top news
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PMI U.S. Launching Campaign Around Zyn’s ‘Click’
The campaign will be introduced to retailers and distributors at the National Association of Convenience Stores Show in October.
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ALP Partners with Matchroom Boxing in European Expansion
The company said the Matchroom deal is its first major partnership in the U.K. and Ireland.
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Davidoff Leaves ProCigar
The company’s Dominican operation was a founding member of ProCigar. Davidoff said it will continue working to support the cigar industry’s sustainable growth.
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Hungary Emerging as Key Link in EU’s Illegal Cigarette Trade
The report found sophisticated facilities capable of making hundreds of thousands of cigarettes, with extensive networks to move products into Western Europe.
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UKVIA Launches Campaign to Preserve Vaping
UKVIA is challenging measures including plain packaging, tighter flavor and display restrictions, a planned advertising and sponsorship ban, and the upcoming duty.
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Investigative Article Focuses on Chen Zhi and Cuba’s Struggling Cigar Market
Decades of underinvestment in production, coupled with skyrocketing prices and recent geopolitical blockades, have alienated traditional cigar enthusiasts.
Upcoming Events
Global Regulation
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UKVIA Launches Campaign to Preserve Vaping
UKVIA is challenging measures including plain packaging, tighter flavor and display restrictions, a planned advertising and sponsorship ban, and the upcoming duty.
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Swedish Election Threatens EU Tobacco Tax Talks
The proposed TED would raise tobacco taxes across the EU and is linked to plans to generate €11.2 billion annually for the bloc’s next long-term budget.
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FDA Authorizes Three Juul2 Products
The authorization covers the Juul2 device and 18 mg/mL tobacco- and menthol-flavored pods.
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Calif. Bans Disposable Nicotine Vapes
To remain legal, vape devices would need to be refillable or use replaceable pods and have rechargeable batteries.
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FDA Releases New Smoking Cessation Posters
The free materials feature positive, motivational messages and direct smokers to a cessation website.
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Value of Seized Tobacco in Philippines Quadruples
The Philippines’ BOC said it seized nearly $186.9 million worth of illegal cigarettes and vape products through July 2026, up 464% from all of 2025.
Agriculture & Sustainability
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Kutsaga Promotes Drought-Ready Tobacco Ahead of El Niño
The regional outlook forecasts below-normal rainfall and above-normal temperatures across much of Southern Africa from October 2026 to March 2027.
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Africa’s Tobacco Production Rises Despite Global Decline
Africa accounted for around 11% of global output in 2024, with Zimbabwe, Malawi, Tanzania, Mozambique, and Uganda producing most of the continent’s tobacco.
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Dominican Republic Creates Council to Protect Cigar GI
The council will oversee compliance with production standards from cultivation through manufacturing, packaging, and storage.
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Zimbabwe Eyes Tobacco SEZs to Boost Value Addition
Zimbabwe aims to increase tobacco industry revenue to as much as $7 billion by 2030, raise production to 500 million kg, and increase value addition to 30%.
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Philippines NTA Opens Tobacco Growing to Landless Farmers
Qualified growers can participate in the Scheme, under which farmers repay 60% of the production assistance, with the remaining 40% provided as a subsidy.
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Zimbabwe Posts Record Tobacco Production, Prices Fall
The decline in prices renewed calls from the TIMB and growers to diversify into horticulture and other cash crops to reduce exposure to market volatility and climate risks.
Science & Innovation
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VTA Poll Finds Support for Science-Based Vape Regulation Reform
The survey found 71% support replacing the current FDA PMTA framework with science-based standards.
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Experts Recommend Physicians Use Vape to Help Smokers Quit
Researchers from the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco Treatment Network published new recommendations in the JAMA encouraging healthcare providers to discuss nicotine e-cigarettes as a potential harm reduction…
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Marijuana Passes Cigarette Addiction in U.S.: Survey
The survey found marijuana was the most commonly used illicit drug, with 61.6 million people aged 12 and older reporting past-year use.
