Author: Marissa Dean

  • Zimbabwe Cigar Tobacco Marketing Season Opens

    Zimbabwe Cigar Tobacco Marketing Season Opens

    Image: Taco Tuinstra

    Zimbabwe’s 2024 cigar tobacco marketing season opened in Manicaland with a high price of $7.05 per kilogram recorded on the first sale, according to The Herald. The crop is in its 10th year of production.

    Growers have sold 5,200 kg of cigar tobacco worth $16,432 at an average price of $3.16 per kilogram, according to Tobacco Industry and Marketing Board (TIMB) statistics.

    “Growers comprised 11 small-scale growers all doing half a hectare each and one commercial farmer doing four hectares. The highest price fetched was $7.05 per kilogram,” said Chelesani Tsarwe, TIMB public affairs officer. Sales took place at Mapeto Farm in Burma Valley in the Manicaland province.

    “The first of the anticipated three sales saw 5,022 kg of the crop undergoing sale at an average price of $3.16 per kilogram. The crop was grown under contract with 14 small-scale farmers and one commercial grower,” said James Lindsay Guild, owner of Mapeto Farm. The crop was fermented at the farm for at least a year, according to Guild.

    “The premium tobacco from the crop is destined for the American cigar market. The average yield is around 1,500 kg per hectare,” Guild said.

    The small-scale farmers produced the crop under dryland, and the commercial farmer used irrigation.

  • Germany Revokes Shisha Packaging Rules

    Germany Revokes Shisha Packaging Rules

    Image: ir1ska

    Germany’s finance ministry has revoked its rules for packaging shisha tobacco, which caused major backlash and some retailers to go bankrupt, according to DPA International.

    The packaging regulation was introduced in 2022 to prevent tax evasion, which was a frequent issue in shisha bars. Shisha bars would buy large packages of shisha tobacco and divide them into small portions, which the government said was tax evasion because the bars were paying less in taxes than they should be.

    The packaging regulation subsequently banned 200-gram packs and 1,000-gram packs and only allowed packs to be a maximum of 25 grams. The finance ministry expected an additional tax revenue of €155 million ($165 million) following the restrictions; however, tax income declined as the black market increased.  

    According to DPA, the regulations will be lifted beginning July 1, allowing packs of all sizes to be legal again.

  • Heated Breakthrough

    Heated Breakthrough

    Greentank is at the forefront of innovation with the launch of its patented Heating Chip technology.

    By Timothy S. Donahue

    The vaping industry is in a constant state of innovation, primarily driven by advancements in hardware. A significant focus has been on enhancing battery quality as well as the electronics and circuitry within vaping systems. Notably, there have been substantial advancements in atomization technology. This includes the development from traditional wire coils and wicks to a more progressive adoption of ceramic materials.

    Atomization technology is crucial because the heating element functions as the core of a vaping system. The coil’s role in atomizing e-liquid is pivotal; the more efficient the element, the better the aerosol production, consistency and flavor. Recently, a leading technology company announced its breakthrough in heating technology, set to revolutionize the market.

    It has been seven years since a significant advance has been made in atomization technology. Enter Greentank: a company with a wholly new design representing a dramatic step-change from the conventional ceramic and wicked coil systems prevalent in many of today’s vaping products, promising enhanced safety, performance and experience.

    Greentank is a business-to-business technology company that specializes in the design, development and manufacturing of precision-made inhalation devices and atomization technology, according to CEO Dustin Koffler. Greentank’s latest innovation in atomization is called Quantum Vape. It replaces cotton wick and ceramic heating elements with a state-of-the-art patented Heating Chip.

    According to Koffler, the Heating Chip outperforms all other leading atomization products. For example, the Heating Chip performs better on key safety metrics such as harmful and potentially harmful constituents (HPHCs) and heavy metal testing than other leading technologies in the market. It also produces the “absolute greatest” release of flavor and the most consistent consumer experience from the first draw to the last, he says.

    “With this breakthrough in inhalation science, we’ve catapulted beyond the current generation of atomization technology,” said Koffler. “Our Heating Chip is set to disrupt the global market. It’s a distinct departure from anything currently available. While many companies focus merely on tweaking the substrates and print materials used in ceramic-based systems, they remain bound to the same ceramic foundation.

    “They’re refining ceramics—making components slightly smaller, slightly tighter, experimenting with new materials and formulations. Greentank, however, is pioneering an entirely novel approach that’s unlike anything witnessed in the industry before.”

    The Heating Chip is small. It comfortably fits on a fingertip and is one-fifth the size of today’s heating solutions. However, Koffler said its high-performance standards are due to advances that have never been achieved before with atomization. Typically, in a ceramic heating element, over time, flavor starts to dissipate naturally. This is because there is caking or buildup inside the pores of the ceramic, causing the temperature throughout the ceramic to vary after each use, leading to thermal cycling. With the Heating Chip, there is zero potential for thermal cycling, according to Greentank; every puff tastes the same as the first.

    “The Heating Chip employs a unique capillary action to draw the oil through the heating element, ensuring that each puff initiates a fresh cycle of material,” explained Koffler. “Many products boast consistent flavor throughout use, yet we’re all aware that the current market offerings fall short in maintaining this throughout the life of the product. In contrast, the Heating Chip integrates nanofabrication into its design.

    “The entire manufacturing process is proprietary, involving novel methods to assemble materials into the Heating Chip that emits no ceramic particle emissions and contains the lowest levels of harmful and potentially harmful constituents. While it’s not feasible to claim complete absence, third-party testing and rigorous chemical analysis have found these HPHCs to be at undetectable levels.”

    Additionally, Greentank only recently completed a longevity study using the Heating Chip in one of the company’s proprietary electronic nicotine-delivery system devices with a target of 15,000 puffs. “We easily achieved this target while demonstrating consistent vapor output from the first puff to the 15,000th puff,” explained Koffler. “Furthermore, we provided these same devices, along with new ones, to Labstat International to conduct aerosol analysis for both carbonyls and metals. The results showed that there was no difference in the safety efficacy from the first puff to the 15,000th puff.”

    Technically Speaking

    To a scientist, it’s a micro channel-based aerosol generator that delivers sub-micron particles according to its proprietary design. To the average consumer, it’s a smoother experience with maximum flavor intensity in a less-risky delivery than currently marketed e-cigarette and cannabis vape products. The Heating Chip isn’t anything like ceramics, said Koffler. Porosity isn’t inconsistent. It’s a chip with thousands of small holes and microchannels that allow for a superior level of precision and control in the atomizing process.

    One of the major challenges in designing the Heating Chip was finding the right talent to help develop the manufacturing process, said Koffler. The manufacturing of the Heating Chip requires specialized equipment, and bringing together a system that worked was incredibly complicated. The manufacturing of the Heating Chip can be compared to producing semiconductors.

    “By adapting pioneering techniques from other advanced industries and tailoring them to meet our specific requirements, we’ve enhanced our technology’s performance,” Koffler revealed. “The expertise of our global team, the precision of the equipment we utilize and our methodical focus on perfecting one aspect of the process at a time has been instrumental in overcoming the challenges we faced.”

    The next generation of atomization technology is moving away from ceramics, according to Koffler. The Heating Chip technology avoids all heavy metal leaching and ceramic particle emissions and ensures the lowest HPHCs all while permitting an unprecedented taste and consistency over a longer lifetime.

    It also offers a smoother experience and better mouth dispersion. Interestingly, the device is also able to create particulate matter small enough to reach lower lung absorption levels for nicotine, much like combustible cigarettes. This could be a giant innovation in getting smokers to adapt to less risky nicotine-delivery systems.

    “Utilizing microfluidic channel technology, we’ve engineered a system that precisely controls aerosol nucleation and optimizes particle size, enriching the sensory experience while maximizing intensity without any harshness,” Koffler detailed. “Our design includes independently arranged channels and a thin film interface that safeguards against chemical reactions and thermal decomposition. This architecture not only enhances flavor fidelity and ensures consistent temperature but also elevates safety standards and reduces potential harm significantly. From the outset, our goal was to achieve unparalleled performance and safety.”

