I.T.M.S. entered into ruble-yuan currency swaps in 2023 to generate interest income, reports Interfax.
Income from the purchase and sale of currency under swap transactions reached RUB2.56 billion ($27.23 million) last year, with a loss of RUB1.654 billion rubles, the company wrote in its annual report.
The Bank of Russia launched a new permanent instrument for the provision of yuan in January 2023. In March 2024, the Central Bank announced that at the beginning and end of each month it would temporarily double the maximum limit on transactions for currency swap transactions.
On the first two and last two trading business days of each month, the maximum daily transaction volume would be RMB20 billion, with the limit on other trading remaining at RMB10 billion.
I.T.M.S. comprises British American Tobacco’s former Russian assets, which the multinational sold to a consortium led by local management after Russia invaded Ukraine.
Russia has been partially cut off from the Western financial system due to war-related sanctions. In response, Moscow has been strengthening ties with China and boosting its own systems.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s Center for Tobacco Products (CTP) has launched a new webpage aimed at educating the public about the relative risks of tobacco products. The CTP will continue to update the information on this new webpage based on the best available science.
Coinciding with the launch, CTP Director Brian King co-authored a commentary in Nature Medicine, discussing considerations for healthcare providers around talking to adults about the relative risks of different tobacco products.
The commentary reinforces that youth should not use any form of tobacco products. Among adults who smoke, it stresses the importance of using evidence-based cessation methods, including FDA-approved pharmacotherapies, as a first line treatment.
For adults who smoke and have tried proven cessation methods with no success, medical providers may consider educating patients about the relative risks of tobacco products and the potential health benefits of switching completely to a lower-risk product.
Among patients who smoke, the authors note it is critical to reinforce the importance of complete transitioning away from smoking to exclusive e-cigarette use. Further, eventual abstinence from all tobacco products should be the end goal, according to King.
The Premium Cigar Association (PCA) held its annual trade show and convention in Las Vegas on March 22-25, 2024. This year’s trade show took place in the spring, a change from the trade show’s typical summer dates. With this change, the PCA saw an unprecedented interest in this trade show with an increase in the number of attending retail accounts and general excitement from attendees.
“We were very excited to hold the convention and trade show in Spring after years of feedback from retailers and manufacturers,” said PCA Executive Director Scott Pearce. “The increased attendance, excitement on the show floor, and the number of high-quality events and education as part of the convention made PCA24 a great success and phenomenal step forward.”
PCA24 had 222 exhibiting companies and welcomed nearly 2,200 retailers from 850 retail accounts, and over 5,383 total attendees during the span of the 4-day show, making this the most attended PCA trade show since 2016. The show opened on March 22 with a day of seminars, presentations and a special keynote. The team behind Handrolled debuted another installment in their documentary series, this time focusing on the life and career of Tatuaje’s Pete Johnson. As part of this premiere, Handrolled also showed a preview of its new collaboration with the PCA–a new series focusing on comedy and the cigar lifestyle filmed on location at select PCA retail member’s stores. La Aurora’s Manuel Inoa led attendees in a pairing session featuring the company’s 120th Anniversary cigar and E. Leon Jimenes rum. Foundation Cigar Co.’s Nicholas Mellilo gave a presentation on the Connecticut River Valley and its celebrated tobacco culture.
Following the PCA’s annual meeting, Jorge Padrón gave a passionate and personal keynote on his father and his family’s 60 years in the premium cigar business. Cigar Aficionado’s David Savona then moderated a panel comprised of Ernesto Perez-Carrillo (E.P. Carrillo), Jon Huber (Crowned Heads), and Tim Ozgener (Ozgener Family Cigars) on their ongoing work and collaboration with one another that led into the opening reception.
The PCA’s government affairs team presented Step Up Awards to retailers that have been greatly involved in advocacy efforts across the U.S.; the PCA also presented its first ever Best of the Leaf (BOTL) awards to a select group of exemplary tobacconists. The first official networking event for the Women of PCA, a new resource group launching with the PCA, helped close out the trade show with high attendance and interest in the group’s future work.
Manufacturers also used PCA24 as an opportunity to launch new products, including the Padrón 60th Anniversary cigar, La Flor Dominicana 30th Anniversary, Macanudo Emissary España, Gurkha’s Tyson 2.0 Undisputed, and E.P. Carrillo Sumatra.
“PCA’s trade show continues to be unifying event for the premium tobacco industry. The increase in attendees and sold-out show floor is a sign of a continued interest in premium cigars and pipe tobacco and PCA’s pivotal role in bringing together specialty tobacco retailers and manufacturers to grow this industry and its product categories,” said Scott Regina, president of the PCA.
The next two PCA trade shows will take place in New Orleans. PCA25 will be held April 11-14, 2025, while PCA26 will be held April 17-20, 2026.
