TobaccoReporter logo

Day: May 7, 2025

  • Bangladesh: Anti-Tobacco Advocates Want More Taxes

    Bangladesh: Anti-Tobacco Advocates Want More Taxes

    Anti-tobacco organizations in Bangladesh said mid-year tobacco tax additions advanced public health protections and created the potential for additional government revenue. Though not planned in the original budget, the adjustments raised retail prices of cigarettes on a tiered scale between 8% and 20%, and imposed a uniform supplementary duty rate of 67% on all tiers.

    Abdullah Nadvi, research director of Unnayan Shamannay, called for the government to not only maintain the taxation but to bolster it 2025-26 fiscal budget, saying the government could collect an additional 40% in tobacco revenue without changing the duty rate.

    Dr. Mahfuz Kabir, research director at BIIISS, said that effective taxation could increase government revenue from cigarettes by 11% to 28%. He warned that failing to adjust cigarette prices with inflation has led to a steady rise in sales in recent years.

  • New Study Sounds Alarm on Amount of Nicotine in Vapes

    New Study Sounds Alarm on Amount of Nicotine in Vapes

    A new study conducted by the CDC Foundation and Truth Initiative shows that between February 2020 and June 2024, while the number of e-cigarette units sold each month rose by 34.7%, the total monthly nicotine content sold increased by 249.2%. 

    “Measurements that take into account both e-liquid volume and nicotine concentration paint a more realistic picture of the size and strength of e-cigarettes being sold in stores today,” said Fatma Romeh M. Ali, PhD, health economist and consultant with the CDC Foundation. “Measuring e-cigarette sales in milligrams of nicotine, rather than just counting products, is critical to understanding the public health impact.”

    Published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, the study says the increase is largely driven by disposable devices. The authors reason that because nicotine can be purchased cheaper, it is now more likely to end up with young users, and because there is more nicotine present, those users are likely to become addicted.

    “A disposable e-cigarette today contains significantly more nicotine than it did just a few years ago, posing greater addiction risks—especially for young users,” said Megan Diaz, PhD, research director at Truth Initiative. “These findings raise serious concerns about youth access and affordability because disposables are not only the most popular e-cigarette product among youth, but they’re also the cheapest way to obtain large amounts of nicotine and they come in appealing flavors.”

  • Researchers Find Pouches Shifting Nicotine Delivery Trend with Youth

    Researchers Find Pouches Shifting Nicotine Delivery Trend with Youth

    Researchers at USC’s Keck School of Medicine offered a press release titled “Use of nicotine pouches increases significantly among U.S. teens.” It begins by saying, “The use of nicotine pouches nearly doubled among U.S. high school students between 2023 and 2024,” with Dae-Hee Han, first author of the study, saying, “This growing public health issue needs more attention. Like flavored e-cigarettes when they first emerged, use of this new oral nicotine product is becoming more widespread, particularly among adolescents.”

    Randomly selected responses from one-third of the 10,000 high school students surveyed found that between 2023 and 2024, nicotine pouch use increased from 3.0% to 5.4% all-time, and from 1.3% to 2.6% in the last 30 days. Dual use of nicotine pouches and e-cigarettes also increased, going from 2.7% to 4.7% lifetime and 1.1% to 1.7% in the last 30 days.

    On the other hand, exclusive e-cigarette use declined from 25.7% to 22.0% lifetime, and from 12.3% to 10.1% in the last 30 days. And the use of non-tobacco nicotine products declined from 28.8% to 27.4% lifetime, and from 13.6% to 12.7% in the last 30 days.

    Researchers said the trends reflect a shift in nicotine delivery products rather than a change in the overall prevalence of non-tobacco nicotine use among the students.

  • Smoker Friendly Announces Promotions in Accounting Department

    Smoker Friendly Announces Promotions in Accounting Department

    The Cigarette Store LLC, the parent company of Smoker Friendly, announced the promotions of Cameron Schwehr to vice president of Finance and Accounting, and Jon Gallagher as controller. The two have worked together since 2021.

    Schwehr previously worked in public accounting for 14 years, primarily as an auditor and consultant with nonprofit, construction, and retail companies. He worked with Smoker Friendly as a contractor for six of those years before being hired as Controller in 2021.

    Jon Gallagher, nephew to Smoker Friendly president Dan Gallagher, CEO Terry Gallagher Jr., and senior vice president of Governmental and External Affairs Mary Szarmach, continues to contribute to the legacy of Smoker Friendly’s founding family with his new appointment. He joined Smoker Friendly as an entry-level accountant in 2008, and advanced to accounting analyst, lead analyst, and assistant controller before accepting his latest promotion

    “I’m excited for both Cameron and Jon to take this next step, leading our finance and accounting team, and they will be integral members of our strategic management group,” Dan Gallagher said. “Both have shown tremendous dedication and work ethic in their respective careers with Smoker Friendly.”