Vapes, e-cigarettes, other artificial nicotine products to be banned soon

The step comes after the Delhi High Court slammed the Health Ministry for not taking regulatory measures on the manufacture, import, sale and trading of e-cigarettes in the country

In order to crack down on the artificial nicotine products, the government on Tuesday issued an advisory against the sale of vapes, e-cigarettes, e-nicotine flavoured hookah, heat-not-burn devices, e-sheesha and other similar devices in the country.

According to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare advisory issued to all the states and Union Territories, manufacturing, distributing, trading, importing and advertising of any artificially produced nicotine products — Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems (ENDS) — will be brought to an end soon.

The step comes after the Delhi High Court slammed the Health Ministry for not taking regulatory measures on the manufacture, import, sale and trading of e-cigarettes in the country.

The Ministry stated that in 2014, a roundtable discussion on ENDS was held where health experts and officers of the health and drug departments concluded that such devices are hazardous.

It further said that such electronic devices that enable nicotine delivery or its use, are a great health risk to the public at large, especially to children, adolescents, pregnant women and women of reproductive age.

The advisory also explained that in addition to creating dependence, nicotine can have adverse effects on the development of the foetus during pregnancy. It may lead to cardiovascular diseases and can also function as a “tumour promoter”.

Article Source : BS

E-cigarette users at higher risk of heart attack

A new study has found that smoking an e-cigarette on a regular basis could double the risk of a heart attack.

According to a new analysis of a survey of nearly 70,000 people, led by researchers at UC San Francisco, the dual use of e-cigarettes and conventional cigarettes appears to be more dangerous than using either product alone.

The study also found that the risks compound, so that daily use of both e-cigarettes and conventional cigarettes raises the heart attack risk five-fold in comparison to the people who don’t use either product.

Senior author Stanton Glantz said, “Most adults who use e-cigarettes continue to smoke cigarettes. While people may think they are reducing their health risks, we found that the heart attack risk of e-cigarettes adds to the risk of smoking cigarettes.”

However, the researchers also reported some good news if smokers quit. “The risk of heart attack starts to drop immediately after you stop smoking. Our results suggest the same is true when they stop using e-cigarettes,” said Glantz.

Electronic cigarettes typically deliver an aerosol of nicotine and other flavours by heating a liquid and are promoted as a safer alternative to conventional cigarettes, which generate the nicotine aerosol by burning tobacco.

Article Source : BS

E-cigarettes, tobacco linked to higher risk of oral cancer

Turns out, Tobacco use remains a leading cause of oral cancer but the tobacco landscape is evolving with increasing use of non-cigarette tobacco products and dual-use of multiple product types.

Benjamin Chaffee and co-author Neal Benowitz, University of California, evaluated exposure to known carcinogens (a substance capable of causing cancer in living tissue) according to recent use of different tobacco product types, alone or in combination.

Participants were categorized according to use of combustible, which includes cigarettes, cigars, water pipe, pipes, blunts (marijuana-containing cigars), smokeless, which includes moist snuff, chewing tobacco and snus, e-cigarettes and nicotine replacement products.

For each product, the recent use was defined as within the prior three-days and non-use defined as none within 30-days.

All tobacco use categories demonstrated elevated nicotine and tobacco-specific nitrosamines (TSNAs) concentrations relative to non-users. TSNA exposures were highest among smokeless tobacco users, whether used or together with other product types.

Most e-cigarette users concurrently used combustible tobacco resulting in TSNA exposure similar to exclusive cigarette smokers.

The analysis shows that the vast majority of non-cigarette tobacco users are exposed to carcinogen levels comparable to or exceeding exposure among exclusive cigarette smokers, levels that are likely to place users at substantial risk….READ SOURCE

Dire health warnings on cigarette packages to stay: Supreme Court

The Karnataka HC last month struck down central govt rules requiring 85% of a tobacco pack's surface to be covered by health warnings

 

The Supreme Court on Monday put on hold a lower court's order that quashed central government rules mandating larger health warnings on tobacco packages, in a setback for the country's $11 billion tobacco industry.

The High Court of Karnataka state last month struck down central government rules requiring 85 per cent of a tobacco pack's surface to be covered in health warnings, up from 20 per cent earlier. The rules had been in force since 2016.

The Supreme Court, which heard petitions brought forward by tobacco-control activists, stayed the Karnataka court's order on Monday, citing the need to protect the health of citizens.

"Health of a citizen has primacy and he or she should be aware of that which can affect or deteriorate the condition of health," the Supreme Court said in its 13-page order.

"Deterioration may be a milder word and, therefore, in all possibility the expression 'destruction of health' is apposite."

The court's decision comes as a relief for health advocates and central health ministry who say bigger health warnings deter tobacco consumption. More than 900,000 people die each year in India due to tobacco-related illnesses, the government estimates.

India's tobacco packaging rules are among the world's most stringent.

A government survey last year found that 62 percent of cigarette smokers thought of quitting because of such warning labels on the packets.