    The size of the Heating Chip is incredible. It’s tiny. It’s one-fifth the size and 100 times the precision of any ceramic atomizer on the market today, according to Koffler. Its reduced size creates greater design flexibility and quicker response times. The Heating Chip is produced on sophisticated micro- electromechanical systems (MEMS) machinery. MEMS is a general term for forming a micron-level three-dimensional structure on a support substrate such as a silicon wafer and integrating functions such as electronic circuits, sensors and actuators.

    “Unlike the broad, imprecise methods typical of ceramic manufacturing, our approach from start to finish is meticulously controlled and exact,” explained Koffler. “This precision is why developing the right equipment for producing the Heating Chip was an extensive process. The level of control we achieve with the MEMS technology not only enhances consistency but also opens up revolutionary possibilities in precise dosing for pharmaceutical applications. This capability to finely tune dosages is a game changer in both vaping and medical fields.”

    Future Markets

    Based in Toronto, Canada, Greentank doesn’t produce nicotine. It doesn’t manufacture e-liquids or cannabis products. At its core, Greentank is a technology and product development company with a focus on safety, performance and reliability. The Heating Chip is not made from ceramics. While the material is proprietary, Koffler insists the technology is something new and its application in inhalation products is only scratching the surface of its potential. It is designed specifically for multiple verticals, predominantly electronic nicotine-delivery systems but also pharmaceuticals and wellness products.

    “We have expanded to over 100 employees across Canada, the U.S., the U.K., Singapore and China, with the majority focused on research and development,” Koffler detailed. “We’ve assembled a highly skilled manufacturing team to produce our innovative chip and have strengthened our engineering and material science capabilities. Last summer, we acquired Numerical Design, a company specializing in microfluidics and microfabrication, boasting an extensive portfolio of patents that further strengthen our intellectual property. This strategic expansion underscores our commitment to leading the edge in technology and manufacturing excellence.”

    Greentank spent over three years developing and testing the technology surrounding the Heating Chip and its manufacturing process. Additionally, it has been created with a robust intellectual property portfolio involving more than 50 patent families to bring forward a variety of advancements. The company’s technology is manufactured in ISO-certified labs, and all products undergo third-party testing.

    The technology is completely different from what exists in today’s inhalation devices. It gives Greentank the flexibility to be adopted into various inputs and varying viscosities. For example, it works well with both low-viscosity water-based e-liquids and high-viscosity resin oils from cannabis materials.

    In March of 2023, Greentank announced that it successfully closed a $16.5 million Series B financing round led by a strategic investor group with more than 15 years of manufacturing experience. The total investment in Greentank to date is now reported at $38.5 million.

    “Our Series B funding was a strategic move to elevate our operations from industrial prowess to global commercialization,” said Koffler. “We’ve established a 20,000-square-foot cutting-edge R&D and manufacturing facility, a project that spanned 18 months to build and equip with the most advanced technology needed to scale our Heating Chip.

    “This facility not only pushes the limits of what’s possible with specialized equipment and expertise but is also designed with flexibility in mind. Our vision was to create a model that can be replicated anywhere in the world, preparing us to expand into any other market as we continue to grow our business.”

    The expansion of the business is about phases, and Koffler said that during the next phase, whether that be the medical or wellness industry, Greentank needs to be able to produce chips to meet global demand with scale in mind. Koffler said this means that the company will look to leverage automation.

    Koffler emphasized that the real measure of Greentank’s success will be seen as the next generation of inhalation devices hits the market. He highlighted that numerous devices are on the cusp of being launched, with the Heating Chip poised to redefine industry benchmarks for safety and efficiency. Currently, Greentank is aiming to influence tobacco harm reduction significantly.

    “At Greentank, our commitment extends beyond mere compliance with regulatory standards; we are dedicated to establishing new paradigms of transparency and consumer safety,” said Koffler. “We are not just participating in the market—we are leading it toward a safer and better future.”

  • Revenant Rule

    Revenant Rule

    Image: MarijaBazarova

    Canada’s new health minister is breathing new life into a 2021 proposal to ban vape flavors nationwide.

    By Stefanie Rossel

    Thomas Kirsop

    There’s life in the old dog yet: In March 2024, Canada relaunched a three-year-old plan to ban all vape flavors except tobacco, mint and menthol. The regulations were first published in June 2021 in the Canada Gazette, signaling the government’s intention to implement the flavor ban within six months after the obligatory public consultation. But the rule that was supposed to launch in January 2022 never came, and Canada’s health authorities never mentioned the flavor ban again—until Health Minister Mark Holland, in office since July last year, recently revived the idea.

    Outrage about the proposed ban among vapers, consumer advocacy groups and the vape industry was as huge in 2021 as it is now: Canada’s planned rule goes further than most flavor bans, which tend to prohibit only certain “characterizing flavors” or flavor descriptors. Under the Canadian proposal, all sweeteners in vaping products would be prohibited, and vape manufacturers would be allowed to create their liquids using only approved ingredients.

    They would have to select from a list of 82 approved compounds, 40 of which can be used to impart a tobacco flavor and 42 of which can be used to impart flavor of mint, menthol or a combination of the two. “Menthol tobacco” or a “mint tobacco” are off limits under the rules.

    “Should the flavor ban be adopted as it was written in 2021, Canadian users of vaping products will see the removal of nearly all existing flavor profiles in the legitimate vaping products market within 180 days of publication of the proposed order and regulation from 2021,” says Thomas Kirsop, managing director of Canada’s Vaping Industry Trade Association (VITA).

    “The only two products on the market that would not require removal or reformulation would be ‘unflavored’ liquids and unadulterated ‘menthol.’ All existing ‘tobacco’-flavored vaping products would need to be removed from the market, reformulated to remove sweeteners and flavoring compounds not on the permitted constituents list and then reintroduced to the Canadian market.”

    The proposed rule would also prescribe “sensory attributes standards,” which are defined only vaguely, stipulating, for example, that a vaping product or its emissions should not have “sensory attributes that result in a sensory perception other than one that is typical of tobacco or mint/menthol,” thus limiting manufacturers’ ability to make vape products that have “a highly pleasant smell or taste.”

    “Sensory attributes regulations are referenced over 40 times in the proposal, but there is no specific section explaining how these regulations would be drafted, implemented or enforced in a clear manner,” says Kirsop. The VITA interprets this part of the planned regulation as meaning that manufacturers can make their liquids using the 82 permitted compounds, and at some time in the future, the government will pay a third party to smell, taste and possibly vape this product. “If that third party thinks that the liquid does not align with the permitted flavor profiles or is ‘too palatable,’ then that formulation will be prohibited regardless of its adherence to all the objective standards in legislation,” says Kirsop.

    Relapse to Combustibles Expected

    The impact of such a regulation on Canada’s 1.5 million vapers would be dramatic, according to Kirsop. His organization anticipates a major relapse to combustible cigarettes among consumers. “The number of cigarettes consumed per capita will increase,” he says. “It is well understood that vaping products and combustible products are economic substitutes in the nicotine market. A regulatory impact on one will result in an inverse reaction of the other.”

    Kirsop refers to a 2023 study by Abigail Friedman that investigated the effects of e-cigarette flavor restrictions on tobacco product sales in the U.S. and found that while the flavor restriction did impact vaping rates in the manner intended, the impact on legitimate cigarette sales was substantial, with 12 extra cigarettes sold in the legitimate market for every 0.7 mL pod not sold due to a flavor ban. The VITA has similarly calculated that a nationwide flavor ban in Canada would result in additional cigarette sales of almost 4 billion sticks per year.

    For the country’s independent vape manufacturers and estimated 1,800 specialty vaping product shops, such a measure would have a significant, possibly existential, impact, according to Kirsop. “It is the variety of flavored vaping products that make a specialty store economically viable,” he says. The illicit market, by contrast, would receive a boost, especially if the flavor ban comes on top of the 12 percent federal vape product tax hike planned for July.

    “From any historical reference point, the removal of a product with significant consumer demand from the legitimate market will result in that demand being met by the illicit market,” says Kirsop. “Our investigations lead us to believe that the black market will expand quite rapidly to fill the void. Our only question is whether that illicit trade will favor small players, producing flavored liquids in garages and basements, if it will follow the Australian model, with organized crime groups importing flavored disposable vaping products from overseas, or if it will be some hybrid combination of both.”

