EU To Give Money For Tobacco

The EU will provide money for tobacco in its next 2014 – 2020 fiscal period, Minister of Agriculture Miroslav Naydenov said in Kardzhali.

As the Committee on Agriculture of the EU adopted a proposal for the removal of tobacco from the ban list for subsidized crops, 2014 Bulgarian tobacco will receive EU co-payments from 2014, the minister explained, reports Standart.

Natural remedies to quit smoking

There are a variety of herbs and supplements that can help people stop smoking. Some herbs to consider include lobelia for cigarette cravings, ginger root for nausea, St. John's Wort for depression, passion flower for irritability, and rhodiola for energy.

Rhodiola extract in the mornings can increase dopamine receptors. Dopamine is a hormone associated with mood. Too little dopamine can lead to anxiety and depression. Increasing dopamine receptors and uptake can make people feel happier, more energetic and less like smoking a cigarette.

People often feel nauseated when they are in withdrawal from nicotine. Ginger root may reduce nausea. Lobelia can be toxic so caution is needed when using.
Oats are a heart healthy food that is high in fiber, omega-3 fatty acids, potassium, and folate. Eating oats can help lower levels of bad cholesterol and keep arteries clear, which helps to lower risk of heart disease. They also contain chemicals called avenathramides that can reduce stress, strengthen the nervous system, fight free radials, and combat high blood pressure. All of these benefits can be crucial for smokers who are at a higher risk for heart disease.

Oats can also directly help smokers quit. An extract derived from green oats can ease withdrawal symptoms and help to decrease cigarette cravings.

Ryan Gosling 'Gangster Squad' role smoking hot

Ryan Gosling's got a sure-fire method for quitting cigarettes: Play a chain-smoking cop in a movie set in Los Angeles, circa 1949.
"I quit smoking after that film because I smoked myself out," says a nicotine-free Gosling, who was nevertheless presented with his character's trusty lighter by the production's props-master.
"I ended up smoking two or three packs a day of these filterless, period cigarettes -- I'd have to have a new one every take -- and then I'd be smoking in between takes."
In Gangster Squad, the movie in question, Gosling portrays Jerry Wooters, the real-life member of a clandestine group of LAPD outsiders assigned to take back the city from the clutches of prizefighter-turned-ruthless mobster, Mickey Cohen, played by Sean Penn, reported The London Free Press.
"As hard as Sean Penn was punching that punching bag in the film, that's how my lungs felt," recalls Gosling.
"Like Sean had been wailing on my lungs instead of the bag."

Latest tobacco prices rise takes effect

The third of six consecutive annual increases in a tax on tobacco took effect on 1 January, taking the price of the cheapest brand of 20 cigarettes to about $16 per packet.

But an organisation helping smokers to quit says it still wants steeper tobacco price rises.

Quit Group chief executive Paula Snowden said price rises help motivate people who may be worried about their health or the example they are setting their children, to take action, according to Radio New Zealand.

She said the sector would like to see even heftier price increases over the next three years.

Quit Group intends to roster twice the number of personnel for the next two weeks to cope with an anticipated spike in callers seeking help.

Bulgarian Parliamentary Committee to Vote on Smoking Ban Amendments

Bulgaria's Parliamentary Economic Committee will vote Tuesday at a closed-doors session on the abolition of the full indoor smoking ban.
The proposal was put forth by MPs from center-right ruling party GERB between the first and second reading of the new Tourism Act, dnevnik.bg reminds.
At the end of last week, GERB MPs Ivan Bozhilov and Evgeni Stoev suggested that the Tourism Act should be amended to permit smoking in night clubs and in bars and restaurants with separate rooms for smokers and non-smokers.
The two GERB MPs also suggested that small bars and restaurants with an area of up to 50 square meters should be allowed to decide whether the site is for smokers or non-smokers.
The vote was postponed for December 18 to get MPs acquainted with the stances of the Health Ministry and the Ministry of Economy, Energy, and Tourism.
Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borisov declared Saturday that GERB was totally against the abolition of the full indoor smoking ban despite the fact that he had suggested one week earlier that smoking could be allowed in bars and restaurants after 10 p.m.
Borisov went so far as to declare he would file his resignation of the full smoking ban was lifted.
Despite Borisov's warning, the initiators of the legal amendments did not withdraw them.
President Rosen Plevneliev also opposed the abolition of the full indoor smoking ban and implied he could veto the amendments if they got approved by Parliament, according to Novinite.com.
Helath Minister Desislava Atanasova has repeatedly stated her opposition to the removal of the full smoking ban.
Delyan Dobrev, Minister of Economy, Energy, and Tourism, is the only Minister supporting the abolition of the full smoking ban.
Parliament Chair Tsetska Tsacheva has also rejected the amendments mainly due to the unacceptable practice of amending one law to introduce changes in another one.

