Author: Marissa Dean

JR Cigar Introduces JR Pure Origin: Terra de Andes

Image: JR Cigar
JR Cigar is introducing its second blend, JR Pure Origin: Terra de Andes, beginning Nov. 1. The product will be available exclusively online at www.jrcigars.com.
The JR Pure Origin line was born out of JR Cigar’s desire to offer its customers something truly unique by using rare and exotic tobaccos from around the world, according to the company.
The cigar derives its name from the Andes Mountains of South America, home of the tallest active volcano in the world. Not only do the Andes have an incredibly rich history—it’s the birthplace of one of the six earliest civilizations—but the Andes is where the tobacco plant first blossomed. Aided by the nutrient-rich soil, unique microclimate and special ecosystem, tobacco grown in this mountain range produces a bold yet delicate smoke with amazing and diverse tonalities.
“With JR Pure Origin, we have brought our exclusive lines to new heights, and we look forward to continuing that success with this release,” says Brad Winstead, CEO of JR Cigar. “In partnering with Rafael Nodal and the legendary A.J. Fernandez, we have created a unique and complex cigar that tells the story of the region with each puff.”
JR Pure Origin: Terra de Andes uses aged Nicaraguan and Peruvian filler tobaccos, giving it a sweet and spicy center. Its Ecuadorian Sumatra binder adds touches of coffee and richness while its Ecuadorian Habano wrapper offers up notes of spice, leather and tobacco sweetness.
JR Pure Origin: Terra de Andes is packaged in boxes containing 10 cigars, and it is available in three classic vitolas: 5X50 Robusto ($108 per box, $12 per single); 6X50 Toro ($117 per box, $13 per single); and 6X56 Toro Gordo ($126 per box, $14 per single).
November 1, 2023
Quebec: Flavor Ban Takes Effect

Image: Pixel-Shot
Quebec’s ban on flavored vapes took effect Oct. 31.
The measure includes vaping products with flavors other than tobacco and will prohibit e-liquid sold in bottles with a capacity greater than 30 mL and prefilled devices with a capacity greater than 2 mL.
The ban was announced in a draft published in April. More than 30,000 citizens of Quebec commented on the proposed ban, according to the Quebec Vaping Rights Coalition, but the health ministry reportedly didn’t make any changes to the rules in response.
Quebec is the largest province in Canada to enact a flavor ban. Four other provinces and territories already ban flavors, and one has passed a ban but has not set an effective date yet. Three other provinces restrict flavored products to adult-only stores.

Darryl Tempest
“It’s high time for provinces like Quebec, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and PEI to reevaluate their stance and stop yielding to the influence of big tobacco companies. These regions must come to the realization that they are inadvertently supporting the very issues they claim to be combating.”
Darryl Tempest, government relations counsel to the CVA
The Canadian Vaping Association (CVA) has expressed concerns to the Quebec government, arguing that this regulation will not achieve its intended goal of curbing youth experimentation.
According to the CVA, the consequences will include the closure of specialty vape shops within the province, the loss of over 1,000 jobs and a shift in consumer demand toward foreign suppliers and the illicit market.
“It’s high time for provinces like Quebec, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and PEI to reevaluate their stance and stop yielding to the influence of big tobacco companies. These regions must come to the realization that they are inadvertently supporting the very issues they claim to be combating,” said Darryl Tempest, government relations counsel to the CVA.
The available data consistently finds that flavor bans fail to effectively protect youth and lead to increased tobacco sales among both young people and adults.
November 1, 2023
Former STMA Deputy Prosecuted for Bribery

Image: Kampan
Former Deputy Chief of China’s State Tobacco Monopoly Administration (STMA) He Zehua has been prosecuted for accepting bribes, according to China Daily.
Zehua was accused of taking advantage of his former positions to seek profits for others, accepting a large amount of money and valuables in return, according to a statement by the Supreme People’s Procuratorate.
Zehua was arrested in July.
November 1, 2023
Gotham Cigars Launches Back Alley Cigarillos
Gotham Cigars released a new line of cigarillos called Back Alley.
Back Alley cigarillos are made in the Dominican Republic and are constructed using a blend of carefully aged Dominican tobaccos. The cigars are 4.5 inches long with a ring gauge of 27 and are packed three cigars to a pouch. Six popular flavors are available—Banana, Russian Cream, White Grape, Blue Vanilla, Mixed Berry and Sweet—and benefit from a premium infusion process to ensure the flavors are authentic and delicious, according to a press release. Back Alley cigarillos will be priced at $18.99 for 15 pouches.
“For some time, I have wanted to introduce a cigarillo that brings something new to the market … Back Alley does just that,” said Manny Balani, owner and president of Gotham Cigars. “Staying true to our urban upbringing, founded in New York City and operating out of Miami for the last 20-plus years, our Back Alley cigarillos are created for an urban audience that is looking for something new, exciting and just a little bit mysterious. We want adult cigarillo smokers to find their own back alley when they light up! We are very proud of this cigar and look forward to introducing it to the market.”
Back Alley cigarillos from Gotham Cigars are available now at www.gothamcigars.com.
November 1, 2023
Trinidad And Tobago: ‘Illicits Diverting Tax Dollars’

