Month: March 2024

  • Zim Growers Worried About Price Fixing

    Zim Growers Worried About Price Fixing

    Photo: Taco Tuinstra

    Tobacco growers in Zimbabwe have voiced concern over tobacco leaf prices at the auction floors, which have capped out at $4.99 per kilogram compared to around $6 per kilogram on the contract floors, reports NewsDay. Growers are worried about buyer collusion.

    “The season is progressing reasonably well, even though we have raised concern about the $4.99 cap, which is on the auction system, and for us, it’s a kind of a sign of collusion, which is worrisome,” Zimbabwe Tobacco Growers Association President George Seremwe said. “We cannot have the auction system offering lower prices than the contract.”

    “The contract has gone up to $6.90, and for us, there is a discord,” Seremwe said. “The same buyers who are buying at the auction are the same buyers who are also buying at the contract.

    “So that’s why we suspect there’s collusion. We would want the prices to go up because if you look at the production cost, it was quite high.”

    Tobacco growing will not be sustainable for the farmers due to poor auction floor prices, according to Seremwe. “So, the growth of tobacco has to be attractive by the prices. We know the price world over has gone up, so we also expect the prices to go up than what is currently prevailing on the market,” he said.

    “We talk of sustainability of the farmer. As farmers, we think it is not sustainable at the moment.”

    Farmers expected the prices to be better compared to last year, said Shadreck Makombe, president of the Zimbabwe Commercial Farmers’ Union. “The prices are not yet at what we would have expected,” Makombe said. “We would have expected a few coins up.”

    “Again, it’s the only start of the marketing season, [and] most of the tobacco being sold there is primary leaf tobacco, not quite what we want,” he said. “We expect the prices to firm up or to increase for the farmers to get anything meaningful from their crop.”

  • Belgium to Ban Sale of Disposables

    Belgium to Ban Sale of Disposables

    Photo: Bennphoto

    Belgium will ban the sale of disposable e-cigarettes effective Jan. 1, 2025, making it the first EU country to do so, reports The Brussels Times, citing Federal Health Minister Frank Vandenbroucke. The country has received approval from the European Commission for the ban.

    “The disposable e-cigarette causes a lot of damage to society and the environment,” said Vandenbroucke. “This harmful product mainly targets our young people. I am therefore pleased that we can remove this from the market.”

    Vandenbroucke said that marketing for vapes is “very savvy” and “youth-oriented” despite sales of vapes to minors being banned in Belgium. Youth use is widespread, and in 2023, about three in four points of sale sold disposables to minors, according to an inspection.

    “Belgium is playing a pioneering role in Europe to break the power of the tobacco lobby,” Vandenbroucke said upon receiving approval for the ban from the European Commission. “This is another milestone in our fight against tobacco.”

    “We strive for a smoke-free generation and want people, especially young people, to be better protected and to come into less contact with tobacco or alternative smoking methods,” Vandenbroucke said. “With this measure, we ensure that we remove an extremely harmful product from the market, which is also cheap and therefore attractive to young people.”

    Nondisposable e-cigarettes will still be allowed as many use them to quit smoking combustible cigarettes. “Still, we have been able to agree that they can no longer be offered with lights and other things to make them attractive,” Vandenbroucke said. “It should not be a product to start smoking but to stop smoking.”

  • Top Court Asked to Review Anti-FDA Ruling

    Top Court Asked to Review Anti-FDA Ruling

    Photo: tinnaporn

    The U.S. Department of Justice has asked the Supreme Court to review a lower court’s ruling rejecting the Food and Drug Administration’s reasoning in denying premarket tobacco product applications submitted by Wages and White Lion Investments.

    According to the solicitor general, the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals relied upon “legal theories that have been rejected by other courts of appeals that have reviewed materially similar FDA denial orders.”

    The federal government’s decision to seek Supreme Court review is unsurprising, according to Reason. However, the libertarian publication also notes that there is a circuit split on whether the FDA acted in an arbitrary and capricious fashion when it refused to consider certain materials submitted with PMTAs and departed from previous guidance it had given the industry. Most circuits to hear such claims turned them away, according to Reason.

    The 5th Circuit (along with the 11th Circuit) did not. A Supreme Court review could help resolve the circuit split and remove any cloud over the FDA’s continuing ability to review (and deny) PMTAs for vaping products. Without Supreme Court review, vaping product manufacturers would be incentivized to seek review of any PMTA denials in the 5th and 11th Circuits, which could undermine the FDA’s regulatory authority.

