative session will be required later this year if the House and Senate fail to agree on a budget — as well as tax increases to balance the spending plan — before adjourning.
"That's the worst case scenario for us," said Smith.
пятница, 12 февраля 2010 г.
Lorillard to Enter Market for Moist Smokeless Tobacco
Newport cigarette maker Lorillard Inc. announced Monday it will soon enter the market for moist smokeless tobacco products, but said that an earlier joint venture with Swedish Match AB to develop a new product in the U.S. had been mutually terminated.
Moist smokeless tobacco is a type of tobacco product that is popular in the U.S. and widely sold by companies like Altria Group Inc. through brands like Copenhagen and Skoal. Sales of these smokeless tobacco products have risen in the U.S. even as cigarette sales have dropped.
Lorillard didn't provide details of the new moist smokeless tobacco product it will sell in the U.S. but said that an existing joint venture with Swedish Match to develop a new "snus" tobacco product for the U.S. had been terminated. Snus is a nearly 200-year-old Swedish product. In 2006 Lorillard entered into a joint venture with Swedish Match North America to develop and study the possibility of marketing a tobacco product for the U.S. market called Triumph Snus.
Snus differs from most smokeless tobacco products in the U.S. as it is created through a special pasteurization process. It comes in small pouches and doesn't require spitting. On a conference call, Lorillard said the snus product didn't make gains in the test markets in the U.S. and that it may not have been the right time for the product in North America. Lorillard appears to be betting that Americans will continue to lean toward traditional formulations like moist smokeless tobacco, as opposed to newer forms they are less familiar with.
Other companies are still saying they believe snus has a future in the U.S. Altria and Reynolds American Inc. have launched snus products, but sales of these products have generally stayed relatively small. Both these companies, however, say they are expanding the reach of their snus products.
A spokesman for Reynolds American, David Howard, said the company has been very pleased with sales of its Camel Snus product and believes that it is a "viable" product. The company rolled out Camel Snus nationwide in the first quarter of 2009 after putting it in test markets for almost three years. "It's a small market but we believe there is potential growth for that market," Howard said. An Altria spokesman, Brendan McCormick, said the company is pleased with the results of its Marlboro Snus product in test markets and will be expanding it nationally at the end of March.
Swedish Match sells its flagship snus brand General in the U.S. as well as another brand called Catch. These were sold outside of the Lorillard joint venture and will continue to be sold here. Swedish Match will also continue selling the moist smokeless tobacco products, such as its Red Man and Timberwolf brands, it already sells in the U.S.
"We remain committed to the U.S. market," Lars Dahlgren, chief executive of Swedish Match said in an email statement. The company says the dissolution of the Lorillard joint venture has no bearing on its snus joint venture company with Philip Morris International Inc. That venture aims to distribute snus products outside of the U.S. and Scandinavia.
Lorillard's fourth-quarter earnings fell 6.2% on declining volume and increased manufacturing and marketing costs, though sales rose with the help of higher prices.
Lorillard dominates the market for menthol cigarettes. Lorillard's Newport brand represents the bulk of its U.S. sales, and its U.S. volume fell 6.5% during the quarter, though its U.S. market share rose to 10.32% from 9.86%.
Overall, the U.S. cigarette industry has seen volumes drop amid higher taxes and bans on smoking in public places. But Lorillard has held up better since its Newport brand has been able to grow its market share.
Moist smokeless tobacco is a type of tobacco product that is popular in the U.S. and widely sold by companies like Altria Group Inc. through brands like Copenhagen and Skoal. Sales of these smokeless tobacco products have risen in the U.S. even as cigarette sales have dropped.
Lorillard didn't provide details of the new moist smokeless tobacco product it will sell in the U.S. but said that an existing joint venture with Swedish Match to develop a new "snus" tobacco product for the U.S. had been terminated. Snus is a nearly 200-year-old Swedish product. In 2006 Lorillard entered into a joint venture with Swedish Match North America to develop and study the possibility of marketing a tobacco product for the U.S. market called Triumph Snus.
Snus differs from most smokeless tobacco products in the U.S. as it is created through a special pasteurization process. It comes in small pouches and doesn't require spitting. On a conference call, Lorillard said the snus product didn't make gains in the test markets in the U.S. and that it may not have been the right time for the product in North America. Lorillard appears to be betting that Americans will continue to lean toward traditional formulations like moist smokeless tobacco, as opposed to newer forms they are less familiar with.
Other companies are still saying they believe snus has a future in the U.S. Altria and Reynolds American Inc. have launched snus products, but sales of these products have generally stayed relatively small. Both these companies, however, say they are expanding the reach of their snus products.
A spokesman for Reynolds American, David Howard, said the company has been very pleased with sales of its Camel Snus product and believes that it is a "viable" product. The company rolled out Camel Snus nationwide in the first quarter of 2009 after putting it in test markets for almost three years. "It's a small market but we believe there is potential growth for that market," Howard said. An Altria spokesman, Brendan McCormick, said the company is pleased with the results of its Marlboro Snus product in test markets and will be expanding it nationally at the end of March.
Swedish Match sells its flagship snus brand General in the U.S. as well as another brand called Catch. These were sold outside of the Lorillard joint venture and will continue to be sold here. Swedish Match will also continue selling the moist smokeless tobacco products, such as its Red Man and Timberwolf brands, it already sells in the U.S.
"We remain committed to the U.S. market," Lars Dahlgren, chief executive of Swedish Match said in an email statement. The company says the dissolution of the Lorillard joint venture has no bearing on its snus joint venture company with Philip Morris International Inc. That venture aims to distribute snus products outside of the U.S. and Scandinavia.
Lorillard's fourth-quarter earnings fell 6.2% on declining volume and increased manufacturing and marketing costs, though sales rose with the help of higher prices.
