Author: Taco Tuinstra

Cigarette Sales Down in Denmark

Photo: Nikolay N. Antonov
Danish smokers bought 3.85 billion cigarettes in 2023, down 5.1 percent from 2022, according to the country’s statistics agency. This corresponds to 804 cigarettes per adult Dane, compared with 854 in the previous year.
Cigarette sales in Denmark started falling in 2018 and have declined by 32 percent since that year.
The sale of smoking tobacco, which includes loose tobacco for pipes and roll-your-own cigarettes, dropped from 378 tons in 2022 to 320 tons in 2023.
Sales of cigars and cigarillos remained unchanged at 22 million pieces in 2023
June 14, 2024
Switzerland Poised to Ban Disposables

Photo: twinsterphoto
Swiss lawmakers voted on June 12 to ban sales of disposable vapes, reports the Swiss Broadcasting Corp.
The motion calls on the government to amend the Federal Act on Tobacco Products and Electronic Cigarettes so that single-use vapes may no longer be offered for sale in Switzerland.
“’Puff bars’ are attractive to young people due to their many flavors and bright colors and are therefore becoming increasingly popular, said Green Party parliamentarian Christophe Clivaz, using the brand name of a popular vape brand to refer to all cigarettes.
Switzerland imported 10 million units in 2022, he added.
Clivaz lamented the environmental impact of improperly disposed vapes and the addictive nature of nicotine products. Clean-up efforts cost millions and the health effects of disposable cigarettes have been insufficiently researched, he noted.
Interior Minister Elisabeth Baume-Schneider voted against the House of Representatives’ motion, which the Federal Council, Switzerland’s executive body, considers premature.
The proposal will now move the Senate.
June 13, 2024
China Tobacco and BAT Meet in Beijing

Photo: Stephen Finn
Zhang Jianmin, director of China’s State Tobacco Monopoly Administration and general manager of China National Tobacco Corporation, met with a high-level BAT delegation in Beijing, according to Weixin
The companies reportedly held “friendly talks.”
Others in attendance included Wang Gongcheng, member of the Party Leadership Group of the National Bureau and deputy director, heads of the State Administration Office (foreign affairs department), the development planning department, China Tobacco Sales Corp. and China Tobacco International.
June 13, 2024
Free Tracking for Small Cigar Shipments

Photo: rh2010
Ecomo Impex is making its track-and-track system available, free of charge, to companies shipping up to 100 boxes of cigar products per year.
In May 2024, the European Union extended the scope of its Tobacco Product Directive to include tobacco products like cigars, cigarillos, pipe tobacco and smokeless tobacco products. Among other things, this implies that every producer, importer and retailer must comply with the labelling and tracking requirements of tobacco products sold within the EU.
“As track and trace becomes obligatory across the EU on May 20, 2024, small operators encounter technical hurdles and increased operational costs and we understand the challenge this means”, said Ecomo Impex Founder and Managing Director Hung Ma.
“We already have this system set up and would like to open it to all smaller-scale businesses, allowing them to enter the EU market with confidence and without fear of regulatory issues. Our commitment supports smaller-scale businesses, ensuring a wider variety of products available in the European market. If the quantity shipped exceeds over 100 boxes per year, we will charge our regular track-and-trace service fees,” added Hung Ma.
Ecomo Impex offers centralized coverage across the EU as well as overall assistance in import processes, product labelling, sales, distribution via EMCS, and brand building making it possible to tailor to the specific needs of any producer, brand owner or operator.
For details and registration visit www.trackandtraceforfree.com.
June 13, 2024
Huella Introduces TobacTrack
Huella has introduced TobacTrack, a compliance platform leveraging RFID and block chain technology to streamline regulatory oversight for the U.S. Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) and ensure adherence to the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act.
The TobacTrack platform assigns a Unique ID to each tobacco product, providing details such as the product’s TTB tobacco class, excise tax classification, FDA compliance status, and manufacturing code. This enables precise tracking and verification at every supply chain stage.
TobacTrack features a tailored user interface for industry stakeholders, such as factories, importers/brokers, wholesalers/distributors and regulatory agencies.
In addition to aiding TTB and FDA compliance, the TobacTrack platform can help tobacco producers meet the Prevent All Cigarette Trafficking (PACT) Act and related state tobacco product reporting requirements.
By automating and simplifying the reporting processes, the system enables companies to efficiently comply with federal and state-level regulations concerning the tracking and reporting of tobacco sales. This capability also empowers state authorities to conduct audits and ensure adherence to the PACT Act with greater ease and accuracy.
The TobacTrack RFID technology enhances operational efficiency by minimizing manual errors and reducing administrative costs. The platform provides instant access to a tobacco product’s tax and compliance status, thereby optimizing the effectiveness of regulatory efforts by state and federal agencies, including the TTB, FDA, and state tobacco tax and compliance regulators.
This enhanced efficiency substantially reduces the need for extensive field and factory audits.
For more information about TobacTrack, please visit www.tobactrack.com.
June 13, 2024
U.S. Regulators Grilled Over Illegal Vapes

