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  • FEELM Wins 7 Times at MENA Vape Awards

    FEELM Wins 7 Times at MENA Vape Awards

    The closed-system solution provider for the world’s largest atomization company, Smoore, captured seven prestigious awards at the Vapouround Mena Vape Awards 2023 held during World Vape Show Dubai.

    FEELM, a subsidiary of Smoore, earned high praise at the vent and was crowned Best Manufacturer and Industry Leader beating out a roster of international competition.

    Speaking after the ceremony, Rex Zhang, assistant president of FEELM said it was an honor to be recognized as a main player in the industry.

    “This is especially exciting considering FEELM also walked away a winner at the Vapouround Global Awards in the UK earlier this year,” he said. “We pour huge amounts of time, effort and resources into optimizing our brand to be the best it can be and developing new technologies that can level up the vape category as a whole – these awards act as proof that we are very much on the right track.”

    As well as celebrating its own successes at the Dubai event, FEELM also saw some of its clients take to the winner’s podium. Vape brands PYRO, Aroma King and DEJA VOO – which use FEELM technology in their products – won Best Newcomer, Industry Leader and Best Disposable respectively.

    Adding to the list of accolades for brands using FEELM technology, RELX garnered the Best Brand award and also received recognition for its WAKA device securing the runner-up position for Best Newcomer.

    “Congratulations to both of these companies. It’s great to see exceptional brands, who are doing exceptional things, get the recognition they deserve,” said Zhang.

    The Vapouround MENA Awards coincides with the World Vape Show (WVS) in Dubai, which is one of the biggest expos in the industry calendar.

    FEELM used this year’s WVS event as an opportunity to showcase its latest technological developments such as FEELM Max, Topower and Power Alpha.

  • Tanzania Bank Pledges to Support Farmers

    Tanzania Bank Pledges to Support Farmers

    Image: Tobacco Reporter archive

    Tanzania’s CRDB Bank promised to continue improving agriculture financing, reports The Citizen.

    The bank has loaned TZS129 billion ($53.6 million) to tobacco farming from January 2023 to June 2023.

    “We recognize that agriculture is the backbone of our national economy, and we have dedicated significant efforts to support it, including our successful Fahari Kilimo account with numerous benefits,” said Xavery Makwi, CRDB’s director of credit, at the opening ceremony of the bank’s new branch in Igunga. “This branch will be the gateway to economic opportunities for the people of Igunga, helping them improve their income.”

    “Many residents of this district depend on agriculture, so the opening of this branch will enhance productivity if more people can access loans with low interest rates below 10 percent provided by CRDB Bank,” said Ambassador Batilda Burian, Tabora regional commissioner.  

  • Topower Brings More Puffs and Better Battery

    Topower Brings More Puffs and Better Battery

    A new disposable vape battery solution was showcased during the World Vape Show Dubai, held from June 21-23.
    The pioneering power technology developed by FEELM, a subsidiary of the world’s largest atomization technology company Smoore, is intended for markets that allow higher puff counts and has been designed to increase the endurance of single-use devices.

    When compared to mainstream batteries, the new Topower offers 30 percent more capacity with the battery size remaining unchanged and can deliver over 6,000 puffs without needing to be recharged.

    Topower also provides a constant power output that reduces the loss of taste caused by voltage drop.

    FEELM says the new innovation also boasts the “longest shelf life in the industry,” according to a press release, promising just 1 percent power attenuation over six months and 3 percent over a year – which the brand says is 1/10th the level seen in traditional batteries.
    “This is our new battery technology customized for higher puff disposable vape, with large puff vaping without charging, ultimate-low discharge, ultimate-high energy density,” said Rex Zhang assistant president of FEELM. “The end goal for our industry is to create a smoke-free future and unburden adults from the harms of deadly cigarettes – technology is going to play a leading role in achieving this.”

    Zhang said the no-charge element of Topower was beneficial not just for brands, but for consumers as well. He said the battery solution eradicates the need for additional charging cables, which eliminates the necessity for internal charging devices and consequently saves on production costs.

    He also said consumers would no longer need to “worry about when and where they could next plug their disposable, which can reduce user anxieties and create a more convenient vaping experience,” according to the release.

