Entries from November 2007 ↓

NOW CHECK THIS OUT! In a recent edition of the Buffalo News Brad Rodu challenges the current FDA proposal as ignoring a life-saving strategy!

In an op-ed in Buffalo News, Dr. Brad Rodu, a professor of medicine with an endowed chair in tobacco harm reduction research at the University of Louisville, said the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act, which aims to give the Food and Drug Administration regulatory authority over tobacco products, is “fatally flawed” because it would “effectively prevent the nation’s 45 million smokers from learning that smokeless tobacco products are vastly safer alternatives.”   

The message about smokeless tobacco products is “critical to the life-saving strategy known as ‘tobacco harm reduction,’” Dr. Rodu said.  He cited a recent article in the medical journal Lancet, which said tobacco product regulation “should promote complete cessation of nicotine product use as the preferred option, but also encourage existing smokers who are unable to stop smoking to adopt a less hazardous source of the drug,” and “should therefore apply the levers of affordability, promotion, and availability in direct inverse relation to the hazard of the product, thus creating the most favorable market environment for the least hazardous products.”   The Royal College of Physicians, whose report was the basis of the Lancet article, said that “low nitrosamine smokeless tobacco products may have a positive role to play in a coordinated and regulated harm reduction strategy which maximizes public health benefit,” Dr. Rodu noted.  The pending FDA legislation is the opposite of such a rational approach to helping smokers, and the bills fail to acknowledge that nicotine itself does not cause the diseases that kill smokers, he said.  ”Congress should rewrite those portions of H.R. 1108 and S. 625 that impose irrational and dangerous limitations on the communication of truthful information about smokeless tobacco and its relative risk vis-a-vis cigarettes,” Dr. Rodu said (Buffalo News 11/12).

IS BRAD RIGHT OR WRONG? DO YOU KNOW OF ANYONE THAT HAS USED MOIST TOBACCO TO KICK THE SMOKING HABIT? DO YOU THINK CONGRESS WILL GET THE RIGHT MESSAGE? WHAT IS THAT MESSAGE? IS THERE ANYTHING WE CAN DO? IS THERE ANYTHING WE SHOULD DO? ANY THOUGHTS ON HOW PM WILL APPROACH THIS NOW THAT THEY ARE TESTING MOIST TOBACCO? DO YOU BELIEVE AS BRAD MENTIONS THAT NICOTINE IS NOT THE EVIL? SO MANY THOUGHTS I HAVE BUT WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON THIS ISSUE?

In my reading today, I found an article on the TMA website that I found to be very interesting that I’d like to know what you think! Read on and blog on!

Boston University School of Public Health professor Michael Siegel said on November 27th that Smokefree Pennsylvania’s recent statement that “Repeatedly exposing a child to hazardous tobacco smoke pollution is child abuse” illustrates the current mentality of the anti-smoking movement, which “is unable to see any values beyond not smoking… and has been overtaken by fanaticism.”  Dr. Siegel said the movement attaches a moral value to not smoking instead of a health value, and it has become a “zeal unchecked by reason.”  He said exposing a child to environmental tobacco smoke in and of itself is not a form of child abuse, and only overzealous thinking would lead one to the conclusion that virtually all parents in the 1980s and earlier were child abusers, since ETS exposure was ubiquitous at the time.  The lack of reasoning precludes him from considering himself a part of the current anti-smoking movement, he said.  As a scientist and a trained policy analyst, he cannot stray away from reason, argumentation and development of solid foundations for policy positions, he said.  The current anti-smoking movement’s “abandonment of reason” results in an incorrect and absurd definition of child abuse, he said (tobaccoanalysis.blogspot.com 11/27).

Has the “anti-smoking movement” gone overboard? Or do you side with Smokefree Pennsylvania? What are your thoughts about Dr. Siegel? Is he right? Is he wrong? Seems pretty controversial! So tell me what you think?

TabExpo is next week and France has thrown out the welcome mat – not.