Image: japhoto
Trinidad and Tobago loses about $30 million annually in uncollected taxes from illicit cigarettes, according to participants in a forum on anti-illicit trade hosted by the T&T Manufacturers’ Association, reports The Trinidad Guardian.
Policymakers, law enforcement agencies, regulatory bodies and major brands, such as Puma, Moet Hennessy, Servier and BAT, participated in the forum.
“The illicit cigarette trade makes up 5 [percent] to 10 percent of the market, and British American Tobacco fears this share can grow as consumers tend to favor these brands because they sell at a lower price,” said Arturo Payro of BAT. “Cigarettes are T&T’s most illegally traded products in quantity and value.”
Randall Karim, permanent secretary (ag) of the Ministry of Trade and Industry, stated that a strong legal framework will act as a powerful deterrent and send a strong message to smugglers that illegal trade is intolerable.
November 1, 2023
Zimbabwe Increases Tobacco Planted Area

Image: Taco Tuinstra
Zimbabwean tobacco growers have planted 21 percent more hectares for the upcoming crop season than they did last year, according to the Tobacco Industry and Marketing Board, reports The Herald.
The total planted area increased to 19,256 ha from 15,868 ha in 2022. Irrigated area increased 12 percent to 16,962 ha, and dryland increased 232 percent to 2,294 ha.
Farmers increased dryland area cultivation as a precaution for expected harsh weather conditions forecast for the second part of the rainfall season in 2024.
Tobacco export value increased to $934.17 million in the 2022–2023 selling season, up from $717.178 million during the previous year. Tobacco exports increased 23 percent in volume to 180.54 million kg.
The average price increased by 6 percent to $5.17 per kilogram.
The number of registered growers decreased by 24 percent. To date, 102,098 growers are listed for the 2023–2024 season compared to 133,724 last year. Of the registered growers, 92 percent are contract growers.
“That is a very much appreciated reduction, which will impact on tobacco cost of production as irrigated tobacco uses raw water,” said Zimbabwe Tobacco Growers Association chairman George Seremwe. “We also encourage other stakeholders like the Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority to follow suit and reduce electricity charges as cost of irrigation is affected by power bills. The same reduction must be stretched to other inputs like chemicals, fertilizers, and this will result in more tobacco being produced profitably.”
Zimbabwe Tobacco Association CEO Rodney Ambrose stated that the change was welcome if the water price reduction was spread to other crops apart from maize. “We are seeking clarity on a number of areas in the statement, such as the mention of only irrigated maize as being the beneficiary. What about other crops?” he said.
Anxious Masuka, Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development minister, said that the move to reduce water charges by 31 percent is meant to incentivize farmers to commit more hectarage to irrigation for the 2023–2024 summer season.
November 1, 2023
Peace of Mind

Photos: Smoore Technology Indonesia
With its first overseas production facility, Smoore has boosted the resilience of its operations.
By Taco Tuinstra
The site that houses Smoore Technology Indonesia in Malang used to be a tobacco factory, but there is little to remind the visitor of its illustrious past. The rattling conveyors have fallen silent, the leaf scraps have been swept away and the sweet scent of clove tobacco has long dissipated, giving way to a serene, almost sterile environment.
Instead of the rumbling of cigarette-making machines, there is the hum of high-tech equipment. Sixteen automated production lines assemble, fill and pack e-liquid pods for the U.S. market, requiring only a minimum of human intervention. According to Smoore, the Indonesian facility is one of the most sophisticated and highly automated in the world.
Though Indonesian plant manufactures nicotine products like its predecessor, the new establishment looks more like a pharmaceutical lab than a factory, with medical-grade standards of hygiene. Entering the production floor requires hairnets and shoe coverings along with a mechanical “wind shower” to remove any contaminants from visitors’ clothing. In addition to a wastewater treatment facility, the compound has its own power generator; in case of a network failure, production can continue for at least 24 hours.
Considerate of the local culture—Indonesia is the world’s most populous Muslim-majority country—the Chinese firm has built multiple prayer rooms throughout the facility as well as a covered parking deck that can accommodate hundreds of motorcycles. Despite its high level of automation, the Indonesian affiliate employs thousands of local people, and two-wheelers remain by a large margin the most affordable and efficient vehicles for commuters to navigate the country’s bustling roads.
Ensuring Business Continuity
Clayton Shen
Touring the 60,000-square-meter facility (30,000 of which are covered), as Tobacco Reporter did in early October, it is hard to believe that a mere eight months passed between the time that Smoore’s head office in Shenzhen authorized the project and when the first product shipment left the factory in May 2022.
According to Clayton Shen, president director of Smoore Technology Indonesia, the new factory—Smoore’s first outside of its home country—is part of the company’s business continuity strategy, designed to strengthen the resilience of its global operations and guarantee customers uninterrupted supply regardless of geopolitics or other eventualities.
As the world’s leading atomization company with a global market share of almost 20 percent, according to Frost and Sullivan, Smoore already has a formidable manufacturing footprint in China, featuring multiple highly automated production lines. In light of recent global developments, however, the company considered it prudent to expand globally and supplement its Chinese base with an additional site.
While Smoore weathered the Covid-19 pandemic remarkably well, the crisis also exposed the risk of supplying customers worldwide from just one country. Travel restrictions disrupted global supply chains, causing shipping rates to skyrocket and containers to pile up in the wrong locations. China also locked down longer and more severely than many other countries, forcing suppliers to temporarily halt operations and leaving customers scrambling for their products.
Meanwhile, rising political tensions between China—the world’s largest supplier of vaping liquids and hardware—and the United States—the leading destination for such products—resulted in new trade barriers, with Beijing and Washington slapping each other with tit-for-tat tariffs. E-cigarettes and many other Chinese-made imports are now subject to a 25 percent duty in the U.S., saddling buyers with considerable nonvalue-added expenses.
Then, in April 2022, the State Tobacco Monopoly Administration, which had recently asserted jurisdiction over China’s rapidly growing vapor business, published new rules for e-cigarette manufacturing. While Smoore successfully applied for many of the newly required licenses, this development also gave pause to others planning to enter the industry.
Selecting a Site