Lorillard dominates the market for menthol cigarettes. Lorillard's Newport brand represents the bulk of its U.S. sales, and its U.S. volume fell 6.5% during the quarter, though its U.S. market share rose to 10.32% from 9.86%.
Overall, the U.S. cigarette industry has seen volumes drop amid higher taxes and bans on smoking in public places. But Lorillard has held up better since its Newport brand has been able to grow its market share.
понедельник, 8 февраля 2010 г.
Doctor visit: Lawmaker takes aim at tribal lawsuit
The tribe filed a federal lawsuit in January regarding legislation that made changes to the state tax code. Senate Bill 608 seeks to crack down on tobacco bootleggers. Among other things, it stiffens the penalty for those who deal in cigarettes that don’t have proper tax stamps, and requires smokeshops to buy their tobacco from state-licensed wholesalers if the tribe doesn’t have a compact with the state. The Creeks don’t have a compact.
The lawsuit contends that the tax codes run counter to several federal laws and violate tribal sovereignty. The tribe wants the court to rule that the Master Settlement Agreement that the state entered into with tobacco companies more than a decade ago can’t be enforced on Indian land.
Cox, R-Grove, says Principal Chief A.D. Ellis "should be ashamed for pursuing policies that allow the Creek Nation to skirt the regulations of Senate Bill 608.” Smoking only exacerbates high blood pressure and diabetes, two conditions frequently seen among American Indians, Cox said. And inexpensive tribal cigarettes contribute to young people taking up the habit.
"The Muscogee Creek Nation’s continued desire to offer cheap, low-tax cigarettes is counterproductive to the health of all Oklahomans, particularly Native Americans,” Cox said. "Chief Ellis should use tribal resources for education, housing and health care policies rather than attorney fees in attempting to continue his harmful policies.”
The criticism is on target but carries added weight for this reason: Cox himself is of Creek heritage.
The lawsuit contends that the tax codes run counter to several federal laws and violate tribal sovereignty. The tribe wants the court to rule that the Master Settlement Agreement that the state entered into with tobacco companies more than a decade ago can’t be enforced on Indian land.
Cox, R-Grove, says Principal Chief A.D. Ellis "should be ashamed for pursuing policies that allow the Creek Nation to skirt the regulations of Senate Bill 608.” Smoking only exacerbates high blood pressure and diabetes, two conditions frequently seen among American Indians, Cox said. And inexpensive tribal cigarettes contribute to young people taking up the habit.
"The Muscogee Creek Nation’s continued desire to offer cheap, low-tax cigarettes is counterproductive to the health of all Oklahomans, particularly Native Americans,” Cox said. "Chief Ellis should use tribal resources for education, housing and health care policies rather than attorney fees in attempting to continue his harmful policies.”
The criticism is on target but carries added weight for this reason: Cox himself is of Creek heritage.
четверг, 4 февраля 2010 г.
Cigarettes cause morning fire
Cigarettes have been ruled the cause of a morning house fire in Sioux Falls that forced Sioux Falls Fire Rescue to dispatch seven trucks and 33 firefighters.
Firefighters responded shortly after a 7:45 a.m. call to a home at 614 N. Walts Ave., Chief Battalion Steve Dirksen said. Heavy smoke and flames were coming from the house when crews arrived, Dirksen said.
The fire was under control in 45 minutes, he said.“With the amount of fire coming out the windows, we just felt safer to have enough people,” Dirksen said.
Investigators determine the fire was caused by improper disposal of cigarettes, Dirksen said.
The house was empty at the time of the fire. The house was home to six people, Dirksen said.
Red Cross also responded to the scene, Dirksen said.
Firefighters responded shortly after a 7:45 a.m. call to a home at 614 N. Walts Ave., Chief Battalion Steve Dirksen said. Heavy smoke and flames were coming from the house when crews arrived, Dirksen said.
The fire was under control in 45 minutes, he said.“With the amount of fire coming out the windows, we just felt safer to have enough people,” Dirksen said.
Investigators determine the fire was caused by improper disposal of cigarettes, Dirksen said.
The house was empty at the time of the fire. The house was home to six people, Dirksen said.
Red Cross also responded to the scene, Dirksen said.
понедельник, 1 февраля 2010 г.
How To: Guard against gray hair
Most gray hair is unavoidable, the result of aging and genetics. But doctors and hairdressers say there are steps you can try to fight premature loss of pigment.
Stop smoking. Studies show cigarettes speed up the aging process throughout the body, including your hair.
Work to lower stress. While evidence isn't conclusive, many believe anxiety can help trigger graying. Get enough sleep, exercise regularly, make time for enjoyable hobbies and try meditation or deep breathing exercises.
Eat the right foods. Deficiencies of certain nutrients, including copper and B-vitamins, may contribute to early graying. Load up on dark green leafy vegetables, fruit, lean meats, nuts and seeds; take a multivitamin; avoid fatty, greasy and salty foods; and don't skip meals.
Don't drink too much. Excess alcohol and caffeine may be bad news for your hair.
Massage your scalp. Extra rubbing during a shampoo should help stimulate blood circulation in your scalp, which nourishes hair follicles.
Be wary of products. The only item proven to "reverse" graying is hair dye. Numerous supplements and other products, often sold on the Internet, almost certainly are a waste of money and may pose health risks.
Avoid too much heat. Shampooing with hot water and using a hair dryer on high heat may damage hair roots; the same goes for significant sun exposure (wear a hat).
Don't pluck. Pulling out gray hairs won't solve your problem, but it will damage your hair root and possibly cause an infection.
See a doctor. If you have significant graying before age 30 and no family history of that trait, you may have a health problem such as thyroid disease, anemia or a vitamin B-12 deficiency. However, the majority of people don't.
