Tobacco.org

International cigarette smuggling ring dismantled 

The investigation of an international criminal gang responsible for smuggling millions of cigarettes into the EU from former Soviet Union countries and China has come to a dramatic end with the arrest of 26 people in Poland and Germany, including the presumed main organisers of the smuggling gang. The raids follow months of cooperation between the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF), the Polish Centralne Biuro Śledcze (CBS, Central Investigation Bureau of the National Police) and Germany’s Zollkriminalamt (headquarters of the German Customs Investigation Service).

“This success in the fight against international cigarette smuggling demonstrates once again the importance of close European co-operation of law enforcement agencies”, OLAF Director-General Franz-Hermann Br�ner said.

Jump to full article »

Smoking ban comes true 

Yesterday, the parliamentary health commission voted unanimously to prepare a law banning smoking in public places. A bill has been prepared by the former parliament. It has not come into force because of earlier elections. Numerous changes, however, will be implemented in the bill. It won’t be banned to smoke in one’s own car, there won’t be a total ban on cigarette advertising which will be possible in B2B magazines. The project provides for a ban on smoking in health centers, schools, means of public transport, restaurants, pubs, at bus stops and railway stations, or in elevators. The bill provides for special rooms for smokers to be provided in buildings.

Jump to full article »

Poland cracks cigarette smuggling gang 

WARSAW - Polish police announced Thursday they cracked a major gang smuggling cigarettes from China and the former Soviet republics to Western Europe, detaining 27 suspects including alleged gang kingpins.

Jump to full article »

New Publication Examines the Market for NRT Smoking Cessation Aids in Poland 

Research and Markets (http://www.researchandmarkets.com/reports/c81041) has announced the addition of Euromonitor International's new report: NRT Smoking Cessation Aids in Poland to their offering.

Our NRT Smoking Cessation Aids in Poland report offers a comprehensive guide to the size and shape of the market at a national level. It provides the latest retail sales data (2001-2006), allowing you to identify the sectors driving growth. It identifies the leading companies, the leading brands and offers strategic analysis of key factors influencing the market - be they new product developments, distribution or pricing issues. Forecasts to 2011 illustrate how the market is set to change.

Jump to full article »

Poles buy less cigarettes, legally 

The sale of tobacco dropped to 69.8 billion cigarettes in Poland in 2007, i.e. 2.5 billion less than in the prrevious year, the National Association of Tobacco Industry has revealed.

It looks as if Polish smokers are beginning to turn away from cigarettes, at least those purchased legally.

An increase in the excise duty that has contributed to a significant rise in tobacco prices and antismoking campaigns in the Polish media seem to be the main reasons for the change of attitudes among 9 million habitual smokers in Poland.

By 2009, tobacco prices in Poland will go even further up when the country will have to be fully compliant with the EU requirements regarding excise duty on tobacco (at least 64 EUR per 1000 cigarettes). . . .

The news is bad for tobacco manufacturers in Poland. In 2006, out of seven tobacco producers only 2 were profitable, according to Puls Biznesu.

Jump to full article »

Did you see?  

Not everywhere has cast smokers into an al fresco wilderness. Not only is Poland still wreathed in blue fumes, but its young women are championing a surprising new trend – pipe smoking.

In the last Pipe Smoking World Championships, Poland was responsible for 135 of the 328 participants. Danuta Pytel, leader of the Polish women’s team, kept her pipe going with one light for 3hrs 8min 9sec, a world record.

Among the new generation of enthusiastic Polish pipe smokers is 24-year-old Karolina Wentland, from Poznan. . . .

“Poland is a smokers’ paradise, but for how long, I don’t know,” Karolina says.

Jump to full article »

• Smoking ban support 

Some 65% of the public support a ban on smoking in public places, although only a minority believe it will help reduce the number of smokers, a poll by TNS OBOP has found.

Around 70% want smoking banned from restaurants, pubs and cafes, and 60% from work.

Jump to full article »

• Can We Trust National Smoking Prevalence Figures? Discrepancies Between Biochemically Assessed and Self-Reported Smoking Rates in Three Countries  

Results: Self-reported cigarette smoking prevalence using the standard methods underestimated true tobacco smoking prevalence by an estimated 2.8% in England, 0.6% in the United States, and 4.4% in Poland. Cotinine concentrations in those misclassified as nonsmokers were indicative of high levels of smoke intake.