The facility in Malang is conveniently located to one of Smoore’s key customers; BAT manufactures tobacco products at its Bentoel facility on the other side of the road.
In July 2020, the company took its business public, raising more than US$1 billion on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. The cash provided it with the confidence and financial flexibility to explore the possibility of strengthening its Chinese manufacturing base with a facility abroad.
The immediate question was: where? The United States and Europe are Smoore’s biggest markets, but those places are also far from China, where many of Smoore’s suppliers remain based. And their regulatory environments can be intimidating for players unfamiliar with the local laws.
Smoore decided to look closer to home, in Southeast Asia, which like China has a long tradition of manufacturing for exports. Industrial prowess was not the only criterion, however; Smoore also needed a location that was friendly to e-cigarettes. Thailand and Malaysia quickly disqualified as candidates because of their restrictions on vaping. Vietnam, by comparison, is a tolerant country for the nicotine business. It has a large domestic tobacco industry and a famously industrious workforce. However, the state requires foreign investors to not only team up with a local company but also give their Vietnamese partner a 51 percent stake in the business—an unappealing condition for Smoore.
So the choice fell on Indonesia. According to Shen, the country offers multiple advantages. For starters, it is amiable to the nicotine business—a rarity at a time when hostility is the norm in many countries. Indonesia is a major producer and consumer of tobacco products. In 2022, the country’s tobacco growers harvested 225.58 million kg of leaf, and its cigarette companies produced more than 330 billion sticks, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and the association of white cigarette producers in Indonesia, Gaprindo. The tobacco industry and its supporting sectors employ almost 6 million workers and contribute nearly 11 percent of the country’s total tax take. E-cigarettes and tobacco-heating products (THPs) have been making steady inroads in Indonesia, too, lately, especially in urban areas.
On top of that, Indonesia offers a conducive industrial environment for the e-cigarette business. The country is endowed with abundant natural resources, including nickel and copper, which are key materials in battery production. Keen to move beyond mineral extraction, the government has been pushing domestic production of power cells for electric vehicles and other applications.
The economic significance of tobacco to Indonesia means not only that the country welcomes new initiatives in the sector but also that it has a workforce accustomed to handling nicotine products. What’s more, Indonesia offers good logistics and a favorable investment climate. According to Shen, the latter factors are important because Smoore is keen to localize its supply chain as much as possible. Encouragingly, Indonesia’s business-friendly environment is expected to endure regardless of who wins next year’s presidential elections, as none of the candidates running for office appear inclined to reverse the policies that have allowed Indonesia to become one of the world’s fastest-growing economies.
Perhaps the only hesitation was the uncertainty of how Smoore, as a Chinese company, might be received in Indonesia, where throughout history there have been episodes of tensions between the Indonesian people and the country’s ethnic Chinese community. Smoore’s subsequent experience, however, demonstrated that people, regardless of their background, will generally treat you as well as you threat them: The company’s sincere effort to understand the local culture and respect local customs was reciprocated with fierce loyalty from a dedicated workforce. Local authorities, meanwhile, went out of their way to accommodate the investment. When Smoore inaugurated its facility in June 2022, Indonesia’s minister of investment attended as a guest of honor.
Remarkably, labor cost did not feature prominently in Smoore’s decision to set up shop in Indonesia. While an affordable payroll is a nice side benefit, according to Shen, the company’s focus on automation made the price of labor a less important consideration than it might have been for a less advanced player.
Smoore continues to enjoy a significant lead in this area, having set up its automation division in 2014, when manual production still prevailed in the sector. According to Shen, two developments accelerated automation—the debut of ceramic heating in 2016 and the U.S. premarket tobacco product application process. The first replaced the easily deformed wick with a more solid structure, which is easier to work with from a design perspective. The second made it cost-prohibitive to keep changing products for the all-important American market, resulting in a more predictable form factor.

