http://www.tobacco.org/newsfeed/org/jt.rss Latest top tobacco news headlines en-us http://www.businessweek.com/news/2012-02-08/japan-tobacco-aims-to-boost-eps-as-it-chases-philip-morris.html http://tobacco.org/news/333496.html Japan Tobacco Inc. may buy back shares to help narrow a gap in earnings-per-share growth with rivals including Philip Morris International Inc. and British American Tobacco Plc. "We are chasing Philip Morris and British American," Executive Deputy President Masakazu Shimizu said yesterday in an interview. This will be achieved by increasing EPS growth and dividends as well as through raising cash flows and Ebitda, or earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, margin, he said. The company has said it will buy back shares when the government starts selling from its 50 percent stake in the former tobacco monopoly. Any repurchases will help prevent dilution of share value if the government decides to cut its holding, Shimizu said. Japan may reduce its stake to 33 percent to raise cash to pay for recovery projects after the March 11 earthquake. "The first priority is investing in the business which will be the engine for future growth," Shimizu said. "This will lead to profits for all parties concerned, including shareholders." The world's second-biggest listed cigarette maker plans to increase shareholder dividend while boosting profitability as part of its new mid-term strategy. This comes after paying down its debt from the takeover of Gallaher Group Ltd. in 2007. Business Week/Bloomberg hcheng52@bloomberg.net (Cheng Herng Shinn and Shunichi Ozasa) Wed, 08 Feb 2012 05:00:00 GMT http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/02/08/us-japantobacco-idUSTRE8170J520120208 http://tobacco.org/news/333495.html The head of Japan Tobacco (2914.T) said on Wednesday that profits at the world's third-largest cigarette maker would likely increase next financial year, as business bounces back after the natural disasters that hit Japan in March 2011. President Hiroshi Kimura also told Reuters in an interview the company may issue a limited amount of debt to help fund a buyback of government-owned shares. JT on Monday lifted its operating profit forecast for the year to March to 365 billion yen ($4.75 billion), a 9.5 percent year-on-year rise, partly as sales picked up following domestic cigarette shipment suspensions on a shortage of materials such as filters and paper after the March 11 earthquake and tsunami. Profits next year "won't be lower than this year," said Kimura, 58. Reuters Wed, 08 Feb 2012 05:00:00 GMT http://www.businessweek.com/news/2012-02-07/japan-tobacco-gains-after-profit-forecast-increased-tokyo-mover.html http://tobacco.org/news/333404.html Japan Tobacco Inc., the world's second-largest listed cigarette maker, climbed the most in four months in Tokyo trading after raising its profit forecast and planned dividend. Japan Tobacco gained 5.5 percent, the biggest advance since Sept. 20, to 406,500 yen at the close of trade in Tokyo. A faster-than-expected sales recovery after the March 11 earthquake prompted the company to raise its full-year net income forecast by 17 percent to 189 billion yen ($2.5 billion), following a 34 percent gain in nine-month profit. Tokyo-based Japan Tobacco will also boost its annual dividend payout to a record, it said yesterday. "Their results and dividends are good and their payout will improve, so I think this is a winner," Mikihiko Yamato, an analyst at JI Asia in Tokyo, said by telephone. "There is a growing expectation that the company will increase dividends further next quarter." Business Week/Bloomberg sozasa@bloomberg.net (Shunichi Ozasa and Cheng Herng Shinn) Tue, 07 Feb 2012 05:00:00 GMT http://www.marketwatch.com/story/japan-tobacco-quarterly-profit-jumps-2012-02-06 http://tobacco.org/news/333361.html - Japan Tobacco Inc. on Monday reported a 67% jump in net profit for the fiscal third quarter from a year earlier, when domestic tobacco sales were hit by a tax hike. The world's third-largest tobacco company by sales volume after Philip Morris International Inc. (PM) and British American Tobacco PLC (BTI), generated a net profit of Y64.5 billion in the October-December quarter from a Y38.6 billion profit in the same period a year earlier. JT said revenue grew 23% to Y669.6 billion from Y542.6 billion the previous year. Operating profit rose 73% to Y116.8 billion from Y67.5 billion. Tobacco sales in Japan have slumped since the tax hike came into effect Oct. 1, 2010. A temporary suspension of shipments of all JT cigarette brands last year due to a shortage of filters and other supplies after the March 11 earthquake and tsunami also hit sales. But with the negative impact of the tax hike running its course over the previous 12 months, tobacco sales in volume in October soared 2.6 times, marking the first on-year gain in 13 months. CBS MarketWatch Japan Mon, 06 Feb 2012 05:00:00 GMT http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2012/jan/29/syria-cigarettes-jti-assad http://tobacco.org/news/332826.html A tobacco giant behind three of the UK's leading brands is under