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Imperial Tobacco appoints Lindsay Mennell Keating as Head of Corporate & Legal Affairs

Linda Stewart — Fri, 19 Aug 2022 09:21:07 +0000

Lindsay Mennell Keating has been appointed to the role of Head of Corporate & Legal Affairs UK and Ireland with Imperial Tobacco.

Lindsay brings a wealth of experience to the role, having previously held the positions of Head of Corporate Affairs EU and Senior Government Affairs Manager at Imperial Tobacco since joining the company in 2014. Prior to joining the business, Lindsay worked as a Public Affairs and Communications Consultant in Brussels.

Lindsay Mennell Keating comments: “I am delighted to be heading up the Corporate and Legal Affairs Team at Imperial Tobacco and welcome the opportunity to work closely with our trade partners as the tobacco and next generation categories continue to evolve.

“The Government’s forthcoming Tobacco Control Plan will present a period of regulatory change and I look forward to building on our existing networks to ensure our customers are in a strong position to successfully manage these changes.”

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Judge says Romanian men accused of burgling convenience stores are on ‘criminal inspired tourist trip’

Linda Stewart — Tue, 14 Jun 2022 08:34:01 +0000

Four Romanian men have been remanded into custody at Coleraine Magistrates Court, sitting in Ballymena, accused of two burglaries of convenience stores that allegedly netted them more than £10,000.

Refusing to free any of the defendants, District Judge Peter King said the four are jointly charged with four offences including burglary of the Mace store on Main Street in Toomebridge on 8 June and burglary of Tescos in Portstewart the following day.

He said that, given the “compelling” police case, “I have no hesitation in remanding the four into custody.”

“We have four men on a criminal inspired tourist trip to NI but instead of the Giants Causeway and Derry’s Walls, they have visited petrol stations and Tesco cigarette counters,” said the judge.

The four, all of no fixed abode are: Marcel Burghia (29), Viorel Lupoae (29), Nicusor Gheorghe (30) and Adrian Bursa (22).

They’re also co-accused on charges of possessing and converting criminal property, namely cigarettes, stamps and mobile phones and damaging a window pane at the Mace shop.

Giving evidence with each of the defendants applying for bail, Const. Sandri said there were “serious concerns” about them being freed due to the risk of flight they each posed.

The first offence, he said, related to the Mace store in Toomebridge in the early hours when three men were captured on CCTV removing a metal grid from over a window and once inside, they cut the power off.

When the power came back on 20 minutes later, cigarettes and tobacco with £10,000 had been taken and an internet router had also been stolen, the theft of which had resulted in around £10,000 loss of earnings.

Then just before 3am last Friday, an alarm went off in Tesco in Portstewart and although police went to investigate, the premises was secure, said the officer.

An hour later however, the key holder reported that the store had been “ransacked” after entry had been forced through a door and cctv footage shows three males using a crow bar to open the door, open tills inside and filling a “distinctive diver cover” with cigarettes, stamps and 20 mobile phones still in their boxes.

The two vehicles involved, a van and a Mercedes car, were stopped the following day and police uncovered the mobile phones and most of the cigarettes in the boots of each vehicle.

A route planner showing the road from Ballymoney to Dublin was also seized.

Arrested and interviewed, three of the accused denied involvement but the fourth, Gheorghe, admitted driving the other three to each of the locations and that he was aware it was to burgle the shops.

While defence counsel David McKeown argued the four could be freed with “stringent bail conditions” to live at an address in Strabane, DJ King said given the risk of flight “I cannot think of any less suitable a location for a bail address” given its within walking distance of the border.

He remanded all four into custody and adjourned the case to 11 July.

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Global tobacco market expected to shrink by 3% this year: BAT

Linda Stewart — Thu, 09 Jun 2022 10:57:44 +0000

British American Tobacco has told shareholders it expects a decline in the global tobacco market to accelerate due to the Ukraine war.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine means the global tobacco market is expected to shrink by 3% this year, BAT said. Past predictions put the fall at 2.5%.

“As previously announced, given the continuing conflict in Ukraine, we are working towards transferring our Russian business in full compliance with international and local laws,” said chief executive Jack Bowles.

“Our priority remains the safety and wellbeing of our people in Ukraine and across the wider region.”

“In addition, this conflict is increasing global uncertainty and disruption, further exacerbating inflationary pressures on supply chains, impacting consumer consumption and resulting in increased finance costs.”

