Author: Taco Tuinstra

  • Number of U.K. Vape Shops Up in 2023

    Number of U.K. Vape Shops Up in 2023

    Photo: VPZ

    The number of vape shops in the United Kingdom increased significantly last year, according to a reports in The Independent citing a survey by the Local Data Co. (LDC).

    The country currently has 3,573 specialist vape shops, 233 more than at the start of 2023. This compares with an increase of 61 shops in 2022 and a decline of 23 in 2020.

    The LCD figures exclude the numerous convenience stores, post office shops and news agents that also stock e-cigarettes and related products.

    Sales of vape products grew by £897.4 million ($1.14 billion) in 2023, according to data published by NIQ and trade The Grocer.

    The fastest growing vape brand in the U.K. was Lost Mary, which saw its sales grow by £310 million over 2022.

    The market for traditional tobacco products contracted in 2023. Sales of cigarettes and loose tobacco declined £849.1 million and £393.1 million, respectively.

    Keen to crack down on youth vaping, the government recently announced a consultation on how to protect children while encouraging adults to use e-cigarettes to quit.

    Its suggestions include restricting flavors and product descriptions that may be appealing to underage consumers, along with rules on how products are presented in stores.

    Jonne Dunne, director general of the U.K. Vaping Industry Association, said the rise in the number of specialist vape shops reflects the growing demand from smokers wanting to quit their cigarette habit.

    “Vapes are proven to be the most effective way for smokers to quit,” he was quoted as saying, adding that e-cigarettes are helping around 50,000 more smokers beat their habit every year.

  • Illegal Vapes Continue Flooding U.S. Ports

    Illegal Vapes Continue Flooding U.S. Ports

    Photo: Katie Chizhevskaya

    Thousands of unauthorized flavored vapes continue entering the U.S. from China, reports the Los Angeles Times, citing government and industry data.

    More than 11,500 unique vaping products are being sold in U.S. stores, up 27 percent from 9,000 products in June, according to Circana data reviewed by the Associated Press. The products generated $3.2 billion in the first 11 months of 2023. Nearly all the new products are single-use e-cigarettes.

    In December, federal agents seized more than 1.4 million illegal e-cigarettes, valued at $18 million, at Los Angeles International Airport. The illicit vapes were mislabeled as shoes, toys and other items.

    While the number of confiscations has been growing, they represent only a fraction of the unauthorized products slipping through.

    The FDA has authorized a handful of e-cigarettes for adult smokers and is still reviewing products from several major companies, including  former market leader Juul. Regulators consider nearly all other e-cigarettes to be illegal.

    The authorized tobacco-flavored products are not popular, however. Their combined sales were just $174 million, or 2.4 percent of the vaping marketplace, according to Circana.

    “Nobody wants them,” a Michigan shop owner was quoted as saying. “If people wanted them, they’d be on the shelves, and they’re not.”

  • Altria Well-Placed for 2024: Zacks

    Altria Well-Placed for 2024: Zacks

    Image: Photo: Casimiro

    Despite changing consumer preferences and macroeconomic uncertainties, Altria Group is well positioned to navigate the market’s complexities in 2024, according to Zacks Investment Research.

    According to the financial firm, Altria Group owes its resilience in part to its strong pricing power, which allows the tobacco manufacturer to offset lower shipment volumes with higher earnings per pack.

    Altria Group’s investments in reduced-risk products, such as e-cigarettes and nicotine pouches, meanwhile, are enabling the company to capitalize on new market trends.

    What’s more, the acquisition of Njoy has given Altria Group access to some of the few vapor products that have been authorized for sale on the U.S. market by the Food and Drug Administration.

    Altria Group expects U.S. smoke-free volumes to grow by at least 35 percent through 2028 from the 2022 level of 800 million units.

  • Cash to ‘Marginalized’ Philippine Growers

    Cash to ‘Marginalized’ Philippine Growers

    Photo: Philip Morris Fortune Tobacco Co.

    The Philippines’ National Tobacco Board (NTA) has allocated about PHP17 million ($306,077) to assist marginalized tobacco growers in Ilocos Norte, reports the Philippine New Agency.

    At least 160 beneficiaries from the towns of Pinili, Batac and Badoc received their respective PHP6,000 grant on Thursday. The next distribution will continue until all the target recipients have received their cash assistance.