investigation after millions of its cigarettes were shipped to a firm linked to a billionaire accused of playing a key part in suppressing the popular uprising in Syria. The development has revived concerns about the ability of "big tobacco" to police its distribution networks – third party agents who move its product around the world. Japan Tobacco International (JTI), which owns the Silk Cut, Mayfair and Benson & Hedges brands, faces questions over its relationship with a firm associated with Rami Makhlouf, who is subject to European Union and US sanctions. Documents obtained by the Observer show that on 27 May 2011, JTI's Middle Eastern distributor, IBCS Trading, dispatched 90 million cigarettes to Syria Duty Free Shops (SDF) Ltd. Makhlouf, a cousin of the country's president, Bashar al-Assad, was the main shareholder in SDF on 9 May 2011, the day the EU subjected him to sanctions for providing "funding to the regime allowing violence against demonstrators" and for being "an associate of Maher al-Assad", the feared commander of Syria's Republican Guard. He has become the target of anti-Assad demonstrators in recent weeks as the UN attempts to agree a resolution on imposing further sanctions – strongly opposed by Russia and China. The Observer financial@guardian.co.uk ( Jamie Doward and Lucy Fulford) Europe Syria Sat, 28 Jan 2012 05:00:00 GMT http://twitpic.com/897aan http://tobacco.org/news/332271.html Benson&Hedges "Lego" logo brand "14" on sale in UK. 14 yr old kids of course would not be the target? Twitter UK Thu, 19 Jan 2012 05:00:00 GMT http://inventorspot.com/articles/japan_tobacco_introduces_peace_luxury_cigarettes http://tobacco.org/news/332152.html Smokers seeking a more luxurious and relaxing smoking experience need look no further than “The Peace”, an all-new, top of the line canned cigarette from Japan Tobacco. Sold by a selected number of Japanese retailers at a premium price and packaged in sleek metal cans, The Peace is the ultimate expression of an iconic brand first introduced in 1946. Times were tough in post-war Japan, as were smokers and the cigarettes they smoked. One of the latter was “Peace” from Japan Tobacco, a cigarette boasting almost three times the tar and more than twice the nicotine as JT's current smokes. Over the past 66 years, the Peace brand has built on its early acceptance by war-weary smokers to become one of the country's most popular cigarettes. Faced with mounting restrictions on smoking in Japan and a steadily shrinking customer base, Japan Tobacco is reaching out to deep-pocketed smokers with “The Peace”: the ultimate expression of the iconic Peace brand. The main selling points of The Peace are “the ultimate experience of aroma” along with a unique metal can exemplifying the timeless look and feel of luxury. InventorSpot.com Japan Wed, 18 Jan 2012 05:00:00 GMT http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/features/article/popular-cigarette-brand-undergoes-makeover http://tobacco.org/news/331806.html Japan Tobacco is to launch redesigned versions of seven of its popular Pianissimo brand of cigarettes in mid-January. Pianissimo is the top-selling brand in Japan's 100mm slim menthol category and has proven particularly popular among female smokers for what Japan's largest tobacco company says is a "smooth, unassertive and refreshing menthol flavour and aroma." . . . As part of its campaign to win new customers -- as well as retaining its existing consumers -- Japan Tobacco revamped its Cabin collection in September to make it a "cigarette brand for sophisticated adults." Now it is the turn of seven Pianissimo products to be repackaged, while four will be given new names. Pianissimo One is to be renamed Aria Menthol, "an operatic term signifying an airy melodic solo," the company said, while the new white packaging and waterlines are meant to symbolise the "gentle, soft character of the product." The Malaysian Insider Malaysia Sun, 08 Jan 2012 05:00:00 GMT http://www.menafn.com/qn_news_story.asp?storyid=%7B94aaa197-0fc6-4fd2-a40b-686800229cef%7D http://tobacco.org/news/331113.html Toray Industries Inc., Japan Tobacco Inc. and Torii Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd have agreed to discontinue the joint development program of nalfurafine hydrochloride (Toray development code TRK-820), a drug targeted at pruritus associated with chronic liver disease. This announcement follows Torii's recent decision to concentrate its efforts on the sales of REMITCH in its key therapeutic area of renal/hemodialysis. MENAFN.com Mon, 26 Dec 2011 05:00:00 GMT http://www.romania-insider.com/tobacco-producers-complain-about-increasing-cigarette-smuggling-in-romania/44010/ http://tobacco.org/news/330820.html Smuggled cigarettes accounted for 15 percent of the market in November this year in Romania, up from 11.8 percent in September, according to data from cigarette producer JT International. Smuggling climbed back to the level reported in July 2011, after a downward trend in 2010 and in the first half of 2011. The historic maximum in cigarette smuggling was 36.2 percent of total sales in January 2010, after