Altria’s Earnings Rely On Growth In Smokeless Products

Contrary to the cigarettes market, smokeless products’ volume in the U.S. has been growing over the last couple of years. A large portion of the consumer base for these products consists of smokers who are switching with the belief that it is a less harmful alternative to cigarette smoking. Smokeless products are also subject to far lower excise duties compared to cigarettes, leading to cheaper prices. The market size for smokeless products in the U.S. was around 1.33 billion packs/cans in 2011.
Altria’s smokeless products segment’s 2012 third-quarter and nine-month net revenues increased 2.6% and 2.8%, respectively, primarily due to higher pricing and higher volume, which partially offset by unfavorable mix due to growth of lower priced products.

How cigarette design can affect youth initiation into smoking: Camel cigarettes

Data extraction: A web based index search of documents targeting "smoothness" or "harshness" and "younger adult smokers" ("YAS") or "first usual brand younger adult smokers" ("FUBYAS") in the 10 year period surrounding the introduction of the "Smooth Character" campaign was used to identify Camel related product design research projects. A snowball methodology was used: initial documents were identified by focusing on key words, codes, researchers, committees, meetings, and gaps in overall chronology; a second set of documents was culled from these initial documents, and so on. 

Data synthesis: Product design research led to the introduction of redesigned Camel cigarettes targeted to younger adult males coinciding with the "Smooth Character" campaign. Further refinements in Camel cigarettes during the following five year period continued to emphasise the smoothness of the cigarette, utilising additives and blends which reduced throat irritation but increased or retained nicotine impact. 

Conclusions: Industry competition for market share among younger adult smokers may have contributed to the reversal of a decline in youth smoking rates during the late 1980s through development of products which were more appealing to youth smokers and which aided in initiation by reducing harshness and irritation.

Reynolds has a ball in NC

This week, North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory is ringing in the new Republican administration with a series of events including a Gala Presentation and Inaugural Ball -- events that share a common sponsor: tobacco giant Reynolds American.
Winston-Salem, N.C.-based Reynolds American Inc. is the parent company of R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co., as well as three other tobacco-related companies, and it is a longtime powerhouse in North Carolina politics.
In 2012, Reynolds continued to flex its political muscle, with the company and its people using a variety of avenues to help McCrory and other Republicans.

No Proof Electronic Cigarettes Combat Addiction

Selvaggia Gurrieri bought her electronic cigarette nearly two months ago and says it has helped her cut down on cigarettes. "I use it in places where I cannot smoke like in restaurants and at the movies and it has helped me cut down on the amount of cigarettes I smoke." However she now "smokes" in bed too, her non-smoking partner, added.
Another Roman, Marco Guerrieri, bought his first electronic cigarette three months ago and says he has already recouped the $100 approximate cost he spent on it as he has gone from smoking about 20 cigarettes to only five a day. "I don't know if it has really become a fashion yet but people know what it is now. I use it at the movies, at restaurants, in the airports and on planes...and nobody has once stopped me mistaking the vapor for smoke."
'I gave my girlfriend's father one for Christmas but he tried it for a day and gave it up. It was too complicated for him and too hard for him to switch now from the traditional cigarette."
Ray Story, CEO of The Tobacco Vapor Electronic Cigarette Association, said there was no proof e-cigarettes had ever harmed anyone and that attacks on e-cigarettes were more about protecting revenues than public health, according to ABCNews.com.
"In Italy, tobacco is sold through government stores. That old Mafioso-type environment protects its own," he said.
Story said e-cigarettes don't claim to help people quit smoking.
"Yes, nicotine is addictive, like caffeine and sugar. We're not in the non-addictive business. We cater to someone who is already a smoker. Starbucks sells coffee; Coca-Cola sells cola. Both have caffeine. But e-cigarettes deliver nicotine in the cleanest way," he said.
Regarding the Health Ministry's recommendation that electric cigarettes not be given to young people, Story said: "Not giving them to young people is common sense. … We have age verification on our products."
He scoffed at the concern that the use of this gadget could lead young people to graduate from these devices to smoking real cigarettes. "Yeah, and virgin daiquiris make people alcoholics. It's absolutely inaccurate; there's no proof," Story said.

Homeless people get cigarettes for Christmas

The charity, called Omsorgsjul - Hemlösa (Care Christmas - the Homeless) has organized traditional Christmas smorgasbords in Norrköping for the past 17 years.

At this year's Christmas party, the charity handed out gifts like hats, warm clothes and boxes of chocolate to the homeless and other vulnerable people who attended the festivities. The guests also received a pack of cigarettes each.

"There would be an outcry if they didn't receive their cigarettes," Lennart Cederberg, head of the charity, told the local Folkbladet newspaper.

"It has become a tradition and, moreover, many of them are sick and they must have this," Cederberg said, adding that the 150 packs handed out this year were light cigarettes.

Lena Sjöberg, president of Dentistry Against Tobacco said handing out cigarettes "sends the wrong signal", according to .

"I think it is in the human interest to try to inspire people to take up more healthy habits, and giving cigarettes as Christmas presents is not the right way forward," said Sjöberg.

