Federal Health Minister Nicola Roxon has revealed that 97 per cent of British American Tobacco's political donations worldwide last year went to the Liberal and National parties.

The Government is continuing to pressure the Opposition to reveal if it will back the Government's plan to force tobacco companies to sell cigarettes in plain packs.

In Parliament today, Ms Roxon highlighted that British American Tobacco focuses most of its global donations on the Coalition.

She revealed that the tobacco company makes political donations in only three countries in the world - and Australia accounts for nearly all of that spending.

"The fact is British American Tobacco gives 97 per cent of its donations to those in the parties opposite - the Liberal Party and the National Party - it's time to kick the habit Mr Abbott," she said.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2011/05/26/3228144.htm?section=justin

Former opposition leader Malcolm Turnbull has accused his own party of ensuring an embarrassing email about him was leaked to the media.

Tensions in the Opposition heightened last night as Mr Turnbull and four others were charged with "totally unacceptable behaviour" and of showing ''great disrespect'' to the Coalition for missing a vote in Parliament.

The accusations were contained in an email sent to every Coalition MP by the Opposition whip, Warren Entsch, and his four deputies.

Ramping up the internal division today, Mr Turnbull said such an email was "a first" and he described it as a "press release".

"[To] send a letter out like that it's effectively a press release, that's the obvious intent of it. That's what happens when you send letters to half the Parliament," Mr Turnbull told reporters.

Some in the Opposition are seeing the email as payback by Opposition Leader Tony Abbott for Mr Turnbull's outspoken comments last week, when he was critical of the Coalition's climate policy.

But Mr Turnbull would not be drawn on what his colleagues and supporters are telling him: "Honestly, I don't want to comment about what colleagues have said about it."

He said he was unaware of any campaign within the party to embarrass him, nor has he spoken to Mr Abbott about it.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2011/05/26/3227862.htm?section=justin

A new survey has found majority support for plain packaged cigarettes, despite a campaign from tobacco companies condemning the move.

The Federal Government plans to introduce legislation to remove designs and logos from cigarette packs.

The tobacco industry claims that would lead to an increase in illegal tobacco and a rise in smoking.

The Opposition also says it thinks the move may be counter-productive.

But a Newspoll survey for the Cancer Council found 59 per cent of respondents support the Government's push. Just under a quarter disapprove.

Quit executive director Fiona Sharkie says plain packaging is an effective way to deter potential smokers.

"The clear message from this research shows that Australians are predominantly in favour of the plain packaging of cigarettes," she said.

"We have research that shows the more that we remove design elements from cigarette packs the less appealing they are to teenagers."

Ms Sharkie says it is a necessary move.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2011/05/29/3229824.htm

Gus: shhhhh... don't tell anyone... I may be speaking out school here but I've noticed already some other brands of luxury stuffs, like expensive cars, have already preempted the move... They are selling classy "cigarette-packet covers" with their own logos on it, in various shops, including post offices...

LIBERAL Party unity is in tatters, with senior sources claiming leader Tony Abbott's relationship with his shadow treasurer, Joe Hockey, and rival Malcolm Turnbull is ''poisonous in every way''.

The split in the senior ranks of the party deepened after last week's email stoush involving Mr Turnbull. The former Liberal leader was furious after chief Whip Warren Entsch sent an email chastising Mr Turnbull and four others for showing ''great disrespect'' to their colleagues by missing a division in Parliament.

The Sunday Age can reveal that while the email had Mr Abbott's approval, Mr Hockey attempted to warn Mr Entsch against sending it - minutes before the email arrived in Parliament House inboxes.

Supporters of Mr Hockey confirmed he had told Mr Entsch the email would further destabilise the party and unnecessarily aggravate tension between Mr Turnbull and Mr Abbott.

A source said the manager of opposition business, Christopher Pyne, who is a supporter of Mr Abbott's, also warned against sending the rebuke to MPs, predicting the contents would be leaked immediately.

Mr Entsch at first denied that the email was sent with Mr Abbott's knowledge. Less than 24 hours after the email was sent last Wednesday, Mr Entsch admitted the Opposition Leader had been presented with a copy of the message shortly before it was dispatched.

How the industry ruthlessly exploits the developing world - its young, poor and uneducated

By Emily Dugan
Sunday, 29 May 2011

More than half a century after scientists uncovered the link between smoking and cancer – triggering a war between health campaigners and the cigarette industry – big tobacco is thriving.

