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Mint flavour menthol cigarettes were banned in Britain just last Wednesday
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But the UK's best-selling tobacco company put out product range on same day
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The new cigarettes are being advertised under the slogan 'menthol re-imagined'
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Campaigners last night called for the Government to outlaw the new brands too
Japan Tobacco International (JTI), the UK’s biggest-selling tobacco company has been accused of sidestepping a ban on the sale of menthol cigarettes aimed at stopping children smoking. Menthol (mint) flavoured cigarettes, which make up around one in four sales, were banned in the UK on 20th May amidst concerns they were luring young people into smoking.
JTI has replaced several of its brands with an almost identically named and marketed new range. They are being advertised under the slogan 'menthol reimagined' and customers claim they taste 'fully menthol'.
Documents leaked to the Daily Mail show retailers have been told how to continue 'making a mint' from the £3.6 billion-a-year UK market and boost sales after the ban. The new angle is the handbook produced in association with the firm called 'making a mint' has which been given to sellers subtitled ‘Everything you need to know to successfully navigate the menthol ban’.
Campaigners last night called for the Government to outlaw the new brands as well.
Tory MP Bob Blackman, chairman of the all-party parliamentary group (APPG) on smoking and health, said: “They are cynically trying to circumvent a very sensible ban on cigarettes which are intended to make you quickly addicted to nicotine and a customer for life.
“There are literally thousands of young people who get addicted to nicotine through menthol cigarettes. That was the point of the ban. This shows you cannot trust big tobacco”.
Deborah Arnott, chief executive of Action on Smoking and Health (ASH), added: “The industry has obeyed the letter of the law while in no way, shape or form following its spirit.”
Source: Daily Mail, 25 May 2020
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The tobacco giant Philip Morris has taken advantage of the UK’s ban on menthol cigarettes by promoting its new product – a menthol-heated tobacco stick – despite heavy restrictions on advertising tobacco.
An investigation by the Bureau of Investigative Journalism (TBIJ) has revealed that in the run up to the ban the company hired sales reps to promote its menthol heated tobacco products. The sales team went directly to newsagents - one of the only legal ways companies can advertise in the UK, where almost all tobacco advertising is banned. It also offered promotional menthol kits and trials for new customers, with half-price tobacco sticks in any of its four menthol flavours.
As smoking rates decline globally, Philip Morris has pursued alternative products, including heated tobacco, which is exempted from the UK’s menthol ban. As the first company to introduce a heated tobacco product in the UK– its Iqos heat-not-burn device – Philip Morris is expected to capitalise on the loophole. Iqos is being marketed by the company as “the closest alternative to a menthol cigarette”.
The company claims that it supports smokers quitting rather than switching to alternative tobacco products, but the Bureau of Investigative Journalism can reveal that the company is doggedly pursuing the large menthol cigarette market.
At a company-wide event on Dec 12, Peter Nixon, the managing director of Philip Morris, revealed that the UK office was being asked to boost sales of Heets, Iqos’s flavoured heated tobacco sticks, by 400% in 2020. In a subsequent email to staff, he said: “2020 is the most important year in [Philip Morris Limited’s] history… The momentum of Iqos coupled with the menthol ban give us a huge opportunity. At the end of the year, I want all of us to look back and say, we gave it everything.”
Source: The Telegraph, 25 May 2020
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LiveWire Warrington is offering help and support to those wanting to quit smoking after a warning from health campaigners of new evidence suggesting lockdown has left more children exposed to the harms of secondhand smoke.
This warning comes from Action on Smoking and Health (ASH), the British Lung Foundation (BLF), Fresh and Breathe 2025 as evidence from the YouGov COVID tracker shows that people who live in households that include children are 50% more likely to report being exposed to secondhand smoke since lockdown compared to those without children (10% compared with 6%). A further 12% of smokers who live with children report they are smoking indoors more than they did before lockdown.
Deborah Arnott, Chief Executive of ASH, which is leading a campaign to encourage smokers to QuitForCovid, said: “This is an issue of equity. If you live in a high-rise block, taking your smoke outside is much harder than in a semi-detached with a garden.
“We know parents who smoke are trying to quit and reduce the amount they smoke — and we need to make sure they have the support they need to do this. I urge smokers to get in touch with local services and to use other sources of nicotine as an alternative to smoking indoors if they need help to handle cravings.”
Dr Nick Hopkinson, Medical Director at the British Lung Foundation and Chair of ASH said: “Exposure to secondhand smoke is one of the leading causes of poor respiratory health in children. Smokers need to take their smoke outside but should try to quit if they can. Using alternative sources of nicotine like patches, gum or e-cigarettes can help reduce craving and protect them and their loved ones, especially children, from harm.”
LiveWire Lifestyles Officer Ruth Armstrong said; “We all know that stopping smoking improves your physical health, but it is also proven to boost your mental health and wellbeing and by quitting you will help relieve stress, anxiety and depression which is really important right now.
“Most smokers say they want to stop, but some continue because smoking seems to relieve stress and anxiety. It is a common belief that smoking helps you relax, but it is actually the relief from the withdrawal of nicotine that people associate smoking as a stress release. Regulating the nicotine rollercoaster will help level out your mood long term.
The current situation could be seen as the ideal time to quit. With many of our clients explaining that they felt it was the ideal opportunity to do it; with reduced interaction with others that smoke and the pubs, bars and restaurants being closed, there are less triggers about, time to process and talk to advisors about the impact smoking has on their lives.”
