Author: Marissa Dean

  • Keller and Heckman Files Amicus Brief

    Keller and Heckman Files Amicus Brief

    Image: Tobacco Reporter archive

    Eric Gotting and Azim Chowdhury, partners at Keller and Heckman, filed an amicus brief with the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) in support of Avail Vapor’s writ of certiorari petitioning the SCOTUS to review the 4th Circuit’s decision to uphold the Food and Drug Administration’s marketing denial order of Avail’s premarket tobacco product application for its nontobacco-flavored e-liquids, according to a post on The Continuum of Risk.

    The brief, filed on behalf of a group of public health experts, is intended to provide relevant scientific background on comparative health impacts of electronic nicotine-delivery system (ENDS) products with combustible cigarettes. The brief argues that ENDS are, beyond reasonable doubt, much safer than cigarettes; ENDS help adult smokers quit and can reach many adults who would not otherwise quit smoking; ENDS flavors are important to adults trying to quit smoking; youth vaping has declined markedly since 2019, with most youth vaping being infrequent, nonaddictive and temporary, and more frequent and intense vaping generally limited to adolescents who are otherwise likely to smoke; young people do not generally use the refillable tank devices sold in vape shops but instead use more mass-market products; claims that vaping is a gateway to smoking are based on a misunderstanding of the evidence; and because smoking and vaping are linked, measures like e-liquid flavor bans can cause more smoking or other damaging unintended consequences.

  • Van-Tull Sworn in as President of WBA

    Van-Tull Sworn in as President of WBA

    LieAnn Van-Tull | Image: Tobacco Reporter archive

    LieAnn Van-Tull, an associate with Keller and Heckman’s Food and Drug Packaging and Tobacco and E-Vapor practice groups, was sworn in as president of the Washington Bar Association (WBA) on June 14, 2023. In addition, Van-Tull was honored as a National Conference of Bar Presidents (NCBP) Diversity Scholar for the 2023–2024 class.

    Founded in 1925, the Washington Bar Association is the oldest and largest predominantly Black bar association in Washington, D.C. The WBA’s leadership team is dedicated to improving and protecting the well-being of the legal profession and its members, advancing the science of jurisprudence and the administration of justice and promoting diversity within the legal field.

    “Having served as president-elect, secretary and membership chair, LieAnn has been an active member of the WBA since 2016,” said Cynthia Lieberman, chair of Keller and Heckman’s diversity and inclusion committee. “She is also a talented and hardworking attorney here at Keller and Heckman. Both of LieAnn’s accomplishments—being elected WBA president and receiving the NCBP Diversity Scholar award—highlight her commitment to legal excellence and LieAnn’s dedication to the greater legal community.”

    The National Conference of Bar Presidents was founded in 1950 to empower, connect and inspire bar leaders and organizations. As a Diversity Scholar, Van-Tull will attend NCBP leadership trainings and conferences throughout the year.

    “It is such an honor to be of service as the president of the WBA and to have been selected as an NCBP Diversity Scholar,” said Van-Tull, “and I am excited about the promising year ahead. I am especially looking forward to fulfilling this year’s bar theme, ‘Legacy is the Foundation Upon Which We Build: Moving Forward Boldly,’ by building upon the WBA’s current membership and creating more opportunities for law students, lawyers and judges to collaborate with WBA’s stakeholders.”

    “LieAnn’s clear dedication to protecting equal justice under the law, community engagement and improving diversity in the legal profession will make her a natural fit for the president role,” said Richard Mann, chair of Keller and Heckman’s management committee. “As a firm, we look forward to watching her succeed in her new position.”

    Van-Tull will serve as president of the WBA for the 2023–2024 bar year.

  • BAT Changes Management Board

    BAT Changes Management Board

    Image: Tobacco Reporter archive

    Following the appointment of Tadeu Marroco as CEO on May 15, 2023, BAT has announced changes to its management board. According to BAT, the new structure, roles and composition of the management board will support Tadeu’s commitment to a sharpened focus on improved execution and operational excellence; enhanced capabilities critical to BAT’s strategic development and transformation; and a progressive and agile organization with a collaborative and inclusive culture.

