[Intl-tobacco] European News Bulletin - EU0011 - 20 March 2000 (fwd)

[Robert Weissman]

EUROPEAN BULLETIN EU0011 =96 20 March 2000

Headlines

BULGARIA: Extension granted for Bulgartabac sell-off

DENMARK: Government to launch cancer plan

FINLAND: Smoking restrictions to be recommended

IRELAND: Cancer and heart death toll still too high
ISRAEL: Clalit files complaint against cigarette importers
RUSSIA: Bulgartabac opens factory in Russia

SPAIN: Government outlines plans to implement tobacco ad ban

INTERNATIONAL

SOUTH KOREA: Testimony gets underway in nation=92s first tobacco lawsuit


Full Text

BULGARIA: Extension granted for Bulgartabac sell-off

Bulgaria=92s Privatisation Agency has extended the deadline for bids for a
51% stake in Bulgaria=92s state-owned tobacco and cigarette maker,
Bulgartabac Holding, until 28 April. Three companies have already sent
letters expressing interest in the sale of Bulgartabac. They are the US
cigarette maker Phillip Morris, British Gallaher and Reemtsma of Germany.

Under the privatisation scheme, a 51% stake in the tobacco major will be
sold to a strategic investor. The deposit for participation is 1 million
euros. The government expects that the deal will fetch up to $150 million.

A 34% stake will be sold directly to a strategic investor with experience
in the tobacco and cigarette-making business. Another 17% will be sold to
the same strategic investor under certain conditions and frozen in a
special account for 6 to 12 months until the buyer fulfils all the
conditions required by the contract. The state will also keep a so-called
"golden share" to have a veto on decisions about Bulgartabac=92s future.
Bulgartabac has a 96% market share in Bulgaria. Its 1999 preliminary
profit was 60 million leva, compared with 36 million in 1998.

(1 euro =3D 1.95583 leva)

Source: Bridge News 15 March 2000



DENMARK: Government to launch cancer plan

The Danish Minister of Health, Sonja Mikkelsen, is to launch a plan with
the aim of reducing the number of cancer cases and cancer mortality in
Denmark. The number of cancer cases is expected to increase to nearly
30,000 a year by 2010 from the present 27,000, and mortality rates among
cancer patients is higher in Denmark than in other Nordic countries. The
plan includes measures to reduce smoking. The Government states that if a
30% reduction is achieved, the number of lung cancer deaths will be
reduced by 1,000 a year. To achieve this, the Government has asked
regional councils to produce a three-year plan, including measures to help
people stop smoking.

Source: Jyllands-Posten (JYP) via the Gale Group, 03 Mar 2000



FINLAND: Smoking restrictions to be recommended

The Finnish Ministry of Social Affairs and Health has drafted a programme
recommending that areas which are meant for children should be non-smoking
areas. The restriction would include places such as schools, day-care
centres, sports fields and other similar outdoors areas. A pilot scheme in
some Finnish municipalities will be conducted during the coming months.
The recommendations will be posted to all municipalities in autumn 2000. =
=20
The programme recommends that people who work with children and youngsters
should not smoke at all, or at least not during the working day.

Source: Helsingin Sanomat (XFB) via The Gale Group, 09 Mar 2000


IRELAND: Cancer and heart death toll still too high

Premature deaths from cancer and heart disease remain higher in Ireland
than other European countries, according to the Chief Medical Officer=92s
annual report.  Dr James Kiely=92s report says that Ireland has the second
highest rate in the EU for deaths from cancer among women. Denmark ranks
the highest and Greece the lowest. For men, Ireland scores sixth highest
in the EU for deaths from cancer.

The report also revealed that there tends to be greater illness rates
among the less well-off. The economically disadvantaged have poorer access
to health services and there are substantial variations in the provision
of diagnostic, therapeutic and rehabilitation services for heart disease,
according to the report.

Although death rates from cardiovascular disease in Ireland have declined,
it is clear more can be done, Dr Kiely said. "Other countries such as the
US, Australia and Finland which had higher death rates than Ireland in the
1960s now have lower levels," he said.

Dr Kiely=92s report also expressed concern about the levels of smoking,
alcohol intake, fat consumption and sedentary lifestyles in young people.