Drop in cigarette sales drags down spending

Consumption, a main driver of growth in the French economy, slipped by 0.2 percent in October from the September level.

The INSEE statistics institute, which published the data, also revised down data for September to show stable consumption instead of a rise of 0.1 percent from the level for August.

INSEE said that in October, a rise in purchases of durable goods had not compensated for a sharp fall in spending on cigarettes after taxes were hiked on tobacco products.

At BNP Paribas bank, economists commented: "The fall is limited and is less than expected and the details are rather reassuring given the economic situation."

At Société Générale bank, chief economist Michel Martinez said that the outcome was in line with government thinking, to the extent that the effect of budget tightening was mainly reducing the rate at which people saved and so would have a moderate effect on consumption, according to The Local.

But this was just an initial sign, and one had to be cautious about the consequences of the budget action, he said.

Amman tobacco companies to reduce cigarette prices by 15%

Local tobacco companies have informed the Income and Sales Tax Department that they plan to reduce the prices of cigarettes by around 15 per cent in a bid to compete with smuggled cigarettes, a government source said Sunday.

The official, who preferred to remain unnamed, told The Jordan Times that local manufacturers of cigarettes have to inform the department whenever they decide to raise or reduce the prices of tobacco products, noting that smuggled cigarettes, mainly from Syria, have hit the industry.

There are seven tobacco manufacturing firms in Jordan, which have been complaining that smuggled cigarettes threaten their businesses.

Over the past few years, the government has raised taxes on cigarettes several times, which encouraged smuggling of the product, according to manufacturers.

The tax rate on local cigarettes is around 75 per cent of the value of the product.

Several shop owners told The Jordan Times that tobacco firms have almost stopped supplying them with cigarettes until the new prices are announced.

Amer Rabie, who owns a shop in the capital’s Tlaa Al Ali area, indicated that suppliers have not visited the store for days and wholesalers informed him that prices of Jordanian-made cigarettes will go down within the next few days.

Ahmad Al Sagheir also complained of a shortage of cigarettes at his store because suppliers are waiting for tobacco companies to announce their decision to reduce prices.

According to official figures, smuggled tobacco products currently account for over 40 per cent of the local market.

Smoking ban in Ukraine

On Dec. 16, smoking in Ukrainian cafes, nightclubs and restaurants will be forbidden.

On results of some researches 86 percent of Ukrainians are waiting for appearance of restaurants and bars with smoking forbidden; 54 percent smokers consider that a waiter’s right to work in a smoke-free premise is more important than their own right to smoke inside.

One of the Ukrainian nongovernmental organizations popularizing smoke-free restaurants and bars in the country is “For a Ukraine Free From Tobacco Smoke’ public organization coalition.

Biggest graduate intake at Imperial

Imperial Tobacco says that it has taken on 30 graduates – its biggest such intake to date –as part of a strategy to invest in its ‘talent pipeline’.

‘The newcomers on our 2012 Graduate Programme will gain experience of different areas of the business across the globe in the next two years,’ the company said in a note posted on its website.

‘Imperial’s Graduate Programme has grown from the first intake of just six graduates back in 2010, informs Tobacco Reporter.

‘The current intake attended an intensive induction course to learn about the history, structure, strategy and business of Imperial.