    This refreshed management board structure is critical to my commitment to build a progressive and agile organization with a collaborative and inclusive culture, enabling simultaneous performance and transformation.

    Tadeu Marroco, CEO, BAT

    Johan Vandermeulen will be appointed to the new role of chief operating officer, reporting to the CEO, effective July 1, 2023. This role will be accountable for driving business performance, operational excellence and best-in-class execution, with a focus on both short-term and sustainable delivery. Reporting to Vandermeulen will be David Waterfield, promoted to the management board as president and CEO of Reynolds American Inc. effective July 1, 2023; Fred Monteiro (director of Americas and Europe) and Michael Dijanosic (director of Asia-Pacific, the Middle East and Africa); Zafar Khan (director of operations) and Javed Iqbal (director of digital and information). Iqbal also currently serves as interim finance director.

    Kingsley Wheaton will be appointed to the new role of chief strategy and growth officer, reporting to the CEO, effective Sept. 1, 2023. This role will be accountable for continued strategic development and delivery of sharper consumer focus through an integrated approach to brands together with shaping enablers for long-term sustainable growth and driving the company’s robust ESG agenda. Reporting to Wheaton will be Luciano Comin, appointed to the new role of marketing director of combustibles and new categories effective July 1, 2023—this role will be accountable for a more integrated approach to insights, innovation, brand-building, consumer experience and activation and revenue growth management across the combustibles and new categories portfolios; Paul McCrory, promoted to the management board to the new role of director of corporate and regulatory affairs effective Sept. 1, 2023—this role will be accountable for shaping regulatory strategy and leading regulatory engagement to secure sustainable access to markets and categories; and James Barrett, promoted to the management board to the new role of director of business development effective Sept. 1, 2023—this role will be accountable for strategy development, M&A, the Wellbeing and Stimulation portfolio and BAT’s venturing unit, Btomorrow Ventures; James Murphy, director of research and science, and Jerome Abelman, director of legal affairs and general counsel, continue in their roles reporting directly to the CEO.

    Guy Meldrum, currently president and CEO of Reynolds American Inc., and Paul Lageweg, currently director of new categories, will step down from their roles and from the management board effective June 30, 2023, and will facilitate a transition with their successors.

    Hae In Kim will step down from the management board effective June 30, 2023, to take up the role of strategic talent director, reporting to the CEO. As an integral part of her responsibilities in this leadership role working alongside the board and the management board, Kim will oversee the execution of several key projects as part of BAT’s talent agenda.

    The existing roles of chief transformation officer, chief growth officer, director of new categories and director of combustibles will be removed from the management board as their accountabilities transfer within the new structure.

    A comprehensive process is underway to identify and appoint the successors for the roles of finance director and director of talent, culture and inclusion, reporting to the CEO.

    “This refreshed management board structure is critical to my commitment to build a progressive and agile organization with a collaborative and inclusive culture, enabling simultaneous performance and transformation,” said Marroco in a statement. “To that end, I am delighted to be welcoming David, Paul and James to the management board. They are all highly collaborative leaders who have the depth of experience to enable the continued strategic and cultural transformation of BAT.

    “I would like to thank Guy for his significant contribution across many markets and geographies over the last two decades and Paul for his role in helping to create a new category business that continues to drive BAT’s transformation. I also look forward to working with Hae In as strategic talent director.”

  • Vietnam Smoking Ban Takes Effect in August

    Vietnam Smoking Ban Takes Effect in August

    Image: Tobacco Reporter archive

    The Vietnam Ministry of Health recently issued Circular No. 11/2023/TT-BYT, which regulates areas where smoking is not allowed, according to Vietnam+.

    The circular takes effect Aug. 1, 2023. 

    According to the circular, smoking will be completely prohibited indoors and on premises at healthcare facilities, educational institutions, facilities providing care and entertainment services for children, facilities or areas with a high risk of fire or explosion, in automobiles, on aircrafts and on metro lines.

