Tobacco Asia

16 tobaccoasia FRONT PAGE NEWS 卷首新闻 US Congressional THR Caucus US Congress is launching a tobacco harm reduction caucus, but Philip Morris International's (PMI) support for it is raising concerns, according to STAT News. Politico first broke news of the caucus when it reported that PMI hired a trio of former executive branch health policy staffers, Paul Edattel, Daniel Todd, and Nicholas Uehlecke of Todd Strategy Group in January to advocate for tobacco harm reduction, FDA oversight, and the creation of a harm reduction caucus. While Uehlecke previously worked at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and on the House Ways and Means Health Subcommittee, Edattel and Todd were both former health counsels on the House Energy and Commerce Committee and the Senate Finance Committee, respectively. According to STAT, Guy Reschenthaler (Pennsylvania- R) and Don Davis (North Carolina-D), would co-chair the caucus. In the Republican-controlled House, Reschenthaler is the chief deputy whip and is serving his third term. Davis is a first-term representative in the House and a member of the Congressional Black Caucus. According to a letter to prospective members cited in the STAT article, the caucus will provide a forum for discussion of all facets of this public health debate, including risk-based taxation, methods to improve the public's understanding of less harmful alternatives products, and the regulatory processes governing these products. CTP Investigated, Again Following the Reagan-Udall Foundation's report on the Center for Tobacco Products (CTP), the US House of Representatives' Committee on Oversight and Accountability launched an investigation into CTP's regulation of tobacco and nicotine products. Committee chairman James Comer noted in a letter to Food and Drug Administration commissioner Robert Califf that CTP failed to effectively implement its tobacco and nicotine regulations, leading to uncertainty among compliant stakeholders and a proliferation of unsafe and unregulated products on the market. Comer requested documents, communications, and a staff-level briefing related to CTP's activities. In the letter, Comer also said, "We have deep concerns that CTP's decisions have been influenced by political concerns rather than scientific evidence…FDA must clearly identify and publicize what scientific criteria are necessary for a product, to include [ENDS- electronic delivery system products] and smoke- less products, to be authorized through the PMTA pathway and—where appropriate—the subsequent [MRTPS- modified risk tobacco product applications] pathway." California's Proposed Generational Tobacco Ban Bombs A proposal for yet another generational tobacco ban, this time in California, was shelved after it was unable to garner enough support First-term assembly member Damon Connolly intro- duced a bill in February that would ban anyone currently 16 years old or younger (born on or after January 1, 2007) from ever buying tobacco products in the state. Vendors found selling would face fines of up to US$6,000 and losing their tobacco license. In California, the minimum age to purchase tobacco products is currently 21. Connolly's bill had trouble garnering support. Only 10 organizations had submitted letters of support to the Assembly Health Committee, where it was first scheduled to be discussed, by mid-April, including the California chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics, according to a committee analysis. None of the seven main supporters of California's flavored tobacco ban, including the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, the American Heart Association, the American Lung Association, the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, Common Sense, Lt. Governor Eleni Kounalakis, and state Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond, seem to support Connelly's proposed bill. BAT Urged to Move to US A top-five British American Tobacco (BAT) shareholder recently stated that it "makes no sense" for the cigarette manufacturer to continue trading on the UK stock market, putting pressure on the company to move its primary listing to New York. InterTabac and InterSupply Partner with Cigar Smoking World Championship InterTabac and InterSupply, taking place September 14-16 in Dortmund, Germany, adds a stand featuring the shows' new partner, the Cigar Smoking World Champi- onship (CSWC), which is yet another excit- ing extra facet to the traditionally famous names found at Intertabac. The World Championship in Smoking a Cigar Slowly finals, which are due to be held in Split, Croatia, shortly prior to InterTabac and InterSupply, will attend Messe Dortmund – complete with its own exhibition space. So for the first time, this exclusive smoking event is using Intertabac/Intersupply — the best possible venue — to make itself even better known within the industry. Messe Dortmund, organizers of Inter- Tabac, plan to sponsor CSWC in future. "It was a dream of mine early on to set up such an event," said Marko Bilić, CSWC's founder and chairman in looking forward to the collaboration. "CSWC is more than a competition in slow cigar smoking. Rather, it is an event where like-minded people share their passion for the cigar lifestyle and cigar lovers from all over the world come together for a good time. This is a perfect fit for InterTabac and InterSupply as well, as a large number of cigar enthusiasts are on hand to enjoy fellowship with others in addition to exchanging ideas on potential business deals. Thus, the twin shows are the perfect partner and the ideal stage for our exhibition space." Sabine Loos, chief show organizer and managing director of Westfalenhallen Unternehmensgruppe which owns and operates the Messe Dortmund venue, is also upbeat about the new collaboration. "We're delighted to have secured the Cigar Smoking World Champi- onship as a partner to our shows. The collaboration underlines once again the great international reputation enjoyed by InterTabac and In- terSupply, and of course, the enthusiasm of Marko Bilić's CSWC team for the enjoyment of cigars in good company and their commitment to bringing people together also align perfectly with our new show slo- gan, 'Together for tomorrow'."

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