European News Bulletin 9939 - 18 October 1999

[Robert Weissman <rob@essential.org>]

EUROPEAN BULLETIN EU9939 – 18 OCTOBER 1999

Headlines

Europe: 

BULGARIA: Doctor suggests 'smoking tax' to raise money for health insurance

FRANCE: Proposal to ban sale of cigarettes to under 16s 
FRANCE: Seita renews contracts with Philip Morris and Japan Tobacco
SPAIN: Tabacalera signs deal with Cuban cigar exporter
UK: Drinking and smoking among teenagers at lowest for decade
UK: BT apologises for Marlboro promotion

International

AUSTRALIA: Smoking to be banned at Sydney Olympic Games WHO appoints
experts to investigate alleged tobacco industry attempts to undermine
UN-wide tobacco control efforts


Full Text

BULGARIA: Doctor suggests smoking tax to raise money for health insurance


The head of Bulgaria’s medical association has suggested that local
cigarette-makers put 19 rather than 20 cigarettes in each pack, and use
the extra profits to help finance a national health insurance fund.
Dimitar Ignatov, head of the Physicians Union, said up to $ 60 million
could be raised each year for the fund, which is to replace the
government-subsidised health care system dating from the communist era.
The national health insurance fund is scheduled to take effect Jan. 1, but
looks likely to be delayed because of a lack of cash.


As of July 1, Bulgarians have paid up to 6 percent of their monthly income
to the fund, but that money hasn't been enough to start the scheme on
time. The new fund is supposed to pay doctors and hospitals. Ignatov said
he would present his proposal to parliament. "This will be a sort of a tax
on smoking," the paper quoted Ignatov as saying "Smokers will smoke less
and will help the sick."

Source: Associated Press, 8/10/99

 


FRANCE: Proposal to ban sale of cigarettes to under 16s

A Socialist MP has proposed a ban on the sale of cigarettes to youngsters
under the age of 16. The proposal by Alfred Recours also calls for a 20
percent increase in the price of a pack of cigarettes over the next three
to four years in order to discourage consumption. The Employment Minister
Martine Aubry, in an interview in Le Monde newspaper, said she thought 80
percent of the French would favour such a law.

Recours also recommended in his proposal that the French government sell
its minority stake in the tobacco company Seita to demonstrate its
commitment to helping French people quit smoking. The proposal also
provides for smokers to be reimbursed for medical treatment to help them
quit.

Source: Associated Press, 10/12/99




FRANCE: Seita renews contracts with Philip Morris and Japan Tobacco

Seita SA, announced that it has renewed contracts to distribute Philip
Morris and Japan Tobacco International products in France for three years
from Jan. 2000. Seita, which supplies 35,000 French tobacco shops,
generated gross margins of 135.7 million euros ($146 million) last year
from the distribution of tobacco goods, phone and parking cards.

The French company is creating France’s biggest wholesaler to convenience
stores by joining its SAF smoking, paper and telephone-goods distribution
unit with Supergroup SA, a French food-products wholesaler. Distribution
activities will remain one of the three core businesses in the Altadis
Group, to be formed by the merger of Seita and Tabacalera, with a strong
presence in France, Spain and Portugal.

Altadis aims to make global brands of its Fortuna cigarettes and Seita’s
Gauloises. It also wants to buy other names as it seeks to move beyond its
two domestic strongholds and better compete with international labels such
as Philip Morris’s Marlboro.

Source: Bloomberg News, 14/10/99



SPAIN: Tabacalera signs deal with Cuban cigar exporter

Spain’s Tabacalera SA has signed an agreement with Cuban state cigar
exporter La Corporacion Habanos SA to develop a new business venture. No
further details of the agreement were announced

This follows the recent news that Tabacalera and Frances Seita SA (F.STA)
are to conduct a 50:50 merger. The merger will be carried out on the basis
of 19 Tabacalera shares for every six Seita shares. Shares in the newly
merged group, dubbed Altadis, will be quoted on both the Paris and Madrid
stock exchanges.

Altadis will be the world’s fourth-largest tobacco group in terms of
revenue and the largest producer of cigars, with a market share of close
to 25% of world sales. Cesar Alierta Izuel, current chairman of
Tabacalera, and Seita chairman Jean-Dominique Comolli will be named
co-chairmen of the newly merged group. Comolli will be responsible for the
cigarette division while Alierta will head the cigar division.

Source: The Wall Street Journal Interactive Edition, 14/10/99


UK: Drinking and smoking among teenagers at lowest for decade


Teenage smoking and drinking have fallen to their lowest levels for more
than a decade, according to the latest bi-annual survey of 11-15 year
olds.  In England, the proportion of 11-15 year olds who were regular
smokers fell from 13 per cent in 1996 to 11 per cent in 1998. In Scotland,
there was also a fall, from 14 per cent to 12 per cent, in the proportion
of 12-15 year olds who smoke, the first decrease since 1992. However,
according to the Office for National Statistics, while the fall in smoking
prevalence is statistically significant, it may just represent a
short-term fluctuation, rather than the start of a downward trend.


