Cigarettesdj's Weblog

Malaysia 2010 : MDNP Dunhill cigarette New & Old Packing

cigarettesdj — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 14:54:06 +0000

// For bigger image view,just double click on the images below :

// >

U.S. rejects WTO panel on clove cigarette ban

cigarettesdj — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 11:15:23 +0000

// GENEVA (Reuters) – The United States rejected on Tuesday a call by Indonesia for a World Trade Organization panel to rule on their dispute over the U.S. ban on clove-flavoured cigarettes.
Like many trade disputes, this turns on health and safety rules, and whether they are being abused to keep out imports.
Indonesia says a U.S. law, implemented in September last year, banning flavoured cigarettes is discriminatory because it covers the clove flavours popular in the Southeast Asian country but excludes menthol cigarettes widely produced in America.
“No one, least of all Indonesia, questions the serious health risks associated with the use of tobacco products,” Indonesian diplomat Nurlaila Nur Muhammad said.
“At the same time, we are at a loss to understand the rationale and justification for the complete ban on clove cigarettes… while menthol cigarettes are excluded from the ban,” she told the WTO’s dispute settlement body.
The U.S. authorities say that flavoured tobacco makes cigarettes more attractive to young people.
The World Health Organisation opposes flavoured tobaccos for that reason. But an official at the WHO’s Tobacco-Free Initiative told Reuters that more research needed to be done into menthol, which appeared to be marketed mainly to women.
“Any additive that changes the flavour is usually done to convey a sense of less danger and whether marketed or not it alters the property of the cigarette in a way that may make them look less harmful — and that we oppose,” Armando Peruga said.
NO DISCRIMINATION, U.S. SAYS
A U.S. official said the ban did not discriminate against any country and Indonesia’s request for a panel to rule on the dispute was premature as a scientific committee set up under the law to examine tobacco products would report by March next year.
Under WTO rules, the defendant in a dispute is allowed to block the creation of a panel at the first request, but cannot obstruct it a second time. Indonesia’s request is likely to go through at the next meeting on July 20.
Clove-flavoured cigarettes, known as kretek, dominate cigarette consumption in Indonesia, the world’s fifth biggest tobacco market, but only small numbers are exported, and the unflavoured sort, or “white sticks”, are gaining in popularity.
U.S. government surveys showed that menthol cigarettes accounted for 44 percent of cigarettes consumed by young people and 28 percent of all consumption, Muhammad said.
Clove cigarettes accounted for less than 0.05 percent of cigarettes smoked by young people, and 0.09 percent of all consumption, before the ban, she said.
The United States imported $15.2 million worth of kretek cigarettes in 2008, of which 99 percent came from Indonesia, according to U.S. data cited by Indonesian officials. Since the ban, sales have fallen to zero.
“In many parts of my country the main source of income and employment is the production of tobacco, clove and cigarettes,” Muhammad said.
“Indeed, well over 6 million Indonesians depend directly or indirectly on clove cigarette production to put food on the table, clothes on their children’s backs and day’s wages in their pocket.”
Foreign tobacco producers, keen to gain a bigger share of the expanding markets for cigarettes in emerging economies, have been buying up Indonesian manufacturers to acquire kretek brands and build on the potential for white stick sales.
In June last year, the world’s no. 2 cigarette maker, British American Tobacco, bought an 85 percent stake in Indonesia’s fourth largest cigarette maker by volume, PT Bentoel Internasional Investama.
Philip Morris International acquired the majority of Hanjaya Mandala Sampoerna in 2005. Other Indonesian manufacturers include Gudang Garam and unlisted conglomerate Djarum.
(Editing by Mark Heinrich)
Copyright © 2010 Reuters

source obtained from : thestar.com.my (Malaysia Newspaper)- view here !

Singapore Cigarettes Prices – Duty Paid vs Duty Free

cigarettesdj — Wed, 28 Apr 2010 16:28:56 +0000

Visit www.cigarettesdj.com >> Go here!

The big sign show that the 200′s KENT cigarettes is only $21 Singapore dollar only ! (approx .USD $15.25,Australia Dollar 16.60)

Singapore Duty Paid Price start from $8.90 to $11.70 per packet.(Australia Dollar $7.10o or US$6.50)

Another Singapore Duty Paid cigarettes & price.Photo taken at mini convenient store in town.

