News dall’estero 23 aprile 2018
Telegraph 20/04/2018
Government in row with world leading tobacco firm over ‘illegal’ adverts
The Government has accused one of the world’s largest tobacco firms, Phillip Morris, of illegally targeting UK consumers with tobacco adverts.
A Daily Telegraph investigation found Phillip Morris, the maker of Marlboro cigarettes, is supplying newsagents across Britain with window posters promoting new iQOS tobacco heaters. Phillip Morris has spent £3bn developing iQOS, which it is now marketing as as a healthier alternative to cigarettes. iQOS is an electronic “heat not burn” system which heats tobacco sticks up to 350°C, around half the temperature of cigarettes, to generate a nicotine-containing vapor. (…).
The Telegraph, 22/04/2018
British American Tobacco director ‘has too many jobs’ to be re-elected at AGM
Pressure has been piled on a member of British American Tobacco’s board to step down due to claims she has too many commitments to devote enough time to the world’s largest cigarette maker. Marion Helmes, who was appointed as a non-executive director in 2016, has five other directorships, including being non-executive director of energy company Uniper and industrial construction firm Bilfinger, both of which are based in Germany. Two corporate governance agencies that advise investors how to vote in annual general meetings believe her re-election should be rejected, as does Royal London.
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2018/04/22/bat-director-has-many-jobs-re-elected-agm/
Bournemouth Echo, 23/04/2018
Poole: Council backs campaign to raise awareness on illegal tobacco
Trading standards officers in Poole are backing a national campaign to highlight the issue of illegal tobacco. The ‘No ifs, no butts – Report Illegal Tobacco’ initiative aims to tell people about the real harm caused by illegal tobacco and how residents can help to prevent its supply. Jane Burrows, Borough of Poole’s environmental services regulatory team manager, said: “We know illegal tobacco is sold locally at pocket money prices. If you are buying illegal tobacco or cigarettes, you may think you are buying from someone who brings a few in from abroad duty free, but can you be sure? Officers across the area have found counterfeit tobacco and cigarettes on sale.”
Aapnews.com 23/04/2018
Electronic Cigarettes and Future Marijuana Use: A Longitudinal Study
BACKGROUND: Cigarettes have been strongly associated with subsequent marijuana use among adolescents, but electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) are now rapidly replacing traditional cigarettes among youth. This study examines associations between youth e-cigarette use and subsequent marijuana use in a national sample.METHODS: Youth (aged 12–17 years) never marijuana users at wave 1 (n = 10 364; 2013–2014) from the Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health study were followed-up in 1 year (wave 2, 2014–2015). Multivariable logistic regressions were performed to evaluate associations between e-cigarette use at wave 1 and ever/heavy marijuana use in the past 12 months (P12M) and at wave 2.RESULTS: Among never marijuana users, e-cigarette ever use (versus never use) at wave 1 was associated with increased likelihood of marijuana P12M use (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] = 1.9; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.4–2.5) at wave 2. There was a significant interaction between e-cigarette use and age (P < .05) with aOR = 2.7 (95% CI: 1.7–4.3) for adolescents aged 12 to 14 and aOR = 1.6 (95% CI: 1.2–2.3) for adolescents aged 15 to 17. The association with heavy marijuana use was significant among younger adolescents (aOR = 2.5; 95% CI: 1.2–5.3) but was not among older adolescents. Heavier e-cigarette use at wave 1 yielded higher odds of P12M and heavy marijuana use at wave 2 for younger adolescents.CONCLUSIONS: E-cigarette use predicts subsequent marijuana use among youth, with a stronger associations among young adolescents. Reducing youth access to e-cigarettes may decrease downstream marijuana use.
http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/early/2018/04/19/peds.2017-3787
Vietnam Net, 23/04/2018
Vietnam: Ministry of Health proposes tobacco tax hike
The draft law on Special Consumption Tax, which will come into effect in 2020, plans to put a tax of 1,000 VND (0.044 USD) on a pack of cigarettes. This would increase the current tax from 70 to 80 percent of the tobacco’s price from 2020 onwards and from 80 to 85 percent from 2021 onwards. Speaking at a recent press conference hosted by the Ministry of Information and Communications, Phan Thi Hai, deputy director of the Tobacco Consequences Prevention Fund under the MoH, said in 2015, Vietnamese people who smoked spent 31,000 billion VND (1.4 billion USD) on tobacco, while the total treatment expense for smoking-related diseases was 24,000 billion VND (1.05 billion USD). According to a report of the World Health Organisation (WHO), 40,000 Vietnamese die of smoking-related diseases annually. The number is expected to increase to 70,000 in the coming years.
http://english.vietnamnet.vn/fms/society/199378/ministry-of-health-proposes-tobacco-tax-hike.html
Financial Times 23/04/2018
Vaping specialist Supreme Imports set to float
Tobacco One of Britain’s biggest makers of liquids for ecigarettes is seeking to cash in on the boom in vaping by listing on the stock market. Supreme Imports announced its intention to float on Aim, the London Stock Exchange’s junior market, today and is expected to be valued at £150m. The Manchester-based business owns the Kik and Vape88 brands and also sells batteries and lightbulbs to retailers such as Asda, Costcutter and Halfords. It makes 3m bottles of e-liquid every month and sells hardware kits and vaping accessories. Smokers have increasingly been switching to ecigarettes. The UK has 8m smokers and 3m vapers according to recent figures, up from 700,000 in 2012. However the rate of growth is slowing as regulation tightens. Supreme is owned by managing director Sandy Chadha, who arrived from India as a child. Gurbachan Singh Chadha, his father, founded the company in 1975. He initially bought a van and toured seaside resorts selling toys and novelties and the company entered the battery market in 1991. It now sells more than 200m batteries, 65m light-bulbs and 1m light fittings each year, with almost a fifth of sales overseas. Supreme made a £6.9m pre-tax profit in the year to March 31 2017, on revenue of £71m, up from profits of £6m on £59m of turnover a year earlier. Mr Chadha paid himself a £4.5m dividend in 2017 and will retain a majority stake in the company after the IPO in May. The money will be used to repay about £5m of bank debt and fund expansion of its e-liquid manufacturing facility in Manchester. “Over the last two decades we have established Supreme as a leading manufacturer and distributor of batteries and lighting, and more recently vaping, demonstrating our ability to leverage our distributor and customer relationships to drive growth,” Mr Chadha said. Aim has been quiet with just 15 issues so far this year, compared with 80 last year. The biggest in 2018 was the flotation of Simply Biz Group, the Huddersfield-based business services company, which was valued at £140m on April 4. Supreme is owned by SI Holdings, based in the low-tax jurisdiction of Jersey. Berenberg, the investment bank, is the company’s broker while Grant Thornton is its nominated adviser.
