Codentify

As Codentify a system for Produktserialisierung, which is called by Philip Morris International was developed (PMI) for authenticity testing of tobacco products and to control the supply and patented. During the manufacturing process, each individual cigarette packet is marked with an individual and visible code (also called “Codentify”); In this way, the code in the central computer can be checked for authenticity.

In November 2010, PMI also granted the system license to its three main competitors, British American Tobacco (BAT), Imperial Tobacco Group (ITG) and Japan Tobacco International (JTI). Together, these four companies created the Digital Coding and Tracking Association (DCTA), whose goal is to promote this system to replace government tax stamps. Codentify is described by its developers as a "technology for goods tracking and product authentication".

History of origin

In July 2004, a 12-year legal battle between Phillip Morris International and the European Union over sanctions against cigarette smuggling ended. PMI agreed to pay $ 1.25 billion to the EU budget and member states. In addition, PMI was required to mark its products with traceable serial codes. As a result, contracts were also signed with the other three main tobacco companies.

In 2005 Philip Morris Products SA, a subsidiary of PMI, developed and patented the Codentify system.

At the end of 2010, PMI licensed Codentify to its main competitors BAT, JTI and ITG free of charge. These four companies, which together are responsible for 71% of the worldwide cigarette sales (excluding China), agreed to use the system developed by PMI for all of their products in order to guarantee "an industrial uniform standard based on Codentify". The Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) was quick to express concern that "Codentify should never be used for tracking purposes because tracking should be strictly controlled and administered by governments."

In 2011, the four companies formed the Digital Coding and Tracking Association (DCTA) to promote international standards and digital technologies that can help governments combat tobacco smuggling, product piracy and tax evasion. The company was officially presented to the public in 2013.

According to the DCTA, approximately 12% of the global cigarette market is illegal and this illegal proportion causes national governments to lose more than US $ 40 billion in tax revenue annually, and some sources consider this figure to be an extremely underestimate. The agreements between the EU and the four main tobacco companies aim to curb the illegal cigarette trade. However, this project is seen by experts as absolutely illusory. After members of the European Parliament complained that it was ineffective and inappropriate for governments and tobacco companies to conclude such agreements with one another, the EU did not extend this agreement any further.

Inexto

In June 2016, the DCTA announced that it would transfer Codentify to Inexto, a subsidiary of the French Impala Group. This has been recognized by the leading regulators such as B. the FCTC and by scientists such as Anna Gilmore, the director of the Tobacco Control Research Group at the University of Bath criticized. Professor Gilmore said that "Inexto could by no means be considered sufficiently independent of the tobacco industry." Other scholars, such as Luk Joossens, advocacy officer for European cancer societies, believe that this sale was "predictable" and that the tobacco companies are now Will "pretend" that Codentify is no longer an integral part of the tobacco industry. PMI refuted this claim by saying that "Inexto is completely independent of the tobacco industry".

A communiqué from Argentine attorney Alejandro Sánchez Kalbermatten to the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) illustrated the relationship between PMI, Inexto and Impala in a diagram.

technology

The Codentify system is based on a 12-digit alphanumeric code, which is generated automatically, is unique and can be read by humans. This code is printed directly on each individual product during production. The factory-set coding keys are stored on a server and thus enable the production of a defined number of Codentify Codes.

The code created by the system is put together randomly, so there are 34 ¹² possible combinations. A whole range of data can be encrypted using this code, such as: B. Date and time of manufacture, the machine used to manufacture the brand, type, box size, box type, target market and price.

However, the possibilities of the system are also limited, because on the one hand it is possible to check the code itself for authenticity, but this does not mean that the product on which the code was printed is also genuine, which makes counterfeiting possible. An evaluation report by the European Commission on the subject of tracking and tracing notes in Section 5.1.2. That the code can be easily copied on the one hand and that no connection can be made between the individual cigarette packet and the original box on the other.

criticism

Codentify has been heavily criticized for being a tobacco industry-sponsored system that aims to undermine public health efforts. Furthermore, it is not possible for the system to curb the illegal cigarette trade. This criticism has come from scientists, health groups, and government agencies, including the WHO.

