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** 21 March 2022
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** UK
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** Martin Broughton and Lord Coe’s bid to buy Chelsea has support in government (#1)
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** More than £190,000 worth of illegal tobacco seized in Staffordshire raids (#2)
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** International
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** Mauritius: Dissemination of the tobacco surveys’ findings by the VISA NGO, the University of Mauritius and the World Health Organisation (#3)
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** Canada: WHO opposes vaccine with ties to tobacco industry (#4)
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** UK
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** Martin Broughton and Lord Coe’s bid to buy Chelsea has support in government
The consortium fronted by former chairman of British American Tobacco (BAT) and British Airways, Sir Martin Broughton, and Lord Sebastian Coe, president of the International Athletics Federation, that is bidding to buy Chelsea FC, already has significant support within the UK Government.
It emerged on Friday, however, that a rival group led by LA Dodgers co-owner Todd Boehly has the additional backing of a US investment firm that manages more than £40 billion of assets. But the UK government has a central role in the process after imposing sanctions on the owner, Roman Abramovich, and insiders believe that Broughton and Coe are already regarded as an extremely viable option given their expertise.
Once The Raine Group, appointed by Abramovich to identify a buyer, has reviewed all the offers, the government will be presented with a preferred bidder who will then be assessed by Treasury officials.
This, claim sources, is where Broughton and Coe could already have an advantage, not just because of their expertise but because of their close affinity to Chelsea, as both are lifelong fans, and an impressive track record for Premier League club takeovers.
Source: The Times, 17 March 2022
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** More than £190,000 worth of illegal tobacco seized in Staffordshire raids
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Council trading standards officers have visited 24 premises across Staffordshire and seized around 320,000 cigarettes with a retail value of almost £165,000 with the help of sniffer dogs.
The seizures come as part of Operation CeCe, with the move seeing around £7m in illegal tobacco being recovered nationally.
Councillor Victoria Wilson, cabinet member with responsibility for trading standards at Staffordshire County Council, said: "The sale of counterfeit and illicit tobacco is a crime which damages local communities and we’re pleased with last year’s success.”
"The supply of illegal tobacco in Staffordshire is no greater than anywhere else but does present a significant problem. In the UK it is estimated that about 1 in 10 of all cigarettes and half of all hand rolling tobacco are not duty paid.”
"Our trading standards officers work with a range of partner agencies to ensure that when they receive information about the sale of illicit tobacco, they are able to take a co-ordinated response to ensure those responsible for supplying it are dealt with swiftly and effectively. We do rely on information from the public, so I would urge people to get in touch with the service.”
Source: Express and Star, 18 March 2022
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** International
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** Mauritius: Dissemination of the tobacco surveys’ findings by the VISA NGO, the University of Mauritius and the World Health Organisation
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** The findings of two tobacco surveys conducted to explore compliance of nightclubs to the smoke-free regulations and the availability of electronic cigarettes and waterpipes in Mauritius, were disseminated during a half-day workshop held in Quatre Bornes on 17 March 2022. VISA collaborated with the University of Mauritius and the World Health Organisation (WHO) in this research initiative.
Representing the country, Minister of Health and Wellness, Dr B. Beedassy, said, “smoking is a major modifiable risk factor to non-communicable diseases. Tobacco control remains a priority for the governments and communities worldwide to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals and the target of one-third reduction in NCD premature mortality by 2030.”
WHO representative, Dr Laurent Musango stated, “there is scientific evidence that smoking kills not only smokers but also non-smokers who are exposed to tobacco smoke. The findings from the first survey show that compliance by nightclubs has not much improved since the last survey conducted in 2013.” He added, “we need to strengthen enforcement of the tobacco law to protect the whole population including the employees of nightclubs as well as people visiting those places.”
“The findings of the second survey confirm the illegal sale of electronic cigarettes and waterpipes tobacco in Mauritius while the Public Health (Restrictions on Tobacco Products) Regulations 2008 ban the importation and sale of waterpipe tobacco and electronic cigarettes.”
The prevalence of smoking in Mauritius, especially among young people, is high. Dr Musango advocated for the implementation of both demand reduction and supply reduction measures to achieve a substantial decrease in the prevalence of smoking.
Source: African Business, 19 March 2022
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** Canada: WHO opposes vaccine with ties to tobacco industry
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** The World Health Organisation (WHO) has opposed a Covid-19 vaccine developed by a Canadian company part-owned by Philip Morris International because of its links to the tobacco industry.
Medicago is developing the vaccine, Covifenz, in partnership with the British drugs giant GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) and wanted it to be listed for emergency use, a process that would accelerate access globally.
However, the WHO have rejected the approach “because of the linkage with the tobacco industry and WHO’s strict policy on not engaging with companies that promote the tobacco industry”, a spokesman said. He said it had informed Medicago of its decision.
Philip Morris, one of the world’s largest tobacco groups and the maker of Marlboro cigarettes, owns a 21 per cent stake in Medicago and has helped fund development of the vaccine.
Source: The Times, 19 March 2022
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