Author: Taco Tuinstra

Juul Settles Marketing Suit With Pennsylvania

Photo: niroworld
Juul Labs has agreed to pay Pennsylvania $38.8 million to end the state’s claims that the company targeted young people with its products, state Attorney General Josh Shapiro announced in a release. As part of the deal, Juul denied any wrongdoing.
“Juul knowingly targeted young people with tactics similar to the tobacco companies’ playbook,” said Shapiro. “They disregarded their growing audience of young users, taking no action as their market share skyrocketed on the backs of American kids. About 13 percent of Pennsylvania students have vaped in the past 30 days—this settlement is only the beginning of keeping our kids safe from the dangers of vaping.”
Filed in Philadelphia County court, the Pennsylvania settlement forbids Juul from marketing its products near schools and playgrounds, advertising at events that include kids or in media outlets where audiences are made up of 15 percent or more of kids.
“This settlement is a continuation of Juul Labs’ progress to resolve issues from the past. We applaud the attorney general’s plan to deploy resources to address underage use in the commonwealth,” the company said in a statement. “The terms of the agreement are aligned with our current business practices, which we started to implement after our company-wide reset in the fall of 2019.”
Earlier this month, Juul settled more than 5,000 lawsuits covering more than 10,000 individual plaintiffs, resolving much of the legal uncertainty that had driven the company close to bankruptcy.
Juul announced on Dec. 6 that it has secured an investment to cover the cost of the settlement. The company has been in talks with two early investors to fund a bailout that would cover legal liabilities.
A pioneer in the vaping business, Juul Labs has gone from dominating the U.S. e-cigarette market to fighting for its survival in a relatively short time.
Following its initial success, the company quickly came under regulatory scrutiny over its marketing practices. Critics blame Juul Labs for contributing to an “epidemic” of underage vaping.
Thousands of lawsuits have been filed against Juul over the past several years, alleging that the company marketed its e-cigarettes to children. Juul has said it never marketed to underage users.
In September, Juul Labs agreed to pay nearly $440 million to settle a two-year investigation by 33 U.S. states into the marketing of its vaping products.
Juul’s e-cigarettes were briefly banned in the U.S. in late June after the Food and Drug Administration concluded that the company had failed to show that the sale of its products would be appropriate for public health. But following an appeal, the health regulator put the ban on hold and agreed to an additional review of Juul’s marketing application.
In October, Juul published the details of its marketing denial order appeal. In late September, Juul shareholder Altria Group exercised the option to be released from its noncompete deal with the e-cigarette maker.
December 13, 2022
Officials Urged to Fix Vaping Misinformation

Photo: Yeti Studio
A group of public health experts along with the attorney general of Iowa have asked the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the U.S. Surgeon General to correct misinformation overstating the dangers of e-cigarettes.
In an editorial published Dec. 12 in Addiction, the authors cite the 2019 outbreak of EVALI and the Surgeon General’s 2016 youth vaping report, which claims that nicotine vaping is a gateway to smoking.
The authors take issue with the CDC’s failure to amend the name EVALI (e-cigarette or vaping product use-associated lung injury) even after it became clear that the health problems were brought about by vitamin E acetate (mixed with cannabis oil by black market sellers) rather than nicotine vapes.
“Smokers are still twice as likely to incorrectly identify e-cigarettes as the cause of a serious lung disease outbreak in 2019 than to correctly identify marijuana vape products contaminated by vitamin E acetate as the cause,” said lead author Michael Pesko of Georgia State University in a press note. “Because many smokers then falsely believe e-cigarettes to be as or more dangerous than cigarettes, the misinformation reduces smoking cessation that would otherwise occur. Population health suffers as a result.”
The Surgeon General’s gateway claim, meanwhile, is simply untrue, according to the authors. “Significant evidence now exists that this association between vaping and smoking is not causal, which is a source of confusion for the lay public and healthcare professionals,” wrote Georgia State University health economist Pesko.
“The lack of causation is underlined by real-life data collected since the SG report’s publication. Even as youth vaping hit its peak in 2019, youth smoking was sinking rapidly, and that decline has continued.”
December 13, 2022
Top Court Clears Way for California Flavor Ban

