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Philip Morris International Announces Agreement to Acquire Swedish Match South Africa for $222 Million  

Philip Morris International Inc. [NYSE / Euronext Paris: PM] (PMI) announced today that the company has entered into an agreement with Swedish Match AB to purchase its South African affiliate, Swedish Match South Africa (Proprietary) Limited (SMSA) for ZAR 1.75 billion (approximately $222 million).

SMSA is the market leader in the South African pipe tobacco and snuff categories, which represent an estimated 31% of total tobacco consumption. In 2008, SMSA reported net revenues of ZAR 687 million. Its principal brands include Boxer, Best Blend and Taxi.

“This financially attractive acquisition represents an excellent strategic fit for our business in South Africa,” said Jean-Claude Kunz, President of PMI’s Eastern Europe, Middle East & Africa Region. “We firmly believe that merging the two businesses will provide us with the talent, infrastructure and expertise to further build and grow our portfolio of strong brands in this important market.”

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Swedish Match agrees to sell South African operations to Philip Morris International  

Swedish Match AB [publ] announced today that it has reached an agreement to sell its South African operations, Swedish Match South Africa (Proprietary) Limited (“SMSA”) to Philip Morris International [NYSE/Euronext Paris: PMI] (“PMI”) for a purchase price amounting to 1.75 billion ZAR.

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UPDATE 1-Swedish Match sells S.African ops to Philip Morris 

* Sells S. African ops to Philip Morris for 1.75 bln rand

* Says deal to be complete in the second half of 2009

* Says capital gain on sale about 500-600 mln SEK

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Philip Morris to buy Swedish Match South Africa 

Philip Morris International Inc. said Thursday it has agreed to buy Swedish Match AB's South African operations for 1.75 billion South African rand, or roughly $222 million.

Swedish Match South Africa Ltd. reported sales of 687 million South African rand last year. Its brands include Boxer, Best Blend and Taxi.

Philip Morris estimated that Swedish Match South Africa's pipe tobacco and snuff products represent about 31 percent of total tobacco consumption in South Africa.

In a statement, Jean-Claude Kunz, president of Philip Morris' Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa region, said the deal "represents an excellent strategic fit for our business in South Africa," which he called an "important market."

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'Smoking kids' caused fire 

The fire that ravaged the Helderberg earlier in 2009 was caused by children smoking, not by arson, according to investigation findings released on Thursday. . . .

"[It] was started by children who'd been smoking.

"They'd been smoking one of these hubbly-bubblies, and they discarded the burning embers into some dry fynbos," he said.

One of the South Peninsula fires, that started in the Welcome Glen valley, had also resulted from children smoking in the bushes.

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Greater protection for non-smokers soon 

If you're a business owner, you may have already given some thought to how the tough new smoking laws will affect you when they take effect on Monday.�

The National Council Against Smoking Peter Ucko says there will be a number of changes introduced when the revised Tobacco Products Control Act becomes effective.

"Some of the important changes will be the inclusion of the words 'partially enclosed' in the definition of a public place, so no smoking on verandas and things like that, so there'll also be no smoking in certain outdoor areas such as railway platforms, sports stadia and places where people gather in numbers."

Smokers will also no longer be able to smoke in their cars if they're traveling with children under the age of 12, while the legal smoking age has been upped from 16 to 18.�

Graphic picture warnings on all tobacco packaging has also be given the go-ahead.

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Grim warnings on cigarette packs not enough 

The national Health Department is studying samples of graphic tobacco-use warnings from a number of countries, including Brazil and Thailand, which are expected to appear on cigarette packs here, but no date has been set.

South Africa's diverse cultures and religions needed to considered carefully first, said departmental spokesperson Fidel Hadebe.

While the Tobacco Products Control Amendment Bill was signed into law recently, there was still a need to ensure that these images were not "culturally or religiously insensitive" to South African consumers, Hadebe said. There have been high hopes that the new law would take effect on Sunday, World No Tobacco Day. . . .

He added that they believed some of the samples provided might be too distasteful for most South Africans.

This was because the warnings tied smoking to, among other things, penile and cervical cancer.

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LETTER: 'Outlaw public smoking' 

South African smokers are very inconsiderate.

They freely smoke in public places, exposing our small kids to this bad and deadly habit.

Besides kids becoming secondary smokers unnecessarily, public smoking also makes them think smoking is cool. . . .

What really gets to me is that all these people think I'm being unfair when I confront them.

We really don't have to put up with this kind of behaviour. Smoking is a bad habit that must be discouraged in every way possible.

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SOUTH AFRICA-TOCACCO PRICES STILL GOOD. 

Despite global upheavals 2008 ended with excellent results for tobacco, rounding off a decade of value creation with a total shareholder return of 486%, according to the British American Tobacco (BAT) group. Developing markets in Eastern Europe and East Asia are expanding and the group expects the profit pool to grow.

Even allowing for an average per capita decline in tobacco consumption of 1% per year, adult population growth could see the world’s smokers increase to 1,5 billion by 2050.