Stop smoking. Studies show cigarettes speed up the aging process throughout the body, including your hair.
Work to lower stress. While evidence isn't conclusive, many believe anxiety can help trigger graying. Get enough sleep, exercise regularly, make time for enjoyable hobbies and try meditation or deep breathing exercises.
Eat the right foods. Deficiencies of certain nutrients, including copper and B-vitamins, may contribute to early graying. Load up on dark green leafy vegetables, fruit, lean meats, nuts and seeds; take a multivitamin; avoid fatty, greasy and salty foods; and don't skip meals.
Don't drink too much. Excess alcohol and caffeine may be bad news for your hair.
Massage your scalp. Extra rubbing during a shampoo should help stimulate blood circulation in your scalp, which nourishes hair follicles.
Be wary of products. The only item proven to "reverse" graying is hair dye. Numerous supplements and other products, often sold on the Internet, almost certainly are a waste of money and may pose health risks.
Avoid too much heat. Shampooing with hot water and using a hair dryer on high heat may damage hair roots; the same goes for significant sun exposure (wear a hat).
Don't pluck. Pulling out gray hairs won't solve your problem, but it will damage your hair root and possibly cause an infection.
See a doctor. If you have significant graying before age 30 and no family history of that trait, you may have a health problem such as thyroid disease, anemia or a vitamin B-12 deficiency. However, the majority of people don't.
пятница, 29 января 2010 г.
Debenhams names ex-Gallaher boss as chair
Debenhams, the department store chain, announced today that Nigel Northridge, the former chief executive of Gallaher, the maker of Benson & Hedges cigarettes, will become its new chairman to replace John Lovering.
The company said Mr Northridge will step up to the role on April 1 following the retirement of Mr Lovering who has chaired the retailer since 2003 and led its flotation on the London Stock Exchange in 2006.
Yesterday, Mr Lovering became chairman of Mitchells & Butlers, replacing Simon Laffin after Joe Lewis, the Bahamas-based billionaire, orchestrated a coup that saw three members ousted from the board.
Mr Northridge is currently chairman of Paddy Power, the betting group, the senior independent director of Aggreko, the emergency power supply business and is a non-executive with Thomas Cook, the travel company and Inchcape, the car dealer.Mr Northridge, who was with Gallaher for 32 years, which was sold for £9.4 billion in 2007, is joining Debenhams at a challenging time for retailers. Earlier this month, Debenhams reported that it had increased sales over the Christmas period but warned of an uncertain year in the face of the return to the 17.5 per cent VAT rate and the impending general election.
The company said Mr Northridge will step up to the role on April 1 following the retirement of Mr Lovering who has chaired the retailer since 2003 and led its flotation on the London Stock Exchange in 2006.
Yesterday, Mr Lovering became chairman of Mitchells & Butlers, replacing Simon Laffin after Joe Lewis, the Bahamas-based billionaire, orchestrated a coup that saw three members ousted from the board.
Mr Northridge is currently chairman of Paddy Power, the betting group, the senior independent director of Aggreko, the emergency power supply business and is a non-executive with Thomas Cook, the travel company and Inchcape, the car dealer.Mr Northridge, who was with Gallaher for 32 years, which was sold for £9.4 billion in 2007, is joining Debenhams at a challenging time for retailers. Earlier this month, Debenhams reported that it had increased sales over the Christmas period but warned of an uncertain year in the face of the return to the 17.5 per cent VAT rate and the impending general election.
среда, 27 января 2010 г.
Living Room
Rachel Sherman's Living Room attempts to diagram the collapse of a Long Island family through the lives of three generations of women, but falls short of the subtlety and also, paradoxically, the devastating drama required of the genre. The mother, Livia, plays the feminist academic, refusing the role of homemaker under the guise of finishing a master's, on which she never works, preferring to spend the better part of her time lying in bed eating (she has enough money for an au pair). Livia's chronic denial of responsibility is a symptom that is cured only after Headie, the grandmother, dies. In an infuriatingly cliched and obvious parental revelation, Livia realizes "That it is not about her."
The stories of Headie and Livia's teen daughter, Abby, exhibit similar yet slightly less overwrought banality, and though ancillary to the story of Livia's overdue maturation, in comparison make for a more believable and interesting read. Abby's problems are typical of high school: boys, cigarettes and first attempts at getting drunk. To Abby, being drunk is "like being dead, like being a puppet or a doll," an innocent, yet visually complicated sentiment that speaks to a greater maturity. "Anything could have happened," she thinks after blacking out from alcohol. One feels for Abby, who seems to understand the consequences of her actions on a deeper level than her mother, who only thinks of herself and the trauma of seeing her daughter in the hospital. When they get home, it's Abby who comforts an hysterical Livia: "Mom, it's OK."
Thankfully, even more so than Abby's tale, it is Headie's sometimes dementia-infused memories of the 50s, and her roles of wife, lover and mother, that save the book. The juxtaposition between the time periods in which Headie and Livia became mothers is refreshing; in a reversal of stereotypes, Headie wonders if Livia isn't a "prude" underneath her liberal exterior. There is a well-crafted argument between their two generations, highlighting drastic and important changes in the American way of life, but Sherman falls short of positing a theory as to what it means for Abby. Although Living Room feels at times like it wants to delve into the unseen corners of suburbia, and the pressure exerted on women therein (al la Munro or Yates), Sherman seems content to record only the exaggerated reflections at the surface, and we are left with characters that are merely privileged and annoying, rather than troubled and worth remembering.
