Author: Taco Tuinstra

James Mish Appointed to 22nd Century Board

Photo: Bill Gallery
22nd Century Group has appointed James A. Mish to its board of directors.
“The board of directors is very pleased to appoint Jim to the board, recognizing his exceptional leadership in developing and executing the business strategy leading to the commercial launches of our modified-risk tobacco products as well as our hemp/cannabis lines,” said Nora B. Sullivan, chairperson of the board of directors, in a statement.
“Bringing him onto the board further enhances our direct scientific, manufacturing and operational experience in these critically important end markets during a transformative time for our company. His contributions in the board room will also enhance the ongoing development of our strategies and ensure alignment and support for the execution of the strategic initiatives of the company.”
Mish has served as 22nd Century Group’s CEO since June 2020. Trained as a chemist, he brings a detailed understanding of molecular, organic and formulation sciences to the board—particularly in botanical products and consumer product innovation. He also brings deep experience navigating the regulatory matters related to product approvals and clinical trials, particularly with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, European Medicines Agency and European Food Safety Authority.
Prior to joining 22nd Century, Mish led the private equity carve out of Noramco from Johnson & Johnson/Janssen Pharmaceuticals and the subsequent spinoff of Purisys from Noramco. Mish served as president and CEO of Purisys, leading its pharmaceutically derived cannabinoid API, ingredients and solutions business, including full-scale commercial production of cannabinoid APIs for various market segments, including pharmaceuticals, medical OTC and consumer packaged goods.
Mish began his career at the multinational pharmaceutical firm Pfizer in research and development before holding positions of increasing responsibility at several companies.
January 21, 2022
Alarm About Ecuador’s Traceability Approach

Photo: ITSA
The International Tax Stamp Association (ITSA) has raised concerns over Ecuador’s decision to allow tobacco and alcoholic beverage manufacturers to hire a provider of their choice to implement the marking and fiscal traceability system required on excise products.
According to the ITSA, this development sets an alarming precedent and could open the “flood gate” to taxpayers across the globe using traceability systems that are in their own self-interest, leading to a significant drop in the capacity of authorities to collect tax revenue.
Last year, Ecuador’s Internal Revenue Service (SRI) published resolutions allowing taxpayers to use any provider for traceability systems in a move that the ITSA says is a fresh blow to the country’s SIMAR traceability system. This has been in place since 2017 to regulate and gather excise on beer, alcoholic beverages and tobacco products and has been instrumental in securing more than $100 million in additional tax revenues, according to the trade group.
The ITSA has already flagged its concerns with the general director of the SRI, reiterating the position that marking and fiscal traceability solutions independent of controlling industry interests are far more effective in securing supply chains and excise. According to the ITSA, these technologies generate independent and precise information to facilitate more effective tax administration through better control of tax declarations and enforcement of taxpayer obligations.
Ecuador’s move heralds a potential conflict of interest between the provider and taxpayer because authorities cannot independently verify production and import levels without controlling the track-and-trace provider. It also sees noncompliance with the World Health Organization’s Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, which Ecuador has signed up to.
“We are deeply concerned that Ecuador’s decision could set an unhealthy precedent for the whole industry, both within the region and globally, which could have a serious impact on the wider tax stamp and traceability industry,” said ITSA President Juan Carlos Yanez in a press note.
“We urge Ecuador’s government, in conjunction with experts, to review its decision about resolutions 19 and 48 and look at fiscal marking and traceability continuity through a new transparent international public bidding process. In this way, the SRI will be able to significantly increase revenue collection via modern and reliable tax payment methods.”
January 21, 2022
Red Man Rebrands as America’s Best Chew

