Tobacco News

British American Tobacco Uganda (BATU) shares are up 18.8 per cent since July as investors bet that the tobacco manufacture will earn more from its exports because of a weak shilling and increased volumes. BATU began processing leaf for export to other parts of Africa in April, which might translate to higher turnover for the Uganda Securities Exchange listed firm.

This is after BAT International decided to move its central leaf materials headquarters from South Africa to Uganda. Ream more »

British American Tobacco (BAT) has launched a High Court challenge against a law that will require plain packaging on cigarettes in Australia, claiming it infringes intellectual property rights.
Days after fellow global tobacco giant Philip Morris sued Canberra over the controversial plan, BAT filed a constitutional challenge that it said would act as a “test case” on the validity of the legislation. Ream more »

This month, District Judge Richard Leon halted efforts by the United States Food and Drug Administration to place graphic images of the consequences of smoking on cigarette packages, as a result of the allegations that these images would be unconstitutional.

Five of the largest companies in the tobacco industry sued the FDA on the grounds that these pictures, which depict the horrors of tobacco, were against their free speech rights granted by the first amendment. Ream more »

Achsanul Qosasi, the House of Representatives’ (DPR) Finance Commission deputy-chairman, said that the implementation of Finance Minister Regulation No. 167 on Tobacco Excise Tariff may well be postponed. The postponement is conducted in order for the government to calculate the potential losses in state revenue due to illegal cigarettes.
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Barry Bonds broke Hank Aaron’s homers record with a circular tin of smokeless tobacco in his right rear pocket, which really wasn’t necessary.

He could have stored his stash in the clubhouse or dugout. It wasn’t as if he’d step from the batter’s box and reach for a dip. If players are going to fight for their right to chew tobacco – and subject themselves to the consequences – the least they can do is keep the product out of sight of gullible onlookers who think it’s cool to act like a ballplayer and stuff a pinch between their cheek and gum.
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Earlier this year, a new corner store opened directly across the street from Tahoe Elementary School in Sacramento, its prominent sign clearly visible from the school’s playground and athletic fields.

The sign leaves no doubt as to the store’s primary product. Cigarettes and More on Broadway is one of 104 shops in the city with a tobacco license that is within 1,000 feet of a school, according to a city analysis. Two blocks down Broadway, another shop, Cigarettes and Cigars, opened in 2010, across the street from a 7-Eleven that also sells tobacco products. Ream more »

A long-term plan by Japan’s government to raise about $24 billion to help fund rebuilding efforts after the March 11 earthquake and tsunami has been cut back by a few thousand farmers summoning their political influence to save their livelihood—growing tobacco leaf.

First touted in September, the plan drawn up by Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda’s Democratic Party of Japan to sell the state’s 50% stake in Japan Tobacco Inc. in a two-stage process is a relatively small element of a package to raise ¥12 trillion, or about $150 billion, to finance rebuilding after the disasters. Ream more »

A Dane County judge made no decision on Wednesday regarding whether or not roll-your-own cigarette machines should be subject to Wisconsin’s cigarette tax.
Last month, Judge Juan Colas issued a temporary restraining order, preventing the state from making tobacco shops obtain permits and pay manufacturer’s taxes on roll-your-own tobacco machines.
Attorneys representing the companies that make those roll-your-own machines argued to make the ruling more permanent on Wednesday. Ream more »

Three New Haven establishments failed surprise tobacco inspections last week, according to a Wednesday New Haven Police Department press release.

Under the direction of investigators from the Connecticut Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services’ Tobacco Prevention and Enforcement Program, the New Haven Police Department conducted inspections of 16 establishments that sell tobacco products to ensure their compliance with state law. Ream more »

The city’s public health chief has called the emergence of roll-your-own cigarette machines a substantial health issue.

B. Dale Magee, the city’s commissioner of public health, told the City Council the machines could lead to an increase in cigarette smoking because they reduce the cost of a pack of cigarettes by about two-thirds.
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