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- Category: February 2021
A new survey has found one in four Canadian adults reported using cannabis at least once within the period of one year.
The Commonwealth Fund survey compares Canada’s health systems to 10 other peer countries.
An average of nine per cent of people in the other countries reported the same pot use.
Tracy Johnson, director of health systems analysis for the Canadian Institute for Health Information, says it is not surprising considering Canada is the only country in the survey where cannabis is legal.
She says that means people surveyed in Canada may have felt more comfortable being honest about their marijuana use.
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- Category: February 2021
A shift back to cigarettes during the pandemic has paused a long sales decline, while posing more headwinds for the already challenged e-cigarette category.
How long the bottoming of cigarette sales will continue is anyone’s guess, because it’s dependent on many variables—a condition with which all CPG brands can identify.
The list of variables includes “smokers’ stay at home practices, unemployment rates, fiscal stimulus, cross category movement, the timing and breadth of COVID-19 vaccine deployment and consumer purchasing behavior following the vaccine,” Altria Group CFO and EVP Sal Mancuso said on Jan. 28.
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- Category: February 2021
Tobacco use is the leading cause of preventable death in the U.S. but two recent reports say Arizona needs to do more to help people break free from using tobacco products.
“We certainly need a lot more resources here in Arizona to help people quit smoking,” said JoAnna Strother, senior director of advocacy for the American Lung Association, one of two organizations, along with Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, to grade the state’s actions.
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- Category: February 2021
Japan Tobacco Inc (JT) said on Tuesday it planned to cut around 1,000 jobs and focus its efforts on winning market share in heated tobacco devices, as it forecast an unexpected slump in profit this year.
The company said it expects 2021 operating profit to fall 23% to 363 billion yen ($3.46 billion), compared with the market's forecast for a slight recovery to 476 billion yen, according to Refinitiv data. JT, despite commanding over half of the domestic cigarette market, has lagged rival Philip Morris in the increasingly popular category of heat-not-burn (HNB) cigarettes.
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- Category: February 2021
In one of the most ambitious pitches in the cigarette industry’s history, Philip Morris International is making a play for ethical investors. At a shareholder event Wednesday, the tobacco giant set a new target to make more than 50% of group revenues from smokeless products like its IQOS heated-tobacco sticks by 2025, up from 24% today. The company, which sells the Marlboro brand outside the U.S., will also move into goods that contain no nicotine at all, such as botanicals to aid sleep or products that can deliver medicine through the respiratory system.
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- Category: February 2021
The Centre informed the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday that there was no proposal to raise the excise duty on cigarettes, 'bidis' and smokeless tobacco.
In a written reply to a question, Minister of State for Finance Anurag Thakur said that there was no recommendation by the GST Council to raise the Goods and Services Tax (GST) on these tobacco products.
"The GST rates on goods are fixed on the basis of GST Council recommendations. At present, there is no such recommendation. Also, there is no proposal to increase the excise duty on such products," Thakur said.
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- Category: February 2021
New research shows chocolate-flavored e-cigarettes are "particularly harmful" to the lungs. In fact, scientists found all 10 flavors tested caused some level of toxicity in the cells lining the lungs, resulting in cell death in some instances. The toxins also significantly reduced the ability of immune system cells to remove bacteria and regulate inflammation. [...] The data show that the chemical profiles of the e-liquid flavors studied (apple, banana, bubblegum, cappuccino, cherry, chocolate, cinnamon, mango, peppermint and tobacco) contained as many as 15 chemicals.
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- Category: February 2021
Tobacco control activists demand that the government shall increase FED on tobacco products, including smokeless tobacco products, in Pakistan. Currently, there are two tax slabs for cigarettes. An amount of Rs33 FED is imposed on cigarettes costing less than Rs90 per packet and Rs90 on cigarettes with a price of Rs90 and above. However, these taxes are still below the standard set by World Health Organisation’s (WHO) Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) to which Pakistan is a signatory since 2005. FCTC requires signatories to optimally impose a 75% tax on the retail price of cigarette packs. [...]
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- Category: February 2021
The Philippine E-Cigarette Industry Association (PECIA), which counts around 200 active members that comprise major players in the local e-cigarette market, participated in the online consultation conducted by Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) implementing rules and regulations (IRR) covering the provisions of Republic Act Nos. 11346 and 11467.
These laws govern the increase in excise tax on alcohol, tobacco products, heated tobacco products and vapor products. These are important concerns that have substantial impact on the business sector but also on public health, at large.
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- Category: February 2021
Governments of low and middle-income countries (LMICs) were warned by the Coalition of Asia Pacific Tobacco Harm Reduction Advocates (CAPHRA) against foreign vested interest group’s interference in local policies and regulations.
In a press statement, CAPHRA, a regional group of tobacco harm reduction (THR) advocates cautioned governments of LMICs “not to succumb to the ploy of vested interest groups dangling money in exchange for policies that restricts and even ban alternative nicotine products which has been found to be much better options for smokers than cigarettes.”
