Home / Media Room / News / ASH Daily News / ASH Daily News for 11/12/2000 / ASH Daily news for 12 May 2011

ASH Daily news for 12 May 2011

HEADLINES

  • Dublin: Newsagent hits out at illegal cigarette trade

    A study, carried out by the Irish Tobacco Manufacturers Advisory Committee (ITMAC), shows that 52.2 million cigarettes were seized by Customs throughout Dublin last year, with a value of €17.4 million to the Irish economy. 

    Northside retailer Benny Gilsenan, a founding member of the group Retailers Against Smuggling, suspects that the black market trade in cigarettes is on the rise as criminals get wise to checks being mounted by customs officials.

    “They’re splitting their load into different containers, as the chances of several trucks getting inspected consecutively are very slim,” he told Northside People. 

    Mr Gilsenan, who opened his shop in Dublin 40 years ago, also expressed concern that new legislation introduced last year aimed at cracking down on cigarette smugglers is not being adequately enforced. 

    Source: Dublin People - 11 May 2011
    Link: http://bit.ly/intaEy

  • A social networking device for smokers

    A maker of electronic cigarettes has developed new  “smart packs,” which will go on sale next month for $80 for five e-cigarettes, and are equipped with devices that vibrate and flash a blue light when they get within 50 feet of another pack.

    The reusable packs, which serve as a charger for the cigarettes, can be set to exchange information about their owners, like contact information on social networking sites, that can be downloaded onto personal computers.

    The packs also conveniently vibrate when a smoker nears a retail outlet that sells Blu cigarettes.

    Source: New York Times - 10 May 2011
    Link: http://nyti.ms/ldXhab

  • US company proposes new use for tobacco

    If a new company at Dan River Business Development Center has its way, farmers could once again profitably grow tobacco and in far greater quantities than ever before. — but the product will be used to create biofuels instead of cigarettes.

    Peter Majeranowski, a founder and managing director of Tyton BioSciences, said years of development have gone into the product, which will be genetically modified to produce "both ethanol and biodiesel at yields that far surpass the traditional crops of corn and soy."

    Using tobacco to create such products can alleviate the complaints that food prices are rising because of demand for food crops as fuel, Majeranowski said.

    Smoking-grade tobacco was much more difficult to grow than the crop his company is developing, Majeranowski said.

    Source: Richmond Times Dispatch - 12 May 2011
    Link: http://bit.ly/inHfLp

  • Philip Morris Int. CEO: Cigs not that hard to quit

    The head of cigarette maker Philip Morris International Inc. told a cancer nurse that while cigarettes are harmful and addictive, it is not that hard to quit.

    CEO Louis C. Camilleri's statement was in response to comments at its annual shareholder meeting in New York. Executives from the seller of Marlboro and other brands overseas spent most of the gathering sparring with members of anti-tobacco and other corporate accountability groups.

    The nurse, later identified as Elisabeth Gundersen from the University of California-San Francisco, cited statistics that tobacco use kills more than 400,000 Americans and 5 million people worldwide each year. She also said a patient told her last week that of all the addictions he's beaten — crack, cocaine, meth — cigarettes have been the most difficult.

    In response, the often-unapologetic Camilleri said: "We take our responsibility very seriously, and I don't think we get enough recognition for the efforts we make to ensure that there is effective worldwide regulation of a product that is harmful and that is addictive. Nevertheless, whilst it is addictive, it is not that hard to quit. ... There are more previous smokers in America today than current smokers."
    Camilleri is a longtime smoker.

    Following Wednesday's meeting, the company reiterated its position that "tobacco products are addictive and harmful."

    Source: Yahoo! News/AP - 11 May 2011
    Link: http://yhoo.it/kSsfGR

  • Philip Morris Int. alternative annual report

    As Philip Morris International (PMI) executives heralded the corporation’s $27 billion revenues in 2010 at its annual shareholders’ meeting, another not-so-welcome account of the corporation’s activities was distributed to shareholders. Corporate Accountability International has released a report called “Philip Morris International Exposed: Alternative Annual Report, ”documenting the human toll of PMI’s profits and the range of tactics employed to grease the wheels for such earnings – tactics ranging from hiding behind front groups to litigation and intimidation of national governments.

    “There may be 89 pages in PMI’s annual report from which shareholders can judge this corporation’s performance,” said Gigi Kellett, Challenging Big Tobacco campaign director for Corporate Accountability International. “But to truly understand PMI’s impact, you have to look at the enormous human costs it leaves off the ledger.” 

    Source: Corporate Accountability International - 11 May 2011
    Link: http://bit.ly/mzoL0L

  • Philip Morris Int. must act on possible labour abuse in Kazakhstan

    A lack of formal purchasing agreements between Philip Morris International’s (PMI) Kazakh subsidiary and its suppliers puts workers rights at risk.

    A report produced by non-profit group Verité, and commissioned by PMI, found the use of child workers, and other violations of labour rights, at tobacco farms that supply Philip Morris Kazakhstan (PMK) indirectly. PMI commissioned the report after claims of worker abuse at vendors in the country.
    However, they did not breach local law or policies put in place by PMI to safeguard against such issues, because the farmers had not signed formal contracts with the company.

    The report is available as a pdf here.

    Source: Supply Management - 11 May 2011
    Link: http://bit.ly/meusfd