Photo: Swedish Match
Swedish Match is rebranding its Red Man chewing tobacco to America’s Best Chew to better align with the company’s contemporary values. The name change comes as the product celebrates its 135th anniversary.
While the new packaging will reflect the rebrand, the product is the same. According to Swedish Match, consumers can expect the same high-quality chewing tobacco that has been enjoyed by generations, right down to the unmistakable aroma, texture and flavor.
“Understanding that an essential part of being America’s best means being a leader, Swedish Match worked diligently over the past several months to make changes in response to our heightened awareness and our desire to be more inclusive,” said Joe Ackerman, vice president of marketing at Swedish Match, in a statement. “Consumers and diverse agency partners were selected to participate in the rebranding research. It was critical and valuable for us to gain these insights and recommendations to develop America’s Best Chew packaging.”
“I applaud the Swedish Match company for retiring the use of ‘Red Man’ as a product name,” said Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin, Jr. “Nationally, we are moving away from the use of derogatory terms and depictions of Native Americans as product mascots because representations are stereotypical caricatures, and they do not honor us or reflect how we live and thrive, both as individuals and as unique Tribal Nations today. The announcement to change the brand’s name and imagery gives us hope that more companies, schools and sports teams hear us and that we will continue to make impactful national changes for the betterment of Indian Country.”
“This decision exemplifies the global awakening of these harmful practices toward Indigenous Peoples and gives us hope that others will follow Swedish Match’s bold and courageous lead,” said Fawn Sharp, president of the National Congress of American Indians.
“While the phrase ‘America’s Best Chew’ may have gone unnoticed to some, it is an essential part of who we are,” according to Ackerman. “It represents our founder John Pinkerton’s passion and commitment to quality. More importantly, America’s Best Chew was the promise that Pinkerton made 135 years ago when he created the original recipe and innovative flavoring process that we still use today.”
The transition to the new America’s Best Chew packaging will begin within the next few weeks.
January 21, 2022
Tobacco Firms Recognized as Top Employers
BAT, Japan Tobacco International and Imperial Brands have been named as top employers by the Top Employers Institute.
“Being named as a Global Top Employer for the fifth year in a row is a recognition of BAT’s inclusive, engaging culture and innovative working environment,” said Hae In Kim, director of talent, culture and inclusion at BAT, in a statement. “We are continually striving to maintain a workplace where employees feel empowered and well supported, and we are delighted this has been recognized.
“It is an honor to once again be certified by Top Employers Institute,” said Howard Parks, JTI’s senior vice president of people and culture, in a press note. “Our people are at the heart of everything we do, which is why we aim to offer them the best possible working environment. Giving our over 40,000 colleagues the opportunity to grow and providing them with the optimal conditions and support to fulfil their potential is of paramount importance to us.”
“I am delighted that Imperial has been recognized as a Top Employer for another year,” said Alison Clarke, Imperial’s chief people and culture officer, in a statement. “Imperial Brands is a great place to work, grow and develop, and it’s particularly pleasing that—in these challenging times when we can’t always congregate in the way we would like—our people have shown real resilience and embraced new ways of engaging to create an even better place to work.”
The Top Employer certification process is conducted annually by the Top Employers Institute, an independent organization that studies the employee offerings of major employers around the world. Certification recognizes employers that provide best-in-class employment practices, allowing employees to develop themselves personally and professionally while driving business results. Participating companies undergo a rigorous assessment process, which includes an extensive review of employer practices. Several validation sessions are held where evidence of these practices is provided, and an independent audit of the findings is also carried out.
January 20, 2022
Zimbabwe Leaf Earnings Up

Photo: Transcom Sharaf
Zimbabwe has earned more than $80 million from tobacco exports to date this season, up from a little over $17 million during the same period of the prior year, reports The Herald. The country has exported 15,777 tons so far compared with 573 tons in the comparable period of the previous selling season.
Industry representatives attribute the jump to the timing of shipments. According to the Tobacco Industry and Marketing Board (TIMB), companies with customers in the Far East have moved their tobacco to ports in South Africa earlier than normal to secure space on vessels.
“During the same period last year, due to the Covid[-19] pandemic, efficient shipment of goods was affected as some shipping lines canceled their vessels,” said TIMB spokesperson Chelesani Moyo.
The Far East was the top destination for Zimbabwean tobacco, with local companies exporting 190,153 tons worth $67.5 million to date.
The Middle East imported 2,614 tons worth $6,49 million while the European Union bought 1,543 tons worth $3.71 million. African countries imported 927 tons worth $2.06 million, and the Americas bought 14 tons valued at $1.73 million, according to the TIMB.
More than 140,000 farmers now engage in tobacco production while close to 1 million people are directly dependent on the golden leaf.
Tobacco generates 30 percent of Zimbabwe’s foreign currency earnings, bringing in more than $600 million annually.
To learn more about the impact of Covid-19 on global tobacco shipments, see “Taking Freight,” in this month’s issue of Tobacco Reporter.
January 20, 2022
FDA Urged to Act on Remaining Applications