    There are plenty of cautionary examples close to home. Six of Canada’s 13 provinces and territories have already restricted the sales of e-cigarettes to tobacco-flavored varieties. “In Nova Scotia, over 40 percent of specialty vape stores closed immediately following the flavor ban, and when VITA commissioned an investigations company to survey the market, we found significant illicit trade and a consumer outlook that supported that illicit trade,” says Kirsop. “News reports showed that in the year after the flavor ban, tobacco excise collection increased 13.6 percent. We also identified that consumers are starting to adapt by adding their own third-party commercial flavoring products to vaping liquids.”

    Goal Missed

    Maria Papaioannoy

    Kirsop says it’s too early to determine the impact of flavor bans on youth usage. However, the VITA has found no data that differentiate Nova Scotia, which was the first province to ban flavored vaping products, from provinces that kept them on the market or banned them at a later date. “Nova Scotia shows youth past-30-day vaping behavior has dropped from 25.1 percent to 23 percent since their flavor ban,” says Kirsop. “However, all provinces except Quebec saw youth vaping rates drop in the same category during that time frame, and some of them did significantly better. Alberta saw youth use drop from 19.9 [percent] to 14.8 percent, British Columbia 27.6 [percent] to 16 percent, Manitoba 21.5 [percent] to 16.7 percent and Saskatchewan 29.6 [percent] to 23.7 percent. All the latter have no bans on flavors.”

    So, while the intended impact on adolescents remains questionable, the effect on adults would be devastating, according to Maria Papaioannoy of Rights4Vapers. “Flavors are a critical part of what makes vaping such an effective alternative to cigarettes,” she wrote in a letter to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. “If a person who smokes decides to move to vaping, they do not want to be reminded of the taste of tobacco.” A ban on flavors as proposed, she argues, would mean a prohibition of the entire category through the back door. “Who would pay for an unpalatable product?”

    In 2021, Rights4Vapers started a letter-writing campaign, resulting in more than 20,000 Canadians submitting arguments to Health Canada against the proposed regulation. Papaioannoy has organized a similar campaign now. To date, the government has received more than 27,000 letters from adult consumers raising concerns over this ban. In mid-March, Papaioannoy spoke at Health Canada’s stakeholder meeting but left disillusioned. “Consumers had a huge voice in vaping regulation with previous health ministers,” she says. “In this call, all I felt from Health Canada representatives was sympathy, not compassion.”

    Like many, Papaioannoy believes that the proposed flavor prohibition is not so much an action of bureaucracy but a mandate being driven by Holland, who formerly worked for the nongovernmental organization Heart and Stroke, a known opponent of vaping.

    Both tobacco harm reduction activists hope that as lawmakers debate the measure, reason will prevail. “The wild card is the minister of health,” says Kirsop. “Generally, one would think that policy decisions that could impact millions of Canadian smokers and 1.5 million adult Canadian users of vaping products would be based on scientific data and academic literature and not driven by emotional talking points and flag waving.

    “This minister has demonstrated that he has no grounding in literature or the science, and it does not appear at this point that he cares much for it if it does not align with his ideology or that of his former peer group. Ideology forms a very poor starting point for public health decisions.”

    Papaioannoy is more optimistic, noting that the proposal still has to go through the Treasury Board of Canada, with the time frame between proposing and enacting being long and opposition strong against a measure that would affect small businesses. “Besides, I believe in the institution,” she says. “Someone from the government will raise the flag.”

  • Passing the Torch

    Passing the Torch

    SPI Development’s new building the has enabled the company to bring together people working on similar aspects of the company’s business within discrete areas, while facilitating communications and increasing comfort. | Photo: SPI Development

    Danielle Roxborough takes the helm from Henry Tuck as SPI Developments enjoys a period of steady growth.

    By George Gay

    Danielle Roxborough

    Talk to a lot of people, especially those not working within the tobacco industry, and they will tell you the industry is in decline. They will tell you that smoking rates are falling in many markets and plummeting in some others. And there is truth in this, though it raises a question about how, for instance, the U.K.-based fluids control company, SPI Developments, which is heavily involved in the industry, has been expanding and is expecting to continue to expand. But SPI’s managing director, Danielle Roxborough, has a rather neat explanation for this apparent enigma. The tobacco industry had not declined, she told me in April; it had been shaken up, and, consequently, a lot of new opportunities had been exposed to the light.

    I was speaking on the telephone with Roxborough and Henry Tuck during a management transition period when she was still business development manager and managing director designate and he was preparing to stand down as MD on May 31.

    In his own way, Tuck endorsed Roxborough’s view of what had happened, saying that since joining BAT and starting what was to become a 40-year career in engineering, mostly in the tobacco industry, he had seen the consolidation of the industry’s manufacturing base but an expansion of its products. What had been an industry concentrated on producing traditional tobacco cigarettes that were largely unchanged over decades was now also producing a range of new generation products that were being frequently updated and replaced. The life spans of these new products were short, Tuck noted, and every new iteration came with potential opportunities for SPI.

    While SPI has always had a good foothold in flavor application equipment, this year has seen a major increase in orders.

    Vote of Confidence

    That SPI, which is part of the Tembo group of companies, has confidence in the future was underlined about six months ago when it moved within its hometown of Rotherham, Yorkshire, into a new building that Roxborough described as being “expansion proof.” The new facility has allowed the coming together of SPI and its subsidiary A1, which is responsible for machining components for SPI’s equipment. The two companies used to operate from premises on opposite sides of the road on which they were sited but are now housed together in a single unit that provides more space for all aspects of the company’s operations.

    To give an idea of the size of the new premises and what the move means, Roxborough explained that whereas previously, space limitations had meant that engineers had struggled to build even a single RWM, the company’s biggest machine that applies menthol to the tissue side of foil bobbins, earlier this year, they had built three simultaneously. In addition, the new space had allowed what Tuck described as significant investments to be made in new turning and milling machinery, which space limitations would not have allowed previously. All in all, what these developments added up to was an increase in productivity and a reduction in lead times.

    The move has also allowed the bringing together of people working on similar aspects of the company’s business within discrete areas but also an improvement in communications between those areas, a general increase in comfort and a consequent boost in morale. And, of course, there are the intangibles. Tuck said that the building had given the company a bigger, more professional feel while Roxborough reflected on how the new building’s glass frontage provided much natural light, saying, “it is amazing what it can do for your day.”

    Cross-Fertilizations

    As well as operating out of a new facility under a new MD, SPI has a relatively new designation as a fluid control company, something that stems from its status as the fluids expert within the Tembo group, from the business cross-fertilizations provided through cooperating with other members of the group and from the need to keep abreast of the expanded requirements and horizons thrown up by the arrival on the market of modified cigarettes and new generation tobacco and nicotine products. Roxborough said that whereas most of SPI’s equipment was concerned with the application of adhesives and flavors to cigarettes, filters and heat-not-burn (HnB) products, the company now found itself involved in projects and R&D efforts involving different fluids, either within or without the tobacco industry.

    An example of the way in which the cross-fertilization of ideas can be exploited occurred some time ago when it was realized that a spiral-wound and glued paper tube being developed for an HnB project had basically produced a prototype paper drinking straw at a time when the EU was looking to ban single-use plastic drinking straws. And a bigger project has seen SPI involved with a sister Tembo company in detergent dosing systems for detergent pod manufacturing machines.

    Drivers of Demand

    But the focus is nevertheless on the tobacco industry, where a major driver of demand has been the need in some markets to replace cellulose acetate filters because of regulatory requirements and/or environmental concerns. Whereas the technology governing the production of cellulose filters has been largely standardized for some time, that for the current major alternative, crimped-paper filters, is still evolving, so SPI finds itself working with customers on different methods of applying various fluids to paper filters to help reproduce the taste generated through cellulose filters, to which smokers have become accustomed. In the future, such projects will likely widen to take in materials other than paper.

