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Environment and economic projects financed by Tanzania Cigarette Company (TCC) in Tabora, have helped improve the welfare of tobacco growers in the region, a district commissioner said last week. Tabora Urban DC Moshi Chang'a made the commendation during a seminar organised by the company on enhanced communication among stakeholders.
He said benefits of the projects included use of modern tobacco curing barns called rocket barns that have cut firewood demand by half. The official hailed the company for investing in the projects, saying many families have benefited from the initiative. TCC organised the seminar in conjunction with a non-governmental organisation, Total Land Care (TLC). TCC, through its parent company, the Japan Tobacco International in association with other partners, sponsors environment and economic projects in Tabora Region's five districts of Urambo, Uyui, Sikonge, Tabora and Nzega.
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The beleaguered JT (A089790.KQ) began the year inauspiciously with a tainted food scare, which battered sales in its food division.
Then came the launch of "Taspo" last month, an age verification card that aims to crack down on under-age smoking but is also expected to be a significant factor behind a forecast 5 per cent fall in JT's cigarette sales.
More recently, the company has been hit by perhaps its biggest threat - a potential tax increase that could more than triple prices, from about Y300 ($2.77) for a pack of its cigarettes currently to as much as Y1,000.
Japan Tobacco Inc. said Thursday its net profits dived 73 percent in the fiscal first quarter due to foreign exchange related losses and weak domestic sales.
Net profit dropped to 16.9 billion yen (157 million dollars) in the three months to June from 63.1 billion a year earlier, despite a 41 percent surge in revenue to 1.72 trillion yen after the takeover of British rival Gallaher.
Operating profit gained 18 percent to 110.45 billion yen.
Malaysian tobacco firm JT International Bhd has proposed to return 0.75 ringgit in cash to shareholders, the company said on Tuesday.
A canned drink called "Unagi Nobori," or "Surging Eel," made by Japan Tobacco Inc., hit the nation's stores this month just ahead of Japan's annual eel-eating season, company spokesman Kazunori Hayashi said Monday.
"It's mainly for men who are exhausted by the summer's heat," Hayashi said of the beverage, believed to be the first mass-produced eel drink in Japan.
Many Japanese believe eating eel boosts stamina in hot weather.
Humorist David Sedaris is no longer a smoker, and, oddly, he has Japan to thank for it.
The American author, most recently of ``When You Are Engulfed in Flames,'' kicked his 30-year cigarette habit in Tokyo. Quitting smoking is probably a feat for anyone, yet one needs extra willpower to do it in a true puffer's paradise. . . .
``I read in a book that the best way to quit smoking was to move, and in Tokyo it's against the law to smoke on the street,'' Sedaris joked recently to Jon Stewart on Comedy Central's ``The Daily Show.'' ``It's not second-hand-smoke-related, it's you put a hole in my Comme des Garcons jacket-related.'' . . .
This is really a story about Japan -- how the government's tentacles travel around the business world, and vice versa. The Finance Ministry is Japan Tobacco's largest shareholder, leaving little doubt anti-smoking efforts will lack teeth. The arrangement has Japan implicitly encouraging smoking.
The tobacco debate is a reminder that as much as we talk about the ``New Japan'' of high technology, anime and hybrid cars, much of the old remains. Politicians are protecting vested interests without considering the bigger picture. . . .
Officials at a World Health Organization conference earlier this year predicted 1 billion people would die from tobacco-related disease this century. Think of all the money that Japan Tobacco can make by helping the globe reach that depressing goal.
The sad reality is that as one nation wises up to the dangers of smoking, plenty of others seem ready to pick up the slack -- and the cigarette lighter. This isn't a laughing matter.
Most Japanese smokers would quit if the price of cigarettes were to triple, as could happen under a proposed tax scheme, the chief executive of Japan Tobacco told Reuters in an interview on Monday. Japan Tobacco is facing the threat of potential tax hikes, which in a worst case scenario could more than triple cigarette prices to 1,000 yen ($9.34) a pack.
Japan Tobacco Inc. (TSE:2914) will step up its cigarette marketing efforts in Russia, focusing on upscale brands to woo local consumers, whose incomes are rising.
In May, JT released a premium brand in Russia that is part of the Winston product family. JT sells Winston after it acquired the non-U.S. cigarette operations of American firm RJR Nabisco Inc. The new brand is "off to a strong start," according to Executive Officer Akira Saeki.
The issue of foreign direct investment (FDI) in the tobacco industry may be rekindled with Japan Tobacco International Ltd (JTIL), the world's third largest tobacco company, applying to the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) to raise its stake in its Indian venture from 50 to 74 per cent. The remaining equity of the company is with Indian domestic investors.
The company, which launched its Winston brand of cigarettes in Bangalore, Kerala and Mumbai last year, plans to invest $100 million to expand its presence in one of the world's fastest growing markets. The Rs 17,000-crore branded cigarette market is growing at 8 to 10 per cent. The company also owns the famous Camel brand.
JAPAN Tobacco, the third largest tobacco company in the world, has sought permission from the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) to hike foreign equity in its Indian joint venture to infuse funds and revamp the loss-making business. Owned 66% by the government of Japan, the company’s portfolio includes major brands like Camel, Mild Seven, Winston, Gold Coast and Salem.
The Indian business of the Japanese major has accumulated losses of Rs 127.74 crore and the parent company now wants to bring the business to black through restructuring.
Japan, long known for its smoker-friendly policies, is debating a substantial tax increase that could bring Tokyo in line with the U.S. and Europe.
The ruling Liberal Democratic Party's annual tax commission is expected to review a proposal by key lawmakers that could more than triple the retail price of a pack of cigarettes to about $10.
The backers of the higher tax are looking at the additional revenue as a way to cut Japan's ballooning budget deficit without taking the deeply unpopular move of raising its consumption tax.
Japan Tobacco Inc. and organizations representing tobacco farmers and stores on Tuesday jointly voiced opposition to a possible tobacco tax hike, arguing that higher tobacco prices would dampen consumption and not lead to increased tax revenue. . . .
"If the tax is hiked as it is proposed now, the impact on sales would be immeasurable," Yamada said. He added that given an expected slump in tobacco sales in the case of a sharp tax hike, the government would not be able to raise tobacco tax revenues as much as it anticipates.
Japan Tobacco said Monday it will recall some 40,000 giveaway ashtrays it distributed in northern, western and southwestern Japan regions as they may be susceptible to heat damage from burning cigarettes.
Two tobacco companies are battling it out at Competition Commission Tribunal hearings.
At issue is access to retail channels.
The tribunal's ruling is likely to affect the cigarette brands that are immediately visible to consumers at retail outlets.
Japan Tobacco International South Africa (JTISA) has accused British American Tobacco South Africa (Batsa) of being involved in conduct aimed at denying its competitors access to various retail channels.