    Smoking is prohibited indoors at workplaces of state administrative agencies, state-run units, businesses, political organizations, socio-political organizations, social organizations, socio-vocational organizations and other units as well as food service establishments, entertainment facilities, railway stations, wharves, bus stations, religious facilities and places of worship, convention centers, commercial centers, markets, theatres, cultural houses, cinemas, circuses, clubs, sports halls, stadiums, community houses and common areas of apartment buildings and other public places.

    Smoking will be prohibited indoors but may be allowed in separate areas at hotels, motels, guest houses, resorts, other tourist accommodations, on public transport including ships and trains, in bars, karaoke parlors and dance halls and in isolation areas at airports.

  • AJK to Require Track-and-Trace System

    AJK to Require Track-and-Trace System

    Image: Tobacco Reporter archive

    The Central Board of Revenue for Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) has instructed all cigarette manufacturers in the state to implement the latest track-and-trace system by Aug. 1, reports Dawn.

    “All cigarette manufacturing units in the territory must ensure installation of the latest manual/automatic applicators, including tax stickers/stamps, on the pattern of Pakistan in consultation with the relevant legally authorized license holder company, by Aug. 1, 2023, or else the clearance of their products will be halted followed by initiation of legal action, including closure under rules of the units concerned,” said a spokesperson.

    AJK cigarette manufacturers and representatives of the AJK Inland Revenue Department signed agreements on April 14 regarding installation of the track-and-trace system. On May 31, a team from the Federal Board of Revenue’s Directorate General of Digital Initiatives physically visited all cigarette units in AJK along with the legally authorized license holder firm.

    Those caught without the correct track-and-trace requirements will face legal action.

  • MPs Want Liquid Nicotine on Poisons List

    MPs Want Liquid Nicotine on Poisons List

    Image: Ezume Images

    Opposition Members of Parliament (MPs) in Malaysia are amplifying calls for the reintroduction of liquid nicotine into the Poisons Act 1952.

    Kuala Langat MP Ahmad Yunus Hairi, who heads Perikatan Nasional’s health portfolio, said the absence of regulations on vape has led to a proliferation in the number of teens using e-cigarettes or vaping products.

    “By excluding liquid nicotine from the Poisons Act, we have inadvertently created loopholes that undermine our efforts to combat the use of vaping among our youth.

    “I hope liquid nicotine can be reinstated into the Poisons Act, given the Health Minister’s authority over the matter, so that, at the very least, before we proceed with the Control of Smoking Products for Public Health Bill 2023, we can have some control over these e-cigarette devices,” Ahmad Yunus said in his debate on the Health White Paper tabled in Parliament, reports CodeBlue.

    Both the Malaysian Medical Association and the Malaysian Pharmacists Society have previously urged the government to bring liquid nicotine back under the control of the Poisons Act 1952, particularly in light of the uncertain status of the tobacco bill.

    The Control of Smoking Products for Public Health Bill, which regulates tobacco and vape products, remains in limbo after it was referred to the Health parliamentary special select committee—chaired by former Health Minister Dzulkefly Ahmad—immediately after first reading in Malaysia’s lower house of Parliament.

    This means that vapes and e-cigarettes will remain legally available for sale to minors aged under 18 for at least another four months until the lower house meets in October.

  • Second Circuit Appeals Court Rules for FDA

    Second Circuit Appeals Court Rules for FDA

    Credit: Andrey Popov

    The U.S. Food and Drug Administration acted reasonably in denying vapor maker Magellan Technology’s request for a marketing order for its flavored vaping products, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit ruled May 16.

    The court upheld the FDA’s finding that Magellan failed to show the product would provide a benefit to adult users that would outweigh the risks to youth.

    The agency found Magellan’s evidence—four nonclinical studies—was insufficient to establish that the flavored pods would be more effective than tobacco-flavored electronic nicotine-delivery systems in helping smokers switch to e-cigarettes to stop smoking altogether, according to Bloomberg Law.

    The manufacturer of Hyde and Juno brand e-cigarettes sued the FDA and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, claiming the agencies violated the Administrative Procedure Act.