Photo: New Africa
Several anti-tobacco groups have sent a letter to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration urging the agency to act on the outstanding premarket tobacco product applications (PMTAs) and pushing for the denial of all flavored e-cigarette products.
It’s been more than four months since the FDA was supposed to decide which e-cigarette products can remain on the market, but the agency still hasn’t completed some of the reviews, including some of the bestselling e-cigarettes.
“We write to urge the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to expedite decisions on the premarket tobacco product applications (PMTAs) still pending before the agency involving the flavored e-cigarette products, including those with menthol flavoring and, based on the best available scientific evidence, deny the pending applications for all nontobacco flavored e-cigarettes in order to protect the nation’s young people from the health harms of these products,” the letter said.
The letter was signed by the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Heart Association and the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, among others.
“Every day that FDA delays action, more of our kids remain at risk,” said Matthew Myers, president of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids. “While the FDA has ruled on applications from a lot of small companies, it hasn’t ruled on the applications from the large companies whose products are being used by a majority of kids.”
American Vaping Association President Gregory Conley pointed to data showing that youth vaping has been declining. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), use of e-cigarettes went down among middle school and high school students from 2019 to 2020.
But even with the drop, the CDC said it “estimated that more than 2 million U.S. middle [school] and high school students reported currently using e-cigarettes in 2021.”
January 20, 2022
Lithuania Bans Flavored E-Cigarettes

Photo: MNStudio
Lithuania will ban the sale of flavored e-cigarettes and e-liquid cartridges starting in July, reports LRT. Tobacco flavors will remain legal.
The move is aimed at reducing sales of e-cigarettes that are growing increasingly popular in Lithuania.
On Jan. 18, Lithuanian lawmakers adopted amendments to the Law on Control of Tobacco, Tobacco Products and Related Products with 92 votes in favor, nine against and nine abstentions.
Lithuania already bans e-cigarettes and e-liquid cartridges containing vitamins and other additives that create an impression that they are good or do less damage to health.
The country also prohibits imports of e-cigarettes and e-liquid cartridges containing caffeine and other stimulating compounds linked to energy and vitality.
January 20, 2022
P&K Presents New Brand Strategy
Phillips & King International has announced a new brand identity and wholesale e-commerce platform.
A contemporary refinement of the company’s “shield and knight” badge, the new logo signifies Phillips & King’s mission to modernize the business while paying homage to its 116-year history.
Phillips & King has embarked on a complete digital transformation of its business to better serve the evolving needs of its retail customers and brand partners. Over the course of this year, the company will be launching a host of enhancements to its business, including a new web platform expected to launch in the second quarter that will make it easier for stores to discover and stock products. Phillips & King will also be expanding its product and category assortment to give emerging brands the ability to reach more buyers.
“The future of B2B wholesale commerce is both digital and highly personalized,” says Jason Carignan, president of Phillips & King. “Our new web platform will enable us to more easily connect buyers and sellers across the industry and offer a more expansive array of products and categories—all while improving the personal connection our sales teams have with customers.
“We believe that retailers should be able to manage their entire business with ease from their mobile device and have access to business intelligence—and expert guidance—that helps drive inventory-buying decisions. This new platform is the first step in our quest to helping stores thrive in the new retail reality.”
Phillips & King is a subsidiary of Kretek International.
January 20, 2022
BAT Launches Virtual R&D Visitor Experience