Smoore’s factory in Indonesia is one of the most sophisticated and highly automated in the world.
The Yunnan of Indonesia
Having decided on Indonesia, Smoore had to pick a city. Should it be Jakarta, Indonesia’s administrative and financial capital, or perhaps Surabaya, with its large industrial base and busy port? In any event, Smoore chose Malang, the capital of the larger Malang regency in the province of East Java. Though smaller than Jakarta or Surabaya, Malang is strategically located with good connections to the port of Surabaya and other key cities. In addition to reputable universities, the town has a strong tobacco heritage, with leading players such as Sampoerna, Djarum and Bentoel operating in the region. “Malang is the Yunnan of Indonesia,” says Shen, referring to China’s leading tobacco-producing province.
The other consideration that made Malang an appealing choice was the fact that BAT had a piece of land available along with empty buildings that used to house a tobacco factory. This provided Smoore not only with suitable facilities but also placed it in proximity to a prominent customer. BAT’s Bentoel subsidiary continues to manufacture tobacco products on the other side of the road.
The first team from China, which included the project leadership, construction specialists and human resource recruiters, arrived in Malang in November 2021, around the time that the Omicron Covid variant started doing the rounds. While Indonesian pandemic restrictions were less severe than those in China, employees among the first group still had to quarantine in Jakarta for up to 10 days. Shen was luckier. By the time he arrived as part of the second group, Indonesia had relaxed its isolation requirements.
Nurturing Talent
Initially, recruitment appeared to be a challenge. Although Indonesia has a large, well-educated workforce and plenty of experience with tobacco products, Smoore was the first e-cigarette company in the country, and there was no readily available workforce for that segment.
“We found that the people here had good experience in other industries but no idea about e-cigarettes,” says Shen. In addition, getting people to relocate for work proved a harder sell in Indonesia than it is in China. “In China, it’s easy to convince people to leave other cities for job opportunities in Shenzhen,” says Shen. “Pursuading candidates to move from Jakarta or Surabaya to Malang turned out to be more challenging.”
So Smoore decided to set up its own training programs. “We went to the local universities and recruited students who were about to graduate,” says Shen. Then we trained them not just in one department but allowed them to rotate based on their university major and their personal interests and capabilities. After one year of training, we sent them to the appropriate position, whether that be in engineering, quality control or in another department.”
This approach not only creates well-rounded employees but also nurtures a pool of future leaders—an important benefit for a rapidly growing company like Smoore. “For many of our people, Smoore is their first employer; they will be heavily impacted by our culture, and they will grow up very fast,” says Shen. “We believe that, within three [years] to five years, many of them will move into key positions—an opportunity that is not always available in established companies where all the leadership functions have already been filled.”
The investments in people appear to be paying off. When a delegation of senior Smoore officials from Shenzhen visited the Indonesia facility, they asked employees from various departments for honest feedback. According to Shen, 95 percent of respondents indicated that they felt proud and comfortable working for Smoore.
Growing the Pie
Such levels of employee satisfaction bode well as Smoore expands. While the facility across the road from Bentoel currently supplies BAT, the company is keen to serve other customers from Indonesia as well. For that purpose, it has been building a second factory at a different location, which at the time of writing was nearing completion.
By spreading its geographical footprint, Smoore has boosted the resilience of it business. With manufacturing capabilities in both China and Indonesia, the company not only offers security of supply but also allows U.S. customers to avoid costly import duties. Other Chinese e-cigarette companies have taken note, and some have also started exploring the option of setting up shop in Indonesia. For the time being, however, most of Smoore’s competitors are limiting their activities to Bantam, a special economic zone just south of Singapore.
Shen is unconcerned about such actions. “We never worry about competitors because we want to make the industry bigger,” he says. More e-cigarette manufacturing in Indonesia also makes it more interesting for suppliers to establish operations there, which in turn will benefit Smoore. In a testimony to the company’s strategic relationships, three of its Chinese suppliers also came to Indonesia when Smoore set up shop there—but there’s always room for more. “Ultimately, our goal is to grow the pie,” says Shen.
Taco Tuinstra is Tobacco Reporter’s editorial director.Based in Raleigh, North Carolina, USA, he coordinates the work of staff writers and contributors.On his watch, Tobacco Reporter has won several awards for editorial excellence.Since joining the magazine in 1997, Taco has visited more than 75 countries to meet industry representatives in their markets and to report tobacco news firsthand.

November 1, 2023
A Pipe Dream?

