Author: Marissa Dean

  • TPSAC to Discuss Proposed Rule

    TPSAC to Discuss Proposed Rule

    Image: Tobacco Reporter archive

    The Tobacco Products Scientific Advisory Committee (TPSAC) will hold a meeting to discuss the Requirements for Tobacco Product Manufacturing Practice proposed rule on May 18, 2023, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.

    The proposed rule is open for public comment until Sept. 6, 2023.

    The TPSAC meeting will be available via a free webcast. Electronic or written comments on the meeting must be submitted by May 11 for consideration by the committee.

  • WITCO Eyeing Vaping Market

    WITCO Eyeing Vaping Market

    Image: mehaniq41 | Adobe Stock

    The West Indian Tobacco Company (WITCO) is planning to introduce vaping products and is researching cannabis use, reports Trinidad Express

    “The research is clear, [vaping is] 95 percent safer than cigarettes, so the same risk profile does not exist,” said Raoul Glynn, WITCO’s managing director. “That is why you have Public Health in the United Kingdom giving vaping products to 1 million consumers in the U.K. We saw it in T&T for Carnival, where people felt more comfortable vaping than smoking cigarettes.”

    “It’s not one or the other because we will continue to have cigarettes for consumers who want to smoke, but we also want to have the vaping products for those consumers as well,” Glynn said.

    Glynn said WITCO is actively researching the effects cannabis can have on users. “It has very relaxing elements and then you have some elements that do not have a positive effect on people. So we have to be careful, and WITCO would not bring something to market that would put people at risk. The group has done extensive research and concluded one in the U.K. with consumers. We will take those learnings and see if it is ready to go to market, but at this stage, I think it is a bit far off,” he said. 

  • Government Denies Cig Tax Increase Rumors

    Government Denies Cig Tax Increase Rumors

    Image: Cristi | Adobe Stock

    No new taxes will be imposed on any goods or services in Jordan, including cigarettes and tobacco, according to the Income and Sales Tax Department, reports Jordan News.

    The department said rumors of an increase are unfounded.

    Previously, Finance Minister Muhammad Al-Ississ confirmed the government’s commitment not to impose any new taxes or increase taxes.

    Al-Ississ expects non-tax revenues to grow by 6.6 percent compared to the re-estimation for 2022.

  • Vietnam: Worry About Student Vaping

    Vietnam: Worry About Student Vaping

    Image: Tobacco Reporter archive

    Vietnam’s health ministry is concerned about rising incidents relating to student vaping, according to VietnamPlus.

    According to the ministry’s Department of Medical Service Administration, there have been many incidents of students requiring emergency medical attention due to nicotine poisoning and other chemicals present in e-cigarettes and heated cigarette products.

    The department believes that e-cigarettes and heated cigarettes pose risks and contribute to drug abuse and other addictive behaviors, which adversely affect the health and lifestyle of adolescents. 

    The department urges more communication and awareness-raising efforts about the dangers of these products, suggesting that health departments advise the People’s Committees of provinces and cities to issue directives to regularly propagate the harmful effects of ordinary cigarettes, e-cigarettes and heated cigarettes and that regulations should be promptly enforced and inspection activities enhanced.  

  • Altria Reports First-Quarter Results

    Altria Reports First-Quarter Results

    Image: Tobacco Reporter archive

    Altria Group reported net revenues of $5.72 billion in the first quarter of 2023, down 2.9 percent from the comparable 2022 quarter. Revenues net of excise taxes declined 1.2 percent to $4.76 billion.

    “We are off to a strong start and believe our businesses are on track to deliver against full-year plans,” said Altria CEO Billy Gifford in a statement. “Our tobacco businesses performed well in a challenging macroeconomic environment. We delivered strong adjusted diluted EPS growth of 5.4 percent, and we announced exciting progress toward our vision.

    “We reaffirm our guidance to deliver 2023 full-year adjusted diluted EPS in a range of $4.98 to $5.13. This range represents an adjusted diluted EPS growth rate of 3 percent to 6 percent from a $4.84 base in 2022.”

