R.J. Reynolds, the maker of Camel and Winston cigarettes, along with other tobacco makers have filed suit against federal authorities on Monday claiming their right to free speech has been violated by a new tobacco law.

The suit, filed against the FDA in a federal district court in Bowling Green, Ky., the home of one of the plaintiffs, Commonwealth Brands Inc., seeks to overturn portions of the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act, which took effect in June.

The FDA doesn’t comment on pending lawsuits, an FDA spokeswoman said.

While the suit doesn’t challenge the decision to give the agency authority over tobacco products, it claims provisions of the law “restrict the few remaining channels we have to communicate with adult tobacco consumers and, in our opinion, cannot be justified on any basis consistent with the demands of the First Amendment,” Martin L. Holton III, senior vice president and general counsel for Reynolds, said in a statement.

According to the 46-page complaint, the companies are barred from using “color lettering, logos, trademarks or other imagery in most advertisements, including virtually all point-of-sale and direct-mail advertisements.

The law also bans tobacco companies from “making truthful statements about their products in scientific, public policy and political debates.”

Under the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act, the FDA is unable to outright ban nicotine or tobacco products, but has the authority to reduce nicotine in tobacco products, ban candy flavorings, block labels such as “light” and “low tar,” and prohibit certain marketing campaigns, particularly aimed at children.

Altria Group Inc., parent company of Philip Morris USA, is absent from the lawsuit.

According to estimates by Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids, 243,412 kids have become regular smokers in 2009. Of which 81,558 will die prematurely from their addiction.

© Injuryboard

Trying to lose weight? How about improve your attention span? You may want to pop a piece of gum in your mouth and start chewing.

According to research sponsored by the Wrigley Science Institute and presented at the Experimental Biology 2009 meeting last week, there’s new reasons to chew gum.

Researchers at Louisiana State University found that when 115 people were offered snacks three hours after lunch, they ate fewer snacks and had more energy when they chewed gum for 15 minutes every hour over the three-hour period, compared to the afternoons when they did not chew gum. Study participants reported feeling less hungry and having fewer sweet cravings after chewing gum; they also decreased their snack intake by 40 to 60 calories.

Another study at Baylor College of Medicine had 108 eighth-grade math students divide into two groups. One group chewed gum at school and while doing homework, the other group didn’t chew gum at all. The results: gum chewers had a 3% increase in their test scores and also had higher final grades.

So does gum really have benefits or are gum manufacturers just trying to sell more gum? Well, maybe a little of both. Sugarless gum does have protective benefits, such as preventing tooth decay and reducing plaque, according to the American Dental Association. And if you’re trying to quit smoking, chewing gum may help. It also burns about 11 calories per hour. But before you begin stockpiling gum for a new gum diet, think again. Since the days of getting gum from trees are long gone, gum today is made with artificial sweeteners and colors.

If you want to get away from synthetic ingredients without reducing your chewing pleasure, one option is Glee Gum, an all-natural, vegetarian chewing gum sweetened with rice syrup and pure cane sugar that’s available in natural foods stores. And of course, eating right and getting plenty of exercise will do a lot more for your body and your mind than chewing packs of gum.


© 24medica

No more gentle warnings from cigarette packs. New labels are set to include gruesome color photographs showing a cancer-ridden mouth, blackened lungs, and a foot rotten with gangrene to drive home the dangers of smoking, the Washington Post reported.

Under the new the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act, tobacco companies must cover 50% of the front and rear panels of cigarette packages with color graphics showing what happens when you smoke, and must include bold labels with direct information, such as “WARNING: Cigarettes cause fatal lung disease;” “WARNING: Tobacco smoke can harm your children;” “WARNING: Smoking can kill you.”

Why the change? Critics have long dismissed U.S. labeling as ineffective, while other countries have been sporting bold warnings and images on their cigarettes that have been hailed as effective. Canada started the gruesome label trend in 2000 with a label that showed a picture of mouth cancer. “It’s the one that smokers remember more than anything else. Even after nine years,” David Hammond, a researcher from the Department of Health Studies at the University of Waterloo in Ontario told the Washington Post. Since that time, more than two dozen countries have started offering similar warning labels.