Visit www.cigarettesdj.com >> Go here!

Australia : cigarette packs to go plain

cigarettesdj — Wed, 28 Apr 2010 15:55:57 +0000

Source from :

http://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/a/-/newshome/7123197/stubbed-out-cigarette-packs-to-go-plain/2/

Bright colours, logos, slogans and pictures will be eliminated on cigarette packaging under what the Rudd Government claims will be a world first.

The Government will announce tomorrow that mandatory plain packaging will be required for cigarettes and loose leaf tobacco by January 1, 2012 in an attempt to make smoking less attractive, especially for younger people.

But the move will anger tobacco companies, which insist they are entitled to brand their products because cigarettes remain legal.

Under the proposed changes, only brand and product names will be printed on packets in a standard colour, font and position, along with mandatory health warnings.

Packets will only feature basic product identification for retailers and to minimise risks of counterfeiting.

The Government will test different types of plain packets to find the most unappealing design.

Health experts have argued removing colourful branding will strengthen health warnings and stop manufacturers’ package design techniques that suggest some products are less harmful.

Both the World Health Organisation and the Rudd Government’s Preventative Health Taskforce recommended the introduction of plain packaging.

Some comments /feedback :

1)Thats really stupid i guess…Packaging colour dont creat the temptation to smoke… People will smoke even if cigarettes are sold loose without packaging……

2)Heh! What’s everyone so upset about. Let the smokers smoke, get ill and die. Then we can sit outside at the pub or walk out of a shopping centre without getting their stench on our clothes and in our hair. Dig a big pit and push ‘em all in. Problem solved.

3)im not sure but i think alcohol addiction screws ppl up more than the cigs

4)Somehow I find this plain packaging much more attractive! Seriously… :S

5)Absolute joke and waste of time. I have actually just given up smoking. Making a packet plain with no colours will have no effect whatsoever on smokers young or old. If you are a smoker, nothing can make you give up until you are ready, I was just lucky I had a reason that worked for me.

DJ Mix Combo (MDNP-2010)

cigarettesdj — Wed, 14 Apr 2010 05:23:18 +0000

View this stuff on www.cigarettesdj.com !

MDNP – Malaysia Duty Free Products

Brand name : DJ MIX (dj mix)

DJ Mix Strawberry

DJ Mix Lemon

DJ Mix Apple

Brand name : PEEL (peel)

Peel Orange

Peel Melon

Peel Sunny Peach

View this stuff on www.cigarettesdj.com !

UK – Buying tobacco over the Internet (sourced from www.hmce.gov.uk )

cigarettesdj — Sat, 10 Apr 2010 09:18:23 +0000

Always check with Customs before buying tobacco on-line. Most sites offering cheap cigarettes are a rip off.

All cigarettes bought via the Internet must bear UK taxes. There are no allowances or loopholes.

Cigarettes bought from sites that do not arrange payment of UK taxes are liable to forfeiture. In the last year Customs have destroyed over 10 million such cigarettes.

Detailed below is a series of frequently asked questions concerning the purchase of cigarettes over the internet
Tobacco purchases from within the EC:

Q. Is it legal to buy tobacco over the internet from another European Community country?

A. Yes, but ONLY if the UK VAT and excise duty is paid on the goods. The person who sells the goods must make arrangements for these taxes to be paid before they are sent to you. If you are a customer, it is in your interests to ensure this has been done, otherwise the goods are liable to forfeiture by Customs at the postal depot.

Q. What if the tobacco is a personal gift?

A. There are no statutory reliefs for tobacco goods posted as gifts from other EC countries, however Customs will not normally make additional charges provided that :

It is a bona-fide gift sent from a private person in another EC country to a private person in UK;
*

It must be for your own personal use and cannot be sold to others;
*

You must not have paid for it, either directly or indirectly.
*

There must be no commercial or trade element to the contents of the consignment
*

It must be of an occasional nature (e.g. birthday, anniversary etc.).

Purchasing cigarettes from an internet company in another EC country to send to a family member or friend as a gift will NOT qualify for relief of duty and VAT.

Q. How can you go over to France and buy what you want for your own personal use but you can’t do the same over the Internet?

A. Under an EU directive (Council Directive 92/12/EEC), tobacco dispatched by a vendor in one member state to a private individual in another forms a commercial transaction and is liable to duty in the member state of destination.

