Tobacco.org

• Internet Cigarette Sales--an Illegal Rip-off of Our Nation / It's Time for the Feds to Act! (PDF) 

• Intent on determining whether progress has been made in curbing the illegal Internet sale of tobacco products, an American Wholesale Marketers Association (AWMA) researcher selected 27 Internet sites at random and purchased 22 cartons of cigarettes using a Visa card and a prepaid Visa card. Of the 27 random sites selected using the Internet search engine Google, 74% allowed the use of a credit card—Visa, Diners Club, MasterCard, and/or American Express.

• None of the cigarettes purchased carried U.S. state tax stamps, and in no case were taxes collected at the time of purchase.

• The American Wholesale Marketers Association will notify proper state authorities of the purchases and pay the appropriate amount of tax to comply with the law.

• Age verification was virtually nonexistent. Most sites simply had a statement on the home page, or hidden in a disclaimer or under Frequently Asked Questions, stating that a purchaser must be a certain age to buy cigarettes. Some asked for a simple check-off that the buyer was over 18.

• This study clearly demonstrates that efforts to restrict illegal cigarette sales via the Internet are ineffective, that billions of dollars in taxes are going uncollected, and that legitimate sellers of tobacco products in the U.S. face unfair competition from unscrupulous online purveyors who are scoffing at U.S. laws and tax requirements.

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• Organizations Call on U.S. Senate to Pass Legislation Preventing Tax-Evading 

Representatives of law enforcement groups, public health organizations and trade associations today gathered on Capitol Hill to urge the Senate to pass S. 1147, the Prevent All Cigarette Trafficking Act of 2009 (PACT Act). This legislation will help combat online cigarette sales that have robbed hundreds of millions of dollars in tax revenues from the states and that undermine state laws that prevent youth access to tobacco products. This bill closes gaps in current federal laws regulating "remote" or "delivery" sales of cigarettes and smokeless tobacco products.

These organizations were joined by Sen. Herb Kohl (D-WI) and Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-NY), advocates of combating illegal cigarette sales. Numerous stakeholders have worked with Sen. Kohl through the years to pass the PACT Act, which was passed in the House of Representatives this May.

"The PACT Act will strengthen our tobacco laws to ensure that law enforcement has the tools they need to investigate and prosecute cigarette traffickers, said Sen. Kohl. "Each day we delay its passage, terrorists and criminals raise more money, states lose significant amounts of tax revenue, and kids have easy access to tobacco products sold over the internet."

"We must crack down on the illegal sale of tobacco, which gives terrorists and criminals the ability to raise more money," said Rep. Weiner. " . . .

Organizations represented at the press conference included the National Association of Convenience Stores, American Wholesale Marketers Association, National Black Police Association Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids and American Legislative Exchange Council.

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• Electronic Cigarette Review Website Now Has Free E-Cigarette Trial Offers for Holiday Shoppers 

ElectronicCigarettesReviews.net is an e-cigarette website that reviews various brands of electronic cigarettes. With the start of the Holiday gift shopping season, this website has seen a huge increase in traffic from consumers that want to purchase e-cigarettes as Holiday gifts for someone that is trying to quit smoking. This website is now offering a free trial on two brands of e-cigarettes and Holiday shoppers are quickly snatching up these free e-cigarette trials.

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• Industry dodges ad bans by pushing smokes online 

The tobacco industry is using social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter and YouTube to promote its products and persuade people to become smokers, a study revealed yesterday.

"The ban on advertising does not mean the tobacco industry has stopped advertising its products," said Becky Freeman of Australia's University of Sydney, who conducted the study.

She presented her findings in Bangkok at a threeday regional training workshop held by Southeast Asia Tobacco Control Alliance (SEATCA).

Freeman said most tobacco companies were interested in viral marketing (using preexisting social networks to increase brand recognition) to persuade or influence audiences to pass products on to others.

A million people had visited video clips on YouTube reviewing cigarettes, she said, and thousands more had become fans of the products on Facebook. "The Internet has made it easier to engage consumers by allowing them to contribute directly to marketing campaigns and brand development," she said.

The use of social networking tools such as Facebook, Twitter, blogs, podcasts and RSS would be one of the main topics up for discussion at Tabinfo Asia 2009 . . .

Another marketing device was the use of product and pack designs - such as colourful and glowinthe dark packs - to entice specific groups.

"For example, we found cigarette packs designed like lipsticks or wallets - a new way to lure more and more women to become smokers," she said. . . .

A group of 650 people, including teenagers, led by Action on Smoking and its alliances, will today demonstrate against the Tabinfo Asia 2009 at Impact Arena.

"This is a nightmare for our people," SEATCA's director Bungon Ritthiphakdee said

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• National Alliance for Tobacco Cessation Promotes Program with Ads, PSAs and Web Resources  

With the latest research estimating that nearly six million people worldwide will lose their lives to tobacco next year(1), an innovative approach is critical to helping the 43 million Americans who smoke to finally quit. This month, which is observed as Lung Cancer Awareness Month, the national quit smoking program, EX(R) will debut the second phase of advertising and promotions designed to help smokers "re-learn" life without cigarettes.