Malaysia’s cigarette packs feature a photo of a diseased lung; packs in Brazil depict a dead fetus lying near cigarette butts; and Thailand’s have an image of a man with a hole in his throat, to warn about throat cancer.

“Every piece of research that I’ve seen with smokers tells us that smokers think that [image warnings] are more effective,” Hammond said. “U.S. smokers and consumers are getting worse health information than almost any other smoker in the world.”

Hammond does not think cigarette makers will fight the new rule, because lawsuits in other countries have failed.


© Csdecisions

Swedish Match is one of the world’s largest producers of cigars and cigarillos. Swedish Match offers a full range of different cigars and brands. Well known brands include Macanudo, La Gloria Cubana, White Owl, Garcia y Vega, La Paz, Hajenius, Hollandia, Justus van Maurik, Willem II and Salsa. The US is the largest cigar market in the world. Swedish Match has a leading position in the premium segment and is well established in the segment for machine made cigars. After the US, the most important cigar markets are in Europe, where Swedish Match is well represented in most countries. The largest markets for Swedish Match in sales terms in Europe are France, Benelux, Finland and Spain.

During the second quarter, sales were 1,129 MSEK (905), and operating profit amounted to 281 MSEK (183). In local currencies, sales in the second quarter were flat compared to the same period of the previous year, while operating profit increased by 22 percent. Operating margin was 24.9 percent (20.2).

During the second quarter, US premium cigar sales, which includes Internet and mail order, were down less than 1 percent from the previous year in local currency. During the first quarter of 2009 substantial hoarding of premium cigars occurred in connection with the federal excise tax increases. Much of this hoarding was reversed during the second quarter. Sales of mass market cigars in the US were negatively impacted by the first quarter hoarding as well, but the year on year volume decline of 6 percent in the second quarter was better than expected, mainly as a result of the strong performance of the “foil fresh” packaged small cigars. In anticipation of sharper volume declines, costs were reduced to below normal levels in the second quarter, which in combination with price increases resulted in a sharp increase of the operating profit and margin in this product area. Cigar sales in Europe declined somewhat in local currencies as a result of mix effects and lower volumes, particularly in France, Belgium, and the Netherlands.

For cigars in total, sales for the first six months amounted to 2,305 MSEK (1,659), while operating profit was 567 MSEK (294). In local currencies sales increased by 10 percent versus the previous year, while operating profit increased by 52 percent.

Chain restaurants, despite their efforts, face mounting pressure to curb marketing of unhealthy foods to children. Are outright fast-food bans next?

The idea for “Alcohol, Then Tobacco. Now Fast Food?” came from BusinessWeek reader Geetha Thurairajah, an undergraduate at Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo, Ont.

New York City Councilman Eric Gioia is drafting a bill that would forbid fast-food chains from opening new restaurants within one-tenth of a mile of city schools. Gioia cites a recent study’s finding that when schools in California are that close to hamburgers and french fries, the student obesity rate is likely to be 5.2% higher. “Of course there’s a degree of personal responsibility here,” says Gioia. “But municipalities across the country need to be making it easier to be a good parent and raise healthier kids.”

In recent years, public criticism and mountains of data linking obesity, diabetes, and other health problems to the regular consumption of fast food has caused the industry to rethink its entrenched practice of marketing to kids. McDonald’s (MCD) now offers apple wedges as a substitute for fries in Happy Meals, and Taco Bell parent Yum! Brands (YUM) has stopped advertising on TV shows aimed at kids 12 and under.

But a growing number of consumer advocates and legislators are concerned that fast-food companies continue to pitch unhealthy eats to children. “In their minds, they’ve done what they need to do,” says Dr. Jennifer Harris of Yale University’s Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity. “In the minds of the people in the public health field who are concerned about kids, there’s a long way to go.”

