Author: Taco Tuinstra

Executive Appointments at Ispire

Photo: Ink Drop
Ispire Technology has appointed Jim McCormick chief financial officer. The company also announced the appointments of John Patterson as senior vice president of international nicotine; Dennis Lider as senior vice president of cannabis product sales; and David Hessler as senior vice president of operations.
McCormick has more than three decades of diverse leadership experience to his new role. He started his career in public accounting with KPMG Peat Marwick in 1989, transitioning to consumer goods with Mid-America Pepsi-Cola and later joining BAT’s associate company Brown & Williamson Tobacco in 1992. At BAT, he held various international general management and CFO positions across Europe, South America, Southeast Asia, Sub-Saharan Africa and Northern Africa.
Patterson has more than 25 years of extensive experience in the tobacco and next-generation nicotine categories, spanning both U.S. domestic and international markets, notably in the U.K. and the EU. Beginning his career at Altria, Patterson has since held pivotal roles across Europe for Philip Morris International, NJOY and most recently Juul Labs, where he served as senior director and country manager for the United Kingdom.
With more than 20 years of CPG sales leadership experience, Lider boasts over a decade of executive leadership in revenue management. Since 2019, he has held senior-level positions with publicly traded cannabis companies, overseeing wholesale, retail and distribution sales functions. Lider brings a wealth of experience in international market expansions, corporate business development, global sales management and channel diversification.
Hessler, senior vice president of operations, began his career in California’s shipping industry after graduating from Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service. He went to Moscow in 1992, where he spent two decades in the global cigarette industry with PMI and JTI. Hessler led At JTI’s global supply chain organization’s customer service department in Geneva, managing operations across 190 markets with over 5,000 SKUs.
“We’re thrilled to announce this significant talent upgrade at Ispire as we gear up for rapid expansion both domestically and internationally,” said Ispire Co-CEO Michael Wang in a statement.
May 20, 2024
Social Media Use Linked to Youth Vaping

Photo: Alessandro Biascioli
In a recent study published in Thorax, researchers found associations between the use of social media platforms and the risk of combustible cigarette smoking and vaping among youth.
The study, is based on a survey of almost 11,000 young British people ages 10 to 25 who were tracked from 2015 through 2021.
Overall, 8.5 percent said they currently smoked, 2.5 percent said they vaped and about 1 percent did both,
How much time they spent on TikTok, Instagram and other social media platforms tracked well with their odds of smoking or vaping, the study found.
Just 2 percent of people who reported no social media use engaged in cigarette smoking, but that rose to 17 percent among those who said they were on social media seven-plus hours per day.
Similarly, less than 1 percent of those who avoided social media vaped compared to 2.5 percent of those who used it seven or more hours daily.
Graham Wheeler, honorary senior lecturer in the Imperial Clinical Trials Unit at Imperial College London and statistics director for Statistical Innovation in Specialty and Primary Care at GSK, said the results of this large study are similar to the findings of other research into the association of social media use and smoking habits.
“However, the researchers didn’t record the social media platforms used or how the users interacted with friends on these platforms. For example, are stronger associations seen amongst users of TikTok or Instagram compared to Whatsapp?” Wheeler was quoted as saying by HealthDay.
“Social media use is self-reported so may not be an accurate record of actual use.
“The researchers also assessed how the interaction of social media use and variables such as age, household income and sex were associated with cigarette and e-cigarette use. However, they did not report the interaction of social media use with parental use of cigarettes and e-cigarettes, which is one of the strongest variables associated with children’s smoking habits. We don’t know if this trend of higher odds of being a smoker increasing with social media usage changes when comparing children of parents who are smokers and children of parents who are not smokers.
“This survey reports responses given at a single point in time rather than following nonsmokers over time to see if the likelihood of them taking up cigarette smoking or e-cigarette use is associated with increasing levels of social media use.”
May 20, 2024
Tobacco Earnings Jump

Photo: Taco Tuinstra
Malawi earned $81.2 million from tobacco sales in the four weeks that ended May 10—83.3 percent more than in the same period last year, reports Xinhua.
The Tobacco Commission estimates that tobacco growers will bring 140 million kg to market this year, representing a 17 percent increase over last year’s production of around 125 million kilograms. The regulator said that 30 million kilograms have been sold since the markets opened in April, a 47.5 percent increase over the same period last year.
“The seasonal average price has also increased by 28 percent to an average of 2.7 dollars per kilogram, compared to 2.11 dollars per kilogram last year,” the commission said.
Tobacco exports accounted for $389 million dollars of Malawi’s $1.1 billion exports in 2023, according to the country’s National Statistics Office.
May 17, 2024
Revenue and Income Up at RLX Technology