Interpretation: Underestimation of smoking prevalence was minimal in the United States but significant in England and Poland. A review of methodologies for assessing tobacco smoking prevalence worldwide is urgently needed. (Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2007;16(4):820-2)

Jump to full article »

• Cheap Cigarette Is King 

For tobacco companies 2006 was mainly a year of fighting for buyers of cheap cigarettes. A total of 11 new brands were launched, and prices on some products were cut in the first half of the year. According to tobacco company Philip Morris, more than 77 billion cigarettes were sold in Poland in 2006, 500 million fewer than a year before. The best sellers were cheap brands, accounting for about 82 percent of the market, and pipe tobacco. A survey by consulting company AC Nielsen showed that Polish smokers buy brands such as L&M (about 13 percent of the market), Red&White, Marlboro, Viceroy and Mocne.

The large market share of cheap cigarettes is the result of the excise tax structure in Poland, which encourages manufacturers to offer poorer-quality cigarettes as well as tobacco for making roll-your-owns.

Jump to full article »

8.6M CIGS SEIZED 

A PLOT to flood Scotland with million of pounds worth of cheap cigarettes from Poland has been foiled.

Customs officers swooped on a lorry at the International Ferry Terminal near Newcastle and found 8.6million contraband ciggies, worth £2.2million.

A Revenue and Customs spokesman said: "A significant part of this contraband cigarette seizure was intended for distribution and sale in Scotland."

Jump to full article »

Pentobarbital in tobacco 

The spectrometric analysis of extracts from tobacco and tobacco smoke revealed the presence of pentobarbital in the analyzed substances. Tobacco samples and tobacco smoke were extracted with chloroform, determinations were performed with the Perkin-Elmer Autosystem XL system, on a Turbo Mass spectrometer.

Subject to analysis were 4 cigarette brands manufactured in Poland and raw, unprocessed tobacco. The presence of pentobarbital in the analyzed samples was confirmed by the analysis of the mass spectrum of the substance, as well as by comparison of retention time with standard of pentobarbital.

The determined pentobarbital concentrations in tobacco amounted to 3–6 μg/cigarette, and in tobacco smoke they were approximately 45% lower.

In case of tobacco extracts it can with high probability be excluded that pentobarbital is synthesized during chromatographical analysis. The presence of pentobarbital in tobacco is thus beyond question.

Jump to full article »

• Tobacco firms appeal to 'common sense' ($$) 

Jump to full article »

Poland: PKP IC railway operator implements ban on smoking 

No more smoking in Intercity trains in Poland. The smokers may use express trains instead.

On December 9th, the ban on smoking will be implemented in PKP Intercity (PKP IC) trains. The total ban will be valid in 30 trains – intercity and eurocity ones. In the remaining 140 trains, i.e. express trains and Tanie Linie Kolejowe, there will be no ban.

Jump to full article »

• Social inequalities in male mortality, and in male mortality from smoking: indirect estimation from national death rates in England and Wales, Poland, and North America 

Background

There are substantial social inequalities in adult male mortality in many countries. Smoking is often more prevalent among men of lower social class, education, or income. The contribution of smoking to these social inequalities in mortality remains uncertain.

Methods

The contribution of smoking to adult mortality in a population can be estimated indirectly from disease-specific death rates in that population (using absolute lung cancer rates to indicate proportions due to smoking of mortality from certain other diseases). We applied these methods to 1996 death rates at ages 35–69 years in men in three different social strata in four countries, based on a total of 0·6 million deaths. The highest and lowest social strata were based on social class (professional vs unskilled manual) in England and Wales, neighbourhood income (top vs bottom quintile) in urban Canada, and completed years of education (more than vs less than 12 years) in the USA and Poland. . . .

Conclusion

In these populations, most, but not all, of the substantial social inequalities in adult male mortality during the 1990s were due to the effects of smoking. Widespread cessation of smoking could eventually halve the absolute differences between these social strata in the risk of premature death. Back to top

Jump to full article »

• Baltic gangs ‘smuggling cigarettes into Ireland’ 

CRIMINAL gangs from the Baltic states are operating a highly organised cigarette smuggling operation into Ireland, according to the Revenue Commissioners.

The emergence of the trafficking route is directly responsible for a massive jump in the number of cigarette seizures last year. . . .

He said most of the smuggling is done in suitcases, and an unknown amount of consignments were getting through. Customs believe the cigarettes are being sold to people from the Baltic states, through their own shops.

Jump to full article »