     

  • Rachael Trimpert Schmidt Joins Chemular

    Rachael Trimpert Schmidt Joins Chemular

    Rachael Trimpert Schmidt (Photo: Chemular)

    Chemular has appointed Rachael Trimpert Schmidt as a senior consultant.

    Schmidt joins Chemular from her recent position with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration as assistant director of laboratory compliance and coordination of the Center for Tobacco Products (CTP) where she was responsible for establishing and coordinating all FDA tobacco regulatory laboratories in support of the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act.

    At the CTP, Smith was responsible for developing and executing all tobacco product testing programs, including premarket application review, postmarket compliance and adverse events. In her more than 12 years at the agency, Schmidt engaged with both national and international partners to harmonize tobacco enforcement.

    Most recently, Schmidt has worked extensively as the lead regulatory science expert for the development of tobacco product standards.

    “Schmidt brings a wealth of knowledge to our team,” says Jason Carignan, chief commercial officer of Chemular, in a statement. “She’s been deeply involved with developing and implementing regulations within the tobacco industry for many years and has a sharpened ability to identify and address emerging issues. This firsthand experience will ensure that Chemular stays at the forefront of compliance initiatives and that our customers can launch and keep their products on the market. She is going to be a valuable asset to Chemular and supporting our customers through her insights and action.”

    “I am excited to join the Chemular team,” says Schmidt. “I’ve spent a large part of my career immersed in the tobacco industry, identifying issues and opportunities while shaping its policies through my work with the FDA and the Center for Tobacco Products. I look forward to taking an active role with Chemular and helping its customers pave a smooth path to compliance.”

  • Former STMA Chief Pleads Guilty to Bribery

    Former STMA Chief Pleads Guilty to Bribery

    Photo: alswart

    The former deputy chief of China’s State Tobacco Monopoly Administration, He Zehua, pled guilty to accepting bribes worth over CNY943 million ($130 million) during a trial in Liaoning province, reports China Daily. The case was publicly heard by the Dalian Intermediate People’s Court. 

    Prosecutors alleged that from 1998 to 2023, He used his various work posts in the country’s tobacco system to seek benefits for relevant people and departments in business operations, business contracting, job promotion and employment in return for monetary bribes. After leaving his work posts, prosecutors alleged, he sought profits for individuals and organizations in tobacco-related business contracting and bank solicitation for monetary bribes as well.

  • Pension Fund Supports KT&G CEO Nominee

    Pension Fund Supports KT&G CEO Nominee

    South Korea’s National Pension Fund (NPF) will vote in favor of KT&G’s CEO nominee Bang Kyung-man at the cigarette manufacturer’s upcoming shareholder meeting, reports the Yonhap News Agency.

    The NPF will also vote for former Judge Sohn Dong-hwan as a new KT&G board member.

    The NPF holds a 6.2 percent stake in KT&G. 

    The Industrial Bank of Korea, which is state-run and holds an 8 percent stake in KT&G, has opposed Bang’s nomination, citing falling profitability and dubious business practices during his board tenure. Sohn is a director candidate proposed by the Industrial Bank of Korea.

  • Warnings Don’t Violate First Amendment: Court

    Warnings Don’t Violate First Amendment: Court

    Image: zimmytws

    The U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the federal requirement for cigarette packs and advertising include graphic images of the effects of smoking, including images of smoke-damaged lungs and blackened feet, does not violate the First Amendment of the Constitution, reports AP News.

    The ruling came from a three-judge panel, consisting of Jerry Smith, Jennifer Walker Elrod and James Graves, that also kept alive a tobacco industry challenge of the rule, stating that a lower court should review whether the rule was adopted in accordance with the federal Administrative Procedure Act, which governs the development of regulations.

    The panel rejected the argument from the tobacco industry that the rule violates free speech rights and that the requirement overcomes branding and messaging on packages and advertisements due to the size of the images and lettering.

    This latest ruling overturns a lower court order from a Texas federal district court, which ruled that the requirements violate the First Amendment.

    “We disagree,” Smith wrote for the 5th Circuit panel. “The warnings are both factual and uncontroversial.”