The campaign will begin airing this month on radio and cable television networks as well as online, in print and through ambient/out-of-home channels. EX is a national quit smoking campaign, sponsored by the National Alliance for Tobacco Cessation (NATC), a two-year old collaborative of state and national public health groups spearheaded by Legacy(SM), creators of the award-winning truth(R) youth smoking prevention campaign. . . .

Most smokers in America - 70 percent - want to quit, but in 2000, only about five percent of smokers were successful in quitting long-term. Quitting smoking is ultimately one of the single most important lifestyle changes one can make to improve and extend their lives. Tobacco is the leading cause of preventable death in the United States; smokers therefore need to be armed with all the available information to make the best, most informed choices about the smoking cessation medications and resources available to them.

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• FDA warns Web companies not to sell flavored cigs 

The Food and Drug Administration said Friday that it has warned several companies to stop selling banned flavored cigarettes to U.S. consumers online.

The agency sent letters this week to more than a dozen Web-based companies saying they are violating a new ban and asking the companies to describe in writing what action they have taken to comply.

The FDA banned candy-, fruit- and clove-flavored cigarettes in September. Federal health authorities and regulators say those products appeal especially to young people and are thought to attract new smokers.

"FDA takes the enforcement of this flavored cigarette ban seriously," Dr. Lawrence R. Deyton, director of FDA's Center for Tobacco Products, said in a statement. "These actions should send a clear message to those who continue to break the law that FDA will take necessary actions to protect our children from initiating tobacco use."

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• Quitting smoking isn't child's play. Or is it? 

In a few years if you see a person nervously blowing on his cellphone for five minutes, do not call the cops. He might not be a crazy person who forgot to take his meds; he might just be a smoker trying to quit smoking.

Columbia University's Teachers College announced today that it received a $150,000 grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, through the foundation's Health Games Research national program to develop a smart phone app that emulates the physiological responses smokers get from smoking.

The first apps are likely to be for Apple Inc.'s iPhone or iPod Touch. The user would control the game by blowing into the device's microphone in response to different color and sound stimuli coming from the handset. Researchers hope that it will be able to elicit the same brain patterns, heart rate levels and relaxation responses that smokers get from smoking. The game, Lit: A Game Intervention for Nicotine Smokers, is expected to be released in about two years.

Breath therapy has been used to help smokers quit smoking for a while . . .

Technology is being used in another way to help smokers quit smoking. Researchers at the GRAP Occupational Psychology Clinic and the University of Quebec in Gatineau recently found that smokers who crushed virtual cigarettes experienced a significant reduction in nicotine

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• New Web Site Provides Info On Upcoming Smoking Ban  

A new government Web site has been launched to ease the transition with a new law that requires restaurants, bars and lodging establishments that serve food and drink to go smoke-free as of January 2, 2010.

The Web site, www.SmokeFree.NC.gov, provides business owners and customers information on the new law, on the health hazards of secondhand smoke and on resources to help those smokers who may want to quit smoking. There are downloadable fact sheets, no-smoking signs and other tools to help make the transition to smoke-free air an easy one.

"This change is historic for North Carolina and will have a significant positive impact on public health," said Gov. Bev Perdue. "By banning smoking in our restaurants and bars, we will greatly reduce the dangers of secondhand smoke and lower health care costs for families. Our goal is to make sure North Carolina's families and businesses have the information they need about the hazards of second-hand smoke and how to implement the new law."

The new law (G.S. 130A-497) was passed by the General Assembly and signed by Governor Bev Perdue in May, and will make virtually all indoor areas of restaurants and bars in the state smoke-free, with very few exceptions.

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• E-CigaretteDirect.com Sales Increase, Amazon Removes Electronic Cigarettes 

E-CigaretteDirect.com Sees Increase in Sales As Amazon.com Removes Electronic Cigarettes Many top internet retailer are going to stop selling and supporting the sale of electronic cigarettes on their website. Amazon.com reportedly has sent a notice to all its resellers with the following message:

We are writing because it has come to our attention that you have listed a product that we have determined is inappropriate for Amazon.com. We have prohibited the sale of electronic cigarettes, electronic cigars, electronic pipes, nicotine nebulizers, refill material for any of these, and similar products on our site.

Paypal has already canceled electronic cigarette accounts after receiving a notice of potential legal liability from ASH.

These larger websites closing sales of the electronic cigarette have really allowed individual websites that sell e-cigarettes to thrive. Gina King of E-CigaretteDirect.com states that "sales have never been better. Amazon was selling off-brands of electronic cigarettes. We only sell top name brands. This means that our customers can come back and purchase refill cartridges and accessories and be assured the products will work with their electronic cigarette". Several small internet retailers have sprung up on the web selling these electronic cigarettes directly from China. "Again, the problem you have is that each brand is different and you cannot mix and match accessories and refills," states Ms. King. "We are a trusted one-shop stop that consistently has repeat business."