Transport strikes are in full swing – although hopefully this will all be over – but if not, take a good pair of shoes and a raincoat.

I was told it is not yet sure if smoking will be allowed! Wasn’t this a pre-requisite to having the show in Paris?

We plan to do interviews at the show – if you’d like us to visit your stand please e-mail me at chris.crawley@tobaccotoday.info

These will be posted on this blog after the show and give you some free advertising

With the show being so close to the US Thanksgiving Holiday we’re not sure how many Americans will attend – or even be able to afford to given the current exchange rate! Next time can we arrange the show so it does not conflict with national or religious holidays. I suppose it’s better than Barcelona which actually took place Thanksgiving week. As a result US attendance was slight.

Oh and most important of all – I’m told Borgwaldt will have beer on their stand. How thoughtful.

If anyone is planning on having espresso or ice cream please let me know?

When FDA Commissioner von Eschenbach argued against FDA regulation of the tobacco industry earlier this year, he commented that lowering the nicotine content in cigarettes may be precisely the wrong step to take since doing so would require smokers to smoke more cigarettes to get the same nicotine dose. According to the TMA (www.tma.org), we are now seeing a study from Professor Neal Benowitz of the University of California in San Francisco released in November stating that lowering nicotine content in cigarettes “can make it easier for long-time smokers to cut down on their consumption.” So which is it?

Bonnie Herzog at Citgroup reported that PM USA may acquire Swedish Match after the PMI demerger. This is entirely possible, although we consider it likely there are other suitors for Swedish Match in the US market. Besides this PM USA must also have its eye on USST. Their US smokeless market share would gain for PM USA instant access to manufacturing, intellectual property and distribution in this key segment.

Bonnie has been consistently down on USST for a considerable period despite performance which frequently surpasses her pessimism (based on increased competition in the premium segment.) Is Bonnie’s analysis correct? Let us know what you think?

Do you think PM will more likely acquire Swedish Match or USST?

Do you think PM USA can develop a market presence in smokeless alone?

Which one do you consider to be the better fit – Swedish Match or USST?

The Center for Disease Control’s recent study indicating that the low hanging fruit of smokers able and willing to quit has been plucked with the result that in recent years the decline in smoking rates has significantly diminished. This suggests to some that an alternative to cigarette smoking be found to reduce the amount of harm caused by tobacco consumption. Many analysts of smokeless tobacco claim that smokeless is 98% (or as much as 99.9%) less harmful than smoking. Many public health advocates argue that any claims about less harmful forms of tobacco will legitimize the existence of tobacco in the market and refuse to support less harmful forms of tobacco use even though they know that many pharmaceutical products designed for cessation purposes use tobacco-based nicotine. Should the public health community support less harmful tobacco products even if such support may run counter to the out and out anti-tobacco stance that many have taken till this date? If public health fails to support less harmful tobacco products, are they really supportive of public health? Where are you?

You’d better be – or close to it – because before you know it you’ll be there and it will all be over for another four years!

Otherwise known as the Tobacco Olympics, not only because it happens every four years but also for the amount of time and effort required to participate. It has become a spectacularly expensive event. Is it worth it?

Some say yes – others no. What do you think?

Hauni and others have chosen not to participate as they have in the past.

Is this detrimental to the show? Or does this give other suppliers a chance?

Should we continue to hold a Tabexpo event every four years – or change fundamentally the way we go to market?

We’d like to know – so if you have an opinion post it here……………………………

A recent trip to Colombia has revealed Protabaco may be in play – And you guessed it the main suitors are rumored to be BAT and PMI.

The Colombian economy is doing very well and with a total market of around 20 billion sticks this is a good market to be in for a multinational.

Protabaco represents one of the last great independent companies operating in Latin America with good market presence, a well-known brand portfolio and strong management team. It would be the jewel in the crown for either company.

Who do you believe will acquire Protabaco?

Do you think this is a good fit?

When do you expect this to happen?

If you have a comment, or news; we’d like to know…………………