Tobacco Asia

Volume 20, Number 2

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58 tobaccoasia CLOSING NEWS 卷尾新闻 China TFWA Headed to Guangzhou TFWA has announced that the third TFWA China's Century Conference will take place on March 7-9, 2017 in Guangzhou. The conference will be held at the Four Seasons Hotel, Guangzhou, and the Official Host of the event will be Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport Co. Erik Juul-Mortensen, president TFWA said; "TFWA China's Century Conference is an essential diary date for anyone interested in the considerable commercial opportunities the Chinese market presents." The first TFWA China's Century Conference took place in 2013 in Beijing. The second conference, was held in Shanghai in 2015, and welcomed 388 delegates including senior executives from numerous airlines, airports and duty free and travel retail operators. Thailand Plan to Reduce Smokers The Thai Cabinet has reportedly endorsed the 2nd National Strategy For Tobacco Control that is aimed at reducing the number of smokers in five years. The plan consists of six strategies. They are focused on making people aware of the negative health effects of smoking, preventing new smokers adopting the habit, providing greater access to help if a smoker wants to quit smoking, implementing tobacco ingredient controls, restricting smoking to designated areas and enforcing the tobacco tax. The endorsement is expected to save 25% more people from cigarette addiction by 2019. The Cabinet has also given the green light to a proposal that will enable physical education teachers to become civil servant employees in a bid to solve teacher shortages. During the cabinet meeting, cabinet members were also briefed on efforts being made to restore destroyed forests, by Deputy Prime Minister General Prawit Wongsuwan. He said local residents have already been asked to cooperate with the authorities when the restoration process begins. Forest restoration will take place first in Chiang Mai and Nan. Russia Ban on Night Sales Proposed Dmitry Nosov, a member of the State Duma Committee for Security and Anti-Corruption Measures, has submit- ted a bill to the State Duma (the Russian parliament) to ban the sale of tobacco and cigarettes at night and in the early hours of the morning, RIA Novosti reported recently. Under the new bill, restrictions will be applicable between 11 pm and 8 am. The prohibition will not extend to retail sale of tobacco products at tax free shops. Nosov believes that such measure will lower consumption of tobacco products. Similar steps have appreciably put down the use of alcohol, the lawmaker added. Congo Men Smoke More Everywhere In the developing world, far more men than women smoke. This is usually ascribed to pronounced gender dispari- ties in social, political, or economic power. But what about a developing society with a high degree of gender equality like the Aka pygmy tribe living in West Africa's Congo Basin? Surprisingly, even there, smoking is definitely a male thing, says anthropolo- gist Casey Roulette of Washington State University, leader of a study published in Springer's journal Human Nature. Aka women shy away from smoking because it can harm their unborn babies and children, and because it makes them unattractive to suitors. On the other hand, women of this hunter-gatherer society prefer men who smoke because they link tobacco use to greater risk taking, and a man's subsequent ability to fend for his family. The Aka value autonomy and enjoy marked gender and age equality. Within their egalitarian society, Aka of both sexes are free to participate in activities typically set out for the opposite sex. Most of the estimated 30,000 Aka live in small camps in remote forests of the Congo Basin, an area to which tobacco was introduced in the late 1800s. Because of their isolation, they have had little exposure to advertisements by tobacco companies or anti-tobacco campaigns that could influence their smoking habits. Roulette and his team used surveys and peer reports to find out more about the Aka's smoking and sharing habits, their reasons for using tobacco products and their income levels. Contrary to expectations, a very large male bias in tobacco use was found. The tests showed that 5% of women smoked compared to 94% of men. The high use by Aka men is surpris- ing given that they generally need to work a few days on a neighbouring farm to afford one pack of cigarettes. While men spend a greater portion of their income on tobacco than women do, female tribe members tend to give away a greater portion of the tobacco they purchase. "This suggests that men value tobacco more than women do," adds Roulette. According to Roulette, tobacco sharing appears to play an important, yet often overlooked, role in strengthening social relationships and cooperation between group members. Despite its high cost, Aka give away nearly half of all the tobacco they purchase, which is one quarter of their daily income. US HW Studios Ask for Freedom Major film studios recently filed court papers asking a judge to reject a putative class action that blames them for children becoming addicted to nicotine. Their trade association and theater owners don't want to be held hostage to any misguided morality play — not one TFWA China Century Conference 2015

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