The stories of Headie and Livia's teen daughter, Abby, exhibit similar yet slightly less overwrought banality, and though ancillary to the story of Livia's overdue maturation, in comparison make for a more believable and interesting read. Abby's problems are typical of high school: boys, cigarettes and first attempts at getting drunk. To Abby, being drunk is "like being dead, like being a puppet or a doll," an innocent, yet visually complicated sentiment that speaks to a greater maturity. "Anything could have happened," she thinks after blacking out from alcohol. One feels for Abby, who seems to understand the consequences of her actions on a deeper level than her mother, who only thinks of herself and the trauma of seeing her daughter in the hospital. When they get home, it's Abby who comforts an hysterical Livia: "Mom, it's OK."
Thankfully, even more so than Abby's tale, it is Headie's sometimes dementia-infused memories of the 50s, and her roles of wife, lover and mother, that save the book. The juxtaposition between the time periods in which Headie and Livia became mothers is refreshing; in a reversal of stereotypes, Headie wonders if Livia isn't a "prude" underneath her liberal exterior. There is a well-crafted argument between their two generations, highlighting drastic and important changes in the American way of life, but Sherman falls short of positing a theory as to what it means for Abby. Although Living Room feels at times like it wants to delve into the unseen corners of suburbia, and the pressure exerted on women therein (al la Munro or Yates), Sherman seems content to record only the exaggerated reflections at the surface, and we are left with characters that are merely privileged and annoying, rather than troubled and worth remembering.
понедельник, 25 января 2010 г.
Record numbers of region's smokers quit
SMOKERS in North Lincolnshire at the fastest rate since records began.
Latest figures from the Department of Health show 378 people in the region successfully gave up smoking between April and September 2009, up 23 per cent on the previous year, and the highest since records began in 2001.
Twice as many pregnant women are also kicking the habit, with 12 having successfully completed the NHS Stop Smoking programme, compared to just six over the same period last year.
Tony Scrase-Walters, 67, recently quit his 50-year addiction, which saw him smoke up to 80 cigarettes a day.
He said: "It's the toughest thing I've ever had to do.
"I haven't smoked since November but until I've done a year smoke-free I'd say I'm still in danger of slipping back to square one, all it takes is one cigarette and all the hard work goes out of the window.
"I'll get really strong cravings around four or five times a day, the worst ones are on a morning, I've been having a fag and a cup of coffee for breakfast for 50 years, it's a hard habit to break."
The NHS Stop Smoking service sets a quit date with patients and GPs, before a check-up after 31 days to determine whether the patient has successfully quit smoking.
Latest figures from the Department of Health show 378 people in the region successfully gave up smoking between April and September 2009, up 23 per cent on the previous year, and the highest since records began in 2001.
Twice as many pregnant women are also kicking the habit, with 12 having successfully completed the NHS Stop Smoking programme, compared to just six over the same period last year.
Tony Scrase-Walters, 67, recently quit his 50-year addiction, which saw him smoke up to 80 cigarettes a day.
He said: "It's the toughest thing I've ever had to do.
"I haven't smoked since November but until I've done a year smoke-free I'd say I'm still in danger of slipping back to square one, all it takes is one cigarette and all the hard work goes out of the window.
"I'll get really strong cravings around four or five times a day, the worst ones are on a morning, I've been having a fag and a cup of coffee for breakfast for 50 years, it's a hard habit to break."
The NHS Stop Smoking service sets a quit date with patients and GPs, before a check-up after 31 days to determine whether the patient has successfully quit smoking.
пятница, 22 января 2010 г.
Smoking: Help is at hand
NEW figures show that just one-third of all smokers who aimed to give up smoking in 2009 were successful in kicking the habit, a statistic that clearly indicates the desire to quit but possibly the absence of the correct support for them to effectively do so.
As many people endeavour to stick to resolutions made in January to stop, this statistic demonstrates the challenge that they will face during 2010 to remain smoke-free.
Motivation to stop differs from person to person and often incorporates more than one factor. Reasons can include the related costs, health issues, legislation, social aspects, home life or work.
The key factor for many people seems to be committing to stopping too hastily or without the relevant consideration and dedication – in fact, 78% of people who make New Year resolutions fail in their attempts, becoming dispirited and despondent.
Those attempting to banish cigarettes from their lives must be committed and should aim to seek help from sources relevant to their own needs and past experiences.
A new smoking-cessation service in Aberdeen looks to motivate and inspire individuals to stop smoking, equipping them with the skills and self-inspiration to extinguish those cigarettes forever and achieve their goal.
Set Free from Smoking encourages participants to name a date for stopping and, most importantly, empowers them with the drive and determination to stick to it and stop permanently.
Kenny Keir, an IT co-ordinator with a major oil company in Aberdeen, was a recent workshop participant.
He said: “Previous attempts to stop using only willpower were unsuccessful and I knew I needed additional, more structured support to quit. The Set Free from Smoking approach offered me this and I have now been free from cigarettes for three months. In this short time, I already notice an improved fitness level and no longer need to incorporate visits to the smoking shelter into my day at work or stand out in the cold with the other smokers.”
Like Kenny, many people see smoking cessation as a personal battle. Of course, for the most part, this is true, but within the workplace, many employers now recognise their responsibility for the health and wellbeing of their employees and look to support them in any quest they may have to improve personal wellbeing.
As well as the health effects on their workforce, employers are also very aware of the potential economic and business benefits of encouraging a smoke-free workforce, and many choose to develop smoking policies in line with their corporate-social-responsibility strategy.
HR professionals are increasingly aware of the detrimental effects that smoking can have on the workplace.
John Booth, director of HR and training at VSA in Aberdeen, said: “VSA employs over 600 people in the city and surrounding areas, predominantly within our care homes. Every company has to deal with the issue of staff going for unofficial smoke breaks and the resentment this creates from non-smoking staff.
