Tobacco Industry Claims Research Articles

E-cigarette regulation: Is it time for a new Framework Convention on Tobacco Control?

E-cigarette regulation: Is it time for a new Framework Convention on Tobacco Control?

Illicit trade and real prices of cigarettes in Chile.

The tobacco industry claims that tobacco taxes are responsible for increased illicit trade in Chile, which they estimated at 37% in 2022. However, the evolution of cigarette consumption, estimated from population surveys, and of tax-paying cigarettes shows a decreasing penetration of illicit trade since 2018. A gap analysis was used to estimate the evolution of illicit trade based on an arithmetic identity stating that total national cigarette consumption over a given period is equal to the registered consumption as paying taxes plus the cigarettes that are consumed nationally without paying taxes. Illicit trade penetration in Chile was around 10% in 2020, less than half of what the tobacco industry claimed. In addition, the evolution of real prices of cigarettes, calculated using tax collection data, indicates that real prices net of tobacco taxes increased significantly during 2015-2021, a period with no changes in tobacco taxation. The cheapest cigarettes, presumably competing with illicit cigarettes, registered the most significant price increase. Claims of increasing illicit trade penetration in Chile are unfounded and are not supported by data on consumption and tax-paying cigarettes.

Tobacco Industry Claims About Transformation are Inconsistent With Combustible Cigarette Innovations: The Case of Flavor Capsule Cigarettes.

Tobacco Industry Claims About Transformation are Inconsistent With Combustible Cigarette Innovations: The Case of Flavor Capsule Cigarettes.

Estimating the Magnitude of Illicit Cigarette Trade in Bangladesh: Protocol for a Mixed-Methods Study.

The illicit tobacco trade undermines the effectiveness of tobacco tax policies; increases the availability of cheap cigarettes, which, in turn, increases tobacco use and tobacco related deaths; and causes huge revenue losses to governments. There is limited evidence on the extent of illicit tobacco trade particularly cigarettes in Bangladesh. The paper presents the protocol for a mixed-methods study to estimate the extent of illicit cigarette trade in Bangladesh. The study will address three research questions: (a) What proportion of cigarettes sold as retail are illicit? (b) What are the common types of tax avoidance and tax evasion? (c) Can pack examination from the trash recycle market be considered as a new method to assess illicit trade in comparison to that from retailers and streets? Following an observational research method, data will be collected utilizing empty cigarette packs from three sources: (a) retailers; (b) streets; and (c) trash recycle market. In addition, a structured questionnaire will be used to collect information from retailers selling cigarettes. We will select post codes as Primary Sampling Unit (PSU) using a multi-stage random sampling technique. We will randomly select eight districts from eight divisions stratified by those with land border and non-land border; and within each district, we will randomly select ten postcodes, stratified by rural (five) and urban (five) PSU to ensure maximum geographical variation, leading to a total of eighty post codes from eight districts. The analysis will report the proportions of packs that do not comply with the study definition of illicit. Independent estimates of illicit tobacco are rare in low- and middle-income countries such as Bangladesh. Findings will inform efforts by revenue authorities and others to address the effects of illicit trade and counter tobacco industry claims.

Standardised packaging, minimum excise tax, and RYO focussed tax rise implications for UK tobacco pricing.

