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European News Bulletin - EU9833 31 August 1998 (fwd)
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!# GLOBALink Tobacco - Weekly European News Bulletin
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EUROPEAN NEWS BULLETIN - EU9833 31 AUGUST 1998
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CONTENTS:
EUROPE - GENERAL
Study casts doubt on heart 'risk factors'.
EUROPE - SPECIFIC COUNTRIES
FRANCE: SEITA in the first half of 1998.
ITALY: Audit Court on Monopoli's privatisation.
SWEDEN: New MD at Swedish Match.
UK: Rules to 'misguided' blocking of adoptions.
UK: Sacked smoker denies he lit up in the car park.
UK: Shop-owners lose L3bn to bootleggers.
EASTERN EUROPE - SPECIFIC COUNTRIES
CZECH REPUBLIC: New cigarette factory?
CZECH REPUBLIC: Tax increase planned.
INTERNATIONAL - SPECIFIC COUNTRIES
USA: Blue Cross to oppose BAT merger.
EUROPE GENERAL
Study casts doubt on heart 'risk factors'.
Delegates attending a conference at the European
Congress of Cardiology in Vienna, were told
that the largest ever cardiology study, the
MONICA study, has failed to find a link between
heart attacks and the standard risk factors of
smoking, high cholesterol, obesity and blood
pressure. The study assessed 21 countries over
10 years, it found that the incidence of heart
disease was falling across Europe, Australia and
North America. Clear increases were recorded in
Lithuania, Poland, China and Russia. In terms of
smoking, the study found that smoking among men
had decreased in 32 of the 38 centres, while
among women there had only been a fall in 13
centres. But the scientists, it seems, could
find no statistical connection between the
changes in the rates of coronary heart disease
in the different populations with the change in
the standard risk factors. Public health
specialists however, have urged people to
continue tackling potential risk factors, they
point out that many other studies had shown that
the standard risk factors were linked
unequivocally with heart disease. According to
Public health specialists, the results of the
MONICA study might provide more insight into the
difficulties of running trials over huge
geographical areas and the unexpected complexity
of heart disease than about risk factors.
Professor Hugh Tunstall-Pedoe of Dundee
University, a member of the MONICA steering
committee, said that one possible explanation
was that the four standard risk factors have
been swamped by other risk factors. Unrest,
poverty, and social and economic change have all
been linked with heart disease since the study
began in the early 1980s. Someone who gives up
smoking but loses their home may overall be at
higher risk of heart disease because of stress.
Dr. Caroline Morrison co-principal of the study
said that, "locally, it has produced masses of
data which is already being used."
Source: Daily Telegraph 25/8/98
The Guardian 25/8/98
EUROPE - SPECIFIC COUNTRIES
FRANCE: SEITA in the first half of 1998.
SEITA is expected to record a turnover of FFr
19.2bn for the whole of 1998, according to an
analyst at CrZdit Lyonnais Securities Europe.
The French tobacco group increased its share in
the market of Virginia tobacco cigarettes to
17.7% in June 1998 from 16.1% six months before. The
group's turnover reached FFr 9.35bn in the first
half of 1998, up 5.3% over the same year -
earlier period. Source: La Cote DesfossZs (XOT)
17 Aug 1998 p.II Language: FRENCH No. 06672479
Source: Information Access Company 27/8/98
ITALY: Audit Court on Monopoli's privatisation.
The Italian State Audit Court has urged the
Government to privatise Monopoli di Stato in
order , it seems, to improve its efficiency. A
study of the two main activities of Monopoli
(tobacco and salt production) has revealed,
apparently, that both activities need a
different management style. According to the
Audit Court, sales of Italian-made Virginia
tobacco cigarettes, for example, have decreased
by 2.2% to 37.7% in 1997 while those from
overseas have increased their quota by 2.7% to
46.1%. Source: Il Sole 24 Ore (ISO) 15 Aug
1998 p.13 Language: ITALIAN No.
06672125
Source: Information Access Company 27/8/98
SWEDEN: New MD at Swedish Match.
Swedish tobacco company, Swedish Match, has
appointed a new Managing Director. He is
Lennart SundZn, formerly of Electrolux. Mr
SundZn, a non-smoker, is expected to take up his
post with Swedish Match on 1st November 1998.
Source: Dagens Nyheter (XSU) 17 Aug 1998
p.A14
Language: SWEDISH No. 06672465
Source: Information Access Company 27/8/98
UK: Rules to 'misguided' blocking of adoptions.
The Government has unveiled guidelines to end
the blocking of adoption on grounds of the
couple's race, culture, age or smoking habits.
The Health Minister Paul Boateng, acknowledged
that in an ideal world, children would be placed
with parents of the same background and in a
non-smoking environment. However, instead of
applying blanket guidelines, adoption centres
will now assess couples on a case-by-case basis.
Very heavy smokers may continue to be barred
from adopting, but light smokers will now be
accepted. Ministers want to stop the decline in
the number of children being adopted - down from
20,000 a year in the early 1970s to just 2,000 a
year.