    The grant targets growers who are tilling lots of 0.5 hectare and below to reduce their production cost. The assistance will cover the cost of fertilizers, crop protection agents, seedlings, suckercides, land preparation, gas and oil, fuelwood and labor.

    Tobacco-growing provinces and municipalities in the Philippines collect their share from tobacco excise tax collections based on the volume of leaves produced by their local tobacco growers.

    The NTA also provides assistance for rice production, improved tobacco seedlings production and beef cattle production.

  • Rain Sparks Planting Frenzy in Zimbabwe

    Rain Sparks Planting Frenzy in Zimbabwe

    Photo: Tobacco Reporter archive

    Recent rains have raised hopes that farmers will be able to meet or surpass Zimbabwe’s target of planting148,500 hectares of tobacco for the 2023-2024 growing season, reports The Herald.

    Statistics released by the Tobacco Industry and Marketing Board (TIMB) revealed that by Dec. 15, growers had planted 55,170 hectares of tobacco, 27 percent less than in the previous year. Zimbabwe has been suffered from drought at the start of the growing season.

    The return of rains has sparked a planting frenzy, however, making it likely that the crop’s hectarages will increase significantly over the coming days.

    Zimbabwe Tobacco Growers Association Chairman George Seremwe expressed confidence that the drop in planted area will be reversed.

    Zimbabwe Tobacco Association CEO Rodney Ambrose said the recent rains have also boosted the already established crops that were starting to show signs of moisture stress.

  • Cytisine More Effective than NRT: Study

    Cytisine More Effective than NRT: Study

    Image: molekuul.be

    Cytisine, a low-cost, generic stop-smoking aid that has been used in eastern Europe since the 1960s, increases the chances of successful smoking cessation by more than two-fold compared with placebo and may be more effective than nicotine replacement therapy, according to a new study published in Addiction. The cessation tool reportedly has a benign safety profile, with no evidence of serious safety concerns. 

    Cytisine is a plant-based compound that eases smoking withdrawal symptoms. It was first synthesized in Bulgaria in 1964 as Tabex and later spread to other countries in eastern Europe and Asia, where it is still marketed. In 2017, the Polish pharmaceutical company Aflofarm began selling it as Desmoxan, a prescription-only medicine, and Canada approved it as an over-the-counter natural health product, Cravv.

    This study pooled the results of eight randomized controlled trials comparing cytisine with placebo, with nearly 6,000 patients. The combined results showed that cytisine increases the chances of successful smoking cessation by more than twofold compared with placebo.

    The study also looked at two randomized controlled trials comparing cytisine with nicotine replacement therapy, with modest results in favor of cytisine, and three trials comparing cytisine with varenicline, without a clear benefit for cytisine.

    “Our study adds to the evidence that cytisine is an effective and inexpensive stop-smoking aid,” said lead author Omar De Santi in a statement. “It could be very useful in reducing smoking in low- and middle-income countries where cost-effective smoking cessation drugs are urgently needed.”

    Cytisine is currently not licensed or marketed in most countries outside of central and eastern Europe, making it unavailable in most of the world. At the end of January, cytisine pills are due to become available in the U.K., according to National World.

  • Research Board Warns for Crop Disease

    Research Board Warns for Crop Disease

    Photo: Taco Tuinstra

    Zimbabwe’s Tobacco Research Board (TRB) has advised tobacco growers to watch for crop diseases in the wake of heavy rains, reports  The Herald.

    When not properly managed, pests and diseases can drastically reduce yield and quality of tobacco. There are three key foliar diseases that are of major concern—angular leaf spot, frogeye leaf spot and Alternaria leaf spot. However, the TRB has established that a group of fungicides collectively known as strobilurins can be effective against both frogeye and Alternaria leaf spot diseases.

    In addition to the risk of crop disease, the heavy rains are presenting extra challenges, such as weed control and ridge maintenance.

    “One of the major challenges is leaching, a condition where elements such as nitrogen and potassium are washed beyond the root zone, making it impossible for the crop to access them, and deficiency symptoms may develop,” said George Seremwe, chairperson of the Zimbabwe Tobacco Growers Association.

    “Incessant rainfall patterns tend to lead to excessive soil moisture content, which promotes unlimited nutrient loss due to leaching, resulting in poor quality leaf,” said Victor Mariranyika, president of the Tobacco Farmers Union Trust. “It also disturbs other farm operations, thereby compromising profitability, with human resources and machinery possibly failing to cope.”

