(Un)lucky Strike and the Winnie Blues: Tobacco Plain Packaging, Investment Treaties, and the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control

<p>In recent years, tobacco has been the subject of increasingly more stringent regulatory attention. At the same time there has been a proliferation of bilateral and multilateral investment agreements, While the former compels state Parties to take action to reduce tobacco consumption, many of the latter provide a guarantee to foreign investors that states will not enact measures which result in a substantial reduction of the value of their property. Recent disputes illustrate that these two sets of obligations are not capable of coexistence. In 2012 Australia took regulatory action, enacting legislation obliging the sale of tobacco products in “plain” packets. Philip Morris, Japan Tobacco International and British American Tobacco took to a number of different fora to challenge the measures as being in violation of their rights under national constitutional law, world trade law, and under nternational investment law. While the domestic law claims were limited to an assessment of the measure in the context of the companies’ constitutional rights, and the WTO claims face a significant hurdle because of the public interest nature of the regulations, the claims brought as international investment arbitrations are not subject to these same constraints. The result is a conflict of obligations. States are left in a position where they must take steps to reduce tobacco consumption while at the same time refraining from action amounting to expropriation of an investment. Does one of these obligations take priority of the other? Or must they both, as the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties suggests, be performed in good faith? The application of various conflicts rules imported from domestic and private international law into the international law sphere more generally yields some answers, goes some way to resolving the conflict, and reconstitutes the otherwise increasingly fragmented international law.</p>

(Un)lucky Strike and the Winnie Blues: Tobacco Plain Packaging, Investment Treaties, and the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control

<p>In recent years, tobacco has been the subject of increasingly more stringent regulatory attention. At the same time there has been a proliferation of bilateral and multilateral investment agreements, While the former compels state Parties to take action to reduce tobacco consumption, many of the latter provide a guarantee to foreign investors that states will not enact measures which result in a substantial reduction of the value of their property. Recent disputes illustrate that these two sets of obligations are not capable of coexistence. In 2012 Australia took regulatory action, enacting legislation obliging the sale of tobacco products in “plain” packets. Philip Morris, Japan Tobacco International and British American Tobacco took to a number of different fora to challenge the measures as being in violation of their rights under national constitutional law, world trade law, and under nternational investment law. While the domestic law claims were limited to an assessment of the measure in the context of the companies’ constitutional rights, and the WTO claims face a significant hurdle because of the public interest nature of the regulations, the claims brought as international investment arbitrations are not subject to these same constraints. The result is a conflict of obligations. States are left in a position where they must take steps to reduce tobacco consumption while at the same time refraining from action amounting to expropriation of an investment. Does one of these obligations take priority of the other? Or must they both, as the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties suggests, be performed in good faith? The application of various conflicts rules imported from domestic and private international law into the international law sphere more generally yields some answers, goes some way to resolving the conflict, and reconstitutes the otherwise increasingly fragmented international law.</p>

Claims of reduced odor on tobacco packs in low- and middle-income countries

Introduction Cigarettes designed to have less smoke smell were developed by the tobacco industry to supposedly reduce negative qualities. Cigarettes with marketing claims communicating these designs have been sold in high-income countries and marketing of “less smoke smell” terms on cigarette packaging can promote cigarette use. It is unclear to what extent they have been marketed in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Methods The Tobacco Pack Surveillance System (TPackSS) systemically collected tobacco packs available in 14 LMICs with high tobacco use between 2013-2017. We coded 4,354 packs for marketing appeals, including claims related to smoke smell. We describe “less smoke smell” and similar claims found on these packs and compare across country and tobacco manufacturers. Results Phrases communicating less smoke smell were present on packs purchased in nine of 14 LMICs, including Bangladesh, Brazil, China, India, Mexico, Philippines, Russia, Ukraine, and Vietnam. The most commonly (74.1%) used terminology was “less smoke smell”, "LSS" or a combination of the two. Packs from Russia had the most prevalent use (11.8%) of such claims. Companies using these terms across 21 brands included Japan Tobacco International (JTI), British American Tobacco (BAT), Philip Morris International (PMI) and other smaller companies. JTI accounted for 70.9% of packs with such terms. Conclusion Some of the world’s largest tobacco companies are communicating less smoke smell on packs in LMICs. Less smoke smell and similar phrases on packaging should be prohibited because they can enhance the appeal of cigarettes. Implications Tobacco companies are using “less smoke smell” and similar phrases on cigarette packs in LMICs. These claims have the potential to increase the appeal of smoking and promote cigarette use. Countries should consider policies to restrict attractive labeling claims, in accordance with the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) Article 13 guidelines, which recommends restrictions on attractive design elements on tobacco packaging.