Last year, the BAT group alone bought 380 000t of tobacco leaf, mostly from farmers and suppliers in emerging economies where the crop is said to be more profitable than maize and cotton. BAT’s social responsibility programme, which addresses issues such as leaf growing, processing, health, and the environment, reaches 300 000 such producers across the globe. According to the Tobacco Institute of South Africa, international demand for cigarette tobacco was expected to exceed supply by the end of 2008. . . .

Parties to the World Health Organisation’s Framework Convention on Tobacco Control regularly revise guidelines for governments on tobacco policies, including bans on advertising and the use of plain tobacco packaging. But BAT believes the industry should be drawn into the regulatory process to prevent impractical legislation.

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UPDATE 1-Massmart sales growth slows on cigarette change 

South African general retailer Massmart Holdings Ltd (MSMJ.J) boosted 44-week sales by 11.8 percent thanks to higher prices but said growth slowed due to a change in the way wholesale cigarettes are sold.

The company said sales in the 44 weeks to May 3 totalled 36.7 billion rand ($4.42 billion), an increase of 9.7 percent on a comparable stores basis. The rise was driven largely by product inflation of 11.8 percent over the period.

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• Getting hooked on hookahs hazardous - report 

The Eastern smoking pipes known as hookahs could be potentially more dangerous than cigarettes, researchers say.

The Medical Research Council (MRC) has said that hookah smoking could be a major contributor in the transmission of diseases such as tuberculosis, viral hepatitis and oral herpes infection.

MRC president Professor Anthony Mbewu said the growing practice of using hookahs was a concern. . . .

Professor Angela Mathee, director of the MRC's Environment & Health Research Unit, said a study in Johannesburg had found smoking hookahs was so widespread and accepted in some communities that children as young as six were doing it.

"I have personally witnessed a two-year-old child smoking a hookah pipe in the presence of his mother.

"I have also seen children as young as six smoking pipes they made from plastic bottles and straws."

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Shahrukh in trouble for smoking at the IPL 

Bollywood actor Shahrukh Khan's act of smoking during an Indian Premier League match hasn't gone down too well with the anti-smoking lobby. The National Organisation for Tobacco Eradication (NOTE) was upset with the broadcasters of the tournament which showed the footage of King Khan smoking during the match between Kolkata Knight Riders and the Kings XI Punjab.

NOTE issued a statement that the official broadcasters should ensure that footage of smoking especially by celebrities should not be broadcast. They argued that such visuals increases the chances of youngsters picking up the habit in trying to imitate their heroes. NOTE has requested the even organisers to make no smoking announcements at the venues during the matches.

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Will SRK be forbidden from watching IPL? 

Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan's smoking act during an Indian Premier League (IPL) match April 21 has not gone down well with the anti-smoking lobby which is trying to ensure that television footage of celebrities smoking should not be broadcast.

The National Organisation for Tobacco Eradication (NOTE) said in a statement that its counterpart South African National Council Against Smoking (NCAS) is lobbying with the official broadcasters to ensure that footage of smoking, especially by celebrities, should not be broadcast.

"We have sent the details to Supersport, who are the official broadcasters of the IPL and the NCAS is in the process of soliciting an agreement that they will not show anyone smoking," NCAS's convener Peter Ucko informed NOTE.

NCAS has said that television footage showing icons smoking dangerously increases the chances of children and other non smokers picking up the habit as they try to emulate their heroes.

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NGO protests Shahrukh smoking at IPL 

The National Organisation for Tobacco Eradication (NOTE), has protested against filmstar Shahrukh Khan who was shown on the TV screen smoking during an IPL match on April 21 in South Africa.

NOTE has asked the South African National Council Against Smoking (NCAS) to consider the issue seriously and stop smoking in the stadium during Indian Premier League matches.

"I chatted with them and sent details and motivation to the supersport. They are the broadcasters. I am soliciting an agreement that they will not show anyone smoking," Peter Ucko from NCAS has informed NOTE.

NOTE General Secretary Shekhar Salkar told PTI that they had contected NCAS to explore possible advocacy that can be coordinated in South Africa after King Khan was shown puffing on a television screen.

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New legislation needed to ban smoking at Wanderers 

HIGHVELD Lions franchise CEO Alan Kourie said yesterday that until legislation was passed at national level, smoking could not be banned inside the Wanderers stadium.

He was reacting to a rash of complaints from fans who were at the Wanderers for the final one-day cricket international between SA and Australia at the Wanderers last Friday night.

Arguments started at several places among the crowd in the stadium, which was pretty well packed to capacity.

In some cases, security guards were called in to stop people smoking but as soon as they left, the same spectators merely lit up again. . . .

Kourie said he would love to be able to declare the Wanderers stadium a smoke-free zone. “We are aware that it poses a problem but until there is legislation at national level to back us up there is nothing we can do about it. We would love to have a smoke-free stadium.”

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