Blog - Tobacco Reporter

FDA Publishes Citizen Petition Webpage

A new webpage was published by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration of all the tobacco products-related citizen petitions received by the agency’s Center for Tobacco Products (CTP).

A citizen petition is a way for the FDA to give individuals, regulated industry representatives, or consumer groups to petition the agency to issue, amend, revoke a regulation, or take other administrative action. The requirements for a citizen petition are set out in the Code of Federal Regulations.

As part of CTP’s stated commitment to increase transparency, the webpage was developed to provide the public with more easily accessible and user-friendly information about tobacco product-related citizen petitions submitted to FDA and the center’s responses.

This webpage was one of the immediate actions toward transparency outlined by CTP Director Brian King in CTP’s Response to the Reagan-Udall Foundation’s report.

March 23, 2023

Al Fakher Considering Going Public

The Dubai-based shisha manufacturer Al Fakher has hired Rothschild and Co. to advise on strategic options, including a possible initial public offering, two sources familiar with the matter said, reports Reuters.

An IPO would take place in the region, either on Saudi Arabia’s Tadawul or the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange, the sources said.

Al Fakher is owned by Advanced Inhalation Rituals, a private company that is majority owned by London-based Kingsway Capital.

Al Fakher, which was founded in 1999, makes flavored shisha molasses for use in hookah and is sold in more than 100 countries, according to its website.

Middle East companies bucked global trends last year to raise about $22 billion through IPOs, according to Dealogic, which was more than half the total for the wider Europe, Middle East and Africa region.

March 23, 2023

Vaping Ban Begins in Taiwan

The National Police Agency confirmed to Taiwan News that police can now issue on-the-spot fines of up to TWD10,000 ($330) to those caught vaping after Taiwan’s legislature passed amendments to Taiwan’s Tobacco Hazards Prevention Act.

E-cigarette users can either be fined on the spot, or photo and video evidence can be used by the government to send the fines to violators’ registered addresses, similar to fines currently issued for smoking in nonsmoking areas, jaywalking and other minor offenses.

The fine for vaping is now the same as for smoking in areas designated as nonsmoking, between TWD2,000 and TWD10,000.

The amendments also increase the legal age for purchasing cigarettes from 18 to 20 and prohibit the sale of e-cigarettes and heated-tobacco products. Importers, manufacturers and sellers can now be fined up to TWD50 million.

March 23, 2023

Hong Kong to Lift Ban on Vape Shipments

The government of Hong Kong has decided to reverse its ban on the transshipment of vapor products, reports Loadstar.

Media reports claim the banned cargo amounts to about 330,000 tons a year—the equivalent of some 10 percent of Hong Kong’s annual export volumes by air, according to the Hong Kong Association of Freight Forwarding and Logistics.

The value of the re-export cargo affected by the ban was estimated to exceed CNY120 billion ($17.33 billion).

While some transshipment by air had continued to be permitted, beginning in April of last year, vapes entering Hong Kong by land or sea for onward transport by air were banned. However, with the bulk of these products made in neighboring Dongguan, exporters were keen to ship them via land to Hong Kong International Airport.

Once the proposal is passed, the goods will be able to enter Hong Kong through a secure channel on dedicated barges and be delivered straight to the airport.

“The scheme is only to facilitate direct transshipment through Hong Kong, and the goods will not be available for domestic consumption. The proposal is in response to the demand of the Hong Kong air freight industry,” said Willy Lin, chairman of the Hong Kong Shippers Council.

“We hope we could get back some flights lost to competitor airports due to [the] stoppage of shipments of e-cigarettes and related substances through Hong Kong.”

March 23, 2023

Minnesota Schools Urge End to Flavors

Students and school staff called on Minnesota lawmakers to end all flavored tobacco sales, according to PR Newswire.

Progress has stalled on the bill (SF2123/HF2177) to end the sale of menthol and all flavored commercial tobacco products in Minnesota, according to a press release. Last week, around 250 youth, parents and advocates from around the state joined Minnesotans for a Smoke-Free Generation’s Day at the Capitol and urged Minnesota lawmakers to end flavored tobacco sales.

This is the fourth year a flavored commercial tobacco sales bill has been in play at the Capitol. At a news conference, students and school staff shared how youth tobacco use, especially youth vaping, remains a huge problem in Minnesota schools.

“We’re asking lawmakers to stay focused on one of the top health problems affecting our kids: tobacco use,” said Bethlehem Yewhalawork, a program manager at NorthPoint Health and Wellness Center. “Passing a comprehensive flavor policy will prevent youth addiction and improve health for all Minnesotans.”