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Nicotine Pouches May Cause Receding Gums: Study
The study also found nicotine pouch users experienced more gum irritation than snus users, which researchers said may be linked to flavoring ingredients.
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FDA Releases PATH Study Data from Wave 8
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s Center for Tobacco Products (CTP) and the National Institutes of Health’s National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) released the Wave 8 Public-Use Files from…
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Women Fueling UK Pouch Market Growth
A new Nicotine Pouch Report from Haypp indicates that women are becoming a major driver of growth in the UK nicotine pouch market. According to the report, the number of…
Business & Finance
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PMI U.S. Launching Campaign Around Zyn’s ‘Click’
The campaign will be introduced to retailers and distributors at the National Association of Convenience Stores Show in October.
-
ALP Partners with Matchroom Boxing in European Expansion
The company said the Matchroom deal is its first major partnership in the U.K. and Ireland.
-
Davidoff Leaves ProCigar
The company’s Dominican operation was a founding member of ProCigar. Davidoff said it will continue working to support the cigar industry’s sustainable growth.
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Reynolds Defends Policy Advocacy Amid Wyden’s Probe
Reynolds defended its advocacy for reduced-risk products while rejecting the pay-to-play allegations.
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BAT Completes CFO Leadership Transition
Constantinescu returns to BAT after previously spending 16 years with the company across senior finance, strategy and general management roles.
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JT Expanding Nordic Spirit Line
The wider rollout signals its continued investment in expanding Nordic Spirit’s retail presence and product range in Japan.
Around the Industry
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Hungary Emerging as Key Link in EU’s Illegal Cigarette Trade
The report found sophisticated facilities capable of making hundreds of thousands of cigarettes, with extensive networks to move products into Western Europe.
-
Investigative Article Focuses on Chen Zhi and Cuba’s Struggling Cigar Market
Decades of underinvestment in production, coupled with skyrocketing prices and recent geopolitical blockades, have alienated traditional cigar enthusiasts.
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Australia’s Coalition Looking to Stop Illicit Tobacco, Gangs
The Coalition estimates organized crime groups make up to $4.8 billion annually from illicit tobacco, with proceeds funding drugs, money laundering, and violence.
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Altria Sues FDA Over Product Review System
Altria says the agency has failed to meet the statutory 180-day review deadline and argues that recent FDA changes still have not resolved the backlog.
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Indonesia Looking to Bring Illegal Cigarettes Into Fold
The government is preparing an additional cigarette excise tier that Purbaya hopes will give illegal producers a pathway to legalize their operations.
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Malaysian MPs Want Vape Liquid Declared Controlled Poisons
The government’s decision leaves nicotine-containing vape liquids classified as Group C poisons under Malaysia’s Poisons Act.
Thought Leaders
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Why Naturally Extracted Tobacco Never Scaled
Cured leaf can be macerated directly, extracting its flavor into the base rather than recreating that flavor from aroma compounds.
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FDA Finally Issues Proposed Rule to Require Foreign Tobacco Manufacturers to Register Facilities and List Products
This rule would allow FDA to further protect public health by helping to ensure that tobacco products in the United States comply with Federal law.
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A New Direction for ENDS
Chris Allen explains the significance of FDA’s shift on flavored vapes and why it reflects a growing emphasis on evidence-based harm reduction, behavioral science and product safeguards.
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The Conglomerate Cigar Brands Are Losing Inside ChatGPT — and the Retailer Channel Is the Reason Why
Cigar Aficionado’s 2025 Cigar Insider Retailer Survey told the same story Cigar Insider has told every year for the last decade. Padrón at #1, Arturo Fuente at #2, Drew Estate…
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The FDA’s evolving approach to youth-risk mitigation
Lilian Ortega explains the latest developments from regulators across pouches and ENDS and the latest enforcement of rules in the United States.
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The Arithmetic of Harm
Why the World Cannot Afford America’s Regulatory Model By Dr. J. Preston Campbell, Cancer Researcher, Harm Reduction Scientist Heavy lifetime smoking kills approximately half of long-term users. That is not…