BackgroundStandardised packaging for factory made (FM) and roll your own (RYO) tobacco was fully implemented in the UK in May 2017. Around the same time, several changes to the tax system were applied (a Minimum Excise Tax (MET) for FM products and tax increases weighted towards RYO products). The tobacco industry claims that standardised packaging will lower prices (a disincentive for quitting) by commoditising the product, yet had itself taken advantage of the previous tax regime to achieve large profits from premium brands while also keeping some products’ prices relatively low. Here we evaluate the impact of standardised packaging, the MET and the RYO focussed tax changes on price and industry profitability.Methods and findingsNielsen electronic point of sale (EPOS) data (May 2015 to April 2018) were used to calculate real (inflation adjusted) monthly price per stick overall, by cigarette type (FM and RYO) and by seven market segments. Trend estimation, using additive mixed models, assessed weighted average price (weighted by volume of sales) and tobacco industry net revenue changes. The beginning and end of the data series were compared in terms of: (a) average monthly price growth, (b) average monthly net revenue growth, and (c) undershifting and overshifting patterns after tax changes. FM and RYO real prices changed little over the 3-year period—overall prices rose by about 1p per stick. There was no evidence of commoditisation with prices of all FM segments (but not RYO) rising faster after the implementation of standardised packaging than immediately beforehand. The prices of the cheapest FM brands rose with the implementation of the MET. RYO price increases did not close the gap to FM pricing levels despite RYO focussed tax increases. Tax changes following the implementation of standardised packaging and the MET were more widely and quickly passed on to smokers in the form of higher prices than the tax change pre-implementation. The main limitations are first that because we do not know the exact mechanism by which Nielsen scales up sample data to provide UK estimates, we could only use data for a set three year period during which the same adjustments are made. Second, the tax and standardised packaging events were sometimes too close in time to separate their consequences statistically. Third, tobacco prices may also be affected by external factors such as changes in smokers’ disposable income or availability of electronic nicotine delivery systems.ConclusionsThere was no long-term lowering of tobacco prices after the implementation of standardised packaging as predicted by the industry. The introduction of the MET was successful in increasing the price of the cheapest FM cigarettes and narrowing the price gap between FM brands. The RYO tax increases were, however, insufficient to narrow the price gap between RYO and FM. Overall, undershifting became less extensive indicating that tobacco industry manipulation of the tax system which had previously kept cheap products available had declined. This suggests that standardised packaging and a MET will likely contribute to further declines in UK tobacco use.

The impact of the 2009/2010 enhancement of cigarette health warning labels in Uruguay: longitudinal findings from the International Tobacco Control (ITC) Uruguay Survey

BackgroundFramework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) Article 11 Guidelines recommend that health warning labels (HWLs) should occupy at least 50% of the package, but the tobacco industry claims that increasing...

Are the tobacco industry's claims about the size of the illicit cigarette market credible? The case of South Africa

BackgroundThe tobacco industry claims that illicit cigarette trade in South Africa is high and rising. This is often used as an argument not to increase the tobacco excise tax or...

Measuring changes in the illicit cigarette market using government revenue data: the example of South Africa

BackgroundThe tobacco industry claims that illicit trade in cigarettes has increased sharply since the 1990s and that government has lost substantial tax revenue.Objectives(1) To determine whether cigarette excise tax revenue...

The economic impact of state cigarette taxes and smoke-free air policies on convenience stores

ObjectivesTo investigate whether increasing state cigarette taxes and/or enacting stronger smoke-free air (SFA) policies have negative impact on convenience store density in a state, a proxy that is determined by...

Employment Implications of Declining Tobacco Product Sales for the Regional Economies of the United States

To determine whether declines in tobacco product sales significantly reduce employment in the United States, as the tobacco industry claims. Computer simulation of the economies of the Southeast Tobacco region and 8 nontobacco regions of the United States, with domestic tobacco expenditures eliminated or reduced and the equivalent spending redistributed, according to consumers' normal spending patterns. We compared these results with baseline forecasts of the regional economies that include normal tobacco expenditures. Number of jobs. Had there been no spending on tobacco products in the United States in 1993, the Southeast Tobacco region would have had 303 000 fewer jobs. Collectively, however, the 8 nontobacco regions would have gained enough employment to completely offset losses in the Southeast Tobacco region, with every nontobacco region gaining jobs. By the year 2000, the absence of tobacco spending would mean a loss of 222 000 jobs in the Southeast Tobacco region, but a gain of 355 000 throughout the rest of the country. In the more realistic scenario of doubling the downward trend in tobacco consumption, the Southeast Tobacco region would lose 6300 jobs in 1993 (0.03% of regional employment) and 36 600 jobs by 2000 (0.2%). The 8 nontobacco regions would gain 6400 jobs in 1993 and 56 300 jobs in 2000, with each of the nontobacco regions gaining employment in every year. Contrary to the tobacco industry's claims, reductions in spending on tobacco products will boost employment in every one of the 8 nontobacco regions and will not diminish employment in the Southeast Tobacco region by as much as the industry estimates. The primary concern about tobacco should be the enormity of its toll on health and not its impact on employment.

Tobacco and the law: the state of the art.

