Pipe Smokers Intelligencer

RICHMOND, Va. – The Food and Drug Administration is working to lift the smokescreen clouding the ingredients used in cigarettes and other tobacco products.

In June, tobacco companies must tell the FDA their formulas for the first time, just as drug makers have for decades. Manufacturers also will have to turn over any studies they’ve done on the effects of the ingredients.

•  Bad news for the cigarette industry. Check out a Jan. 16, 2010, story by AP here and here. Big tobacco is in for bad times if this plays out.
•  A good site to check out is tobacco.org. It is not a pro-tobacco site, but it does carry a great deal of news on current tobacco affairs.
•  BEIJING – China is tightening smoking regulations to ban lighting up in any indoor public spaces in seven provincial capitals, the latest sign of rising health awareness in the world’s largest tobacco-consuming nation. Full story
•  Notes from Hoover’s Tobacco Industry Trends

Manufacturers Bypass Tobacco Processors

• Cigarette, cigar, and smokeless tobacco manufacturers are increasingly buying processed tobacco directly from growers. Some farm cooperatives offer a wide range of products, ranging from basic flue-cured strips to fully processed, blended, and flavored tobacco. As these farm-owned cooperative processing facilities increase in capacity, tobacco processors may face falling demand and revenues.
• High Taxes Encourage Smuggling, Interstate Trafficking
• Illegal trafficking of cigarettes is rising as the cost per pack has doubled in the past decade. The wide range of state excise taxes further encourages interstate black market activity. The World Health Organization estimates that some 20 billion cigarettes are smuggled internationally each year. Philip Morris International estimates that 90 percent of smuggled cigarettes are counterfeit products sold outside of the legitimate distribution chain.