Tobacco.org

Smokefree Innotec Names Belgian Group for Packaging Design 

Smokefree Innotec, Inc. (Pink Sheets: SFIO) (www.smokefree-innotec.com) announced today that it has entered into an alliance with Guy Bout and Olaf Cornelis, partners in The Funbox Company, a Brussels, Belgium-based group, for the packaging design of the Smokefree Innotec products. The Funbox Company design will feature a revolutionary packaging of the filters, which will have the same dimensions of a standard pack of cigarettes, but having been adapted to blister pack the mouthpieces. The package will be easy in use, attractive in design and an eye-catcher on the shelf. Perhaps more importantly, all packaging will be manufactured out of recycled paper product and, therefore, environmentally friendly, just like the Company's "tobacco innovation" itself.

The Funbox Company will also play a pivotal role in introducing, distributing and marketing the Smokefree Innotec product in the Benelux countries (The Netherlands, Belgium and Luxemburg) later this year.

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Richemont may kick the tobacco habit  

SWISS luxury goods maker Richemont said it was considering spinning off its € 9,8bn stake in British American Tobacco (BAT) from its operating interests in a bid to avoid paying more tax in Luxembourg.

South African investment holding company Remgro also said it would consider restructuring to split its tobacco assets from its other interests. It has an indirect 10,6% stake in BAT through a Luxembourg holding group. Its BAT stake accounts for about 53% of its net asset value.

Richemont and Remgro said the restructuring was proposed because of impending changes in the law in Luxembourg. Richemont’s major subsidiary and co-issuer of Richemont units is located in Luxembourg, as is the Remgro subsidiary. The move could see shareholders gaining direct stakes in BAT.

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• Richemont May Spin Off BAT Stake on Luxembourg Taxes (Update4) 

Cie. Financiere Richemont SA, the luxury-goods company controlled by South Africa's Rupert family, may spin off its stake in British American Tobacco Plc before increased taxes in Luxembourg hurt the investment.

Richemont shares rose the most since June 2006. The maker of Cartier jewelry and Purdey shotguns may split its luxury business from its stake in BAT, whose brands include Lucky Strikes, according to a statement from the Geneva-based company today.

Richemont and the billionaire Ruperts' Remgro Ltd. use Luxembourg-based R&R Holdings SA to own nearly a third of BAT, worth about 10.8 billion pounds ($22 billion). The European Union forced Luxembourg to end tax breaks for holding companies in 2010, prompting Richemont and R&R to reorganize.

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EU commissioner warns Germany over tobacco ads  

The European Commission may take Germany to court over its failure to implement a bloc-wide ban on tobacco advertising, EU health commissioner Markos Kyprianou said in an interview published.

"I am determined to bring this case before the European Court of Justice as soon as possible and will recommend this step to the Commission," Kyprianou told the German daily Berliner Zeitung.

Kyprianou said that Germany had missed an April 1 deadline to introduce the ban, which outlaws ads for tobacco products in print media and on the Internet. Television commercials were already illegal.

It also bans the sponsorship of cross-border cultural and sporting events by tobacco companies.

"Advertising for tobacco products increases consumption, above all because it encourages children and adolescents to start smoking," Kyprianou said.

"Advertising and sponsoring glorify smoking. They create a mood in which cigarette consumption is seen as normal and acceptable."

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Racial Tolerance Cigarettes 

Tolerance Cigarettes is the newest tobacco product from Heintz van Landewyck, a Luxembourg-based maker of cigarettes. It's marketed to promote a world of friendliness, communication and positive vibes. . . .

According to Heintz van Landewyck, using the word "tolerance" in a brand of smokes is supposed to send a message of anti-racism, anti-terrorism and encourages different cultures and races to live together peacefully.

As someone who doesn't smoke cigarettes I don't think I'll find them very "tolerable". But I guess the next time someone gives you crap about your Yarmulke, hand him a Tolerance Cigarette.

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EU takes action against Germany, Luxembourg on cross-border tobacco advertising 

The European Commission said it has sent "reasoned opinions" to Germany and Luxembourg for failing to adopt EU laws banning tobacco advertising in the print media, on radio and over the internet.

