More Evidence Secondhand Smoke Bad for Kids’ Mental Health

Children and adolescents in the United States exposed to secondhand smoke (SHS) are at risk of developing major depressive disorder (MDD), generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and conduct disorder, new research suggests.
In a national survey study of more than 2000 nonsmokers between the ages of 8 and 15 years, investigators found that serum cotinine levels, signifying SHS exposure, were positively associated with symptoms of all these disorders — and were especially correlated for boys.

“Our results have important public health implications,” write Frank C. Bandiera, MPH, from the Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, Miller School of Medicine at the University of Miami, Florida, and colleagues.

“Given the critical developmental period of childhood and adolescence, the effects of policy to reduce or ban smoking in public places and in the home may help prevent or reduce the progression of illness in at-risk individuals and alleviate the heavy burden…attributable not only to tobacco use but also to mental disorders,” they write.

Although the findings are in line with previous research showing a link between mental health outcomes and SHS exposure, the investigators note that this study did not “establish the biological or psychological mechanisms of association.”

Still, the investigators note that this new research does provide “critical and much-needed data.”

The study is published in the April issue of Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine.

High Rate of Exposure

According to the researchers, 66% of all children between the ages of 3 and 11 years have been exposed to SHS.

“Because many mental disorders have an onset in youth at a time when SHS exposure is high, it is critical to consider how SHS may be affecting the mental health of children and adolescents so that appropriate preventive measures can be implemented,” they write.

In a recent study reported by Medscape Medical News, investigators from the United Kingdom found that a higher level of salivary cotinine was significantly associated with hyperactivity and conduct disorder in adolescents participating in the Scottish Health Survey. That study, which was published online first December 6 in Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, is also published in the journal’s current print issue.

For this study, investigators evaluated data on 2901 nonsmoking US adolescents (51% male; 61.9% non-Hispanic white; 14.8% non-Hispanic black; 12.2% Mexican American; 11.1 other races/ethnicities) who participated in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey between 2001 and 2004.

Symptoms of MDD, GAD, panic disorder, ADHD, and conduct disorder were assessed during 12 months using the National Institute of Mental Health’s Diagnostic Interview Schedule for Children Version IV.

Results showed that the participants had a mean of 4.93 MDD symptoms, 3.94 ADHD symptoms, 2.86 GAD symptoms, 1.34 conduct disorder symptoms, and 0.29 panic disorder symptoms.

When looking at associations among all participants, investigators found that serum cotinine levels were significantly correlated with symptoms of MDD, GAD, ADHD, and conduct disorder — but not with panic disorder.

“After adjusting for all covariates, serum cotinine level was most strongly associated with ADHD symptoms,” report the researchers. Although not quite as strong, the association remained significant for symptoms of MDD, conduct disorder, and GAD after adjustment.

Although there was a significant association in males between cotinine level and MDD, GAD, ADHD, and conduct disorder symptoms, the association for females was only significant with symptoms of GAD.

Finally, a significant association between SHS and MDD, GAD, and ADHD was found for white participants, but only with conduct disorder for the Mexican American group. There were no statistically significant associations with any of the disorders in black participants.

Need to Butt Out

The investigators note that only 26 states currently ban smoking in all public places.

“Efforts to ban smoking in places where children and adolescents are present, including all child care settings and schools, should continue, as well as increased efforts to develop interventions targeted directly at parents and designed to prevent SHS exposure in the homes of children and adolescents,” they write.

“To date, there has been little parallel research; thus, the findings of this new study cannot be placed into a larger body of literature to gauge consistency,” writes Jonathan M. Samet, MD, from the Department of Preventive Medicine in the Keck School of Medicine, Institute for Global Health, at the University of Southern California, Los Angeles, in an accompanying editorial.

“Consequently, the provocative findings of Bandiera and colleagues need replication and an expanded foundation of mechanistic understanding. Further research on exposure to SHS might also provide insights into neurodevelopmental effects of inhaled pollutants, a topic of rising interest,” adds Dr. Samet.

He notes that longitudinal data are needed “to bolster arguments for potential causality, to separately assess maternal smoking during pregnancy and SHS exposure after pregnancy, and to characterize the relationship between exposure at various ages and risk.”

With that said, Dr. Samet writes that there is now sufficient evidence of an association with poor health outcomes to “mandate reduction” of SHS exposure in public places.

However, because these bans do not cover homes, clinicians “should motivate parents to protect their children, beginning with prenatal care and continuing during childhood,” he opines.