‘This included an evening event inBristolhosted by Alison Cooper [chief executive] and members of the Operating Executive.’

“Our success in the future will depend on the quality of the people we attract now,” said Koos Mennen, director of organisation and people development.

“We are committed to further investment in these programs and providing all our graduates with opportunities to grow and develop.”

Companies count cost of smoking

Smokers are costing the UK economy £1.4 billion by taking an average of two or three days more sick leave per year than their non-smoking colleagues, a new study by the University of Nottingham has revealed.

The study said the £1.4bn lost in the UK due to smoking-related absenteeism was only one of the numerous costs of smoking in the workplace.

Research by Dr Jo Leonardi-Bee and Stephen Weng based at the university's UK Centre for Tobacco Control Studies also found others costs included productivity lost to smoking breaks and the cost of cigarette-related fire damage.

Dr Leonardi-Bee said: "Quitting smoking appears to reduce absenteeism and result in substantial cost savings for employers."

The report, published in the journal Addiction, analysed 29 studies from around the world which were conducted between 1960 and 2011 and covered more than 71,000 workers, This Is Nottingham reported.

Pro-smoking smartphone apps spark a fiery debate

Australian researchers identified more than 100 smartphone applications that appear to promote smoking. The study highlights the challenges governments face in keeping tobacco advertising laws in step with technology, reported France 24.

Applications designed for smartphones that tacitly or overtly encourage smoking are shaping up to be the latest front in the battle against cigarette advertising.

A study released this week in the British Medical Journal’s public health magazine, Tobacco Control, put the spotlight on the so-far overlooked phenomenon of using smartphone apps to promote or encourage smoking.

A team of Australian public health researchers at the University of Sydney identified 107 apps promoting a pro-smoking message on the Apple App Store and Android Market (now Google Play).

Just as the range of tobacco products is diverse, so too the types of apps, from simple wallpaper downloads of popular brands to programmes that simulate stubbing out of cigarettes, and animated games that recreate social smoking situations. The apps are either free or downloadable for a small fee, and while some include measures to verify that users are above a certain age, others do not.

One app, called 'Ashtray', transforms the smartphone screen into a garbage can. A short tap on the screen deposits cigarette ash into the bin, while a prolonged tap discards the entire cigarette.

 Users can choose between three backgrounds for the garbage can, or use their phone camera to place it in a photo of their favourite spot for a smoke.

In another app, 'Puff Puff Pass', users select a caricature then choose a pipe, cigar or cigarette, and venue (lounge room, outdoor setting, office, or limousine). The rules of the game include a time limit to smoke two drags before passing it on to the next caricature, whereupon a player can win points or is reprimanded.

Lagos Assembly Considers Anti-Smoking Bill

A bill towards prohibiting smoking in designated places for connected purposes yesterday scaled through the first reading at the Lagos State House of Assembly. The bill, which is a private member bill sponsored by member representing Eti-Osa Constituency 2, Mr. Gbolahan Yishawu, was read on the floor by the Acting Clerk of the House, Segun Abiru.

The bill if passed into law, will prohibit people from smoking tobacco, or anything, which contains tobacco, or any other substance in any place designated as 'No Smoking Area'. From the commencement of the law, it shall be an offence to smoke in the presence of a child under the age of 15 years in any vehicle or location listed or not listed.

Smaller tobacco tax increase would work better

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Let's consider the size of the proposed tobacco tax increase in Proposition B. It's over five times the current tax. It would go from $1.70 to $9 per carton. Missouri does have a low tobacco tax, but a more than five times increase is obviously pure greed. Everyone would be outraged if the sales tax went up five times, say from 6 percent to 30 percent. And what would you be paying if your property tax was five times higher?

Wouldn't it be fairer to all parties involved if the tax wasn't so high? If the rate was doubled, it would still be a large increase but it would be considerably more tolerable to everyone. Schools would still get a subsidy, jobs would not be lost, tobacco users would not be hit so hard in the pocketbook and Missouri's total revenue would be larger instead of a decrease in revenue that a economics professor has calculated.

