Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/550304
26 tobaccoasia 36 th International Trade Fair for Tobacco Products and Smoking Accessories September 19 - 21, 2014 www.inter-tabac.com Dortmund • Germany Anzeige_Inter-tabac 2014_120x210mm_GB.indd 1 11.12.2013 15:45:17 Uhr Product & Industry Spotlight 业界焦点 The Bahamas New Brand Lights Up Caribbean Tobacco Enterprise (CTE) claims "excellent market interest" in its new brand, Palms, three months after opening its new 5,200 square foot manufacturing plant. CTE investor Adam Dann said, "The new plant located in Freeport, Grand Bahama manufactures, packages and distributes North Carolina quality tobacco that equals the quality of two of the most popular cigarettes on the market today. We have completed more than a year of detailed studies from tobacco quality to taste preferences and have developed a world class product made by Bahamians." The company targets 20% of output at the local market and 80% in exports, and hopes for sales of $3 million in year one. Dann said, "We are especially thankful to the authorities for establishing the regulatory framework and concessions that created favorable conditions for local and global distribution." UK Cigars Stubbed Out by 2026? While the extreme ends of UK cigar sales – premium smokes and cheap miniatures – hold up well, the outlook may be worse for the market overall. The Financial Times says trends indicate cigar smoking could be non-existent in the UK within 12 years. Going by HM Revenue & Customs figures, the 2.1 million kg (mkg) of cigars bought in 1992 had fallen to 0.4 mkg last year, a drop of more than 80%. Imperial Tobacco, the UK's second biggest tobacco company, told the newspaper it estimated there are currently around 300,000 regular cigar smokers in the UK, down from 700,000 ten years ago. US Global Smokers on the Increase The University of Washington (UW) claims in a new study that although the percentage of smokers worldwide is falling, because of population growth both the numbers of smokers and of cigarettes consumed are increasing. The study, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, says the smoking rate dropped from 26% of people to 18.7% between 1980 and 2012, but the number of smokers jumped from 721 million to nearly 1 billion in the same period. The number of sticks smoked also climbed from around 5 trillion to 6.25 trillion. Marie Ng, lead author of the analysis from the UW's Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, said she and her colleagues spent three years compiling and analyzing more than 1,000 data sets from 182 countries. Hong Kong Smuggling trade is booming Hong Kong customs seized 38 million smuggled cigarettes in the year to November 2013, already an increase of 11 million, or 41%, on the previous year. And another raid in December grabbed a further 3.95 million. The South China Morning Post quoted Luisa Tam Han-may, executive director of the tobacco concern group United Against Illicit Tobacco, as saying that a British study had found that one in every three Hong Kong smokes in 2012 was smuggled. Conse- quently, she warned against higher taxes. "I am not against high taxes, but the illicit trade is not under control. If you raise taxes for the anti-smoking campaign [...] it's basically solving one problem by creating a new one. It is dangerous and irresponsible." Canada Illegal Cigs Concern for Kids Concern has been voiced in Canada about the effect of the huge contraband cigarette trade on the nation's children. The National Coalition Against Contraband Tobacco found in a 2009 study that 30% of cigarette butts found in Ontario high schools were from illegal cigarettes. And now the Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF), in collaboration with the