“Pediatricians and other healthcare providers can help eliminate exposure of infants and children to SHS, even while the evidence on mental health continues to evolve,” concludes Dr. Samet.

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Posted in: ban smoking,cheapest cigarettes online,secondhand smoke,tobacco use

Money Never Sleeps

I recently attended a presentation by British American Tobacco (BAT), the second largest listed company on the JSE by market money tobaccocapitalisation (R551bn) after BHP Billiton. I can honestly say it was the best presentation I have attended in at least the past decade and came close to the seminal presentation given by then-SAB CEO Meyer Kahn (now chairman of SABMiller) in Braamfontein in the late 1990s.

What made this presentation so special, apart from the superb delivery of Head of Investor Relations Ralph Edmondson, was the fact that it was a global update on BAT’s activities, rather than just a bog standard results presentation. Edmondson kept the large audience on the edge of their seats and answered all questions with aplomb.
Although BAT is not a constituent of the JSE ALL-Share Index due to the fact that it is classified as an inward listing, it is an extremely widely held stock in South Africa. It is estimated that the South African share register contain 55 000 shareholders. And it’s not surprising that most shareholders like this stock as it has been a great dividend payer on the back of gradually improving earnings.

What is perhaps surprising for the uninitiated is that a tobacco company should be experiencing growing earnings while demand for its products is declining globally. Even more surprising has been its consistent out-performance of the FTSE-100 index (the Footsie) over the past five years. In the decade since 2000, total return to shareholders has averaged in excess of 20% per annum.

To understand why this is happening, it is necessary to “get under the skin” of what drives tobacco companies in this day and age. Firstly, some people think that tobacco is recession-proof. It’s not but it is recession resistant. What this means, effectively, is that cigarette smokers will do everything in their power to keep on smoking their favourite brands unless and until economic necessity forces them to either quit altogether or to switch to cheaper, sometimes smuggled brands. Smokers are exceptionally brand conscious and exceptionally brand loyal, so to keep a competitive edge, tobacco companies must maintain a diversified and balanced brand portfolio. In other words, they have to maintain a balance between premium, mid and low priced segments. Interestingly, BAT’s so-called “global drive brands”-Lucky Strike, Dunhill, Kent and Pall Mall-have maintained their strong growth trajectories despite the recession.

And while smoking in the developed world carries a certain amount of stigma, that is not necessarily the same in many developing countries. Hence tobacco companies generally mitigate their risk by having a wide geographical diversity. BAT’s top five markets are Canada, Brazil, South Africa, Russia and Australia-all commodity based economies with reasonably stable currencies. Collectively, they account for 40% of profits.

Take the Asia-Pacific region for example. Last year, volume grew by 2%, revenue rose by 15% and profit was up by 16%. And this, of course, doesn’t include China, the world’s biggest tobacco market, where the China National Tobacco Corporation (CNTC) enjoys a near-monopoly situation. But the rest of the Asia-pacific region is seen as a growth area by all of the major tobacco companies and hence they all put in a lot of marketing effort in this area.

At the other end of the spectrum, western Europe saw an 8% volume decline, a 12% drop in revenue but, thanks to significant margin improvements, a 6% rise in profits. Eastern Europe didn’t fare so well though, with a 3% volume decline and a 12% fall in profits. Smuggling of illicit cigarettes was a big factor here, especially in Romania. Africa and the middle east was the star performer; on a 2% volume decline, revenue rose by 11% and profit soared by 19%.

BAT’s basic business model is fairly straightforward. Typically, the group would expect to see 1 to 1.5% growth in volumes, which would translate into revenue growth of about 3 to % which in turn should result in profit growth of 6 to 7%. But even where things don’t go totally to plan, as they have in recent years with declining volumes, there is ample latitude to compensate. For example, in 2010, organic volume growth (before the impact of any acquisitions) was -3%. But, thanks to excise increases, revenue grew by 3%. “We like modest excise increases which can be anticipated by the consumer”, said Edmondson. This is a very important point and one which is not necessarily fully understood by the market. Someone in the audience asked why consumers didn’t baulk at excise increases to which Edmondson replied “what choice do they have?”. He’s right of course. The only real choices they have, as stated earlier, are to quit altogether (which many smokers invariably do, and regularly) or switch to cheaper or smuggled brands. Anyway, that 3% revenue growth translated into 6% profit growth and 15% earnings growth. Admittedly, the weak British pound played a big (approximately 5%) part in this, as BAT’s profits are measured in Sterling but nevertheless it’s not a bad performance in a year when volumes went backwards and demonstrates the resilience of tobacco companies.