Joseph Haslag, a professor from the University of Missouri, has findings that show Missouri would actually lose at least $34 million a year in tax money if Proposition B would pass. This revenue would have to be made up somewhere, and all of us would pay. Let's be reasonable and vote this increase down and let the legislators come up with a more fair compromise.

Kids who smoke menthol more likely to get hooked

Kids who experiment with menthol cigarettes are more likely to become habitual smokers than their peers who start out with the regular variety, new research findings suggest.

In a study of tens of thousands of U.S. students, researchers found that kids who were dabbling with menthol cigarettes were 80 percent more likely to become regular smokers over the next few years, versus those experimenting with regular cigarettes.

Three in custody for illegal cigarettes

The dog unit team of the Makhado police arrested two suspects for being found in possession of illegal cigarettes last Friday (26 October). The suspects, aged 34 and 42, were driving along the N1 road when the police stopped the Isuzu bakkie, which had a load of 21 wooden doors. According to the spokesperson for the Makhado police, Capt Maano Sadiki, the police then realised that something was wrong with the arrangement of doors and opened one door to inspect.

They then discovered at least 1 536 cartons of illegal cigarettes inserted inside the 21 doors. The street value of the confiscated cigarettes was estimated to R198 000. Sadiki added that the police also found at least R29 000 in cash in the suspects' possession. “We suspect that the suspects had intended to use this huge amount of money to bribe the police, should they be stopped,” he said.

In a separate incident, only a moment later, another suspect was arrested after being found in possession of illegal cigarettes. The cartons were found hidden in the rear seat of the Nissan Sentra sedan. All suspects in these two cases will appear in court soon, said Sadiki.

As UCLA goes smoke-free, some ask if USC will do the same

A new smoke-free ban at UCLA, which was announced Tuesday, has re-energized the debate surrounding the implementation of a smoke-free ban on campus at USC. UCLA is the first of the UC schools to put a restriction on smoking on campus. USC currently follows the same rules as California legislation: Smoking is not allowed inside public establishments, and smokers have to be at least 20 feet from a building to light up.

To accommodate students who do not smoke, there are multiple designated smoke-free areas around campus. As of spring 2012, 14.4 percent of USC students smoked daily or one or more days a week, according to a report by the USC American College Health Association-National College Health Assessment. The same study found that undergraduates smoke more frequently than graduate students. Student reactions have been fairly positive to the designated smoking areas and the current rules about smoking.

Many students, however, are opposed to adopting a ban on smoking. Henrique Malvar, a senior majoring in political science, and a smoker, opposes having a smoke-free campus. “I’m a courteous smoker so I’m fine with having a designated smoking area,” Malvar said. “It’s not fair for someone to walk out of a building expecting to get fresh air and instead gets a whiff of nicotine. But if you do a full-on ban that’s just too extreme.” Some non-smoking students also are satisfied with the current smoking rules and do not see a need for a change.

 “There’s already too many rules,” said Emily Frank, a junior majoring in business administration. “We are all college students so we have the right to choose if we want to smoke or not.” Yet other students believe that smoking should be more restricted on campus and match up with the no-smoking ban that UCLA adopted. One such student, Sydney Golombek, a sophomore majoring in American studies and ethnicity, said she is in favor of USC going smoke-free. “I think there should be a ban,” Golombek said. “It’s much safer and healthier and I’m all for that on campus.” Last year, Undergraduate Student Government held a forum and distributed surveys to determine student interest in having a smoking ban on campus.

Because some of the survey data was skewed, this year’s student government is redistributing the surveys. Last year, USG presented a senate resolution that favored keeping the current policy for smoking, yet advocating that the school better inform the students of the smoking rules. USG Campus Director, Wiley Strahan, a senior majoring in health promotion and disease prevention studies, said student government is working to gauge student interest in implementing more stringent smoking regulations on campus. “We’re looking to see what the students feel with the climate on campus,” Strahan said.

“It’ll be a few weeks before we can start moving forward, but right now we’re looking at what other large, private universities are doing with their smoking rules.” USG President Mikey Geragos believes USG has to get feedback from the student body before they can take a stance on a smoke-free campus. “We are taking a more comprehensive approach this year,” Geragos said. “We’re not sure if we’re advocating for a ban or not yet.

