Author: Marissa Dean

Latvia May Raise Tobacco Purchase Age

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Latvia’s Saeima approved amendments that would raise the purchase age to 20 for tobacco products, substitute products, plant smoking products, electronic smoking devices and fillers, reports LSM.lv.
There were six votes against and 79 votes for the amendments. They still have to pass in a third reading in Parliament.
Production and sale of tobacco products, substitute tobacco products and electronic smoking devices that visually resemble sweets, snacks and toys will be limited as well.
Majority of the Saeima also supported a proposal to ban smoking in Saeima and Cabinet buildings.
March 24, 2023
High Tobacco Auction Rejection Rate

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The rate of rejection at Zimbabwe’s tobacco auction floors is 60.78 percent higher this year than it was during the same time last year, according to Tobacco Industry and Marketing Board (TIMB) statistics, reports The Herald.
“Generally, this season has been very difficult to cure good quality leaf, hence the tendency by some small-scale farmers to mix hands and at times moldy leaf, which accounts for about 97 percent of the rejected tobacco,” said Edward Dune, Tobacco Farmers Union Trust vice president. “The remaining small percentage emanates from pricing issues while at contract floors, even defective tobacco bales are accepted.”
The high rejection rate is a cause for concern, according to Zimbabwe Tobacco Growers Association chairman George Seremwe. “We do not rule out the inside job of middlemen (makoronyera) who collude with buyers to reject certain bales for them to be able to rehandle,” he said. “Rehandling charges can be the driving force behind this menace, and this needs to be investigated thoroughly.”
According to Victor Mariranyika, Tobacco Farmers Union Trust president, bale rejection is subjective and can be abused. “At auction floor, there seems to be a syndicate that is using false allegations, a scam that is meant to siphon money from vulnerable farmers.” He said farmers need a clear breakdown of rejection categories to be sure rejections are valid.
TIMB data shows that rejection rates are generally low at contract sales due to contractors’ ability to buy defective bales.
“Tobacco presentation issues (wet or too dry, mixed hands, moldy tobacco, or they are underweight or overweight or contain nontobacco-related material like stones and wood) account for 97 percent of the rejected tobacco, and the balance is for pricing issues,” said Chelesani Tsarwe, TIMB public affairs officer. “To prevent bales from getting rejected, farmers should focus more on grading and presentation from TIMB, contracting companies’ or Agricultural and Rural Development Advisory Services’ agricultural extension officers who are in all tobacco-growing regions.”
March 23, 2023
Minnesota Schools Urge End to Flavors

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Students and school staff called on Minnesota lawmakers to end all flavored tobacco sales, according to PR Newswire.
Progress has stalled on the bill (SF2123/HF2177) to end the sale of menthol and all flavored commercial tobacco products in Minnesota, according to a press release. Last week, around 250 youth, parents and advocates from around the state joined Minnesotans for a Smoke-Free Generation’s Day at the Capitol and urged Minnesota lawmakers to end flavored tobacco sales.
This is the fourth year a flavored commercial tobacco sales bill has been in play at the Capitol. At a news conference, students and school staff shared how youth tobacco use, especially youth vaping, remains a huge problem in Minnesota schools.
“We’re asking lawmakers to stay focused on one of the top health problems affecting our kids: tobacco use,” said Bethlehem Yewhalawork, a program manager at NorthPoint Health and Wellness Center. “Passing a comprehensive flavor policy will prevent youth addiction and improve health for all Minnesotans.”
The 2022 Minnesota Student Survey found that over 75 percent of Minnesota’s eighth graders and 11th graders who use tobacco report using flavored products.
March 22, 2023
Vuse Menthol Pods Granted Stay

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Two menthol Vuse flavors that received a marketing denial order (MDO) can continue to be marketed by R.J. Reynolds Vapor Co. after the federal 5th Circuit Court of Appeals issued a stay.
Last week, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration denied Reynolds Vapor’s premarket tobacco product applications for the Vuse replacement cartridge Menthol 4.8 percent G1 and the Vuse replacement cartridge Menthol 4.8 percent G2.
As a result, Reynolds would be prohibited from marketing or distributing the products domestically or risk FDA enforcement action. However, the appeals court’s decision allows the products to stay in the marketplace.
In October last year, the FDA issued MDOs for several menthol-flavored vaping products marketed by Logic Technology Development. It was the first time the FDA issued MDOs for menthol products after receiving a scientific review.
A few days after the order was issued, Logic obtained a court order from the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit that temporarily stayed the order.
March 22, 2023
Fines and Jail for Undeclared Manufacture

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A Belgian court handed out fines and prison sentences to several companies and individuals for undeclared cigarette manufacturing, reports The Brussels Times.
The illegal cigarettes were manufactured and stored in a warehouse in Gosselies that was placed under surveillance in 2022. Another warehouse was discovered in a furniture factory in Anderlecht.
A truck carrying 16 pallets of undeclared cigarettes manufactured in Belgium was checked near Jabbeke.
The company running the Gosselies manufacturing was fined €36,710,000 ($39,580,338), and its head was also fined that amount as well as receiving a one-year prison sentence.
Another company was fined €36,710,000 along with a suspended prison sentence for the amount exceeding €36,600,000. All manufacturing and transport equipment was confiscated.
The other accused were fined €36,710,000 and received suspended prison sentences of six months, nine months and two years for the amount exceeding €36,600,000.
March 21, 2023
Reynolds Releases Harm Reduction Paper

