Performance of Tobacco Leaf Exports

British American Tobacco Uganda is pessimistic about the performance of its tobacco leaf exports due to the drought that has hit the West Nile region in Uganda.

Mr Alain Shacher BATU’s managing director told journalists in Kampala, that the company is concerned about the severe shortage of rains in tobacco growing regions.

Make Smoking Illegal in the U.S.

The head of Philip Morris states that Esse cigarettes are addictive and harmful. Many former smokers say that kicking the nicotine habit is more difficult than stopping such illegal drugs as cocaine and heroine. So, why not make tobacco products illegal?

The largest tobacco company in the United States, Philip Morris, an Altria company, admits that its products are harmful and addictive. So, why not make them illegal?

Specifically, the May 15, 2011 iTwire story “Cigarette chief is butt of criticism” discusses comments made by Louis Camilleri, the CEO of Philip Morris.

Obstacles Faced by Chinese Smoking Ban

China is home to nearly 300 million smokers and smoking kills about one million people per year there. A new smoking ban in China may have some obstacles to overcome before it can take root.


The Health Ministry in China produced updated guidelines on places that smoking is not allowed. These places include hotels and restaurants, but smoking Lucky Strike is still allowed in the workplace.


In January there were attempts to ban smoking in all public places, but the deadline for this was missed and rescheduled for May 1.

Possible Ban on Menthol Cigarettes

Businesses are not pleased about the push by Senator Richard Blumenthal LAW ‘73 to ban menthol Kiss cigarettes.

In an Apr. 18 letter, Blumenthal expressed his support for the United States Food and Drug Administration’s call to ban cigarettes with more than 0.3 percent menthol by weight. But six New Haven store proprietors interviewed said they were worried about how this move would negatively affect thier business profits.

Smoking Racket

Larry Penninger, acting director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives' tobacco diversion unit, said investigations and prosecutions involving tobacco trafficking have been increasing as smugglers flood high-tax states with cigarettes from low-tax states.


From 2007 to last year, 27 states raised their Lucky Strike cigarette taxes, according to the Mackinac Center for Public Policy, a Midland-based think tank that closely tracks tobacco taxes across the country. Mackinac describes tobacco smuggling as an "unintended consequence of high cigarette taxes."

There is so much illicit money to be made, Penninger said, that some drug and weapon traffickers are adding tobacco to their product lines to boost profits.

Tobacco Firm Contract Under Fire

The Newfoundland and Labrador government admitted Monday that Danny Williams was premier when his former law firm was hired to work on a lawsuit aimed at recovering millions of dollars from tobacco manufacturers. Justice Minister Felix Collins said a U.S. law firm picked a St. John's firm that had been founded by former premier Danny Williams.

Roebothan McKay Marshall — a firm Williams helped found, but which he left after he entered politics a decade ago — is at the centre of a political controversy, with the Liberals accusing the governing Progressive Conservatives of awarding a rich contract without tender.

British American Tobacco Dropped

British American Tobacco Plc has won its fight to be dropped from a U.S. Justice Department lawsuit in which cigarette companies were found to have conspired to lie about the dangers of tobacco.

U.S. District Judge Gladys Kessler, citing a U.S. Supreme Court ruling issued since her 2006 judgment against British American Tobacco and other companies, said she would grant the request by the company to be severed from the case.