Consumer advocates are calling for regulation that would make children off-limits to fast-food marketers, much as they are to alcohol and tobacco companies. “The food and restaurant industry needs to be responsible in how they market to children or else the government will step in and then require them to,” says Dr. Margo Wootan, director of nutrition policy at the Washington-based Center for Science in the Public Interest.
Kids See Ads Targeted at Adults

McDonald’s and Burger King (BKC) are among the 15 food and beverage companies that have pledged to focus greater advertising resources on healthy foods, part of an initiative spearheaded in 2006 by the Council of Better Business Bureaus (CBBB). Among principles the companies agree to uphold: Half of all marketing messages aimed at children must include foods that the U.S. Food & Drug Administration defines as healthy; ads must use fewer licensed characters; and advertising must not be placed in schools. “They’re very committed to getting it right,” says Elaine Kolish, who leads the Children’s Food & Beverage Initiative for the CBBB. Her group will report its second annual audit of these companies in July.

Critics say these pledges don’t go far enough and lack participation from a few major quick-service operators such as Yum Brands and Subway. Yale’s Harris notes that children are routinely exposed to a variety of media that aren’t specifically aimed at them—such as American Idol—but which contain ad messages that are. “They still can continue to advertise anything they want on general audience programming,” she says.

Moreover, such new media as social networking and video-sharing sites on the Web fall outside the definitions maintained by the CBBB. One promotion Wendy’s created for Father’s Day asked kids to create e-cards for their dads, featuring a Frosty, the chain’s popular ice cream snack.
McDonald’s spokeswoman Danya Proud cites the company’s commitment to the CBBB pledge, saying “100% of our children’s advertising in the U.S. focuses on children’s well-being.” Yum Brands says it voluntarily changed its TV advertising policy to exclude shows aimed at kids and added healthier options to its menu, such as grilled chicken at KFC.
Strong Brands Triggered Kids’ Buying

Studies continue to point out new channels of influence that fast-food companies are using to build relationships with young consumers. In the February study cited by New York’s Gioia, researchers at Columbia University and the University of California Berkeley assessed the fitness levels of ninth graders in California schools located near fast-food retailers. Obesity rates were significantly higher in those schools a tenth of a mile or less from fast food—a statistic that shows how the mere availability of unhealthy food can increase consumption.

Janet Currie, a Columbia economics professor who led the study, says that only those retailers that have strong brand relationships with children appeared to affect them. “It seemed to make a difference whether it was McDonald’s next to you rather than a Joe’s Pizza next to you,” Currie says.

The study recommended that legislators ban certain fast-food chains from opening outlets next door to schools. So far, Currie says, Gioia is the first to begin drafting such a policy.

Ellen Davis, a spokeswoman for the National Council of Chain Restaurants, says the study does not take into account such factors as the level of physical education in schools, whether or not schools have a free lunch program, and if they are located in urban or rural environments. “Chain restaurants are viable, legitimate businesses, they’re not evil empires. To treat a chain restaurant like a drug dealer is ludicrous and it’s very unwarranted,” she adds.
Recession Feeds Fast-Food Demand

The federal government may soon take a closer interest in fast-food ads. Jon Leibowitz, the newly appointed chairman of the Federal Trade Commission, issued a statement on the topic last September, writing: “Whether or not food and beverage marketers are part of the problem—and in my view, we all share some responsibility—they have to be part of the solution.”

Industry critics compare the intent of fast-food companies to that of cigarette makers, who first came under attack for marketing to children decades ago. “Both the tobacco and fast-food industries have clearly identified young people as really important markets for their business,” says Patty Lynn, who directs a campaign to reform fast-food marketing for Corporate Accountability International, a Boston watchdog group that also lobbies against Big Tobacco.

Lynn adds that stricter controls are needed now as more Americans frequent fast-food chains to save money. “The short-term value of people buying fast food more regularly is only going to create a heavier burden for individuals and society,” she says.