Photo: Filipa
Britain’s plan to create a smoke-free generation could be momentous if implemented properly—and herein lies the problem.
By George Gay
The Guardian newspaper on Oct. 6 published a trenchant cartoon by Ben Jennings that showed an angry-looking U.K. prime minister driving or stuck in traffic on a road heavily polluted with vehicle fumes. But it is not the vehicle fumes that are making Rishi Sunak angry. He is shouting at a pedestrian student choking on the fumes as he makes his way to school: “Maybe you should stop smoking.”
For readers not based in the U.K., I should explain that, two days earlier, the prime minister’s office had issued a news bulletin titled, “Prime Minister to create ‘smoke-free generation’ by ending cigarette sales to those born on or after 1 January 2009,” while, previously, we had been told that Sunak was considering taking away the powers of local governments to protect children by preventing cars being driven right up to school gates.
I hope that the Jennings cartoon was seen by those public health officials who are quoted in the bulletin as not only supporting the policy, which is a reasonable stance for them to take, but as heaping praise on the prime minister for looking after the interests of young people. They might like to ponder the way Sunak, as chancellor under prime minister Boris Johnson, resisted calls for extending the provision of free school meals to needy children; the way he has served in a government that has allowed more than 100 schools to become structurally unsound; the way he remained in government while it rolled out a chaotic pandemic-period education program, possibly ruining the life chances of countless children; the way he has in mind to prevent local governments from introducing lower speed limits and car-free zones, both of which have positive consequences for children; the way he has condoned the placement of lone asylum-seeking children in hotels, despite the high court’s having found the practice unlawful; and, possibly most heinous of all, the way he condoned the painting over of cartoon murals at other centers housing children seeking asylum lest the centers became too welcoming.
I hope the public health people concerned do think about these matters, which are by no means exhaustive, and each of which will negatively affect the mental and physical well-being of children under the care of Sunak, a committed fossil fuel aficionado. And I hope that, in the future, before being drawn into the political sphere, they bear in mind that politicians regularly use children much as conjurors use their assistants.
I should let it be known also that Sunak heads a party that has been in government for 13 years, that is deeply divided and unpopular and that faces an election next year. In fact, his situation puts me in mind of Maynard Keynes, who apparently once made the point that when something momentous was at stake, the last things you needed in the mix were politicians trawling for votes.
The success or otherwise of this policy will hinge on satisfying, clean nicotine products remaining available even to young adults who will not be able legally to buy cigarettes.
Objections
Having said all that, I must admit that I think the proposed policy could be important, if not momentous. Nevertheless, I am conflicted because whereas I think the policy could offer huge advantages, it will do so only if it is implemented properly, and herein lies the problem. It is being rolled out in its initial phase by politicians trawling for votes.
One of the objections put forward by those opposed to such a policy is that it amounts to a creeping prohibition that aims eventually to disallow smokers from obtaining the products they seek. But is this correct? I can sympathize with those who worry about how such a policy might lead to a “creeping” overreach that takes in current smokers, but I wonder whether this could be described as “prohibition.”
Look at it this way: If there is one message that most tobacco harm reduction advocates have been keen to get across in recent years, it is that smokers smoke for the (benign) nicotine while being laid low by inhaling the tar that is a product of tobacco combustion. So, in fairness, while granting that the government is not proposing that current smokers should not be allowed to obtain cigarettes, it must be conceded also that it is not even proposing that they, or future generations of people, should not have access to nicotine, the substance that smokers want. And even if there is policy creep, the way things currently stand, smokers will not be subjected to a true prohibition because they will have access to nicotine. The proposal seems to my way of thinking to be only about stopping future generations and, given a bit of creep, current generations from inhaling tar, which, apparently, is not what smokers want but the thing that masks the otherwise unpalatable taste of nicotine and harms them.
Meanwhile, some people believe that a major issue with the proposed policy is that it simply won’t work—that those who are underage will be able to obtain cigarettes through family members, friends and retailers who turn a blind eye to the law. There is clearly truth in this because the underaged can obtain cigarettes now, but I cannot see that this matters a great deal, at least at a societal level. In fact, it might provide something of a safety valve for the policy. We have vehicle speed limits in the U.K. that are broken by most people on most days, but those limits nevertheless tend to reduce the speed at which people would otherwise drive. People might drive at 35 mph in 30 mph areas, but few do 45 mph. That such a system works can be seen from the fact that few outside of those on the lunatic fringe of libertarianism would agree to speed limits being abolished, allowing petrol heads to drive through cities at 150 mph. And so it is that the tobacco purchasing age law, along with the continuing availability of satisfying, cleaner nicotine products, would have the effect of reducing the number of people taking up smoking. But, of course, it would not stop it.

