Tobacco.org

Japan Tobacco Says State Will Sell Stake ‘Eventually’ (Update1)  

Japan Tobacco Inc. said the country’s government will “eventually” sell its stake in the maker of Benson & Hedges cigarettes as Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama may want to raise funds to stem rising public debt.

“What we hear is that they think about privatization, which includes us,” Munetaka Takeda, executive deputy president, told a briefing in London yesterday. “So, eventually it’s likely to happen.”

Japan’s government owns 50.01 percent of the cigarette maker, having sold stock three times since the company was founded in 1985. Shares of Japan Tobacco, the world’s third- largest publicly traded cigarette maker, have fallen 14 percent since Hatoyama came to office on Sept. 16, as the government debates whether to raise taxes on cigarettes.

“In the future, privatization has to be done,” said Yasuhiro Matsumoto, a senior analyst at Shinsei Securities Co. in Tokyo. Still, “the government wants to keep some control over Japan Tobacco to raise taxes.”

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Men's smoking rate in Japan at record-low 36.8% 

The smoking rate among men in Japan has fallen to a record-low 36.8% since the survey of its kind was launched in 1986, while the rate among women stood at 9.1%, dropping below 10% for the first time since 2001, the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry said Monday. The rate among the men and women in total was 21.8% in the survey conducted a year ago, down 5.9 percentage points in five years.

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• Japan Tobacco Says State Will Sell Stake ‘Eventually’ (Update2) 

Japan Tobacco Inc. said the country’s government will sell its stake in the company “eventually” as Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama may want to raise funds to stem rising public debt.

“What we hear is that they think about privatization, which includes us,” Japan Tobacco’s executive deputy president Munetaka Takeda told a briefing in London today. “So, eventually it’s likely to happen.”

Japan’s government owns 50.01 percent of the cigarette maker, having sold shares three times since the company was founded in 1985. Most recently, the state sold a 14.5 percent stake in June 2004. Public debt in Japan is approaching twice the size of gross domestic product, according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.

“The government will look cautiously at the stock market, so it’s unlikely there’ll be a sale overnight or tomorrow, nor will they dispose of everything at once,” Takeda said.

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• Tokyo considers raising cigarette tax, in threat to Japan Tobacco  

Japan's new administration is considering raising cigarette taxes to European levels to help pay for an ambitious domestic spending plan, in a potential threat to partially state-owned Japan Tobacco Inc.

Shares of Japan Tobacco—the world's third largest cigarette company by sales volume, after Altria Group Inc. of the U.S. and British American Tobacco PLC of the U.K.—fell more than 4% Monday before recovering and ending down 0.9% to 254,300 yen, or $2,824.93.

The sharp moves followed comments Sunday by a top Japanese health official during a television interview that raised the possibility of the tax increase.

"Tobacco poses health problems. It may be necessary to raise [the tobacco tax] to the levels in Europe," said Akira Nagatsuma, minister of health, labor and welfare.

The health ministry already has asked the government's tax panel to increase the tobacco tax as part of tax reforms for fiscal 2010.

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Tobacco tax hike in 2010 in cards 

Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama has flagged a tobacco tax increase as a focal point of tax reforms in fiscal 2010.

"Raising the (tobacco) tax is a step in the right direction," Hatoyama said Friday

His remarks came the same day the government's tax commission finished accepting tax reform proposals for fiscal 2010 from government ministries and agencies.

On Sunday, health minister Akira Nagatsuma stressed the need for a hike in the tobacco tax.

"A pack of cigarettes should be priced in the same range as in European countries, partly because of health problems," he said on TV.

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• Japan Considers Higher Tobacco Taxes 

Japan's new administration is considering raising cigarette taxes to European levels to help pay for an ambitious domestic spending plan, in a potential threat to partially state-owned Japan Tobacco Inc.

Shares of Japan Tobacco, the world's third largest cigarette company by sales volume after Altria Group Inc. of the U.S. and British American Tobacco PLC of the U.K., fell more than 4% Monday before recovering and ending down 0.9% to 254,300 yen, or $2,825.02. The sharp moves followed commments Sunday by a top Japanese health official during a television interview that raised the possibility.

''Tobacco poses health problems. It may be necessary to raise it [the tobacco tax] to the levels in Europe," said Akira Nagatsuma, minister of health, labor and welfare.

The health ministry already has asked the government's tax panel to increase the tobacco tax as part of fiscal 2010 tax reforms. An increase of 10 yen per cigarette - 10 times the amount of previous increases - is currently being debated.

Cigarettes in Japan are among the cheapest of any developed nation

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Japan min eyes tobacco tax at European levels  

health minister said on Sunday the country's tobacco tax could be raised to levels seen in Europe, reiterating the ministry's proposal forwarded to the government as part of fiscal 2010 tax reforms, Kyodo news agency reported.

"Tobacco poses health problems. It may be necessary to raise it (the tobacco tax) to the levels in Europe," health minister Akira Nagatsuma was quoted by Kyodo as telling a TV programme.

The comment appeared to be in a reference to a recent comment by the vice health minister that the average tobacco price in developed countries is about 600 yen ($6.7) per pack, compared with around 300 yen for a pack of 20 cigarettes in Japan, Kyodo said.

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Japanese smokers get higher tax  

pan is considering raising the tobacco tax to European levels in 2010, government officials announced.

The current tax on tobacco is about half that of most developed countries; 300 compared to 600 yen ($3.36-$6.73) for a 20-pack of cigarettes, Japan's Kyodo News reported Sunday.

