[GLOBALink-nbeu] European Bulletin EU9902 (fwd)

[Robert Weissman <rob@essential.org>]

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!#  GLOBALink Tobacco - Weekly European News Bulletin
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                EUROPEAN BULLETIN - EU9902 18TH JANUARY 1999
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CONTENTS:

EUROPE:

DENMARK: National Programme against smoking.
FINLAND: Lung cancer victim loses Appeal against tobacco companies.
GERMANY: New tobacco product launches.
NORWAY: CD ROM in the fight to give up smoking.
NORWAY: The number of smokers on the rise.
SWEDEN: Smoking is declining among pregnant women. 
UK: BAT joins forces with Rothmans in $8.67 billion deal.

INTERNATIONAL:

MACAU: All cigarette advertisements banned.
VIETNAM: Rothmans wins copyright case.


EUROPE

DENMARK: National programme against smoking.

The Danish Government is to introduce a national anti-smoking programme this
year. The programme will continue over the next ten years. The aim is to
help smokers stop  smoking as well as to reduce the number of new smokers,
said the Health Minister Carsten  Koch.  He said hospitals would play an
important role in this programme, and that hospitals, day nurseries and
other public institutions should introduce non-smoking policies.

Source: Information Access Company 30/12/98


FINLAND: Lung cancer victim loses Appeal against tobacco companies.

Helsinki Court of Appeal has rejected a damages claim against the Finnish
tobacco companies Suomen Tupakka Oy (now called British American Tobacco
Nordic Oy) and Oy Rettig Ab. Pentti Aho  had demanded Fmk 500,000 million
(US $100,000 million) after contracting laryngeal and lung cancer.  After
his death, his relatives and three other smokers demanded that the companies
should be sued for aggravated assault. According to the Court of Appeal, the
causal connection between the actions of tobacco companies and the diseases
was not sufficient to prove liability. The Court heard that the tobacco
companies had not revealed the harmful effects of smoking and had tried to
mislead consumers.  The lawsuit has lasted for more than ten years.
Representatives of Aho are to take the case to the Supreme Court.

Source: Information Access Company 02/01/99


GERMANY: New tobacco product launches.

Tobacco companies have rejected suggestions that the EU ban on tobacco
advertising  was the motive behind the record number of new product launches
on the German  tobacco market in 1998. Instead, Reemtsma Cigarettenfabriken
of Hamburg, which introduced most new products, and RJ. Reynolds Tobacco
GmbH of Cologne, say that the marketing of tobacco products has become more
target group-oriented. Reemtsma and Philip Morris of Munich also justify the
new products on the basis that they are brand extensions. 

Source: Information Access Company 26/11/98


NORWAY: CD ROM in the fight to give up smoking.

Per Schioldborg, a health psychologist and member of the State Tobacco
Damage Council, has launched an interactive give-up-smoking course on CD
ROM. The CD ROM gives advice on giving up smoking and also provides medical
information as well as advice on how to use nicotine patches. The producers
of the CD ROM, the Swiss pharmaceutical company, Novartis, and the
companies MultiMedic and Boxer Technologies claim the “Finally Free”
give-up-smoking course is the first of its kind in the world.

Source: Information Access Company 29/12/98


NORWAY: The number of smokers on the rise.

Norway is reported to have the highest number of adult smokers at 34% of the
population compared with the other European countries and the number of
smokers is on the rise among adults and young people.  Norway’s neighbouring
country, Sweden, on the other hand, has done much better in anti-smoking
efforts and managed  to become the first country in the world to reach the
WHO’s target of less than 20% habitual smokers of the total population by
the year 2000. According  to Sidsel Graff-Iversen, who is head of the State
Health Surveys and a member of the Tobacco Damage Council, this is due to
cultural differences between Norway and Sweden; Norwegians do not respond
well to authorities’ requests but wish to remain more independent whereas
Swedes are more inclined to abide by expert advice. Kjell Bjartveit, who is
head of  the  State  Tobacco Damage Council, says the key to the Swedish
success is the activity of voluntary organisations across the country in
anti-smoking  programmes.  Furthermore,  Norwegian politicians are accused
of being sluggish in their contributions to preventative measures. The
Tobacco Damage Council will now prioritise efforts at local government level
and pilot projects are under way in three municipalities.