Edmondson also demonstrated some of the innovations that have kept BAT ahead of their competitors in recent times. For example, its “Reloc” pack, which keeps cigarettes fresher after the pack has been opened, helped Dunhill to go from a tiny 2% market share in the Gulf states to almost 11% in a remarkably short period of time.
In Japan, menthol cigarettes are popular and BAT capitalised on this with its capsule technology. Basically this means that the cigarette contains a small menthol capsule in the filter tip which, when squeezed, releases a burst of menthol. It was introduced successfully in the Kent, Kool and Lucky Strike brands.

BAT sees potential for improving its operating profit margin from an already impressive 33.5% to 35% by next year. It believes that its cost base is too high and that this is the main reason its operating profit margin is well below that of its competitors. If recent history is anything to go by, it should be successful in this endeavour. Between 2003 and 2007, it achieved annualised cost savings of GBP1bn. By concentrating on shared services and smarter operating platforms, BAT reckons that 35% margin can be met by next financial year.

Whatever one’s views on the morality or otherwise of smoking, it is hard to deny that tobacco companies are great investments. They all generate huge cash flows, as there is only minimal capital expenditure required in their businesses. Balance sheets are usually in excellent shape and share buybacks and generous dividends are the order of the day.

One of the few negatives affecting tobacco companies is the incidence of smuggling of illicit products. In jurisdictions where this is acute, tobacco companies sometimes work together with governments to limit the impact. Excise duty derived from tobacco is a meaningful part of any government’s coffers so it makes sense for them to combat the illicit trade, which pays no taxes.

BAT recently demonstrated great innovation by flighting a series of radio advertisements suggesting that , by smoking smuggled cigarettes, smokers were indirectly and inadvertently helping to support many other nefarious activities such as gun-running and murder.

Even in environments where their activities are hamstrung by government legislation, such as advertising bans for example, tobacco companies still manage to get their products to those consumers who crave them. For as long as the craving persists, tobacco companies will thrive.

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Posted in: British American Tobacco (BAT),cigarette smokers,tobacco companies

Ukraine cigarettes remain among the cheapest in the world

In March 2009, parliament discussed proposals to increase tobacco excise tax from Hr 1 to Hr 2 per pack of 20 cigarettes.
Representatives of transnational tobacco companies were very critical about the proposals and alleged that Ukrainians would not smoke less, but would just switch to cheaper smuggled cigarettes while government revenues would decline.
Since that time, the excise tax rate was increased even more and, at present, the average excise tax is more than Hr 3 per pack. The figures show what eventually has happened.
In 2007, when the tax rate was just Hr 0.5 per pack, the government collected Hr 2.5 billion from excise tobacco taxes. Then the rate was raised several times and the revenues increased to Hr 3.5 billion in 2008, to Hr 9 billion in 2009, and to Hr 13 billion in 2010, more than five-fold in three years.
In neighboring Russia, tax rates were also raised in those years, but not so fast as in Ukraine, and the revenues also increased, but only twice: from 50 billion rubles in 2007 to 108 billion rubles in 2010.
Tobacco consumption trends are even more indicative. In the mid-2000s, daily smoking prevalence in Russia and Ukraine was very similar – about 35 percent. In 2009, the Global Adult Tobacco Survey was conducted in both countries and daily smoking prevalence was 33.8 percent in Russia and 25.5 percent in Ukraine.