Lawmakers approved British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s plan to ban anyone aged 15 and under from ever buying cigarettes despite opposition from some prominent members of his Conservative party, reports Reuters.
The bill passed a vote in Britain’s parliament with 383 in favor and 67 against.
Fifty-seven Conservatives, including Business and Trade Secretary Kemi Badenoch, voted against the plan. Earlier, two former prime ministers, Liz Truss and Boris Johnson, had come out against the legislation, with Truss describing the draft legislation as “unconservative” and Johnson calling it “nuts.”
The ban enjoys strong support among healthcare professionals, who say that smoking causes 80,000 premature deaths every year, along with many more smoking-related illnesses.
In a recent YouGov poll, a third of voters supported the phased approach and 30 percent supported a ban for everyone at the same time. Only a quarter said there should be no ban.
Badenoch said that while she agreed with Sunak’s intentions, she opposed the bill as she was concerned about its impact on people’s rights and difficulty in enforcing the policy.
Earlier this year, New Zealand scrapped a similar law after a new coalition government took power in late 2023. The government said it favored a harm-reduction approach to discourage smoking, but critics accused it of succumbing to tobacco lobbying.
Britain’s generational tobacco ban will now progress to the next stage in parliament, where it can be subject to amendment.
Philip Morris International may start using Philippine tobacco in its smoke-free products following the expansion of a factory operated by a local affiliate, reports The Philippine Star.
“We’re also thinking about starting using the Philippine tobacco in the smoke-free products,” said PMI CEO Jacek Olczak during the inauguration of Philip Morris Fortune Tobacco Co.’s (PMFTC) factory in Tanauan City, Batangas.
Olczak stated that the quality of the Philippines’ tobacco leaves is “getting better and better.”
“They require even better quality, consistency, etc. But I believe the farmers, the tobacco growers in the Philippines can deliver on that quality,” Olczak added.
PMFTC is a 50-50 partnership between PMI and Lucio Tan’s Fortune Tobacco Corp. The expanded factory will produce PMI’s heated-tobacco sticks under the Blends brand for its smoke-free Bonds product.
PMFTC mixes local tobaccos with international varieties in its products.
“You will find the Philippine tobacco in our products in every country in which we operate,” Olczak said. “So in more than 100 markets, you will find the Philippine tobaccos in the product.”
“We’re very happy with the regulatory environment and the business environment in the Philippines, and we decided to locate this manufacturing here,” he added.
KT&G volunteers transplanted tobacco seedlings to help tobacco farmers who are struggling with labor shortages.
The volunteer team consisted of 36 members from the SCM Headquarters Raw Material Business Division and the Gimcheon Factory. They visited a tobacco farm in Jangan-myeon, Boeun-gun, Chungcheongbuk-do, and transplanted about 32,000 tobacco seedlings across approximately 15,000 square meters of farmland.
KT&G workers have volunteered on tobacco farms for 18 years not only helping with seedling transplantation but also supporting tobacco leaf harvesting activities during the summer, which require intensive labor in hot weather.
“KT&G has been engaging in activities that provide practical help to farmers for a long time,” said KT&G’s SCM Division Head Jeong-ho Kim in a statement. “We will continue to make efforts to grow together with the farming community and the local society.”
Additionally, KT&G has been supporting welfare improvement projects for domestic tobacco farmers. In June last year, KT&G paid KRW520 million ($372,949) for tobacco farmers’ health checkups, children’s education fees and support for devices that reduce fuel for curing barns. Since 2013, the cumulative support amount has reached approximately KRW3.85 billion, benefiting a total of 13,050 farmers.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on April 15 issued marketing denial orders (MDOs) to Shenzhen Yibo Technology Co. for 65 disposable e-cigarettes marketed as “MNGO Disposable Stick.”
The products involved include flavors such as tobacco, menthol, pink lemonade, strawberry mango, watermelon freeze, iced banana, and others, with each flavor offered in a range of nicotine concentrations from 2 percent to 6 percent.
According to the 2023 National Youth Tobacco Survey (NYTS), disposable e-cigarettes were the most commonly used device among current e-cigarette users, and almost 9 out of 10 current e-cigarette users reported using flavored e-cigarettes with fruit flavors being the most popular.
The MDOs also include several “Clear” flavor products that were described by the applicant as flavorless or unflavored. However, data submitted in the company’s applications showed these products contained ingredients that are flavor enhancers or are known to impart a menthol or mint flavor, according to the FDA. Based on the entirety of evidence, the agency determined that the products have a characterizing flavor.