    Another driver is being provided by HnB products and the fact that increasing numbers of companies are producing their own versions. Tuck said that while traditional cigarettes were fairly standard and so the technology used to manufacture them was standard, in the case of HnB products, companies were being innovative and including different materials. Product lifetimes could be as short as three years or four years, after which it was a matter of working with the customer on the next iteration as part of an ongoing process. This manner of working represented a fundamental change from that which had guided the traditional tobacco product industry.

    But while the need to work in new ways with new materials is driving additional demand, the fundamentals of SPI’s business keep going. Roxborough said that while SPI had always had a good foothold in flavor application equipment, this year had seen a major increase in orders. And there had been solid demand, too, for upgrades of glue application systems.

    Manageable Growth

    Roxborough, who studied communications but who has filled commercial roles since graduating from university, has spent her 22-year career working with engineering companies, almost entirely those serving the tobacco industry. She has been with SPI for more than nine years and admits to being passionate about the company—a passion that tips over into confidence about the future. Joining the Tembo group had been hugely positive for the company, providing it with the opportunity to grow at a manageable pace, she said. And looking to the future, SPI and A1 had a great team of about 30 U.K.-based employees, including designers and engineers who could react quickly to new challenges emerging in the field of fluid control. At the same time, it could call on the resources of other Tembo group companies around the world.

    Although Tuck has now left the business after 18 years, Roxborough is not short of experienced support. Paul Leverick, who Tuck described as a “fantastic engineer” and who is the founder and chairman of SPI, is still in place, ready to mentor the younger engineers and the management team. It was Leverick and Tuck, the shareholders of SPI, who realized that the long-term future of SPI lay with ITM, later to become the Tembo group, and who sold it when that opportunity arose in 2018.

    Taking Hurdles in Stride

    They also helped steer the company through Brexit and the Covid pandemic. Tuck was reluctant to spend much time talking about Brexit, but it was clear from what he did say that he was not a fan. Brexit, he said, had cost SPI time and administrative effort, but the company had nevertheless taken these hurdles in its stride and would continue to do so—because EU legislative changes would be ongoing and would continue to have an impact on any company such as SPI that exported to the EU.

    In respect of the pandemic, the decision was taken early on that it was not viable for everybody to go home, so the company kept going while taking measures to keep its people safe, including by allowing those who were able to do so to work from home. In the end, the pandemic had little impact on the business, apart from the adjustments that had to be made to introduce the remote installation of equipment.

    With the sale of SPI to the Tembo group, the Covid pandemic, Brexit and the move to the new building, the past six years have been busy, but then so were the previous 12 years. When Tuck joined SPI as MD in 2006, the company had only four other employees, and it offered only PVA glue systems and a simple flavor application system. Now it has 30 employees, a much-expanded equipment offering and is part of a multinational group.

    Looking back, Tuck described working in the tobacco industry as being very interesting. As an engineer, he had found it “technically amazing” while the opportunity to travel the world had been mind-expanding. He would remember the industry as comprising a group of people who were open and welcoming.

    Finally, Tuck said that one of his more recent goals had been to move the company into a new building, and now that had happened. “I’m very happy with the management team; they are doing very well, and we have a good order book, so now is a good time to go,” he said.

    Leading the Livery

    Henri Tuck

    Although the accompanying story implies that Henry Tuck, until May 31 the managing director of SPI Developments, has left the tobacco industry, this is not strictly true. From June 5, he was due to have been elected and installed for one year as the master of the U.K.’s Worshipful Company of Tobacco Pipe Makers and Tobacco Blenders, of which he has been a member for about 10 years.

    Tuck, who used to have a long commute between his home and SPI’s premises, said that, since the Covid pandemic had struck, he had spent increasing amounts of time working from home, relying on the company’s management team for SPI’s day-to-day running. Basically, he added, he had been working himself out of a job and that, though he was shy of normal retirement age, it had made sense to leave in time to take on his new role, which would comprise a full-on year, chairing and running the livery company, and attending internal and external events in the city of London.

    The livery company has its foundations in the craft of clay pipe making, a craft that it is trying to keep going. There are two or three people left in the U.K. who make clay pipes for a small market comprising mainly those working in period films and dramas and those running reenactment societies. The company has a benevolent fund that helps various charities that fit its criteria, and within which is a welfare fund for former tobacco workers in the U.K. who have fallen on hard times.

    The company, which has close to 200 members, is one of 111 such companies in London that together donate about £75 million ($93.91 million) a year to charitable causes. Education, too, is a big part of the livery movement, and some companies have maintained traditional functions, such as supporting apprenticeships.

    It is worth noting that Tuck was introduced to the livery company by the person who preceded him as master, Elise Rasmussen, the founder and chief director of the GTNF (Global Tobacco and Nicotine Forum) Trust and vice president of sales and marketing at the U.S. Tobacco Manufacturers’ Association, which owns Tobacco Reporter. Tuck said that Rasmussen had been a great success in the role and that it would be hard to fill her shoes. She was known by everybody in the city and the livery movement. “Once met, never forgotten,” he said. G.G.

  • Losing Steam

    Losing Steam

    Photo: Ned Snowman

    Heated-tobacco products continue to eat into the sales of combustible cigarettes in Japan, albeit at a slower pace than before.

    By Stefanie Rossel

    This year marks the 10th anniversary of IQOS’ debut in Japan. Within a decade, Philip Morris International’s heated-tobacco product (HTP) has changed the country’s tobacco market beyond recognition. HTPs accounted for 37.9 percent of all tobacco sales in Japan last year. In January 2023, HTP sales for the first time overtook cigarette sales in Tokyo, accounting for 50.4 percent of consumer takeoff, according to PMI figures presented at the CAGNY conference in February 2024.

    Perhaps the only tobacco market to have experienced a similarly seismic shift among product categories is Sweden, where the popularity of snus has altered consumption patterns to such an extent that its smoking rate will likely fall below 5 percent at some point this year. In both countries, smoking rates declined not as a result of anti-tobacco policies but due to consumers spontaneously opting for safer alternatives when presented with such options.

    Until the advent of the new category, Japan was long considered a smokers’ paradise, and it still is one of the world’s largest tobacco markets, with more than 17 million Japanese smoking regularly. Japan’s ministry of finance still owns 30 percent of Japan Tobacco, the successor to the country’s tobacco monopoly, thus benefiting from high tax revenues.

    For decades, the industry was able to flourish in a relatively unrestricted market. Low prices and moderate regulations facilitated consumption, with smoking incidence peaking at close to 50 percent of the population in the 1960s. Smoking, mostly a male habit in Japan, started declining slowly after the introduction of a series of anti-smoking regulations. More measures took effect when Japan hosted the 2020 Olympic Games and faced external pressure to crack down on the habit. Extensive public smoking bans contributed to a drop in smoking prevalence from 28 percent in 2002 to 16.2 percent in 2022, according to the Foundation for a Smoke-Free World. But while cigarette sales decreased at a leisurely annual rate of 1.8 percent between 2011 and 2015, they started dropping much faster after the arrival of HTPs.

    Japan is an ideal place to study the impact of HTPs. The country prohibits the sale of nicotine-containing e-cigarettes, which are classified as pharmaceutical products and can be purchased only with a prescription in medically licensed shops whereas non-nicotine vape products are freely available. In addition, Japanese consumers are health-conscious, tech-savvy and receptive to new gadgets. Values such as discretion and politeness are deeply rooted in Japanese culture, meaning that smokers in the densely populated country are keen to avoid bothering others, for example, through secondhand smoke.

    Heated-tobacco products continue to enjoy a tax advantage over combyustible cigarettes in Japan, but this may change in the future. (Photo: Taco Tuinstra)

    A Mature Market

    Ten years into the introduction of the category, however, fascination appears to have worn off a little, with HTP sales plateauing during the past few years. According to Euromonitor International, the retail value generated by HTPs in Japan fell from $11.14 billion in 2022 to an estimated $11.13 billion in 2023 and will reach $11.23 billion this year. Japan nevertheless remains by far the leading market of the category, representing almost a third of the expected global retail volume of $40.59 billion this year, well ahead of Italy, which now ranks second with an estimated HTP market value of $6.511 billion in 2024.