the increase in cigarette excises. This pushed the average for 2010 to around 15.2 percent, according to cigarette producers. The tobacco industry is one of the largest contributors to the state budget in Romania– EUR 2.5 billion in excises, VAT and other taxes in 2010. “A predictable fiscal policy determines growth in legal sales, which triggers higher taxes paid to the state. We should highlight that a percentage point drop in cigarette smuggling equals EUR 30 million in taxes to the state budget,” said Adrian Popa, manager within BAT Romania. Romania Insider editor@romania-insider.com Romania Mon, 19 Dec 2011 05:00:00 GMT http://www.jti.com/documents/corp_reponsibility/jtiresponsetoaustraliangovernment.pdf http://tobacco.org/news/330679.html 1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 1.1 JTI is categorically opposed to plain packaging and the other proposals in the Government's Consultation Paper of 7 April 2011 (the Consultation) on the Tobacco Plain Packaging Bill 2011 Exposure Draft (the Draft). 1.2 It is among JTI's core beliefs that minors should not smoke and should not be able to obtain tobacco products and that adult smokers should be appropriately informed about the risks of smoking before they make the decision to smoke. These beliefs are central to our Code of Conduct, marketing practices, operational policies and the way JTI does business. However, JTI will question, and where necessary challenge, regulation that is flawed, unreasonable, disproportionate or without evidential foundation. 1.3 Although JTI does not have a corporate presence in Australia and its products (which represent only a small share of the Australian market) are distributed by third parties who may submit their own proposals to the consultation, the significance of the proposals in the Draft make it important and necessary to set out JTI's objection to it. JTI believes firmly that the proposals are manifestly disproportionate and inappropriate and that, given the serious concerns identified in this submission, the Government's plain packaging and other proposals should not be progressed further. JTI's key objections to the proposals An unjustified expropriation of property 1.4 Plain packaging would prevent JTI from using its brands, which are -- as with any consumer product manufacturer -- JTI's most valuable assets. In our view, the measures proposed by the Draft are not only an unconstitutional acquisition of property on unjust terms, they are also an unjustified expropriation of our property. A disproportionate measure without an appropriate evidential basis 1.5 The Consultation ignores a key fact: there is no credible evidence to demonstrate that plain packaging is capable of achieving the Government's stated objectives (set out below). The Government appears to have accepted this. It was reported on 24 May 2011 that Federal Health Minister Nicola Roxon said, in response to a call for such evidence, that: "[t]he sort of proof they are looking for doesn't exist when this hasn't been introduced around the world".1 Against this backdrop, the plain packaging proposal seeks to dictate arbitrarily the appearance of product packaging on the basis of a fundamental mischaracterisation of the role of packaging. An unreasonable interference with lawful market activity 1.6 Packaging plays an important role in the consumer goods market. It conveys guarantees of a product's origin and quality, and the investment in it. Plain packaging frustrates the provision of these guarantees, thereby impeding lawful competitive market activity. This is compounded by the ability of plain packaging to facilitate unlawful market activity through illicit trade and counterfeit products. 1.7 Given its leading international position and modest Australian presence, JTI's market share has significant potential for growth, through competition with wellestablished brands. JTI is therefore also concerned about the market crystallisation effects of plain packaging, which will deprive it of any meaningful ability to introduce international brands to the market for existing Australian adult smokers. A failure to meet international and Australia's own Better Regulation principles 1.8 Tobacco products carry risks to health and we believe that appropriate and proportionate regulation of our industry is both necessary and right. JTI supports legislative measures on tobacco control that meet the Better Regulation principles defined by the OECD2 and endorsed in the Handbook of the Australian Office of Best Practice Regulation (the Handbook).3 However, when measured against this benchmark and that of the Australian Constitution, the Consultation and Draft fall short of these fundamental requirements in a number of ways, as detailed in Part 4 below. A packaging law seeking to go beyond the pack 1.9 The Draft is characterised as a bill regarding packaging, but also seeks to facilitate the regulation of the design of tobacco products themselves,4 and to increase the size of the front of pack health warnings. Like the plain packaging proposal, JTI rejects entirely these provisions of the Draft. Contrary