The protocol to prevent the illicit trade in tobacco products states in Article 8 (12) that tobacco product tracking and regulation "may not be perceived by the tobacco industry or transferred to it".

Tobacco industry critics say Codentify is simply not good enough "because it focuses too much on production and does not store or track product codes."

The factory encryption, which is used to create the individual verification codes of the products, was also criticized. Since these secret encryptions are stored on corporate and government servers, misuse of these privileges could lead to criminals creating additional codes which the system would classify as genuine.

Critics also suggest that the decentralized nature of the system also enables a number of other counterfeiting options, such as: B. "Code recycling", the use of codes from products that failed quality control, "code cloning", repeated printing of the same code on several products and "code migration", reprinting a code from another country, which would lead to multiple use of a real code.

In addition, the “Action on Smoking and Health” (ASH) describes the system as a kind of black box, which was brought into being by the tobacco industry and which uses unsecured work materials and is therefore susceptible to code re-use.

Philip Morris, through its South American subsidiary Massalin Particulares, has been accused of bribery and extortion while implementing Codentify and Inexto in Argentina.

"The directors, managers and legal representatives of PMI and its Argentine subsidiary Massalin Particulares SRL (MP) are being examined by the federal court in the course of criminal proceedings ...", said attorney Alejandro Sánchez Kalbermatten in a letter written in 2017 to the US-American securities agency and the Securities and Exchange Commission in the United States.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b} Luk Joossens, Anna B. Gilmore: The transnational tobacco companies' strategy to promote Codentify, their inadequate tracking and tracing standard . In: Tobacco Control . March 12, 2013, ISSN  1468-3318 , p. tobaccocontrol – 2012–050796 , doi : 10.1136 / tobaccocontrol-2012-050796 , PMID 23481904 , PMC 3897562 (free full text) - ( bmj.com [accessed December 18, 2016]).
2. ↑ ^{a b c} Codentify E Brochure. (PDF) (No longer available online.) In: pmi.com. 2012, archived from the original on March 28, 2016 ; accessed on January 17, 2017 (English). Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
3. ↑ ^{a b c} WORLD NO TOBACCO DAY 2015. (PDF) In: fctc.org. 2015, accessed on January 17, 2017 . 
4. ^ Mark Tran: Philip Morris reaches $ 1.25bn EU agreement . In: The Guardian . July 9, 2004, ISSN  0261-3077 ( theguardian.com [accessed December 18, 2016]).
5. ↑ European Commission - PRESS RELEASES - Press release - European Commission and Philip Morris International sign 12-year Agreement to combat contraband and counterfeit cigarettes. In: europa.eu. Retrieved December 18, 2016 . 
6. ^ Legal analysis of EU agreements AND EXECUTIVE SUMMARY. In: fctc.org. 2010, accessed January 17, 2017 . 
7. ↑ Hill M, Digital Tax Verification (DTV) Codentify, The industry Standard, October 2010 and Philip Morris International, Codentify, Brochure, 2012. (PDF) (No longer available online.) Archived from the original on March 28, 2016 ; accessed on January 17, 2017 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
8. ^ Framework Convention Alliance Bulletin. In: fctc.org. March 31, 2012, accessed January 17, 2017 . 
9. ^ Association launched to fight illicit trade in excisable goods . In: MarketWatch . ( marketwatch.com [accessed December 18, 2016]).
10. ^ Tobacco - Where Volume Counts . In: AITCentral website . October 7, 2014 ( aitcentral.com [accessed December 18, 2016]).