Photo: RLX Technology
RLX Technology reported net revenues of RMB551.6 million ($76.4 million) in the first quarter of 2024, up from RMB188.9 million in the same period of 2023. Gross margin was 25.9 percent, compared with 24.2 percent in the 2023 period. U.S. GAAP net income reached RMB132.6 million, compared with U.S. GAAP net loss of RMB56.3 million in the same period of 2023.
“We started 2024 with a steady first quarter,” said Ying (Kate) Wang, co-founder, chairperson and CEO of RLX Technology in a statement. “Our international business is developing positively as we refine our regional strategies. Despite challenges posed by regulatory changes across various regions, we continue to identify opportunities and leverage our core strengths to prudently enter potential markets.
“Domestically, we are encouraged by the positive impact of China’s recent regulatory crackdown on illegal products, but much progress remains to be made. We remain committed to collaborating with regulators and advocating for a well-regulated and healthy e-vapor industry. As a trusted e-vapor brand for adult smokers, we are dedicated to optimizing our product portfolio with premium, compliant, and innovative products that meet our users’ needs and drive growth in this evolving industry.”
The first quarter marked RLX Technology’s fifth consecutive quarter of sequential revenue growth, according to Chief Financial Officer Chao Lu. “With our resilient business model, effective regional strategies, and consistent strong execution, we are confident of sustaining this growth trajectory and delivering sustainable value to our stakeholders,” he said.
May 17, 2024
Illicit Market Smaller Than Suggested: WHO

Photo: Taco Tuinstra
Pakistan’s illicit cigarette market is smaller than the tobacco industry claims, according to the World Health Organization.
Nonetheless, the illegal sales still account for 23.1 percent of the country’s total cigarette trade, a survey by the global health body found.
Of the illicit cigarettes, 47 percent is smuggled, 45 percent is nontax paid and 8 percent is counterfeit.
According to the study, which is based on Pakistan Bureau of Statistics data, tax evasion on domestically produced cigarettes in 2015-2016 amounted to PKR53.8 billion ($193.16 million). Seventy percent of that share was evaded by the legitimate sector, the WHO study said.
Anti-tobacco activists have been pressing the government to raise tobacco taxes to 70 percent of the retail price, in line with WHO guidelines
“With over 60 percent of the population comprising youth, it’s crucial for the government to protect them from the ills of tobacco use,” said Malik Imran Ahmed, country head of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids (CTFK), told Business Recorder.
He said the move would generate PKR200 billion in additional revenue by year-end, and help recoup healthcare costs associated with smoking-related illnesses.
May 17, 2024
Vaping Surges 600 Percent in Malaysia

Photo: fedorovacz
Vaping prevalence in Malaysia has surged 600 percent in 12 years, reports the New Straits Times, citing a recent study.
The 2023 Global Adult Tobacco Survey (GATS) found that some 5.8 percent of Malaysian adults are e-cigarette users compared with only 0.8 percent in 2011.
GATS is a nationally representative household survey conducted in more than 30 countries globally.
The report also revealed an increase in the percentage of people who used both tobacco and e-cigarettes, from 0.8 percent in 2011 to 3.9 percent last year.
The 15–24 age group had the highest prevalence (8.6 percent) compared with 7.1 percent for those between 25 and 44.
The top 3 reasons cited for using e-cigarettes were flavors, the perception of lower risk compared to smoking, and more enjoyment.
The GATS also found that 41 percent of adult smokers in Malaysia have no plans to quit the habit.
Another 13 percent said they were thinking about quitting smoking within the next 12 months, and another 37 percent said they planned to stop someday.
The survey found that around 4.8 million or 19 percent of adults in Malaysia smoke, with 3.7 million or 14.6 percent of adults smoking daily.
GATS Malaysia 2023 queried 5,780 households across all states, with respondents aged 15 years and above, over two months.
May 16, 2024
Korea to Treat Synthetic Nicotine as Tobacco