Photo: Oleksii
The U.S. Supreme Court on Dec. 12 refused to block California’s ban on flavored tobacco, clearing the way for the law to take effect next week, reports The New York Times. Consistent with its practice when ruling on emergency applications, the court gave no reason for its decision.
Originally passed by lawmakers in 2020, California’s flavor ban was put on hold after opponents gathered enough signatures to force a referendum on the measure.
After Californians voted to uphold the law on Nov. 8, tobacco companies challenged it in court, arguing that only the federal government can ban tobacco flavors, as the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act gives the U.S. Food and Drug Administration authority to regulate tobacco.
State officials responded that the federal law was meant to preserve the longstanding power of state and local authorities to regulate tobacco products and to ban their sale.
The tobacco companies also argued that they would suffer “irreparable harm” from being shut out of one of the country’s largest markets. Small retailers, they argued, would potentially have to lay off employees and close. The plaintiffs further noted that menthol cigarettes make up about a third of the cigarette market and are disproportionally smoked by people of color, suggesting that that group would suffer disproportionally from a flavor ban.
In their Supreme Court brief, state officials urged the justices not to delay the law any longer. “The unsuccessful referendum campaign has already delayed the implementation” of the law for nearly two years, they wrote, “allowing children and teenagers across the state to be initiated into the deadly habit of tobacco use via flavored tobacco products throughout that period.”
Previously, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals denied the tobacco companies’ request to block the law pending appeal.
Industry critics welcomed the Supreme Court ruling. “The tobacco companies’ battle against the California law shows once again that they haven’t changed and are lying when they claim to care about anything other than their bottom line,” said Matthew L. Myers, president of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, in a statement.
The California flavor ban applies to flavored e-cigarettes, menthol cigarettes and flavored cigars but exempts loose-leaf tobacco, premium cigars and shisha tobacco.
The state joins Massachusetts and the District of Columbia in ending the sale of flavored tobacco products, including flavored e-cigarettes, menthol cigarettes and flavored cigars. Three other states—New Jersey, New York and Rhode Island—prohibit the sale of flavored e-cigarettes. With local laws included, 25 percent of the U.S. population will now be covered by laws ending the sale of flavored e-cigarettes.
December 13, 2022
Power Shortages Hamper Zim Curing

Photo: Taco Tuinstra
Power shortages in Zimbabwe are creating headaches for farmers who rely on electricity to cure their leaf tobacco, according to an article in The Herald.
Due to low water levels, the Zambezi River Authority has ordered the Zimbabwe Power Co. to stop production at its Kariba South hydroelectric plant, which is the largest electricity generator in the country.
The shortfall in power supply from the national grid means that tobacco growers must generate up to 70 percent of their electricity through diesel-driven generators, according to Rodney Ambrose, chief executive of the Zimbabwe Tobacco Association, which represents mostly large-scale farmers.
In a letter to the Ministry of Land, Agriculture, Water, Fisheries and Rural Development, Ambrose asked the government to give farmers access to discounted fuel to help prevent losses to the 2022–2023 tobacco crop and an associated decline in foreign currency earnings.
Tobacco is Zimbabwe’s most lucrative export after gold. In the 2022 marketing season, the country earned $650 million, up from $589 million in 2021.
According to Ambrose, the cost of production per hectare is at a record high in Zimbabwe. The power shortage, he warned, has the potential to increase cost to the point where farmers’ tobacco is no longer competitive.
Zimbabwean farmers have bought at least 925 kg of tobacco seed with the capacity to cover 184,999 ha this year, according to the Tobacco Research Board. This would be the largest hectarage ever planted if all the seed sold is sown.
December 9, 2022
Inflation Boosts Discount Cigarette Sales