“The importance of managing scheduled smoking breaks within the care sector is vital as adequate cover must be available at all times and animosity between staff avoided.
“Any encouragement and focus that staff who are keen to stop smoking can be given is positive as the health and wellbeing of VSA’s staff is critical to the care that we provide to thousands of local people.”
As well as time, productivity and staff morale issues, other concerns within the workplace include absenteeism and safety.
Surprisingly, 20% of workplace fires are caused by discarded cigarettes or matches. Not only is there the very obvious safety impact, but it can also mean that a company’s insurance premiums rise, therefore affecting its bottom line.
Astonishingly, it is estimated that the resource cost in terms of losses from smoking-related fires is estimated at about £4million per annum in Scotland alone.
Absenteeism can also affect a company’s profits, as well as impacting on the overall business process if no adequate cover is available.
Research shows that the estimated cost of smoking-related absence in Scotland is £40million per year, while total productivity losses are estimated at about £450million per year.
It is clear that smoking within a company can throw up many issues and factors to take into consideration. However, employers must work with staff to improve their individual workplace situation, ensuring that they do not isolate or cause contention between themselves and their smoking employees.
The inspiration for Set Free from Smoking comes from Margaret Brown, herself a heavy ex-smoker, who delivers the workshop using an inspiring and powerful mix of techniques that allows participants to take control and overcome their addiction.
With a background in corporate leadership development and employee motivation, Margaret transfers these skills and methods into her workshops, tailored to both individual and corporate participants.
For corporate clients, Margaret will ensure that the workshop supports the company’s vision and objectives, incorporating relevant corporate language.
Her successful track record in leadership, motivation and behavioural change has seen her work on major leadership projects with various corporations, including Shell, Schlumberger, Subsea 7 and latterly Marathon Oil, which has achieved recognition within the prestigious Top 100 Best Companies to work for in the UK for the past three consecutive years.
As many people endeavour to stick to resolutions made in January to stop, this statistic demonstrates the challenge that they will face during 2010 to remain smoke-free.
Motivation to stop differs from person to person and often incorporates more than one factor. Reasons can include the related costs, health issues, legislation, social aspects, home life or work.
The key factor for many people seems to be committing to stopping too hastily or without the relevant consideration and dedication – in fact, 78% of people who make New Year resolutions fail in their attempts, becoming dispirited and despondent.
Those attempting to banish cigarettes from their lives must be committed and should aim to seek help from sources relevant to their own needs and past experiences.
A new smoking-cessation service in Aberdeen looks to motivate and inspire individuals to stop smoking, equipping them with the skills and self-inspiration to extinguish those cigarettes forever and achieve their goal.
Set Free from Smoking encourages participants to name a date for stopping and, most importantly, empowers them with the drive and determination to stick to it and stop permanently.
Kenny Keir, an IT co-ordinator with a major oil company in Aberdeen, was a recent workshop participant.
He said: “Previous attempts to stop using only willpower were unsuccessful and I knew I needed additional, more structured support to quit. The Set Free from Smoking approach offered me this and I have now been free from cigarettes for three months. In this short time, I already notice an improved fitness level and no longer need to incorporate visits to the smoking shelter into my day at work or stand out in the cold with the other smokers.”
Like Kenny, many people see smoking cessation as a personal battle. Of course, for the most part, this is true, but within the workplace, many employers now recognise their responsibility for the health and wellbeing of their employees and look to support them in any quest they may have to improve personal wellbeing.
As well as the health effects on their workforce, employers are also very aware of the potential economic and business benefits of encouraging a smoke-free workforce, and many choose to develop smoking policies in line with their corporate-social-responsibility strategy.
HR professionals are increasingly aware of the detrimental effects that smoking can have on the workplace.
John Booth, director of HR and training at VSA in Aberdeen, said: “VSA employs over 600 people in the city and surrounding areas, predominantly within our care homes. Every company has to deal with the issue of staff going for unofficial smoke breaks and the resentment this creates from non-smoking staff.
“The importance of managing scheduled smoking breaks within the care sector is vital as adequate cover must be available at all times and animosity between staff avoided.
“Any encouragement and focus that staff who are keen to stop smoking can be given is positive as the health and wellbeing of VSA’s staff is critical to the care that we provide to thousands of local people.”
As well as time, productivity and staff morale issues, other concerns within the workplace include absenteeism and safety.
Surprisingly, 20% of workplace fires are caused by discarded cigarettes or matches. Not only is there the very obvious safety impact, but it can also mean that a company’s insurance premiums rise, therefore affecting its bottom line.
Astonishingly, it is estimated that the resource cost in terms of losses from smoking-related fires is estimated at about £4million per annum in Scotland alone.
Absenteeism can also affect a company’s profits, as well as impacting on the overall business process if no adequate cover is available.
Research shows that the estimated cost of smoking-related absence in Scotland is £40million per year, while total productivity losses are estimated at about £450million per year.
It is clear that smoking within a company can throw up many issues and factors to take into consideration. However, employers must work with staff to improve their individual workplace situation, ensuring that they do not isolate or cause contention between themselves and their smoking employees.
The inspiration for Set Free from Smoking comes from Margaret Brown, herself a heavy ex-smoker, who delivers the workshop using an inspiring and powerful mix of techniques that allows participants to take control and overcome their addiction.
With a background in corporate leadership development and employee motivation, Margaret transfers these skills and methods into her workshops, tailored to both individual and corporate participants.
For corporate clients, Margaret will ensure that the workshop supports the company’s vision and objectives, incorporating relevant corporate language.
Her successful track record in leadership, motivation and behavioural change has seen her work on major leadership projects with various corporations, including Shell, Schlumberger, Subsea 7 and latterly Marathon Oil, which has achieved recognition within the prestigious Top 100 Best Companies to work for in the UK for the past three consecutive years.