    IQOS continues to dominate the Japanese HTP market with a share of 70.5 percent in 2023, according to PMI. A survey commissioned by Statista revealed that IQOS Iluma was the most popular HTP in Japan between July 2023 and August 2023, with more than 21.1 percent of respondents using the product. IQOS Iluma One was the second most popular heating product, with a share of 20.7 percent of respondents. It was followed by JT’s Ploom X with 19.4 percent and British American Tobacco’s Glo Hyper+ with 12.9 percent.

    The maturity of Japan’s HTP market has sparked a fierce battle for market share among the leading manufacturers. Price competition is increasing, and consumers are experimenting with other brands and devices while manufacturers are subsidizing products and launching new models.

    In October, BAT lowered the prices of six Lucky Strike consumable variants for its Glo Hyper device after it had already cut the prices of 19 of its Glo Hyper products by ¥40 ($0.25) to ¥50 on Aug. 1, 2023, in an attempt to boost its market share. A pack of 20 Lucky Strike heat sticks now retails at ¥400.

    Tax Differential in Danger

    Japan also saw a series of new HTP launches in the past year, all focusing on improved performance and enhanced flavor delivery. In July 2023, JT introduced With 2, an infused tobacco vapor device under its respective new brand With. The product features JT’s infused technology, which generates vapor while an atomized liquid passes through a capsule containing granulated tobacco, and has been available at convenience stores and tobacco stores in Japan since September.

    According to the company, there is no delay in nicotine delivery, as tobacco vapor is generated the moment it’s inhaled, and there is almost no tobacco smoke with the product since tobacco leaves are not directly heated. Following the launch, JT discontinued its Ploom Tech, Ploom Tech+ and Ploom Tech+ With devices for infused tobacco capsules. The recommended retail price for the With 2 device is ¥1,980, including tax, while a pack of the respective tobacco capsules under the Mevius brand retails at ¥580.

    In November 2023, JT started selling Ploom X Advanced in Japan. The device, which replaces the Ploom X model, comes with an upgraded heating system. Named “Power Heatflow,” this technology increases the maximum heating temperature from 295 degrees Celsius to 320 degrees Celsius to provide a richer flavor experience. Charging time is reduced from 110 minutes for the previous model to around 90 minutes. The device is sold at a suggested tax-included retail price of ¥1,980.

    In January, BAT presented the most recent version of its Glo heating device, Glo Hyper Pro, in Japan. Charging takes about 90 minutes, allowing for use for 20 sessions. This compares to 210 minutes for Hyper X2, 120 minutes for Hyper Air and 135 minutes for IQOS Iluma, according to BAT. The Glo Hyper Pro also features a new screen displaying performance settings and information as well as a new “HeatBoost” technology for better taste. At ¥3,980, the device sells in the same price category as IQOS Iluma, which retails at ¥3,980 to ¥9,980, depending on the discount, but is more expensive than the now discontinued Ploom X, which could be purchased for as little as ¥980 after discount.

    To mark the 10th anniversary of IQOS’ introduction in Nagoya, PMI in March 2024 chose Japan for the launch of its Iluma i-series, the next generation of Iluma devices, which comes with a series of new features, such as a touch-screen that allows users to view the relevant information easily, and a pause mode that enables users to stop and resume their use and thus reduce waste. The device is adaptive to use patterns, and the holder’s battery has a longer life span, according to PMI. Retail prices range between ¥3,980 for Iluma One i and ¥9,980 for the premium model, Iluma Prime i.

    Intensive competition has caused IQOS devices to be significantly less expensive in Japan than in other markets.

    As manufacturers fight for market share, they may lose another advantage. One factor that helped HTPs gain ground in Japan was their favorable taxation. When the products debuted in this market, they were taxed at between 10 percent and 70 percent of the combustible cigarette rates due to their small amount of tobacco.

    Takes hikes between 2018 and 2022 raised those levels to between 70 percent and 90 percent. Seeking to boost its defense spending, the Japanese government in late 2022 proposed to gradually raise HTP taxes until they reach the level of cigarettes in 2027. According to The Mainichi newspaper, the government had not made a decision on the tax hikes by early 2024. If it decides to move forward, however, the measure will likely further decelerate the growth of Japan’s HTP market.

  • A Spark in the Dark

    A Spark in the Dark

    Photos courtesy of Mathijs Aliet

    Not all is lost for brand owners operating in dark markets.

    By Stefanie Rossel

    In February, the Canadian Cancer Society released a report detailing the global progress on tobacco health warnings and plain packaging, which requires cigarette manufacturers to market their products in uniform, unattractively colored packs without brand imagery and print their brand names in generic fonts.

    To date, 25 countries or territories have adopted standard packaging, the most recent ones being Myanmar, Oman and Georgia. A further 14 countries are preparing legislation, and three more have it “in practice,” meaning that they import cigarettes from a country with plain packaging requirements, as happens, for example, in Monaco, which buys its cigarettes from France. In addition, the report notes, the graphic health warnings mandated by some governments are so large that they resemble plain packaging. In nine countries, graphic health warnings account for at least 85 percent of the front and back side of the pack.

    Recommended in the guidelines for implementation of Article 11of the World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), standardized packaging is viewed by its supporters as an efficient means to reduce the appeal of tobacco products and increase the effectiveness of health warnings. By removing the visual cues that prompt existing users to purchase the product and by preventing new customers from developing brand loyalty, proponents argue, plain packaging ultimately leads to better public health.

    Plain packaging is also a comparatively inexpensive intervention that can be implemented more easily than other FCTC measures, such as establishing a national tobacco cessation system. But despite abundant research since standardized packaging made its global debut in Australia in December 2012, there is still no reliable evidence that the measure achieves its objectives, as studies remain inconclusive or even contradictory. Opponents claim that the removal of branding has merely led to commoditization, causing well-established brands to lose market share to cheaper alternatives.

    The Power of Word of Mouth

    Mathijs Aliet

    For tobacco companies, marketing products in such “dark” markets is a challenge, even more so because most of the countries that require plain packaging also ban tobacco advertising and product displays at the point of sale (POS).

    A 2023 report by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission underlines the importance of the POS for the industry. In 2022, U.S. tobacco manufacturers spent more than $8.3 billion promoting cigarettes and smokeless tobacco at the POS, accounting for over 97 percent of their total marketing expenditure for those product categories.

    Yet, despite the loss of conventional marketing instruments, dark markets are not lost for brand owners, according to Mathijs Aliet, founder of Square44, a brand design agency based in Bangkok. “Consumers decide if they want a product or not,” he says. “There are still needs that are fulfilled, and word of mouth is a big thing. Regulations will not stop people from talking to each other, comparing experiences and making recommendations.”

    Consumers also play an essential role during the launch of new brands in dark markets, when there is zero association in the buyer’s mind. “In markets that are extremely dark, it’s often people watching people that triggers new trends,” Aliet explains. “People that meet friends that have a new product are seen as trendsetters—this is something that is hard to stop.”

    Square44 operates in 20 different markets across Asia, the Middle East and North Africa and has worked for tobacco companies such as Philip Morris International, BAT and Japan Tobacco International. Due to the widespread restrictions on cigarette branding, however, tobacco jobs are “rare and few,” according to Aliet. In dark markets, Square44 has profound experience working for manufacturers of alcoholic beverages in Thailand, Myanmar, Nepal and Indonesia.

    “Many markets have individual rules, and most face dark market challenges in various degrees,” says Aliet. “Brand support extends into different spaces—the smoke zones at airports, brand environment design, creating bespoke structural solutions or working on new product development concepts for test are areas where we support tobacco clients. Building connections to the trade or retail channels as well is an opportunity where still quite a bit of activity takes place, such as dealer events, partner get-togethers, etc. This is an example of spending the marketing budget in dark markets in the right way with entertaining, training and incentives to make them sell your brands.”

    Generally, Aliet advises his clients to be proactive. Manufacturers who anticipate change can build a loyal following for their brands before any restrictions take effect.

    Plain packaging is a comparatively inexpensive intervention—for governments anyway—that can be implemented more easily than other FCTC measures.