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Reynolds American Inc., the BAT Group’s U.S. subsidiary, released its inaugural white paper, “Tobacco Harm Reduction: Creating A Better Tomorrow for Public Health in America,” reports PR Newswire. This is the first in a series of white papers aimed at raising awareness on tobacco harm reduction (THR) as a public health strategy that encourages adult smokers who are uninterested in quitting tobacco altogether to migrate to noncombustible product alternatives.
The goal of the Reynolds’ white paper series is to highlight the progress of THR, address the challenges and have dialogue on the path forward.
“THR has the potential to bring about one of the greatest public health achievements of our time,” said Priscilla Samuel, executive vice president of scientific research and development. “We hope the information presented in this white paper will spark renewed conversation on THR among all stakeholders, including regulators and policymakers, which could lead to effective regulation and access to noncombustible product alternatives for adult smokers who are uninterested in quitting.”
March 21, 2023
STG Announces Annual Meeting

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Scandinavian Tobacco Group’s annual general meeting will be held Thursday, April 13, 2023, at 4:30 p.m. (CEST) at the office of Kromann Reumert, Sundkrogsgade 5, 2100 Copenhagen.
Instead of attending in person, shareholders have the opportunity to follow the general meeting via live webcast transmission on the Investor Portal (available at http://investor.st-group.com). The general meeting and the webcast will commence on April 13, 2023, at 4:30 p.m. (CEST).
March 21, 2023
Universal Recognized as Supplier Engagement Leader

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Universal Corp. has been recognized as a 2022 Supplier Engagement Leader by CDP, a nonprofit charity that runs a global disclosure system for investors, companies, cities, states and regions to manage their environmental impacts. This is the second straight year Universal has earned this recognition. The CDP’s Supplier Engagement Rating system independently evaluates how effectively companies are engaging their suppliers on climate change, using the CDP’s annual climate change questionnaire that covers governance, targets, scope 3 emissions and value chain engagement. The top 8 percent of assessed companies were selected as 2022 Supplier Engagement Leaders.
“We are honored to once again be recognized by CDP as a Supplier Engagement Leader,” said George C. Freeman III, Universal’s chairman, president and CEO. “At Universal, we work in partnership with our suppliers to reinforce the sustainability of our supply chains and meet our climate change goals. Universal is committed to setting high standards of social and environmental performance.”
March 21, 2023
FDA Updates Nicotine Definition in Docs

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The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has updated its definition of “tobacco products” to include nontobacco nicotine products.
In response to the increase of nontobacco nicotine in popular tobacco products, Congress passed a federal law that went into effect on April 14, 2022, granting the FDA authority to regulate tobacco products containing nicotine from any source, including synthetic nicotine. This new law extended the tobacco product requirements in the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act to manufacturers, importers, retailers and distributors of nontobacco nicotine products. Previously, the FDA’s tobacco product authority only extended to tobacco products that contain nicotine made or derived from tobacco.
Under this legislation, the definition of “tobacco product” in the FDA’s regulations and guidances has been considered to be amended since April 14, 2022. The FDA has now issued two notices in the Federal Register updating the definition of “tobacco product” in its existing regulations and guidances.
In addition, the agency has also posted the following nine revised guidances to the FDA’s website: Civil Money Penalties and No-Tobacco-Sale Orders for Tobacco Retailers (Revised); Determination of the Period Covered by a No-Tobacco-Sale Order and Compliance With an Order (Revised); Further Amendments to General Regulations of the Food and Drug Administration to Incorporate Tobacco Products (Revised); Interpretation of and Compliance Policy for Certain Label Requirement; Applicability of Certain Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act Requirements to Vape Shops (Revised); Listing of Ingredients in Tobacco Products (Revised); Premarket Tobacco Product Applications for Electronic Nicotine-Delivery Systems (Revised); The Prohibition of Distributing Free Samples of Tobacco Products (Revised); FDA Deems Certain Tobacco Products Subject to FDA Authority, Sales and Distribution Restrictions, and Health Warning Requirements for Packages and Advertisements (Revised); and Demonstrating the Substantial Equivalence of a New Tobacco Product: Responses to Frequently Asked Questions (Edition 3).
March 20, 2023
Holography Trade Body Adds General Secretary

Micaal Sidorov | Image courtesy of the IHMA
The International Hologram Manufacturers Association (IHMA) has appointed Micaal Sidorov as its new general secretary.
Sidorov brings experience in business development, sales and marketing, market research and intellectual property management, working widely across the ID document and security printing sectors.
He will work to develop and expand the membership base of the IHMA, in particular to include more nontraditional members coming from outside the security and brand protection industries. Developing collaborative initiatives with the Counterfeit Intelligence Bureau, which includes expanding the Hologram Image Register to include images for other optically variable devices besides holograms, Secure Identification Union in China and Intergraf, the security printers trade association, will also be priorities. Other plans include a series of workshops, with the first one to be held in Abu Dhabi this spring.
“The IHMA board looks forward to working with Micaal to continue to promote the best interests of holography, which is an important and growing sector, across the world,” said Paul Dunn, chair of the IHMA. “Despite the economic, social and global supply chain challenges, we continue to see strong activity for holography with brand manufacturers and countries bringing forward their anti-counterfeiting plans. Micaal will help the industry to continue to grow and innovate, which remains the mission of the IHMA as well as supporting the sector [to] meet the challenges it faces.”
March 17, 2023