Companies are stressing on health’

News : - ‘Companies are stressing on health’

DNA
18 April 2007
New Delhi.

NEW DELHI: Healthcare benefits, work-life balance and perks are increasingly becoming important to companies in India which want to keep employees happy and attract new talent, says a report prepared by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC).

With office work getting sedentary, the global workforce is increasingly becoming obese, sicker and less productive due to chronic conditions such as heart disease and diabetes.

The Indian companies are developing comprehensive wellness programmes for their employees. The programmes are being developed in recognition of the fact that employees need to be mentally resilient to cope with work-related stress.

In its report, Working Towards Wellness: An Indian Perspective, PwC has identified chronic diseases among workers as a growing and costly threat to companies as a result of which approximately two per cent of capital spent on workforce is lost to disability, absenteeism and presenteeism (diminished productivity from ill employees who go to work but work below par). These indirect costs are more than the additional direct medical claim costs that some employers incur.

Among the main causes for chronic diseases are unhealthy diet and excessive energy intake, physical inactivity and tobacco use which lead to raised blood pressure, cholesterol levels and obesity. These risks are especially significant in the Indian scenario since it is the world’s second largest consumer of tobacco.

on line available at - http://www.dnaindia.com/report.asp?NewsID=1091534

India seeks market access for farm products in China

Zee News

April 18 2007
New Delhi

News - India seeks market access for farm products in China

Beijing, April 17: India has sought increased market access for its agricultural products in China, as a way to address the growing trade surplus that Beijing has started accumulating in bilateral trade.

Commerce and Industry Minister Kamal Nath told reporters here that he took up the matter of access to farm products during his talks with the Chinese side, besides the issue of early approvals for export of Indian tobacco.

Nath also raised the issue of the pending protocols on phyto-sanitary requirements for the export of 14 Indian fruits and vegetables to China. "The (Chinese) response was very good," he said at a briefing on separate bilateral meetings he had with his Chinese counterpart Bo Xilai and Chinese Agricultural Minister, Sun Zhengcai.

"The Chinese side assured that India's concerns on tobacco, fruits, vegetables and other agricultural products would be given full attention," he said. Earlier, Nath told the Chinese leaders that as trade between the two nations grows from 25 billion USD to 40 billion USD, the deficit will start striking out at some time. "You got to keep some semblance of the gap and one of the way to make this up is adding new products into the trade basket and (market) access," the visiting minister said.

China enjoyed an impressive trade surplus of 4.11 billion USD with India in 2006, compared to just 843 million USD in 2005. Indian exports to China grew 7.05 per cent to 10.46 billion USD. However, Chinese exports to India shot up by 63.23 per cent to 14.58 billion USD, Chinese customs statistics show. During the meeting, China expressed its positive interest to the Indian proposal to extend the trading period at Nathu a border trade point from the present five to seven months in a year.

The Chinese side, referring to New Delhi's recent decision to levy an export tax of Rs 300 a tonne on iron Beijing -- the biggest buyer of Indian Ironina also raised the issue of India granting 'market economy' status to Beijing. "As a result of my meeting, we will review how we can expedite the process. Granting the market economy status is not a political decision. It is a decision that should flow out of a process," Nath said. Nath was accompanied by the Commerce Secretary, G.K. Pillai and the Indian Ambassador to WTO, U S Bhatia. The visit was to exchange views and review progress of negotiations on the Doha development agenda of the WTO.

online available at- http://www.zeenews.com/znnew/articles.asp?aid=366360&ssid=50&sid=BUS

जनसत्ता JANSATTA Amit Dwivedi's article

JANSATTA
Hindi national newspaper
Amit Dwivedi's editorial article
14 April 2007
जनसत्ता
अमित द्विवेदी का सम्पादिकिये लेख

Jansatta (national newspaper)

News- Rural to royal, ITC's on fire without smoke

News- Rural to royal, ITC's on fire without smoke


THE ECONOMIC TIMES
16 APRIL 2007
New Delhi.

NEW DELHI: For six years there have been no fullstops in ITC. Now, fresh from upgrading a 30-year relationship with Starwood Hotels & Resorts from the Sheraton badge to the top-of-the-line Luxury Collection tag for his seven biggest metro hotels, ITC chairman YC Deveshwar can add another line to his three mantras “From seed to stomach”, “From fibre to fashion” and “From tree to text”. Dare we suggest, “From rural to royal?” or “ From livelihood to luxury”? Why not, since Mr Deveshwar is way down the road to transforming the tobacco-to-hotels major ITC into the country’s largest FMCG company.