    During the quarter, Altria Group entered into an agreement to acquire Njoy Holdings for approximately $2.75 billion in cash at closing and up to an additional $500 million in cash payments that are contingent upon regulatory outcomes with respect to certain Njoy products.

    In March, Altria exchanged its entire minority economic interest in Juul Labs for a nonexclusive, irrevocable global license to certain of Juul’s heated-tobacco intellectual property. As a result of the 2023 Juul transaction, Altria recorded a noncash, pretax loss of $250 million on the disposition of its Juul equity securities for the three months ended March 31, 2023.

    Altria determined that the fair value of the intellectual property was not material to its financial statements. As a result, it did not record an asset associated with this intellectual property on its condensed consolidated balance sheet on March 31, 2023.

    “The primary drivers of this conclusion were (i) our rights to the intellectual property being nonexclusive, (ii) there being no product or technology transferred to us associated with the intellectual property and (iii) there being no connection between the intellectual property and our current product development plans,” Altria wrote in a press note.

  • Taiwan E-Cig Investigations Increase

    Taiwan E-Cig Investigations Increase

    Image: Tobacco Reporter archive

    Taiwanese authorities are conducting more than 2,000 vaping-related investigations per month following amendments to the Tobacco Hazards Prevention Act that banned e-cigarettes and tightened heated-tobacco product restrictions, reports The Taipei Times.  

    Fines totaling TWD280,000 ($9,117) have been imposed in 18 cases, the Health Promotion Administration (HPA) said. 

    HPA data showed that about 67 percent of the 2,173 cases were for allegedly selling e-cigarettes, 477 were for advertising e-cigarettes, 40 were for displaying e-cigarettes, and 42 were for e-cigarettes or HTP use. 

    “What is worth noticing is that among the 42 cases of alleged illegal use, 41 involved people aged under 20,” HPA Tobacco Control Division head Chen Miao-hsin said.

    The amendments were implemented last month and also increased the age to buy cigarettes to 20, increased the size of required health warnings on cigarette cartons and expanded nonsmoking zones in public spaces. 

  • Anger Over Subsidies for Dutch Cig Factory

    Anger Over Subsidies for Dutch Cig Factory

    Image: Tobacco Reporter archive

    Members of Parliament are angry that Philip Morris received a €268,000 ($296,059) subsidy from the Dutch government in 2021, reports Dutch News.

    The subsidy was to help Philip Morris’ Bergen op Zoom factory, which produces components for tobacco-based cigarettes and electronic cigarettes, become more sustainable. The money came from the economic affairs ministry’s fund to help companies cut carbon dioxide emissions.

    “This is an example of why we want tough rules for these sorts of factories,” said GroenLinks Member of Parliament Suzanne Kroeger.

    “It is absurd that we are making money available to make factories we want to see closed down more sustainable.”

    Philip Morris refunded the money later that year after deciding not to carry out the work.

  • Altria’s ‘Juul Trial’ Begins

    Altria’s ‘Juul Trial’ Begins

    Image: Tobacco Reporter archive

    The trial of San Francisco’s public school system against Altria Group began on Monday, with Thomas Cartmell, a lawyer for the San Francisco Unified School District, stating to jurors, “This case is about Altria, the largest cigarette company in our country, who helped hook a whole new generation of our young people on nicotine, causing a vaping crisis, a youth epidemic,” reports Reuters.

    Beth Wilkinson, a lawyer for Altria, told the jury in her opening statement that the company had aimed to boost sales among cigarette smokers seeking a less harmful option, not among teens. “You can’t forget about those smokers,” she said. “If you can get smokers away from cigarettes, it’s a worthy cause.”

    The school district also sued Juul, which settled that lawsuit last year. Cartmell told jurors that Altria, which was Juul’s largest investor from 2018 until earlier this year, when it exchanged its stake for a license to certain Juul intellectual properties, was “at the heart” of Juul’s strategy to grow its business by appealing to teenagers with sweet flavors and flashy advertising.