The court's decision is a blow to cigarette makers such as India's ITC Ltd and Philip Morris International Inc's Indian partner, Godfrey Phillips India Ltd, whose representatives call the rules extreme. In protest at the health warning measures, the industry briefly shut its factories across the country in 2016 and filed dozens of legal cases…….read more

Cigarettes, tobacco shops can never again offer chips, bread rolls, confections

The move is aimed at preventing exposure of children to tobacco products

 

In what may come as a help for guardians, shops authorized to offer tobacco items won't be permitted to offer any non-tobacco items.

The move is gone for anticipating presentation of youngsters to tobacco items.

As indicated by a letter flowed by monetary counsel in the service of wellbeing and family welfare, Arun Kumar Jha, expressed, "It is felt that the control of tobacco items can be made more powerful. It will be suitable to build up a system to give consent or approval through Municipal Authority to the retail shops who are offering tobacco items"

"Further, it would likewise be proper to make a condition or arrangement in the approval that the shops approved for offering tobacco items, can't offer any non-tobacco items, for example, toffees, confections, chips, bread rolls, soda pops, and so forth., which are basically implied for non-client, particularly youngsters," Jha said in the letter.

The Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products (Prohibition of Advertisement and Regulation of Trade and Commerce, Production, Supply and Distribution) Act, 2003, disheartens deals.

What Section 6 of the Control of Tobacco Products Act (COTPA) 2003 says

— Prohibition of smoking in all public places

— Prohibition of direct and indirect advertisement, promotion and sponsorship of cigarettes and other tobacco products

— No person shall sell, offer for sale or permit sale of cigarette or any other tobacco product

— to any person under 18 years

— within a radius of 100 yards of any educational institution

"The focal government has established the Cigarettes and other Tobacco Products (Prohibition of Advertisement and Regulations of Trade and Commerce Production, Supply and Distribution) Act, 2003 (COTPA), to demoralize the utilization of tobacco, with accentuation on assurance of youngsters and youngsters from being dependent on the utilization of tobacco, with a view to accomplish change of general wellbeing when all is said in done," expressed Jha....READ MORE

Lower taxes to fire up revenues, earnings for cigarette makers

After 5 years of decline, cigarette industry expected to post volume growth under GST framework

economy news: Shares of cigarette companies were among the biggest gainers on Monday after the central board of excise and customs last weekend clarified on the goods and services tax structure on cigarettes. The new tax structure is expected to be about 6 per cent lower at around 58 per cent vs 63-64 per cent earlier. While ITC (up 5.7 per cent), VST Industries (4 per cent) hit their 52-week highs, Godfrey Phillips India too was up 2 per cent. The key beneficiary though is seen as ITC, which commands an estimated 80 per cent market share in the duty-paid cigarette industry in the country.

There are twin triggers for the optimism around cigarette makers. The first is the boost to volumes given the expectation of lower cigarette prices. Cigarette prices are likely to decrease by 8-10 per cent primarily in the 64 mm category, which will lead to a 5-7 per cent volume growth annually over the next two years. For the past five years, the legal cigarette industry has seen a decline of 5-6 per cent in its sales volume, while illegal trade has gained.

Abneesh Roy of Edelweiss Securities believes if these (6-7 per cent gains) are passed on there is volume benefit estimated at 5 per cent for FY18 for ITC. Given ITC’s market share, pricing power and largely inelastic demand it will benefit the most among cigarette makers from the lower indirect taxes.

An ITC spokesperson told Business Standard that the company welcomes GST and is taking effective steps to pass on the benefits to the consumer wherever such benefits accrue due to the recently announced GST rates.

The other reason for the run up in stock prices, especially for ITC is due to lower relative valuations. Analysts at Credit Suisse had highlighted in a note today that the ITC stock trades at 32 per cent discount to Hindustan Unilever, which is the highest discount in nearly 10 years. Arnab Mitra and Rohit Kadam of Credit Suisse believe that there is significant scope for re-rating in ITC as the earnings momentum comes back to the high teens trajectory that ITC achieved prior to FY14. On the back of higher contribution from the cigarettes business, Edelweiss Securities estimates that there would be 15-18 per cent annual earnings growth for ITC over the next two years. While new launches in the FMCG business (non-cigarette) is expected to add to overall revenues, cigarettes will continue to be the main driver of sales and profit. Cigarette segment contributes about 58 per cent of ITC’s revenues and 87 per cent of profit.

The key gains for cigarette makers is expected in the entry level, 64mm category. Sameer Deshmukh of Reliance Securities agrees and says this category accounts for 25 per cent of ITC’s sales volume. The 69 mm category (50 per cent of ITC’s volumes), had stagnated over the past couple of years.

His reasoning is based on the projection that the budget brands like Gold Star Super Star, Capstan and others will be directly competing with the bidi and the illegal cigarette segment where chances of converting a bidi smoker to budget cigarette will be the easiest.

Richard Liu and Vicky Punjabi of JM Financial say that players such as VST Industries can price its 64mm offering at Rs 2.65 a stick and yet make the same realisation as it did earlier at Rs 3. They believe that a Rs 2.5 a stick pricing for 64mm would lay out a smooth ladder to facilitate bidis-to-cigarettes up-trading. Under the GST framework, tax on bidi has increased to 28 per cent with additional cess from the current tax level of 18-20 per cent. While the effective price on bidi will increase, cigarette prices will decline. (Read more )