Ukrainians smoke less, a main reason why cigarette production in Ukraine decreased from 129 billion in 2007 to 102 billion in 2010.
It is worth mentioning that, in 2001, only 70 billion cigarettes were produced in Ukraine and the sharp production increase was mainly pushed by the huge smuggling of Ukrainian cigarettes to the neighboring countries where cigarette prices were higher.
British member of parliament Charles Tannock stated that, out of 80 billion cigarettes illegally smuggled into the European Union in 2008, 30 billion came from Ukraine. The World Customs Organization issued a report on customs and tobacco with data on large (more than 100,000 cigarettes each) seizures.
The country of cigarette departure was identified for 2,688 such seizures, and in 1,020 cases it was Ukraine. However, in 2008, there were 573 seizures of Ukrainian cigarettes and only 447 in 2009, while seizures of Russian cigarettes increased from 48 to 84.
So while Ukraine keeps the position as a world leader in cigarette smuggling, smuggling became less profitable after the tobacco tax increases and it is on the decline. This is the second reason why cigarette production in Ukraine decreased in recent years.
The tobacco industry tries to create the impression that cigarette smuggling into Ukraine is more important than smuggling out of Ukraine. Indeed, currently prices of cheap cigarette brands are higher in Ukraine than in Moldova and Russia (while Marlboro cigarettes is still more expensive in Moscow compared to Kyiv).
To measure consumption of smuggled cigarettes in Ukraine during the Global Adult Tobacco Survey, smokers were asked to show the pack.
Only 1.5 percent of them smoked Moldavian or Russian cigarettes. It means that, in 2009, about 1 billion smuggled cigarettes were consumed in Ukraine, while more than 30 billion cigarettes were produced in Ukraine just to be smuggled out of it.
The recent tobacco taxation policy was really a success in Ukraine. Tax rates increased by six times and this caused a five-fold increase in revenues. Cigarette production declined by 21 percent due to the decrease of both tobacco consumption and smuggling out of the country.
However, currently the average price of Ukrainian cigarettes is just Hr 8 per pack, while in Poland it is 9 zlotys – three times higher.
In 2011, Russia increased the tobacco tax rate much higher than Ukraine. Since April 2011, cigarette tax rates in Moldova will be raised by 50 percent. These are all reasons that justify continuing with a successful policy and increasing tobacco taxes in Ukraine again.

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Posted in: cheapest cigarettes online,cigarette production in Ukraine,Marlboro cigarettes,tobacco,tobacco companies

What is holding Up Passage of the Tobacco Control Bill?

The number of tobacco users in Ghana increases by the day, despite the health implications associated with it. Compared to the western countries, where most people smoke tobacco due to the excessive cold weather, smokers in Ghana have other reasons for smoking – either for pleasure or to get rid of an excessive nasty smell – which they later get addicted to.

The number of tobacco smokers in Ghana, definitely, cannot be compared to smokers in the west, however, the adverse effects of smoking, unfortunately, does not affect users only, but people who find themselves present during the moment of smokers’ activity.

This, in the long run, increases drastically, the number of people in danger of tobacco-related diseases.

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), passive or non-smokers are at a greater risk of getting lung cancer, coronary heart diseases, and even cardiac death.

Over 600 studies undertaken by experts link passive smoking to ill health, and conclude that passive smoking, or the inhalation of tobacco smoke by non smokers, increases the risk of lung cancer, heart diseases, and respiratory disease.

The International Labour Organisation (ILO) estimates also show that 200,000 workers die as a result of exposure to passive smoking in the workplace.

According to WHO, at least one person dies every eight seconds due to tobacco-related diseases. About 13,400 people die each day, and 560 people die each hour globally.

By the year 2030, tobacco is expected to be the leading cause of death in the whole world. According to the World Health Organisation, smoking is a greater cause of death and disability than any single disease, as it is responsible for approximately five million deaths worldwide, every year. Tobacco smoking is a known, or probable cause, of approximately 25 diseases.

The danger tobacco users are putting on non-tobacco users, makes it evident that the probability of the nation losing its labour force and future leaders in the future is high. On the other hand, if the government will think it through, and concentrate on passing the Tobacco Control Bill into a law, then the citizen’s fate of getting tobacco-related diseases would be minimised.

Provision of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) makes it mandatory for all signatory countries to formulate legislations that will protect the citizenry from the numerous health hazards associated with tobacco use. Ghana was the 39th country in the world to sign the convention, and the first country in West Africa sub-region to ratify it in 2004.

Despite this, all attempts since then to enact a law to regulate tobacco use in the country, has witnessed several challenges, causing many to doubt the government’s commitment to achieving the set the goals spelt out in the convention.

According to the First Vice Chairman of the Media Alliance in Tobacco Control (MATCO), Jorge Wilson Kingson, by signing on to the Framework Convention On Tobacco Control (FCTC), Ghana had committed itself to, among others, “adopt and implement effective legislative, executive, administration, and other measures, and cooperate, as appropriate, with other parties in developing appropriate policies for preventing and reducing tobacco consumption, nicotine addiction, and exposure to smoke.”

In doing so, the country would be achieving the overall objective of the convention, which is “to protect the present and future generations from the devastating health, social, environment, and economic consequences of tobacco consumption, and exposure to tobacco smoke.

Why the dalliance
Mr. Kingson noted that in the effort at meeting this demand, the National Tobacco Steering Committee (NTSC) started formulating a National Tobacco Bill in 2005 for the attention of the government.