Photo: Katherine Welles
U.S. Senators criticized top health and law enforcement officials for their failure to tame the rapidly growing illicit e-cigarette market, reports the Associated Press.
During a hearing on June 12, lawmakers on the Senate Judiciary Committee questioned officials from the Food and Drug Administration and Department of Justice (DOJ) about attempts to manage the vaping market, which has grown to include thousands of flavored, unauthorized e-cigarettes imported from China.
“I simply do not understand how FDA and DOJ have permitted thousands of products to remain on store shelves when their manufacturers have not received authorization or, in some cases, even filed an application,” said the committee’s chairman, Dick Durbin.
Brian King, director of the FDA’s Center for Tobacco Products, said the agency has been slowed by a backlog of applications submitted by vape companies seeking approval to sell their products in the U.S. The FDA received millions of premarket tobacco product applications, each of which must be scientifically reviewed.
An industry lobbyist told the committee that the FDA has created an untenable marketplace by rejecting more than 99 percent of applications submitted by companies.

I simply do not understand how FDA and DOJ have permitted thousands of products to remain on store shelves when their manufacturers have not received authorization, or, in some cases, even filed an application.
Dick Durbin, chairman, Senate Judiciary Committee
Ahead of the congressional hearing, several government agencies, including the FDA and the DOJ, established a task force to better coordinate the fight against illegal e-cigarettes. Republican Senator Thom Tillis called the timing of the announcement “a political stunt” and criticized the absence of other federal agencies from the initiative, including Customs and Border Protection (CBP).
“If the timing of the task force formation wasn’t evidence of how unserious the FDA is about tackling the flood of illicit e-cigarettes, FDA’s exclusion of CBP from the task force makes it crystal clear,” said Tillis, who represents North Carolina, a major tobacco-producing state. He urged officials to concentrate enforcement on Chinese brands rather than large domestic manufacturers like Reynolds American, which is based in North Carolina.
The FDA can conduct investigations and recommend cases, but only the Justice Department can bring lawsuits. The FDA has sent hundreds of warning letters to vape shops and e-cigarette manufacturers in recent years. But the letters have done little to dissuade companies from flouting FDA rules and introducing new vapes.
Disposable vapes account for an estimated 30 percent to 40 percent of the roughly $7 billion-dollar U.S. vaping market. The two bestselling disposables—Breeze and Elf Bar—generated more than $500 million in sales last year, according to Nielsen retail sales data analyzed by Goldman Sachs.
Both brands have been sanctioned by FDA regulators but remain widely available, in some cases with new names, logos and flavors.
King noted that products like Elf Bar cannot legally be sold in China because the government there has banned nontobacco-flavored e-cigarettes. Outraged that brands banned in China are sold in the U.S., Texas Senator John Cornyn vowed to introduce legislation to rectify that situation.
Jefferies analyst Owen Bennett said the congressional testimony could spur the FDA to approve more products from BAT and Juul. “This hearing is another example of increasing political pressure for the FDA to act” against unauthorized products, he said in a research note quoted by Bloomberg.
June 13, 2024
New Zealand Warnings Losing Bite: Study

