Tobacco Industry News

Reports

Coded to obey law, Lights become Marlboro Gold
In response to new restrictions that will eliminate the use of terms such as “light” or “mild” on cigarette packages, tobacco companies are planning on using color codes to re-label their packages.  Critics say this practice defeats the purpose of the law and perpetuates the myth that some cigarettes are safer to use than others.  The tobacco companies argue that the use of such colors and words are meant to portray a taste, not a safety measure, and that it would be unconstitutional to ban the use of colors under commercial speech and property protections.  The FDA published a notice declaring that it may take action against the use of certain colors or additional words, and will review the use of color on cigarette packages by the time the wording ban goes into effect in June.  Read more here.

FDA probes candy-like tobacco products
The FDA has sent letters to tobacco manufacturers Reynolds American Inc. and Star Scientific Inc., expressing concern over candy-like smokeless tobacco products and asking the companies to provide information on research and marketing practices for the products. FDA officials are worried that the products are attractive to children and teens due to their packaging, flavors, resemblance to candy, and easily concealable size. The companies argue that the products are intended for adult use at times when smoking is not permitted due to smoking bans. The companies have two months to respond to the FDA’s information requests. Click here to read more, or read the letter the FDA sent to Star Scientific Inc.

ClearWay Minnesota(SM) shines a spotlight on a reinvented tobacco industry
ClearWay Minnesota, a Minneapolis-based nonprofit tobacco control organization, has released a report detailing how the tobacco industry has continued to evolve with the development of new products, marketing strategies, and public relations campaigns. The report, titled Unfiltered: A Revealing Look at Today’s Tobacco Industry, contains information on how tobacco is glamorized in the media, image campaigns are designed to distract consumers from the harm companies do, new products are designed to attract youth and comply with smoking bans, and cigarettes are marketed in developing countries. Click here for more information or visit the website to read the executive summary or full report.

Tobacco industry use of corporate social responsibility tactics as a sword and a shield on secondhand smoke issues
A study published in the Journal of Law, Medicine, and Ethics has found that tobacco industry attempts to be good corporate citizens almost always clash with their attempts to prevent regulation of their products. Researchers analyzed the industry’s corporate responsibility efforts to better understand them and to see if any changes were made to business methods to handle the issue of secondhand smoke exposure. The study showed that the tobacco industry had sought to switch from defensive to offensive tactics, but no substantial changes were made to business strategies. Click here to read the study abstract.

Tobacco company challenges states' authority
An Arkansas court recently denied the state attorney general’s request to delist General Tobacco products, ordering the attorney general to arbitrate the dispute. The delisting is being forced by states due to the company’s alleged non-compliance with financial obligations under the Master Settlement Agreement (MSA), and would require the company to remove its products from store shelves. States are claiming that the company owes over $285 million in MSA payments, while General Tobacco disputes the validity of the MSA’s terms of payment. General Tobacco has asked the states involved in the dispute to comply with the Arkansas court order and not delist the company’s products until the issue is settled. Read more here.

Lorillard to enter moist smokeless tobacco category
Lorillard Inc., the maker of Newport cigarettes, has announced that it plans to enter the moist smokeless tobacco market in the U.S. A previous joint venture with Swedish Match AB to develop a new snus product had been mutually terminated after test markets did not indicate a demand for the product. Analysts believe that Lorillard will focus on traditional smokeless tobacco products, while other major companies such as Altria and Reynolds are expanding sales of their snus products. Read more here.

Where there’s no smoke, Altria hopes there’s fire
Although Altria supported FDA regulation of tobacco, the tobacco company has submitted a series of letters asking the FDA to loosen marketing restrictions on smokeless tobacco products. Altria argued in its letters that the government should endorse smokeless tobacco products as less harmful than cigarettes, and allow tobacco companies to advertise the products as such. While the bulk of Altria’s business is driven by cigarette sales, the company gained control of 55% of the smokeless tobacco market through the recent acquisition of UST. Now that marketing claims regarding “light” cigarettes have been banned, some speculate that the company is moving on to make harm reduction claims about smokeless products. Read more here.

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International

KT&G joins with imperial tobacco group (South Korea)
South Korea’s largest tobacco company, KT&G, has formed a partnership with Imperial Tobacco Group, and the two companies may cooperate in efforts to move forward in the global market. KT&G will manufacture products for Imperial Tobacco starting this year, including Davidoff products, which are available in over 100 countries throughout the world. Click here to read more.

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