    New York-based Magellan Technology accused the agencies of refusing to review the company’s premarket tobacco product applications (PMTAs) for 12 products, a process that cost the company $1 million. Magellan claims the FDA “arbitrarily” and “capriciously” rejected the applications.

    “Magellan had already spent over $1 million on the PMTAs at the time the RTA [refuse-to-accept] order [was] issued and plans to spend over $10 million on the PMTAs in total,” the suit states.

    Texas-based retailer Vapor Train 2 is also a plaintiff in the suit. The companies asked a Texas federal court to temporarily stay the RTA order that the FDA issued to Magellan, according to the lawsuit filed Thursday.

    The companies are expected to appeal the ruling. Magellan could now seek an en banc review of the case (a rehearing by the full 2nd Circuit) or could appeal to the Supreme Court of the United States. 

  • Justice Groups Push Back Against Flavor Ban

    Justice Groups Push Back Against Flavor Ban

    Image: Tobacco Reporter archive

    A coalition of more than 50 criminal justice reform groups sent a letter to U.S. President Joe Biden warning that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s proposed ban on flavored tobacco products will lead to overpolicing in communities of color, according to The Hill.

    Prohibition-style policies, like the one proposed, “have serious racial justice implications,” wrote the organizations, which include Blacks in Law Enforcement, the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, the National Latino Officers Association and the Sentencing Project.

    “Banning the legal sale of menthol cigarettes through licensed businesses will lead—and, in fact, has already led in some states—to illegal, unlicensed distribution in communities of color while triggering criminal laws in all 50 states, increasing the incidence of negative interactions with police and ultimately increasing incarceration rates,” the letter said. “There are far better solutions for reducing menthol cigarette use than criminalizing these products and turning this issue over to the police.”

    The aim of the flavor ban is not only to make smoking less attractive but also to advance health equity, according to Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra

    “FDA has the power to provide smokers with less harmful options and information to help accelerate reductions in smoking,” the coalition wrote in its letter. “Rushing forward with a total ban without these alternatives in place contradicts everything we know—and everything the administration has been saying in other spheres—about why harm reduction works and criminalization doesn’t.” The coalition urged the FDA to reconsider the ban and find solutions opposed to criminalization.

  • Panacea to Distribute Fume in Britain

    Panacea to Distribute Fume in Britain

    Image: Panacea Life Sciences Holdings

    Panacea Life Sciences Holdings signed an exclusive licensing and distribution agreement with QR Joy to distribute Fume disposable vape devices across the U.K.

    “The Panacea distribution division is thrilled to be distributing the Fume product line throughout the U.K. as we see a tremendous opportunity to expand our strategy and diversification into the natural plant-based markets,” said Leslie Buttorff, Panacea CEO and founder, in a statement. “Partnering with such a popular brand like Fume enables us to open new markets while driving revenue and shareholder value for our investment community.”

  • David Paton Joins Philter

    David Paton Joins Philter

    David Paton

    David Paton, the former head of global open innovation at BAT, has joined Philter as the company’s chief innovation officer. Paton became a member of the Philter science and strategic advisory board in September 2022.

    As the company’s chief innovation officer, he will play a key role working with the company’s co-founder and CTO, John Grimm, to advance the company’s next-generation technologies. During his time at BAT, Paton served in several senior innovation roles, including head of product development for tobacco-heating products, head of global discovery and head of global open innovation. Paton has extensive experience in product strategy, product development and new-to-world innovations gained from his career at BAT and previously Kimberly-Clark.

    “From the moment I saw the latest technological developments at Philter, I immediately recognized how the company will materially change the way consumers smoke and vape, making it less risky for everyone,” said Paton in a statement. “Philter has undoubtedly created game-changing technology that will change the cannabis and nicotine consumption landscape.”

    “We were very excited when David Paton joined our science and strategic advisory board and thrilled that he will be joining Philter as the company’s chief innovations officer. His role will be key to shoring up more of our IP and helping the company reach its innovation goals. David will also support product development to launch the industry’s first vaping/smoking device for organic substrates with Philter patented filtration to eradicate secondhand smoke,” said Christos Nicolaidis, Philter CEO.