    According to Cartmell, Altria made its large investment in Juul after being unsuccessful with its own e-cigarette, and the company knew Juul’s success was driven by youth usage, according to Bloomberg. Juul’s device was “marketed to appeal to the young, cool, popular crowd” and was “packed with nicotine,” Cartmell said.

    Wilkinson argued that evidence would not support this. Juul sales fell after Altria’s investment, and Altria’s investment occurred after Juul pulled most of its flavored products off the market, according to Wilkinson, reports Law.com.

    The San Francisco schools’ lawsuit was chosen to go to trial as a test case.

  • Insurance Agent Sued for Excluding Batteries

    Insurance Agent Sued for Excluding Batteries

    Image: Tobacco Reporter archive

    Four vapor companies have sued Kinsale Insurance Co. in U.S. federal court, claiming the insurer dropped coverage for batteries but failed to fully inform the policyholders before denying a claim.

    If the case goes to trial and appeal, it could potentially help clarify insurers’ and insureds’ responsibilities when policy wording is changed or exclusions are added.

    “Defendant owed a fiduciary duty to plaintiffs based on trust and good faith that required defendant to act in the best interest of plaintiffs, its customers,” reads the lawsuit complaint, filed last week in U.S. District Court in Nashville. “It is reasonable for the insured to assume the policies provided the requested coverage.”

    Based in Richmond, Virginia, Kinsale Insurance offers casualty and specialty casualty insurance for cannabis, transportation and other industries. It has not yet filed an answer to the complaint, according to the Insurance Journal.

    Industry experts, however, said that the practice of changing coverage without fully notifying customers is not uncommon and is rarely challenged. And Tennessee law may be unclear on how far an insurer must go in notifying policyholders of changes and how specific notifications should be.

    Battery fires from nicotine and cannabis vape devices are relatively uncommon but have become a worldwide concern for consumers, fire departments and insurers. In October 2022, Michael and Elisha Schmidt suffered a fire, reportedly from a vape pen battery, and sued four vape companies over the damage.

    The companies, Isabella Industries, Maelynn Industries, Sancia Industries and Illumivaption, all had umbrella and general liability policies with Kinsale for seven years. But when the vape sellers renewed their policies in October 2022, Kinsale excluded batteries and battery fire claims from the policies while raising premiums, the suit claims.

    “Defendant led plaintiffs to believe that the batteries were covered after the renewal,” the complaint reads. “Defendant did not inform plaintiffs that it had removed batteries from the coverage and did not ask Plaintiffs prior to doing so.”

    The plaintiffs also argue that the policy wording was ambiguous and illusory and thus unenforceable under Tennessee law. The companies had always paid their premiums on time and had been loyal customers to Kinsale, they noted.

    When the Schmidts filed their lawsuit, the vape companies filed claims with Kinsale. But the insurer denied the claims, arguing that the policies did not cover batteries. Kinsale would not provide a legal defense for the insureds.

    The vape sellers argue that Kinsale’s refusal amounted to bad faith and unfair trade practices and has cost the companies damages and attorney fees. They are asking for compensatory damages, punitive damages, legal fees and a declaration that the insurer must provide coverage and a defense.

  • Singapore: Smoking Cost Up

    Singapore: Smoking Cost Up

    Image: Tobacco Reporter archive

    The cost of cigarettes and alcoholic beverages in Singapore has increased by 11 percent from the previous year, according to the latest data from the Singapore Department of Statistics, reports The Star

    The price increase follows a 15 percent excise duty increase for tobacco products included in the government’s 2023 budget.  

    Singapore’s key consumer price gauge rose 5 percent in March, slightly lower than the forecast 5.1 percent increase.  

    The Monetary Authority of Singapore said that core inflation will remain elevated in the next few months but should progressively ease in the second half of 2023 and end the year significantly lower.