The way things currently stand, smokers will not be subjected to a true prohibition because they will have access to nicotine. | Photo: VPZ
Offering Alternatives
Nevertheless, as suggested above, the policy does raise concerns in my mind to do with the timing of it and the commitment to it of the current government and even a future government of a different stripe. Also as suggested above, the success or otherwise of this policy will hinge on satisfying, clean nicotine products remaining available even to young adults who, because of their age, will not be able legally to buy cigarettes. This is fundamental to me. I cannot imagine, as others apparently can, a future unchanging utopia where no one uses recreational drugs. And given I am correct in my assumption, cleanly delivered nicotine should have its place in the future. It is a popular and relatively safe drug, especially when compared with something such as alcohol, which, for reasons I can only guess at, is given a free pass by most public health people even though its consumption is a bigger drain on society than tobacco consumption.
But I digress. The reason I am not convinced the policy will be implemented in a coherent way is that the government, as part of its Oct. 4 news bulletin, said it was planning “a further major crackdown on youth vaping by announcing an intention to consult on plans to reduce the appeal and availability of vapes to children.” The consultation is to take in flavors and product descriptors, disposable vapes, point-of-sale displays, and packaging and product presentation.
It doesn’t take a genius to know which way this is going. The government says it wants to ensure it gets the balance right between protecting young people and supporting adult smokers to quit, but this is politics, and the “child epidemic” lobby will be allowed to have its finger pressing down on its side of the balance. And if the appeal to adults of clean nicotine products is significantly reduced, then it’s game over. The policy will simply pass the ball to those waiting to fuel the illegal trade in vaping devices and, probably, cigarettes.
Rushed Policies
But having said that, the policy could work in theory even though satisfying, cleaner nicotine products were not available, though it would take an investment in policing, the judiciary and the prison service to which no government would commit. The news bulletin said that “[e]nforcement activity will also be strengthened, with an investment of £30 million ($36.42 million) to support agencies such as local trading standards, HMRC [tax collection] and Border Force to take action to stop underage sales and tackle the import of illicit tobacco and vaping products at the border.” You would have to be terribly naive to believe that this amount would be guaranteed, and, in any case, it would be nowhere near enough and would probably not even make up for the disinvestment made in respect of these agencies during the Conservative governments’ 13 years of austerity. The major reason why young people are currently able to obtain vapes so easily is that the funding of trading standards was hugely undermined.
Another reason why the policy, though not without merit, is likely to fail is that it probably has not been thought through properly. The U.K. currently is awash with policies rushed out in order to make it appear, ahead of the election, that the government has a purpose. A recent announcement on railway investments was shot through with errors and failed even to place Manchester, the U.K.’s third-most populous city, correctly on a map.
The tobacco news bulletin is a rambling, repetitive affair that apparently aims to make up with quantity what it lacks in quality. Consequently, we are told on seven occasions that smoking costs the country billions. There are 77 references to smoke or smoking, but you could be forgiven for missing the point that the ban on sales will apparently apply to tobacco products, not just combustible products, because this gets only two mentions. It is full of the usual platitudes that don’t stand up to any sort of scrutiny, such as “[n]o parent ever wants their child to start smoking.” It appears to include one glaring error in saying, “It is already illegal for children to vape.” And it quotes the chief executive of Cancer Research U.K., Michelle Mitchell, as saying, “[t]he prime minister deserves great credit for putting the health of its citizens ahead of the interests of the tobacco lobby,” without adding a caveat to say that if the government had listened to Philip Morris International years ago, the country would already be a long way down the track to being a smoke-free nation.
George Gay is Tobacco Reporter’s European editor, but his territory spans the globe. Based in London, George has covered the tobacco industry since 1982, initially for a U.K.-based publication and since 2004 for Tobacco Reporter. George’s understanding of industry issues, combined with his keen sense of observation and dry wit, have earned him a loyal following among Tobacco Reporter’s readers.

November 1, 2023
Roads to Rome

The MC Cosmic uses airflow technology to heat tobacco. | Photo: HNB Center
There are multiple ways to heat tobacco without burning it.
By Stefanie Rossel
With the multinationals dominating the global market for heated-tobacco products (HTPs), one could easily think there are only two heating solutions—resistive heating with a blade or pin and induction heating. For years, Philip Morris International, which established a whole new category with its IQOS device, had been working on a third method—carbon heating of tobacco—but the company has since discontinued this platform. Recently, however, more heating solutions have entered the market. In their quest to optimize the user experience, independent manufacturers have resorted to other heating technologies.
At the InterTabac trade fair, which took place in Dortmund, Germany, in late September, HNB Center of the Netherlands presented its MC Cosmic consumable. The associated device is powered by airflow technology. Also known as convection heating, it generates a stream of hot (350 degrees Celsius) air that flows through the heating chamber, surrounding a consumable that is filled with loose tobacco granules instead of a tobacco plug. A membrane at the end of the heat stick prevents the granules from falling out and contaminating the device.
The granule-filled sticks are the first of their kind, says Gert Gorter, head of export at HNB Center. “The granules consist of 100 percent tobacco derived from tobacco leaves. Together with the heating device, the taste experience is very good.” The airflow technology, he adds, heats the stick more effectively and evenly than a pin, which tends to heat the tobacco immediately surrounding it to higher temperatures than leaf at a greater distance.

