The Ministry of Health has raised concern over a new cigarette brand on the market which they say risks undoing efforts so far made towards reduction of smoking in the country. Dr Hafisa Lukwata, the Tobacco Control Focal Person in the Ministry of Health says that the ORIS cigarette, which is slim, flavoured and packaged in green colour is especially being marketed to women.
www.independent.co.ug
Kazakhstan government has decided to completely ban e-cigarette and e-liquid products due to health concerns among youth.
www.2firsts.com
Delegation composed of representatives from the tobacco supply chain had a meeting, this Thursday July 13, with the minister of Agrarian Development, Paulo Teixeira, in Brasília, to address the concerns of the sector about the 10th Conference of the Parties, organized by the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC). The group was composed of the president of the Interstate Tobacco Industry Union (SindiTabaco), Iro Schünke; the president of the Tobacco Growers’ Association of Brazil (Afubra), Benício Albano Werner; the executive director of the Brazilian Tobacco Industry Association (Abifumo), Giuseppe Lobo; and the executive director of the Bahia State Tobacco Industry Union (Sinditabaco-BA), Marcos Souza.
www.sinditabaco.com.br
Ghana has completely banned the sale, advertising and recreational use of electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS), such as e-cigarettes, by the public. Recently, according to a press release issued by the Ghana Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the country completely banned the sale, advertising, and recreational use of electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS), such as e-cigarettes, by the public.
www.maxecig.com
Under federal court order, tobacco companies must post health risk warning signs in US retail stores selling cigarettes from 1 July.
www.retail-insight-network.com
The Portfolio Committee on Health has announced that public consultation on the new Tobacco Products and Electronic Delivery Systems Control Bill will end on 28 July. In a media statement from Parliament, the government said that written submissions on the bill must be emailed to tobaccobill@parliament.gov.za or submitted online at https://forms.gle/FLrhnvThDk8ccLG97.
businesstech.co.za
How government and public bodies should act to protect public health policies when engaging stakeholders with links to the tobacco industry.
www.gov.uk
The Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) has projected a total tax revenue of GHS 455 million to be mobilized in 2023 from Sugar Sweetened Beverages (SSBs), alcohol, and tobacco. This estimate comes in the wake of the implementation of the Excise Duty Amendment Tax, which has seen a 20% increase in taxes on alcoholic beverages, tobacco products, and SSBs. The Excise Duty Amendment Tax applies to a range of goods, including processed fruit juice, cigars, mineral water, spirits, and wines, including sparkling wine.
valdgh.org
The process to remove tobacco from Lidl stores will begin this year with 20 percent of cigarettes to be taken down from shelves, the company told news wire Ritzau. A completely tobacco-free store will also open in North Jutland town Hjørring.
www.thelocal.dk
The government’s move to exempt nicotine from the Poisons Act will allow vape devices to be sold openly and legally to anyone including children, said Malaysian Medical Association President Dr Muruga Raj Rajathurai.
www.malaymail.com
Potato cultivation in Swabi, Farmers belonging to different regions of the district in a meeting here on Friday said that they were compelled to cultivate potato instead of tobacco due to the indifferent policy of the companies and tobacco traders in the current year, potato cultivation in Swabi, The meeting was called by Tobacco Growers Association Pakistan (TGAP) to discuss the approach of the companies who had been showing reluctance to pick all the tobacco crop. Raham Dad, a leading grower, said the environment and land here were suitable for potato production and the high price also encouraged the farmers to cultivate potato.
technologytimes.pk
Italian MEP Alessandra Moretti said scientists “know for sure” that novel alternative tobacco and nicotine products are harmful. However, some still question whether applying this approach of ‘precautionary principle’ is good for heavy smokers who cannot quit. EU lawmaker Moretti (Partito Democratico – S&D) strongly defended the EU’s application of the precautionary principle, arguing that it should prevail in any public policy decision. The principle implies that a policy should be dropped if it may cause harm, and its safety cannot be supported by sufficient scientific evidence; in essence, treating novel tobacco and nicotine products as harmful until proven otherwise. “If we do not know the long-term effects with certainty, we cannot establish that they are harmless,” she told EURACTIV Italy.
www.euractiv.com
Anti-tobacco campaigners on Thursday demanded the government amend the tobacco control law soonest to reduce casualties and other losses incurred by its consumption. The demand came at an event on Thursday when four journalists were awarded for their journalistic work in creating awareness and influencing policies against tobacco menace in the country.
unb.com.bd
The US public relations firm helping Egypt organise COP27 also works for major oil companies and has been accused of greenwashing on their behalf, openDemocracy can reveal. Hill+Knowlton Strategies, which has worked for ExxonMobil, Shell, Chevron and Saudi Aramco, is managing communications for Egypt’s presidency of the UN climate conference, which will take place next month in Sharm El Sheikh. Hill+Knowlton’s clients have also included Coca-Cola, which last month was controversially named as a sponsor of the conference despite having been declared the world’s worst corporate plastic polluter for four years in a row.
www.opendemocracy.net
Bangladesh Anti-Tobacco Alliance along with 13 other organisations on Thursday held a rally for a tobacco-free Bangladesh demanding to take ‘strict steps’ to stop interference of the tobacco companies. They also raised a demand for implementing the Smoking and Tobacco Products Usage (Control) Act, 2005, at the rally held in front of the Bangladesh National Museum at Shahbagh.
www.newagebd.net
SEOUL, Oct. 12 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s state pension fund has been found to have invested a large sum of money in the so-called “sin stocks” that include liquor, tobacco and gambling businesses, data showed Tuesday. Rep. Nam In-soon of the Democratic Party referred to an National Pension Service (NPS) report that around 5.29 trillion won (US$3.71 billion) had been invested in sin stocks as of last February. The NPS’s domestic investment in sin stocks temporarily dropped from 2.37 trillion won to 1.61 trillion won between 2017 and last year, before climbing back to 1.68 trillion won last February.
koreabizwire.com
Tobacco is a leading cause of disease. It is estimated that it kills half of its consumers. Over a million additional deaths result from exposure to second hand smoke. Countries around the world are moving towards stricter regulation of tobacco products in compliance with their obligation to the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) Framework Convention on Tobacco Control. In 2018 South Africa published a tobacco control bill that sought to better regulate the sale of cigarettes and other tobacco products. It’s been revised as the Tobacco Products and Electronic Delivery Systems Control Bill 2021 and has been approved for submission to parliament. Ina Skosana speaks to Catherine Egbe, a lead researcher on South Africa’s Global Adult Smoking Survey, about the latest developments.
theconversation.com
Durban – Health Minister Joe Phaahla said the new tobacco bill was an important step towards improving the health of South Africans. Phaahla was responding to questions posed to him regarding his stance on the newly amended tobacco bill, which is in the process of being passed.
www.iol.co.za
Cambodia Movement for Health (CMH) executive director Mom Kong has renewed his requests to the government that the taxes on tobacco be raised to generate more income for the national budget and reduce the overall number of cigarette smokers.
www.phnompenhpost.com
We humans are notoriously bad at estimating risk. Most people fear flying far more than driving, even though the odds of dying in a car accident (1 in 107 in the US, for example) are far higher than perishing in an aircraft crash (about 1 in 11 million).
thearabweekly.com