The laws apply only to tobacco advertising and sponsorship with a cross-border dimension.

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• EU Sues Germany, Luxembourg Over Tobacco Ads 

The European Commission Wednesday sued Germany and Luxembourg over the failure by both countries to adopt restrictions on tobacco advertisements and sponsorships.

The Commission first warned both countries in October. The present legal action gives them two months to comply or face a full case at the European Court of Justice. The Court could then impose fines.

Under an EU law passed in 2003, all tobacco advertising in print, on the radio or via the Internet is forbidden. The law also prohibits tobacco sponsorships of cross-border events.

Both Germany and Luxembourg haven't incorporated the ban into their national law.

"The Commission must ensure that EU law is upheld," said European Health and Consumer Protection Commissioner Markos Kyprianou.

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• Smoke Free Europe 2005 

We are pleased to announce "Smoke Free Europe 2005". This high-level conference is taking place the day after Sweden introduces Smoke Free legislation, six months after Italy went Smoke Free , two after Malta and a year and a bit after the pioneer, Ireland went Smoke Free.

Ministers from other countries that are in the vanguard of Smoke Free legislation, such as Finland , Poland , Latvia and Hungary are expected to give their unique perspectives as well.

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Official programme: Luxembourg, 2 June 

Belgian has 'lost' millions in tobacco taxes 

According to a report in the Friday edition of Belgium's La Derniere Heure newspaper the Belgian government's recent high-profile plans to crack down on smoking has backfired.

The cornerstone of the plan, unveiled at the beginning of this year, was a hefty increase in the cost of a packet of cigarettes.

But while the move seems to have hit tobacco sales in Belgium, it does not seem to have had much of an effect on the number of people in the country who smoke.

Instead, argues La Derniere Heure, more and more nicotine-addicted Belgians are crossing over the border into neighbouring Luxembourg to stock up on their weekly or monthly fixes.

To support its claim, the newspaper points to official figures that show that 501 million fewer cigarettes were sold in Belgium during the first four months of this year than during the same period in 2003.

In Luxembourg on the other hand cigarette sales have increased by 614 million over the same period.

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Life sentence for tobacco robbers 

Three men from York have been sentenced to life imprisonment for carrying out an armed robbery which ended in murder.

Christophe Padiglione was shot dead and warehouse owner Francis Lemal seriously wounded in the armed raid on a tobacco warehouse in Esch, Luxembourg, in 2000.

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Britons in Warehouse Murder Raid Jailed for 30 Years 

A gang of British tobacco smugglers were today jailed for life after one man was murdered and another seriously wounded during an armed robbery on a cigarette warehouse in Luxembourg.

Keith Birkinshaw, 50, his 29-year-old son Edward, and Glenn Dawson, 27, all from York, face 30 years in prison.

Edward Birkinshaw and Dawson killed warehouse manager Christophe Padiglione during the robbery in Esch, southern Luxembourg, on November 6, 2000.

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Britons get life for killing man in tobacco raid 

Three Britons who shot dead a man and seriously wounded another in an armed robbery on a tobacco warehouse in Luxembourg have been jailed for life.

Edward Birkinshaw, his father Keith, and Glenn Dawson. They each face 30 years in jail

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Verdicts Due in Tobacco Warehouse Murder Case 

A judge was due to deliver verdicts today in the case of three Britons accused of carrying out a callous armed robbery which ended in murder.

Christophe Padiglione was shot dead and warehouse owner Francis Lemal seriously wounded in the raid on a tobacco warehouse in Esch, Luxembourg, on November 6, 2000.

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Tobacco smugglers jailed 

SCOTTISH customs officers last night welcomed the jailing of two men for a total of nine years for attempting to smuggle more than nine tonnes of tobacco into the UK.

James Brown and Douglas McBurney were convicted of conspiracy to evade 1.1 million in duty and VAT for attempting to smuggle the tobacco through the port of Dover. At Maidstone Crown Court, Brown, 43, was jailed for five years and McBurney, 47, received a four-year sentence.

HM Customs and Excise said the contraband was heading for Glasgow.

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