to Better Regulation principles, the Government has cited no evidence demonstrating that either measure would achieve the objective of changing smoking behaviour. Further, the proposal to allow the regulation of the design of the product itself is vague and potentially very far reaching. If it proceeds with the Draft, the Government must consult separately on such proposals, having undertaken a full and proper review of the evidence and the impact of these proposals. JT International Australia Thu, 02 Jun 2011 04:00:00 GMT http://www.prnewswire.co.uk/cgi/news/release?id=343053 http://tobacco.org/news/330678.html In order to protect its ability to use its brands and key trade marks on the packaging of tobacco products sold in Australia, Japan Tobacco International (JTI) has initiated a legal challenge against the Commonwealth of Australia today. "We had hoped that common sense would prevail but it clearly has not," said Stefan Fitz, JTI's Regional President for Asia Pacific.  "This legislation will stop JTI from using its brands, which are its most valuable property, and is unconstitutional.  For this reason, we have commenced a legal challenge to this legislation in Australia's highest court," he explained. Japan Tobacco International is keen to defend its business against plain packaging - as a matter of principle - while supporting less restrictive, more targeted and proportionate ways of achieving legitimate public policy objectives. PR Newswire info@prnewswire.co.uk Australia Wed, 14 Dec 2011 05:00:00 GMT http://www.wholesalenews.co.uk/news/fullstory.php/aid/5541/JTI_and_BAT_introduce_cigarettes_that_give_smokers_the_ability_to_change_taste_of_cigarettes_while_smoking.html http://tobacco.org/news/330566.html JTI and BAT have both launched products which enable smokers to change the taste of cigarettes while they are smoking them by crushing a capsule embedded in the cigarette filter. JTI has introduced Silk Cut Choice in a King Size 20s pack format. The cigarettes have a mentholated capsule in the filter, which can be crushed to introduce the menthol flavour at any stage while smoking the cigarette, or not at all. Jeremy Blackburn, JTI's head of communications, said: "Silk Cut Choice offers adult smokers on-demand menthol via the latest innovation in the tobacco market. By placing a menthol capsule in the filter this gives adult smokers the opportunity to customise their smoking experience." Wholesale News UK Thu, 15 Dec 2011 05:00:00 GMT http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-16159831 http://tobacco.org/news/330450.html Welsh Secretary Cheryl Gillan has been criticised for accepting hospitality from a tobacco company. The Wales Office published details of her visit to Chelsea Flower Show as a guest of Japan Tobacco International. Labour MP Nia Griffith said it was inappropriate as the Welsh government was making further efforts to reduce harm from smoking. The Wales Office said Mrs Gillan went to see Welsh gardens and did not accept the full hospitality on offer. The listing for the hospitality on 24 May this year referred to "two tickets to the Chelsea Flower Show with lunch" and a spokeswoman said the Chesham and Amersham MP had not accepted the full hospitality on offer. . . . A spokeswoman for the Wales Office said: "The Secretary of State attended this event as a number of Welsh gardens and horticultural experts were being featured. "Whilst she accepted two tickets, one for herself and another for an official, she did not attend the full hospitality offered by Japanese Tobacco International and rather took the opportunity to visit and pay tribute to the Welsh horticultural expertise on show." Japan Tobacco International said in a statement: "Like many other businesses, we invite politicians and their parliamentary staff to certain events as they provide an opportunity for us to engage with them about JTI in an open and transparent way." BBC Online UK Tue, 13 Dec 2011 05:00:00 GMT http://www.bnltimes.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=2879:govt-for-dialogue-with-tobacco-buyers&catid=45:business&Itemid=404 http://tobacco.org/news/330288.html Government has told tobacco buyers that any issue about tobacco that needs government attention can only be fixed through dialogue. Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Peter Mwanza, said many of the challenges in the industry can easily be solved through dialogue. "Let's discuss issues that may be bothering you, that is the only way of finding solutions. There is nothing that can't be discussed and solved because in this industry there are a lot of problems for both of us," said Mwanza after completing a tour of JTI Leaf Ltd premises last Monday. Head of corporate affairs at JTI Leaf Ltd, Limbani Kakhome, said government has been forthcoming when his company has had issues needing its attention. Kakhome said JTI has plans for a cigarette manufacturing company and a processing factory which the company is already expanding at the moment. Daily Times http://mce_host/bnltimeswebsite/advertising@bnltimes.com (Jacob Nankhonya) Malawi Sun, 11 Dec 2011 05:00:00 GMT