Q. How much UK duty and tax should be paid on 200 cigarettes?

A. The current rate of Excise duty on 200 king size cigarettes is around £32.20. Before placing an order you should ask yourself whether the prices being advertised on the web site indicate that the vendor is taking these charges into account and properly accounting for them. If not, your goods are liable to forfeiture and you put yourself at risk of prosecution.

Q. If I pay the UK duty and VAT on seized cigarettes can I keep them?

No, Customs only restore seized cigarettes in exceptional circumstances. We do not ordinarily restore seized goods as we wish to:

ensure that excise goods not normally available in the UK from legitimate outlets do not become commercially available.
*

protect the revenues of both the UK Government and legitimate wholesale and retail trade.

Q. Is it illegal to import tobacco and not pay the UK taxes if the duty & VAT has been paid in another EC country?

A. Yes – even if the relevant taxes have been paid in another EC country, the UK duty and tax must be paid when the goods enter this country.

Q. Is it true that the end of duty free means this is now legal when it wasn’t before?

A. The end of duty free within the EC has had no effect . “Duty free” remains a concession available to travellers to and from countries outside of the EC. The Excise Goods (Personal Reliefs) Order 1992 requires that, to qualify for relief of duty, the goods purchased abroad must be personally imported by the traveller. This means that the goods must be carried with them at the time of their return to the UK. Purchasing goods over the Internet does not qualify for this relief of duty.

Q. What is Customs doing about the Internet sites selling these goods?

A. Customs is well aware of these sites and we are vigorously pursuing action against them. Our officers at postal depots are actively targeting postal importations of cigarettes.

Q. Are you investigating any particular sites?

A. Yes, but we do not comment on individual investigations that may be ongoing.

Tobacco purchases from outside the EC:

Q. What are the rules for buying tobacco over the internet from outside the EC?

Tobacco sent from outside the EC must be properly declared and will be liable to import duty, UK VAT & excise duty. There are concessions for “gifts” but these are subject to certain conditions:

They must be of an occasional nature only, such as a birthday or anniversary;
*

The value of the goods must not exceed 45 ECU (currently £36);
*

They must be correctly declared to Customs;
*

They must have been sent by a private person abroad to a private person in this country;
*

The gift must be for the personal use of the recipient, or their family;
*

There must be no commercial or trade element;
*

They must not have been paid for either directly or indirectly.

In addition, any tobacco products must be within the following allowances:

50 cigarettes; or
*

25 cigarillos (cigars with a maximum weight of 3 gms); or
*

10 cigars; or
*

50 gms of tobacco or a proportional assortment of the different products.

Anything in excess of these allowances is liable to charges.

Australia – when buying over the internet

cigarettesdj — Sat, 10 Apr 2010 08:52:42 +0000

* If you arrange for goods to be brought into Australia, you are regarded by Customs as the importer of those goods. This includes purchases made over the Internet, regardless of whether or not you intend to sell or distribute those goods, own a business and if the goods are for your personal use or a gift for someone else.

* Your imported goods may arrive in Australia either by airfreight, express courier, sea cargo or via the post office. The method of delivery will determine the Customs clearance formalities and charges.

* Customs advises people purchasing goods over the Internet to be aware that, when those goods arrive in Australia, they will be subject to Customs controls.

* Certain goods brought into Australia require an import permit. Customs might seize or detain such goods pending presentation of the permit. Alternatively, the goods might be a prohibited import and not allowed into the country under any circumstance.

All goods (except for tobacco products and alcoholic beverages) may be imported duty and tax free if their value is $1,000 or less.

Imported goods with a value of A$1000 or less

Imported goods arriving by post will be released duty and tax free by Customs for delivery direct to the addressee
- except for tobacco, tobacco products (refer to example 4)and alcoholic beverages (refer to example 2) or goods subject to import permit requirements
- - in these cases, you will be contacted and notified of the action you must take.

