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ASH Daily News

Saturday 4 – 6 December, 1999

Headlines

‘Anger as Labour’s promises go up in smoke’
Ruling dents anti-smoking campaign
Altadis to buy back 5% of its shares
Blair’s summit on organised crime
St John’s Wort: a new smoking cessation aid?
600 Vehicles seized in attack on smugglers
Safe cigarettes stubbed out
Scented Cigarettes tested
Nicobrevin news
Letter: Nick Brookes, Chair of Brown & Williamson

Full Text

‘Anger as Labour’s promises go up in smoke’

Fran Abrams reports that, ‘Gordon Brown faces criticism from
anti-smoking campaigners after dropping his commitment to an annual
rise in cigarette prices’.

The article continues that, ‘The Chancellor’s abandonment of his
pledge on tobacco follows intense lobbying by tobacco manufacturers,
who say recent increases in smuggling are linked to increases in duty.
But anti-smoking campaigners say that the move will decrease smuggling
and make the Treasury richer.’

John Carlisle of the Tobacco Manufacturers Association, said Mr Brown’
s move was a step forward but should be followed by cuts in tax, “We
still haven’t convinced the government of the seriousness of the
situation”, he added.

Clive Bates, Director of Action on Smoking and Health, said Mr Brown
had, “pulled the wool over everybody’s eyes” by glossing over the
change in his pre-budget statement.

The article further quotes Bates as saying, “This can only herald a
slow-down in increases in tobacco tax, though I doubt there will be a
freeze given the Government’s promise to put the extra money into the
NHS”.

Source: The Independent, 6 December 1999

Ruling dents anti-smoking campaign

Campaign reports that, “The major anti-smoking campaign planned by the
Government to break this month has been drastically scaled down
following the High Court ruling that has delayed plans to ban tobacco
advertising”.

£3 million pounds will now be held back to mark the full introduction
of an advertising ban.

Source: Campaign, 3 December 1999

Altadis to buy back 5% of its shares

Altadis, the tobacco group created by the merger of Seita of France
and Tabacalera of Spain, is planning to return about $306 million to
shareholders by buying back up to 5 percent of outstanding shares as
soon as the merger is completed this week.

Source: Financial Times, 6 December 1999

Blair’s summit on organised crime

The heads of Britain’s three intelligence agencies have held an
unprecedented summit at Downing Street in response to the rising
threat from international organised crime.

MI6 will expand its operations against drug traffickers, particularly
along the, “Balkans route”. According to the report, cigarette
smuggling by Asian gangs has reached epidemic levels and is estimated
to cost the Treasury £1.7 billion.

Source: Sunday Times, 5 December 1999

St John’s Wort: a new smoking cessation aid?

Researchers will investigate whether the natural anti-depressant St
John’s Wort can help smokers to quit their habit. They want to find
out whether the flowering yellow plant could have similar benefits to
Zyban. Scientists at London University are to recruit 200 smokers in a
pilot study.

Source: Sunday Mirror, 5 December 1999

600 Vehicles seized in attack on smugglers

Vehicles are being seized at Dover at the rate of 80 – 90 a week and
currently total 600. The cars have been seized in connection with
smuggling offences, will be sold off at auction and the proceeds will
go to the Treasury. Customs spokesman, Nigel Knott said: “Stores take
on extra staff for the Christmas rush and we have drafted in 55 more
officers for our Christmas rush.”

Knott added: “We are talking about a potential loss to this country of
around £2 billion a year. Some of these smugglers like to portray
themselves as modern-day Robin Hoods. They like to put it about that
smuggling is a victimless crime. It is not. They are depriving the
taxpayer and the whole of society of schools, hospitals, welfare and
roads.”

Knott adds in the Telegraph that, “We are being quite aggressive in
the way we are dealing with bootlegging. The gloves are off.”

Source: Evening Standard, 3 December, Daily Telegraph, 4 December 1999

Scented Cigarettes tested

‘Cigarettes scented with peach, apricot and blackcurrant to make
smoking more fragrant are being tested in France’ reports the Mirror.

Source: The Mirror, 4 December 1999

Safe cigarettes stubbed out

There is an article based on ASH and Imperial Cancer Research Fund’s
report on the safer cigarette and why the tobacco industry failed to
act on any of the 57 designs, which are lodged in patent libraries.

Source: Health Which, December 1999

Nicobrevin news

Health Which profiles Nicobrevin, which is described as ‘a nicotine
free method that claims to reduce withdrawal symptoms’. Although
Nicobrevin has been around for about 30 years, until recently it could
only be bought from pharmacies. But Nicobrevin can now be found in
other shops, such as health food stores.

Source: Health Which, December 1999

Letter: Nick Brookes, Chair of Brown & Williamson

In a response to Larry Black’s ‘Wall St Wire’ (28 November) Nick
Brookes, Chair of Brown & Williamson. He argues that ‘it was Jeffrey
Wigand who smeared B&W in the first place, something that he seems to
have done at least once before to an employer with whom he parted
company’

Source: Sunday Business, 5 December 1999

Karl Brookes
Project Manager
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