11. ^ Illicit Tobacco: What is the Tobacco Industry Trying to Do? (PDF) In: ash.org.uk. Archived from the original on October 2, 2015 ; accessed on January 18, 2017 . 
12. ↑ Gilmore, Anna B., Rowell, Andy, Gallus, Silvano, Lugo, Alessandra, Joossens, Luk: Towards a greater understanding of the illicit tobacco trade in Europe: A review of the PMI funded 'Project Star' report. In: opus.bath.ac.uk. January 1, 2013, accessed December 18, 2016 . 
13. ↑ Luk Joossens, Anna B. Gilmore, Michal Stoklosa, Hana Ross: Assessment of the European Union's illicit trade agreements with the four major Transnational Tobacco Companies . In: Tobacco Control . tape 25 , no. 3 , May 1, 2016, ISSN  1468-3318 , p. 254–260 , doi : 10.1136 / tobaccocontrol-2014-052218 , PMID 26022741 , PMC 4853556 (free full text) - ( bmj.com [accessed December 18, 2016]).
14. ^ Tobacco smuggling - European Anti-Fraud Office - European Commission. In: European Anti-Fraud Office. Retrieved December 18, 2016 . 
15. ↑ Subscribe to read. In: www.ft.com. Retrieved December 18, 2016 . 
16. ↑ DCTA technology ownership transferred to Inexto, an affiliate of Impala Group. (PDF) (No longer available online.) In: dcta-global.com. June 1, 2016, archived from the original on November 7, 2016 ; accessed on January 17, 2017 (English). Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
17. ↑ Big Tobacco suspected of dodging EU anti-smuggling rules . ( euobserver.com [accessed December 18, 2016]).
18. ↑ Pharmalutions Joerss Codentify. (PDF) In: tobacco.cleartheair.org.hk. Retrieved January 17, 2017 . 
19. ↑ ^{a b} Digital Tax Verification A new approach to fiscal marking. (No longer available online.) In: iticnet.org. 2013, archived from the original on October 27, 2016 ; accessed on January 17, 2017 (English). Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
20. ^ Analysis and Feasibility Assessment Regarding EU systems for Tracking and Tracing of Tobacco Products and for Security Features. (PDF) In: ec.europa.eu. March 2015, accessed January 17, 2017 . 
21. ^ Condentify: an industry attempt to control illicit trade. (PDF) (No longer available online.) In: stopcorporateabuse.org. 2012, archived from the original on December 13, 2016 ; accessed on January 17, 2017 (English). Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
22. ↑ Dr Vera Luiza da Costa e Silva, head of the Convention Secretariat, sends her remarks to the High Level Conference: Combating tobacco industry tactics: state of play and a way forward, European Parliament, Brussels, March 2, 2016. In: World Health Organization. Retrieved December 18, 2016 (UK English). 
23. ↑ Protocol to prevent the illegal trade in tobacco products ( BGBl. 2017 II p. 977, 987 ).
24. ↑ whyitsbad: World Health Organization is the Solution for Codentify. In: Why It's Bad. February 29, 2016, accessed December 18, 2016 . 
25. ↑ Martinne Geller: Big Tobacco squares up as EU rules aim to track every cigarette . In: Reuters UK . ( reuters.com [accessed December 18, 2016]).
26. ^ ^{A b} Major Flaws Discovered in the Codentify Track and Trace System. (No longer available online.) In: Tobacco Industry facts. Archived from the original on October 27, 2016 ; accessed on December 18, 2016 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
27. ↑ Why It Is Bad - Tobacco Track and Trace: Codentify - Interview with a Tobacco Industry Insider. May 28, 2015, accessed December 18, 2016 . 
28. ↑ Does the tobacco industry have a tracking and tracing system that governments can use? (PDF) In: fctc.org. 2015, accessed on January 17, 2017 . 
29. ↑ Gravísima denuncia contra Philip Morris por fraude | Tribuna de Periodistas. Retrieved September 5, 2017 . 
30. ↑ Gravísima denuncia contra Philip Morris por fraude | Tribuna de Periodistas. Retrieved September 5, 2017 .