Author: Staff Writer

KT&G Launches Miix Combo

Photo: KT&G
KT&G is launching Miix Combo, a dedicated stick for its Lil hybrid cigarette.

Miix Combo allows consumers to experience two flavors at once by changing the taste from traditional tobacco to “a different coolness.”

The new product will debut June 19 at flagship stores in Seoul, Songdo, Ulsan, Cheongju and Busan. In June, sales will start at 44,000 convenience stores nationwide. Miix Combo will retail for KRW4,500 ($3.72) per pack.

“At the request of consumers who want a different taste than before, we have released a ‘mix combo’ featuring a dramatic reversal of taste,” said Lim Wang-seop, business director for next-generation products at KT&G. “We will continue to communicate with customers and respond quickly to market needs.”

According to KT&G, Lil has been well received in Korea. In January, Philip Morris International agreed to market the product in other countries.
June 18, 2020
Karnataka Surpasses Tobacco Cultivation Ceiling

Photo: Tobacco Reporter archive
Tobacco growers in Karnataka, India, sold 106 million kg of leaf this season—6 million kg above the officially sanctioned 100 million kg for 2020, reports The Hindu.
Tobacco sales in the state were suspended in March due to the coronavirus lockdown and resumed on May 20. Auctions concluded this week across the four platforms in Mysuru.
To prevent overproduction, the Tobacco Board of India each year declares a maximum crop size. Excess cultivation is penalized with a fine of INR2 ($0.03) per kg and 7.5 percent of the sales’ proceeds. If the volume of excess tobacco exceeds 10 percent of the authorized crop, the penalty increases to 15 percent of the sale proceeds.
Javare Gowda, president of Karnataka VFC Tobacco Growers’ Federation, said this year’s average price of tobacco was INR10 less than last year’s INR136 per kg.
Anticipating a decline in demand due to the Covid-19 crisis, the Tobacco Board has lowered the size of next year’s authorized crop to 88 million kg from 99 million kg.
Referring to the collapse of tobacco prices in neighboring Andhra Pradesh—where farmers have been burning their bales to protest low auction prices—Gowda urged Karnataka tobacco growers to heed the limits set by the board.
June 18, 2020
African American Group Sues FDA For Inaction on Menthol

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The African American Tobacco Control Leadership Council (AATCLC) and Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) are suing the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for alleged inaction on menthol.
The plaintiffs have asked the court to compel the FDA to act on its own conclusion that banning menthol from tobacco products would benefit the public health.
The 2009 Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act banned flavors in cigarettes but excluded menthol, subject to further research. In 2011, the FDA’s advisory committee concluded that the “Removal of menthol cigarettes from the marketplace would benefit public health in the United States.”
Despite this conclusion, and several statements of support in the interim, the FDA has not begun the rulemaking process of removing menthol from combustible cigarettes. The plaintiffs are asking the court to direct the FDA to act.
According to the AATCLC and ASH, smoking-related illnesses are the No. 1 cause of death in the African American community, and 85 percent of African American smokers consume menthol cigarettes.
“By continuing to delay, the FDA and the U.S. government are failing to protect the health of U.S. citizens, particularly African Americans, and the U.S. is also falling behind the global trend as countries around the world are increasingly banning menthol,” said Kelsey Romeo-Stuppy, managing attorney at ASH.
On May 20, the European Union banned menthol cigarettes.
“Our nation finds itself at a moment in time when action to eradicate systemic inequities and racism is crucial to fighting injustice, and this case is a perfect example of action which will elicit positive change,” said ASH in a statement.
Read the full complaint here.
June 18, 2020
Risk Assessment Determined by Questioning

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The share of people who believe e-cigarettes are equally harmful or more harmful than traditional cigarettes depends on how the question is asked, according to new research published in Tobacco Control.
Tobacco companies often claim that a large proportion of the population perceives potential modified risk tobacco products as equally or more harmful than cigarettes, and argue misperceptions need to be corrected using modified risk claims.
However, the studies they cite predominantly use one specific measurement of comparative risk, according to the researchers.

Image: Tobacco Control
The authors studied the way questions were posed in the 2017 Tobacco Products and Risk Perceptions Survey. When asked directly to compare harms of e-cigarettes and cigarettes, 33.9 percent of participants identified e-cigarettes as less harmful than cigarettes, 36.4 percent reported equal harm, 4.3 percent said e-cigarettes were more harmful and 25.3 percent said, “I don’t know.”
When asked indirectly, however, 42.1 percent identified e-cigarettes as less harmful than cigarettes, 23.8 percent said they were of equal harm, 7.1 percent perceived e-cigarettes to be more harmful and 27.1 percent did not know.
The authors say researchers should use both direct and indirect risk questions when assessing the public’s perceptions of harms associated with novel tobacco products.
June 18, 2020
Emkon Files for Bankruptcy

Photo: Tobacco Reporter archive
German tobacco equipment manufacturer Emkon Systemtechnik Projektmanagement has filed for bankruptcy, according to a German press release issued by the liquidator company.
An internationally operating manufacturer of packaging machinery for the tobacco, food and nonfood cosmetics, hygiene and pharmaceutical industries, Emkon was already facing difficulties in 2019. The effects of the Covid-19 pandemic have led to a further slump in sales, which the company couldn’t compensate for anymore.
Currently, the liquidator is restructuring the company. Emkon will continue operations and its approximately 100 employees will be paid their salaries at least until the end of July.
The restructuring expert is cautiously optimistic that the insolvency proceedings will rehabilitate the company.
June 17, 2020
Marketing Authorization Requested for Leap