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- Category: February 2021
Swedish Match reported slightly lower than forecast quarterly operating earnings on Wednesday, and said it expected continued rapid growth of the nicotine pouches market in 2021.
The Swedish company’s biggest businesses are moist snuff -“snus” in Scandinavia - and cigars in the United States, although sales of its tobacco-free nicotine pouches, ZYN, are growing at a rapid pace. Fourth-quarter operating profit at Swedish Match rose to 1.65 billion Swedish crowns ($198.43 million) from 1.10 billion a year earlier, lagging the 1.73 billion average analyst forecast according to data from Refinitiv.
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- Category: February 2021
Every year, Feb. 9 is celebrated as the unofficial National Quit Smoking Day in Turkey. The occasion is used to remind the public through nationwide events of the dangers of the habit, as it is one of the leading causes of many diseases, particularly cancer. Expert clinical psychologist Simge Alevsaçanlar Cücü of Üsküdar University's NPISTANBUL Brain Hospital understands the psychological elements that are at play in cigarette addiction, which she highlighted to mark the special day.
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- Category: February 2021
Since its introduction, the e-cigarette has become a commonly used consumer product. In this study, we investigate whether regulatory changes had an impact on the quality of refill liquids (e-liquids) available on the Belgian market through analysis of their chemical composition. Hence, the nicotine concentration accuracy was investigated in samples before, during and after the implementation of the revised Tobacco Product Directive (TPD) as an indicator of good manufacturing practices. This is, however, not enough to assure the quality. Therefore, extra criteria were also assessed based on TPD requirements.
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- Category: February 2021
Ireland has the highest rate of cannabis smokers in the European Union.
Some 17 per cent of Irish people now use products containing cannabis, according to a new survey from Eurobarometer.
Ireland also has the highest share of people who use e-cigarettes, at seven per cent against the EU average of two per cent.
Tim Hayes of the European Commission said the number of Irish people smoking cigarettes has continued to decline.
“Luckily, the number of people smoking is steadily declining in Ireland, and now only one in five smoke tobacco on a daily basis,” he said.
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- Category: February 2021
Pennsylvania legalized medical marijuana in 2016, allowing registered patients to use cannabis to help treat 23 serious medical conditions, such as cancer, epilepsy, and glaucoma. And as of December 2020, more than a half million patients and caregivers are registered, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Health.
But while marijuana is legal for medical use in the commonwealth, it is still illegal federally, where it’s listed as a Schedule I drug under the Controlled Substances Act, alongside drugs like heroin and LSD. That inconsistency has created a number of challenges — and housing rights for medical marijuana patients is among them.
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- Category: February 2021
In 2017, the Scottish government had announced that it was setting in place a tobacco plan in order to become “smoke-free” by 2034. At the time, the University of Edinburgh and NHS Health Scotland had carried out an inquiry to determine whether efforts to reduce smoking were being effective. This had indicated that while the local tobacco control strategy was working, smoking continued to be a problem amongst low income communities.
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- Category: February 2021
Once again, vaping in the EU is facing multiple threats, both at an EU level and at a state level.
The latest EU wide threat comes from the EU Beating Cancer Plan.
I got together with Damian from the European Tobacco Harm Reduction Advocates group to find out what the plan means for vapers, what the implications are and how to oppose it.
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- Category: February 2021
Well, the joint was jumping in Virginia on Friday as both the State House and State Senate passed bills that would legalize recreational marijuana for adults. If the resulting bill is signed into law by Governor Ralph Northam (D) as expected, Virginia would become the first Southern State make weed legal. This would clear the way for dispensaries to start opening in 2024. [...] Not everyone was in favor of the Bills. In fact, the voting came down to, surprise, surprise, political party lines. With the exception of a few who abstained, pretty much all Republicans in the Virginia state legislature voted against the measures. [...]
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- Category: February 2021
From mom-and-pop shops to the big retail chains, pharmacies in New Jersey would be prohibited from selling tobacco and vaping products if a bill that state panel approved Tuesday becomes law.
With pharmacies offering clinic services like blood pressure screenings, vaccinations and on-site medical consultations, they are “health care facilities,” and should not be selling products that are harmful, said Sen. Joseph Vitale, D-Middlesex, who sponsored the legislation.
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- Category: February 2021
Vapers who have Covid-19 are up to 20 per cent more likely to transmit the virus, spreading it in clouds of smoke, a study has found.
Bystanders exposed to low intensity expirations from an infectious vaper in indoor spaces, such as houses and restaurants, are one per cent more likely to catch coronavirus, researchers from Italy, Mexico and New Zealand found. However, if the person is using their e-cigarette intensely and breathing out a lot of smoke, this risk increases to between five and 17 per cent, they conclude.