HEADLINES

• Hertfordshire County Council’s £50m tobacco investment
• USA: Former employee alleges price-fixing and other violations at Philip Morris International, Inc.
• Canada: A smoking vaccine?
• USA: Boston to regulate sales of electronic cigarettes
• USA: Genes may make quitting tougher for smokers, study says
• New Zealand: Tobacco tax increase drives more to quit - study

• Hertfordshire County Council’s £50m tobacco investment

  Hertfordshire County Council’s (HCC) Local Government Pension Scheme fund, which oversees pensions for various public employers, has £50,471,640 invested in various tobacco firms as of October 28.

  Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) says it is time for local authorities to rethink this investment as the number of smokers is falling and firms may not continue to offer a guaranteed return.

  An ASH spokesman said, “It can be argued that there is an ethical and moral issue, but purely on financial grounds we would question the assumption that tobacco is a good source of investment now as smoking is decreasing – not only in the west but in other parts of the world. It’s on those grounds we would urge local authorities to rethink their investment in tobacco.”

  Source: The Comet, 02 December 2011
  Link: http://bit.ly/tFX9J2

• USA: Former employee alleges price-fixing and other violations at Philip Morris International, Inc.

  A former employee of Philip Morris International, Inc. (PMI) has filed a complaint with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission alleging violations of securities, antitrust and anti-bribery laws by the world's leading tobacco company.

  The sworn complaint filed last month alleges that PMI has been involved in a long-running price-fixing cartel with its direct international competitors British American Tobacco, Imperial Tobacco Limited and Japan Tobacco International.  The complaint further alleges that PMI's statements to shareholders regarding its pricing power are misleading insofar as PMI's pricing power is inflated by undisclosed, illegal price-fixing.

  The complaint further alleges that PMI has violated the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act by making payments for travel and entertainment of foreign government officials intended primarily for leisure and sightseeing rather than business purposes; by failing to implement the internal controls necessary to detect and prevent such payments; and by failing to implement the internal controls necessary to monitor payments made to external consultants retained for purposes of interacting with foreign government officials.

  The complaint further alleges that PMI misled its shareholders about the prospects of certain regulatory measures critical to its profitability by failing to disclose material facts concerning the true nature and strength of opposition to such measures and PMI's own role in fomenting and financing that opposition.

  There are no assurances that the SEC or other agencies will commence investigative or enforcement proceedings based on the allegations made in the complaint.

  Source: Smokingate, 01 December 2011
  Link: http://bit.ly/shLBTD

• Canada: A smoking vaccine?

  A new anti-nicotine vaccine which is currently being studied could soon help smokers who find quitting a major challenge.

  Preliminary results of the vaccine have yielded encouraging results with success rates much higher among those who received the vaccine - 25% compared to 12%.

  The treatment is expected to be available in a few years time if larger scale studies remain positive.

  Source: Toronto Sun, 05 December 2011
  Link: http://bit.ly/skyfBs

• USA: Boston to regulate sales of electronic cigarettes

  Boston Public Health commission has approved proposals to regulate eletronic cigarettes which includes banning their use in the workplace, requiring retailers to obtain permits and restricting their use to adults.
  
  The sale of individual cigars, which have become an option for people looking for less expensive alternatives to cigarettes was also banned.

  Source: Boston Herald, 01 December 2011
  Link: http://bit.ly/vpLWvQ

• USA: Genes may make quitting tougher for smokers, study says

  Despite decades of public health efforts aimed at helping smokers give up, the number of people who haven't been able to quit smoking has flatlined in recent years and new research suggests it might be because of their genes.
  
  The researchers analysed the smoking habits of nearly 600 pairs of twins in a study which was released online in advance of publication in the print issue of Demography.

  Source: USA Today, 03 December 2011
  Link: http://usat.ly/sVlPgC

• New Zealand: Tobacco tax increase drives more to quit - study

  A study which looked at the impact of last year's increase, which raised the tax on factory made cigarettes by 10% and loose tobacco by 24%, found that twice as many smokers tried to give up.

  Source: Radio New Zealand, 03 December 2011
  Link: http://bit.ly/uSssCa