Image: BAT
BAT has created a virtual R&D visitor experience, an online tour of its global research and development hub in Southampton, U.K., that allows people to explore its cutting-edge science and innovation.
BAT says the experience builds on the company’s open and transparent approach to the science underpinning its reduced-risk product portfolio and beyond nicotine activities. The company regularly welcomes visitors in person to its global R&D hub, with more than 3,500 people viewing the facilities firsthand since 2011. However, with travel significantly reduced, the virtual experience allows people from across the globe to access and understand BAT’s scientific research and tobacco harm reduction activities and gain perspectives and insights from experts.
“At BAT, R&D is fundamental to what we do,” said David O’Reilly, director of scientific research at BAT, in a statement. “Our focus on science and research has enabled us to make significant progress in developing and evolving our New Category products, which are rigorously tested and scientifically substantiated as reduced-risk alternatives to cigarettes. Our R&D is based around consumer preferences as well as applying evolving science and innovation to our products. This allows us to offer a range of enjoyable reduced-risk alternatives to cigarettes while ensuring we maintain very high safety and quality standards.
“Our new R&D virtual visitor experience demonstrates the breadth of science we are undertaking and the robust scientific framework we use to evaluate and support the role our products play in delivering tobacco harm reduction.”
With 360-degree lab tours, animations, videos, scientist profiles, podcasts and more, the R&D virtual visitor experience is the one-stop hub for those looking to find out about BAT’s science. The tour illuminates BAT’s purpose to build “A Better Tomorrow” and mission to reduce the health impact of its business. BAT invests almost £350 million [$477.18 million] a year to find innovative ways to reduce its effects on public health and aims to have 50 million consumers of its noncombustible products by 2030.
January 19, 2022
Fighting Its Corner

Photos: Taco Tuinstra
Nyasa Manufacturing carves out a niche for itself in the competitive Malawi market.
Like their counterparts elsewhere, Africa’s cigarette markets are dominated by multinationals. Occasionally, however, a homegrown player manages to carve out a niche, using local knowledge to counter global resources.
Nearly a decade ago, several Malawi flue-cured tobacco farmers ventured into cigarette manufacturing. Confounding the naysayers, they have held their own against deep-pocketed rivals, capturing a share of the country’s—admittedly tiny—cigarette market.
“We were driving pickup trucks, and the leaf buyers were driving Land Rovers,” quips Konrad Buckle about the group’s decision to move up the value chain.
“Today, we are still driving pickups,” he chuckles.
That is not entirely true—Buckle, too, now owns a late-model Land Rover—but his joke hints at the challenges of establishing a cigarette company in a country with frequent power failures, a crumbling infrastructure and rock-bottom disposable incomes, not to mention a formidable incumbent.
The newly created enterprise, Nyasa Manufacturing Co. (NMC), set up shop in Blantyre, Malawi’s commercial capital. In 2009, Buckle spent three months in Indonesia, learning to operate the equipment that the company had purchased for its factory. NMC developed six brands, and soon it was producing cigarettes “out of its rear.”
But making cigarettes proved to be easier than selling them.
“We quickly learned about the importance of brand loyalty and price positioning,” says Buckle. With a gross national per capita income of only $340, according to World Bank figures, Malawi is said to be the world’s poorest country outside of a war zone. Cigarettes are considered a luxury, and the typical smoker can afford to buy only one stick at a time. Not only must cigarettes be priced extremely competitively in such an environment, but newcomers must also lure smokers away from multinational brands that have been around for ages.
The company struggled, and in 2012 it nearly went bankrupt. But Buckle and his partners persisted. Applying the lessons learned, they slowly but surely put NMC on the map.

Playing on its home turf worked to the NMC’s advantage.
Playing on its home turf worked to the company’s advantage. According to Buckle, importers tend to sell their cigarettes through supermarkets, which are located primarily in urban areas. The vast majority of Malawians, however, live in rural areas. So NMC invested in a fleet of cars and motorcycles, along with “a never-ending supply of replacement parts” to guarantee mobility on Malawi’s bumpy roads. “We sent our people into the countryside to ensure our products would be available everywhere, all the time,” says Buckle.
NMC also took notice of the particularities of Malawi’s economy, which is based on subsistence farming. “From January to March, spending grinds to a halt as farmers plant their crops,” says Buckle. “Until harvest time, they have many expenses but zero disposable income. You must consider that cycle in your cash flow projections.”
To further increase brand awareness, in 2016 the company bought the Nyasa Big Bullets, a Malawi football team with 8 million supporters. The move made NMC a household name overnight, even though the firm has been careful to avoid tobacco references in its sponsorship materials. Buying the team also brought on board a highly motivated sales force. “Ninety percent of vendors on the street are Big Bullet fans,” explains Buckle.
While the sponsorship of a sports team by a tobacco company raised eyebrows, the international governing body of football, FIFA, acknowledged that, in Malawi, there are few alternative sources of funding.