David Kessler, who worked to regulate the tobacco industry during his term as chairman of the Food & Drug Administration in the 1990s, turned his attention to the abuses of the food industry in his new book, The End of Overeating. He says that changing the way unhealthy food is sold will take more than just government policy. “Tobacco was easy to change—because you can live without that. We can’t live without food,” he says. “We need to change how America looks at food.”
© Businessweek

Kentucky burley growers, including those in Scott County, are expressing concerns over a bill pending in Canadian Parliament that would essentially ban all burley exports from the United States to Canada.

The bill would ban only candy-flavored cigars but the broadness of the bill’s language will apply to all cigarettes and will ban all flavorings used with Kentucky grown burley, prohibiting the manufacture and sale of American blend cigarettes.

Roger Quarles, a Georgetown tobacco farmer and president of Burley Tobacco Growers Cooperative, said, if passed, the bill would have far reaching, negative implications for the burley growing industry.

“Burley is a very strong leaf used in minority amounts when they make consumer products. (Canadian Parliament) has for some reason put everything in the same pot as candy cigarettes, but burley has an undetectable amount of flavorings. You can’t taste it,” Quarles said. “There certainly ways for the Canadian government to achieve their goal of banning fruit flavored products aimed at kids without wiping out the market for American burley tobacco and threatening American jobs.”

The amount of burley exported from Kentucky to Canada is unknown but Quarles said 80 to 85 percent of all exported American burley is from Kentucky and the tobacco industry generates hundreds of millions of dollars each year in the Commonwealth with more than 8,000 tobacco growers in the state.

“We grow burley in 110 of 120 Kentucky counties and we’ve seen tobacco under attack from a number of sources. This bill would have a devastating economic impact on burley growers in the state and our congressional leaders must do something about it,” Quarles said.

Burley tobacco co-op representatives also expressed concern the Canadian legislation would violate international trade agreements.

“Canada has a problem with people smuggling elicit cigarettes. We feel like this would encourage more elicit cigarette smuggling and since there are no health claims that say burley is anymore harmful than the next type of tobacco we feel pretty sure this will be an illegal act as far as trade agreements,” Quarles said.

The Georgetown farmer also noted the recent proposed Food and Drug Administration regulation bill President Barack Obama is expected to sign into law. The legislation would place new federal regulations on the tobacco industry to prevent children from becoming smokers and reduce the number of deaths associated with tobacco use.

Once signed into law, FDA will have the power to reduce nicotine levels, administer product safety tests and issue recalls if necessary, but will not have the authority to ban the sale of cigarettes, cigars, smokeless tobacco and other tobacco products.

“Everybody hates tobacco except those that use it, which still is about 20 percent of the population. The FDA regulation bill is something that’s been in the works and on the pathway for 15 years,” Quarles said. “There are certain items we as growers are apprehensive about but things we are excited about as well with this legislation.”

Burley growers are pleased all tobacco imported into the United States would have the same standards as tobacco grown here.

“Cheaper cigarettes use imported tobacco leaf, which is not inspected with the same scrutiny as leaf produced in the United States,” Quarles said. “There are plusses and minuses. We as growers in the burley co-op always have been in support of certain things such as protecting the health of our consumers because it doesn’t do us any good if they are sick.”

Quarles said while consumption of tobacco products slightly declines each year in the United States, it increases 5 percent internationally.

“There are certain parts of the world that actually are growth areas of smoking. There has been a decline in production since the tobacco buyouts in 2004, which probably would have happened anyway since American-made tobacco is the most expensive in the world,” Quarles said. “As a tobacco producer, it’s more profitable than it’s ever been. Tobacco still is grown on more farms than any other single crop. It’s worked very well for tobacco farmers since the buyouts.”
Copyright © Georgetownnews

Fermentation is the process by which wine is made. Wine is generally 9- to 16-percent alcohol and made from grapes. Brewing is the process by which beer is made. Beer is generally 3- to 9-percent alcohol and made from grain.

Since sake is brewed and made from rice but has 12- to 16-percent alcohol, is it a beer or a wine? The United States Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms had the problem of answering this question, and they decided to create “Category 6 — wine from other agricultural products” to help define sake.

