Tobacco makes a comeback in convenience

The squeeze on consumer spending and new anti-smoking laws could actually have helped boost tobacco sales in local shops in the past 12 months, Convenience Store’s latest product survey has revealed.

Some 27% of the independent c-store retailers surveyed said that tobacco was their best performing product category of 2009 – up from 23% the previous year.

Retailers have attributed the rise to factors including the ban on smoking in public places, which has reduced sales in pubs and clubs as more people buy from stores to smoke at home.

The testing economic climate has also been mooted as a key reason for tobacco’s surprisingly good performance.
“Tobacco is one of the few industries that remains buoyant in a recession,” said Ken Patel, retailer and national spokesman for the Tobacco Retailers Alliance. “If people lose their jobs and feel stressed they smoke more, it’s simple,” he added.

Debbie Corris of Jim Ingram’s in Whitstable, Kent, added that a fall in the volume of smuggled tobacco had also helped to lift sales. “HMRC has done a superb job in terms of seizures in the past year, which has had a positive impact on legitimate sales. The economic downturn also put many people off holidaying abroad, resulting in a drop in cross-border smuggling and resale,” she said.

Confectionery was rated the top-performing category of 2009, with a quarter of retailers saying they expected tobacco to take over the top spot in 2010.

Convenience Store's Product Survey is published on March 5.

Source: The Grocer - 16 February
Link: http://bit.ly/9PEGlO

European Council updates excise duties on cigarettes and tobacco products

The Council today adopted a directive updating EU rules on the structure and rates of excise duties on cigarettes and other tobacco products (17778/09 5807/10).

The directive is intended to ensure a higher level of public health protection by raising minimum excise duties on cigarettes, whilst bringing the minimum rates for fine-cut tobacco gradually into line with those for cigarettes. The outcome of a fourth four-yearly review of tobacco taxation under directives 92/79, 92/80 and 95/59 is aimed at modernising and simplifying the rules and making them more transparent.

The new directive includes the following provisions:

– Cigarettes: the Council decided to increase, by 1 January 2014, the monetary minimum excise rate to 90 EUR per 1000 cigarettes and the proportional minimum to 60% of the weighted average sales price, from 64 EUR per 1000 and 57% at present;

– Transitional period for cigarettes: the new rules allow for transitional arrangements until 1 January 2018 for member states that have not yet achieved, or only recently achieved, the current minimum rates, namely Bulgaria, Greece, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Hungary, Poland and Romania;

– Quantitative restrictions for cigarettes: the directive allows member states not benefiting from the transition to impose a quantitative limit of at least 300 cigarettes on the number of cigarettes that may be brought into their territory from member states applying transitional arrangements. It also allows member states applying those arrangements, once their rates have reached 77 EUR per 1000 cigarettes, to apply quantitative limits with regard to member states whose rates have not yet reached an equal monetary level;

– Fine-cut tobacco: the Council decided to increase the minimum excise duty requirements for fine-cut tobacco as follows: member states will comply with either a proportional minimum or a monetary minimum, amounting to 40% of the weighted average sales price and 40 EUR per kg on 1 January 2011, 43% and 47 EUR/kg on 1 January 2013, 46% and 54 EUR/kg on 1 January 2015, 48% and 60 EUR/kg on 1 January 2018 and 50% and 60 EUR/kg on 1 January 2020.

Source: eGov Monitor - 16 February 2010
Link: http://bit.ly/cQB7WP

Swiss smoking ban evaded by holes in wall

A Swiss bar owner has devised a novel way to beat the smoking ban by cutting a series of holes in the wall.

The three holes enable patrons to stick their heads through the larger top hole and their hands through the other two so they can technically have a cigarette outside.

Dino Lottaz, 49, devised the smoking wall in his Restaurant Caravelle in Bosingen, in the canton of Fribourg, when local authorities introduced a ban on smoking in public areas, including bars and restaurants, this month.

He said: "I enjoy a cigarette myself so I know how smokers feel. Someone suggested cutting holes in the wall. It's a bit of a joke but it actually works quite well. It can get very cold sometimes so it's not really an option to stand outside for a smoke.

