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Peaceful demonstrators waiting for orders.
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The Thais are an extremely friendly and charming people, and also a very superstitious people. Every dwelling in Thailand, no matter what size, has a so-called spirit house to keep out bad spirits. It was obvious at the Tabinfo Asia 2009 that some people regarded tobacco as being a bad spirit and tried to keep it out of the exhibition centre – with partial success.
Health issues are a major topic in Thailand, more than in many other Asian states. In a country where tourism is by far the most significant industry, the battle against HIV has already raised the level of health-consciousness among the population. Latest laws even specify that bars and ping-pong shows (which have little to do with table tennis) must be at a certain distance from monasteries.
Smoking follows a close second
Thailand is in a unique position, inthat the ministry of health, the ministry of finance and the Thai Tobacco Monopoly are all state organisations, with contradictory mandates that need balancing. The country has some of the strictest anti-smoking legislation in place, including a display ban on cigarettes – one might be forgiven for calling the Thais the Canadians of Asia. Judging by the number of smokers on the streets, it is hard to imagine that the display ban has had much effect, but the purchasing behaviour is interesting to watch. Supermarkets in Bangkok tend to be choc-a-bloc with customers at any time of the day or night, and as soon as the aluminium shutters are raised by the cashiers, to extract a pack of cigarettes, all eyes are on the hidden wares, giving them that extra status, which was surely not the original intention.
It gets even better when purchasing cigarettes at the Siam Paragon super-duper store, where you can buy a bagel, cigarettes or a Ferrari under one roof. Here, cigarettes are stored under the counter in the cashier’s cubicle. If they do not have your specific brand, there is nothing left but to crawl into the cubicle next to the cashier lady and look at the cigarettes on display under the counter, to eventually come up triumphantly brandishing a pack of cigarettes. Any child or adolescent watching this performance must surely end up thinking that cigarettes are a “must have”.
But let us start at the beginning. Originally, the trade fair was designed to accommodate some 150 exhibitors’ stands (original floor plan) and attract a good 3,000 visitors. In the end, there were about 50 exhibitor booths and maybe 500 visitors, tops, some 200 of whom were exhibitor stand personnel. This low turnout was largely due to the confusion leading up to the event, and doubts as to the suitability of Thailand as a tobacco venue.
Six months prior to the event, Tobacco Asia had already voiced reservations as to Bangkok as a venue and the organisers did their best to dispel doubts, after all, the Thai Tobacco Monopoly proved a major magnet and gave exhibitors a sense of security. The first sign that something might be amiss was the Friday before the fair, when the designated smoking rooms suddenly disappeared from the floor plan.
Wednesday, the opening day of the trade fair, started with a front-page article in the Bangkok Post, stating that the Thai Tobacco Monopoly would not be participating at the Tabinfo Asia 2009, at the bequest of the prime minister, and would be replaced by a Thai tourism exhibition, aptly named “Unseen Thailand”, featuring Thai handicrafts and folklore.
En route to the exhibition, an hour before the official opening of Tabinfo Asia 2009, some 700 students could be seen gathering at the nearby university parking lot with “Tobacco kills” T-shirts and professionally printed placards. From there, they went to the exhibition entrance, in time to “welcome” arriving guests. Initially, they blocked the drive to the entrance, so visitors had to be re-routed through the back entrance. Police and security then moved the demonstrators behind barriers to allow visitors access. The result resembled the red carpet treatment reserved for Hollywood film stars by waving and cheering fans, except that here we were dealing with bewildered engineers, chemists and marketing people, not used to this type of welcome reception.
The demonstration itself was good-natured, boisterous and well orchestrated, more reminiscent of a school outing, with smiles all around. When the TV cameras were on roll, placards were dutifully waved to chanting, only to stop immediately as soon as the footage was taken. A smiling policeman told TJI: “Is only a little party”, and true enough, after two hours it was all over and the students went back to their lectures. The objective had been achieved, worldwide headlines had been made, Thailand cares.