Photo: Taco Tuinstra
Research out of New Zealand has found that graphic health warnings on tobacco packages are no longer motivating smokers to quit, reports RNZ.
According to Lani Teddy, University of Otago research fellow, the warnings have not been refreshed since 2018 and have lost their impact.
“For example, many on-pack warnings feature diseased organs that participants found difficult to recognize. They felt messages that recognized them as whole people would create greater empathy and do more to encourage them to quit,” Teddy said in a statement.
The study found that consumers were avoiding looking at the health warnings and did not feel that they would be personally harmed by using the products. According to Teddy, smokers were more likely to care about cost, stress of addiction and how their smoking affected their loved ones.
“Other countries are moving ahead with additional product design policies,” said Janet Hoek, research co-leader. “Canada has introduced warnings on individual cigarettes, a move that Australia is also considering. Australia has brought in new regulations that allow for filter regulations and is banning the use of flavor capsules, which make smoking more appealing to young people.”
Hoek said the packaging should include details on how to quit smoking.
“The repeal of the Smokefree Environments and Regulated Products (Smoked Tobacco) Amendment Act 2023 has left a policy vacuum,” Hoek said. “The government should demonstrate its commitment to the Smoke-Free 2025 goal by adopting international best practice in both tobacco product and packaging measures.
“At the very least, the government should maximize the impact that existing measures, such as on-pack warnings, could have and complement these with advice that will help people quit.”
June 12, 2024
Illicit Cigarette Sales up in the Netherlands

Photo: mitarart
Illicit cigarette sales in the Netherlands are rising in the wake of tax hikes, according to Dutch News.
Researchers collect empty cigarette packs every two years to identify their origins, and in 2023, 25 percent contained cigarettes that had not been subject to Dutch tobacco duties, up from 15 percent in 2021.
The research showed that 19 percent of the cigarettes were bought in other countries, but 4 percent were either fake branded cigarettes or had been smuggled into the country, up from 1 percent in the previous study.
“The big profits criminals can make with duty fraud and illegal production and trade are building up criminal assets,” the ministries said in a briefing. “And that allows them to finance other criminal activities.”
RIVM, a public health institute, also released research showing that smokers buy about 10 percent of their tobacco abroad, either by importing it themselves or having others import it for them.
According to the RIVM research, price increases aid in quitting, with 28 percent of participants stating they tried to quit and 18 percent successfully quitting.
Earlier this year, the price of a pack of cigarettes increased by about €1 ($1.08) to €11.10 per pack of 20. The increase aims to curb smoking rates.
The price of rolling tobacco packs increased by €3.60 to €24, with further increases expected. Cigarette taxes are now around €7.81 per pack.
June 12, 2024
U.S. Top Court May Tame ‘Chevron Doctrine’

Photo: maurice norbert
The U.S. Supreme Court may overturn a legal doctrine that according to some vapor industry advocates has allowed the Food and Drug Administration to reach beyond its legal authority, reports Reuters, citing legal scholars.
Known as Chevron deference, the doctrine calls for judges to defer to federal agency interpretations of U.S. laws that are deemed to be ambiguous. This doctrine, among the most important principles in administrative law, arose from a 1984 Supreme Court ruling involving oil company Chevron.
It is opposed by conservatives and business interests but supported by liberals who favor robust corporate regulation. Vaping activists contend that the Chevron doctrine has, among other things, enabled the FDA to essentially ban all nontobacco-flavored e-cigarettes.
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, which represents more than 300,000 businesses, has argued that Chevron deference has let Congress “outsource core policy decisions (particularly controversial ones) to agencies through broadly worded statutes.” That has given the agencies, it added, “free rein to enact their own new regulatory requirements through sweeping rulemakings or after-the-fact enforcement actions.”
Many legal scholars expect the Supreme Court, which has a 6-3 conservative majority, to scale back or overturn the Chevron doctrine in a case in which fishing companies are seeking to avoid bearing costs associated with a government-run program to monitor for overfishing of herring off New England’s coast. The suit is part of a broader conservative project to strip away regulatory power from federal agencies.
The justices heard arguments in the case on Jan. 17 and are expected to rule on the case by the end of June.
June 12, 2024
Regulators Urged to Embrace THR