“The onus is on tobacco companies to provide the evidence demonstrating that the necessary public health standard has been met, and when they fail to do so, FDA will appropriately deny the marketing authorization of new tobacco products,” said Brian King, director of FDA’s Center for Tobacco Products, in a statement. “In this case, the applicant did not meet the necessary bar.”
Imperial Tobacco Canada (ITCAN) launched a public awareness campaign about its Zonnic nicotine pouches. The company says it aims to dispel myths and prove accurate, science-based information about nicotine-replacement therapies (NRT) and Zonnic’s potential role in reducing smoking in Canada.
“Our new Zonnic campaign fact-checks what’s being said about Zonnic nicotine pouches and reflects our dedication to harm reduction and our commitment to help reduce smoking rates in Canada,” said ITCAN President and CEO Frank Silva in a statement.
Since Zonnic’s launch in October, anti-tobacco lobby groups and the Federal Minister of Health have targeted ITCAN with accusations and inaccuracies, according to the company.
“Our intentions are clear; we want to help smokers who want to quit smoking, period,” said Silva. “This starts by distributing new and innovative options and by keeping these products available to adult smokers while ensuring that minors don’t have access to any kind of nicotine products, including NRTs. Our position is that all forms of NRT should require proof of age before purchase and be stored at retail in a way that is inaccessible to minors.
“We have tried to meet with Minister Holland. Our door is always open, but he has not returned our calls. We are more than open to a fair discussion, based on facts, to keep NRTs accessible to adult smokers while keeping nicotine products out of the hands of youth. Working together, we can achieve your ministry’s goal, a goal that we share.”
Criticism has been mounting ahead of a debate in the U.K. House of Commons on the government’s proposed generational tobacco ban.
Boris Johnson labeled the plans as “nuts,” according to the Daily Mail. During an appearance at a Canadian conference, the former British prime minister questioned why the party of cigar-chomping Winston Churchill wants to ban cigars.
On April 16, lawmakers are scheduled to debate a plan that would prevent anyone who is turning 15 this year or is younger from ever being able to legally buy tobacco products.
“We are, on the whole, in favor of freedom, and it is that single Anglo-Saxon idea of freedom that I think unites conservatives, or should unite conservatives,” said Johnson.
“And when I look at some of the things that we are doing now, or that are being done in the name of conservatism, I think they are absolutely nuts.”
Liz Truss, another former conservative prime minister, branded the proposal as “profoundly unconservative.”
Smokers’ rights group Forest called the legislation “ageist.”
“Given all the problems facing the country at home and abroad, it beggars belief that the prime minister has chosen to prioritize raising the age of sale of tobacco,” said Forest Director Simon Clark.
“If you are legally an adult, it’s ageist if you are denied the same rights as adults who may be only a year or two older than you are.”
Clark also cited a poll revealing that almost two-thirds (64 percent) of the public believe that if people are allowed to drive a car, join the army, possess a credit card, purchase alcohol and vote at 18, they should also be allowed to buy cigarettes and other tobacco products.
Despite such criticism, the law is likely to pass with support from opposition parties. The legislation is backed by a high proportion of the population, with another recent poll showing that almost three-quarters of Tory voters (71 percent) support it.
Konrad Buckle, chairman of the Nyasa Group of Companies (Photo: Taco Tuinstra)
Nyasa Tobacco Co. officially launched its operations in Lilongwe, Malawi, on April 9.
Speaking during the opening ceremony, Agriculture Minister Sam Kawale noted that the participation of Nyasa Tobacco in the local market would not only increase competition but also encourage leaf production and earn much-needed foreign currency.
“Government is always interested to see more companies or stakeholders coming on the auction because the more companies joining the markets, the better the prices will be because of competition and the more our farmers benefit, and the better the economy is going to grow,” he was quoted as saying by theNyasa Times.
Konrad Buckle, chairman of the Nyasa Group of Companies, expressed satisfaction with the government’s commitment to tobacco farmer and promised to help farmers get a fair value for their leaf.
“Our main vision is to try and establish market presence on behalf of the government and make sure farmers get fair value,” he said.
Speaking on the sidelines of the official opening of Malawi’s 2024 selling season, Buckle said Malawi’s tobacco farmers had been getting an unfair deal due to the low prices offered to them, suggesting that competition from his company would help remedy that situation.
“We are here to stay,” he was quoted as saying in a separate Nyasa Times article. “And we want to make difference to the growers.”
Nyasa entered the leaf market toward the end of the marketing season last year. It has been manufacturing cigarettes in Malawi for more than a decade.
The Premium Cigar Association (PCA) held its annual trade show and convention in Las Vegas on March 22-25, 2024. This year’s trade show took place in the spring, a change from the trade show’s typical summer dates. With this change, the PCA saw an unprecedented interest in this trade show with an increase in the number of attending retail accounts and general excitement from attendees.
