uction requirements with the vacuum paper. Steps are being taken to improve other parts of the machines, and make them even more compatible to the use of vacuum aluminum-plated inner lining paper.
Hurricane Gustav hits Cuba’s tobacco region
Havana - Hurricane Gustav swept across Cuba’s tobacco growing region, Pinar del Río, and caused nearly 3,500 tobacco curing barns to completely collapse. It was the strongest storm to hit the island in 50 years.
While there were no deaths reported due to Gustav, the storm dealt a significant blow to the country’s tobacco industry, not to mention, destroying thousands of people’s homes.
Caribbean tobacco farmers normally do not plant during the hurricane season, for obvious reasons. After the storm, Cuban workers were already out fixing the barns to prepare for the upcoming harvest.
However, this is no doubt an unfortunate obstacle they must now face, and could become a bigger problem when it is time to begin the curing process.
Smokers vs. non-smokers
Jerusalem - The Tel Aviv Magistrates Court has recently set a new precedent in the battle between smokers and non-smokers. The Court ruled that any person smoking in a public venue must pay NIS 1,000 to anyone allegedly harmed by the smoke.
Normally, a business would have been penalized for failing to enforce anti-smoking laws. This, however, was the first time the liability has fallen on an individual.
The judge ruled that a person found guilty would not only face the criminal sanctions related to the anti-smoking laws, but also civil sanctions. The court would order proper compensation for putting other people’s health in danger.
“Fair compensation should be awarded, without the need to prove harm, in order to deter violators of the law and the public, and in order to instill the clear norm intended by the legislature,” the judge said. “We’re not talking about a minor matter, but about health, and this matter should be given weight in the compensation verdict.”
Tobacco International - October, 2008
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