Tobacco.org

• 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.

• Japan Tobacco Operating Profit Slumps on Domestic Sales, Yen 

Japan Tobacco Inc., the world’s third-largest publicly traded cigarette maker, said first- quarter operating profit plunged 24 percent as domestic sales dropped and the yen gained.

Operating profit fell to 84.3 billion yen ($887 million) for the three months ended June from 110.5 billion yen a year earlier, the Tokyo-based company said in a statement today. Sales slipped 15 percent to 1.46 trillion yen from 1.72 trillion yen.

The maker of Camel and Mild Seven cigarettes is losing sales in Japan as the smoking rate falls and tighter tobacco controls are introduced. The yen’s rise against the dollar and other currencies eroded gains from overseas cigarette sales helped by the 2007 takeover of U.K.-based Gallaher Group Plc.

“Japan Tobacco was among victims by the global recession,” said Mitsuo Shimizu, an analyst at Tokyo-based Cosmo Securities Co. “It needs to seek growth outside Japan, which makes it more vulnerable to currency swings.”

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• Tobacco maker group hands over taspo user data to prosecutors  

The Tobacco Institute of Japan, the industry body of tobacco manufacturers, has turned over vending machine use logs on cigarette pack purchases by certain individual smokers to public prosecutors when they requested such information for investigative purposes, informed sources said Sunday. Such logs of ''taspo'' smart cards included records on when and at which vending machines the smokers bought cigarette packs, as well as their dates of birth, addresses and phone numbers, the sources said.

There has been a case in which the provided logs helped investigators find a person who had evaded some fines, the sources said. . . .

An institute official told Kyodo News, ''We have kept track of purchases-related logs to check if taspo cards that were stolen or for which reports of loss have been filed may have been used illicitly, and we basically would not provide them to third parties.''

''But we cannot help turning over such logs as well as the addresses, names, dates of birth and contacts of cardholders to investigative authorities as necessary if the authorities request the logs in writing in line with the Code of Criminal Procedure,'' the official said.

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• Japan’s Convenience Store Sales Fall on Cigarettes (Update1)  

Japan’s convenience-store sales in June fell for the first time in 14 months, as customers spent less on cigarettes and lunchbox meals.

Sales at stores open more than a year dropped 2.3 percent to 605.9 billion yen ($6.44 billion), the Japan Franchise Association said in a statement today. Department store sales fell 8.8 percent in June, capping the worst half-year performance, the Japan Department Stores Association said in a separate release today.

Consumers in Japan, the world’s second-largest economy, have cut back on spending as unemployment rose to a five-year high and wages fell for the 12th straight month in May. Sales at convenience stores last year were also boosted with the introduction of an age verification card for vending-machine purchases of cigarettes, which increased customer traffic at chains including Seven & I Holdings Co.’s 7-Eleven and Lawson Inc.’s outlets.

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