Although we commonly associate sake with Japan, its roots lie in China, and it dates back to 4800 BC. Rice was not cultivated in Japan until 4,600 years later.

The confusion about sake for most of us is about how to serve it. Should it be hot, warm or cold? The answer to this is simple — drink it the way you like it.

It is not uncommon to serve chilled sake during the hot months and hot sake during the cold months. Just like any other beverage, sake’s traits are covered with heat or cold.

To experience the true aromas and flavors of the beverage, drink it at room temperature. The reason for serving hot sake in the first place was to cover up undesirable traits of poorly made offerings. If you see sake labeled as Namazake, it is non-pasteurized and meant to be served chilled.

Just like fine wine, the more you know about the terms used on a label, the better choices you can make. Sake can be sweet or dry, clear or cloudy, traditionally aged or shipped green, and it is broken down into different quality categories. All this information is available to those that know how to read the label.

Some of the more common sake terms let us know about the preparation of the rice prior to creating the libation.

The word “honjozo” tells us that the rice has been polished down more than 30 percent. “Ginjo” is polished down between 40 to 50 percent. “Daijinjo” is polished 50 to 65 percent.

A fourth classification is “junmai.” Until 2004, junmai designated 40 percent polishing, but its meaning has been changed by a Japanese mandate. The term now refers to any sake that has been polished to any degree and has no added alcohol or other additives.

Adding a small amount of alcohol to sake is not intended to increase the strength of the libation but rather to enhance the flavor. A bottle marked ginjo would imply that alcohol has been added to the brew. A bottle marked “junmai ginjo” would tell us that alcohol has not been added.

Sake is best if it is consumed young when it is fresh and flavorful. Older sake’ will exhibit tired and flat qualities. Once a bottle is opened, it is best to consume it within a few hours. Sake starts to oxidize the second the bottle is opened.

If you are not going to consume the full bottle, it will last in the refrigerator for a few days. To make sure that the sake will maintain its best structure, be sure to seal the bottle with a vacuum pump as quickly as possible.

There are some very nice sake offerings that can be found on the shelves of better wine shops that come in 330-milliliter bottles. They are the perfect size for two to four servings.

The Kanbara Junmai Ginjo Bride of the Fox is a nice example of a sake that has a nice acidity and floral traits. The rice kernels have been polished down 40 percent to take off the outer layers of rice that contain fats, proteins and amino acids. You will notice that sake of this level does not have the harsh undesirable traits that cheap, low-level sake has.

For a sake that is richer with less citrus and floral in its character, try the Mantensei Junmai Ginjo Star Filled Sky Sake. Just like there are different grape varietals used in creating wine, there are different rice varietals used in creating sake. The Star Filled Sky uses yamada nishiki and tamasakae rice in its blend.

One of the best sake that I have ever had the pleasure of tasting is the Fukucho Junmai Ginjo Moon on the Water Sake. It is lighter than most sake and exhibits a variety of floral traits that is rarely found in any sake.

We have just touched on the complexities that are sake. There is much more that needs to be explained and experienced to get the true joy from this great category of libation. Look for better sake and begin to experience the differences from the mass-produced common offerings to the much better artisan-produced offerings.

Never past was like present or future. In the past smoking used to be associated with glamour and success, this is one example which show the differences between ages. In the past Tobacco Companies paid millions of dollars to 1930s and 40s Hollywood Stars such as Clarke Gable and John Wayne for to approve particular cigarette brands.