We’re not trying to make a decision without knowing what the students will want first.” USC has never had a ban on smoking on its University Park campus. Though student input is important, health professionals believe the health benefits outweigh temporal student opinions. The director of the office of wellness and health promotion, Paula Swinford, works with enhancing student wellness and reducing health risks for students on campus. Swinford remains an advocate for a smoke-free campus.

 “There’s nothing good about smoking,” Swinford said. “You’re basically choosing to shorten your quantity and quality of life, but unfortunately it’s such an ingrained part of our culture.” Some students oppose the smoking ban because they also believe that smoking is too ubiquitous to regulate. “Smoking is already banned everywhere in California,” said Aneesa Al-Musawwir, a junior majoring in jazz studies. “I don’t know how much more strict these rules can get.” Though student reaction is mixed, Swinford emphasized the importance of implementing a ban in light of UCLA’s newest policy.

She said this is especially important considering students who make it through college without smoking are unlikely to smoke throughout the rest of their life. “A student who goes to UCLA and lives on their smoke-free campus will graduate healthier than a USC student living in an environment of smoking,” Swinford said. “There is really no reason to not move forward on a smoke-free campus. It’s just a matter of when. I’m just surprised that UCLA had to beat us to it.”

Students modify smoke-free campus initiative

For over a year now there have been a series of ongoing discussions concerning UR’s smoking policy. Within the past semester, however, junior Sheridan Finnie and seniors Sara Rothenberg and Catie Tarentine, who are leading the initiative, have begun to push for one which would outline a plan for a smoke-free campus save for a number of designated areas in which smoking would be allowed.

Under the guidance of Director of the University Health Service Ralph Manchester and Associate Director of Health Promotion Linda Dudman, Finnie, Rothenberg and Tarentine initially aimed to implement a policy that would designate UR as entirely smoke free with no designated smoking areas, but after receiving feedback from students, faculty and staff, decided this new direction would make for a policy that would accommodate a larger majority of the University community.

“We really felt this was an appropriate kind of compromise,” Rothenberg said. She explained that with a policy like this smokers will be able to continue to smoke, but that it would create a cleaner environment for those who do not. Dudman agreed. “I feel that at this point in time this is the best way for us to be proceeding,” she noted. Tarentine emphasized that this policy is in part all about accounting for different perspectives at the University. “I think from the beginning our initiative has been [built] around respect,” Tarentine said. “We wanted respect for nonsmokers, we wanted respect for the environment and we also [wanted] respect for smokers.”

Discussion about UR’s smoking policy began during the 2010-11 academic year when Tarentine and Rothenberg decided to expand upon an independent study they completed after learning of SUNY Buffalo’s decision to become a smoke-free campus. Finnie, who is also currently the president of UR’s chapter of Colleges Against Cancer (URCAC), joined the effort at the end of that year. They discussed a number of different options for a new policy that would replace UR’s current standard, which states that smoking is not allowed within 30 feet of University-owned buildings.

In addition to going entirely smoke free or smoke free with designated smoking areas, the option to go tobacco free (a policy which would also restrict chewing tobacco) was touched upon as well. In the spring semester of the 2011-12 academic year a document containing background information on all possible options was submitted to UR President Joel Seligman. Manchester explained that there is no definite timetable for when a new policy will be announced, but Dudman noted that whenever an announcement is made, there will be a transition period of six to nine months afterwards which will allow time for publicity, construction of designated smoking areas assuming that is the policy that is adopted, time for expansion of smoking cessation support for the University community and a chance to update official information UR sends to prospective students.

Once the University makes a decision about whether a new policy should be implemented and which direction it would take, committees made up of students, faculty and staff, who are both smokers and nonsmokers, will be formed (assuming the policy will go forward) to discuss topics such as how to best educate the University on the new policy, where to put designated smoking areas, what form they will take, and how best to offer smoking cessation resources. “We want this policy that’s going to be affecting everyone to be contributed to by everyone,” Rothenberg said. Other developments to this initiative include the consideration for the use of peer enforcement rather than relying on UR Security to enforce a new policy, an option that Finnie believes is made increasingly possible by having designated smoking areas and an increased effort to build up smoking cessation resources.