Source: Irish Independent, Friday, 17/3/00




ISRAEL: Clalit files complaint against cigarette importers

Clalit Health Services has filed a complaint with the Israel Police
against the importers of Marlboro, Pall Mall, Kent, and Magnum cigarettes
for advertising gimmicks it says are a serious violation of the 1983 law
restricting tobacco advertising. The importers are likely to be questioned
and could be arrested.

In an effort to promote cigarette sales, the importers are holding
sweepstakes with such prizes as a recreational vehicle and a flight to Las
Vegas. The Marlboro ads invite people to send in two empty cigarette packs
or to call a Telemesser number to join the lottery, which Clalit lawyers
say is a violation of the 1983 law making marketing tobacco products by
offering a chance to participate in a lottery illegal.

The penalty is a fine totalling four times the monetary benefit of the
advertising - a very substantial sum, since many thousands of smokers are
participating in the lotteries and other gimmicks.

The Clalit Health Fund has taken an activist approach against smoking, and
is already involved in a NIS 7.6 billion lawsuit against cigarette
manufacturers here and abroad as compensation for the medical services it
provides to smokers who contracted cancer, heart disease, respiratory
diseases, and other disorders.

Source: Jerusalem Post, Tuesday, 3/14/00




RUSSIA: Bulgartabac opens factory in Russia

Bulgaria=92s Bulgartabac has announced the opening of its biggest factory i=
n
Russia. The new factory in Sochi is the biggest investment by the
Bulgarian tobacco major in Russia. Bulgartabac already has three cigarette
factories in Russia, plus one in Ukraine and one in Romania.

The new factory is a Russian-Bulgarian joint venture, 77% of which will be
controlled by Bulgartabac=92s Plovdiv BT factory and 23% by the Russian
International Tobacco Corporation. The capacity of the new venture is
10,000 tonnes cigarettes annually which makes up 3-4% of the local market.

Source: Bridge News 15 March 2000





SPAIN: Government outlines plans to implement tobacco ad ban

The Spanish government has announced the programme for the implementation
of a ban on tobacco advertising in accordance with the EU Directive.
Advertising through mass media such as TV, radio and press will be banned
in year 2002. This will be followed by a ban on indirect tobacco
advertising, eg via clothing products, in the year 2003 and a total ban
all tobacco sponsorship and promotion by year 2006. Losses in the
advertising sector caused by these measures from 2000 to 2002 have been
valued at Pta 37,393mn, of which Pta 7,959mn will be incurred by the
State, and Pta 3,000mn by the sport sponsorship sector.  Job losses in
advertising agencies are expected to amount to 420 employees.

Source, La Gaceta de los Negocios (ZDA) via The Gale Group, 07 Mar 2000



INTERNATIONAL


SOUTH KOREA: Testimony gets underway in nation=92s first tobacco lawsuit

The Seoul District Court has begun hearing testimonies in the nation=92s
first tobacco lawsuit, filed by 31 sick smokers and their families against
the state and the state-run Korea Tobacco and Ginseng Corp.

A 57-year-old man suffering from terminal lung cancer, identified only as
Kim, and five other smokers and their families filed the lawsuit last
December, seeking 307 million won ($260,000) in state compensation for
smoking-related illnesses.

In his testimony, Kim claimed that smoking for 37 years had resulted in
his diagnosis last year with terminal lung cancer. He accused the
state-run tobacco company of failing to remove cancer-causing ingredients
such as nicotine and tar from its cigarettes, and of not adequately
warning consumers of the health hazards of smoking.

Bae Keum-ja, one of a group of lawyers representing the plaintiffs,
presented medical reports from the United States, Britain and Japan as
evidence of the links between smoking and lung cancer. She also made an
application to inspect the Korea Ginseng & Tobacco Research Institute in
Taejon.

"An investigation of the facility would allow us to gather compelling
evidence of the dangers of smoking, such as data on harmful ingredients
like tar and nicotine, inspection data on new tobacco products and
statistics on nicotine content," Bae said.

The lawyers=92 group also requested the right to collect medical records
from hospitals where lung cancer patients are diagnosed, and to take court
testimony from plaintiffs in advance. The group said many of the
plaintiffs are terminally ill and might not live to see the end of the
trial.


Source: Korea Herald, Saturday, March 11, 2000



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