Example 4: Import of low value tobacco products (for example, 400 sticks = 8 packets x 25 sticks valued at $60)

	AUD$
Customs value (Cval)	60.00
Customs duty (Duty)@ $0.25679 per stick	102.72	(Payable)
International transport and insurance or postage (T&I)	30.00
Value of the Taxable Importation (VoTI) (Cval+Duty+T&I)	192.72
Goods and Services Tax (GST) @ 10 per cent of the VoTI	19.27	(Payable)
Total payable Duty + GST	121.99

Customs duty of $0.25679 is the rate applicable as of 2/2/2009

Information obtained at :

http://www.customs.gov.au/site/page5549.asp#e2152

US FDA to www.cigarettesdj.com

cigarettesdj — Sun, 10 Jan 2010 17:03:51 +0000

Visit www.cigarettesdj.com >> Go here!

View the official letter on FDA website.Click here !

Food and Drug Administration

Center for Tobacco Products

9200 Corporate Boulevard

Rockville MD 20850·3229

TO: limmalaysia@gmail.com

www.cigarettesdj.com

sales@cigarettesdj.com

FROM: Food and Drug Administration

RE: 0.1 Mix Ice Green Apple, OJ Mix Lemon Fresh, 0.1 Mix Strawberry, Peel Menthol Orange,

Peel menthol Sunny Peach, Peel Sweet Melon

DATE: November 2, 2009

WARNING LETTER

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) reviewed your website at the Internet address

http://www.cigarettesdj.com on October 6, 2009 and determined that your website has been offering for

sale OJ Mix Ice Green Apple, OJ Mix Lemon Fresh, OJ Mix Strawberry, Peel Menthol Orange, Peel

menthol Sunny Peach, and Peel Sweet Melon cigarettes in the United States. Under section 201 (rr) of

the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA), as amended by the Family Smoking Prevention and

Tobacco Control Act (FSPTCA), 21 U.S.C. § 321(rr), these products are tobacco products because they

are made or derived from tobacco and intended for human consumption.

According to the information and materials on your website we reviewed, your products listed above

contain an artificial or natural flavor that is a characterizing flavor of the product and, as such, are

adulterated and/or misbranded. Section 907(a)(1 )(A) of the FFDCA, 21 U.S.C. § 387g(a)(1 )(A), provides,

as part of the tobacco product standards, a “special rule for cigarettes” as follows:

[A] cigarette or any of its component parts (including the tobacco, filter, or paper) shall not

contain, as a constituent (including a smoke constituent) or additive, an artificial or natural

flavor (other than tobacco or menthol) or an herb or spice, including strawberry, grape,

orange, clove, cinnamon, pineapple, vanilla, coconut, licorice, cocoa, chocolate, cherry,

or coffee, that is a characterizing flavor of the tobacco product or tobacco smoke.

After the September 22, 2009 effective date for this provision, flavored cigarettes marketed and sold in

the United States in violation of this provision are adulterated under section 902(5) of the FFDCA, 21

U.S.C. § 387b(5).

Your website represents that the flavored cigarettes you offer for sale to U.S. consumers contain green

apple, lemon, strawberry, orange, peach and melon that are characterizing flavors of the tobacco

products.

If your flavored cigarettes contain green apple, lemon, strawberry, orange, peach and melon that are

characterizing flavors of the tobacco products, your flavored cigarettes are adulterated under section

902(5) of the FFDCA, 21 U.S.C. § 387b(5), because they fail to comply with the special rule for cigarettes

detailed in section 907(a)(1 )(A) of the FFDCA, 21 U.S.C. § 387g(a)(1 )(A). If, however, your flavored

cigarettes do not contain a flavor, herb, or spice that is a characterizing flavor of the tobacco product, they

are misbranded under section 903(a)(1) of the FFDCA, 21 U.S.C. § 387c(a)(1), as their labeling is false

and misleading because it makes the representation that the products contains green apple, lemon,

strawberry, orange, peach and melon that are characterizing flavors of the tobacco products.

Page 2 -Warning Letter

You should immediately correct this violation by ceasing the marketing and sale of your products or taking

other appropriate action to bring your products into compliance with the requirements of the FFDCA

Failure to correct this violation may result in regulatory action being initiated by the FDA without further

notice. These actions may include, but are not limited to, seizure and injunction.

If you are not located in the United States, please note that adulterated or misbranded tobacco products

offered for importation into the United States are subject to detention and refusal of admission. We will

advise the appropriate regulatory or law enforcement officials in the country from which you operate that

FDA considers your products listed above to be adulterated and/or misbranded products that cannot be

legally sold to consumers in the United States.

