European Bulletin EU9838 - 12 October 1998 (fwd)

[Robert Weissman <rob@essential.org>]

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!#  GLOBALink Tobacco - Weekly European News Bulletin
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EUROPEAN NEWS BULLETIN -EU9838 12 OCTOBER 1998
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CONTENTS:

EUROPE

DENMARK: All airlines smoke-free.
FRANCE: RJ Reynolds sued for indirect advertising
FRANCE: SEITA’s goals.
GREECE: EU Court to examine Greek pricing policy.
SWEDEN: Authorities examine tax-free snuff sales.

INTERNATIONAL

CUBA: Cigar production is up.
MEXICO: Smoking increase.
SAUDI ARABIA: Ban on foreign publications carrying tobacco ads.
USA: Teen smoking increases in 1990s.

EUROPE - SPECIFIC COUNTRIES


DENMARK: All airlines smoke-free.

>From  the  beginning  of  1999,  all  Danish airlines  will be smoke-free,
including  domestic as well as foreign routes.

Source: Information Access Company 08/10/98



FRANCE:  RJ Reynolds sued for indirect advertising.

In a landmark, case, French representatives of the US tobacco company, RJ
Reynolds, have been found guilty of indirect advertising.   In the first
case of its kind in France, the Paris County court ruled that RJ Reynolds
had breached the French law which bans tobacco advertising.  The case was
brought by the French tobacco control organisation, CNCT.  Until this case,
CNCT had successfully sued the media and
advertising agencies for indirect tobacco advertising but had not been able
to prove that the tobacco industry was behind the advertisements.  This
situation changed
following a complaint about a Winston Spirit ad.  The headquarters of RJ
Reynolds were raided and police found a document by theRJR subsidiary,
Worldwide Brands, which set out plans for the circumvention of advertising
bans in European countries by using indirect ads such as Camel Boots, etc.
It is expected that RJ Reynolds
will appeal against the ruling but for the moment this is an important
victory for CNCT and tobacco control.

Source: Correspondence from CNCT, 5/10/98



GREECE: EU Court to examine Greek pricing policy.

The European Court of Justice has been asked to rule on the system for
pricing tobacco products in Greece following an allegation by the European
Commission that the country is violating a EU Directive that insists on
prices being freely determined. Specifically, the Commission is asking the
Court to find that ‘by adopting and maintaining in force legislative
provisions which require minimum retail selling prices for manufactured
tobacco to be fixed by ministerial decisions, (Greece) has not complied with
its obligations under Article 9 of directive 95/59/EC’. Greece has until the
end of September to offer its defence to the Court.

Source: World Tobacco September 98



SWEDEN: Authorities examine tax-free snuff sales.

Is snuff a food product or a tobacco product?  This is the question
bewildering the tax authorities in Ludvika, Sweden. The matter has its
origins in a Swedish citizen, living in the town of Landskrona, who is
selling snuff through his  homepage along with various food products.  He
buys the snuff from the ferries servicing the SkVne (Sweden) and
Rostock/Travem nde (Germany) routes. In Germany, he re-packs the snuff in
stocks of ten boxes of snuff for transport back to Sweden where he sells it
cheaper than at Swedish tobacconists.  He claims that it is quite legal for
private persons to buy snuff abroad for their own consumption on the grounds
that the EU classifies snuff as a food product.  According to Philip
Stenvall, who is dealing with tobacco and alcohol matters at the special tax
office in Ludvika, the Swedish tobacco act forbids the import of snuff from
other EU countries for business purposes. The final decision in the matter
is expected to be published soon.

Source: Information Access Service 08/10/98


INTERNATIONAL

CUBA: Cigar production is up.

According to forecasts, cigar production in Cuba is expected to increase
over 60% in 1998 compared with 1997. This rise is due to several factors:
the  government’s  policy favouring tobacco workers and giving land back to
growers; the stability of fertiliser supplies; and international financing
to support crops and harvests.

Source: Information Access Company 08/10/98


SAUDI ARABIA: Ban on foreign publications.

A Saudi government ban on the sale of some foreign publications carrying
cigarette advertisements has come into full effect and the authorities are
now considering extending the ban, according to officials of the Ministry of
Information. The current ban covers foreign publications that target young
people and women, and that cover subjects such as sport issues and the arts.
The ban does not cover ‘political publications’, but the ministry officials
said more foreign newspaper and magazines could be included later.

Source: World Tobacco, September 98


MEXICO: Smoking Increases.

An increase, albeit a small one, is projected for cigarette consumption in
Mexico this year, according to an estimate prepared early in the year by the
agricultural attaché at the US embassy in Mexico City. The estimate projects
a rise of 0.19 billion to 47.18 billion. Although less than half of 1%, this
increase has significance because consumption in Mexico has been on a
downward trend for several years.

Source: World Tobacco September 1998


US: Teenage Smoking Increase in 1990s.

More US teenagers have been taking up the smoking habit in the 1990s
according to  new statistics released by the Centres for Disease Control and
Prevention. More than 6,000 children under the age of 18 try a cigarette
each day, and half of those become daily smokers, according to a CDC report
assessing adolescent smoking trends from 1988 to 1996. About 1.3 million
teens under 18 became daily smokers in 1996, compared with 708,000 in 1988,
according to the report. At least 4.5 million teens between the ages of 12
and 17 smoke cigarettes, the CDC said.

Source: Wall Street Journal Europe 9/10/98












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