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Cigarette prices will rise by slightly more than 400 won beginning Dec. 30 in line with the government's efforts to curb smoking.
The Ministry of Finance and Economy said yesterday that the increase in taxes to covering things such as spending on public health promotion will add 409 won to each pack.
The decision comes after months of delay due to lengthy discussions among government branches over when and how to apply heavier duties.
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Wellstone Filters (BULLETIN BOARD: WLSF) announced that as a result of the issuance of South American patents on its proprietary filter formulation, it is preparing to market Wellstone cigarettes in South America, with emphasis on the large markets in Brazil and Argentina.
Argentina has about 12 million adult smokers, or about 40% of the adult population, and Brazil 31 million adult smokers, or 31% of adults, according to the World Bank.
Substantially all the market share in South America is held by two large multinational tobacco companies. Wellstone's strategy in South America is to exploit niche markets by employing its patented filter not only for discount lines but also for a premium brand. The entry into the South America market is part of Wellstone's goal to be the largest of the independent manufacturers.
In the 1990s, two powerful international tobacco companies, BAT and Philip Morris, carried out in Chile a secret plan devised not only to stimulate the consumption and sales of cigarettes in Latin America, but also to divert attention from the harmful effects of tobacco.
The Truth about the Latino Project
How many parents know today that Chile is the country where the largest percentage of school children smoke? How many addicted smokers know that one out of two will die of a smoking-related illness? The so-called Latino Project was created in our country by way of the Chiletabaco company, a subsidiary of BAT.
Carola Fuentes ceded the 10 million exclusive documents that had been in the hands of the big tobacco companies and had been declassified two years ago by the North American justice system and by British tribunals. These documents give accounts of the millions of dollars that were invested in contracting out to scientists; instructions to the Chilean subsidiary, and how they influenced the work of Chilean legislators.
Who is behind this exclusive strategy? What will happen with the smuggling accusations against the large companies? Why hasn't Chile signed on to the important conventions of the World Health Organization in this area?
This week the European Union and the South American trading bloc Mercosur will continue negotiations towards a free trade agreement. We call on negotiators to place health before trade, by excluding tobacco from the agreement.
Every day, doctors see the deadly effects of tobacco. In the Doctors' Manifesto for Global Tobacco Control, more than 130 national medical associations united to call on governments and international bodies to take decisive action to tackle the tobacco pandemic. While trade liberalisation can bring benefits, free trade in tobacco leads to increased consumption.3 This inevitably leads to more tobacco related illness and death. . . .
Negotiators from the European Union and Mercosur must act to protect the future health generations by excluding tobacco from this agreement. Such action would not only show leadership but would set an important precedent for future trade agreements, whether bilateral, regional, or international.
Industry experts say nearly 95 percent of Paraguay's output -- including counterfeit versions of American brands like Marlboro and Camel -- are smuggled through Paraguay's porous borders with Argentina, Bolivia and Brazil and on to the Caribbean, the United States and Mexico.
[This is the 6/10/03 New York Times item.--gb]
This article reports on the recent growth of transnational tobacco companies (TTCs) in South America. Although some scholarly attention has been directed toward such growth in Asia and eastern Europe, South America has also been targeted by the TTCs' aggressive expansionist practices in recent years. Fighting "Big Tobacco" is entirely different from combating most public health problems. Unlike cigarettes, most infectious diseases and maternal and child health problems never provide profits to transnational corporations and governments. Also, most public health problems (with alcohol being another notable exception) are not exacerbated by extensive advertising campaigns that promote the cause of the health problems. Supported by data gathered during three months of fieldwork in Ecuador, Peru, Chile, and Argentina in 1997, this article suggests that the TTCs' marketing strategies override cultural differences in the choices people make regarding smoking and health. Combining critical medical anthropology and public health, this article concludes that unless dramatic actions are taken, an avoidable outbreak of tobacco-related diseases will eventually reach epidemic proportions on the South American continent. It is also a "call to arms" for more medical anthropologists to investigate tobacco-related matters around the world.