Tobacco Asia

12 tobaccoasia FRONT PAGE NEWS 卷首新闻 the upper part of both sides of cigarette packs, with the graphic images being changed every 24 months. US Pushing FDA to Fight Illicit Trade The American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) and other health agencies sent a joint letter to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) pushing for a tough stance on combat- ing black market tobacco. The joint letter was sent in response to an FDA call for comments on a draft paper titled "Illicit Trade in Tobacco Products After Implementation of an FDA Product Standard." In the letter, AAFP said that the illicit cigarette market does not ultimate- ly dampen tobacco company profits, stating, "Most of the cigarettes bearing the tax stamps of low-tax states, such as Virginia, that are bootlegged for sale in high-tax states, such as New York, are manufactured by the major tobacco companies. SOUTH AFRICA Pushback Against New Bill Putting Thousands Out of Work Traders, farmers, and unionized workers have joined the industry pushback against the government's proposed new tobacco laws, saying they will harm businesses and lead to thousands of jobs loss. The proposed Control of Tobacco Products and Electronic Delivery Systems Bill Health seeks to tighten the marketing and sale of tobacco products, including e-cigarettes and new-genera- tion products that are heated rather than burnt. It also includes provisions that introduce plain packaging, ban point-of- sale advertising and displays, and scrap the sale of single cigarettes. The Tobacco Institute of Southern Africa (TISA) and the Vapor Product Association (VPA) had previously warned of job losses if the bill is passed in its current form and urged the government to focus on stamping out the illicit cigarette market instead. The latest to openly oppose the bill are agriculture industry association AgriSA, the Food and Allied Workers Union (Fawu), and the South African Spaza and Tuckshop Association (Sasta), who said in a joint statement the bill would "devastate SA's agriculture and township businesses". They also said the measures in the bill would put thousands of law-abiding Spaza shop owners and hawkers out of business and drive 80% of tobacco sales into the hands of criminals, and that the plain packaging provisions would boost the illicit cigarette trade. Even the eKasi Entrepreneurship Movement, which assists township entrepreneurs, released a statement saying sensible health interventions were required to protect people from the dangers of tobacco — but the proposed ban on the display of tobacco products at wholesale and retail level would destroy township and informal businesses. NETHERLANDS Anti-Tobacco Groups Threaten to Sue Over "Too Unhealthy" Cigs Ex-smokers and medical associations are threatening legal action to get "too unhealthy" cigarettes that exceed European norms for nicotine, tar, and carbon monoxide banned. The group's lawyer said the organizations' first port of call is health and safety watchdog NVWA, but if it fails to enforce tobacco legislation, they will go to court. This move is based on a test published by public health institute RIVM in June, which was conducted by covering the small ventilation holes in the filter paper, a method that approach- es the way cigarettes are actually smoked. However, anti-tobacco groups have questioned this method,, saying that the official test leaves these holes uncovered, but smokers compress the holes with their lips and fingers and thus inhale much more of the carcinogenic and addictive substances. Market leaders Philip Morris International and British American Tobacco said their cigarettes comply with European norms and national Dutch legislation regarding tobacco. PMI spokesperson, Peter van den Driest, said the European test was never meant to measure 'actual exposure' of smokers to tar, nicotine and carbon monoxide. 'It was meant to enable to compare brands of cigarettes that are smoked in an identical way,' he said. Tobacco producers say it is up to governments to decide which testing method to use. INDIA TII Demands Seat at WHO Conference The Tobacco Institute of India (TII) has asked the government to talk with farmers and industry stakeholders before the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control Conference of Parties (FCTC COP8) meeting, which will be held in Geneva from October 1-6.TTI also demand 'stakeholder representa- tives' be included in the official Indian delegation to the conference. TII director, Syed Mahmood Ahmad, said in a statement, "Framing of tobacco control policies at the confer- ence without the involvement of tobacco farmers, whose livelihood is seriously threatened, is unfair and unprincipled with the risk of their genuine concerns being subverted and severely compromised." In the statement he also said that "millions of small and marginal retailers" derive their livelihood from sale of tobacco products in India, and that "policy development without cognizing for the genuine concerns and apprehen- sions of this stakeholder group will have serious livelihood consequences resulting in huge unemployment and poverty issues." The statement concluded saying, "We request the government of India to engage extensively with the industry stakeholders on FCTC articles con- tained in the COP8 agenda and also include industry stakeholders and representatives from the farming community in the official Indian delega- tion to the conference."

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