Despite the known catastrophic effects on health of smoking, profits from tobacco continue to soar and sales of cigarettes have increased: they have risen from 5,000 billion sticks a year in the 1990s to 5,900 billion a year in 2009. They now kill more people annually than alcohol, Aids, car accidents, illegal drugs, murders and suicides combined.

On Tuesday, people around the globe will mark World No Tobacco Day – a distant hope.

The West now consumes fewer and fewer of the world's cigarettes: richer countries have changed – from smoking 38 per cent of the world total in 1990, they cut down to 24 per cent in 2009. Meanwhile, the developing world's share in global cigarette sales has increased sharply, rising to 76 per cent in 2009.

An investigation by The Independent on Sunday reveals that tobacco firms have taken advantage of lax marketing rules in developing countries by aggressively promoting cigarettes to new, young consumers, while using lawyers, lobby groups and carefully selected statistics to bully governments that attempt to quash the industry in the West.

In 2010, the big four tobacco companies – Philip Morris International, British American Tobacco, Japan Tobacco and Imperial Tobacco – made more than £27bn profit, up from £26bn in 2009.

The price of their profits will be measured in human lives. In the 20th century, some 100 million people were killed by tobacco use. If current trends continue, tobacco will kill a billion people in the 21st century.

In striving for greater profits, the big tobacco firms have pushed the average price of cigarettes up in rich countries such as Britain – where 20 cigarettes now cost more than £6 a pack – while hammering down the price paid to tobacco growers in poorer countries such as India and Malawi. Although around 77 per cent of the price of a pack is tax, the amount charged by tobacco companies has also increased.

A major investigation by the Office of Fair Trading last year found that a dozen tobacco manufacturers and retailers in the UK had colluded in price fixing, ensuring that packs remained at higher prices to maximise profits. The largest fine was one of £115m for Imperial Tobacco, makers of Lambert & Butler and Golden Virginia. The fine made a minimal dent in its profits for 2010, which topped £4.39bn.

Meanwhile in Malawi, where tobacco farming is heavily relied upon for the economy, the country's anti-corruption bureau has accused tobacco companies of colluding to keep prices paid to farmers for the raw product low. Tobacco auction rooms have become a battleground between government and industry, as a kilo of leaves plummeted from an average of £1.06 per kg in April 2009 to 47p per kg this year. The knock-on effect of this on farms is near-slave wages for workers and a temptation to use cheap (or free) child labour.

Anna Gilmore, professor of public health at the University of Bath, said: "What most people don't realise is that, although sales are falling in the West, industry profits are increasing. These companies remain some of the most profitable in the world. This is thanks in part to their endless inventive ways of undermining and circumventing regulation. They're trying to reinvent their image to ingratiate themselves with governments, but behind the scenes it's business as usual."

http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/health-news/the-unstoppable-march-of-the-tobacco-giants-2290583.html?service=Print

Opposition frontbencher Joe Hockey has appealed to his Coalition colleagues to be a unified team.

There have been ructions within the Opposition over an email sent last week criticising former leader Malcolm Turnbull, among other MPs, for missing votes in Parliament.

The email, sent by Opposition whip Warren Entsch and his four deputies, accused Mr Turnbull and four others of showing "great disrespect" to the Coalition for missing a division.

Some Liberals have interpreted it as an attack on Mr Turnbull for his recent comments critical of the Coalition's climate policy, but Opposition Leader Tony Abbott has insisted the memo was not aimed at him.

Mr Hockey says Coalition members should focus on the best interests of the team.

"I would say to people they should put their ambitions for the nation ahead of their own ambitions," he said.

"This is not about individuals this is about giving Australia real leadership.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2011/05/29/3229946.htm?section=justin

YEAH! Hitler had real leadership too...

And under Julia's government, Australia is not doing too bad... Leadership? Julia 7.5 out of 10... Abbott: still minus one out of ten.

Opposition Leader Tony Abbott says the Coalition will not oppose plain cigarette packaging legislation.

Mr Abbott has repeatedly said the Opposition will not make a decision about plain packaging until it sees the bill.

But he says the Opposition has not changed its position "because we didn't have a position as such".

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2011/05/31/3231782.htm