"Only the tobacco industry needs tobacco. Besides, the government has decided that we should try and reduce tobacco use among those who smoke the most, including the homeless."
The Local.
Asked if he thinks handing out cigarettes sends "the wrong signal", Cederberg replied: "These people are our friends whom we care about and in this context the cigarettes aren't that dangerous. They smoke all the time anyway."

"They have smoked for a long time. We can't take that away from them. The most important thing is that we don't hand out alcohol and money."

He said the recipients keep calm by smoking and that those who complain about the unorthodox Christmas gift should instead focus on the real problem, which is homelessness.

"Come and help them and make sure they receive accommodation instead of whining," Cederberg urged.

"Some of these people have to go into communal garbage rooms to smoke. The cigarettes help them stay awake and keep them from freezing to death."

None of the charity's donors have complained about the cigarette gifts. If they do, said Cederberg, the charity would have to rethink its policy.

"Otherwise we will continue handing out cigarettes at the Christmas party," he stated.

Tobacco vendor goes back to court

An unusual case is unfolding in a small courtroom in rural Nova Scotia that could have serious implications for anti-smoking legislation in the province and possibly across the country.
The drama, which pits the owner of a small family business against government, has been quietly simmering for four years.
It was 2008 when Bob Gee, owner of Mader’s Tobacco Store in Kentville, was first charged with illegal storage and display of tobacco products.
After numerous delays, the 68-year-old Gee successfully argued in court in 2010 that the province’s legislation banning the point-of-sale display of tobacco products is an infringement of his constitutional right to freedom of expression.
Part 2 of his case began Tuesday in Kentville provincial court, where a Justice Department lawyer must prove that the infringement on Gee’s charter rights is reasonable and justified in a free and democratic society.
“I’m feeling positive about it,” Gee said in an interview before the court proceedings. “I think things look good for us.’’
Gee, whose family has owned and managed the small retail business on Aberdeen Street for the past 45 years, would like to retire and leave the store to his son, Jeff. But the court case has delayed his retirement.
He has always argued that tobacco is a legal product in Nova Scotia and that he wants the freedom to conduct business without government interference.
Gee was charged under the province’s Tobacco Access Act, which prohibits the display of tobacco products in a store. After several court appearances, the Crown stayed those charges to allow Gee to comply with amendments to the legislation permitting customers to shop using an in-store catalogue.
Gee refused to comply and was charged again in 2009. He has removed tobacco products from his store window but still prominently displays them behind the counter in what anti-smoking advocates refer to as a marketing power wall.
His charter battle is the only legal challenge in Canada against legislation banning the display of tobacco products, and it could set a precedent.
Curtis Palmer, Gee’s lawyer, is asking Judge Claudine MacDonald to rule that the legislation is invalid.
If he wins, it could throw the province’s anti-smoking strategy into disarray at a time when most provinces and many western countries have moved toward similar legislation banning tobacco displays, according to The Chronicle Herald.
Ed Gorse, a lawyer for the provincial Justice Department, said the case is important to the province.
“It’s important in terms of protecting people from point-of-sale display and advertising of tobacco products.”
In the absence of laws regulating them, retail displays are the most prevalent form of tobacco advertising that young people and former smokers are exposed to, said Rob Cunningham, a lawyer and policy analyst for the Canadian Cancer Society, in an interview outside court Tuesday.
“This legislation reduces smoking, especially among youth, and we strongly support it,” said Cunningham. “We believe it’s essential for the legislation to remain constitutional.”
Dr. Robert Strang, Nova Scotia’s chief medical officer, testified that the ban on point-of-sale displays is one measure in a comprehensive attack on smoking.
“The ultimate goal is to have an ever-decreasing use of tobacco by Nova Scotians,” he said.
The court also heard that Gee is the only one of 1,243 tobacco retailers in the province refusing to comply with the legislation.

U.S. Quit-Smoking Policies Need Improving

U.S. federal and state policies are at a "tipping point" in terms of winning the war against smoking, according to an American Lung Association report.

"Over the next year, key decisions will be made by the federal government and the states about whether or not they will help save lives, prevent disease and reduce health costs," Paul Billings, senior vice president of advocacy and education at the American Lung Association, said in an association news release.

The association believes the federal government has missed important opportunities to improve Americans' access to medications and counseling to help them quit smoking. The record among states is mixed, but too few provide coverage to help people kick the habit, the report said.

"We know that the vast majority of smokers want to quit, but the complex web of state and federal coverage for effective quit-smoking programs and treatments prevents too many from getting the help they need," Billings said. "States and the federal government can reduce the enormous health burden of tobacco use by providing access to these proven interventions."

Here are some key findings from the association's 2012 annual report:
In terms of Medicaid coverage, only two states (Indiana and Massachusetts) provide comprehensive coverage to help people quit smoking, and two states (Alabama and Georgia) provide no coverage. Four states (Colorado, Kansas, North Dakota and South Dakota) provided new counseling benefits for pregnant women in 2012. Connecticut and Tennessee announced new benefits for everyone in 2012 that are close to comprehensive.

In terms of state-employee health plan coverage, only four states (Illinois, New Mexico, North Dakota and Rhode Island) provide comprehensive coverage. All other states provide some type of coverage. In 2012, Florida, Georgia, Nebraska and New Jersey added new smoking-cessation benefits for state employees, informs Health Day.