Source: Information Access Company 02/01/99


SWEDEN: Smoking declining among pregnant women.

The  latest  statistics  regarding  smoking habits among pregnant women and
parents  of small children by the Central Statistical Office in Sweden show
that smoking among pregnant women is on the decline. There has been a 13%
decline in the percentage of women who smoke during pregnancy from 28% in
1987 to 15%  in 1997. Furthermore, women are now less likely to start
smoking again once the baby is born.  Even smoking among fathers is
declining. Lisen Sylwan of the Swedish Cancer Fund believes this decline has
to do with the anti-smoking efforts by the Swedish maternity and child
health care services. Fathers seem to be more motivated to give up smoking
only after the baby is born whereas women tend to give up smoking once they
know they are pregnant. According to statistics, pregnant women under the
age of 25 and women who do not live with the baby’s father are the ones who
smoke most.  Differences in smoking habits have grown bigger between
different social groups: for example, women from socially less favoured
conditions tend to smoke more than others.

Source: Information Access Company 29/12/98


UK: BAT joins forces with Rothmans in $8.67 billion deal.

In a transaction that could signal the start of a wave of consolidation in
the global tobacco sector, British American Tobacco plc (BAT) and Rothmans
International BV - the world’s second and fourth largest international
cigarette makers respectively - announced plans to merge, in a deal
currently valued at £5.28 billion ($8.67 billion). If approved by regulatory
authorities, the merger will create a powerful new company, with a combined
annual volume of over 900 billion cigarettes. “Clearly this is the most
significant [corporate] development in the tobacco sector in decades,” said
David Adelman an analyst at Morgan Stanley in New York.  The deal brings the
new BAT close to market leader Philip Morris in terms of market share, while
at the same time allowing the firm to cut costs, increase its profit margins
and expand its reach in emerging markets. Hailing the deal, Martin
Broughton, BAT’s chief executive, declared: “BAT is now the market leader in
emerging markets.” The merger means the new company can claim over 16% of
the estimated global market of around 5.5 trillion cigarettes, compared with
Philip Morris’s 17 % share. The merger provides access to markets in Africa
and Asia, and opens the door to the UK market, where its share immediately
went from almost nothing to 14%. BAT’s shares surged 16%, or 84 pence, to
£6.25 on the London Stock Exchange. Rothmans parent company saw its shares
increase by 11% on the Zurich Stock Exchange. Together, BAT - as the merged
company will be called - can cut costs through joint sales and distribution
networks. Officials estimate savings at up to £250 million annually after
the third year; merger costs are expected to be £400 million. A reduction in
the 70,000 combined workforce is also expected.

Source: Wall Street Journal Europe, 12/01/99


INTERNATIONAL

MACAU: All cigarette advertisements banned.
 
The Macau government has banned all cigarette advertisements, including
those on television as well as in newspapers, effective from 1 January 1999.
A cigarette producer said the government should follow the Hong Kong
government’s move to leave some  room for cigarette producers to place
advertisements in newspapers.

Source: Information Access Company 25/12/98


VIETNAM: Rothmans wins copyright case.

Ho Chi Minh City court in Vietnam has found the Ben Tre tobacco company
guilty of infringing the copyright law by producing cigarettes bearing the
Samson brand name,  a registered Rothmans’ logo and design trademark.
Rothmans entered the Vietnamese market in early 1994.  Its trademark and
logo were copied by Ben Tre Company.

Source: Information Access Company 30/11/98 - 06/12/98

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