    The U.S. is among about 120 countries globally that have adopted larger graphic health warnings. Studies from other countries suggest that the image-based labels are more effective than text warnings.

  • Taiwan Group Protests THP Regulations

    Taiwan Group Protests THP Regulations

    Image: butenkow

    The Clean Air Alliance has called on the Taiwanese public to join a protest in front of the Presidential Office Building in Taipei March 22, 2024, against heated tobacco regulations that  benefit traditional cigarette manufacturers, reports The Taipei Times.

    The group states that though its been a year since the Tobacco Hazards Prevention Act was amended, heated-tobacco products cannot be sold legally but 14 new types of traditional paper-wrapped cigarettes have been approved for sale.

    The alliance noted that the review standards for heated-tobacco products and traditional cigarettes are disparate and unfair toward heated-tobacco products, which benefits cigarette manufacturers.

    Police have put traffic restrictions in place in the area due to the protest.

    The protest is set to begin at 9 a.m. and end by noon.

  • Hong Kong Mulls Duty-Paid Labels

    Hong Kong Mulls Duty-Paid Labels

    Image: muh

    Hong Kong officials are considering putting designated labels on tobacco products so they can be easily identified as duty-paid, according to acting Health Minister Libby Lee, reports rthk.hk.

    Lawmakers expressed concern regarding efforts to combat illicit cigarettes following an increase in tobacco tax for the second year in a row. Lee noted that officials are looking into the feasibility of placing customs labels on duty-paid products and that progress will be reported in a few months.

    Lawmakers Johnny Ng and Peter Shiu stated that the 12 people prosecuted since 2021 for promoting tobacco products was too low a number, noting that it is common to see flyers promoting illicit tobacco products being handed out at public housing estates.

    Lee’s responded that it is difficult to enforce because officers cannot prosecute someone for holding flyers. She noted, however, that tobacco control officers remove around 50 websites monthly that sell illicit products, but they sometimes run into enforcement problems as well.

    “When it comes to overseas websites, we also have difficulty closing these websites or taking enforcement actions,” said Lee. “However, we’ll set up enforcement efforts … and publicity.”

  • Canada to Crack Down on Pouches

    Canada to Crack Down on Pouches

    Image: Imperial Tobacco Canada

    Canada Health Minister Mark Holland promised to crack down on nicotine pouches, issuing a warning to tobacco companies that he claimed are marketing the products to children, according to City News Everywhere.

    “I would say to the tobacco companies that continue to look for ways to use loopholes to addict people to their products, get away, stay the hell away from our kids,” Holland said during a press conference.

    He accused Imperial Tobacco of using a loophole to get its oral nicotine pouch, Zonnic, approved by Health Canada, branding the product as a quit-smoking aid. Health Canada’s approval did not include a minimum age limit. Holland claims that this product is now being used to hook another generation on nicotine products.

    Imperial denied claims of using a loophole to gain approval; the company stated it simply applied to Health Canada and received approval.

    Holland plans to restrict access to Zonnic as well as restrict flavors and marketing.

    “To me, it is absolutely essential that we see these products move behind the counter,” Holland said.

    “Whatever dark corner the tobacco industry crawls and creeps into to go after our children, wherever they go, whatever loophole they think they can find, they will meet me like an iron wall,” he said.

    “To single out Zonnic for practices that are widespread across the industry is not only unfair but also smacks of hypocrisy, suggesting an anti-tobacco company bias rather than a genuine concern for public health,” said Eric Gagnon, vice president of regulatory affairs at Imperial Tobacco Canada.

    Gagnon noted that Imperial Tobacco Canada is open to discussing Holland’s proposed restrictions, but he believes that they should apply to all stop-smoking products, including nicotine gum. He also noted that the company has moved to place Zonnic behind counters, despite not being required to do so, but he feels that flavors are helpful to those trying to quit smoking and that Zonnic should be available everywhere that cigarettes are sold.

    Health Canada issued a consumer safety alert the same day as the health minister’s press conference regarding Zonnic: “They should not be used recreationally, by nonsmokers, by people under the age of 18 or by others at risk of nicotine’s toxic effects.”

    Tobacco control advocates have applauded the health minister’s plans. “We’re thrilled that Minister Holland is taking steps to stop this cycle and protect youth,” said Doug Roth, chief executive of Heart and Stroke, which Holland worked for between 2011 and 2015.