Author: Taco Tuinstra

  • Zimbabwe Seed Producer Shuts Down

    Zimbabwe Seed Producer Shuts Down

    Photo: Taco Tuinstra

    Zimbabwe Tobacco Seed Association (ZTSA) has stopped production and is closing down after failing to secure parent seed, reports NewsDay. The company expressed fears that this will affect the billon-dollar tobacco leaf sector.

    “We have not had the chance to get parent seed for the past six years, and it pushed us out of business,” said Mildred Kamusasa, ZTSA executive committee chairperson. “We had over 400 workers as part of the seed production company. Sadly, the company is not relocating, but we are shutting down operations and liquidating.

    “There is no hope that we can come back into play any time soon.”

    “While the closure of ZTSA is disheartening, rest assured that the supply of tobacco seed will continue without any compromise,” said Tatenda Mugabe, public relations and communications officer at Zimbabwe’s Tobacco Research Board.

  • FDA Chief to be Grilled

    FDA Chief to be Grilled

    Robert Califf (Photo: FDA)

    The U.S. House Oversight and Accountability Committee will question U.S. Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Robert Califf as part of an investigation into the agency’s handling of tobacco and nicotine products regulation, among other issues, according to a press release.

    Last year, the committee announced an investigation into the FDA Center for Tobacco Products (CTP). “We have deep concerns that the CTP’s decisions have been influenced by political concerns rather than scientific evidence,” wrote Oversight Committee chairman James Comer in a letter for Califf. “Comments from FDA staff to RUF [the Reagan-Udall Foundation] … reflect such concerns.”

    Other members of Congress have also questioned the FDA’s commitment to fair regulation, with a bipartisan group of senators asking Califf in 2023 to explain the FDA’s premarket tobacco product application process.

    The hearing is scheduled for April 11 at 1 p.m. EDT. It will be live streamed on the committee website and on YouTube.

  • 22nd Century to Eliminate Senior Debt

    22nd Century to Eliminate Senior Debt

    Photo: Photo: Jade

    The step is part of an effort to put the company back on a path to growth, says CEO Firestone.

    22nd Century Group has entered into an agreement with its senior secured lender to eliminate all of its senior secured debt through potential debt for equity exchanges. Additionally, the company has entered into separate definitive agreements for the purchase of common stock and warrants.

    The company also announced the appointment of Daniel Otto as chief financial officer (CFO) and Jonathan Staffeldt as general counsel. Both are currently employed at 22nd Century Group, Otto as corporate controller and Staffeldt as vice president and deputy general counsel. R. Hugh Kinsman, the company’s current CFO, will leave the company on June 1, 2024.

    “We are putting 22nd Century back on a path to growth, and eliminating our debt is another key step in cutting our external operating cash needs,” said 22nd Century chairman and CEO Larry Firestone in a statement.

    “Combined with a new contract manufacturing customer announced last week that is expected to increase our CMO volumes by at least 20 percent and our plans to build a new tobacco harm reduction category around our FDA-authorized VLN products, we intend to become cash positive by the first quarter of 2025.

    “Dan and Jonathan have been key contributors to these turnaround efforts at 22nd Century, helping us to exit the hemp/cannabis business and significantly reduce our quarterly cash use as reported in our year-end results,” Firestone added. “I also want to thank Hugh for his hard work on behalf of 22nd Century, and in particular over the past several months as we worked to transform our financial footprint.”

  • Nepal to Ban Vapes as ‘Tobacco’ Use Spikes

    Nepal to Ban Vapes as ‘Tobacco’ Use Spikes

    Photo: Taco Tuinstra

    Nepal is poised to ban e-cigarettes, according to Bhakta Bahadur KC, information officer at the National Health Education, Information and Communication Center, reports MyRepublica.

    The legislation is a response to rising e-cigarette use among youth. Nepal imported 3.2 million e-cigarettes in 2023. The business is worth an estimated NPR210 million ($1.5 billion).

    Contradicting studies suggesting that vaping is at least 95 percent less risky than smoking. KC said e-cigarettes are as harmful to health as cigarettes.

    In related news, a recent survey by the Nepal Development Research Institute revealed that 34.1 percent of the Nepalese population uses tobacco in one form or another, up from 31.8 percent in 2020.

    Nearly 18 percent of those aged between 15 to 24 use tobacco, with 8.9 percent preferring smoking and 6.3 percent prefer smokeless tobacco. A small percentage (2.7) engages in both practices. Among individuals aged between 25 to 39, tobacco use is at 26.5 percent, with 8.7 percent of them smoking, 13 percent using smokeless tobacco, and 4.9 percent doing both.

