ASH Daily News for 08/11/2000

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ASH Daily News

Headlines
Brussels raises the stakes against Big Tobacco
Street gangs send tax billions up in smoke
BAT puts $100m in tobacco court case
'Mental risks' for teenage smokers
Young smokers at risk of anxiety in later life

Full Text

Brussels raises the stakes against Big Tobacco

The Financial Times outlines the significance of the European Commission's
decision to sue Philip Morris and RJ Reynolds
It states that there are 3 main reasons why this legal action is so
important.

For a start, it is the first time the Commission has taken legal action
against a company - for any reason - in non-European courts. Secondly, it
is the first time the EU has gone to such lengths to turn its legal
firepower on the tobacco industry, rather than the small traders and petty
criminals involved in the global black market for cigarettes. Thirdly, under
the US Racketeer Influenced Corrupt Organisations Act, legislation
originally designed to fight US organised crime, the Commission can claim
damages worth up to three times the lost revenue from alleged unpaid customs
duties and VAT.

Clive Bates, director of ASH, told the FT that the tobacco companies are
"the real Mr Bigs in tobacco smuggling". He stated that they encourage
smuggling by exporting to markets where brands are not smoked, or by
building warehouses close to borders with poor customs control.

The FT reports that by taking this unprecedented route the message from
Brussels is clear. The EU's concern is not tax harmonisation but the bigger
problem of smuggling from outside Europe's borders.

Source: The Financial Times


Street gangs send tax billions up in smoke

The Daily Express reports that the back street trade in cut-price cigarettes
is costing the Treasury £2.5 billion a year in lost revenue - and is making
new tobacco gangsters up to £1 million a day.

Custom officials say the illicit trade has now reached 'epidemic proportions
'. Last year, customs officers seized 1.7 billion contraband cigarettes
but they believe that many more - possibly up to 15 million - pass through
ports undetected.

The article also gives details of the DTI's decision to investigate BAT and
the significant role ASH played in the proceedings.

Source: The Daily Express

BAT puts up $100 million in tobacco court case

The Times reports that Brown & Williamson, the US arm of BAT industries
yesterday handed a bond for $100 million to a Florida court in cases it
loses an appeal against a $17.6 billion punitive damages award.

Brown & Williamson was one of several tobacco companies hit by the
multi-billion dollar damages award in the Engle case, a class action lawsuit
brought on behalf of Florida's sick smokers. The industry faces a £145
billion bill if unable to reverse the jury award.

Source: The Times

'Mental risks' for teenage smokers
Young smokers at risk of anxiety in later life

Teenagers who smoke at least one pack of cigarettes a day are up to 15 times
more likely to develop panic attacks and anxiety disorders later in life,
according to new research.
A study of 16-year-olds who smoked a packet of cigarettes a day found that
by the age of 22 they were up to 12 times more likely to have nervous
disorders.
The researchers said they hoped that the findings would encourage young
people to give up smoking or not to start in the first place.
The study was published in this week's Journal of the American Medical
Association.

Source: The Daily Mail, The Times