From the cane-field to the catwalk, Mr Deveshwar’s strategy is to capture value across the entire spectrum of ITC’s businesses — tobacco, food, apparel, retail, hospitality, and perhaps even personal care in the future — and play across the income pyramid. “We want to be the champions of rural India. The future of the Indian markets is in its villages,” says Mr Deveshwar. So, even as ITC becomes a major player in the food business, it is following a strategy which is different from its competitors. “We want to have a potato chain, a wheat chain, and a corn chain. And we want to capture value throughout the chain,” he says.

While these are early days yet, the ITC chairman fresh into another 5-year term, appears satisfied with the progress that the company has made in the food business. “If we annualise last month’s sales of Sunfeast and Aashirvaad, each has already become a Rs 500-crore brand in a three-year period. The confectionary business, with Candyman and Minto, is also worth around Rs 200 crore, on this basis.” And then there’s the Rs 5,000 crore that ITC plans to pour into hotels, from budget Fortune Lodges in mofussil areas to the last word in luxury for its top metro properties.

Notwithstanding his enthusiasm for the non-cigarette FMCG business, when it comes to plans about entering the personal care segment, which ITC is said to be eyeing, Mr Deveshwar chooses to remain silent.

“I am not saying that we are entering the personal care segment, in addition to the premium range that we already have,” he says, but agrees that ITC’s goal of becoming India’s top FMCG company would probably not be realised until it enters this segment. Of course, it’s important not to be carried away with all the excitement around the non-cigarette FMCG business. While it’s true that the share of cigarettes in ITC’s total revenue has declined to less than 50%, cigarettes still account for 75-80% of the company’s pre-tax profits

online available at -

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/News/News_By_Industry/Services/Hotels__Restaurants/Rural_to_royal_ITCs_on_fire_without_smoke/articleshow/1912880.cms

News - Shopkeepers in Indian state to stop selling cigarettes

Daily Times
15 Aprir 2007
Pakistan

News - Shopkeepers in Indian state to stop selling cigarettes.

[ Kerala's traders union has taken a decision that from April 16 onwards, no shops will sell cigarettes in the state but for how long this decision will be continue...]

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: A tax row between cigarette companies and vendors in southern India may force smokers to go cold turkey with shopkeepers planning to halt cigarette sales from Monday.

Shopkeepers want cigarette manufacturers to absorb a 12.5 percent value-added-tax imposed by the Communist-led government in the southern state of Kerala from April 1. But the companies have refused to do so.

“From April 16 onwards, no shops will sell cigarettes in the state. We have taken the decision to register our protest,” said T. Naseeruddin, head of the United Business and Traders Association, representing shops in the state of around 30 million people.A packet of 10 cigarettes of popular brand Wills sells for 34 rupees (80 cents) here.

The head of the state traders association said profit margins will drop drastically if the vendors bear the costs of the new tax, which will leave them only a 10-paise profit on each pack of cigarettes sold, he said. “The majority of the shopkeepers are poor and if the profit margin is very low, why should we sell it?” asked Naseerudin.

The decision, to take effect from Monday, has already resulted in the shortage of popular brands with smokers stockpiling their favourite cigarettes. “I have stocked my brand for 10 days. I don’t think that the traders will continue their protest indefinitely,” said Thomas John. afp

online available at- http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2007%5C04%5C14%5Cstory_14-4-2007_pg4_19

Pic and choose: Statutory warnings go up in smoke?

News :- Pic and choose: Statutory warnings go up in smoke?

Times of India

April 15 2007

Kanpur.

" [But would pictures serve as a viable method in India which is home to 200 million tobacco users?] "

The Health Minister wants tobacco products to carry pictorial warnings to discourage consumers. Will pictures speak louder than words? In an attempt to promote healthy living and dissuade people from smoking, the Health Minister Ambumani Ramadoss recently announced that it would be mandatory for tobacco companies to carry pictorial warnings including photographs of corpses, disfigurements caused due to cancer and smoking induced impotency on cigarette and pan masala packets.

While written statutory warnings have not been able to discourage people from smoking, we find out whether picture support would prove helpful for the anti-tobacco cause or if there's a need for a stronger campaign to cut down on tobacco consumption in the country.

According to Ramadoss, no matter what the size of the packet, tobacco companies will not be able to sell their products sans pictorial warnings. But would pictures serve as a viable method in India which is home to 200 million tobacco users? "Any kind of effort to discourage people from smoking is worth applauding. What needs to be done is to make continuous efforts, lest the issue lose its seriousness," opines adman Prasoon Joshi, who had worked on a lot of anti-smoking campaigns, the latest being with Viveik Oberoi and Urmila Matondkar.