Please submit a written response to this letter within 15 working days from the date you receive this letter,

describing your intent to comply with this request and explaining your plan for discontinuing the marketing

and sale, or relabeling, of these tobacco products. Please direct your response to Ann Simoneau,

Regulatory Counsel, Center for Tobacco Products, Food and Drug Administration, 9200 Corporate

Boulevard, Rockville, Maryland 20850, (240) 276-4017 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting +12402764017 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting +12402764017 end_of_the_skype_highlighting begin_of_the_skype_highlighting +12402764017 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting +12402764017 end_of_the_skype_highlighting end_of_the_skype_highlighting begin_of_the_skype_highlighting +12402764017 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting +12402764017 end_of_the_skype_highlighting end_of_the_skype_highlighting” class=”skype_pnh_highlighting_inactive_common”> (240) 276-4017 end_of_the_skype_highlighting begin_of_the_skype_highlighting (240) 276-4017 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting (240) 276-4017 end_of_the_skype_highlighting end_of_the_skype_highlighting, or send via email to FDA Flavored Cigarette Task

Force@FDAHHS.GOV. We remind you that only written communications are considered official.

The violation discussed in this letter does not necessarily constitute an exhaustive list. It is your

responsibility to ensure that your tobacco products comply with the applicable provisions of the FFDCA,

as amended by the FSPTCA, that are currently in effect.

cigarettesdj.com WL pdf final

Visit www.cigarettesdj.com >> Go here!

2010 : MALAYSIA CIGARETTES PRICE CONTROL

cigarettesdj — Sun, 10 Jan 2010 16:42:05 +0000

December 28, 2009 – PUTRAJAYA: The cheapest cigarettes in the market will cost RM6.40 (1.87 USD) per pack of 20s starting January 1, 2010. Map – Malaysia..

Under the Tobacco Products Control Regulations gazetted by the Health Ministry and aimed at snuffing out the smoking habit, the minimum retail price for a stick of cigarette is set at 32 sen (Malaysian ringgit (dollar) is divided into 100 sen (cents)).

At present, a pack of 20s usually costs RM9.30 (2.71 USD) but cheaper ones as low as RM4.80 (1.40 USD) per pack are available.

Health Minister Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai said the regulations would also prohibit price promotions. This means cigarette would not be allowed to be sold with labels carrying words such as “discount”, “special price”, “special offer”, “promotion”, “limited edition” or any other terms that indicate the offer of a price that is cheaper than the retail price on the cigarette packs.

“The two regulations are vital in making cigarettes less affordable to children, youths and those from the lower income group,” he said in a statement yesterday.
Liow said the move was in line with the Government’s commitment to protect children and teenagers from taking up smoking.

Even the World Bank, he said, agreed that price controls and taxes on tobacco products were effective in reducing the number of smokers. Malaysia’s own studies had shown that a 10 percent increase in price reduced the number of smokers by 3.8 percent.

Federation of Malaysia Consumer Asssociations (Fomca) secretary-general Muhammad Shaani Abdullah Muhammad Shaani voiced his concerns about the possibility of a lack of enforcement despite the rules being in place. According to Muhammad Shaani, price controls were among the commitments required to be implemented by signatories to the World Health Organization’s (WHO) WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), which Malaysia signed in September 2003 and ratified two years later. Muhammad Shaani: There should be no compromise in enforcement against smuggling. “If we do not prevent smuggling, price controls will not be fully effective.”

References: Cigarettes: Cheapest at RM6.40 per pack, theSTAR.com.my, 12/28/2009; Beef up enforcement on cigarettes, says Fomca, theSTAR.com.my, 12/28/2009.

Graphic based cigarettes health warning !

cigarettesdj — Sat, 21 Mar 2009 16:57:58 +0000

WOW ! Graphic based cigarettes health warning coming to Malaysia already !

On May 31, 2008, the Malaysian Minister of Health announced that pictoral warnings would appear on cigarette packages in that country and on September 15, 2008, the 6 required images were gazetted.

On January 1, 2009, each manufacturer must ensure that 2 brands display the warning messages and by March 1, 2009, all brands must display these warnings. On June 1, 2009, all cigarettes without the new warnings must be removed from the market. (source: Dr. Mohamad Haniki Nik Mohamed)

http://www.smoke-free.ca/warnings/countries and laws.htm

What do you feel now everytime you get in touch with the graphic based cigarettes health warning ?