The 2022 Minnesota Student Survey found that over 75 percent of Minnesota’s eighth graders and 11th graders who use tobacco report using flavored products.

March 22, 2023

Vuse Menthol Pods Granted Stay

Two menthol Vuse flavors that received a marketing denial order (MDO) can continue to be marketed by R.J. Reynolds Vapor Co. after the federal 5th Circuit Court of Appeals issued a stay.

Last week, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration denied Reynolds Vapor’s premarket tobacco product applications for the Vuse replacement cartridge Menthol 4.8 percent G1 and the Vuse replacement cartridge Menthol 4.8 percent G2.

As a result, Reynolds would be prohibited from marketing or distributing the products domestically or risk FDA enforcement action. However, the appeals court’s decision allows the products to stay in the marketplace.

In October last year, the FDA issued MDOs for several menthol-flavored vaping products marketed by Logic Technology Development. It was the first time the FDA issued MDOs for menthol products after receiving a scientific review.

A few days after the order was issued, Logic obtained a court order from the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit that temporarily stayed the order.

March 22, 2023

Fines and Jail for Undeclared Manufacture

A Belgian court handed out fines and prison sentences to several companies and individuals for undeclared cigarette manufacturing, reports The Brussels Times.

The illegal cigarettes were manufactured and stored in a warehouse in Gosselies that was placed under surveillance in 2022. Another warehouse was discovered in a furniture factory in Anderlecht.

A truck carrying 16 pallets of undeclared cigarettes manufactured in Belgium was checked near Jabbeke.

The company running the Gosselies manufacturing was fined €36,710,000 ($39,580,338), and its head was also fined that amount as well as receiving a one-year prison sentence.

Another company was fined €36,710,000 along with a suspended prison sentence for the amount exceeding €36,600,000. All manufacturing and transport equipment was confiscated.

The other accused were fined €36,710,000 and received suspended prison sentences of six months, nine months and two years for the amount exceeding €36,600,000.

March 21, 2023

Reynolds Releases Harm Reduction Paper

Reynolds American Inc., the BAT Group’s U.S. subsidiary, released its inaugural white paper, “Tobacco Harm Reduction: Creating A Better Tomorrow for Public Health in America,” reports PR Newswire. This is the first in a series of white papers aimed at raising awareness on tobacco harm reduction (THR) as a public health strategy that encourages adult smokers who are uninterested in quitting tobacco altogether to migrate to noncombustible product alternatives.

The goal of the Reynolds’ white paper series is to highlight the progress of THR, address the challenges and have dialogue on the path forward.

“THR has the potential to bring about one of the greatest public health achievements of our time,” said Priscilla Samuel, executive vice president of scientific research and development. “We hope the information presented in this white paper will spark renewed conversation on THR among all stakeholders, including regulators and policymakers, which could lead to effective regulation and access to noncombustible product alternatives for adult smokers who are uninterested in quitting.”

March 21, 2023

STG Announces Annual Meeting

Scandinavian Tobacco Group’s annual general meeting will be held Thursday, April 13, 2023, at 4:30 p.m. (CEST) at the office of Kromann Reumert, Sundkrogsgade 5, 2100 Copenhagen.

Instead of attending in person, shareholders have the opportunity to follow the general meeting via live webcast transmission on the Investor Portal (available at http://investor.st-group.com). The general meeting and the webcast will commence on April 13, 2023, at 4:30 p.m. (CEST).

March 21, 2023

Universal Recognized as Supplier Engagement Leader

Universal Corp. has been recognized as a 2022 Supplier Engagement Leader by CDP, a nonprofit charity that runs a global disclosure system for investors, companies, cities, states and regions to manage their environmental impacts. This is the second straight year Universal has earned this recognition. The CDP’s Supplier Engagement Rating system independently evaluates how effectively companies are engaging their suppliers on climate change, using the CDP’s annual climate change questionnaire that covers governance, targets, scope 3 emissions and value chain engagement. The top 8 percent of assessed companies were selected as 2022 Supplier Engagement Leaders.

“We are honored to once again be recognized by CDP as a Supplier Engagement Leader,” said George C. Freeman III, Universal’s chairman, president and CEO. “At Universal, we work in partnership with our suppliers to reinforce the sustainability of our supply chains and meet our climate change goals. Universal is committed to setting high standards of social and environmental performance.”

March 21, 2023