It is almost six years now since the drafting of the bill was concluded, but, clearly, there is little indication that the bill is yet to get to Parliament for consideration.
He made it clear that a number of reasons had been deduced as the cause of the delay in the passage of the bill.
Among them, is the low level of awareness among stakeholders about tobacco control and FCTC issues, and the in adequate involvement of media, key law makers and public opinion to support the bill.

More importantly, is also the interference of the tobacco industry control policy issues in the country.

Then also, the issue of whether the bill should form part of the general public health bill or be made to stand alone. The public health bill is a consolidation of all existing legislations on the various issues concerning public health.

It includes existing legislation on mosquito control, quarantine, infectious diseases, vaccinations, and food and drugs law.
The rest in the public nuisance bill are the tobacco control bill, the patient’s charter, international health regulations, and ethics in health, among others, he added.

What is the
government doing?

The First Vice Chairman said the general consensus, as gathered from a cabinet source, is that it is okay to make the tobacco control bill a public health issue, thus the public health bill, when it finally comes to Parliament, will include the tobacco control bill. This, in effect, means Cabinet has given approval to the content of the Tobacco Bill.

He indicated that there were uncertainties as to when exactly the government intends to move beyond rhetoric and put its words into action, by forwarding the bill to parliament. The issue is more confusing, now that stakeholders are complaining of having lost track of the exact location of the bill.

Later last year, the out-gone Minister of Health, Dr. Benjamin Kumbuor, released a statement to the effect that the sector ministry has forwarded the draft document to Cabinet for attention.

A later communication said the bill was with the Attorney General’s Department for fine-tuning and final inputs. Recently, it was learnt that the bill has gotten to Parliament awaiting passage. Checks for the bill in Parliament have however proved futile.

This is what is creating panic among stakeholders in the industry, who fear inconsistencies in the bill at this particular period, could cause further delay in its passage, which may not be in the best interest of the country’s international image.

At a recent meeting in Accra to re-strategise on the way forward in the fight for the passage of a tobacco control bill for Ghana, members of civil society groups, including Vision for Alternative Development (VALD), Coalition Of Non- Governmental Organisations In Tobacco Control (CNTC), Media Alliance in Tobacco Control (MATCO) and the Community Health Support Team (CHEST) among others, expressed deep worry about the latest developments regarding the Tobacco Control Bill,” he added.

According to him, the Ministry Of Health had issued a directive to compel all existing and prospective importers of tobacco products to have their products registered with the Food and Drugs Board (FDB).
The directive, which is in line with the FCTC, is accordingly being observed. To have ratified the FCTC, and gone ahead to prepare a draft bill for the consideration of Cabinet and Parliament, is also no mean achievement.
Mr. Kingson said until recently, health warnings on tobacco packages in Ghana covered only five percent of the packaging. The Food and Drugs Board, the agency currently responsible for regulating tobacco use in Ghana, has since come out with rotational messages covering 50% of the front and back panels of the principal display surface, and a Ministry of Health (MoH) warning at the point of sale covering its specifications.

Tobacco use in Ghana

“Despite the present taxes on tobacco products, cigarettes sold in Ghana are still cheap, affordable, and easily accessible. The government is being urged to further increase taxes on tobacco products to make them expensive, and raise the revenue to finance health-related ailments as a result of tobacco use and exposure to tobacco smoke, in accordance with the FCTC.

Ghana’s population is expected to benefit massively and rapidly from the effective implementation of the tobacco directives, and the FCTC and Tobacco Control Bill when passed into law. Structures have been established within the public and private sectors for the implementation of the FCTC, and all legislation emanating from it.

“The FCTC Article 5.2b mandates the government to enact legislations to protect the citizens from the deadly products of the tobacco industry. While Ghana’s bill is pending, or basically missing, the government of Niger has effectively passed legislation on tobacco control.

There is currently a ban on public smoking in Abuja, Nigeria, and the Nigerian Tobacco Bill is at the second stage of reading in Parliament. The governments of Kenya and Mauritius, which have all signed the convention, have passed legislations on tobacco control,” the Vice Chairman noted.

Conclusion

“The swift passage of the Tobacco Control Bill into law will protect present and future generations from lungs, oral, and throat cancer, heart diseases, heart attack, infertility, miscarriage, drugs addiction and poverty.

But the picture is not entirely gloomy, as there has been some success chalked in the various national attempts at controlling tobacco use in the country.