    Over 19,000 hectares have been put under irrigated tobacco crop in Zimbabwe for the 2023–2024 summer crop season, according to The Sunday Mail. This represents a 22 percent decline from the previous year.

    Statistics from the Tobacco Industry and Marketing Board (TIMB) showed that 19,202 ha have been planted compared to the previous year’s 18,901 ha.

    Currently, 112,906 growers have registered with the TIMB.

    Tobacco is Zimbabwe’s largest agricultural export and second-largest single commodity export after gold.

  • ISO for Ispire Malaysia

    ISO for Ispire Malaysia

    Image: Parradee

    Ispire Technology received ISO9001: 2015 Quality Management System, ISO14001: 2015 Environmental Management System and ISO13485: 2016 Quality Management System Medical Device certifications for its 31,000-square-foot manufacturing facility in Malaysia.

    Ispire offers a complete line of vape cartridges, pod systems, disposables and batteries.

    “Earning three ISO certifications at our Malaysian manufacturing facility is a testament to our team’s ability to quickly bring the facility up to some of the highest standards in the industry, allowing us to expand our gross margins, geopolitically de-risk our production and service other businesses who need manufacturing for their vape hardware,” said Ispire Technology Co-CEO Michael Wang in a statement.

    “Currently, our Malaysian manufacturing facility has already received initial orders and is quickly moving into production readiness. As the facility ramps up production, our gross margin is expected to increase due to the lack of a tariff when assembling products in Malaysia and then shipping them to the U.S.

    “This is in contrast to the 25 percent tariff incurred when shipping finished products from China. Additionally, by owning the factory, we also expect to be able to realize a profit on product assembly, which was formerly outsourced to a third party. We anticipate that these efficiency improvements will help drive gross-margin growth across the company’s full array of high-quality vaping products.”

  • Liquid Makers Get Another Shot at PTMA

    Liquid Makers Get Another Shot at PTMA

    Photo: alexkich

    Two e-liquid companies will be able to resubmit their marketing applications to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration following a court ruling, reports Bloomberg Law.

    On Jan. 3, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit ruled that the FDA acted “arbitrarily and capriciously” in rejecting the premarket tobacco product applications (PMTA) of Wages and White Lion Investments, doing business as Triton Distribution, and Vapetasia for approval to sell their products in the United States.

    The agency “sent manufacturers of flavored e-cigarette products on a wild goose chase,” telling them what would be needed to approve their products, and then denying all applications, the court said in an opinion by Judge Andrew S. Oldham. The FDA “never gave petitioners fair notice that they needed to conduct long-term studies on their specific flavored products,” Oldham said.

    In a dissenting opinion, Judge Catharina Haynes said the agency “properly fulfilled its statutory mandate by considering the relevant portions of Petitioners’ PMTAs and coming to a reasonable conclusion that marketing Petitioners’ products is not appropriate for public health.”

  • RAI Names VP Strategy and Transformation

    RAI Names VP Strategy and Transformation

    Photo: RAI

    Reynolds American Inc. appointed Wade Huckabee to the role of senior vice president of strategy and transformation, the company announced on its website. In this role, Huckabee will be responsible for the development and realization of the U.S. strategy and serve on the Reynolds American Leadership Team, effective Jan. 1, 2024.

    Huckabee joined the Reynolds organization in April 2016 as vice president of strategy and planning, where he oversaw development of the function, including building stronger analytical capabilities and retail insights. He was named senior vice president of combustibles in December 2018 and in 2019 assumed the role of general manager of the Reynolds organization’s traditional categories.

    Huckabee was appointed global head of revenue growth in 2022, where he was responsible for accelerating the BAT Group’s sales and category objectives in priority markets around the world. In 2023, he became group head of customer and commercial, adding the development of global trade marketing to his accountabilities.

    Prior to joining the Reynolds organization, his extensive experience in other consumer goods categories included roles in strategy and investor relations at Hanesbrands and progressive leadership roles in finance, revenue and margin management, and strategic accounts at Keurig Dr Pepper.

    In his new role, Huckabee will lead and oversee Reynolds’ strategy, encompassing key pillars related to commercial, organizational and regulatory strategies. A native Texan, Huckabee has Bachelor of Arts degrees in history and English from the University of Texas at Austin and a Master of Business Administration degree in finance from Pepperdine University in Malibu, California.