We cannot add any flavors, but we can play with different sorts of tobacco and blends as well as with the number of grams of the granules in the stick.
Gert Gorter, head of export, HNB Center
More Like Smoking
A subsidiary of VCT International, HNB Center began to work with granule-filled consumables provided by Yunnan Tobacco, which holds the patents for the sticks and corresponding device, almost two years ago, first trying them on a traditional device. “The taste was already better,” says Gorter. “You can smoke the sticks with a blade device, but this of course will perforate the membrane and create waste. We didn’t want that, so we thought of using airflow.” While airflow has been around for some time, the technology has improved considerably in recent years, according to Gorter.
Gorter believes that airflow-heated granule-filled sticks provide consumers with an experience that is closer to traditional smoking than other systems. “Two years ago, we did a survey with smokers on our traditional heat sticks and included two packs of the granule-filled prototypes,” he recalls. “These instantly went to No. 1 in the perception of the participating consumers. The taste is fuller. It’s also our answer to the flavor ban on HTPs, which will be effective in the European Union from May 2024, allowing only tobacco flavor. We want to provide a heat stick that comes close to traditional tobacco smoking. We cannot add any flavors, but we can play with different sorts of tobacco and blends as well as with the number of grams of the granules in the stick; a higher grammage will result in fuller flavor.”
The device, which is called My Choice NOVA, has a battery capacity of 15 sticks, making it suitable for the average smoker, who typically consumes 13 cigarettes a day. Gorter is convinced that his technology will make a significant change. “You can also put any stick in this device; the whole system of airflow is giving you a better smoke experience.”
The company started its business in 2019, when it obtained the European distribution rights for the heat sticks from Yunnan Tobacco. HNB Center created the brands, designed the packaging and developed a marketing narrative. “At that time, PMI was the only HTP manufacturer in the European market,” says Gorter. “In 2019, we launched MC, which is the heat stick brand, and My Choice, which is the device. We started with traditional heat sticks similar to PMI’s Heets. What makes us different in this market dominated by the big four is that we work with independent players—distributors, wholesalers and agents who do the sales and marketing in the countries where we are present.”
Currently, the company sells its products in seven countries, including Italy—Europe’s largest HTP market—Portugal, Spain and some Eastern European countries, and it aims to expand into new markets.
Due to the flavor ban, Gorter expects the entire EU HTP market, where flavored heat sticks account for 70 percent of sales, to change. Flavored sticks also represent a big share of HNB Center’s business. The company is betting that its tobacco-flavored granule-based consumables will help offset declining sales of flavored products following the EU ban.
HNB Center plans to launch its MC Cosmic consumables and device in several countries, starting in Italy, where HTP consumption currently stands at 6 billion sticks annually.
Fast and Precise

