Author: Taco Tuinstra

Pakistan Urged to Raise Tobacco Taxes

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Health activists want Pakistan to increase its Federal Excise Duty (FED) on cigarettes to 70 percent of retail prices, in line with international standards, reports Dawn. Achieving that level requires a rate hike of 37 percent.
According to proponents of the measure, raising taxes would not only reduce the burden on Pakistan’s healthcare system, but also earn the government much-needed revenue. They calculate that a 37 percent FED hike would generate an additional PKR60 billion ($215.7 million) from cigarettes for 2023-2024. Revenue collections from July 2023 to January 2024 reached PKR122 billion, with full year estimates exceeding PKR200 billion.
Backers of the increase reject tobacco industry arguments that tobacco tax hikes fuel illicit trade, suggesting that tobacco firms manipulate their reported production to influence tax policy.
According to activists, some 31.6 million adults currently use tobacco in Pakistan, resulting in more than 160,000 deaths every year, while smoking-related illnesses and deaths cost the country at least 1.4 percent of its GDP annually.
Antismoking groups are also urging the government to embed healthcare cost-recovery in tobacco tax policy through automatic adjustments to excise taxes, ensuring that they cover a certain percentage of the total health costs attributable to smoking.
May 13, 2024
Ireland to Raise Smoking Age

Photo: RealPhotoItaly
Ireland will raise the minimum legal age for buying tobacco from 18 to 21 under plans due to be approved by Cabinet on May14, reports The Irish Times.
Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly is also drafting legislation to ban disposable vapes and restrict point-of sale-promotion of e-cigarettes.
The legislation will reportedly include a grace period allowing those aged 18-21 to keep buying tobacco products until a yet-to-be-named date.
Health officials are hoping that the age hike could also limit the social sources of cigarettes for children and young people as they may be less likely to be in social groups with people who can legally purchase cigarettes.
Seventy-three percent of adults and 71 per cent of those aged 18-24 support raising the legal age to purchase tobacco to 21, according to a survey by the Irish Heart Foundation.
In December, Ireland banned the sale of vapes under-18s.
From this September, there will also be curbs on advertising on public transport and near schools as well as a ban on sales at events attended by children. A ban on the sale of tobacco and vape products from vending machines is also to be enacted shortly, while a new licensing regime will mean all shops selling these products will have to pay an annual license.
About 18 percent of Irish adults currently smoke.
May 13, 2024
Smoke-Free World Group Changes Name

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The Foundation for a Smoke-Free World has relaunched as Global Action to End Smoking (GAES).
The charitable organization says its rebrand reflects a new approach to achieving its mission to end the smoking epidemic. While GAES’ grantmaking will continue to focus on advancing health and science research for robust smoking cessation and reduced-risk solutions, it will also disseminate research findings and information to support people who smoke through its new cessation education program.
Additionally, GEAS’ agricultural transformation Initiative will continue to assist smallholder farmers in moving away from dependence on tobacco growing to achieving more healthful and sustainable livelihoods in Malawi. (Also see Tobacco Reporter‘s special report on diversification in Malawi.)
Through September 2023, the organization received charitable gifts from PMI Global Services while operating as an entirely independent entity. In October 2023, the organization ended its funding agreement with PMI. GAES has since adopted a formal policy that it will not seek or accept funding from any industry that manufactures tobacco products or non-medicinal nicotine products.
In one of its first initiatives under its new name, GEAS announced that it will fund research by the Urban Institute to study tobacco-use disorder and nicotine dependence among low-income individuals in all 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia.
“We’re thrilled to work with the experts at the Urban Institute, who will carry out the important work of quantifying the magnitude of the problem of the smoking epidemic among low-income individuals in the U.S.,” said GAES President Cliff Douglas in a statement. “Understanding the barriers to cessation is the first step to overcoming them. This work reflects our commitment to end the smoking epidemic worldwide by helping us better understand how best to empower those at the greatest risk of suffering illness and premature death from smoking.”
May 13, 2024
22nd Century Eliminates $2.3 million of Debt
22nd Century Group has entered into a binding letter of agreement to eliminate an additional $2.3 million in outstanding debt with JGB Capital.
Under the terms of the agreement, the company and JGB Capital will exchange an aggregate of $2.3 million in principal, fees and expenses owed to JGB Capital for consideration of approximately 1.375 million shares of the company’s common stock and prefunded warrants. Additionally, the company will defer monthly amortization payments for an additional two months, resulting in no required further principal repayment until August 2024.
“This agreement with JGB is another significant step in restoring strength to our balance sheet as we work toward becoming debt-free,” said 22nd Century Group chairman and CEO Larry Firestone in a statement.
“This transaction also preserves our cash resources for commercial use as we work to become cash flow positive by the first quarter of 2025. We have made substantial progress on our commercial programs, including refining our revenue mix, implementing a lean operating cost profile and positioning the company to win new contracts, including the new CMO and distribution agreements announced recently, which are already advancing our sales in the second quarter.”
May 13, 2024
Spain Urged to Keep Vape Flavors Legal