Source: Warrington Worldwide, 25 May 2020.
See also: Today is the day
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Plymouth City Council has issued a warning to people around the sale of illegal tobacco products, which now includes menthol cigarettes, after they were banned in the UK on 20th May.
The production and sale of menthol filters, paper, packaging and capsules have now been prohibited in an attempt to dispel the myth that they are better for you, and make it less tempting and appealing for children to start smoking.
In a tweet, the council said that anyone selling illegal tobacco, including menthol cigarettes, should be reported to trading standards.
Information on the trading standards website says Illegal tobacco "is causing harm to our communities in the South West."
"Sale of it supports organised crime, encourages smokers to continue smoking, encourages children to try smoking and keeps money from vital services.
"If you think someone is selling illegal tobacco, you can help stop the harm it is causing by reporting it. Your information can help keep our communities safe and healthy."
Luke Pollard, MP for Plymouth Sutton and Devonport, said: "These cigarettes are smoked by inexperienced smokers as they mask the harsh tobacco smoke.
Each year 577 children in Plymouth take up smoking. I support the ban on menthol tobacco to protect children and cut smoking rates."
Source: Cornwall Live, 22 May 2020
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Researchers from the Royal College of Physicians have published a fourth update to a living rapid evidence review which aims to estimate the rate of infection, hospitalisation, disease severity and mortality from SARS-CoV-2 /COVID-19 stratified by smoking status: The association of smoking status with SARS-CoV-2 infection, hospitalisation and mortality from COVID-19: A living rapid evidence review Preprint V4.
In the previous review, 41 observational studies were included, and findings suggested that there is substantial uncertainty about the associations between smoking and COVID-19 outcomes arising from the recording of smoking status. The recorded smoking prevalence in hospitalised patients across multiple settings was lower than national estimates but that observation is inconsistent with there being no evidence of increased admission to hospital from three ‘fair’ quality studies among people who tested positive in the community.
The new update included 67 observational studies, and findings continue to suggest that there is substantial uncertainty about the associations between smoking and COVID-19 outcomes. The recorded smoking prevalence in hospitalised patients was lower than national estimates but this observation is inconsistent with there being no evidence of increased admission to hospital from five ‘fair’ quality studies of people who tested positive. There was limited evidence from ‘fair’ quality studies that current compared with never smoking is associated with greater disease severity in those hospitalised for COVID-19.
Implications: Unrelated to COVID-19, smokers are at a greater risk of a range of serious health problems, requiring them to be admitted to hospital. Given uncertainty around the association of smoking with COVID-19, smoking cessation remains a public health priority and high-quality smoking cessation advice including recommendations to use alternative nicotine should form part of public health efforts during this pandemic.
Source: Qeios, 23 May 2020.
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Asked by Bob Blackman (Harrow East),
1. To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether the Government has made an assessment of the potential effect on levels of counterfeit goods of a suspension of the tobacco track and trace system at the end of the transition period; and if he will make a statement.
2. To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment his Department has made of tobacco (a) manufacturers', (b) wholesalers' and (c) retailers' level of compliance with the tobacco track and trace 20 May 2020 sell through period deadline.
3. To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what will happen to non-compliant tobacco track and trace stock on 20 May 2020; and how compliance with that deadline will be enforced during the COVID-19 lockdown.
4. To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what plans the Government has for the tobacco track and trace system at the end of the sell-through period on 20 May 2020.
5. To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps the Government will take to enforce the deadline of 20 May 2020 whereby cigarettes and hand-rolling tobacco products that are not sold through cannot be sold.
6. To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what plans the Government has for the tobacco track and trace system in the UK at the end of the transition period; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Kemi Badenoch, Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury
At the end of the transition period, HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) will need to make some changes to the tobacco track and trace system for it to continue to operate. The changes will be kept to the minimum necessary to enable the UK to have full regulatory control.
The government has not made an assessment of the potential effect on levels of counterfeit goods of a suspension of the track and trace system as it remains committed to having a system in place at the end of the transition period.
The government has no plans to make any changes to the end of the sell through period. From 20 May 2020, all cigarettes and hand-rolling tobacco manufactured in or imported into the UK must be marked with a unique identifier code and security label. Businesses with any unmarked stock after this date should return it in accordance with the existing procedures they have in place with their suppliers.
Product which fails to comply with the requirements after the sell through period will be liable to forfeiture. Where HMRC is satisfied that a business is not complying with the requirements it may issue a notice for the business to remedy any non-compliance.
To promote and assess compliance across the tobacco supply chain, HMRC has been working with tobacco manufacturers, retailers and relevant trade bodies to make them aware of their requirements and the sell through period. A key indicator of industry compliance is the high volume of businesses registered to use the system. As of the end of April, over 42,000 economic operators and approximately 65,000 premises were registered on the system.
It would not be appropriate for HMRC to publish detailed information about their operational response during the COVID-19 outbreak. However, the public can be assured that HMRC will support legitimate businesses and individuals while taking tough action against serious criminal activity and those evading and avoiding paying tax.
It is right that HMRC does everything possible to protect individuals, businesses, and the economy during this extremely difficult time.
Source: Hansard, 22 May 2020
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ASH Daily News is a digest of published news on smoking-related topics. ASH is not responsible for the content of external websites. ASH does not necessarily endorse the material contained in this bulletin.
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