Litigation has become a major weapon in the conflict between those who seek to control tobacco and the tobacco industry. Apart from the cases arising from the high proportion of fires caused by cigarettes (including, in the UK, the disastrous fire at the Bradford football stadium and the fire at Kings Cross railway station, both of which were caused by discarded cigarette butts), in the last few years there have been and are continuing major lawsuits against the tobacco manufacturers both in the USA and in the UK. In Australia, a Court has ruled that the tobacco industry's claims that passive smoke had not been proven to cause a variety of diseases were false and misleading. A Quebec judge ruled as unconstitutional a Canadian law which had banned tobacco advertising. A product liability suit was filed against cigarette manufacturers by airline flight attendants whose health, they alleged, was impaired by exposure to passive smoke. To date, attempts to win damages from the manufacturers for injuries caused by smoking have failed, but several group actions are pending in the courts in England and the USA. The cases to date demonstrate the range and importance of tobacco control issues now being considered by the Courts.

Study: Tobacco advertising influences teen smoking

Tobacco advertising is a stronger determinant than peer pressure in influencing children to start smoking, according to a study released by the Coalition on Smoking OR Health. The study9s authors maintain that this information runs counter to tobacco-industry claims that peer pressure, not advertising, is the main reason children start smoking. An interest in tobacco advertising and promotional gifts from tobacco companies was a strong predictor of whether a child would go on to smoke, according to the study, conducted by cancer researchers at the University of California at San Diego and published in the Oct. 17 Journal of the National Cancer Institute .

The Economic Implications of Tobacco Product Sales in a Nontobacco State

The tobacco industry claims that tobacco makes a significant economic contribution to each of the states in the United States. We sought to determine whether Michigan, a nontobacco state, would reap more economic benefits from the presence or absence of tobacco product sales. Computer simulation of the Michigan economy, with and without tobacco product sales, for the years 1992 through 2005. We simulated Michigan's economy with tobacco expenditures eliminated or reduced and the equivalent spending redistributed to other goods and services, according to consumers' normal spending patterns. We compare these results with baseline forecasts of the economy. Numbers of jobs and tax revenues. Michigan would have had 5600 more jobs in 1992 had there been no expenditure on tobacco products, with equivalent spending redistributed to other goods and services (and to other taxes, to replace half of lost cigarette excise tax revenues). By the year 2005, a tobacco-free Michigan would still have almost 1500 more jobs than it will have if sales trends for tobacco products continue (ie, gradually declining over time). If, instead of tobacco expenditures ceasing, the contemporary rate of decline in tobacco consumption had doubled, the state would have had over 300 more jobs in 1992 and would have nearly 800 more in 2005. With cigarette excise tax revenues not replaced, the elimination of spending on tobacco products would have decreased Michigan's tax revenues by $254 million in 1992. The more realistic doubling of the expected decline in smoking would have decreased revenues by $14 million that year. Reducing or eliminating tobacco product spending in Michigan will increase employment in the state, as well as health.

Mexico! It's Marlboro Country

To the Editor. —The tobacco industry claims not to advertise or promote their product to children. However, recent articles in JAMA suggest active efforts of tobacco companies to encourage name recognition among children. 1-3 I saw visual evidence of this while traveling in Mexico in 1990, as shown in the photograph of a young boy wearing a jacket obviously made only for a child (Figure). In the absence of legal restrictions, it is apparent that corporate moral responsibility stops at the international boundary.

Recent developments in tobacco litigation: 1991

Northeastern University School of Law, 400 Huntington Avenue, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, USA RA Daynard Abstract Litigation has become a major front in the conflict between tobacco control forces and the tobacco industry. In 1991 there were important developments in six quite different tobacco lawsuits. An Australian judge ruled that the tobacco industry's claims that environmental tobacco smoke has not been proven to cause a variety of diseases were false and misleading. A US convenience store chain agreed to demand proof of age before selling tobacco products to young people. A Quebec judge ruled unconstitutional the Canadian law banning tobacco adver tising. A product liability suit was filed against cigarette manufacturers by air line flight attendants whose health was impaired by exposure to environmental tobacco smoke. Another product liability suit, charging that asbestos contained in a cigarette filter caused the plaintiffs mesothelioma, ended inconclusively. Finally, the US Supreme Court prepared to decide a legal issue of critical impor tance to the viability of tobacco pro ducts liability cases in the United States. These cases illustrate the range and im portance of tobacco control issues now being considered by the courts.