Archive

From Alan Osborn
The European Commission has ordered Germany to stop blocking the

sale of the Austrian drink Original Schwedenbitter by claiming it to be a

medicinal product which requires special authorisation.

Original Schwedenbitter is sold in Austria without restriction as a

herb-based alcoholic beverage but is traditionally bought in Germany as a

cure for several illnesses.…

KEITH NUTHALL
APPLICATIONS have been made by the Nicaraguan and German governments for the trade in two hardwood species to be controlled under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). These species are, respectively, big-leaf mahogany (also known as Brazilian mahogany) and the tree-of-life (also known as pockwood or sonora guaiacum).…

BY MONICA DOBIE
THE EUROPEAN Commission has proposed an EU Recommendation on the “Prevention of Smoking and on Initiatives to Improve Tobacco Control” with special focus to reduce the accessibility of tobacco products to young people.

These guidelines – that are not binding on Member States – advise their governments to:

* Restrict the access of children and adolescents to tobacco vending machines;

* Try to stop young people from buying tobacco via the Internet;

* Remove tobacco products from self-service displays;

* Prevent the sale of cigarettes that come in packets fewer than twenty;

* Require vendors to verify that customers are of the age requirement to buy tobacco.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
WORLD Health Organisation boss Dr Gro Harlem Brundtland has presented international football federation FIFA with her Director General’s Award for opposing tobacco use, following the banning of smoking and cigarette advertising at this year’s World Cup. Previous recipients of the award have included the King of Thailand and the current Foreign Minister of South Africa.…

BY MONICA DOBIE
R.J.REYNOLDS Co. has been fined US$20 million in a San Diego court, for violating the 1998 US Master Settlement Agreement by placing tobacco advertisements in magazines with a large percentage of readers aged 12 to17. San Diego Superior Court Judge Ronald S.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE EUROPEAN Union Council of Ministers has intervened in the European Commission’s case against Japan Tobacco – owners of RJ Reynolds – in New York by supporting Brussels’ stance that it is entitled to bring a legal action against the company, on behalf of the whole EU.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
EVERY minute of every day a million smokers light up a cigarette made by BAT and the company’s goal is that every one of them is perfect. How does BAT manage this, and at the same time meet its production, technical and environmental challenges when operations are on such a colossal scale ?…

BY ALAN OSBORN
1902-1912

British American Tobacco was created on September 29th 1902 as a joint venture between Imperial Tobacco Company of the UK and the American Tobacco Company of the US following a fierce trade war. The parent companies agreed not to trade in each other’s domestic territory and to assign trademarks, export businesses and overseas subsidiaries to the joint venture.…

BY ALAN OSBORN
CIGARETTES have changed a great deal in recent years though not all smokers may realise by just how much. Once it was commonplace to roll your own, using local tobaccos. Today the market is dominated by filters and international brands, many of them ranking among the world’s best-known consumer products.…

BTY MARK ROWE
THERE is a clear moral argument that individuals and companies should nurture the Earth’s precious resources. But such a stance also makes profound economic sense since it reduces a company’s waste and improves efficiency. This is particularly the case for a tobacco company where every stage of the production, distribution and consumption of tobacco products has environmental implications.…