Source: The Mirror 28/8/98
The Sun 28/8/98
Daily Telegraph 28/9/98
UK: Sacked smoker denies he lit up in the car park.
A supervisor at a firm with a strict no-smoking
policy who was sacked for allegedly smoking a
cigarette in his car as he left at the end of a
night shift, has filed an unfair dismissal claim
against his employers. Mr John Dixon, the
night-shift supervisor who worked at Parkside
Flexible Packaging for 11 years, was shown a
security video which had recorded a flash of
light in his car. His employers said that the
"most reasonable conclusion" for the flash was
that he was lighting a cigarette. He was then
sacked. Mr Dixon denied that he was smoking but
could not account for the flash. He is
supported in his claims of unfair dismissal by
his union, the Graphical, Paper and Media Union.
Representatives of Parkside Flexible Packaging in Leeds,
which supplies packaging to the tobacco industry, declined to
comment on the case. In the UK, employers are
legally entitled to prohibit smoking in the work
place.
Source: The Times 28/8/98
The Guardian 28/8/98
Evening Standard 27/8/98
Daily Star 28/8/98
UK: Shop-owners lose L3bn to bootleggers.
A survey from Independent Retail News claims
that smuggled tobacco and alcohol have cost
independent retailers over L3 billion in the
past year. The survey of over 500 independent
retailers shows that nine out of ten store
owners believe their business has been
negatively affected by an increase in smuggling.
The survey also claims that the average independent
retailer is losing L1,293 per week and that
smuggling is costing the Government up to L1
billion in lost revenue. Commenting on the
results of the survey, ASH said that although it
highlights the problem of smuggled goods, its
results are presented as vague generalisations.
Firstly, the survey does not distinguish between
tobacco and alcohol sales, making it impossible
to identify where the financial loss is
greatest. Secondly, the survey only reveals the
lost takings for retailers, not lost net revenue
or lost profit. Of every pound spent on
cigarettes about 78 pence goes to the Treasury.
The rest is divided between the tobacco
manufacturing, distribution and retailing as
with normal business. Each pound spent on
newspapers or sweets (zero rated for VAT) goes
entirely to manufacturing, distribution and
retailing, and with other products 17.5% VAT is
deducted. Thus the actual impact for tobacco is
likely to be a quarter to a fifth of the
headline figure for lost takings (a separate
figure for tobacco was not given.) Further
allowance for politically motivated exaggeration
and special pleading should also be made.
Source: The Times 27/8/98
Independent Retail News press release 27/8/98
EASTERN EUROPE - SPECIFIC COUNTRIES
CZECH REPUBLIC: New cigarette factory?
According to the Mlada fronta Dnes newspaper, a
new cigarette factory is to start production in
the Czech Republic. Caslav-based CZ Tabak is
planning to produce the low-price Letka
cigarette brand from the middle of
September 1998. It seems that CZ Tabak is in
negotiations with foreign investors in order to
finance production equipment. In the Czech
Republic, the market leader Tabak (not
connected to CZ Tabak), has an 80% market share.
It markets international brands Marlboro and L
& M as well as the low-price national brands
Petra and Sparta (Tabak is 77% owned by Philip
Morris). British American Tobacco, which sells
the brands Pall Mall and Lucky Strike, has a
4% market share. Source: The Prague Post (XIL)
12-18 Aug 1998 p.A5 No. Language: ENGLISH No.
06672438
Source: Information Access Company 27/8/98
CZECH REPUBLIC: Tax increase planned.
The Czech Ministry of Finance is planning to
increase taxes on motor fuels and tobacco
products from 1 January 1999. Consumption tax
on tobacco products is expected to increase by
Kc 0.04 per cigarette. Source: New Europe (YVX)
16-22 Aug 1998 p.11 Language: ENGLISH No.
06672227
Source: Information Access Company 27/8/98
INTERNATIONAL - SPECIFIC COUNTRIES
USA: Blue Cross to oppose BAT merger.
US Healthcare insurance group Blue Cross and
Blue Shield, one of the groups involved in US
litigation for compensation for smokers, has
written to BAT Industries warning that it will
oppose the proposed L35 billion merger of the
group's financial services operations with
Zurich Insurance of Switzerland. Blue Cross and
Blue Shield, one of the leading US healthcare
groups, fears that the BAT and Zurich merger
will complicate its attempts to secure
compensation for policy holders suffering from
smoking-related diseases. BAT needs the
sanction of the British High Court before it can
proceed with the merger.
Source: The Independent 26/8/98
Financial Times 26/8/98
Evening Standard 25/8/98
The Guardian 26/8/98
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Produced by: Olubunmi Akinade
ASH
16 FITZHARDINGE STREET
LONDON
W1H 9PL
ENGLAND
TEL: +44 171 224 0743
FAX: +44 171 224 0471
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ASH
16 Fitzhardinge Street
London W1H 9PL
UK
Tel: 0171-224 0743
Fax: 0171-224 0471
http://www.ash.org.uk
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!# Editor: B Akinade - ASH London - mailto:ashuk@globalink.org
!# Support: R Israel - UICC - mailto:israel@globalink.org
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