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• Cigarettes On Sale On The Internet: ESC Press Statement 

The European Society of Cardiology wishes to comment on media reports this week that France is preparing to authorise the sale of cigarettes on the internet, to conform to European rights. Although Budget Minister Eric Woerth denies that this is the intention, the news is disappointing given the drop in heart attack rates following last year's smoking ban.

ESC spokesperson Professeur Ph.Gabriel STEG (Universit� Paris VII, Centre Hospitalier Bichat-Claude Bernard, Paris) said :

"While I understand that the alleged motive is that the French government needs to align itself with the European directive and the need to tackle the monopoly of cigarette retail in France, this move contradicts years of health policy to reduce tobacco consumption.

There is clear evidence that an increase in tobacco retail price and restricted access to cigarettes have led to less people smoking, with important health benefits. The government needs to take action to continue its previous policy which tackled smoking as an effective way to improve public health."

Daily financial newpaper Les Echos broke the news on 14 October, stating that the French government would propose the idea to Parliament in mid-November.

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• Le tabac en vente libre sur Internet ? [Tobacco counter on the Internet? ] 

GOOGLE TRANSLATION:

At the time of the fight against tobacco use is increasing (increase of 10% next tobacco endorsement under shock images on cigarette packs), a new provision could face a paradox. Thus, reveal Les Echos, under the transposition of a European directive on excise duties (indirect taxes) levied on tobacco and alcohol, cigarette sales should be possible on the Internet "by 1 April 2010 ".

The daily quoted the ministry's budget, that "the conditions of application of the Directive are far from being arbitrated. "But, adds the journalist, it does not seem possible to put the spirit in question. "The information Voices has led to an immediate denial from the ministry. "The sale of tobacco through the Internet is not permitted in France," says a press release stating that "it is not intended to authorize soon.

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• Phillip Morris Fights Display Ban 

Philip Morris International (PMI) has hit back at groups advocating a total ban on the display of tobacco products in retail stores via a new website.

The cigarette giant supports effective regulation but opposes a total ban on the display of tobacco products in stores.

"A number of countries are investigating a ban on display of tobacco products in retail stores," said PMI's director of regulatory communications, Morgan Rees.

"There is limited information in the public domain that describes experiences from countries that have banned display and so we felt that it would be useful to create a website that provides information on the effectiveness of the ban, as well as to describe its impact on adult smokers, retailers, tobacco manufacturers and enforcement agencies."

To date four countries - Australia, Canada, Iceland and Ireland - have prohibited the display of tobacco products at point of sale. . . .

Meanwhile, Donegal newsagent and National Federation of Retail Newsagents member, Maurice Timony, last week lodged a High Court challenge to contest the Irish Governments ban on tobacco display.

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• Roxon orders Facebook tobacco probe 

Health Minister Nicola Roxon says her department is investigating reports big tobacco companies are using social networking sites like Facebook to hook young people onto cigarettes.

University of Sydney PHD student Becky Freeman told a conference in Darwin the tobacco industry is abusing the internet because the web does not have the same advertising controls as print and television.

Ms Roxon says it looks like tobacco companies are trying to get around Australia's strict regulations.

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• Tobacco companies using social networking to target young 

TOBACCO companies are using legal loopholes to market products on social networking sites including Facebook and MySpace targetting young smokers.

Advertising restrictions on cigarette giants are forcing companies to become savvier in the way they reach consumers.

Fan clubs and unofficial product pages endorsing Marlboro, Benson and Hedges and Lucky Strike are now appearing on social networks, and have the ability to redirect users to the product's website, The Daily Telegraph reports.

Cancer Council Australia has called on the Federal Government to intervene and ensure the sites are pulled down.

Tobacco companies have denied officially setting up Facebook and Myspace pages.

But experts said it was difficult controlling the stealth internet advertising with regulation a global problem.

"It needs to be brought to the Government's attention because they have been very good at restricting tobacco advertising," Professor Ian Olver from the Cancer Council said. . . .

University of Sydney researcher Becky Freeman has been studying the proliferation of tobacco companies using the internet as a marketing tool.

"One of the most innovative marketing strategies was by the Camel brand, which engaged the online community to help design a new packet," she said.

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• Rankin directs NHS anti-smoking viral ad  

Warning: video contains scenes of graphic violence

An NHS trust in Birmingham has recruited the photographer Rankin to help with a new hard-hitting viral anti-smoking ad, part of a multimedia campaign that launches today.

Rankin has co-directed the ad with Chris Cottam, which shows a smoker suffering an assault from an invisible assailant as he walks down the street.

"Smoke and your body takes a beating," a voiceover says at the end of the minute-long film. "Fight back. Quit now."

The video will be shown on a mobile exhibition unit that will tour parts of Birmingham and also offer tests of patients' lung ages and carbon monoxide levels.

Rankin and Cottam's ad is also being distributed virally on YouTube and other websites as part of the marketing campaign surrounding the initiative.

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