Tobacco products to face higher taxes

The Ministry of Health (MoH) has proposed that the Government increases the cost of tobacco for consumers in a bid to tackle the high number of smokers and passive smokers in Viet Nam. The proposal calls for a higher level of tax on all tobacco products and for the minimum price for cigarettes sold in duty free shops to be more tightly regulated. The MoH has set a number of targets to limit the harmful effects of tobacco from now up to 2020.

It aims to lower the rate of male smokers from 47.4 per cent to 39 per cent, and the number of young smokers (between the age of 15-24 years old) from 26 per cent to 18 per cent. They also hope to keep the ratio of women smokers under 1.4 per cent. The ministry also wants to slash the rate of people exposed to cigarettes smoke at healthcare centres from 24 to 14 per cent, and at educational institutions from 22 to 12 per cent. Currently the rate of passive smokers at work is 56 per cent, which the MoH hopes to reduce to 26 per cent.

Similarly, the ratio at restaurants will be pulled down to 50 per cent from 80 per cent and on public transportation to 16 from 34 per cent. MoH statistics rate Vietnamese males as the fifteenth highest smokers in the world. A survey in 2010 revealed that there were 15.3 million smokers in the country and about 8 million others are exposed to cigarettes smoke at work, with a staggering 47 million passive smokers at home.

The health ministry also reports 40,000 fatal cases relating to smoking in Viet Nam each year. Meanwhile the World Health Organisation (WHO) estimated the figure will increase to 70,000 by 2030 if effective measures to reduce smokers are not applied.

Marlboro maker Altria 3Q profit falls on charges

Marlboro maker Altria Group Inc.'s third-quarter net income fell 44 percent on charges for a loss on early extinguishment of debt. But it sold more cigarettes at higher prices and expanded its industry-leading share of the U.S. market. Marlboro maker Altria Group Inc.'s third-quarter net income fell 44 percent on charges for a loss on early extinguishment of debt. But it sold more cigarettes at higher prices and expanded its industry-leading share of the U.S. market.

The owner of the nation's biggest cigarette maker, Philip Morris USA, on Thursday reported net income of $657 million, or 32 cents per share, for the three-month period ended Sept. 30, down from $1.17 billion, or 57 cents a share, a year earlier. Earnings were impacted by previously announced plan to buy back $2 billion in debt, which resulted in a charge of $874 million in the third quarter. Adjusted earnings were 58 cents per share, matching Wall Street expectations.

The Richmond, Va.-based company said revenue, excluding excise taxes, rose about 3 percent to $4.46 billion as higher costs to promote its top-selling Marlboro brand were offset by higher prices and volumes. Analysts polled by FactSet expected revenue of $4.36 billion. Its shares slipped 9 cents to $32.04 in midday trading.

They are 12 percent below their 52-week peak of $36.29 in early August. Altria said cigarette volumes grew about 1 percent to 33.7 billion cigarettes compared with a year ago, compared with an estimated total industry volume decline of 3.5 percent. Volumes for its discount cigarette brands increased 14 percent, Marlboro saw gains of 1 percent and its other premium brands fell by about 8 percent. Its share of the U.S. retail market rose 1.2 percentage points to 49.9 percent.

Marlboro brand gained 1 percentage point of market share to end up with 42.7 percent of the U.S. market. In the year-ago quarter, Marlboro experienced one of the biggest U.S. market-share declines in at least four years. The company has introduced several new products with the Marlboro brand, often with lower promotional pricing.

They include special blends of both menthol and non-menthol cigarettes to try to keep the brand growing and steal smokers from its competitors. At the end of the quarter, Altria said it expanded Marlboro NXT - a cigarette that can be switched to menthol by crushing a capsule in the filter - into 27 states.

