Author: Taco Tuinstra

  • Imperial Launches Pulze 2.0 Heating Device

    Imperial Launches Pulze 2.0 Heating Device

    Image: Imperial Brands

    Imperial Brands has launched the first all-new upgrade of its Pulze heated tobacco device, as it continues to innovate to create more compelling, potentially reduced harm products.

    Pulze 2.0 offers new levels of convenience with a compact all-in-one design and 25 or more sessions from a single charge.

    Paired with Imperial’s iD sticks now available in 10 different flavors, Pulze offers an attractive, potentially less risky alternative to consumers seeking to switch away from combustible cigarettes, according to Imperial.

    “Our consumer-centric approach to innovation is accelerating the pace of development across all categories,” said Andy Dasgupta, Imperial Brands’ chief consumer officer, in a statement. “Pulze 2.0 is another important milestone on Imperial’s journey to build a healthier future and offers consumers alternative ways to enjoy moments of relaxation and pleasure.”

    Heated tobacco devices such as Pulze release nicotine and tobacco aromas without burning and producing smoke. This means that aerosols produced by Pulze contain substantially lower levels of harmful chemicals than those found in cigarette smoke, research shows.

    Pulze 2.0 is being launched initially in four markets—Italy, Poland, the Czech Republic and Greece—and will be rolled out more widely across Imperial’s heated tobacco footprint in Europe during the remainder of 2023.

    Heated tobacco forms part of Imperial’s multi-category approach to building a strong, focused next generation products business. The company has also recently unveiled major product innovations in vape, with the new Blu 2.0 and Blu bar devices, and modern oral with nine new varieties of its fast-growing Zone X brand.

    The launch of Pulze 2.0 comes as Imperial CEO Stefan Bomhard and CFO Lukas Paravicini today present on the progress of the business’ transformation at the Consumer Analyst Group of New York conference in Boca Raton, Florida, USA.

    The presentation by Bomhard and Paravicini starts at 4 pm EST. Participants can register here.

  • KT&G Provides Earthquake Relief

    KT&G Provides Earthquake Relief

    Photo: Adin

    KT&G has donated TRY4.5 million ($238,390) to support earthquake victims and post-earthquake relief efforts in Turkey.

    KT&G delivered its donation through the Korean Red Cross on Feb. 10 to fund aid supplies and recovery activities in Turkey. The donation was collected in the form of a matching grant named KT&G Sangsang Fund, whereby the company matched the donations made by employees.

    KT&G has been reaching out with relief whenever a crisis has occurred in the local community over the past years. During the coronavirus crisis, KT&G secured 4,800 Covid-19 diagnostic kits from South Korea and donated them to hospitals in Istanbul in 2020 when the medical equipment was short in supply due to the pandemic situation. KT&G also provided the relief fund worth TRY700,00 when an earthquake hit Izmir in the same year.

    “We hope that this relief effort will be of some help to the people of Turkey, who have maintained a friendly relationship with Korea for a long time,” said Kim Kwan-joong, president of KT&G Turkey, in a statement. We will continue to carry out our activities of social contribution as a member of the Turkish community.”

    In 2007, KT&G invested approximately TRY700 million building its first overseas manufacturing plant in Izmir. Built on 145,000 square meters of land in Tire District, the facility exports to Europe and the Middle East.

  • Researchers Condemn Medical Body’s Position on E-cigarettes

    Researchers Condemn Medical Body’s Position on E-cigarettes

    Colin Mendelsohn

    Australia’s National Health and Medical Research Council’s (NHMRC) statement on e-cigarettes fails to meet the scientific standard expected of a leading national scientific body, according to 11 addiction scientists, reports Medical Express.

    Published in June 2022, the NHMRC statement aims to provide “public health advice on the safety and impacts of electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) based on review of the current evidence.”

    This critique of the NHMRC statement, published in Addiction, argues that the statement inaccurately summarizes the current evidence on e-cigarettes. The authors contend that the NHMRC exaggerates the risks of vaping and fails to compare them with smoking;  incorrectly claims that adolescent vaping causes subsequent smoking; and ignores evidence of the benefits of vaping in helping smokers quit.

    The NHMRC statement also ignores evidence that vaping is likely already having a positive effect on public health and misapplies the precautionary principle, which requires policymakers to compare the risks of introducing a product with the risks of delaying its introduction.