Cigarette companies, even, could promote their cigarettes on the bars, and also could use scantily clothes for promotional girls for to distribute free packs of cigarettes to customers.
But today smoking has a different fate. Because smoking is seen now as anti-social, even though cigarettes continue to be dismissed to the dirty sidewalks outside clubs, pubs and even in smokers’ homes.
Cigarette smoking continues to kill people, for example about 106,000 people in the UK die each year because of smoking. Many of deaths are due to cancers, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and heart disease. BTW: the main cause of these diseases is smoking.
According to a lot of studies, smoking is very harmful for people’s health, but is more harmful and addicted if people start smoking when they are kids. The antismoking researchers said: “The younger you are when you start smoking, the more likely you are to smoke for longer and to suffer an early death.”
Many of smokers said that they feel like social exiles, and this was the case even before the smoking ban came into effect. Yet smoking hasn’t been socially acceptable for a long time in the UK.
On October this year horrible pictures describing smoking-related illnesses (the most disgusting being an image of a man with cancer growing outside his throat) will decorate every cigarette pack.
Campaigners should be optimistic about the effect the images will have. For example Canada launched similar photo warnings in 2001 and 31% of ex-smokers said it helped them to quit.
Further, in a tender to save generation from cigarettes, awareness pictures will be presented also in schools. Hopefully they will be enough to stop a teenager from taking their first drag.
Teenagers may start smoking for a lot of reasons. But they continue to smoke cigarettes because they become addicted, or this process becomes as a ritual, this is the same reason why adults smoke.

Smokefree Innotec, Inc. In close cooperation with its German management consultants, SFI is starting up collaboration with one of the world’s leading essence manufacturers for exclusive mass production of ‘Cigarette Boxes’ with an aromatic “Microfilm.” SFI smokers will already enjoy opening the packaging of the highly praised designed boxes with Mild, Medium, Strong and Menthol taste.

A geographical advantage of the collaboration with aroma producer Bell Flavors & Fragrances, experienced since their start-up in 1829 as Schimmel & Co., is that their labs are almost neighboring SFI’s filter providers AHN Biotechnology. Professor Dr. Otto Wallach of Bell Flavors/Schimmel & Co. was the 1910 winner of the Nobel prize for Chemistry. The company has a century of experience in developing flavors for the tobacco industry.

The newly developed aromatic “Microfilm” will be implemented for the first time in the manufacturing process of SFI for the launch of the world’s first totally smokefree cigarette; in the success of which the management of Bell Flavors & Fragrances strongly believes.

The Owner and President of Bell, Raymond Heinz, and his son Michael have announced further brainstorming with Smokefree Innotec’s CEO in order to develop further new ideas.

About Smokefree Innotec, Inc.

Smokefree Innotec, Inc. is in the business of designing, developing, manufacturing and marketing a hi-tech, smokeless tobacco innovation. Our Patent Pending, odorless cigarette-style electronic device utilizes a liquefied, vaporizable depot of a raw, unmanipulated extract of tobacco. Smokefree Innotec’s products are designed to protect the non-smoker from second hand smoke and all its effects while providing the smoker a way to enjoy a smoke-free cigarette anywhere, including places where smoking is prohibited. Further, our products will allow the smoker to enjoy smoking while not having to worry about the dangers and ill effects of regular cigarette smoking.

A number of statements referenced in this Press Release are forward-looking statements, which are made pursuant to the Safe Harbor Provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, and within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21B of the Exchange Act of 1934. Any statements that express or involve discussions with respect to predictions, expectations, beliefs, plans, projections, objectives, and goals, assumption of future events or performance are not statements of historical fact and may be “forward-looking statements.” Forward looking statements are based on expectations, estimates and projections at the time the statements are made that involve a number of risks and uncertainties which could cause actual results or events to differ materially from those presently anticipated. Forward-looking statements in this Release may be identified through the use of words such as “expects,” “will,” “anticipates,” “estimates,” “believes,” or statements indicating certain actions “may,” “could,” or “might” occur. Such statements reflect the current views of Smokefree Innotec, Inc. with respect to future events and are subject to certain assumptions, including those described in this release. These forward-looking statements involve a number of risks and uncertainties, including the timely development and market acceptance of products, services, and technologies, competitive market conditions, successful integration of acquisitions, the ability to secure additional sources of financing, the ability to reduce operating expenses, and other factors. The actual results that the Company achieves may differ materially from any forward-looking statements due to such risks and uncertainties. Smokefree Innotec, Inc. does not undertake any responsibility to update the “forward-looking” statements contained in this news release.

Source: Businesswire