четверг, 21 января 2010 г.
Judge Orders F.D.A. to Stop Blocking Imports of E-Cigarettes From China
A federal judge on Thursday ordered the Food and Drug Administration to stop blocking the importation of electronic cigarettes from China and indicated that the devices should be regulated as tobacco products rather than drug or medical devices.
Judge Richard J. Leon of Federal District Court in Washington issued a preliminary injunction in a lawsuit brought by two distributors of the so-called e-cigarettes, which are battery-powered tubes that heat liquid nicotine into an inhalable vapor and are meant to simulate the taste of tobacco.
The distributors say the vapor contains virtually none of the cancer-causing chemicals of traditional cigarettes, but the F.D.A. says it has not been proved safe.
“This case appears to be yet another example of F.D.A.’s aggressive efforts to regulate recreational tobacco products as drugs or devices,” Judge Leon wrote.
With the passage of landmark tobacco legislation last year, he added, the Food and Drug Administration’s new tobacco division will be able to regulate the contents and marketing claims of e-cigarettes in the same way it is about to begin regulating traditional tobacco products. But the agency’s drug division cannot ban the devices, the judge ruled.
The Food and Drug Administration issued a brief statement: “The public health issues surrounding electronic cigarettes are of serious concern to the F.D.A. The agency is reviewing Judge Leon’s opinion and will decide the appropriate action to take.”
Ray Story, vice president of Smoking Everywhere, a Florida company that filed the suit, said the ruling was a victory for smokers who want a safer cigarette.
“The public will have a much less harmful alternative to tobacco products,” Mr. Story said. “Wherever they’re sold, we are going to be sold.”
Jack Leadbeater, chief executive of Sottera, an Arizona company that joined the suit, said border authorities would have to stop blocking and seizing imports and would have to release thousands of impounded e-cigarettes and millions of nicotine cartridges.
Mr. Leadbeater, chairman of the Electronic Cigarette Association, estimated that the products were a $100 million business nationwide.
Matthew L. Myers, president of the antismoking advocacy group Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, said the ruling opened “a gaping loophole” in the F.D.A.’s ability to regulate non-tobacco products containing nicotine.
He said the judge’s decision “ignores the common sense distinction” the F.D.A. has long drawn between traditional tobacco products like cigarettes and cigars and “a host of non-tobacco products, ranging from toothpaste to lollipops to water, in which manufacturers have added nicotine, a highly addictive substance.”
Mr. Myers’ organization and other health groups had promoted legislation to give the Food and Drug Administration authority to regulate tobacco products. But he said the law, signed by President Obama last June, was intended for traditional tobacco products, not electronic ones where nicotine levels and flavors could be easily adjusted.
Mr. Myers said e-cigarettes posed several potential serious risks to public health, including lack of controls on potency, a means to discourage current smokers from quitting by providing an alternative in smoke-free spaces and the possibility “these products could serve as a pathway to nicotine addiction for children.”
Judge Leon argued that the devices should be regulated in the same way as cigarettes. The judge also agreed with the distributors that e-cigarettes were not marketed as medical devices to help smokers quit, as the Food and Drug Administration had argued, but rather as safer substitutes to give users “the nicotine hit that smokers crave.”
The plastic tubes, shaped like cigarettes, have a heating element to vaporize a refillable liquid nicotine mixture. They have electronics to monitor air flow so that when a user inhales, the device delivers a vapor with a taste and feel that the distributors say simulates cigarette smoke.
Traditional cigarette makers have not been involved in the fledgling industry.
Judge Richard J. Leon of Federal District Court in Washington issued a preliminary injunction in a lawsuit brought by two distributors of the so-called e-cigarettes, which are battery-powered tubes that heat liquid nicotine into an inhalable vapor and are meant to simulate the taste of tobacco.
The distributors say the vapor contains virtually none of the cancer-causing chemicals of traditional cigarettes, but the F.D.A. says it has not been proved safe.
“This case appears to be yet another example of F.D.A.’s aggressive efforts to regulate recreational tobacco products as drugs or devices,” Judge Leon wrote.
With the passage of landmark tobacco legislation last year, he added, the Food and Drug Administration’s new tobacco division will be able to regulate the contents and marketing claims of e-cigarettes in the same way it is about to begin regulating traditional tobacco products. But the agency’s drug division cannot ban the devices, the judge ruled.
The Food and Drug Administration issued a brief statement: “The public health issues surrounding electronic cigarettes are of serious concern to the F.D.A. The agency is reviewing Judge Leon’s opinion and will decide the appropriate action to take.”
Ray Story, vice president of Smoking Everywhere, a Florida company that filed the suit, said the ruling was a victory for smokers who want a safer cigarette.
“The public will have a much less harmful alternative to tobacco products,” Mr. Story said. “Wherever they’re sold, we are going to be sold.”
Jack Leadbeater, chief executive of Sottera, an Arizona company that joined the suit, said border authorities would have to stop blocking and seizing imports and would have to release thousands of impounded e-cigarettes and millions of nicotine cartridges.
Mr. Leadbeater, chairman of the Electronic Cigarette Association, estimated that the products were a $100 million business nationwide.
Matthew L. Myers, president of the antismoking advocacy group Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, said the ruling opened “a gaping loophole” in the F.D.A.’s ability to regulate non-tobacco products containing nicotine.
He said the judge’s decision “ignores the common sense distinction” the F.D.A. has long drawn between traditional tobacco products like cigarettes and cigars and “a host of non-tobacco products, ranging from toothpaste to lollipops to water, in which manufacturers have added nicotine, a highly addictive substance.”
