Tobacco.org

• Marital Status Influences Women's Smoking Rates 

Smoking rates of Korean women widely vary according to one's marital status and age, according to a survey. In some cases, the difference was as wide as 14 times.

A team of researchers led by Cho Hong-joon, a family medicine professor at Asan Medical Center in Seoul, surveyed some 100,000 Korean men and women (57,246 females, 52,769 males) on their smoking patterns in 1999 and 2003. The survey showed that 2.5 percent of the married women were smokers, while 7.1 percent of the unmarried women and 9 percent of those who suffered the death of their spouses enjoyed smoking. The figure for divorced women rose drastically to 16 percent, according to the survey released Sunday.

On the contrary, smoking rates of men were not significantly different whether or not they were married.

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KT&G to build cigarette plant in Russia 

The Korean tobacco company KT&G and the governor of Kaluga region, Anatoly Artemov, have signed a note of understanding outlining their co-operation with regard to the construction of a cigarette making plant.

According to a Rustabak.ru report, KT&G is in talks with the government of Kaluga region, some 150 km south of Moscow, to build a new cigarette making plant. The Korean tobacco group has recently announced a USD 166 million investment plan for building a tobacco factory in central Russia. The plant with a projected capacity of 6 billion cigarettes per year is expected to launch operations in 2010 and will be employing local labour only.

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S.Korea's Tobacco Giant Opens First Overseas Plant In Turkey 

South Korea`s top tobacco company Korean Tobacco & Ginseng (KT&G) has opened on Thursday a factory in Turkey which is the first overseas plant of the company.

KT&G plans to produce two cigarette brands at its plant in Aegean province of Izmir, company`s chief executive Kwak Young Kyoon said at the opening ceremony.

The plant, which has the capacity to produce 2 billion cigarettes a year, will ship 60 percent of its production to central European and Middle Eastern countries, mainly to Iran, Bulgaria, Hungary and Spain.

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• BAT Korea Under Probe Over Alleged Tax Evasion 

Prosecutors are investigating British American Tobacco Korea (BAT Korea), the largest foreign tobacco company in the country, for alleged tax evasion and illegal lobbying of tax officials to cover up the illegalities.

BAT Korea had evaded taxes by omitting its profits worth more than 100 billion won ($100 million) between 2001 and 2005 in its report to the National Tax Service (NTS), according to the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office.

``We've started this investigation on suspicion that the company had lobbied tax officials for one year from December 2005 when the Seoul Regional Tax Office's investigation into the company was underway,'' said a prosecutor in charge of the case. The prosecution is also looking into whether there was any more tax evasion than previously known.

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• The burning issue of a big, fat cigar 

Last Saturday night at Moghul, an Indian restaurant in Itaewon, 20 cigaristas met to compare their smokes over a glass or two of wine or Coke. It was the monthly meeting of the Seoul Cigar Aficionado Society. As a light rain fell in the dark outside, the room which the smokers had taken over for the night was filled with the tranquil scent of burning cigar. They sat under what looked like a tent, a temporary structure made of transparent plastic. (The idea is to isolate the smell of the cigars from other diners.) Oddly enough, the bad weather didn¡¯t irritate the gathered smokers. On the contrary, the makeshift lodgings created a cheery atmosphere. ¡°We smoke cigars to unwind and to socialize,¡± said Jonathan Muniz, 36, a U.S. military serviceman who traveled down from Panmunjeom to participate in his first meeting at the club. . . .

Kim Il-soon, chairman of the Korean Association of Smoking and Health, said despite rumors that cigars are less risky to health than cigarettes, smoking cigars does pose a health threat to the smoker and to people around them

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• Tobacco wars hit the dance floor 

Domestic laws restrict them from TV advertising, so companies resort to other tactics. What many try to do is court chains, mom-and-pop stores and other businesses associated with young people ¡ª a huge potential market ¡ª with strategies that civic groups say are unethical and at times illegal.? ¡°Everyone wants a flagship store for their product,¡± says an industry source speaking on condition of anonymity. ¡°So what companies do is target certain areas of a city where they can aggressively market their product.¡± Just as clothing manufacturers establish their flagship stores at strategic locations in wealthy areas such as Gangnam in southern Seoul, tobacco companies target convenience stores near colleges and clubs where young people congregate. . . .

Another approach favored by the tobacco companies is to sponsor parties or clubs by paying them directly or indirectly to let them take their products inside. ¡°When I want to hold a party, I contact a tobacco or liquor company. They pick up all the expenses for organizing the party in exchange for advertising their products,¡± says Hong, 35 . . .

Lee Jung-hoon, a KT&G official, admitted that the company sponsored clubs in the past, but said that the practice stopped two years ago. ¡°That is a thing of the past,¡± he says. Kim Young-min, an official at British American Tobacco, denies that his company sponsors club parties.

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UPDATE 1-Steel Partners' Lichtenstein quits from KT&G board 

Warren Lichtenstein, who leads U.S. fund Steel Partners, quit on Friday as an outside director of South Korea's KT&G, ending the fund's 2-year push for the country's top tobacco maker to increase corporate value.

