Tobacco Asia

38 tobaccoasia / Issue 4, 2018 September / October By Thomas Schmid Some market regions - particularly the wider Middle East but also Africa and Eastern Europe - are awash with counterfeited cigarettes (and smuggled contraband), causing legitimate manufacturers millions in lost revenues every year, not to mention serious brand image erosion. And as cigarettes get increasingly more expensive across Western Europe and many parts of Asia, the problem gradually takes hold there as well. But to protect their brands, and by extension their revenues, tobacco companies can deploy a number of surprisingly sophisticated security printing innovations either on packaging or even the sticks themselves. Superior security features from TANN Group TANN Group, headquartered in the town of Traun, Austria is synonymous with being a reliable and highly innovative supplier of printing products and methodologies to the tobacco industry. Technical services manager Dr. Michael Lindner divulges that the company is being regularly approached by ciga- rette manufacturers either on their own accord or because regulatory changes necessitate it, inquiring "whether we can offer possibilities for superior security features for tobacco products with respect to anti-counterfeiting measures." "The focus hereby is put on 'smart safety' items, which we can realize with tipping papers, inner liners, clear closure labels, and tear tapes," Dr. Lindner says. He adds that those inquiries are mostly "re- Conquering Counterfeiting with Security Printing Counterfeited cigarettes having become an increasingly serious problem in many markets and cigarette manufacturers can protect their brands through various security printing solutions. Tobacco Asia looks at some remarkable options. Cigarette packs fitted with Tannpapier's clear closure labels

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