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OLAF opens office in China to fight contraband and counterfeiting European Union (EU) anti-fraud office OLAF has opened an office in China, boosting Sino-European cooperation in the fight against tobacco smuggling and counterfeiting. Indeed, an OLAF communiqué said the key focus of this initiative will be cigarette smuggling, because of the continued boom in contraband cigarettes being sent from China to the EU. |
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Government vs NGOs tobacco case delayed again
The fifth hearing in an anti-tobacco court case adjourned recently at the Central Jakarta District Court when government representatives failed to attend. A group of four NGOs brought a suit against the executive branch and the House of Representatives in June 2008, in order to force the two branches to consider ratification of the World Health Organisation’s Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC); however, by late August, court-ordered mediation between the two sides had broken down. In their suit, the anti-smoking NGOs accused both state institutions of failing to protect Indonesians from the dangers of smoking. |
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The European Commission is considering whether to regulate the contamination of cigarettes with polonium 210, the highly radioactive substance used to murder former KGB agent Alexander Litvinenko. Officials are reacting to research produced in the American Journal of Public Health confirming that trace elements are found in tobacco leaves used to make cigarettes. Brussels is not thought likely to control its presence through the European Union 2001 Tobacco Ingredients Directive, but may mandate that labelling warns consumers of its presence. |
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Republic Technologies to buy Swedish Match UK
Republic Technologies International, a member of the Republic Group and well-known manufacturer and distributor of smoking accessories worldwide, has announced its pending acquisition of Swedish Match UK Limited, including the businesses of smoking papers and filters, the famous Swan brand, and the distribution of lighters, matches and fire products. |
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Growth in duty-free tobacco sales
Based on actual audits of retail sales among a panel of locations worldwide, the TREND Tobacco Index has shown that, nine months into 2008, global duty free and travel retail tobacco sales have advanced 6.2% compared to the same period in 2007. Duty free and travel retail tobacco sales in Asia were up 7.9%, while sales in the Americas grew by 5.6%. In Europe, duty free and travel retail tobacco sales (calculated in Euros) have shown a drop when compared to last year. However, duty free sales for travellers to destinations outside the EU have actually shown a slight increase, compared to the same point last year. |
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