A tobacco giant behind three of the UK’s leading brands is under investigation after millions of its cigarettes were shipped to a firm linked to a billionaire accused of playing a key part in suppressing the popular uprising in Syria. The development has revived concerns about the ability of “big tobacco” to police its distribution networks – third party agents who move its product around the world. Japan Tobacco International (JTI), which owns the Silk Cut, Mayfair and Benson & Hedges brands, faces questions over its relationship with a firm associated with Rami Makhlouf, who is subject to European Union and US sanctions. Documents obtained by the Observer show that on 27 May 2011, JTI’s Middle Eastern distributor, IBCS Trading, dispatched 90 million cigarettes to Syria Duty Free Shops (SDF) Ltd. Makhlouf, a cousin … Read entire article »

This tobacco giant gives out large dividends It looks like the whole tobacco industry has made a concerted cdecision to have the highest possible dividend payouts. Altria (NYSE:MO), the owner of Philip Morris USA, made the decision to spin off the growth part of the business — Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) — and keep the more stagnant cash-generating U.S. operations. They may be shrinking slowly, but steady price hikes and good cost controls indicate a reliable dividend stream for many years — possibly decades. But what exactly is Altria today? There is more to it than Philip Morris USA, as Altria bought smokeless tobacco maker UST recently. Altria also owns John Middleton, a company dealing in machine-made large cigars and pipe tobacco. In addition to the finance subsidiary — Philip Morris Capital … Read entire article »

Up in smoke Two thieves pulled a gun on a man on E. 58th Street on Dec. 17, taking his cash and supply of cigars and cigarettes. The victim was nearing his car parked near Flatlands Avenue at 12:56 pm when the suspects walked up and demanded he hand over his property. The suspects had removed several boxes of smokes from the victim’s car before cops caught up with them, charging them with robbery in the first degree. Ave. M attack A goon jumped a man on Avenue M on Dec. 18, leaving his victim with a deep head wound. The victim said he was nearing E. 53rd Street at 4:32 am when the suspect ran up to him, knocked him to the ground and began kicking him. The victim was taken to Brookdale Hospital, where doctors … Read entire article »

“Reality and perception are entirely different things, and let me tell you, Floyd, reality is the lesser of the two.” – Deaps Andrez Bergen’s Tobacco-Stained Mountain Goat (TSMG) is set in a post-apocalyptic Melbourne, Australia at an unspecified point in the future where the fortunate ones live an opulent life secure under the high tech Dome which encases the city. The less fortunate live a harsh existence in rundown areas on the outskirts of the Dome in a world where the sun seldom shines and acid rain seems to fall endlessly. Our narrator, Floyd Maquina, is a Seeker. Employed by the government to hunt down so-called Deviants for what is euphemistically called “hospitalization,” Floyd has the authority to terminate those who won’t come along peacefully. It’s something he’s only had to do … Read entire article »

The overall decline in tobacco use around the world has hurt many tobacco farmers, but scientists have identified an alternative use for tobacco that could spark new life into the tobacco industry and revolutionize modern agriculture. According to a report published in the journal Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research, tobacco has long been used as a natural, organic pesticide, and it could be the answer to the widespread use of outmoded, chemical pesticides that are destroying both health and the planet. According to the report, small-scale farmersand even backyard gardeners have usedtobacco, and nicotine in particular, for hundreds of years to deter and kill crop pests. Cedric Briens and his colleagues from the University of Western Ontario studied how tobacco works as a natural pesticide. They came to realize that it kills pests, inhibits bacterial … Read entire article »