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The Insolvency appellate tribunal NCLAT has set aside the directions of the NCLT for a forensic audit of Golden Tobacco, and a change in the resolution professional of the debt-ridden cigarette maker. Passing an order over a batch of petitions filed against the NCLT order, the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal also extended the timeline for completing the CIRP (Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process) of Golden Tobacco till October 17, 2025. Besides, the appellate tribunal has also directed the NCLT to decide over the claims of financial creditors -- Central Bank of India, Arrow Engineering and others and then to reconstitute the lenders' body -- Committee of Creditors (CoC). "The direction of the Adjudicating Authority to conduct a forensic audit by KPMG is set aside," said a two-member bench comprising Chairperson Justice Ashok Bhushan and Member Barun Mitra. Vadodara-based Golden Tobacco owns cigarette brands such as Panama, Chancellor, Golden's Gold Flake and Taj Chhap. I
British multinational BAT Plc on Wednesday divested a 3.5 per cent stake in FMCG-to-hotel conglomerate ITC Ltd for Rs 17,485 crore through open market transactions. British American Tobacco Plc (BAT), through its affiliate Tobacco Manufacturers (India) Ltd, offloaded more than 43.68 crore equity shares of ITC, amounting to 3.5 per cent stake, according to the block deal data available with the BSE. The shares were sold in 48 tranches, with an average price of Rs 400.25 apiece, taking the transaction value to Rs 17,484.97 crore.
Expressing concern over rising use of e-cigarettes among youths, health experts on Wednesday warned that practising such vaping methods may lead to addiction to drugs like cocaine and nicotine. 'Mothers Against Vaping' (MAV), a platform of concerned mothers combatting vaping among youths, cited several studies and said these devices harbour around 900-2,000 chemicals and can penetrate deep into the lungs, causing extensive and detrimental respiratory damage. "There exists a looming threat of an entire generation becoming addicted to these new-age tobacco devices, posing a significant risk to their health and well-being," Gauhati Medical College and Hospital Superintendent Dr Abhijit Sarma told PTI. It is imperative to take urgent comprehensive action to prevent the emergence of a new generation of e-cigarette smokers, he added. "Alongside this concerning trend, another issue is that these devices become gateway devices to more serious addictions like using cocaine and nicotine," Dr
The costs of environmental pollution caused by plastics in cigarette butts and packaging amount to an estimated USD 26 billion every year, according to a study. The analysis, published in the journal Tobacco Control, found the costs to be USD 186 billion every 10 yearsadjusted for inflationin waste management and marine ecosystem damage worldwide. These costs may seem small compared with the overall economic and human toll of tobacco, but they are cumulative and preventable, the researchers said. Although great strides have been made in developing policies to curb or ban single use plastics around the globe, tobacco's plastic has been overlooked, they said. The team noted that this is despite the fact that cigarette filtersthe main component of cigarette buttsare the most common item of rubbish collected on the planet. And they are made of single use plastic. The researchers drew on currently available public data sources for cigarette sales, clean-up costs, and plastic waste on l
UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on Wednesday proposed raising the legal age that people in England can buy cigarettes by one year, every year until it is eventually illegal for the whole population and smoking will hopefully be phased out among young people. Setting out his plan at the annual Conservative Party conference, Sunak said he wanted to stop teenagers taking up cigarettes in the first place." It is currently illegal for anyone to sell cigarettes or tobacco products to people under 18 years old throughout the UK. Sunak's office said the incremental changes would stop children who turn 14 this year and those younger than that now from ever legally being sold cigarettes in England. If Parliament approves the proposal, the legal change would only apply in England not in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. People take up cigarettes when they're young. Four in five smokers have started by the time they're 20," he said. Later, the vast majority try to quit ... if we could bre
The government on Thursday prohibited imports of cigarette lighters if the price per unit is less than Rs 20, with a view to discourage inbound shipments of the product. "The import policy of cigarette lighters...is revised from 'free' to 'prohibited'. However, import shall be free if CIF value is Rs 20 or above per lighter," the directorate general of foreign trade (DGFT) said in a notification. CIF value (cost, insurance, and freight) is a trade term used in international commerce to determine the total value of goods being imported. The prohibition has been imposed on pocket lighters, gas fuelled, non-refillable or refillable. Imports of pocket lighters, gas fuelled, non-refillable stood at USD 0.66 million in 2022-23. It was USD 0.13 million in April this fiscal. Similarly, the inbound shipments of pocket lighters, gas fuelled, and refillable, stood at USD 8.87 million in 2022-23 against USD 7 million in 2021-22. It was USD 0.96 million in April of this fiscal. These are impo