Mr. Myers’ organization and other health groups had promoted legislation to give the Food and Drug Administration authority to regulate tobacco products. But he said the law, signed by President Obama last June, was intended for traditional tobacco products, not electronic ones where nicotine levels and flavors could be easily adjusted.
Mr. Myers said e-cigarettes posed several potential serious risks to public health, including lack of controls on potency, a means to discourage current smokers from quitting by providing an alternative in smoke-free spaces and the possibility “these products could serve as a pathway to nicotine addiction for children.”
Judge Leon argued that the devices should be regulated in the same way as cigarettes. The judge also agreed with the distributors that e-cigarettes were not marketed as medical devices to help smokers quit, as the Food and Drug Administration had argued, but rather as safer substitutes to give users “the nicotine hit that smokers crave.”
The plastic tubes, shaped like cigarettes, have a heating element to vaporize a refillable liquid nicotine mixture. They have electronics to monitor air flow so that when a user inhales, the device delivers a vapor with a taste and feel that the distributors say simulates cigarette smoke.
Traditional cigarette makers have not been involved in the fledgling industry.
понедельник, 18 января 2010 г.
A ban with health benefits
Congress may soon do for New York what the state’s own Legislature has been unwilling to accomplish: putting an effective end to the problem—some say the advantage—of tax-free cigarette sales by the Seneca Nation of Indians. It could lead to regrettable job losses among Western New York’s Native Americans, but it’s the right move for reasons that go beyond state revenue losses.
A bill pending in the U. S. Senate—and already approved by the House—would ban the U. S. Postal Service from delivering mail-order cigarettes, which accounts for about 70 percent of the Senecas’ tobacco sales. Albany would find that pleasing, since more customers would have to buy from stores, thus increasing state tax revenues. Non-Seneca merchants would be pleased to be freed from what they see— and what, in fact, is—an unfair advantage given their competitors.
Both those factors are adequate reasons to pursue this change, but it’s not the primary one. The crucial factor is the government’s interest—meaning Americans’ interest—in controlling the distribution of a poisonous and fiercely addictive substance. Tobacco is legal, but it’s not for kids, some of whom have credit cards.
The Senecas say, and not without cause, that the bill could harm employment in Western New York, where the Native American cigarette business employs around 1,000 people. And that is despite the decline in activity that occurred when shippers such as UPS and FedEx, under pressure from the state, stopped servicing Seneca cigarette businesses. Business would remain undisturbed at cigarette shops on Seneca land.
Senecas and some elected officials—including Rep. Eric Massa, D-Corning, who previously supported thebill— fear that it could violate treaty language that grants significant autonomy to the Senecas. We’re doubtful of that, but such disputes are the reason we have courts of law. The Senecas are entitled to challenge such a law in federal court and, if they win, that’s the end of it. But better to test the issue than to tolerate the unregulated distribution of a product that can be lethal when used correctly and that drives up public health costs.
The bill is expected to be approved in the Senate soon and sent to President Obama for his signature. He should sign it promptly and without hesitation.
A bill pending in the U. S. Senate—and already approved by the House—would ban the U. S. Postal Service from delivering mail-order cigarettes, which accounts for about 70 percent of the Senecas’ tobacco sales. Albany would find that pleasing, since more customers would have to buy from stores, thus increasing state tax revenues. Non-Seneca merchants would be pleased to be freed from what they see— and what, in fact, is—an unfair advantage given their competitors.
Both those factors are adequate reasons to pursue this change, but it’s not the primary one. The crucial factor is the government’s interest—meaning Americans’ interest—in controlling the distribution of a poisonous and fiercely addictive substance. Tobacco is legal, but it’s not for kids, some of whom have credit cards.
The Senecas say, and not without cause, that the bill could harm employment in Western New York, where the Native American cigarette business employs around 1,000 people. And that is despite the decline in activity that occurred when shippers such as UPS and FedEx, under pressure from the state, stopped servicing Seneca cigarette businesses. Business would remain undisturbed at cigarette shops on Seneca land.
Senecas and some elected officials—including Rep. Eric Massa, D-Corning, who previously supported thebill— fear that it could violate treaty language that grants significant autonomy to the Senecas. We’re doubtful of that, but such disputes are the reason we have courts of law. The Senecas are entitled to challenge such a law in federal court and, if they win, that’s the end of it. But better to test the issue than to tolerate the unregulated distribution of a product that can be lethal when used correctly and that drives up public health costs.
The bill is expected to be approved in the Senate soon and sent to President Obama for his signature. He should sign it promptly and without hesitation.
пятница, 15 января 2010 г.
Robber demands Newport cigarettes at stores
A man with a penchant for Newport cigarettes has been robbing area CVS stores, according to Redford Township police Detective Sgt. Kevin Crittenden.
Just after the CVS at Joy and Telegraph opened about 7:10 a.m. Wednesday, a man walked up to the counter and showed off a short-barrel shotgun before demanding cash and Newport cigarettes, Crittenden said. The robber fled in a silver or gray four-door vehicle, possibly a Ford.
The man, who stole about $100 in cash and 21 cartons of Newports at the Redford store, is believed to have committed similar robberies at CVS stores in Dearborn on Dec. 12 and Detroit on Jan. 8, Crittenden said. In each case, the cigarette of choice has been Newports.
The man is described as being about 5 feet 10 to 6 feet tall with a thin build. He wore a Red Wings hat with fold-down ear flaps and a puffy vest with brown Carhartt overalls.
Just after the CVS at Joy and Telegraph opened about 7:10 a.m. Wednesday, a man walked up to the counter and showed off a short-barrel shotgun before demanding cash and Newport cigarettes, Crittenden said. The robber fled in a silver or gray four-door vehicle, possibly a Ford.