    “Many leading international scientists in the field hold more supportive views than the NHMRC on the potential of e-cigarettes as a strategy to improve public health,” said Colin Mendelsohn, lead author of the Addiction article. “In particular, invoking the precautionary principle to prevent the use of much less harmful smoke-free products is unjustified in the face of the massive public health burden of smoking.”

  • U.K.: ‘Biggest Tobacco Tax Hike in History’

    U.K.: ‘Biggest Tobacco Tax Hike in History’

    Photo: spectrumblue

    U.K. Chancellor Jeremy Hunt is planning the biggest tobacco tax hike in history, according to the Daily Mail.

    A pack of 20 cigarettes will reportedly jump by £1.15 ($1.81), which is an increase of more than 15 percent.

    Although cigarette duty usually rises with inflation, some smokers had hoped the Chancellor would put a hold on a jump because of such high levels of inflation.

    Tobacco taxes raise almost £11 billion in taxes for the government, representing 1.2 percent of all tax revenue.

    The U.K. hopes to reduce the share of smokers in its population to fewer than 5 percent by the end of the decade.

    Earlier this year, a poll found a majority of Brits want an immediate ban on cigarette sales.

    The findings could fuel the belief of some lawmakers and health experts that public opinion is approaching a “tipping point,” similar to when the U.K. ban on smoking in pubs, bars and restaurants was introduced in 2006 and 2007.

  • Cigarette Prices to Double in Pakistan

    Cigarette Prices to Double in Pakistan

    Photo: Taco Tuinstra

    Tobacco companies in Pakistan announced an increase in cigarettes prices of 250 percent per pack following the implementation of the government’s PKR170 billion ($649.190 billion) minibudget this week, reports Propakistani.

    The budget includes a sales tax increase from 16 percent to 17 percent and a 150 percent increase in the federal excise duty (FED) on cigarettes.

    The retail prices of all popular cigarette brands including Marlboro, Gold Leaf, Capstan and Gold Flake, have gone up with the cheapest retailing at PKR211 to the most expensive now on sale for PKR522-525 per pack.

    Public health advocates applauded the price hikes, saying that price measures are the most effective way of discouraging tobacco consumption.

    Critics say the recent FED threaten legal tobacco companies’ survival because their sales are declining. Others note that the tobacco industry has raised prices above what was required by tax changes.

    The industry, they say, has widened the per-packet price differentials by raising consumer rates significantly above the cost of the tax increase on more expensive products and absorbing the tax impact on cheaper products.

  • Inflation Leads Smokers to Cheaper Cigarettes

    Inflation Leads Smokers to Cheaper Cigarettes

    Photo: Nopphon

    New inflation survey data examining the opinions of U.S. smokers found that, due to higher prices, smokers were more likely to switch to cheaper cigarettes rather than less expensive as well as less harmful alternative nicotine products. In examining smoker attitudes, this survey also found a lack of education regarding harm reduction products, with almost a third of smokers surveyed saying that nicotine pouches were more harmful than traditional cigarettes.

    “In times of rising inflation, it is even more critical that smokers are well informed about the benefits of harm reduction products as it is an opportunity both for health and wallet,” said Markus Lindblad, head of external affairs at Nicokick, an e-commerce company in the smokeless industry, in a statement.

    “Instead of switching to a lower-cost traditional cigarette due to rising prices, a better outcome would be switching to cheaper, harm-reduced alternative products like nicotine pouches, gum, or lozenges. Unfortunately, this survey found many smokers are not aware of the health benefits of switching to alternative products like nicotine pouches, and it is incumbent upon policymakers to address this misconception if they are serious about better public health outcomes.”

    The survey also found that half of Americans say more education on the less harmful nature of alternative nicotine products would help them switch from cigarettes to products like vapes or nicotine pouches.

    Only 21 percent of those surveyed view nicotine pouches as less harmful than cigarettes, with 30 percent incorrectly saying that nicotine pouches are more harmful than traditional cigarettes.

    Thirty-six percent of respondents said vaping was more harmful than smoking traditional cigarettes.

  • India Allows Sale of Excess Tobacco

    India Allows Sale of Excess Tobacco

    Photo: Tobacco Reporter archive

    The Indian government has allowed the sale of excess tobacco produced by registered and unregistered growers without penalty on auction platforms in Karnataka, reports Mint.