    Topower has been incorporated into two solutions – FEELM Max’s ceramic coil disposable solution and Power Alpha‘s mesh coil solution.

    FEELM Max and Power Alpha have already been extensively commercialized and have achieved considerable success in multiple countries.

  • Pakistan Tobacco Growers Reject Price

    Pakistan Tobacco Growers Reject Price

    Image: Tobacco Reporter archive

    Tobacco growers in Pakistan have rejected the per kilogram price set by Pakistan Tobacco Company and Philip Morris International Pakistan, reports Dawn.

    The companies offered PKR425 ($1.48) per kilogram for Virginia tobacco, according to Arif Khan, central president of Ittehad Kashtkaran, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Khan said this is unrealistic due to the rising prices of fertilizer, labor, pesticides and other costs.

    The Economic Coordination Council of Federal Ministry for Commerce set the minimum price at PKR310 per kilogram.

    “In the open market, businessmen and small companies are purchasing tobacco at PKR500 per kilogram, offering PKR76 more than the multinational companies,” said Khan, who also noted that if the companies did not increase prices, the growers would be forced to stage protest in front of the local offices.

    “After Eid, we will evolve a joint line of action,” said Liaqat Yousafzai, central president of the Tobacco Growers Association Pakistan, who also said they appealed to growers to stop taking produce to the companies’ buying centers.

  • Portugal Tobacco Use Up

    Portugal Tobacco Use Up

    Credit: Butenkov

    Tobacco consumption in Portugal increased from 48.8 percent in 2017 to 51 percent in 2022, according to The Portugal News and Portugal Resident.

    Alcohol consumption also increased while the use of sedatives decreased.

    The data is from the V National Survey on the Consumption of Psychoactive Substances in the General Population 2022 promoted by the Service of Intervention in Addictive Behaviors and Dependencies.

    The data shows that tobacco is the second most consumed psychoactive substance, below alcohol. About 50 percent of the population 15 years old to 64 years old stated they consumed tobacco at some point in their lives.

    “The prevalence of current consumption (in the last 30 days) is always lower than that recorded in the last year,” the study authors stated. “This is due to the fact that the number of experiences without continuity or abandonment during this period does not exceed the new experiences in the last month.”

  • FDA Issues Warning Letters to 189 Retailers

    FDA Issues Warning Letters to 189 Retailers

    Credit: Monticello

    The U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued warning letters to 189 retailers for selling unauthorized products, specifically Elf Bar and Esco Bars, according to a press release.

    “The FDA is prepared to use all of its authorities to ensure these and other illegal and youth-appealing products stay out of the hands of kids,” said FDA Commissioner Robert M. Califf. “We are committed to a multipronged approach using regulation, compliance and enforcement action and education to protect our nation’s youth.”

    The warning letters were the result of a nationwide retailer inspection blitz over the past several weeks, according to the FDA.

    “All players in the supply chain—including retailers—have a role in keeping illegal e-cigarettes off the shelves,” said Brian King, director of the FDA’s Center for Tobacco Products. “This latest blitz should be a wake-up call for retailers of Elf Bar and Esco Bars products nationwide. If they’re waiting for a personal invitation to comply with the law, they might just get it in the form of a warning letter or other action from the FDA.”

    Elf Bar and Esco Bar products do not have the required marketing authorization from the FDA. The FDA has authorized 23 tobacco-flavored e-cigarette products and devices to date. The distribution and sale of unlawfully marketed products is subject to compliance and enforcement action.

    As of June 16, the FDA has issued more than 570 warning letters to firms for manufacturing, selling and/or distributing illegal tobacco products, including e-cigarettes, and filed civil money penalty complaints against 12 e-cigarette manufacturers.

  • Zanzibar Bans Shisha, E-Cig Import and Use

    Zanzibar Bans Shisha, E-Cig Import and Use

    Image: mikefoto58 | Adobe Stock

    Zanzibar authorities plan to impose a ban on import and consumption of shisha and e-cigarettes, according to The Citizen.

    “We are all witnesses—the consumption of shisha and e-cigarettes has become commonplace, and we shall come up with a special regulatory law to govern those who will have special permits to import and sell shisha or electric cigarettes,” said Masoud Ali Mohammed, Zanzibar’s minister of state, office of the president, regional administrations, local governments and SMZ departments.