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The Independent European Vape Alliance (IEVA) has asked Spain to refrain from banning flavored vapes.
According to the group, the proposed measure presents several risks.
“The effective ban of e-liquids in the Spanish market will lead to a boom in black market activities with dangerous, non–compliant products,” the IEVA wrote in a statement.
In addition, the group warned, it will cause a rise in smoking rates and put at risk more than 3,000 jobs in the Spanish vaping industry, leading to a reduction in government revenues by reducing tax collection.
The IEVA shared its concerns in a contribution to the public consultation that is currently underway.
May 11, 2024
Officers Told to Stop Demanding Kickbacks

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Zimbabwe’s Tobacco Industry and Marketing Board (TIMB) has told field officers to stop demanding kickbacks from tobacco growers and transporters, reports The Herald.
According to the newspaper, some field officers are forcing farmers to use only vehicles owned by certain individuals, with some demanding up to $3 per bale for this “service.”
The Tobacco Transporters Trust of Zimbabwe (TTTZ) is reportedly compiling a list of the culprits.
“Lat year, the officers were demanding $1 per bale,” TTTZ Chairperson Rutendo Sande was quoted as saying. “We lodged complaints but no action was taken.”
May 11, 2024
Loans and Grants for Philippine Growers

Photo: PMFTC
The Philippine National Tobacco Administration (NTA) has given growers in Pangasinan PHP21.5 million in of grants and loans for the 2023-2024 cropping season, reports the Philippine News Agency.
About 400 tobacco farmers have taken advantage of the Curing Barn Assistance Program (CBAP), which has a budget of PHP8 million for the covered period. “Through CBAP, they buy the necessary materials to cover their harvest in case of rain or to prevent direct sunlight,” said NTA-Pangasinan branch manager Roger Madriaga.
Madriaga said the NTA also released PHP13.5 million to 705 tobacco farmers in the form of cash and material farm inputs, such as fertilizers and pesticides, under the tobacco contract growing system.
“TCGS has three components, which are financial, technology and marketing. We subsidize the farmers depending on their needs through financial assistance and technology, while we monitor the implementation of the technology,” he said.
Meanwhile, Madriaga said only 1 percent to 2 percent of the more than 2,000 hectares of tobacco plantation in the province have been affected by the El Niño weather phenomenon.
The planting season cut-off date for tobacco is from October to Jan. 15, and farmers may harvest the leaves within 55 days to 60 days.
May 11, 2024
Industry Insists on Risk-Appropriate Warnings

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The tobacco industry is asking the government of Kenya to distinguish between traditional cigarettes and tobacco-free alternatives, such as vapes and nicotine pouches, when crafting health warning labels, reports The Star.
Kenya’s health ministry is currently gathering public feedback on a proposal that would require cigarette manufacturers to print new graphic health warnings on packs of nicotine products. The consultation ends May 15.
The industry says that most of the proposed images do not correlate with the products for which they are proposed.
“We are looking at information that does not mislead the user, is factual and evidence-based,” said BAT Kenya’s scientific engagement manager, Douglas Weru, during a public participation workshop hosted by the Ministry of Health. “The message coming through from stakeholders in this public participation sessions, and which we agree with, is that the images should correlate to the risk associated with the product,” said Weru.
The Retail Trade Association of Kenya (Retrak) said the proposed warnings require an amendment to the 2007 Tobacco Control Act, given that many of the new products were not widely available when the law was written.
May 11, 2024
Illicits to Surpass Half of Pakistan’s Market

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The share of illicit products on Pakistan’s tobacco market is expected to reach 56 percent by the end of 2024, reports Ary News.
According to a recent Ipsos survey, more than 165 brands of cigarettes are being sold in the country without tax stamps, depriving the government of PKR 300 billion in annual tax revenue.
In addition, 104 cigarette brands are being sold below the minimum price.
The shift toward duty-free and smuggled cigarette brands is facilitated by the availability of larger pack sizes and exacerbates the issue of tax evasion, according to the publication.
Stakeholders have been calling for stricter enforcement of existing regulations, enhanced enforcement and new tax policies.
May 11, 2024
Film Portrays Dalligate
The French film director Antoine Raimbault has released a movie about disgraced European Commissioner John Dalli, who was stripped of his role after the EU’s anti-fraud agency claimed he had failed to declare a tobacco-related bribery attempt, reports Malta Today.
The case dates from 2012, when Dalli’s aide Silvio Zammit allegedly tried to obtain a €60 million ($71.17 million) bribe from Swedish Match to reverse the EU ban on snus. The company rejected the offer as improper and reported it to the European Commission.
Une Affaire de Principe–marketed as Smoke Signals in English–recounts the story from the point of view of one of Dalli’s sole champions at the time, Jose Bove, a French farmer and member of the European Parliament for the Green party who is perhaps best known for dismantling a McDonald’s franchise in 1999 to protest new U.S. restrictions on importing Roquefort cheese and to raise awareness about McDonald’s’ use of hormone-treated beef.
Bove suspects Dalli’s defenestration was related to the tobacco industry’s desire to postpone the Tobacco Products Directive.
John Dalli, who has occupied no political post since his ouster from Brussels in October 2012, has always protested his innocence, claiming he was unaware of Zammit’s actions.
May 10, 2024