    “Union Minister of Commerce and Industry Shri Piyush Goyal has considered to allow the sale of the excess flue-cured Virginia (FCV) tobacco produced by registered growers and unauthorized flue-cured Virginia tobacco produced by unregistered growers without any penalty considering the low production during the 2022–2023 Karnataka crop season,” the commerce ministry said.

    Due to continuous rains in June and July of last year, total production of FCV in Karnataka was 59.78 million kg against the crop size of 100 million kg authorized by the tobacco board.

    The government’s decision not to impose penalties on the sale of excess FCV will help farmers recover monetary loss due to lower production during the season, helping growers to continue their livelihood, according to the ministry.

  • Zimbabwean Farmers Anticipate High Prices

    Zimbabwean Farmers Anticipate High Prices

    Photo: Taco Tuinstra

    Tobacco farmers in Zimbabwe are expecting high marketing prices this year following a good growing season and improved curing methods, reports The Herald

    “Our assessment of the tobacco crop to date promises higher yields and improved quality. This view is shared by a number of contractors,” said Rodney Ambrose, CEO of the Zimbabwe Tobacco Association. “It is in this regard that we are anticipating average prices to be firmer this season.

    “There is also a level of increased demand for the crop, so this will help lift the average prices.”

    “Farmers are anticipating high prices as the quality of the crop in the field is very good,” said Shadreck Makombe, president of the Zimbabwe Commercial Farmers Union. “All that is left is for farmers to do proper curing. We encourage farmers not to be extravagant and [to] save their hard-earned money and be able to finance next season’s operations.”

    “The 85 percent foreign currency retention increase is surely going to put more money in farmers’ pockets,” said Makombe.

    According to Edward Dune, vice president of the Tobacco Farmers Union Trust, all farmers are looking forward to a rewarding season. “The playground has to be level in terms of pricing,” he said. “Let the price matrix reward on the basis of quality. No merchant should be a farmer’s favorite given that some are paying more for the same quality to avoid side marketing.”

    The Tobacco Farmers Union Trust is lobbying for viable prices to enhance sustainability, according to the organization’s president, Victor Mariranyika.

  • EU Lawmaker Urges Snus Legalization

    EU Lawmaker Urges Snus Legalization

    Photo: Tobacco Reporter archive

    Johan Nissinen, a Swedish member of the European Parliament, has urged the EU to legalize snus, according to  Snusforumet.

    “Swedish snus and nicotine pouches are better options than cigarettes,” Nissinen said. “We can get rid of cigarettes once and for all thanks to snus and nicotine pouches. We need to highlight countries such as Sweden, but also Great Britain, where both Public Health England and the NHS [National Health Service] have encouraged citizens to use e-cigarettes instead of traditional combustible tobacco products to advance public health. It’s a further step in an already multi-year government health initiative aiming to make the U.K. completely smoke-free by 2030.”

    “Sweden is proof of the public health advantages that come from embracing snus and nicotine pouches instead of cigarettes,” he said. “We need to do more to highlight the public health benefits. Sweden should also push to ensure the internal market is open for legal, equivalent products. If beer can be sold within the EU, wine should be too. If the sale of Coca-Cola is permitted, so must Pepsi, and so on. The same principle should apply to snus. If deadly cigarettes are permitted throughout the internal market, then a lower risk equivalent like snus should be as well.”

  • EAS Launches Caffeine Pouch

    EAS Launches Caffeine Pouch

    Photo: EAS

    E-Alternative Solutions (EAS) has introduced Mojo Balanced Energy Pouches in the United States.

    Each pouch contains 50 mg of caffeine derived from coffee beans, as well as a proprietary blend of ingredients such as ginseng root, yerba mate, B-vitamins and amino acids.

    “We are thrilled to launch Mojo Balanced Energy Pouches and offer consumers a convenient alternative to traditional, overly caffeinated energy drinks and specialty coffee,” says Mike Sullivan, senior director of trade marketing operations for E-Alternative Solutions. “The Mojo product portfolio was specifically developed to capitalize on the latest trends to become a force of change within the caffeine and energy segment.”

    Available in a wide range of flavors like caramel mocha, mint, orange burst, lemon lime, berry, and mango, Mojo Balanced Energy Pouches are sugar-free, zero calories.