ASH Daily News for 27/10/2000

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ASH Daily News

27 October 2000

Headlines
'Soft-Selling cigarettes'
'BAT seeks a sideline in urban retailing'
'Smoking ban brought new opportunities'
'Charter meeting'
'Swedish match's taste for snuff'
'Drum tobacco gets makeover in Mustoe Merriman campaign'
Letter: 'FOREST seeks to clear the air'

Full Text

'Soft-Selling cigarettes'

There is an article that reports on the draft EU directive and how the
tobacco industry are having to reconsider how they market cigarettes with
names like 'light' and 'mild'. It reports that 'cigarette companies
themselves mostly complain that the ban will freeze competition between
low-tar brands.'

The article adds, 'What makes the outcome so hard to predict, however, is
that the ban is the first step in a change in the tobacco debate about what
it is that makes cigarettes dangerous and what, if anything, consumers
should be told about it. With other forms of tobacco advertising shrinking
rapidly, the appearance of the packet is becoming the crucial marketing
tool.'

Source: Wall Street Journal Europe, 27 October 2000

'BAT seeks a sideline in urban retailing'

An extensive article on British American Tobacco's plans to increase revenue
with a 'hip retail chain' of shops that will be called 'Trans-Urban Trading
Co', appears in the Wall Street Journal Europe.BAT says the first outlets
could open late next year'

Source: Wall Street Journal Europe, 27 October 2000

'Smoking ban brought new opportunities'

A letter appears from Martin Thornton, a licensee of the totally smoke free
pub The Free Press, Cambridge. He writes, 'The Free Press pub in Cambridge
has been totally no-smoking for eight years and, apart from an initial
negative impact on wet sales, it has traded successfully ever since.'

The letter adds, 'On top of our non-smoking and dining customers, we also
have some fully committed smokers as regular customers. They also like to
drink in our pub, because of the clean atmosphere, and just pop outside if
they feel the urge to smoke.'

Source: Caterer & Hotelkeeper, 26 October 2000

'Charter meeting'

The Publican reports that, 'Trade leaders are meeting government officials
this week to discuss ways of incorporating the trade's charter on smoking in
pubs with health and safety considerations. The Health and Safety Executive
has proposed an Approved Code of Practice to protect workers from passive
smoking at work'

Source: The Publican, 23 October 2000

'Swedish match's taste for snuff'

The Financial Times reports, 'Swedish Match, the tobacco products and
matches group said yesterday that nine months sales rose 22 per cent, led by
organic growth at its snuff business, with all units except matches,
performing strongly.'

Source: Financial Times, 27 October 2000

'Drum tobacco gets makeover in Mustoe Merriman campaign'

Campaign reports that, 'Mustoe Merriman Herring Levy has unveiled a campaign
for Drum hand-rolling tobacco that aims to shake off the Dutch brand's
down-market image and its associations with oldmen and convicts.'

Source: Campaign, 27 October 2000

Letter: 'FOREST seeks to clear the air'

A letter appears in Caterer & Hotelkeeper, from Simon Clarke director of the
tobacco industry pressure group, FOREST. He writes, 'For a man in charge of
a "booming business", the proprietor of the Three Fishes in Shrewsbury is
spending a remarkable amount of time attacking Forest.'

The letter goes on to say, 'Can I make it absolutely clear that Forest
supports the right of anyone to run a smoke-free pub. We support choice for
smokers and non-smokers alike; more smoke-free areas and the installations
of the modern air-cleaning systems; the hospitality industry's Voluntary
Charter on Smoking in Public Places, with the emphasis on "voluntary"; and
most important a publican's right to choose a policy on smoking that best
suits his business.'

Source: Caterer & Hotelkeeper, 26 October 2000