Yesmoke Tobacco S.p.A.

An anti-smoking organization defends the “minimum price” of cigarettes.

Professor Luke Clancy

ASH – “Action on Smoking and Health” has entered the anti-smoking field with a new chairman, Professor emeritus Luke Clancy: “Consultant Respiratory Physician at St. James's Hospital and Medical Director of Peamount Hospital, Dublin”.

The European Union has just undertaken legal action against Ireland (as well as Italy and Austria) for its cigarette minimum price policy, because it “distorts market competition and benefits only the manufacturers by safeguarding their profit margins”.

The EU maintains that taxation on all cigarettes is the best way to set their prices… comparable to the discovery of hot water! Read more »

A Guinness Records Award for the distribution of bribes, and secret political agreements, or just the usual brown-nosers?

“Ammonia is the key to Marlboro's success … Marlboros contain up to twice as much of a cancer-causing chemical as foreign brands … Philip Morris USA delivers falsehoods about its product … Philip Morris admits making cigarettes more addictive … Foreign Cigs Healthier”.

These aren't provocations of the Black Block, they're headlines from some of the most respectable United States newspapers, like USA Today, the Washington Post and the Los Angeles Times. Read more »

The European Commission opened infringement proceedings against Greece, France, Belgium, Ireland, Italy and Austria over the “Minimum Price of Cigarettes”.

Gabriella Alemanno, Strategy Director of the State Monopoly Administration, sister of the Agriculture Minister, Gianni Alemanno

“Minimum prices distort competition and just benefit manufacturers by safeguarding their profit margins” … “Minimum prices are not necessary, since the health objectives may be attained by increased taxation on tobacco products”. This is the position of the European Commission, according to Taxation Commissioner László Kovac.

But here comes the Italian Republic, that decides to speak up, in spite of the fact that Philip Morris, the tobacco multinational makes its profits, in this case, at the expence of the State revenues. The AAMS (Agenzia Amministrazione Monopoli di Stato), with the promptness of a defending attorney of the foreign multinational, points out:

“The decision to adopt the minimum price was made fully respecting Community regulations regarding processed tobacco and the safeguarding of public health, and it was adopted applying a specific legislative measure, that is, Article 1, paragraph 486, of Law 30-12-2004, no. 311”.

…All perfectly regular, then. Read more »

A minimum price for all cigarettes. They've succeeded only in Italy.

Three Euro on August 1st 2005, 3 euro 10 eurocents on October 14th, 3 euro 20 cents on last February 7th. The minimum price of a pack of cigarettes, almost without being noticed, has soared in the past months “in an effort to safeguard public health”. And they say it's going to keep going up in Italy.

But seeing that everyone was opposed to this, starting from the Antitrust (the Authority that guarantees free competition on the market) and the Codacons (the Consumer Defence Association), and seeing that Italy is one of the countries where cigarettes are cheapest, wouldn't it have been better to raise the taxes, not the price, and on all cigarettes? Read more »

Philip Morris is trying to introduce its "Minimum Price" policy in all the European Community countries.

The “Stop Smoking” campaigns are working; smokers of all ages are quitting. And here comes… the competition!

Big Tobacco can't afford any loss of its market share, because it has very high fixed costs and an enormous structure. It has to fund expensive advertising campaigns directed especially to young people, and eliminate, often with unethical methods, its competition, in order to avoid a progressive and inexorable defeat. Read more »

The german war against cigarettes

Germany had the world's strongest anti-smoking movement in the 1930s and early 1940s, during the Nazi period. Hitler, who was a chain-smoker, was expelled from school at age eight after being caught smoking. He gave up smoking when he was 35 years old and dreamed of making all Germans quit, too.

Bans on smoking in public spaces were introduced along with bans on advertising, restrictions on tobacco rations for women, and the world's most refined tobacco epidemiology, linking tobacco use with the already evident epidemic of lung cancer.

Today, in the German (and European) war against cigarette smoking, German Consumer Affairs Minister Renate Kunast has stepped up the offensive: Kunast published, in 2005, a list of about 200 cigarette additives, and wants those deemed carcinogenic or addictive banned — throughout Europe. Read more »

Big Tobacco Not Admitted to the Formula I Grand Prix Race of Monza.

Ferrari are running with colour-only branding after recent legislation

It was decided by the Court of Monza, following a petition presented by the Codacons, the coordination association for the defence of consumer rights, that asked to prohibit Ferrari from publicizing the Marlboro trademark.

A rigorous sentence “effective immediately”, notified on August 29th, the eve of the Monza Gran Premio, followed with great interest by the entire population of Italy. It affirmed that harm to the collective interest by Ferrari is undisputable.

So Ferrari's “Rosse” had to race without their sponsor, as the Consumer Associations had requested: The Law is the Law! This is how it may have appeared to the public. So Philip Morris in Italy doesn't count, people may have thought. Read more »

The Marlboro Man investigates…

Big Tobacco, now that it is officially collaborating with the police of the European Union in the fight against smuggling, is using microscopic transmitters to follow the path of its cartons of cigarettes. The devices are so small that they can be put in a single pack without even being noticed by the smoker who buys it. A real “specialist in transmitters”.

The devices used today by Big Tobacco are as thin as a sheet of paper, imperceptible and almost invisible. It is supposed that they enable the goods to be followed from the factory to any eventual smuggler. Read more »