    Innovation Is Key

    Another strategy to sustain brand awareness is developing surrogate brands in an unrelated, nonrestricted category, according to Square44. “Back in the days in Europe, the Camel brand invented outdoor clothing to keep their brand alive beyond cigarettes,” says Aliet. “This was at that point a clever way out. The brands that survive are the ones that pay extra attention to channels or touchpoints where they are still allowed to connect.”

    Surrogate brands also help with events, according to Aliet. “You can get the brand out and organize something around a smoke-infused snack or beverage that happens to carry the same name,” he says. “B2B events are largely unregulated and an important influential factor for most manufacturers that play an important word-of-mouth role. Building solutions that drive value, solve problems or address needs there are will always result in success.”

    Generally, brands that survive in dark markets establish their unique identifying brand assets and elements well, observes Aliet. “Use that across touchpoints in 2D graphics, even 3D environments. Colors, shapes—anything where we don’t show brand but queue recognition is what comes to mind.”

    Social media can play a role too. “Depending on the location of platform, a manufacturer might not be able or allowed to localize messaging, but we see user-generated content pick up big time, especially on social selling channels,” says Aliet. “We’re luckily not that far yet that governments are telling platforms to ban images of consumers smoking or using product. Using influencers is getting heavily restricted market by market.”

    Self-regulation and brand innovation are other vital, Aliet points out. “There’s no doubt that brands should pivot,” he says. “Governments are making legislation tougher, and certain categories will most likely not survive. We see this in the energy space as well, where fossil fuels are facing a lot of negative press. The smart companies pivot and innovate beyond category—cannabis, vaping, liquid drinks—as people are still looking to fulfill a need. Brands can reinvent themselves around needs with newer solutions that appeal to a clean, next-gen lifestyle. That’s what brands must do regardless—innovate around market movements and changes in consumer preference.”

    A Different POS

    Depending on the degree of restrictions, the point of sale may turn from a place of communication and product variety into a wasted space. In Australia, for example, customers who want to buy cigarettes must ask the store clerk. There are no signs directing smokers to the POS, according to Christoph Moser, managing director of POS Tuning, a German company that offers POS shelf and storage solutions to customers worldwide.

    According to Moser, priorities are different at a dark market POS. “In classic dark markets, product availability is getting ever more important. Shelves are equipped with sliding doors or flaps, and the opening time is limited. There is a defined time slot during which presentation and removal of a pack takes place, which makes it more important that the merchandise can be seen immediately at the time of opening. Push-feed systems are therefore essential, as they facilitate access for the salesperson.”

    His company offers mechanical as well as digital systems that allow customers to take stock immediately. “This works with an indicator for the inventory or with a digital push-feed system that records inventory levels in real time and signals when stocks are too low or if there is an out-of-shelf [situation],” he says.

    In many dark markets, the placement of tobacco products has changed. Instead of being displayed on the back wall of the store, as is often the case in less restrictive markets, cigarettes are placed under the counter, where they are invisible to customers. “Sixty percent of sales at petrol stations are generated with tobacco products,” explains Moser. “If displaying the products is banned or restricted, it has consequences. POS Tuning has developed specific push-feed solutions to place the vast variety of tobacco products that are usually stored in the back wall in the limited space of a counter. These solutions allow for placement of several brands in one row behind one another, meaning the same amount of product can be placed on a significantly smaller surface.”

    Moser observes that many retailers in countries changing to a dark market try to put off the transition as long as possible—and are thus insufficiently prepared. “Fast and efficient solutions are required that enable the covered presentation of goods in existing shelves. We offer various retrofit kits for this,” he says.

    Just like the appearance of the POS, the attitude of consumers in dark markets has changed, notes Moser: “Customers get used to this kind of [product] presentation,” he says. “In most cases, it’s a planned purchase, which means customers prefer a certain brand, which they then buy, thereby accepting other pack sizes.”

  • Realists and Idealists

    Realists and Idealists

    Image: M-SUR

    We should celebrate ‘realists’ and beware of ‘idealists.’ Idealists do well in the rhetorical world of goal setting, aspirations and optics while realists do better in the real world. The problem is that the idealists obstruct the realists.

    By Clive Bates

    On April 22, the British Medical Journal and a new investigative publication, The Examination, funded by billionaire activist Michael Bloomberg, declared a victory. Their “investigation” had shut down a new continuing medical education program in smoking, tobacco and nicotine offered by the respected medical information provider Medscape. The course had been running for a few weeks and had proved popular with participants. It had been designed to address an essential unmet educational need: the widespread confusion among healthcare practitioners about the causes of disease, the nature of nicotine use and the options available to reduce the harms. It’s hard to imagine more valuable and actionable public health and preventative insights for practitioners. So why close it down? Simple: The initiative had been funded at arms-length by a tobacco company, Phillip Morris International, which played no role in developing the content.

    It’s worth pausing to examine what has been achieved here. The objection to tobacco company funding in the case is essentially aesthetic. To some activists, it just doesn’t look right. Tobacco companies involved in ending smoking? Weird! No one has presented material objections to the course content. I have no doubt that it was a sincere effort to raise the lamentable standard of medical knowledge in this area delivered by experienced professionals. The idealists were successful in burning this initiative to the ground. But here’s the point: Like arsonists, they didn’t build anything. They have left nothing where there was previously something useful. The activists have made their impassioned denunciations, expressed their righteous anger and moved on. But it’s an empty victory because the confusion and misinformation remain, and the opportunity to do better for the public and patients has been squandered. 

    I chose this recent example because it illustrates a more general problem with activism. The pursuit of idealistic goals is not necessarily heroic and may not be benign. It can make matters worse with real-world costs for people and the environment. Let’s take three examples from outside the nicotine field to illustrate the point, then return to nicotine. 

    First, the green opposition to nuclear power. In their quest for an idealist vision of a 100 percent renewable system based mainly on solar and wind power, greens have opposed a proven, reliable, low-carbon form of electricity generation. By creating fear and foreboding about nuclear risks, activists and regulators have made the technology exceedingly expensive and difficult to deploy, making fossil fuels relatively more attractive. The French experience from the 1960s shows successful large-scale nuclear deployment, but idealistic opposition has driven the costs upward since then. Finally, idealists are starting to feel the heat from the climate realists.

    Second, activists with an in-principle opposition to genetic engineering recently stopped the deployment of genetically modified golden rice, which is rich in Vitamin A, in the Philippines. Vitamin A deficiency is implicated in up to 500,000 cases of blindness in young children annually in Asia and Africa each year. Maybe it would be better to lift poverty and improve nutrition more systematically, but how long would that take, and how many people would be harmed waiting for the idealists’ more prosperous and just society? Like adding fluoride to water to protect dental health, golden rice would have added Vitamin A to the food supply system, creating widespread health benefits. Now, people will suffer instead.

    Third, local and international nonprofit organizations lobbied tenaciously for Sri Lanka to switch its agricultural system to become exclusively organic, backed up by a ban on the use of agrichemicals. They got their way, but it did not go well. The food supply crashed, the people went hungry and rioted, and the government fell.

    In each case, a noble aspiration, an eye-catching slogan or a grand commitment has stood in the way of making more mundane but pragmatic progress at the expense of human well-being. Some further characteristics are evident:

    • Idealists evade the messy and distinctly realist business of trade-offs, waving away the concerns of realists as a lack of ambition or “industry talking points.”
    • The idealists rarely accept accountability for the unintended consequences of their positions—the fault is with others for not trying hard enough or spending enough to match the idealists’ aspirations.
    • The idealists often receive an easy ride in the media, especially when they evoke youth to make their case. Did anyone ever put hard questions to Greta Thunberg?

    Turning now to the battle between idealists and realists in the world of tobacco and nicotine.

    First, the nicotine-free society. The idealists in tobacco control would like to rid us of this relatively benign recreational drug. Sorry, but that will not happen, and there is no reason why it should. People use nicotine because it makes them feel better, for its pleasurable, functional and therapeutic attributes. However, demonizing nicotine and treating all nicotine products as if they are equally harmful will obstruct the realists’ efforts to address the significant harm caused by smoking. The idealists take each ban and blockage of any nicotine product as progress to their larger goal. How else can we explain the sustained ban on snus in the European Union?

