Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/550316
tobaccoasia 61 CLOSING NEWS 卷尾新闻 revealed to have 10 times the amount of carcinogens as traditional cigarettes, but vaping advocates note that the previous study is deceptive. The Inquisitr recently reported on the e-cigarettes cancer study, noting that researchers in Japan were commissioned by Japan's Health Ministry to do the study. They discovered that carcinogens such as formaldehyde and acetaldehyde were present in the vapor produced by several brands of e-cigarettes. Formaldehyde is found in building materials and embalming fluid. Scientists found the levels of formaldehyde were much higher in e-cigarettes compared to regular cigarettes. One brand of e-cigarette studied had 10 times the carcinogens contained in formaldehyde. "Especially when the… wire (which vaporizes the liquid) gets overheated, higher amounts those harmful substances seemed to be produced," the study stated. The E-Cigarette Advocates Research Group issued a statement calling into question the study's importance. A 2008 look at the results used in the analysis showed that traditional ciga- rettes had six times more formaldehyde than the highest quantity found in the e-cigarettes from the recent study. "While we still need to see the levels of carbonyls generated from high-power e-cigarette use (using appropriate atomizers of course), the message concerning all this media frenzy is clear," said the group's spokesperson. "Even in the worst-case Japanese product, e-cigarette aerosol contained 6 times lower formaldehyde levels compared to tobacco cigarette smoke. Where does the '10 times higher than smoking' state- ment come from? I have no idea." The group did state that the author of the newest study, Professor Kunugita, contacted them in response to pointing out the discrepancy and noted that the latest study bases its findings on a newer model "in which he found 1600μg formaldehyde per 15 puffs." To that, the advocacy group responded. "It is true that this level is 10 times higher than what is present in tobacco cigarettes. However, this is an unpublished result, a single extreme case out of the many products he tested, and we do not know what went wrong in that case (e.g. high power levels, low levels of liquid inside, malfunctioning device etc). Still, the media frenzy is completely inappropriate." US Imperial 2014 Results Imperial Tobacco's 2014 results saw declining volume and market share. Its gross and net revenues, including excise taxes, declined by roughly 6%, while the core tobacco business showed a similar decline in revenues. This decline was attributed to foreign exchange differ- ences as a result of a stronger British Pound compared to the year before. The company's tobacco volume performance also dropped by 7%, attributed to the stock optimization program intended to reduce trade inventories in several markets, and underlying volume declined by 3%. Adjusted operating profits fell by 5% in the tobacco unit, by 6% in the logistics unit and by 5% overall. Imperial's market share declined in two out of three reporting territories. In Returns Markets North its market share fell by 70 basis points from 25.5% in FY2013 to 24.8% in FY2014, while in Returns Markets South, its market share declined by 50 basis points from 29.9% last year to 29.4% this year. The company's performance was better in Growth Markets with a 10 basis point market share improvement to 5.8%. UK RYO = Cigarettes UK's chief medical officer has said that roll-ups have the same effect on the body as manufactured cigarettes. Professor Dame Sally Davies said, "Significant numbers of smokers are now using roll-ups without realizing that gram for gram of tobacco they are just as unsafe as ordinary cigarettes." The number of male smokers in the UK using hand-rolled cigarettes more than doubled from 18% in 1990 to 40% in 2013. In female smokers that number went from 2% to 23%. These figures were highlighted ahead of Public Health England's (PHE) new campaign warning smokers of the dangers to their health of smoking, following previous campaigns about cancer and heart attacks and strokes. The new campaign features a graphic anti-smoking advertisement showing a father lighting a hand-rolled cigarette full of rotting flesh, a video showing a father taking two children a playground before sitting down to roll himself a cigarette using rotting tissue rather than rolling paper, as well as digital and print billboards that will feature a roll-up full of decaying tissue and a warning. Philippines LT Tobacco Rebound LT Group Inc. said that the rebound of its income in 2015 relies on the perfor- mance of its tobacco business, which currently dominates the Philippine market, though it did take a hit from the higher excise taxes. The group holds 49.6% of Philip Morris Fortune Tobacco Corp. Inc., the combined company of Philip Morris and Fortune Tobacco. The other half is controlled by Philip Morris, which also operates the combined company. Q3/2014 saw LT Group suffer its fifth straight quarter of profit fall, due to having to operate in a "difficult operat- ing environment." Its net income fell 67% for the nine-month period ending September to P2.5 billion (US$56,8 million) from last year's P7.6 billion. LT Group's tobacco business netted a mere P462 million for the first nine months of 2014, a sharp drop from the P2.8 billion reported in 2013. Despite the 20% hike in excise tax that came into effect in January 2015, LT Group president Michael Tan said the overall prospect for tobacco is good, buoyed by hopes that the Philippine