NVX Labs heats tobacco with an alternating electromagnetic field, not unlike that generated by a microwave oven. | Photo: NVX Lab
Meanwhile, in Switzerland, NVX Labs is developing an HTP device using radio frequency (RF) technology. The concept is similar to that of a microwave oven: A radio frequency generator generates an alternating electromagnetic field within a cavity that holds the consumable. The tobacco plug inside the consumable comprises primarily tobacco and flavor, especially VG, PG and water molecules.
These molecules absorb the radio frequency energy at a frequency of 2.45 GHz. Their inherent dielectric loss properties cause them to rotate and align with the oscillating field’s opposite pole, similar to how a bar magnet behaves in a fluctuating magnetic field. The molecular movement in turn generates heat.
Ralf Dummler | Photo: NVX Lab
NVX Labs’ technology allows for contactless, precise heating of the tobacco plug and distinct flavor profiles, according to Ralf Dumler, founder and chairman of NVX Labs. It also effectively manages the release of nicotine. “The flexibility of the radio frequency energy, adjustable within milliseconds, guarantees exceptional precision in heating the tobacco plug and aerosol release,” he says. “This technology eliminates the need for any metal pieces, metal foils or a heating blade within the tobacco plug, signifying a major advancement toward sustainability in line with the U.N. 2030 agenda for sustainable development.”
The device operates within the ISM band, a universally accessible frequency range that doesn’t require users to obtain a license. Upon activation, the device prepares the consumable within 4 seconds to 5 seconds for the first puff. What’s more, the technology can achieve equivalent aerosol production at temperatures below 210 degrees Celsius.
“Thanks to our technology, tobacco companies can now develop a consumable similar to PMI’s Terea, with a closed end of the tobacco plug but without the need for a metal component inside the tobacco plug,” says Dumler. “In our latest product developments, we’ve harnessed the power of cutting-edge materials science to eliminate the need for traditional tobacco or reconstituted tobacco in the tobacco plug or filling. This sustainable approach not only promotes an eco-friendlier solution but also enhances aroma and provides an elevated consumer experience—all without relying on substrates derived from the tobacco plant.”
Apt for Medical Use
Initially collaborating with a multinational pharmaceutical company, NVX Labs is the pioneering patent holder for RF HTP technology, according to Dumler. The intellectual property provides protection beyond reduced-risk products to both medical and recreational cannabis applications.
Furthermore, the device can function as a conventional pharmaceutical inhaler tailored for the pharmaceutical industry.
A chemist by training with a strong background in the pharmaceutical industry, Dumler had previously ventured into RF heating through his initial startup company. The inspiration to use the technology for HTPs, he says, was a natural progression.
NVX Labs first crafted a handheld prototype demonstrating the feasibility of RF heating for commercially available HTP consumables. Additionally, the company offers its own commercially available evaluation and testing device, enabling tobacco companies to assess RF heating technology and develop their own RF heating products.
Alberto Torreno, co-founder and managing partner of NVX Labs, is optimistic about advancing his HTP device to the preproduction phase within approximately 18 months. He believes that the vast HTP market might intrigue the semiconductor industry because his device relies on GaN and LDMOS solid-state semiconductors.
Simultaneously, NVX Labs is developing a pharmaceutical product, a thermal metered-dose inhaler. The company is researching the potential of this inhaler for administering Salvinorin A, a compound that has shown promise for addressing treatment-resistant depression and substance use disorders.
Although Salvinorin A has yet to be approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration or the European Medicines Agency, Dumler proactively included its potential applications in his patent. “Our pulmonary drug delivery device offers the unique benefit of heating a drug product with pinpoint accuracy and without excipients, which enables new applications of drug delivery within the pharmaceutical industry,” he says.
A Ray of Light
Sixhill, the HTP division of First Union Technology of Shenzhen, China, presented several devices using its Breelight heating technology at InterTabac. According to Sixhill, Breelight is the first infrared heating technology for tobacco. The company says it can effectively stimulate the release of tobacco aroma and nicotine due to the absorption peak characteristics of different flavors, thus achieving unique flavor styles.
In this technology, infrared radiation travels through air or space until it hits an absorbing surface where it is partially converted to heat and partially reflected. But rather than warming the ambient air, this heat warms its object directly.
Used in an HTP, Sixhill says, the technology heats tobacco more evenly and efficiently, improving the utilization rate of a stick to 90 percent. According to the company, IR heating improves the aroma quality, intensity and sustainability of tobacco. It also releases nicotine more effectively than other technologies.
Sixhill’s Aurr device reportedly has a nicotine release rate of 95 percent and a nicotine transfer rate of 45 percent.
Stefanie Rossel is Tobacco Reporter’s editorial contributor. An experienced trade journalist, she combines sharp reporting skills with in-depth knowledge of the tobacco and vapor industries. Prior to joining Tobacco Reporter, Stefanie was editor-in-chief at Tobacco Journal International, where she worked for a decade. Fluent in English, German and French, Stefanie covers tobacco news around the world. She is based in Germany.

November 1, 2023
Connecting the Global Industry

Photo courtesy of Quartz Business Media
Get ready for WT Middle East
World Tobacco Middle East is set to return to Dubai Nov. 27–28, 2023, reasserting its position as the largest international B2B tobacco event beyond western Europe, drawing attendees from over 90 countries. As the premier event for the Middle East’s tobacco industry, it has become a cornerstone for professionals in the field, fostering vital in-person connections, networking and business.
Trusted by leading brands and manufacturers, WT Middle East is the flagship exhibition of the World Tobacco series, which annually gathers over 13,000 professionals. With established events in the Middle East, Europe and Asia, the WT Events portfolio will be further expanding into Africa next year with a conference and exhibition in Zimbabwe, reflecting its dedication to supporting clients entering new markets and stimulating business growth.
This year’s event in Dubai is poised to be its biggest yet, featuring over 250 exhibitors, welcoming over 7,000 visitors and showcasing thousands of products. Due to its impressive growth, the event show floor has expanded to another hall, the Trade Centre Arena, with stand space now completely sold out.
With new exhibitors from HTL Human Trust Lean, Khyber Tobacco Co., Multi Tabak, Ora Tobacco and Mind Spirit Designs & Works as well as returning companies such as Sopariwala, Kaane, ARD, Gulbahar and Premium Tobacco, the upcoming trade show promises to offer an even wider range of products and services for attendees.
To ensure a truly immersive experience, attendees can use the Lex Tobacco Smoking Lounge, an expansive 700-square-meter space designed for meetings, relaxation and product sampling.
At World Tobacco Middle East 2023, you can participate in the largest tobacco event outside Western Europe, avail yourself of exclusive offers from over 250 leading suppliers, connect with industry leaders, explore cutting-edge machinery and gain insights into regulatory matters. Such trade events are pivotal in nurturing personal and business relationships within the global tobacco industry.
For more information and registration details, please visit www.wtevents.com/middle-east.
November 1, 2023