Tobacco Control Policy and Tobacco Product Use Disparity in Japan

Tobacco smoking continues to be a major contributor to mortality, morbidity, and social inequalities in health worldwide. Smoking prevalence and inequality are influenced by tobacco control measures and interference from the industry including Japan Tobacco. Tobacco control is weak in Japan by international standards. Control measures such as taxation, labelling, and smoke-free legislation have differing effects on smoking inequality. Quit rates differ across socioeconomic strata, as does exposure to second-hand smoke. Equity effectiveness research takes account of socioeconomic gradients in response to new control measures and products. In Japan, e-cigarettes with nicotine have been prohibited since 2010. New heated tobacco products were introduced in 2013 and their use increased dramatically from 2016. To monitor smoking behaviour and health inequalities in Japan, we need to focus on heated tobacco products as well as cigarettes.

STEEP

The purpose of a macro-environmental (STEEP) analysis is to capture and interpret what is happening (and what is likely to happen) in the environment in which a business operates. It accounts for the broad trends, forces, and changes beyond the boundaries of the firm, which may impact the operations and markets of the firm. STEEP stands for social, technical, economic, ecological, and political factors. This chapter discusses the underlying theory, core idea, depiction, process, insight or value created, and risks and limitations of STEEP analysis. Finally, the chapter offers the illustration of Japan Tobacco International and applies the steps of STEEP analysis to this case.

APROVEITAMENTO ENERGÉTICO DE RESÍDUOS FLORESTAIS COMO ALTERNATIVA AO CONSUMO DE LENHA NA FUMICULTURA DO SUL DO BRASIL

APROVEITAMENTO ENERGÉTICO DE RESÍDUOS FLORESTAIS COMO ALTERNATIVA AO CONSUMO DE LENHA NA FUMICULTURA DO SUL DO BRASIL CARLINE ANDRÉA WELTER1, JORGE ANTONIO DE FARIAS2, LUANA DESSBESELL3 RAFAEL DA SILVA RECH4, FÁBIO EDUARDO ROESCH5 1 Doutoranda do PPG em Engenharia Florestal – UFSM, Av. Roraima nº 1000, prédio 44B, bairro Camobi, CEP 97105-900, Santa Maria, RS, Brasil. [email protected] 2 Professor do Departamento de Ciências Florestais – UFSM, Av. Roraima nº 1000, prédio 44B, bairro Camobi, CEP 97105-900, Santa Maria, RS, Brasil. [email protected] 3 PhD Forest Sciences, Natural Resources Management Department- Lakehead University (LU), 955 Oliver Road, Postal Code: P7B 5E1, Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada. [email protected] 4 Engenheiro Florestal – UFSM, Av. Roraima nº 1000, prédio 44B, bairro Camobi, CEP 97105-900, Santa Maria, RS, Brasil. [email protected] 5 Japan Tobacco International. Centro de Desenvolvimento Agronômico, Extensão e Treinamento (Adet), Estrada Cerro Alegre Baixo s/n, CEP 96860-000, Santa Cruz do Sul, RS, Brasil. [email protected] RESUMO: Os objetivos do trabalho foram: caracterizar a fumicultura na região sul do Brasil; verificar o consumo de biomassa na cura do tabaco; verificar a disponibilidade de resíduos do processamento mecânico da madeira como alternativa de fornecimento de biomassa para fins energéticos. O tabaco, mesmo ocupando 18% da área das propriedades, foi responsável por, em média, 53% da renda do produtor na safra 2017/2018. Observou-se um consumo maior de lenha em comparação à serragem, para cada kg de tabaco curado, 2,75 e 2,69 kg, respectivamente. Com relação à disponibilidade de resíduos florestais, foi demonstrado que existe um volume significativo para aproveitamento energético, e ainda ocioso, principalmente os oriundos do processamento de madeira. O uso da serragem em substituição à lenha foi tecnicamente viável e elevaria o nível de comprometimento do setor com a sustentabilidade da atividade fumageira. Palavras-chave: tabaco, energia de biomassa, agricultura familiar FOREST RESIDUES ENERGY USE AS AN ALTERNATIVE TO FIREWOOD IN TOBACCO FARMING OF SOUTHERN BRAZIL ABSTRACT: The objective was to characterize the tobacco culture in the southern states of Brazil also analyze the consumption of biomass in tobacco curing, and access availability of mechanical processing wood residues as an alternative supply of biomass for energy purposes. Tobacco, despite occupying only 18% of the properties area, it accounted for an average 53% of the farmers income in 2017/2018 crop. There was also a higher consumption of firewood compared to sawdust for each kg of cured tobacco, 2.75 and 2.69 kg, respectively. Regarding the forest residues availability, there is a significant amount of forest residues for energy recovery level that still idle, especially those from the wood processing. The sawdust usage to replace firewood was technically practicable and would raise the level of commitment of tobacco sector bringing more sustainability to this activity. Keywords: tobacco, biomass energy, family farming

