European Bulletin - 23 August 1999 (fwd)

[Robert Weissman <rob@essential.org>]

Globalink's EUROPEAN BULLETIN     EU9930 – 23 AUGUST 1999
 
Headlines
 
Europe: ‘Man in Black’ court ruling published
POLAND: Polish man sues cigarette makers for US$ 2.5 million 
ROMANIA:  Ban on tobacco sales to minors 
RUSSIA: Russia to Raise Tobacco Tax 
 

International
CHINA: Cigarettes Smugglers Sentenced 
EGYPT:  Expenditure on tobacco rising
PAKISTAN: Lahore to ban smoking in public places soon
USA: California Suit Asks Tobacco Companies To Warn Non-Smokers
USA: Navajo Nation Sues Eight Tobacco Companies
 

Full Text
 
 
 
 
 
EUROPE: Full text of court ruling  of ‘Man in Black’ case
 
The full text of the judgement of the Court of Justice in the case of  the ‘Man in Black’ has been published.  The Enlightened Tobacco Company attempted to circumvent EU regulations by employing an agent – ‘the Man in Black’ - to buy tobacco goods in low tax European countries and sell them to UK consumers, thus avoiding excise duties payable in the UK.   However the Court ruled that this breached EU regulations and that the ‘Man in Black’, as a professional carrier, did not have the same rights as individual consumers who visit other Member states in person and purchase goods themselves.   
 
Case ref no. C-296/95  Court of Justice of the European Community
Source: Spicer’s centre for Europe via NewsEdge, 9 Aug. 1999  
 

POLAND: Polish man sues cigarette makers for US$ 2.5 million 
 
A man, whose mother died of lung cancer, has filed suit against a
Philip Morris factory in Poland and another cigarette maker for
US$ 2.5 million.  The plaintiff blames Philip Morris Polska S.A. and Tobacco Industry Works in the central city of Radom for his mother's death. Judge Andrzej Almert said the plaintiff is demanding 10 million zlotys in compensation, arguing his mother smoked Marlboro cigarettes as well as Popularne, a Polish brand made in Radom.  Almert was sceptical about the plaintiff's chances of receiving any compensation.  “I have heard that in the United States people win such cases, but that's a different law, a different procedure and a different mentality,”  the judge said.

Source: Associated Press, 18/8/99
 

ROMANIA:  Ban on tobacco sales to minors 
 
The government has announced the banning of the sale of tobacco to under 18s, in an attempt to crack down on child smoking.  Tobacconists face fines of between 500,000-5,000,000 lei ($31-$312) for breaking the new law, which obliges them to publicise the ban in their premises, officials said. “We have many children sick with tuberculosis who continue to smoke despite our advice, even in hospital,” said Bucharest hospital chief Mihaela Petrea.  Some 20 percent of 10 to 14-year-olds in Romania are smokers, while 50 percent of street children smoke from the age of five, according to World Health Organization (WHO) data which show that seven Romanians die of lung cancer every day. 
 
Source:  Agence France Presse 17/8/99 
 

RUSSIA: Russia to Raise Tobacco Tax 
 
Russia, where 280 billion cigarettes are smoked every year, is planning to
target the tobacco industry, a main beneficiary of the rouble’s 70 percent
decline in the past year, by increasing tobacco taxes. A proposal before
Russia's lower house of parliament would boost the tobacco excise tax charged to
producers by 20 percent, helping raise about 1.2 billion roubles ($48.7 million),
as well as require producers to pay for excise stamps, which would save the
government about 90 million roubles.
 
Source: Bloomberg News 17/8/99
 

International
 

CHINA: Cigarettes Smugglers Sentenced 
 
A court in the city of Taizhou in east China's Zhejiang Province has handed out sentences ranging from seven years to life imprisonment to 28 people convicted of cigarette smuggling.
 

Source: Xinhua News Agency,  NewsEdge, 18/8/99
 

EGYPT:  Expenditure on tobacco rising 
 
Egyptians spent 4.8 billion Egyptian pounds (US$ 1.4 billion) on cigarettes and water-pipe tobacco this year, up from 4.5 billion Egyptian pounds (US$ 1.1 billion) in 1997.
The state received some 3.8 billion Egyptian pounds (US$ one billion) in taxes on the products.  
Egypt has banned smoking on some of its national carrier's flights, in Cairo's underground, and in the opera house, cinemas and theatres. Several ministries, though not all, have banned smoking in the offices. 
 
The moves to limit smoking, however, have obviously not decreased citizens' smoking habits. Many believe smoking helps beat stress.  “It is like a baby's pacifier,” said Ahmed Bahgat, a famed columnist for daily al-Ahram newspaper.  “People smoke because of the problems they have,” added Bahgat, who said he has cut his smoking from four packs a day to half a pack. Asked what he would do if he quit smoking but still faced work-related stress, he answered,  “I will smoke a pipe.” 
 
Source: AP World News via NewsEdge Corporation, 18/8/99
 

PAKISTAN: Lahore to ban smoking in public places soon
 
The Punjab government is introducing a law banning smoking at public places and government offices. The Punjab Prohibition of Smoking Bill has been approved by the provincial legislature's Standing Committee on Home Affairs and is set to be moved in the Punjab Assembly. The draft bill proposes a ban on tobacco use in any form, including smoking. It provides for an on-the-spot fine, up to Rs 500, on violators. It also places a restriction on the sale of cigarettes to people below 18 years of age in order to discourage smoking, particularly among students. Youngsters not having identity cards will not be sold cigarettes.
 
Source: DAWN Group of Newspapers 10 Aug. 1999, Tobacco BBS
 

USA: California Suit Asks Tobacco Companies To Warn Non-Smokers
 
California state prosecutors argued in court that Philip Morris and 15 other tobacco companies should be barred from selling cigarettes in California until they provide clear warnings about the dangers of secondhand smoke. The state is asking for a court order that would require tobacco companies to pay for advertised warnings of the health risks of secondhand smoke to non-smokers. The companies would also be required to notify physicians and nurses throughout the state. The case is based on Proposition 65, adopted by voters in 1986, which requires businesses with more than 10 employees to post warnings about chemicals that may cause cancer or reproductive problems. The arguments were made as part of three consolidated suits scheduled to go to court February 25.
 
Source: Philip Morris, Others Asked To Give Non-Smokers Clear Warnings, Bloomberg News, August 11, 1999 (SCARCNet Daily News Bulletin, 12/8/99)
 

USA: Navajo Nation Sues Eight Tobacco Companies
 
Navajo Nation, the largest Indian tribe in the US, has filed a complaint in the Navajo court alleging that tobacco companies deceived Navajo consumers about the dangers of smoking cigarettes and overburdened their health care system. Eight tobacco companies, including Philip Morris and R.J. Reynolds, are mentioned in the complaint. Navajo Nation attorney general Levon Henry said,  “This is about protecting our Navajo youth from a campaign targeted toward them.”  The number of Navajo high school students who smoked regularly rose from 29 percent in 1992 to 47.5 percent in 1997, according to a lawyer representing the Navajo.
 
Source: Navajo Nation Sues Tobacco Industry, Associated Press, August 11, 1999. (SCARCNet Daily News Bulletin, 12/8/99)
 

 
Amanda Sandford
Research Manager
ASH
102 Clifton Street
LONDON  EC2A 4HW
tel: 0171 739 5902
fax: 0171 613 0531