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Japan Health Ministry Seeks Higher Tobacco Taxes, Kyodo Says 

Japan’s health ministry will seek to increase tobacco taxes by 10 yen per cigarette, Kyodo News said, citing unidentified government officials.

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• Smoking ban sparks shooting threat 

YOKOHAMA (Kyodo) Police have turned a case over to prosecutors on an Ehime Prefecture man who allegedly threatened to shoot Kanagawa Gov. Shigefumi Matsuzawa for setting Japan's first local ordinance that bans smoking inside public facilities.

The 49-year-old smoker has admitted to the charges, saying he did it because he thought he would not be able to smoke if a similar ordinance was introduced in Ehime Prefecture, according to Kanagawa police.

"The rising antismoking mood has made me feel small," the shipbuilding worker was quoted by the police as saying. . . .

He is suspected of sending an e-mail to the prime minister's office from his mobile phone that said, "I will shoot the Kanagawa governor for banning smoking."

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SLEIGHT: Marlboro's black menthol 'One' cigarette in Japan 

The Marlboro "One" was on every vending machine that I saw in Japan

Whenever I travel internationally, I look at how cigarettes are advertised. On a recent trip to Japan, the Marlboro "One" menthol cigarette was featured on every vending machine that I came across during my brief stay. Cigarettes were about $3.00 a pack and the minimum age to buy was 20. A special card was needed to purchase out of a vending machine to prevent underage purchases.

One of the commercials that I viewed on the television was for "Cafe Tobacco," a smoking haven.

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Adult smoking rate off for 14th year 

The percentage of smokers among adults has fallen 0.8 point from a year earlier to 24.9 percent, hitting a record low for the 14th straight year, an annual survey conducted in May by Japan Tobacco Inc. showed Friday.

"Multiple factors appear to have caused the decline, such as increased health awareness and tightening of regulations on smoking," said Japan's sole tobacco producer.

The smoking rate for men fell for the 18th consecutive year to 38.9 percent, down 0.6 point from the previous year, while the rate for women stood at 11.9 percent, down 1.0 point, following a 0.2 point rise the previous year.

Based on its latest survey, the total number of smokers was estimated at 26.01 million, down 790,000 from the previous year, JT said.

In addition to increasing restrictions on smoking in public places, the government's introduction of the Taspo smart cards has apparently discouraged smoking, JT said.

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• Japan's Smoking Population Drops To Record Low; Under 25%  

The percentage of smokers in Japan has fallen below a quarter of the adult population for the first time, with both men and women lighting up less, according to the results of a nationwide survey released Friday by Japan Tobacco Inc. (2914.TO).

In the annual survey, carried out in May by the world's third-largest tobacco producer by volume, 24.9% of respondents considered themselves to be smokers. The result is lower than last year's figure of 25.7%, and marks the lowest level since the company, known as JT, started compiling such data in 1965.

Japan had long been considered a smokers' paradise, with smoking rates hitting a peak of 49.4% in 1966. But the country has experienced a gradual decline in the number of smokers, due in part to an aging population, increased health consciousness and more stringent smoking regulations.

With slowing sales in Japan keeping a lid on revenue, JT is looking to gain a greater share of growing markets such as Russia and the Middle East

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• EDITORIAL: Big Brother behind the smoke  

In the spring of 2008, the Tobacco Institute of Japan together with the associations of tobacco retailers and vending machine manufacturers introduced Taspo, "tobacco passport." At the time, the system seemed a reasonable enough solution to one of Japan's perennial problems -- underage smoking. However, Taspo now is reported to have found a new use -- helping investigators track down the movements of criminal suspects.

The Tobacco Institute of Japan, which oversees the Taspo system, revealed recently that personal data and records of specific tobacco purchases at Taspo-required vending machines were handed over to public prosecutors. . . .

One has to wonder whether the accumulation of data by businesses is for marketing research or for other purposes. When even the purchase of a pack of cigarettes becomes part of an information database, the surveillance of people's private lives by technological means has gone too far.

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• Japan's tobacco habit runs into court challenge 

YOKOHAMA, JAPAN -- One plaintiff is a cancer patient. Another is represented by his widow. The third, has emphysema and rolls into the courtroom on a wheelchair with tubes trailing out of his nose.

The three Japanese are waging a minnow-vs.-whale battle against Big Tobacco in one of the world's most smoker-friendly countries. But precedent suggests they're likely to lose, and they hope their suit will at least draw attention to the dangers of smoking.

Even if they win, they're unlikely to dent the finances of Japan Tobacco Inc., a former monopoly still half-owned by the government. The three are asking for a total of 30 million yen ($320,000) from a company with 6.8 trillion yen ($72.8 billion) a year in sales.

Their larger goal, they say, is to gain stronger curbs on tobacco, and legal and social acceptance of a notion that much of the world now takes for granted: that smoking makes you sick.

They have a long way to go. . . .

The lawsuit demands sterner warning labels on cigarettes, a ban on cigarette vending machines, and an acknowledgment that smoking is addictive and harmful.

"When I began smoking, about 80 percent of men were smokers," Mizuno said. "The advertising phrase was, 'You're healthy when a cigarette tastes so good."'

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When I began smoking, about 80 percent of men were smokers. The advertising phrase was, 'You're healthy when a cigarette tastes so good.'
Masanobu Mizuno, one of the plaintiffs in the 4 1/2 year old suit against Japan Tobacco. Arguments have concluded; a decision is due by Jan. 20, 2010.