    Likewise, 41.6 percent of individuals aged between 40 to 54 use various forms of tobacco products. Within this age group, 11.1 percent smoke, 26.7 percent use smokeless tobacco products and 3.7 percent use both. Similarly, among those aged 55 to 69, tobacco product usage is at 56.7 percent—16 percent smoke, 33.8 percent use smokeless tobacco, and 6.8 percent use both forms of tobacco.

    Among the male population of the country, 55.8 percent of men use some form of tobacco, while 11.2 percent of women use tobacco.

    NDRI researcher Kamal Chaulagain attributed the rise of tobacco consumption to the increasing popularity of hookah and e-cigarettes, which some users view as smoking alternatives, and called for higher taxes.  

    NDRI head Jaya Kumar Gurung, blamed lax enforcement of the Anti-Smoking Act. He emphasized the lack of public awareness regarding the harmful effects of tobacco products.

  • In Memoriam: Robert Lockwood

    In Memoriam: Robert Lockwood

    Tobacco publishing icon Robert Morris Lockwood passed away peacefully on April 1, 2024.

    Lockwood was born on March 23, 1945, to George and Katherine Lockwood in New Rochelle, New York, USA. He graduated high school from Lawrence Academy in Groton, Massachusetts, where he was captain of the wrestling team and state champion for two years.

    Lockwood went on to study history at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York. After graduating, he started his lifelong career at the Lockwood Trade Journal Co. in New York City. From an enthusiastic salesman, he progressed to president of the company. In 1965, Lockwood married Virginia Mary Emmerson in New Rochelle. Robert and Virginia had two children, Robert and Renee.

    Lockwood had a lifelong passion for sailing. He began teaching sailing as a teenager for Sutton Manor in New Rochelle.

    Robert Lockwood was predeceased by Virginia, his parents, and his brother Fred. He is survived by his sisters, Katherine Hayslip and Barbara Lockwood; his brother George; his daughter, Renee Lockwood-Pansire, and her husband, John; and his son, Robert Lockwood, his wife, Paige, and their children, Blaire and John.

  • Digital Age Checks Deployed in Netherlands

    Digital Age Checks Deployed in Netherlands

    Similar technology has also been trialed in Italy. (Photo: Innovative Technologies)

    Parts of the Netherlands have implemented face scanners to check consumers’ ages before selling cigarettes to them, according to Dutch News.

    About 100 outlets have opted for face scanners so far. The camera uses artificial intelligence to scan a customer’s face and estimates their age based on features such as skin condition and wrinkles. If the customer is thought to be over 25, the transaction can continue, but if not, the machine will ask to scan the customer’s ID.

    “The process is similar to that at airports,” said Theo Snijders, CEO of H@nd, the scan-making firm.

    The legal framework was devised with product safety organization NVWA, privacy watchdogs and lawyers to ensure that customers’ personal data are not compromised. The scanners do not store data and only record the number of scans. According to Snijders, a scan is not a condition for buying tobacco as that would be illegal.

    Sellers caught not complying with age check requirements could face fines up to €9,000 or a temporary loss of their license to sell tobacco products.

    Beginning July 2024, tobacco products can only be legally sold at specialist stores and gas stations.

    Tech firms and vape stores have been experimenting with digital age-verification tools in various markets. Tobacco Reporter profiled one such project in Italy  in its December 2023 edition. (See “Beyond Face Value”).

  • U.S. Vape Market Tops $2.67 Billion

    U.S. Vape Market Tops $2.67 Billion

    Photo: auremar

    The combined sales of cartridge-based and disposable e-cigarette products to U.S. consumers by nine leading manufacturers increased by approximately $370 million between 2020 and 2021, while the total topped $2.67 billion, according to the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) third report on e-cigarette sales and advertising in the United States, which was released on April 3, 2024. E-cigarette companies also spent $90.6 million more advertising and promoting their products in 2021 than in 2020.

    The FTC report examines two main types of e-cigarettes. Some have rechargeable batteries and changeable prefilled cartridges; others are disposable after running out of charge or e-liquid. Reported sales of cartridge products increased from $2.13 billion in 2020 to $2.5 billion in 2021; sales of disposable, non-refillable e-cigarette products increased from $261.9 million in 2020 to $267.1 million in 2021.

    The 2021 report also provides details on some characteristics of e-cigarette products, including flavors and nicotine concentration, as well as the bundling of the components in cartridge systems. The data shows that in 2021, 69.2 percent of e-cigarette cartridges either sold or given away contained menthol-flavored e-liquids, and the rest were tobacco-flavored.

    Disposable e-cigarettes are not covered by the flavor restrictions imposed by the Food and Drug Administration. In 2021 “other” flavored devices made up 71 percent of all disposable devices sold or given away, with the most-popular subcategories being fruit-flavored and fruit & menthol/mint flavored products. These two subcategories alone made up more than half of all disposable e-cigarette devices sold or given away in 2021.

