Source: Correio do Povo - Porto Alegre / RS - 20/06/2010

A possible cut in the ingredients used in making cigarettes based on the Burley variety, according to information from tobacco companies, would cause a major change in the product's characteristics. According to industry sources, the non-addition of sugars, ameliorants, flavorings and humectants would significantly change the characteristics of cigarettes, significantly modifying their quality and differentiation.

With a cigarette factory in Santa Cruz do Sul, Philip Morris do Brasil (PMB) has the same concerns as the tobacco growers' associations. In the case of Brazil, according to the director of Corporate Affairs at PMB, Maurício Mendonça Jorge, the ban on the use of ingredients will, in practice, prevent the use of fumes of the Burley and Oriental types in the manufacture of cigarettes. As a consequence, it would become impossible for the industry to produce cigarettes as currently occurs in the country. Such a ban, according to Mendonça Jorge, will not benefit public health policies, but will cause serious social and economic impacts, particularly on the economy of the Southern region of Brazil. Brazil. “For this reason, we hope that the Brazilian government will position itself contrary to the guidelines that are being discussed under the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control,” he says. The multinational supports comprehensive and effective tobacco regulation. However, it is contrary to measures that prevent adults from buying and using tobacco products and imposing “unnecessary impediments to the operation of the legitimate tobacco market.”

Souza Cruz, which owns a tobacco processing unit in Santa Cruz do Sul and a cigarette factory in Cachoeirinha, also argues that the ban could create the false illusion that cigarettes would become less of a health risk. The multinational routinely informs Anvisa of the ingredients used in its products in accordance with current regulations. The company believes it is important to raise awareness among regulatory bodies so that it is possible to establish balanced legislation on the use of ingredients in the processing of tobacco, which would prevent damage to the sector's production chain.

Phillip Morris and Souza Cruz also fear for the increase in the volume of smuggled cigarettes in the country, since they do not comply with any restrictions. According to the Souza Cruz manifestation, illegal products may fill the space left by the lack of legal cigarettes that meet the taste and aroma preferences of the Brazilian consumer.