But BAT stuck to its guidance for this financial year, saying revenue will row between 2% and 4%.

It has not noticed any “accelerated downtrading” – customers swapping more expensive brands for cheaper cigarettes – so far this year.

“While we are not immune to these pressures, we are confident in delivering on our current financial targets, irrespective of the timing of the transfer of our Russian business,” Mr Bowles said.

“This is thanks to our well-established multi-category strategy, our strong portfolio of global brands and our resilient, highly cash generative business.”

The business said it has cut losses from its new categories business, which includes vaping and heated tobacco.

This is where many investors see the future of the tobacco giant. Both revenue and volume sales grew in the category, and it invested £1 billion in the products over the first half of the year, BAT said.

“Our new category business is increasingly contributing to group performance, and we are confident in delivering our £5 billion new category revenue and profitability targets by 2025,” Mr Bowles said.

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Legal age to buy tobacco should be raised to make smoking obsolete: review

Linda Stewart — Thu, 09 Jun 2022 10:18:48 +0000

The minimum age at which people can buy a tobacco product in England should be raised by a year annually until the point where no-one can buy them, a review has recommended.

The legal age of sale should rise from 18, at which it currently stands, the independent review by Dr Javed Khan said.

Among the 15 recommended interventions, Dr Khan said there should be an extra £125 million per year invested in smoke-free policies, with a further £70 million per year ringfenced for stop smoking services.

The review also advised that vapes should be promoted as an effective “swap to stop” tool to help people quit smoking, and that there should be improved prevention in the NHS offering smokers advice and support to quit.

Dr Khan, former chief executive of children’s charity Barnardo’s, also called for a tobacco licence for retailers to limit the availability of tobacco across the country, a rethink of the way cigarette sticks and packets look to reduce their appeal, and a mass media campaign to encourage smokers to quit.

Almost six million people in England smoke, and tobacco remains the single biggest cause of preventable illness and death, the Department of Health said.

Dr Khan said: “In this review I have looked at our current smoke-free initiatives, along with the very best practice from around the world. I would like to thank the many valued voices that have made key contributions towards shaping this bold and ambitious report.

“Without immediate and sustained action, England will miss the smoke-free target by many years and most likely decades.

“A smoke-free society should be a social norm – but to achieve this, we must do more to stop people taking up smoking, help those who already smoke and support those who are disproportionately impacted by smoking. My holistic set of recommendations for government will deliver this, whilst saving lives, saving money and addressing the health disparities associated with smoking.

“My proposals are not just a plan for this government, but successive governments too. To truly achieve a smoke-free society in our great country, we need to commit to making smoking obsolete, once and for all.”

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Retail sales jump in April driven by cigarettes and alcohol

Linda Stewart — Fri, 20 May 2022 09:54:01 +0000

Sales of alcohol and tobacco were the main driver behind a surprise rise in overall UK retail sales in April.

Despite the rising cost of living hitting household budgets, sales volumes jumped 1.4% last month, following a fall of 1.2% in March.

However, official figures revealed a longer downward trend of sales overall.

The Office for National Statistics said off-licences saw a boost in sales last month, which it suggested meant people were staying in to save money.

Danni Hewson, a financial analyst for AJ Bell, said the “big uptick” in food and drink spending in supermarkets “might indicate that people are choosing their kitchen tables over pubs and restaurants as they look to save money”.

“Whilst food spend has been largely unchanged, which suggests people are still being cautious, spend on alcohol and tobacco has soared,” she added.

“Life’s little luxuries… will have to come in under budget as those budgets are tested.”

Experts had expected sales in April to fall further as consumers cut back in the face of rising living costs.

Earlier this week, the latest official figures showed inflation, the rate at which prices rise, hit 9% in the 12 months to April – the highest rate for 40 years.

April saw the first impact of the latest jump in energy costs, with millions of people facing an unprecedented £700-a-year increase in bills.

However, prices have been rising for months, as fuel, energy and food prices surge higher due to the pandemic and the Ukraine war, while wages have been failing to keep pace. The rate of inflation is expected to continue to rise this year.

The ONS has previously said that people had begun to cut back on spending and use their cars less due to record petrol and diesel prices.

Over the three months to the end of April, sales overall edged down by 0.3%, which revealed a longer downward trend, the ONS said.

However, while sales volumes at non-food stores were down in April, online sales rose by 3.7% and the proportion of retail sales online remained substantially higher than pre-pandemic levels, said Heather Bovill of the ONS.

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