top news
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Zimbabwe Posts Single-Day Tobacco Sales Record
Zimbabwe set a single-day sales record with 7.2 million kg coming off the auction floor, the same day it saw a season-high price of $6.20 per kg.
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Finland Seizes 10M Cigarettes in Transnational Network Case
Authorities said the cigarettes were transported using regular logistics channels in a way that closely mimicked legitimate cargo operations.
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Pakistan Insists No New Taxes on Tobacco Farmers
Pakistan said it is committed to the promotion of agriculture, and that no new regulations or taxes have been imposed on the tobacco crop or landowners.
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Ispire Announces New CFO, Operations Savings
Ispire Technology Inc. announced the appointment of Jie “Jay” Yu as the new CFO and expects to save $10.2 million in operations this year.
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Riot Labs Launches Four New 0MG Flavors
The founder and CEO of Riot Labs said the launch of 0mg for the revolutionary device will give adults an easy-to-use alternative to disposables to quit smoking.
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Foundation Cigar Latest to Up Prices from Tariff
Foundation is the fifth major cigar company to make such an announcement, but did not detail the amounts of the increase.
Global Regulation
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Papua New Guinea Bans Vapes
Health Minister Elias Kapavore announced the ban May 13, saying he was concerned about the effects tobacco products had on people between the ages of 11 and 17.
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SKE Unveils Eight New Products Ahead of UK Disposables Ban
“We firmly believe that the regulatory changes within the UK represent an opportunity for innovation and change.”
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Cigar Lounge Sues City Over 15-Minute Smoking Limit
“Fifteen minutes of sampling and then prohibiting it after 15 minutes is still a prohibition of sampling, right?”
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Increased Imports Put Vapes, Hookahs in Namibia’s Crosshairs
Namibia went from importing $6 million worth of hookah and vapes in 2020 to averaging $19.3 million the last four years.
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Anti-Vape Campaign Kicks Off in Netherlands
New research said one in 10 children have tried vaping by age 12, and 40% of 12- to 16-year-olds who use vapes consider themselves addicted.
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Baltimore Sues PMI for “Peddling Zyn to Kids”
The complaint cites recent research that nearly 2% of middle and high school students report using nicotine pouches.
Agriculture & Sustainability
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Zimbabwe Posts Single-Day Tobacco Sales Record
Zimbabwe set a single-day sales record with 7.2 million kg coming off the auction floor, the same day it saw a season-high price of $6.20 per kg.
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Pakistan Insists No New Taxes on Tobacco Farmers
Pakistan said it is committed to the promotion of agriculture, and that no new regulations or taxes have been imposed on the tobacco crop or landowners.
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Malawi Leaf Hits New High
Nyasa Tobacco urged farmers to maintain good grading practices, stressing that proper grading significantly enhances the value of their product.
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Brazil Projected to Crack $3B in Tobacco Exports
The forecast anticipates an increase of 10% to 15% in volume and value. In February, the projection was $2.977 billion.
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Malawi Confiscates 170 “Nested” Tobacco Bales
The confiscated bales have been sent for rehandling. Proceeds from the sale of the rehandled bales will be forfeited to the Commission.
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Zimbabwe “Will Reach 280M KG,” Hopes to Process More Domestically
Despite the overall positives, stakeholders are concerned about side-marketing issues that continue to threaten the industry.
Science & Innovation
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FDA Completes AI-Assisted Review Pilot, Ready for Agency-Wide Rollout
AI tools allow FDA scientists and subject-matter experts to spend less time on tedious, repetitive tasks that often slow down the review process.
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New Study Sounds Alarm on Amount of Nicotine in Vapes
While the number of e-cigarette units sold each month rose by 34.7%, the total monthly nicotine content sold increased by 249.2%.
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Researchers Find Pouches Shifting Nicotine Delivery Trend with Youth
Researchers said trends reflect a shift in nicotine delivery products rather than a change in the overall prevalence of nicotine use among the students.
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Continuous Verification Vape ID Files for PMTA
IKE Tech’s multi-center Human Factors Validation Study proved to be 100% effective in preventing device activation for anyone under the age of 21.
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Study: Chips and Biometrics Protect ENDS Devices from Underage Use
IKE Tech announced its Bluetooth Low Energy System had 100% of users complete age verification, and no underage users were able to activate a device.
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Study: Smoking, Vaping, Marijuana All Affect Airways Differently
Researchers collected exhaled breath condensate of 254 participants, with 132 using a tobacco or marijuana product, sometimes both.
Business & Finance
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Ispire Announces New CFO, Operations Savings
Ispire Technology Inc. announced the appointment of Jie “Jay” Yu as the new CFO and expects to save $10.2 million in operations this year.
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Imperial’s CEO, Bomhard, Retires
Stefan Bomhard will retire after five years in the job. Chief financial officer Lukas Paravicini will be promoted to CEO October 1.
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Philippines’ Vape Stamp System Working
Tax authorities vowed to intensify efforts to catch and charge noncompliant players in the growing vape market.
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Philippine Government Urged to Fight Illicit Trade with Lower Taxes
Officials suggested lower tax rates on cigarettes to replenish the country’s declining revenues as the price disparity between legal and illicit products worsens.
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Already Struggling with Illicit Trade, Pakistan Being Pushed to Raise Tobacco Taxes
Officials said massive tax evasion in the tobacco sector is costing the country’s economy nearly $1.1 billion, and that only one out of 10 trucks carrying illicit cigarettes is caught.
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Vietnam’s Cigarettes “Too Affordable”
Even with the country’s 75% “special consumption tax,” a pack of cigarettes can still cost as little as 27 cents.
Around the Industry
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Riot Labs Launches Four New 0MG Flavors
The founder and CEO of Riot Labs said the launch of 0mg for the revolutionary device will give adults an easy-to-use alternative to disposables to quit smoking.
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Foundation Cigar Latest to Up Prices from Tariff
Foundation is the fifth major cigar company to make such an announcement, but did not detail the amounts of the increase.
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Study: Shisha to Increase 90% at Hospitality Venues
The study, conducted with 400 hospitality businesses in Spain, Germany, the U.S., and the UAE that offer shisha, aimed to explore future demand and trends in the growing shisha market.
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New Coalition Calls to Ban Plastic Cigarette Filters
The No Plastic Filter-campaign is an initiative by Dutch NGO Fair Resource Foundation, which is part of the Dutch Plastic Cigarette Butt Collective.
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BAT Launches New Campaign as it Updates Neo Series
BAT Japan announced the fourth cycle of the “Live Life in Color” campaign with the launch of its Limited Edition glo Hyper Pro Aurora heated tobacco device.
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JTI Adds Three Flavors to Pouch Line
Available for independent retailers and symbol groups, the new Raspberry, Tropical Mix, and Forest Berries offerings feature a quicker and stronger flavor release.