The man, who stole about $100 in cash and 21 cartons of Newports at the Redford store, is believed to have committed similar robberies at CVS stores in Dearborn on Dec. 12 and Detroit on Jan. 8, Crittenden said. In each case, the cigarette of choice has been Newports.
The man is described as being about 5 feet 10 to 6 feet tall with a thin build. He wore a Red Wings hat with fold-down ear flaps and a puffy vest with brown Carhartt overalls.
вторник, 12 января 2010 г.
Ban on Smoking for Top Tobacco State
In many states, Gary Richards would not have been able to light up a cigarette before biting into his meat-lover’s pizza, as he did at Satisfaction Restaurant & Bar this week. But in North Carolina, the nation’s leading tobacco producer, limits on indoor smoking have lagged behind those in much of the country.
That changed on Saturday, when smoking in restaurants and bars was banned by law in the state that produces nearly half of the nation’s tobacco.
“There’s smokers and there’s nonsmokers; we’ve gotten along in the past,” Mr. Richards, 52, said earlier in the week during a premeal smoke at the restaurant. “Why can’t I come in here and have my beer and a couple of slices of pizza and a cigarette?”
The dangers of secondhand smoke to employee health and patron complaints about the smell finally won out when lawmakers approved the ban in 2009.
“This law doesn’t tell anybody they shouldn’t smoke,” said State Representative Hugh Holliman, a lung cancer survivor whose sister died of lung cancer. He led the charge for the law. “It’s saying nonsmokers should have the same right to breathe clean air.”
North Carolina is at least the 29th state to ban smoking in restaurants and the 24th to ban it in bars, according to the American Lung Association.
That changed on Saturday, when smoking in restaurants and bars was banned by law in the state that produces nearly half of the nation’s tobacco.
“There’s smokers and there’s nonsmokers; we’ve gotten along in the past,” Mr. Richards, 52, said earlier in the week during a premeal smoke at the restaurant. “Why can’t I come in here and have my beer and a couple of slices of pizza and a cigarette?”
The dangers of secondhand smoke to employee health and patron complaints about the smell finally won out when lawmakers approved the ban in 2009.
“This law doesn’t tell anybody they shouldn’t smoke,” said State Representative Hugh Holliman, a lung cancer survivor whose sister died of lung cancer. He led the charge for the law. “It’s saying nonsmokers should have the same right to breathe clean air.”
North Carolina is at least the 29th state to ban smoking in restaurants and the 24th to ban it in bars, according to the American Lung Association.
понедельник, 11 января 2010 г.
Long Island Cigarette Dealer Awaits Sentence
A New York Indian reservation smoke shop proprietor who made a fortune supplying untaxed cigarettes to the black market will have to wait to learn his sentence in a racketeering case.
Rodney Morrison was convicted of trafficking in contraband cigarettes on Long Island's Poospatuck Reservation.
A federal judge began a sentencing hearing for Morrison on Thursday morning, but after hours of arguing by the lawyers he adjourned the proceedings to be concluded another day.It could be days or weeks before the court takes up the matter again.
The case has been watched closely by New York's tribes.Reservation shops now supply about a third of all cigarettes sold in the state.
Morrison's case has raised questions about whether that business is legal.
Rodney Morrison was convicted of trafficking in contraband cigarettes on Long Island's Poospatuck Reservation.
A federal judge began a sentencing hearing for Morrison on Thursday morning, but after hours of arguing by the lawyers he adjourned the proceedings to be concluded another day.It could be days or weeks before the court takes up the matter again.
The case has been watched closely by New York's tribes.Reservation shops now supply about a third of all cigarettes sold in the state.
Morrison's case has raised questions about whether that business is legal.
среда, 6 января 2010 г.
Almost 2.6 million euros’ worth of cigarettes confiscated by customs officers
The customs officers in Constanta (south-east of Bucharest) discovered and confiscated 890 cartons of Marlboro cigarettes (8.5 million cigarettes) that were worth about 2.6 million euros, reads a release of the National Customs Authority.
Taking action on the basis of the risk analysis, the customs officers working with the Customs Office in Constanta checked a number of containers that came from China and were bound to reach Romania as their final destination. They chose a container that, according to the shipment documents, contained 883 parcels with 15,000 kg of footwear, bound for a trading company at Alunis, Mures County (north-west of Bucharest).
But behind a “cover” made up of a few parcels of footwear, there were 425,000 packets of Marlboro cigarettes. The market value of this quantity of cigarettes is about 2.6 million euros.
Taking action on the basis of the risk analysis, the customs officers working with the Customs Office in Constanta checked a number of containers that came from China and were bound to reach Romania as their final destination. They chose a container that, according to the shipment documents, contained 883 parcels with 15,000 kg of footwear, bound for a trading company at Alunis, Mures County (north-west of Bucharest).
But behind a “cover” made up of a few parcels of footwear, there were 425,000 packets of Marlboro cigarettes. The market value of this quantity of cigarettes is about 2.6 million euros.
понедельник, 4 января 2010 г.
Smoking decline hits tax revenues
The good news is Hawaii residents are buying fewer cigarettes. The bad news is that the drop is hurting tax revenues.
According to tax collection records, island consumers bought 417 million packs of cigarettes during the first 10 months of the year, a 12 percent drop from the same 10-month period last year.The decline comes as officials hoped recent tobacco-related tax hikes would generate nearly $47 million in added revenue over two years to help balance the state's budget.
Higher tobacco taxes are aimed at driving down demand while increasing income for the state.
According to tax collection records, island consumers bought 417 million packs of cigarettes during the first 10 months of the year, a 12 percent drop from the same 10-month period last year.The decline comes as officials hoped recent tobacco-related tax hikes would generate nearly $47 million in added revenue over two years to help balance the state's budget.
Higher tobacco taxes are aimed at driving down demand while increasing income for the state.
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