    Second, defending the purity of youth. Though all idealists have been teenagers at some point, few seem to understand them. Some young people have a propensity for risk-taking with drugs, alcohol, sex and other reckless behaviors, and yes, to use nicotine. But the idealists have adopted variants on the mantra “no teen should use nicotine.” Fine, that might be good advice. But what if they go further and try to make that a reality with various forms of prohibition, restrictions and misinformation? The trouble is that the much larger adult market will be bent out of shape by misguided efforts to protect youth. There will be more smoking, more illicit trade and more risky workarounds, including among youth. The realist goal of providing a lawful, acceptably safe, proportionally regulated nicotine market is undermined by the fervor of the idealists, with worse results for everyone.

    Third, the knockout blow. Collectively known as “endgame” measures, these grandiose schemes would abolish cigarettes as we know them, close nearly all retail outlets, impose shrinking production and import quotas, or ban sales to anyone born after a specific date. They have this in common: They won’t be implemented, they won’t work as expected, or they will have little useful effect. But they will obstruct the realists because these ideas divert political, regulatory, scientific capital and creativity into unworkable schemes and away from pragmatic, if humble, measures that will work. Worse, they occupy the imaginary sunlit uplands with a fake utopia, creating a mirage where there should be an achievable destination—a stable, lawful, well-regulated market for a popular drug.

    Fourth, the pursuit of paper tigers. I recently submitted evidence to an inquiry into new legislation in South Africa. The new law had been drafted as model anti-vaping legislation with extreme restrictions and penalties and tell-tale fingerprints of American activists. The contrast between the precision control, on paper, of the new law and the chaotic reality of South Africa’s giant illicit market is matched only by that of Australia’s new legislation that tries to ban vapes even harder, even though over 90 percent of the Australian vape market is already illegal. When the idealists declare a prohibition in law on paper, actual or de facto, it doesn’t make the banned products disappear. However, it does mean that more modest regulation becomes impossible because most of the market is unregulated and illicit.

    Fifth, why don’t they stop making cigarettes? A common idealist theme is that if tobacco companies are serious about health, they should just stop making cigarettes. It sounds superficially plausible and inspiring. In reality, these companies have a legal duty not to destroy their shareholders’ money. If they tried, three things would happen: The management would be fired, the company would be taken over, or the productive assets and brands would be sold as a going concern. All to no effect. The realists recognize the need for a transformation, moving the market to noncombustible nicotine products and diversifying the business into non-nicotine activities in which they have an advantage, keeping their shareholders on board throughout.

    Finally, conflicts of interest (COI). Idealists divide the world into independent and industry science. They see industry conflicts of interest as disqualifying from scholarly societies and journals. Yet, conflicts arise from every funding source or institution with policy preferences. An industry COI may be no more than a sign of having valuable marketable capabilities. The realists want to engage with anyone with specialized knowledge and, with due skepticism, to learn from their insights. The idealists prefer to erase them from the discourse and pursue purity at the expense of knowledge.

    To summarize, the idealists will resist the realists, and everything will be worse.

  • Pulling its Punches

    Pulling its Punches

    Photo: Christoph Burgstedt

    China, the world’s largest supplier of e-cigarettes, has failed to take full advantage of the risk reduction opportunities offered by vapes.

    By George Gay

    An Aug. 27 heading on a story in Singapore’s The Straits Times proclaimed, “300 million and counting: Why China just can’t kick the cigarette habit.” Newspaper headings are normally not written by the writers of stories and are aimed at grabbing the reader’s attention, but they should accurately reflect the story. In this case, however, there is a disconnect because whereas the story credits China with having an estimated 300 million smokers, nowhere does it say that number is rising, which I would expect given that the heading adds “and counting.” Indeed, the story does not claim that volume consumption is heading up, saying rather that such figures are not published.

    Another thing that immediately struck me about the heading was the use of the word “habit” rather than “addiction,” which seemed to suggest two things. One was that the story was not going to follow the course of many stories in other countries where the failure to end or significantly curtail cigarette smoking is put down to an inability on the part of authorities to force/encourage smokers to break their addiction despite their using methods that include everything from making cigarettes unaffordable through requiring manufacturers to degrade these products and insulting smokers in respect of their personal hygiene, to, if those smokers are lucky, encouraging the use of reduced-risk products in place of cigarettes. This story, the heading promised, was going to be about other issues.

    At the same time, the heading seems to question whether kicking smoking is a goal worth pursuing. After all, while the usual definition of addiction involves a compulsion that causes harm to the person indulging in the addictive activity, that is not the case in respect of a habit. After all, somebody might be in the habit of repeatedly looking at their mobile phone while supposedly out enjoying the company of a friend over coffee, which, of itself, is unlikely to cause them direct harm, though they might be in danger from the reaction of a sensitive but increasingly irritated friend sitting across the table, at least in polite societies.

    But hang on, the mood changes in the first sentence of the story, which reports that 20 years after adopting the World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control [FCTC], “China is still addicted [my emphasis] to cigarettes.” Overall, the word “habit” occurs four times in the story and the word “addicted” twice. This might seem like a small point, but when the subject is what many people believe is the most preventable cause of disease and death worldwide, a reader should be able to expect that basic issues have been properly considered before going to print. English and, I guess, most other languages have what I would call vague words such as “habit” and “addiction,” which can be useful but which need to be used with caution, and clearly not where such vagueness can lead to confusion.

    I am not saying that it is not valid to use “habit” and “addiction” in reference to the same activity, but at least some attempt should be made to explain the distinction and to use the words, not as simple synonyms, but appropriately each time. I might be happy, for instance, to entertain the idea that for some people, smoking is an addiction that is difficult to break while for others it is a habit they can pick up now and again without becoming addicted, but I cannot accept that for the same individual, smoking can be both a habit and an addiction. 

    Muddled Thinking

    I worry that such issues are not considered properly, not only in the case of the The Straits Times but in stories published around the world every day of the week, something that leads to misunderstandings and pressure being put on politicians to enact unhelpful legislation. The public is served up stories that are beset with muddled thinking. We are told, for instance, in The Straits Times story that despite years of anti-smoking campaigning in China, people continue to smoke partly because cigarettes are cheap, there is a lack of public education, and Big Tobacco—presumably meaning the State Tobacco Monopoly Administration (STMA) and the China National Tobacco Corporation—is protected. But how is it possible to reconcile the claims that there have been years of anti-smoking campaigning when cigarettes are still cheap? The WHO and most other tobacco control bodies say that tax-induced cigarette price increases comprise the most important factor in getting smokers to quit. And there surely cannot have been years of anti-smoking campaigning without public education. I ask you, to whom was this campaigning directed?

    I am not saying that the claims are irreconcilable, but they do require some explanation. Is the reason that the extensive anti-tobacco campaigning has been unsuccessful down to the fact that China has followed FCTC policies that, overall, do not work, or that do not work in China, or is it the case that China, either intentionally or unintentionally, has not applied them properly?

    In fact, the story suggests that a major reason why anti-tobacco campaigning has had limited success is down to the power of the STMA and the pushback that it employs when anti-smoking policies are put forward, at least outside the biggest cities. I am happy to accept that this happens, but it does raise a question: Why did China sign up to the FCTC when it must have been aware that implementation of its policies was going to be resisted by a powerful state organization? The answer to the first part of the question, why did it sign up to the FCTC, probably comes within the wide-ranging category of “it seemed like a good idea at the time”—perhaps because at that time, China wanted to be seen as part of the international order, or maybe it was for some other, less obvious reason.

    The answer to the second part of the question is possibly more interesting. Could it be that China does not buy into all the negative publicity that surrounds tobacco? In many other parts of the world, the perceived wisdom is that tobacco is overall economically negative, but is this the case in China? Isn’t China, along, perhaps, to a lesser extent, with Brazil, something of a special case because its tobacco industry is highly economically active, from the tobacco fields, through manufacturing, to retail stores and throughout all the supporting industries and businesses that these activities imply? Frankly, it would be odd if China took the same attitude to tobacco as, for instance, the U.K., where there is no commercial tobacco growing and virtually no tobacco manufacturing. Differences in the healthcare systems of the two nations might also mean that economic calculations come up with different results.