The figures from the Office of National Statistics showed that, although
the numbers of smokers had dropped, girls were still more likely than boys
to take up the habit. By their mid-teens, a quarter of pupils were
regularly smoking and nearly three-quarters reported smoking more than 20
cigarettes a day.

More than half of the teenagers who regularly smoked said they would find
it difficult to go without cigarettes for a week. Smoking is the single
greatest cause of preventable illness and premature death in the country.
It is linked to more than 120,000 UK deaths a year.

The research showed that the likelihood of having ever used illegal drugs
was strongly related to smoking and drinking, with two-thirds of regular
smokers saying they had taken drugs, compared with only 1 per cent of
those who had never used tobacco.

Source: The Independent, 15/10/99, ONS press release 14/10/99



UK: BT apologises for Marlboro promotion

British Telecom has issued a public apology after supplying pagers for a
Marlboro cigarette promotion aimed at young people. BT says it made an
error of judgement and has discontinued the link. In January BT supplied
Rothmans - who were handling the promotion for Philip Morris - with a
number of pagers for a sales drive aimed at teenagers. Young people at
nightclubs were offered free cigarettes in return for their names and
addresses. They were sent glossy booklets offering them BT EasyReach
pagers in return for proof they had bought 50 packets of cigarettes. Those
who could prove they had bought 80 packets were entitled to a range of
goods such as a Nikon camera, a Sanyo CD player, a Lorus watch and White
Stuff fleece jacket.

BT has now cancelled its involvement with the promotion and several other
companies, including camera manufacturers Seiko and clothes label White
Stuff, are reviewing their participation. BT company spokesman Robert
Dunnett said: "We had been approached to supply some pagers for the
brochure and someone said yes. They shouldn’t have done. We’re sorry about
it."

Earlier last week Philip Morris launched a $100m (£63m) advertising
campaign and added a smoking and health section to its website which
referred to studies showing that smoking was addictive and caused fatal
diseases.

The controversial promotion was unearthed by investigators from the World
Health Organisation. Peter Anderson, head of the WHO’s Tobacco Free
Initiative in Europe, accused Philip Morris of being "two-faced" and
added: "They have one public message and then do the complete opposite."

Source: BBC Online, 16/10/99, The Guardian, 16/10/99





INTERNATIONAL


AUSTRALIA: Smoking to be banned at Sydney Olympic Games


Smoking will not be permitted at any venue under the control of the
Olympic organising committee during the Sydney 2000 Olympic and Paralympic
Games, except in specific outdoor areas. Such areas will be located beyond
the building lines but within accreditation zones, complying with fire
restrictions and WorkCover requirements of being located away from
building entrances, open windows and ventilation ducts.

Non smoking areas expressly include:

* in or around the stand alone facilities or amenities * on the field of
play at any venue * in the seating bowls at any venue (inclusive of
training venues)

* in any enclosed bars or restaurants at any venue or in the catering
areas of any of the villages * in any bedroom or living quarters in any of
the villages * in enclosed staff break areas * in any Olympic and
Paralympic transport vehicles * in sponsor hospitality suites

No tobacco advertising will be allowed inside Sydney 2000 Olympic and
Paralympic designated sites.

No tobacco products will be sold at any Olympic or Paralympic designated
site. Exceptions may be made at areas other than those listed above, if
the Board determines in its absolute discretion, having regard to the
principles of this non smoking policy, but the presumption will be against
exceptions.

Source: Simon Chapman, University of Sydney 12/10/99 via Globalink.



WHO appoints experts to investigate alleged tobacco industry attempts to
undermine UN-wide tobacco control efforts


WHO Director-General Dr Gro Harlem Brundtland has called for an inquiry
into the nature and extent of tobacco industry influence over UN
organisations. The WHO said that documentary evidence points to a
systematic and global effort by the tobacco industry to undermine tobacco
control policy and research and development within the United Nations (UN)
family, including its Member States, and within the academic and NGO
communities.

While the full extent of the tobacco industry’s negative impact within the
UN is not known, an initial analysis shows clear efforts to prevent
implementation of healthy public policy and efforts to reduce funding of
tobacco control within UN organisations, with a view to safeguarding the
tobacco industry’s interests.

Dr Brundtland said: "WHO is deeply concerned about the nature of the
evidence in the 35 million documents that have now become available in the
public domain (as a result of the Minnesota, United States court case)."
In October 1998, she told a seminar on "Industry Disclosures and Public
Health" that WHO would examine the emerging evidence with great interest
to ascertain the next steps.


Dr Brundtland said the WHO had appointed Dr Thomas Zeltner, a member of
WHO Executive Board, to lead a committee of independent experts to review
available documents and report to WHO before it considers next steps. "I
make this decision in the spirit of full and complete transparency, but
above all, in the service of public health," said Dr Brundtland.


Source: WHO Press Release, 12 October 1999



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