Exploiting a low tax system: non-tax-induced cigarette price increases in Taiwan 2011–2016

IntroductionThis study aims to analyse the non-tax-induced price increasing strategies adopted by tobacco industry in Taiwan, a high-income country with comprehensive tobacco control policies but low tobacco taxes and a declining cigarette market.MethodsUsing governmental tax, price and inflation data, we analysed cigarette sales volume, affordability, affordability elasticity of demand, market share, pricing and net revenue of the top five tobacco companies in Taiwan from 2011 to 2016 when no tax increases occurred.ResultsTotal revenue after tax grew significantly for all the major transnational tobacco companies between 2011 and 2016 at the expense of the state-owned Taiwan Tobacco and Liquor Corporation. In terms of market share, Japan Tobacco (JT) was the leading company, despite experiencing a small decline, while British American Tobacco and Imperial Brands remained stable, and Philip Morris International increased from 4.7% to 7.0%. JT adopted the most effective pricing strategy by increasing the real price of its two most popular brands (Mevius and Mi-Ne) and, at the same time, doubling the sales of its cheaper and less popular brand Winston by leaving its nominal retail price unaltered.ConclusionsLow and unchanged tobacco taxes enable tobacco companies to use aggressive pricing and segmentation strategies to increase the real price of cigarettes without making them less affordable while simultaneously maintaining customers’ loyalty. It is crucial to continue monitoring the industry’s pricing strategies and to regularly increase taxes to promote public health and to prevent tobacco industry from profiting at the expense of government revenues.

Justifying IT Investment: Extension of a Model using a Case Study from Jordan

Investing in information technology is a requirement for enterprises to sustain their competitive advantage in a market that is described as changing and global. IT is a very important resource for enterprises to improve their organizational performance, but requires some justification for its costs and burdens. This study utilized an existing model and applied it on a case in Jordan by analyzing and exploring the implications of investing in IT projects. The case used is the Japan Tobacco International, where a survey was used to collect response from JTI personnel and the documents available on their portal. Two models are proposed to improve our understanding of topic and set the stage for future research. The detailed results of this study are reported with conclusions at the end.

Productos de tabaco calentado (Heat-not-burn tobacco products): concepciones e implicaciones para la Salud Pública

Objetivo: Explorar necesidades de conocimiento y posibles líneas futuras de investigación sobre los Productos de Tabaco Calentado, PTC (Heat-not-burn tobacco products), desde la literatura científica publicada y las fuentes en internet para el público. Métodos: Estudio mixto cualitativo/cuantitativo paralelo bajo tipología de revisiones de literatura por Grant & Booth y Pinto, y diseño de estudios de mapeo según Cooper. Exploración de bases de datos en motores de búsqueda, cotejo de títulos/resúmenes en 4 idiomas de 2016-12-01 a 2017-12-31. Textos guardados en formatos MHT y PDF, acopiados en Dropbox y gestionados con Endnote X8. Definición de categorías agrupadas en cuatro dimensiones. Información analizada con Microsoft® Excel 2016 y Epi-INFO ® 7.2.2. Resultados: Cotejadas 46 páginas web, 63 referencias científicas, 99% en inglés; 2 manuscritos con nota de retirada. En D1 (sumario): presentación del producto vs. aspectos toxicológicos o evaluativos de PTC. 48 artículos (76,2%) en digital o impreso (2017); por país: EUA: páginas web 23 (50%), 20 artículos (32%); Suiza: 22 artículos (35%), 3 páginas web (7%). D2 (comercial): financiación por Phillip Morris International (PMI, 22; 33%) o universidades con fondos propios/gubernamentales (19, 30%); en páginas web predominaron PMI (60%), British American Tobacco y Japan Tobacco International (40%); relación con PMI ausente en 41 manuscritos (65%) y 36 páginas web (80%). D3 (metodológica): nivel de evidencia “experimental”, laboratorial (26; 41,2%) o en humanos (4; 6,3%); investigación independiente en 36 (57%). D4 (interpretativa): principal interrogante en páginas web fue el carácter dañino o no de los PTC; en artículos científicos, los efectos de micro/nanopartículas de los PTC a mediano/largo plazo. Discusión: Se precisa que la comunidad científica complete los respectivos estudios de toxicidad y reducción del daño (harm reduction) relativos a los PTC y resuelva junto con el público y las autoridades preguntas relativas a su seguridad a mediano y largo plazo.