"My clients seem to approve. They can legally have a cigarette without leaving the establishment."

Source: The Telegraph - 16 February
Link: http://bit.ly/ck4mVK

Scotland: Smokers face adoption and fostering ban

Smokers will be banned from fostering or adopting children, under new rules introduced by Midlothian Council.

Anyone wanting to care for a child under the age of five will be required not to have smoked for at least six months. 

The policy will also apply to all children with a disability or respiratory problems such as asthma. All children over five years old will also be given the choice to be placed with a non-smoking family.

Council workers will be offering foster carers and prospective adopters help to quit smoking.

Colin Anderson, the council's director of social work, said the change would only result in the loss of one foster carer.

He said: "It is a balanced approach. We would hope to encourage all carers to stop smoking, but to come in with a blanket approach would impact drastically on the provision we have."

Smoking lobby group Forest said the policy could prevent children being placed with loving and supportive families.

Source: Edinburgh Evening News - 16 February 2010
Link: http://bit.ly/aeZ633

Ban smoking in cars with children says ASH Ireland

ASH Ireland has re-launched its campaign to have smoking banned in cars transporting children under 16 years of age, claiming that it can be as much as 23 times more toxic than passive smoke in a house.

Dr Angie Brown, Chairperson of ASH Ireland said: “We first launched this campaign in early 2008 – and yet we have had no positive indication from government that they plan to implement this health initiative, which is now gaining support all around the world.”

According to Ms Brown, passive smoke is a Group 1 cancer-causing carcinogen to which 14% of Irish children are exposed. She called upon legislators to provide adequate protection for children, to prevent this.

Drawing an allusion with the erstwhile rules governing the use of seat belts and mobile phones in cars, she branded the voluntary code “insufficient”.

Dr Brown went onto say: “The well-established research to justify the vital need to protect children from tobacco smoke in cars is well recognised and irrefutable. There is definitive research available in Ireland (R.I.F.T.F.S), USA, Canada and Australia on this issue. This research also shows that passive smoke is particularly harmful to children as they have much higher respiratory rates and metabolism than adults.”

Ms Brown added that there was substantial evidence that children raised in smoking households have a proclivity to asthma, ear and lung infections.

“The high levels of public (and smoker) support for smoke-free car laws found in the studies to date suggest that this can be a relatively non- controversial tobacco control intervention,” she said.

Dr. Brown concluded, “Recent research by ASH Ireland (MRBI 2007) shows 79% public support for this initiative. The Irish Government has set the trend all around the world on tobacco health legislation and has received deserved recognition both at home and abroad. This initiative to protect children’s health, while travelling in motor vehicles would be widely welcomed – who could argue with it? We now ask the Government to proceed and legislate for this health initiative.”

Source: Inside Ireland - 16 February
Link: http://bit.ly/cx7uAR

Birmingham: 200,000 cigarettes are seized in raids

Almost 200,000 illegal cigarettes have been uncovered following raids in the Black Country and Birmingham.

The majority of the haul was found in West Bromwich, with cigarettes also found in Walsall and Birmingham.

As well as tobacco, officers from HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) with the help of a tobacco detection dog also confiscated hand-rolling tobacco and counterfeit spirits.

The action was taken to disrupt the illegal trade and saw brands including Jin Ling, L&Ms, West and Walton seized.

It is estimated the loss of revenue to the public purse from the goods would be £50,000.

Last Tuesday, a raid on a self-storage unit in West Bromwich uncovered 158,240 cigarettes, 66lbs of hand rolling tobacco and 221.2 litres of fake spirits. A suspect was arrested and has been released on bail, pending further enquiries.

On the same day, 23,080 cigarettes and 4lbs of hand rolling tobacco were recovered from a shop in Birmingham and on Thursday 9,550 mixed brand cigarettes were seized from a shop in Caldmore Green in Walsall.

Keith Morgan, specialist investigation detection manager for HMRC, said: “We take tobacco smuggling very seriously.”

Source: Express and Star - 16 February 2010
Link: http://bit.ly/aVauGo