More than 1.8 million lives could be saved within the next 40 years by replacing World Health Organization-directed tobacco control efforts with products like vapes and e-cigarettes, snus and nicotine pouches, a new study has found. Urgent action is required to tackle continuing prevalence of smoking as global efforts to end smoking have stalled and current approaches to tobacco control have proven insufficient, the researchers said.
Instead of current measures, researchers found that tobacco harm reduction (THR) products that replace smoking with nicotine alternatives promise to make a significant improvement in health outcomes in the Middle East and save millions of lives.
The researchers studied the impact of tobacco use in seven countries in the Middle East including Pakistan, Egypt, Lebanon, Jordan, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and the UAE, and determined that more than 384,000 die prematurely annually due to tobacco use. Tobacco use contributes to several major causes of death in these countries including lung and oral cancer, COPD, heart disease, and stroke, which are all set to increase in prevalence over the next few decades.
The ideal means of reducing this burden is through THR products which use nicotine without the deadly byproducts that cause disease. THR products like e-cigarettes/vapes, heated tobacco products, snus, nicotine pouches and charcoal free shisha are rapidly gaining traction among consumers in the Middle East and are considerably safer than smoking. However, these innovations have not yet been embraced by physicians and governments as means of cutting premature deaths.

Embracing THR, cessation, and improved lung cancer treatment represents a major opportunity for the Middle East to dramatically improve the health of its populations.
Derek Yach, lead author
The report comes as the quality of evidence on the benefits of smoking cessation and THR has strengthened. Stopping tobacco use at any age is associated with longer survival, and switching to THR products is almost twice as effective for cessation as nicotine replacement therapies. While long-term studies on the health benefits of switching to THR are still needed, results of studies using biomarkers of future diseases are promising.
The report comes at a critical time as many Middle East countries’ reverse bans on some THR products and liberalize their approach to tobacco alternatives. Meanwhile, new and innovative THR products are being developed for the Middle East signaling the growing acceptance of the value of THR and the demand for them by consumers.
To benefit from the promise of these products the authors recommend educating physicians to communicate the benefits of THR to patients in all clinical encounters, countering disinformation about nicotine and the value of THR, and developing a regional equivalent of the Royal College of Physicians report on THR and vapes. The authors also recommend that policymakers revise regulations to improve access to THR products and invest in national science and research to replace tobacco with THR and establishing independent science-based consumer groups to advocate for their needs. The authors encourage religious leaders to guide their communities to quit smoking and support tobacco harm reduction.
“Embracing THR, cessation, and improved lung cancer treatment represents a major opportunity for the Middle East to dramatically improve the health of its populations,” said Derek Yach, lead author of the report, global health consultant and former senior WHO official. “The prevalence of smoking is projected to only decrease by less than 2 percentage, from 33.3 percent in 2020 to 31 percent in 2025. This preventable disaster should engender outrage and immediate action. This report aims to provide an alternative vision of what is possible.”
Figure: Projected deaths from tobacco in 2060

This figure shows the number of tobacco deaths expected to occur in 2060 using three scenarios: WHO projections using FCTC and MPOWER measures; WHO projections adding THR products; and WHO projection adding THR, smoking cessation and, lung cancer innovations.
June 12, 2024