Reacting to the announcement of the Ministry, actor Suresh Oberoi, who was a chain smoker earlier, says, "When my own son stood up for this cause, I decided to kick the habit. As for the pictorial warnings, well, they would indeed catch the attention of the people, but I think those who've remained unperturbed by written statutory warnings will not be affected by pictures either." "I believe a sound campaign against tobacco consumption is required to spread awareness about the ill-effects of the same," adds Oberoi.

Interestingly, Ramadoss' proposal is not novel and pictoral warnings on tobacco products are already in place in Canada, Brazil, Australia, and Singapore. The European Union too has been pushing for pictorial warnings on cigarette packets, with Belgium already bringing in legislation to this effect.

online availabe at - http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/City_Supplements/Kanpur_Times/Pic_and_choose_Statutory_warnings_go_up_in_smoke/articleshow/1907330.cms

Is tobacco company seriously concerned about people's lungs in Pakistan?

Published in:
Asian Tribune: 15 April 2007: http://www.asiantribune.com/index.php?q=node/5330
-----------------------------
Is tobacco company seriously concerned about people's lungs in Pakistan?

Bobby Ramakant

Will Pakistan Tobacco Company protect people's lungs by building environment parks alone? Nine out of ten lung cancers are attributed to tobacco use, says Pakistan's noted expert Prof Javaid Khan. Time to seriously ponder and act on to make effective tobacco control a reality.

A said Senior Chest Physician and noted tobacco control advocate Prof (Dr) Javaid Khan from Aga Khan University. He further said that by such collaboration, tobacco industry is trying to tell the public that they are doing public welfare for the country. Previously they also claimed that they have made mobile dispensaries for poor patient and planted million of trees in the country to help the environment. Our government should not accept money from the tobacco industry as this money is tainted with the blood of those who have died from tobacco related diseases.

If tobacco industry is seriously interested in public welfare, the first step it can take on its own is to reduce the mountainous burden of diseases, disabilities and deaths attributed to tobacco use. By building environment parks for people's lungs and hoping people will believe that they are concerned about their lungs, tobacco industry must be kidding! People of Pakistan are smart enough to understand that the single largest preventable cause of lung cancer is tobacco.

"Unfortunately, tobacco corporations like British American Tobacco, Philip Morris/Altria and their subsidiaries (Pakistan Tobacco Company is the subsidiary of BAT) have attempted to interfere with the implementation and enforcement of the global tobacco treaty in countries around the world. These corporations use their tremendous political influence to weaken, delay and defeat tobacco control legislation around the world." said Kathryn Mulvey, Executive Director of Corporate Accountability International (www.stopcorporateabuse.org ).

Corporate Accountability International has been urging governments to be attentive to tobacco industry interference in public health policy, said Kathryn Mulvey. BAT and Philip Morris/Altria spend millions annually in an attempt to brand themselves as "socially responsible" corporations. This allows them to hide behind glossy image make-overs while continuing to promote tobacco addiction to children and adults around the world.

"Pakistan Tobacco Company sought to curry public favor through a public-private partnership to build the Ghourgushti Environment Park in Pakistan's Attock district. Pakistan's Prime Minister Mr. Shaukat Aziz accepted the tobacco corporation's invitation to lay the foundation stone at the Park's ground-breaking. This behavior is one clear example of tobacco corporations seeking to buy favor with the public and with elected officials" said Mulvey.

All around the world, people are rejecting Big Tobacco's attempts to interfere with health policy. And people of Pakistan are no exception. Let us hope that Government of Pakistan will dissociate itself from this 'environment park' venture with Pakistan Tobacco Company to begin with and further strengthen its commitment to global tobacco treaty.

Bobby Ramakant

(The author is a senior health and development journalist writing for newspapers in Asia and Africa. He is a member of Network for Accountability of Tobacco Transnational (NATT). He can be contacted at: bobbyramakant@yahoo.com)
-----------------------------

Keep-The-Promise Campaign is a 120 days (7 April – 4 August 2007) media advocacy and communications campaign dedicated to raise awareness about existing tobacco control legislations (including FCTC) in countries in Asia and Africa, bring out challenges in their enforcement and increase media coverage of the same. The campaign shall also remind of promises made on tobacco control by policy makers of different countries in Asia and Africa and strengthen advocacy to Keep The Promises! More details about the KTP Campaign are available online at: http://mycitizennews.blogspot.com/2007/04/keep-promise-campaign.html