    Could it be, also, that China does not buy into the tobacco health debate in the same way that many other countries do? In a world plagued by pollution, perhaps it finds it hard to accept the death toll normally attributed to tobacco smoking alone, as I do. I can think of other reasons why China might take a different view of cigarette consumption to that taken by some other countries, but I don’t want to encourage a sack full of letters of outrage, so I shall keep them to myself.

    A Missed Opportunity

    I am not saying that such thinking comes into play in China. In fact, I would be surprised if it does because, strangely, China seems to forge a tobacco path that is not that much different to the paths forged elsewhere and one where, certainly in places, it is aligned with the WHO’s de facto policies.

    Take reduced-risk products, for instance. One would have thought that in China, vapes would have comprised a powerful tool for allowing smokers to transition away from cigarettes—perhaps a more powerful tool even than it is in many other countries. I say this because The Straits Times story makes the point that smoking plugs into long-established social mores in China, one of which means that cigarettes are considered appropriate business gifts. Elegantly designed vapes would surely make acceptable—perhaps even better—alternatives in this regard and could be made to reflect the often-elegant, iconic branding of cigarettes.

    But China seems not to have taken full advantage of what vapes could offer it, which is especially odd given that, I assume, it is the world’s leading supplier of vaping devices. Rather, it seems to have fallen for the idea that flavored vapes, the vapes most effective in encouraging smokers to switch away from cigarettes, should be banned because they are attractive to young people.

    To me, this is the same sort of muddled thinking that crops up time and again in other countries. But at least it possibly provides an answer to the question implied by The Straits Times. Perhaps China will be able one day to break its cigarette “habit,” but, with one hand tied behind its back, it is going to take an awfully long time.

    But then the reporter from Singapore should understand this. Singapore, I think, once proclaimed that it would quit smoking by 2000, and that was in the days when “quit” meant just that, not reduce the smoking rate to 5 percent or thereabouts. Did it make that deadline? No; a quarter of a century later, it is still a work in progress, and it is likely to be so for many years to come. It likes to operate with two hands tied behind its back—it bans vaping outright.

  • Controlled Kick

    Controlled Kick

    TJP Lab’s oral nicotine factory in Pickering, Ontario, features high-speed pouch filling equipment and sophisticated technology to ensure consumer safety and product efficacy.

    TJP Labs’ novel nicotine particulate significantly speeds up nicotine delivery.

    By Stefanie Rossel

    David Richmond-Peck | Photos: TJP Labs

    More than two decades after the debut of the first commercial e-cigarettes, delivering consumers the right degree of nicotine—the “perfect kick”—remains a challenge for manufacturers of reduced-risk products.

    To solve this issue, Canada-based TJP Labs has developed a novel nicotine particulate, for which it filed for patent protection in April 2024. The new technology dramatically increases the speed of nicotine release compared to polacrilex, a resin complex commonly used in nicotine-replacement therapy (NRT) products, and other forms of nicotine that presently exist in recreational products, according to David Richmond-Peck, chief relationship officer at TJP Labs.

    “Our technology allows for control and extreme flexibility in terms of the finished product’s nicotine release profile,” he says. “It is quite versatile and can be used with different forms of nicotine—whether it’s tobacco-derived, synthetic, a prodrug or an analog. This inclusivity helps with its applicability across a wide range of products. Quite notably, the development can aid in addressing concerns with tobacco-specific nitrosamines, which are minimal or absent, especially in synthetic forms. Further, our innovative development has the potential to provide an enhanced consumer experience by providing a faster and more efficient nicotine release, aiming to provide a more satisfying and potentially safer alternative.”

    According to TJP Labs, the nicotine particulate offers versatile particulate size customization, ranging from ultra-fine to several hundred microns, for precise product design as well as precision-targeted binding. “When utilized in combination with other features, our technology allows us specific customization capability to tailor products for faster or more controlled release, addressing various consumer needs and improving efficacy. Such control can lead to cost-effective production and better overall product performance, enhancing the success rates of smoking cessation efforts or providing more enjoyable recreational options.”

    The product can also be used with a broad spectrum of core materials, including porous or nonporous, biodegradable and various organic compounds, notes Richmond-Peck. This enhances the company’s ability to innovate and tailor nicotine-delivery products. “This versatility means products can be designed to mimic the nicotine uptake of combustible tobacco more closely, potentially improving their effectiveness as smoking cessation aids or recreational alternatives,” he says. “The flexibility in core material choice allows for innovations that can help to meet diverse consumer preferences and regulatory requirements.”

    The particulate can be utilized in both NRT products and recreational nicotine products. “This includes applications in gums, patches and lozenges, especially in modern oral nicotine pouches, where controlled nicotine release is crucial,” says Richmond-Peck. “Our technology is designed to enhance both the efficacy and consumer satisfaction of these products, making them viable alternatives to traditional smoking products.”

    Pouches with Potential

    Other advantages include efficient raw material use, allowing for nicotine loading several orders of magnitude over polacrilex, and optimization for organic and inorganic forms, including biodegradable resins, according to TJP Labs. The technology is designed for seamless integration, enabling easy incorporation into nicotine pouch formats and related products.

    A wholly owned subsidiary of Kik Ass Products, TJP Labs is a full-service, global contract manufacturer of next-generation products, specializing in modern oral buccal delivery pouch manufacturing. It is also a newcomer to the industry. In 2021, it began developing innovative pouched products for energy and nutraceutical uses. In September that year, it opened Canada’s first modern oral nicotine contract manufacturing facility for oral nicotine pouches in Pickering, Ontario. Spread over a rapidly expanding campus, the plant features high-speed pouch filling, in-line photography, check weighers and integrated finished product metal detectors to ensure high standards of consumer safety and product efficacy.

    “We are currently expanding our production capabilities, aiming to achieve an impressive output of over 100 million retail units annually by mid-2025,” says Richmond-Peck. “As market dynamics evolve, we plan to double this capacity to 200 million retail units by 2026. Our operations extend beyond manufacturing to include robust research and development efforts, all driven by our commitment to advancing harm reduction.”

    In addition to contract manufacturing for international brands, TJP Labs has also launched its own brand, L!X nicotine pouches, which was first marketed by its subsidiary L!X Innovations. In early 2022, TJP submitted a premarket tobacco product application to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for L!X nicotine pouches.

    In June 2023, Imperial Brands acquired 14 L!X pouch variants for an initial consideration of £65 million ($81.57 million) and an additional deferred sum based on sales volumes over five years. The deal is meant to enable Imperial’s U.S. operation, ITG Brands, to expand its next-generation product offerings in the United States. Following further consumer testing, ITG Brands launched the range in the U.S. under the brand name Zone in the first quarter of 2024, with TJP Labs continuing to manufacture the pouches under contract.

    “Our primary focus in the nicotine industry has consistently been on harm reduction,” says Richmond-Peck. “Although we started as a manufacturing company, we have broadened our capabilities to include research and development. In 2023, we facilitated Imperial Brands’ entry into the U.S. market by selling them our range of nicotine pouch products and serving as their contract manufacturer. We retained the global rights to our L!X pouches outside the U.S. and are actively seeking market opportunities and partnerships in additional territories. Currently, our development efforts are concentrated on providing consumers with innovative pouched products that incorporate energy and other nutraceutical ingredients.”

    To TJP Labs, modern oral pouches are an innovative delivery system with the potential to deliver various active ingredients, with applications ranging from pharmaceutical to recreational use. “In 2021, we began to develop a separate category of energy products for adult consumers. These products are now market-ready and slated to launch later this year,” says Richmond-Peck.

    For its new nicotine particulate, TJP Labs anticipates to receive initial evaluation data by the end of the second quarter this year. Next steps will involve exploring partnerships or licensing opportunities to leverage the technology effectively for harm reduction, according to Richmond-Peck. “Depending on the product application, regulatory approvals will be necessary, such as certifications from medical agencies for NRT products or FDA approval for recreational nicotine products in the U.S. Our objective will be to sell or license the intellectual property to the party that can most effectively contribute to global harm reduction.”