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U.S. smokers are switching to lower priced cigarettes in the wake of inflation, reports The Wall Street Journal. Cheaper tobacco brands increased their share of the U.S. cigarette market to 27.1 percent in the third quarter of 2022, up 1.8 percentage points from a year ago.
While the tobacco industry tends to weather economic downturns better than other sectors, smokers are sensitive to inflation because they have lower incomes than the average consumer. In the U.S., smoking prevalence among people earning less than $35,000 a year is about 21 percent compared with 7 percent for those earning more than $100,000.
The trend toward lower priced cigarettes favors smaller players like Vector Group, which reported record tobacco revenues in the third quarter of 2022. The company sold 30 percent more cigarettes during the quarter than it did the same time last year. Driven by the significant growth of its price-fighting Montego brand, Vector’s wholesale market share reached 5.7 percent in the quarter—its highest market share since 1984.
The Wall Street Journal notes that Vector’s position is strengthened by the fact that, due to the company’s relatively small market share, about one-third of its volumes are exempt from payments under the 1998 Master Settlement Agreement.
Imperial Brands, which has a big portfolio of discount cigarette brands in the U.S., has also been gaining market share as smokers look for bargains.
December 9, 2022
China’s Vaping Rules Force Retailer to Close

Image: Argus
Chinese online retailer FastTech is closing in the wake of strict new vaping regulations, reports Vaping360.
In a Dec. 5 post on its customer forum, the discounter blames restrictions introduced after the State Tobacco Monopoly Administration took control of China’s vaping business. The new measures have increased uncertainty, preventing the company from remaining competitive, according to the firm.
China outlawed domestic online vape sales in 2019. The measure was followed by licensing and sales regulations along with the new tax scheme. Hong Kong’s ban on importing Chinese vape products for air shipping to export destinations—which is currently being reconsidered—may also have affected FastTech, which shipped many of its products through the city.
FastTech sold Chinese-made vape products, including many semi-legal clones and copies of well-known products, to overseas customers at sometimes near-wholesale prices and shipped them inexpensively.
According to Vaping360, there remain a number of FastTech competitors in China operating on a similar business model.
December 9, 2022
Smoking Prevalence Down in the Philippines

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The share of tobacco use among Filipinos aged 15 and above decreased to 19.5 percent of the population in 2021, reports GMA News Online, citing results of the 2021 Global Adult Tobacco Survey (GATS).
Vito Roque Jr. of the Department of Health’s (DOH) Epidemiology Bureau attributed the decline to the adoption and implementation of tobacco prevention and control health policies and interventions. “The results also reflect the effectiveness of the enforced key policies on tobacco taxation, graphic health warnings, protection of bureaucracy against tobacco industry interference and smoke-free environments,” he added.
Rising cigarette prices may have played a role as well. In 2009, a cigarette pack in the Philippines cost on average PHP30 ($0.54). By 2021, this figure had increased to PHP100 per box.
Based on the 2021 GATS results, one in every five Filipino adults, or 15.1 million adults, currently use tobacco, among whom the percentage of males (34.7 percent) who currently use tobacco was eight times higher than females (4.2 percent).
Meanwhile, at least 11.2 million adults currently smoke daily, or about 14.5 percent of the adult population. The percentage of male smokers who smoke daily (26.3 percent) is nearly nine times higher than the percentage of women smokers who smoke daily (3.6 percent).
The average number of cigarettes smoked per day among daily cigarette smokers was 10.5 sticks, with men smoking a daily average of 10.8 sticks and women 6.7 sticks.
The survey said that the overall prevalence of those who have ever used e-cigarettes among all adults was 5.7 percent while the current use of e-cigarettes was 2.1 percent.
December 9, 2022
COP10 Urged to Consider Harm Reduction