    Current importers have been advised not to restock products but rather to reach out to authorities for new directives. “Do not order more products after your current stock is depleted,” said the minister. “You will have to follow the new laws that the government is going to issue.”

  • Scandinavian Welcomes Employee Rep

    Scandinavian Welcomes Employee Rep

    Image: Tobacco Reporter archive

    The employees of the parent company Scandinavian Tobacco Group have elected a new employee representative for the company’s board of directors, according to a press release.

    The newly elected employee representative, Karsten Dam Larsen, replaces the employee-elected representative Trine Eriksen, whose mandate expired in connection with an internal merger of some Danish companies in the group.

    Karsten Dam Larsen joins the board of directors effective June 22 and for the remainder of the ordinary term of the current employee-elected board members, which runs until Scandinavian Tobacco Group’s annual general meeting in 2027.

  • 22nd Century Produces Homogenized Leaf

    22nd Century Produces Homogenized Leaf

    Image: Tobacco Reporter archive

    22nd Century Group has successfully produced homogenized tobacco leaf (HTL) sheet using VLN reduced-nicotine content tobacco, demonstrating a reduced-nicotine content pathway for additional large markets, such as heat-not-burn products, and as the binder or wrapper for machine-made cigars.

    “It’s time for the industry to offer adult smokers a true alternative to highly addictive nicotine products in every format,” said John Miller, president of tobacco products for the company, in a statement. “HTL is critical to the fast-growing heat-not-burn product category, where a VLN 95 percent reduced-nicotine content HTL would be a compelling alternative to the nicotine-laden tobaccos commonly used in these products. HTL is also commonly used as the binder and wrapper in the high-volume cigar market due to its greater mechanical resistance and uniformity as compared to whole tobacco leaves.”

    “Conventional tobacco products still seek to create and sustain nicotine addiction to generate sales,” said James A. Mish, CEO. “Even alternatives to conventional smoking products, such as vaping and e-cigarettes, perpetuate sales through nicotine addiction rather than giving consumers a real choice. 22nd Century wants to provide a true alternative that allows users to take control of their consumption habit once and for all by breaking the chains of nicotine addiction.”

    VLN HTL sheet product could be manufactured and sold as a raw material input or produced under license for companies interested in offering reduced-nicotine content and nonaddictive products.

  • Imperial Acquires TJP’s U.S. Nicotine Pouches

    Imperial Acquires TJP’s U.S. Nicotine Pouches

    Image: Rawpixel.com | Adobe Stock

    Imperial Brands acquired a range of nicotine pouches from TJP Labs in order to facilitate its entry into the U.S. modern oral market.

    The transaction will enable ITG Brands, Imperial’s U.S. operation, to offer legal adult American consumers a diverse range of 14 product variants in a pouch, which performs strongly in consumer testing.

    Following further consumer testing, ITG Brands will relaunch this range in 2024 under a new brand, which will be supported by the company’s existing U.S. sales force.

    TJP Labs, a Canada-based manufacturer, will continue to manufacture the oral nicotine pouches under contract for ITG Brands.

    Stefan Bomhard, group CEO of Imperial Brands, said, “Today’s transaction is aligned to our focused, challenger approach in next-generation products and to our disciplined capital allocation framework.

    “While it will take time to build our presence in this category, the proposition we are acquiring is clearly differentiated within the U.S. market and has tested strongly with consumers.”

    Kim Reed, president and CEO of ITG Brands, said, “This is an opportunity to expand our next-generation product offerings in the U.S. and to be able to offer our legal adult consumers a wider range of product options. We look forward to a long and successful partnership with TJP Labs.”

    David Richmond-Peck, CEO of TJP Labs, said, “Imperial has extensive brand development, marketing and sales execution capabilities in the U.S. and a long global track record of operating responsibly. We look forward to a strong and ongoing partnership.

    “This transaction supports TJP Labs’ commitment to developing and producing products to promote global harm reduction, consumer choice and flexibility.”

    Imperial already markets modern oral products in selected European markets under the Zone X and Skruf brands.