 "Marlboro's got a big reach, it appeals to a lot of adult smokers. It's proven that not just recently, but over decades," CEO Marty Barrington said in a conference call with investors. "It's a big brand, it's got a lot of room for a lot flavor segments, it's got room for a lot of adult smokers, and that's how we think about it." Altria still faces pressure in the current economy from less-expensive brands such as Pall Mall from Reynolds American Inc. and Maverick from Lorillard Inc. Marlboro sold for an average of $5.79 per pack during the third quarter, compared with an average of $4.24 per pack for the cheapest brand.

But Altria also saw volumes for its discount L&M brand grow this quarter. Like other tobacco companies, Altria is focusing on cigarette alternatives - such as cigars, snuff and chewing tobacco - for future sales growth because the decline in cigarette smoking is expected to continue. Volumes of its smokeless tobacco brands such as Copenhagen and Skoal rose nearly 6 percent compared with the year-ago period. For the quarter, the company's smokeless tobacco brands had 55.5 percent of the market, which is tiny compared with cigarettes.

 The timing of promotional shipments and other inventory changes drove volumes for its Black & Mild cigars down14 percent during the period, but its share of the U.S. retail market grew 0.8 percentage point to 30.1 percent. The company also owns wine and financial services businesses and holds a voting stake in brewer SABMiller. Altria has been forced to cut costs as tax hikes, smoking bans, health concerns and social stigma make the cigarette business tougher. After completing a $1.5 billion multi-year cost savings program last year, the company rolled out a plan to cut $400 million in "cigarette-related infrastructure costs" by the end of 2013 in advance of anticipated cigarette volume declines.

The company said that plan remains on track. Altria also reaffirmed its full-year adjusted earnings guidance in the range of between $2.19 and $2.23 per share. Analysts expect earnings of $2.21 per share. During the latest quarter, the company said it repurchased 7.7 million shares for a total cost of about $262 million as part of its previously announced $1 billion share buyback program, which was expanded by $500 million in a board vote earlier this week.

It has about $550 million remaining in the expanded program, which it expects to complete by the end of the second quarter of 2013. No. 2 cigarette maker Reynolds American said Tuesday its third-quarter profit grew nearly 7 percent as higher prices and smokeless tobacco gains helped offset a nearly 7 percent decline in the number of cigarettes it sold. And Lorillard Inc., the nation's third-biggest tobacco company, said Wednesday its third-quarter net income rose 6 percent, as higher prices helped offset a decline of about 2 percent in its cigarette volumes.

AUSTRALIA PENSION FUND REVIEWING TOBACCO STAKE

The Australian government's pension fund for public servants said Thursday it was reviewing its investment in tobacco shares following the passage of plain packaging laws in a bid to curb smoking. The Future Fund, which manages some Aus$80 billion in retirement savings for government workers, said its board had requested a review of tobacco holdings worth Aus219 million in the light of Canberra's new anti-smoking policies.

"We think it's important, particularly given the responsibility for managing such a large pool of capital for the long term, that we take a careful, methodical and considered approach to these kinds of issues," said Future Fund managing director Mark Burgess. "This work has been started and will include consideration of the cost and implications of exclusion." Tobacco products in Australia will have to be sold in drab, uniform khaki packaging with graphic health warnings from December 1 after smoking giants lost a High Court challenge to the measures in August.

The fund has come under growing pressure to dump the shares after it was revealed in the Senate last week that new stock worth almost Aus$40 million was being bought at the same time the new policies were being pushed through. Health groups and the left-wing Greens party have described the investment as inconsistent with public values. The Australian government estimates there are 15,000 deaths nationally each year from tobacco-related illnesses and that smoking costs more than Aus$30 billion a year in healthcare and lost productivity.

The Future Fund has holdings in major firms including British American Tobacco, Imperial Tobacco, Japan Tobacco Inc and Philip Morris -- all of whom were parties to the High Court challenge to Australia's plain packet plan. It has previously jettisoned holdings on ethical grounds, selling off its stock in 10 defence companies that manufactured cluster munitions and land-mines in 2011. Similar moves against tobacco firms were taken by the Norwegian government's pension fund in 2010.