Restrictions for exhibitors
Inside the exhibition, the mood was far from good-natured, disbelief and frustration would be a better description. Exhibitors displaying cigarettes on their posters were told to remove them or at least cover them, and cigar and cigarette manufacturers were told they could not display their products. One manufacturer had imported a smoking machine at considerable expense from Europe, only to be told that the machine could not be demonstrated with cigarettes. Several booths remained unstaffed as they had nothing left to show legally, others had pasted bits of white paper over “offending” cigarettes on their posters, rather than have blank walls, while Bulgartabac opted for a creative solution to match their booth design and hung a scarf over the Eva pack of cigarettes. The Thais demonstrated they had a hidden sense of humour, too: well hidden under the stairwell of the tobacco-turned-tourism stand was the small model of a curing barn – so there!
There was also disappointment among exhibitors as to the low turnout of visitors, on top of which the expected delegation from China had failed to turn up. The numerous sessions, presentations and discussion groups were, by and large, poorly attended, a far cry from the usual crowds at major exhibitions; in one case, the presenter was faced with an audience of one single person.
By the afternoon, the mood had started to improve. The small number of visitors turned out to be a blessing in disguise, those who had come to Tabinfo Asia 2009 had come to do business, and as one machinery manufacturer told TJI: “One decent sale and the whole trip was worth it.” The other advantage of the small numbers was virtually instant access to stand personnel and plenty of time to discuss business in depth. Even smoking was allowed, albeit outside on the loading bay.
Tobacco people are of a resilient nature and nowadays used to taking things in their stride, so day two of the exhibition was marked by a distinct improvement in mood, defiance and fighting spirit if you like. As one exhibitor clearly stated: “We have spent a lot of money to come here, Tabinfo is a private exhibition, we have been assured by the organisers in advance that we can display our products, and display them we will!” So roll on a bit of James Bond. Inspectors ‧toured the exhibition regularly, looking for infringements to the Tobacco Act, and advance warnings were signalled over the PA system in code: “Coffee break in ten minutes”, which immediately sent those with “debatable” products scurrying to hide them in cupboards and carrier bags, only to replace them when the inspectors had gone. As an elder exhibitor said to TJI, “I feel like a ten-year old caught reading the Playboy.”
The only eye-brow raising activity of the day was when the organisers distributed a copy of a memorandum by the Thai disease control department, dated 27 October 2009, two weeks before the exhibition was to open, which clearly stated what was permitted and what was not.
By day three everything had been said and done, the only noteworthy occurrence was that the organisers were hauled before a local court and, after pleading guilty to contravening the Thai Tobacco Act, had their fine reduced from BHT 20,000 to BHT 10,000 (EUR 210, USD 315). Otherwise the Friday was quiet – very quiet.
Novelties, news and snippets
Exhibitors also presented some new products at the show. Primarily with the Indonesian market in mind, Sodim has launched its new Cigarlab PD for hand-rolled kretek cigarettes, with a special 20 mm long encapsulated measuring head. The unit is SMI-software compatible.
The Australian company Piparette introduced its Autoloader and Cigapipe smoking devices. Both devices offer a unique and patented fully disposable, self-contained, filtered smoke path on the basis of finely cut tobacco. Target groups are smokers looking for convenience as well as those wanting a “quick” smoke.
Another product intended for the quick smoke is the new Too Busy cigarette brand by Monus of Belgrade, Serbia. The pack is highlighted by a four-minute reference. Monus is Serbia’s largest independent cigarette manufacturer, with a focus on lower-priced segments.
Parkside Flexibles of Wakefield, UK, is expanding into Asia in a move to be closer to its customers and markets in this area of the world. According to Chris Kozlik, sales and marketing director, the new operation will open in early 2010 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and is headed by Vasu Velayuthan, an experienced veteran to the business.
CPM Wolverine Proctor is now again operating as one company and has recently acquired certain Lauhoff Corporation assets, including all intellectual properties for rotary pressure cookers, flakers, stem crushers and ancillary equipment.
In hindsight, Tabinfo Asia 2009 throws up many questions, especially who knew what and when. As an exhibition it was certainly unique.
William McEwen
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