    According to the report, expenditures for the advertising and promotion of e-cigarettes increased from $768.8 million in 2020 to $859.4 million in 2021, with the three largest spending categories being price discounts, promotional allowances paid to wholesalers, and point-of-sale advertising. Together, these three categories accounted for almost two thirds of expenditures in 2021.

    Finally, the report discusses steps that e-cigarette companies took in 2021 to deter or prevent underage consumers from visiting their websites, signing up for mailing lists and loyalty programs, or buying e-cigarette products online. These steps include the use of online self-certification to verify users were at least 21 years old and following state laws requiring an adult signature upon delivery of e-cigarette products.

  • 22nd Signs Contract Manufacturing Deal

    22nd Signs Contract Manufacturing Deal

    Photo: www.akolosov.art

    22nd Century Group has signed a significant new contract manufacturing agreement for the production of branded conventional cigarette products. The contract, which will commence revenue generation in the second quarter of 2024, is expected to increase carton production volumes at 22nd Century’s manufacturing facility by more than 20 percent when fully implemented.

    “We are excited to announce this new contract, the first result of our efforts to profitably grow our contract manufacturing business in North Carolina while also working to build our VLN franchise through the development of a new category focused on tobacco harm reduction,” said 22nd Century Chairman and CEO Larry Firestone in a statement.

    In line with the operating targets outlined on our most recent results call, this agreement helps us to scale revenue, improve gross margin and achieve our goal of breakeven operations by the first quarter 2025.”

  • WHO Urged to Embrace Nicotine Alternatives

    WHO Urged to Embrace Nicotine Alternatives

    Derek Yach

    The World Health Organization should embrace safer alternatives to cigarettes in order to save 100 million lives that will otherwise be lost to smoking, according to Derek Yach, a global health consultant who led the WHO’s Tobacco Free Initiative during development of the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control was previously president and founder of the Foundation for a Smoke-Free World.

    “The WHO’s Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) has not kept pace with scientific and technological advancements,” Yach writes in The Lancet. “Over 120 million people worldwide, in seeking a path away from combustible cigarettes, have turned to safer alternatives, such as e-cigarettes, oral nicotine pouches and heated tobacco products. Evidence suggests that these alternatives improve quit attempts compared to traditional nicotine-replacement therapy.

    “Yet, the FCTC’s current emphasis on bans, prohibitions and regulations undermines access to these safer alternatives for millions of tobacco users. It is time to recognize their potential and prioritize harm reduction.”

    Writing in response to The 20th anniversary of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control: hard won progress amid evolving challenges, Yach sets out a three-point plan that he says could result in potentially 100 million fewer premature deaths between 2025 and 2060:

    • Incorporate tobacco harm reduction: The FCTC should actively promote safer alternatives, recognizing their role in reducing harm.
    • Balanced Regulation: While regulation is necessary, it should not stifle innovation or limit access to safer products.
    • Science-based policies: Governments must base decisions on evidence, fostering independence and informed choices.

    “We cannot afford to wait for a miracle,” he says. “The WHO must adapt swiftly to the changing landscape of tobacco use and embrace innovative strategies to protect public health.”

    Yach disputes Kelly Lee and colleagues’ contention that tobacco companies’ development of safer alternative is purely profit-driven.

    “Negotiations leading to the FCTC’s adoption were intricate and delicate, resulting in nearly all major tobacco producers (except the USA and Indonesia) becoming signatories,” Yach says. “Rather than demonizing these legacy companies, we should acknowledge their evolving stance. Many are actively shifting away from combustible cigarettes, embracing safer alternatives as technology evolves.

    “Saving lives requires bold action. Let us unite in our commitment to a smoke-free future—one where harm reduction leads the way.”

  • Retailers Warned Over Underage Zyn Sales

    Retailers Warned Over Underage Zyn Sales

    Photo: Swedish Match

    The U.S. Food and Drug Administration warned multiple retailers over sales of Zyn nicotine pouches to underage consumers.

    In a note posed on its website, the agency said it had issued 119 warning letters to brick-and-mortar retailers and had filed 41 civil money penalty complaints seeking more than $55,000 in total for underage sales of flavored Zyn nicotine pouches, including espressino, black cherry, lemon spritz, and cucumber lime.

    “There is no excuse for selling tobacco products to any underage person, and FDA will hold retailers accountable for those violations—especially those who continue to do so after being warned,” said Briang King, director of the FDA’s Center for Tobacco Products.

    The FDA generally sends warning letters the first time an investigation or inspection reveals a violation. To achieve voluntary compliance, warning letter recipients have 15 working days to respond with the steps they will take to correct and prevent future violations. However, failure to promptly correct the violations may result in additional FDA action, including civil money penalties.