Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/550331
14 tobaccoasia FRONT PAGES 卷首新闻 WHO SAID WHAT? ASEAN countries, the Philippines' illicit cigarette consumption was largely domestic illicit cigarettes. The study estimated that the Philippines' domestic illicit consumption accounted for 16.3% of the total 105.5 billion combined legal and illicit cigarette consumption last year. It also noted that the Philippines accounts for 97% of all domestic illicit consumption in ASEAN. In 2013, 17.1 billion domestic illicit cigarettes were consumed in the Philippines, increasing from the 6.1 billion domestic illicit cigarettes con- sumed in 2012. In other words, nearly one in five cigarettes smoked in the Philippines last year was illicit. This propelled the country toward the top of the illicit trade rankings in the region. An estimated total of US$ 368 (US$300 million in excise taxes and US$68 million in value added tax) were lost to the illicit cigarette trade in the Philippines. This was a 497% increase from 2012's estimated US$62 million tax loss and represents 15.3% of the Philippines' potential total excise tax revenue. USA Reynolds bans smoking Starting January 1, 2015, employees at Reynolds American Inc. (RAI) will be banned from lighting up a cigarette, cigar, or pipe at the company's corporate offices. The ban applies to all office buildings across the US including subsidiaries, but does not include smokeless tobacco products such as e-cigarettes, moist snuff, and heat-not- burn cigarettes. RAI had previously allowed employ- ees to smoke at their desks or offices, in conference rooms, hallways, and elevators, but had banned smoking from its manufacturing facility, cafeteria, and fitness center. With the ban in place, not even that will be allowed. Smokers need not despair, however, as over the course of 2015 and 2016, RAI will be building smoking areas in all its facilities, which are primarily located in North Carolina, Tennessee, and New Mexico. The new rules will be phased in as the smoking areas are constructed. RAI spokesperson David Howard said that the ban is the company trying to better align their tobacco use policies with those in general society. RAI has 5,200 employees, 20% of whom smoke, which is just slightly higher than the US national rate, which is roughly 18%. Altria Group Inc., another major tobacco company, still allows smoking in separate offices but prohibits lighting up tobacco on factory floors and in elevators and hallways. Altria also has designated smoking areas for smokers. Laos Imperial defends Laos position Imperial Tobacco, which produces about 90% of the cigarettes sold in Laos, has defended the agreement between the consortium in which it owns a majority stake and the Laotian government, insisting that it operates legally and that the tax arrangements have been renego- tiated several times since 2001, when, under the original terms, the consortium paid no corporate income tax for the first five years among other concessions. Imperial Tobacco was recently criticized by health campaigners who say that the tobacco manufacturer's tax agreement with Laos' government, signed in 2001 and due to last until 2026, deprives Laotian tax payers of tens of millions of dollars. An Imperial Tobacco spokesperson said that by negotiating the 2001 agreement, the company had made a long-time commitment to Laos and saved the state cigarette manufacturer from bankruptcy, thus helping create thousands of jobs as well as helped restrict Laos' market for counterfeit ciga- rettes, which did not generate any taxes for the country. The agreement allows the Imperial- led consortium to pay between 15-30% excise tax on its products, although the country's standard rate is 55%. The consortium can also negotiate on occasion for preferential import taxes and duties on cigarettes and other finished tobacco products. He also said that, as part of the agreement with the government, Imperial agreed to develop a sustainable leaf growing strategy that would alleviate rural poverty. This project is still ongoing and is very successful. "The evolving literature on e-cigarettes strongly suggests they help smokers to quit smoking. The [proposed suppression by the FCA of e-cigarettes] endangers public health by pushing manufacturers to focus efforts toward developing attributes unrelated to improved public health, thereby promoting combustible tobacco use. Public health would worsen because e-cigarettes are a safer alternative to tobacco cigarettes." - Dr. Michael Marlow, senior scholar at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University