Lichtenstein got the board seat at a closely-watched shareholder vote in early 2006, after it had teamed up with U.S. investor Carl Icahn to offer to buy KT&G at 60,000 won ($60.7) per share, above its market price at the time.

Their offer had valued the firm at $10 billion in the first foreign hostile takeover bid on a major South Korean firm, but never resulted in filing an official tender offer.

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Activist US investor Warren Lichtenstein leaves board of South Korean tobacco company 

Activist U.S. investor Warren Lichtenstein said Friday he is ending a two-year stint on the board of South Korea's dominant cigarette company satisfied he had brought improvements to its business.

Lichtenstein won a seat as an outside director on the board of KT&G Corp. in March 2006 after a high-profile battle in tandem with ally Carl Icahn to force changes at South Korea's one-time government tobacco monopoly.

"I appreciate the opportunity KT&G has given me to contribute as a board member to significantly improve shareholder value during my tenure," Lichtenstein, managing partner of investment fund Steel Partners II, said in a statement announcing his departure.

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South Korean Food, Beverages and Tobacco Market Forecast till 2011, South Korean Food Industry, Sout 

The report "South Korean Food, Beverages and Tobacco Market Forecast till 2011" by RNCOS is a work of in-depth study and evaluation of the past, current, and future market trends in the Food, Beverage and Tobacco industry of South Korea. The report "South Korean Food, Beverages and Tobacco Market Forecast till 2011" by RNCOS is a work of in-depth study and evaluation of the past, current, and future market trends in the Food, Beverage and Tobacco industry of South Korea. This report has been made to help clients in analyzing the opportunities, challenges and drivers critical to the growth of the industry in the East Asian country.

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• Court to hear tobacco suit cases 

An appeals court will open a hearing next Tuesday on lawsuits which cancer patients and their families filed against tobacco company KT&G Corp.

In January 2007, a lower court dismissed compensation demands by the alleged victims, citing the lack of evidence to link their illness to smoking.

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• New Cigarette Maker Aims to Break 4-Way Competition 

Woori Tobacco ― the first local licensed cigarette maker funded with private capital ― kicked off business last month, claiming it has what it takes to challenge the overwhelming lead of the market's No. 1 player, KT&G.

``Advanced filters, customized production and localized marketing are three standout characters that differentiate us from our competitors,'' Hong Won-kie, the company president, said in a Korea Times interview Tuesday. . . .

He explained that Woori Tobacco uses DNA filters in all of its products, as they are known to reduce fatal substances such as dioxin and benzopyrene from passing through.

``Smoking is bad, however, for those who can't help but light up can at least enjoy a less-harmful version,'' he said. . . .

On concerns about promoting awareness of cigarette smoking, Hong said it is planning to participate in industry-wide campaigns to help children understand the dangers of smoking.

But he said Woori will focus more on giving back to the society, by donating funds to regional governments to build town centers and public recreation facilities.

``Many eyes are on us because we're the first private, local cigarette maker to open business, but we have every intention to fulfill the public's expectations,''

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Low Tar Cigarettes Harm Rather Than Help 

In a desperate effort to quit smoking, many people buy special aids, while those who find that too difficult smoke ``low-tar,'' ``mild'' or ``light'' cigarettes.

However, recent reports say these methods could actually do more harm to the body, let alone not help one quit smoking.

Shin Yoon-jeong of the Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs conducted a survey on 443 male and 57 female smokers in 2007 and found ``people tend to smoke more and inhale deeper when smoking low tar cigarettes.''

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South Korea's Aggressive Steps Slash Smoking 

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At an office in Seoul, employees are meeting to talk about kicking the cigarette habit. Health workers from a government-funded clinic are teaching them about the dangers of smoking, and testing their breath to see how long it has been since they last lit up.

South Korea has won praise from the World Health Organization for bringing about one of the world's most dramatic drops in smoking rates. Now only about four out of 10 men smoke. That compares with an average of seven or eight out of every 10 men before the year 2000.

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KT&G Profit Declines 34% in Absence of Tax Refund (Update3) 

KT&G Corp., South Korea's biggest tobacco company, said fourth-quarter profit fell 34 percent from a year earlier in the absence of a one-time tax refund.

Net income was 135 billion won ($142 million) in the three months ended Dec. 31 from 205.1 billion won a year earlier, the Daejeon, South Korea-based company said in a regulatory filing today. That compares with the average estimate of 158.5 billion won of 17 analysts compiled by Bloomberg.

KT&G is looking to sell more cigarettes overseas to offset increasing competition from foreign rivals in South Korea

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KT&G Profit Declines 34% in Absence of Tax Refund (Update3) 

KT&G Corp., South Korea's biggest tobacco company, said fourth-quarter profit fell 34 percent from a year earlier in the absence of a one-time tax refund.

Net income was 135 billion won ($142 million) in the three months ended Dec. 31 from 205.1 billion won a year earlier, the Daejeon, South Korea-based company said in a regulatory filing today. That compares with the average estimate of 158.5 billion won of 17 analysts compiled by Bloomberg.

KT&G is looking to sell more cigarettes overseas to offset increasing competition from foreign rivals in South Korea

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