The government has been encouraging entrepreneurs to move up the value chain beyond leaf exports.
Of course, NMC’s competitors didn’t sit by idly as the newcomer encroached on their turf. To slow the company’s momentum, they temporarily dropped their prices—but NMC was ready for that scenario. “We bought all the discounted stock we could get our hands on,” grins Buckle. “When they eventually raised their prices again, we sold those cigarettes and doubled our money!”
Business grew steadily, and the Blantyre factory now runs two shifts per day, seven days a week. While statistics are hard to come by—Malawi’s puny market isn’t tracked by market intelligence firms such as Euromonitor—observers estimate domestic volume at 1 billion sticks. “Twenty-five percent of that is smuggled from neighboring countries,” estimates Buckle. “Of the remaining 750 million sticks, we have 50 percent.”
Buckle attributes the company’s success to a combination of determination and street smarts. And the advantage of being local, he stresses, cannot be exaggerated.
Even though he was born and raised in South Africa, Buckle has lived in Malawi for more than 30 years. “This is my home,” he says. His business partners, Dimitri Kalaitzis and Demokritos Kalaitzis, are fourth-generation members of Malawi’s small Greek community. “They understand the environment and the politics,” says Buckle.
As if to underscore the extent of his integration into the local community, Buckle was recently invited to join Malawi’s Ngoni people. In an elaborate ceremony overseen by the chief, Inkosi ya Makosi M’mbelwa V, he became an official member of the tribe. “Two leopards died because of me,” he says, with a mixture of pride and regret, referring to the traditional attire worn during the ceremony. Being part of a prominent tribe earns a degree of respect in Malawi and opens doors that might remain closed to outsiders.

We bought all our competitor’s discounted stock we could get our hands on. When they eventually raised their prices again, we sold those cigarettes and doubled our money!
Konrad Buckle, Nyasa Manufacturing Co.
The company’s local roots also earned it the support of Malawi’s government, which has been eager to capture a greater share of the tobacco value chain. Leaf tobacco accounts for a whopping 60 percent of the country’s export income, but the government wants Malawi to do more than export raw materials. For years, it has been encouraging investors start manufacturing cigarettes in Malawi but with little success. A plan, announced by Eastern Co. of Egypt in 2014, to build a cigarette factory in Lilongwe appears to have been quietly abandoned.
To encourage the new venture, the government granted NMC tax breaks and other benefits. NMC and its sister company Nyasa Distributing Co. now employ 200 people—a big deal in a country of peasant farmers, where only a handful of people hold formal jobs. And the benefits stretch further than the immediate positions created. According to Buckle, each employee supports an average of six people.
NMC intends to support Malawi’s economy going forward as well. Whenever possible, the company sources its materials locally, starting with tobacco. “Critics said it wouldn’t be possible to produce cigarettes using only local leaf,” says Buckle. “But Malawi has everything we need: burley, flue-cured and dark fire-cured.” Due to Malawi’s small industrial base, some imports are unavoidable. Cigarette paper, foil and wrap are purchased abroad, while cut rag is created in Zimbabwe, using Malawi leaf. The company has ordered a filter making machine and expects to start producing its own filters in September.
Plenty of challenges remain, but Buckle is optimistic about the future. The trials of starting cigarette production in Malawi, he notes, have taught the partners good business sense. “You must operate as lean as possible so that you will be covered also in bad times,” he says.
“As a small player, we must box cleverly.”
Taco Tuinstra is Tobacco Reporter’s editorial director.Based in Raleigh, North Carolina, USA, he coordinates the work of staff writers and contributors.On his watch, Tobacco Reporter has won several awards for editorial excellence.Since joining the magazine in 1997, Taco has visited more than 75 countries to meet industry representatives in their markets and to report tobacco news firsthand.

April 12, 2017