Photo: Purilum
The government of South Korea aims to regulate synthetic nicotine as tobacco, reports the Yonhap News Agency.
The Ministry of Health and Welfare and the Ministry of Economy and Finance want to revise the Tobacco Business Act to include synthetic nicotine in the definition of tobacco.
Tobacco in South Korea is governed by the National Health Promotion Act, under the jurisdiction of the health ministry, and the Tobacco Business Act governed by the finance ministry.
The current rules define tobacco as a product “manufactured in a state suitable for smoking, sucking, inhaling steam, chewing or smelling, by using tobacco leaves as all or any part of the raw materials.”
That language fails to capture the e-cigarette liquids made with synthetic nicotine, which is created in a laboratory rather than from tobacco leaves. As a result, vapes are not subject to product requirements, such as health warning labels, age restrictions and tobacco taxes, in South Korea.
The push for new legislation follows an announcement by BAT that it is mulling the launch of a new synthetic nicotine product in the country. South Korea is reportedly the only nation where the tobacco giant is considering a synthetic nicotine product.
“We have decided to push for the revision of the Tobacco Business Act when the 22nd National Assembly opens,” an official at the health ministry was quoted as saying. “We will provide necessary materials to the finance ministry, and there is already an abundance of evidence proving that synthetic nicotine is tobacco.”
The consumption of e-cigarettes has been rising steadily in South Korea, reaching 16.9 percent of tobacco sales in 2023.
May 16, 2024
PMI Opens Factory in Ukraine’s Lviv Region

Photo: Vitezslav Vylicil
Philip Morris International opened a $30 million cigarette factory in Ukraine’s Lviv region, creating 250 jobs, reports Interfax.
According to a company press release, the factory will have five production lines. The first started operating in May, the second should be launched in June and the rest before the end of the year, bringing the factory’s annual production capacity to 10 billion cigarettes, enough to meet the Ukrainian demand.
PMI has no plans to export from the facility, which currently employs about 100 people from the company’s Kharkiv factory, which was mothballed in the wake of Russia’s 2022 military invasion.
PMI has invested about $750 million in Ukraine since entering the market in 1994.
Before opening the Lviv facility, PMI supplied to Ukraine from eight factories outside the country.
The company reduced shipments to Ukraine by 30.1 percent to 11.07 billion cigarettes and heated-tobacco units in 2022. In 2023, it increased shipments to the country by 8.4 percent.
The cigarette manufacturer controls almost a quarter of the Ukrainian cigarette market.
May 16, 2024
Norway: Store Chains to Phase Out Cigarettes

Photo: Tupungato
Two leading convenience store chains in Norway will phase out cigarette sales, reports The Local.
Reitan Convenience Norway, which operates Narvesen and 7-Eleven stores, intends to stop selling tobacco products at all its locations by 2026.
“We already see a declining demand for cigarettes and want to contribute to phasing this out in the long term,” Anniken Staubo at Reitan Convenience Norway told E24.
Earlier, Reitan Convenience Sweden announced that it would also stop selling cigarettes.
“Just like Reitan Convenience Sweden, we are also not going to take in new products and brands in this category from 2026,” Staubo said.
According to Reitan, the phaseout is part of the company’s overall sustainability strategy.
“There are major environmental and social sustainability challenges in the production of tobacco. We plan for a gradual phasing out of cigarettes in our range and follow the development of any new changes in rules and laws,” Staubo said.
Norgesgruppen, which owns Norway’s other prominent convenience store chain, Joker, said it had no plans to phase out cigarette sales.
Since 2017, the number of young people who smoke daily in Norway has fallen while there has been a steady increase in the number of people using snus.
In 2023, 16 percent of Norwegians aged between 16 and 74 used snus daily compared with just 7 percent of the same demographic who smoked cigarettes every day, according to Statistics Norway.
May 16, 2024
Zimbabwe Tobacco Export Earnings Jump

Photo: Taco Tuinstra
Zimbabwe’s tobacco export earnings increased by a whopping 138 percent year-on-year to reach $436 million leaf in the first quarter of 2024, reports The Herald, as cigarette manufacturers were urged to explore high-paying markets.
Traditionally a leading exporter of leaf tobacco, the country aims to extract more revenue from the business by moving to higher value products, such as cigarettes. In 2021, the government adopted the Tobacco Value Chain Transformation Plan, which seeks to build a $5 billion industry by 2025.
Statistics from the Tobacco Industry and Marketing Board reveal that cigarettes were the most lucrative export product, attracting prices of up to $7.44 per kilogram. Partly or wholly stemmed/stripped tobacco took second places, with earnings of $7.39 per kilogram, and smoking tobacco was third, earning $6.45 per kilogram.
Zimbabwe Tobacco Growers Association chairman George Seremwe attributed the gains to hard work by farmers and other stakeholders along with the favorable weather in the 2022–2023 growing season, which resulted in good-quality leaf.
He encouraged cigarette manufacturers to continue targeting markets that guarantee high prices for their products.
May 16, 2024