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The Coalition of Asia Pacific Tobacco Harm Reduction Advocates’ (CAPHRA) nine member organizations have written to Framework Convention for Tobacco Control (FCTC) delegation heads from around the world, urging them to review the evidence that supports a tobacco harm reduction (THR) approach ahead of COP10.
With governments sending delegates to COP10 in November 2023, CAPHRA was keen to send leaders comprehensive reference material for their COP10 planning, submission writing and deliberations.
COP10 will be held in Panama and is hosted by the World Health Organization’s FCTC.
“We do this on behalf of the 4 million current users of safer nicotine products in the wider Asia-Pacific region. As you are aware, our region bears the brunt of the harm and death from combustible and unsafe oral tobacco globally,” said the letter.
The CAPHRA representatives reminded the health leaders that the FCTC has a mandate to pursue harm reduction as a core tobacco control policy.
“It has been known for decades that tar and carcinogens found in tobacco smoke cause the death and disease associated with smoking, not nicotine. Research has proven that nicotine, while usually mildly addictive in the same way as caffeine, is not a health issue,” they wrote.
The letter also called on delegates to deplore the FCTC’s policy to conduct COP10 sessions behind closed doors.
“Delegates to COP10 should be representing the rights and aspirations of the citizens whose taxes are paying for their attendance, who expect them to speak on their behalf, acknowledge the science underpinning the harm reduction benefits of ENDS and maintain democratic principles,” they wrote.
The CAPHRA representatives asked countries to take into account, when making their COP10 submissions, that consumers have the right to make choices that help them avoid adverse health outcomes. What’s more, people who smoke have the right to access less harmful nicotine products as alternatives to smoking.
The evidence-based documentation was wrapped up in a recently released white paper, titled “The Subversion of Public Health: Consumer Perspectives,” which was presented by CAPHRA executive coordinator Nancy Loucas at the fifth Asia Harm Reduction Forum.
December 8, 2022
New Genes Connected to Tobacco Addiction

Image: Vlad Kochelaevskiy
Over 2,300 genes are associated with alcohol and tobacco use, according to new Penn State research published in Nature.
“We’ve now identified more than 1,900 additional genes that are associated with alcohol and tobacco use behaviors,” said Dajiang Liu, professor and vice chair for research in the Department of Public Health Sciences. “A fifth of the samples used in our analysis were from non-European ancestries, which increases the relevance of these findings to a diverse population.”
About 400 genes were discovered in a previous research study.
“It is promising to see that the same genes are associated with addictive behaviors across ancestries,” said Liu in a statement. “Having more robust and diverse data will help us develop predictive risk factor tools that can be applied to all populations.”
Within two years to three years, according to Liu, using these genetic risk factors would be refined and become routine in care for individuals already identified as having increased risk for alcohol and tobacco use.
“This project leveraged large amounts of data to identify common genetic risk factors across diverse populations,” said Kevin Black, interim dean of the College of Medicine. “Using these findings to develop screening tools for diseases of despair is the kind of innovation that will help our college lead the way in using health informatics to contribute to health preservation and disease treatment in our communities.”
December 8, 2022
Cancer Society Concerned About Nicotine Pouches

Photo: Andrii
The American Cancer Society is concerned about the growing popularity of nicotine pouches.
Overall U.S. sales of nicotine pouches increased during 2019–2022, according to a new study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) Network Open. The data also showed sales of 8 mg nicotine concentration level (highest available) products rose more rapidly than those with different concentration levels.
“Our findings are important as nicotine is a highly addictive substance. The growing popularity of nicotine pouches may increase the risk of children finding these products to be attractive and risk-averse health outcomes and addiction to nicotine,” said Nigar Nargis, senior scientific director of tobacco control research at the American Cancer Society and senior author of the study, in a statement. “Health campaigns warning of potential adverse health outcomes of nicotine pouches are needed.”
Study authors analyzed data comprising weekly Nielsen IQ Retail Scanner point of purchase sales from August 2019 through March 2022 for 2,182 local trade areas in the contiguous 48 states and Washington, D.C. Sales trends of four nicotine pouch brands (Zyn, Rogue, On! and Velo) were analyzed.
The results showed overall sales increased from 126.06 million units from August to December 2019 to 808.14 million units from January to March 2022. Zyn (58.8 percent) led the overall unit share followed by On! (24.6 percent), Velo (12.1 percent) and Rogue (4.8 percent) during the study period. Zyn sales peaked in September 2021 and increased more than other brands from October 2021 to March 2022; however, Rogue sales increased more rapidly than all other brands.
December 8, 2022