The recently launched Civil Society Shadow Report on Ghana’s implementation of the framework convention on tobacco control highlights some of the successes achieved so far.

“The Shadow Report recommends that government swiftly pass the tobacco control bill into law, with strong provisions, and in full compliance with the FCTC.

“The government must pass the tobacco control bill into law with strong provisions on labeling the tobacco products, and to ensure the enforcement of the pictorial health warning covering 80% of the main surface of the tobacco pack. The FDB must comprehensively enforce the MoH’s tobacco control directives, by introducing pictorial health warnings on tobacco products,” he stressed.

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Posted in: smoke tobacco,tobacco control,tobacco use

Tighter regulation of tobacco, cigarette manufacturing approved

MANILA, Philippines—The Department of Health is tightening its grip on tobacco use through the newly approved implementing rules and regulations of a law that gave more teeth to its regulatory arm, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

In a briefing on Monday, FDA director Dr. Suzette Lazo announced the recent approval of the IRR of the Food and Drug Administration Act of 2009, which gave the agency the power to regulate tobacco products in the country, among other supplementary mandates.

"We did not regulate tobacco before but because of the health implications of tobacco use and because the DoH has the responsibility to safeguard public health and make its effects preventable, it (the DoH) is going to do this through the FDA," said Lazo.

With the new mandate, the FDA could examine the nicotine levels or any substance in cigarettes that pushed "people to smoke more," she said, adding that the agency would reinforce its partnership with other agencies, including the US-FDA to regulate tobacco use.

It will also strictly implement an administrative order requiring graphic health warnings on all cigarette packs distributed in the country once it has hurdled legal battles it was currently facing.

The use of graphic warning signs has been provided for under the World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), to which the Philippines is a signatory.

But several tobacco manufacturers sued the DoH, questioning the validity of the administrative order.

Aside from its mandate to regulate tobacco use, the FDA has also been empowered to seize and hold in custody without court order food, cosmetic products and pharmaceutical items found to be violating existing rules and regulations and those deemed unsafe for public consumption.

The enhanced IRR also allows the FDA director to hold in contempt any person who ignores orders and writs issued by the agency. This would provide an effective deterrent to prohibited acts defined in the laws the agency has been tasked to implement, said Lazo.

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Posted in: cigarette packs,tobacco products,tobacco use

Some facts from the history of cigarettes

The word “cigarette” comes from French. It is a diminutive of a cigare and literally means “a little cigar”. Cigarettes owe their origin to American Indians who were the first to start rolling tobacco in straw, reed and corn leaves. After tobacco had been brought to Europe the only way to enjoy smoking for the next 250 years was by means of tobacco pipes and cigars.

New sorts of “light” tobacco, such as White Burley, being invented helped cigarettes spread all over the USA. Another important point in the cigarette expansion was the invention of the first machine to produce cigarettes in the end of 1880’s. The next decades were marked by the increasing popularity of cigarettes, which sales got ahead of cigars’ ones. In the USA they manufactured cigarettes from the waste left after the production of other tobacco goods, especially of the chewing tobacco very popular those days.
In 1847 Phillip Morris Company was founded and started selling Turkish hand-rolled cigarettes. In 1902 the company opened its trade mission in New York, began its marketing campaign and started manufacturing of Marlboro cigarettes.
The first cigarettes with the asbestoses filters were produced in England. Those were the cigarettes of the famous trademark “Kent”. Later on due to the strong competition cigarette manufacturers developed modern types of filters. Then they started adding menthol into the cigarette filters.
In the 1920’s the spread of the smoking habit among women played a big part in the development of the tobacco industry.
During the World War II cigarette sales were very high, tobacco companies were sending millions of cigarettes to the solders (cigarettes were even included into their ration as a food). Solders who rather seldom had time to smoke pipe or cigar got used to smoking cigarettes as it was more convenient for them.
The Golden Age of the tobacco industry is considered to be in the late 40’s and early 50’s, when famous movie actors began popularization of smoking through their new luxurious and mysterious images. Many people trying to behave like their idols began smoking and started to buy cigarettes and that increased sales greatly.
The last decade is marked by the fast development of online shops, where people are able to order cigarettes online. Nowadays people prefer to buy cigarettes using Internet as it turns out to be the most convenient way to find and buy cheap cigarettes and sometimes even get some discounts.

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Posted in: buy cigarettes using Internet,Phillip Morris Company,Some facts from the history of cigarettes