Photo: Timothy Donahue
E-Alternative Solutions (EAS) has submitted premarket tobacco product applications (PMTAs) to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) seeking authorization for the marketing and sale of its portfolio of Leap and Leap Go vapor products.
“We are pleased to take this important step in demonstrating our commitment to the vapor industry, retailers and adult smokers seeking an alternative to combustible cigarette smoking with our Leap and Leap Go vapor products,” said Jacopo D’Alessandris, president and CEO of EAS.
“At EAS, we have always held ourselves to high standards, from supplying adult consumers with products they can trust to consistently following ethical marketing practices. We are confident in the strong merits of our PMTAs and want to thank our compliance and research teams for developing and delivering thorough submissions.”
According to EAS, the PMTAs plays support the proposition that Leap and Leap Go vapor products are appropriate for the protection of public health. “The collective 75,000-plus-page PMTA submissions for Leap and Leap Go are the result of months of hard work and investigation that included an assessment of the stability of the products over time, toxicological formula reviews, toxicology testing, an assessment of abuse liability, label comprehension studies and behavioral studies,” the company wrote in a statement.
In addition, EAS undertook an extensive review of available literature on vapor products related to health effects, behavioral factors and toxicological end points. Further, an exacting risk assessment was conducted across many areas of potential risk for Leap and Leap Go products.
“Our PMTA submissions provide a robust analysis of the Leap and Leap Go products that will enable [the] FDA to conclude these products are appropriate for the protection of public health,” said Chris Howard, vice president, general counsel and chief compliance officer at EAS. “The PMTA process sets a high bar and holds companies accountable, ensuring vapor product manufacturers follow the rules and act in good faith. Looking ahead, a robust collaboration with [the] FDA will help build a strong future for both the vapor industry and adult consumers.”
June 17, 2020
Respira to Submit Nebulizer for FDA Approval

Photo: Respira Technologies
Respira Technologies plans to submit an inhaler device to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration by late 2021 for authorization as nicotine-replacement therapy.
The company aims to disrupt a $618 billion market dominated by decades-old gums and patches from pharmaceutical companies as well as tobacco companies’ electronic nicotine-delivery devices with a nebulizer that converts nicotine to an aerosol.
Based in West Hollywood, California, USA, Respira Technologies says that the Covid-19 pandemic has sparked new interest in quitting, and today’s users of vapor devices and e-cigarettes need updated cessation products.
“The reality is we have folks who are addicted to nicotine who never tried combustible products before,” Respira CEO Mario Danek told Bloomberg Technology, referring to tobacco products that are burned like cigarettes and cigars.
“They’re used to sleeker products, and we have that design.”
June 17, 2020
Malaysia: Action Urged Against Illicit Market

Photo: BAT
British American Tobacco (BAT) Malaysia has urged its shareholders to speak up against the illicit trade in cigarettes, which has severely impacted the company’s financial performance in the country, reports the New Straits Times.
BAT Malaysia’s profit from operations declined 24.9 percent to MYR478 million ($111.8 million) for the financial year 2019.
According to BAT Malaysia Managing Director Jonathan Reed, continued growth of the black market has forced the company to aggressively manage its cost base.
“This is not sustainable in the long term,” said Reed at BAT Malaysia’s 59th annual general meeting on June 15. “To effectively stop the black market, more drastic and radical actions are required.”
For 2020, BAT Malaysia said its growth strategy would depend on the recovery of the legal tobacco market, a regulated nicotine landscape, sensible fiscal policies and a resolution to the affordability issues affecting consumers.
“We are ready to invest our resources to continue tackling this issue,” said Reed. “However, full recovery can only happen if we are able to work hand-in-hand with all relevant parties to implement effective structural reforms to manage the extraordinarily high levels of illegal trade.”
June 16, 2020
Hong Kong: Vapor Ban Threat Lifted

Photo: carloyuen from Pixabay
Asian consumer advocacy groups and tobacco harm reduction advocates have welcomed Hong Kong Legislative Council’s (Legco) decision to suspend discussions on a proposed ban of vapor products, saying this will provide smokers with safer smoke-free alternatives.

On June 2, Legco’s bills committee on smoking announced it had ceased discussions over the proposed ban on electronic cigarettes, heat-not-burn tobacco products (HTPs) and other electronic nicotine-delivery systems.

Some committee members strongly opposed the measure, citing scientific studies showing that e-cigarettes, HTPs and the like have lower levels of toxicants than combustible cigarettes.

IQOSER, a heated-tobacco concern group in Hong Kong, said the end of discussions on the proposed ban would hopefully bring lawmakers’ attention to the problem of smoking in the territory.

“Smoking incidence remains at more than 10 percent in Hong Kong, which means a tenth of our population is exposed to the health risks brought about by toxicants found in tar, the by-product of tobacco smoke,” said Joe Lo of IQOSER, a member of the Coalition of Asia Pacific Tobacco Harm Reduction Advocates.
June 16, 2020
Sivignon to Join Imperial Brands Board

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Pierre-Jean Sivignon will join the board of Imperial Brands on July 1, 2020.

Sivignon is an experienced finance professional, having held chief financial officer positions at Faurecia, a leader in automotive technology, Philips, a health technology company, and most recently Groupe Carrefour, a global retailer, where he was also deputy CEO, advisor to the Carrefour chair and CEO.

Sivignon is currently a nonexecutive director of Vista Oil & Gas, which is listed on the Mexican Stock Exchange and the New York Stock Exchange. He has previously held nonexecutive directorships with Imerys and Technip.

“We are delighted to welcome Pierre-Jean to the Imperial Brands board,” said Imperial Brands Chair Therese Esperdy. “His international financial expertise in customer-facing businesses will be of great value to us, and he joins the board at an exciting time for the company.”

Sivignon will also join Imperial Brands’ audit committee effective July 1, 2020.
June 16, 2020