Blog - Tobacco Reporter

Swisher Appoints Neil Kiely as President/CEO

Neil Kiely

Swisher has appointed Neil Kiely to the positions of president and CEO and Jeffrey Brown as executive vice president of sales. Kiely previously served as Swisher’s president, and Brown was previously the general manager of E-Alternative Solutions (EAS), a sister company of Swisher.

As president and CEO, Kiely will lead the strategic growth, transformation and diversification of Swisher’s portfolio in a variety of lifestyle categories, bringing over three decades of experience growing and transforming consumer packaged goods (CPG) companies.

One of Kiely’s first moves as president and CEO was to tap Brown, who has more than 37 years of industry and leadership experience in several CPG categories, including cigars, vapor and CBD, to lead Swisher sales. At EAS, Brown was responsible for staffing the team and developing and implementing strategic plans for new products.

Jeffrey Brown

“Jeff has shown tremendous growth since joining EAS in 2014 and has demonstrated the leadership and acumen required for managing Swisher’s global sales strategy,” said Kiely. “Between his experience leading large sales teams and introducing new products in innovative ways, Jeff has earned this opportunity and is well equipped to lead us as we continue to transform and diversify our product portfolio.”

The Kiely and Brown appointments follow the recent transition of Chris Howard to the role of executive vice president of external affairs and new product compliance. Kiely, Brown and Howard are part of the company’s executive leadership team, which comprises Jacinta Carter, executive vice president of human resources, people and culture; Christopher Casey, executive vice president of legal/general counsel; and Edward Barlow, senior vice president of operations.

December 5, 2022

Zim Farmers Pleased with Early Tobacco

Farmers in Zimbabwe’s Karoi and Headlands area have been pleased with the quality of early planted tobacco, reports The Herald.

The crop is generally reported to be in good condition and many small-scale farmers, who rely on rainfall, are still in the process of planting.

This year to date, Zimbabwean tobacco farmers have planted 53,571 ha of tobacco compared with 38,312 ha during the previous growing season, according to the Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development.

Statistics also revealed that about 18,614 ha were put under irrigated tobacco and 34,957 under dryland tobacco.

The Tobacco Industry and Marketing Board recently increased the number of licensed tobacco contractors to 42 from 39 as more merchants qualified.

Tobacco continues to rank as one of Zimbabwe’s most important non-food crops.

Zimbabwe earned $650 million during the 2022 tobacco marketing season, which closed Oct. 21. The figure was up from $589 million last year.

December 2, 2022

New Zealand Pulls More Than 300 Vape Products

More than 300 vaping products have been pulled off of New Zealand shelves, reports 1news.

New Zealand’s Vaping Regulatory Authority (VRA) has looked at over 8,000 products on store shelves that had been notified to its register.

“For the majority of the products reviewed, no issues have been found, but in some cases, information provided by the manufacturer or importer indicated that they could include prohibited ingredients or they could have nicotine salt levels that exceed the legal limit,” says VRA manager Matthew Burgess.

“Following the review, companies have withdrawn notifications for 340 vaping products, meaning they can no longer be legally sold in New Zealand. We will be publishing a list of products that are no longer notified on the Ministry of Health website shortly.”

Up to 1,800 other vaping products could still be taken off shelves. The authority is working with companies that make or sell them and has given them until next week to provide more information.

December 2, 2022

Coalition Calls on Congress

The United to Safeguard America from Illegal Trade (USA-IT) coalition called on Congress to embrace new policies to combat illegal trade, including counterfeiting, smuggling, organized retail theft, drug trafficking and human trafficking, according to a press release following the coalition’s second annual national summit.

Opening the summit, Representative Bennie Thompson said, “Illicit trade not only damages our businesses and economy but can also pose health and safety risks for consumers and even undermines our security. When the government and private sector work together, hand in hand, we’re more efficient and effective at combating this threat. This is about protecting all of America.”

“Fighting these organizations for more than a decade, I’ve seen firsthand how the seemingly innocuous trafficking of illicit tobacco and nicotine products, like cigarettes and e-vapor products, has very serious consequences,” said Kristin Reif, director of government relations for Philip Morris International, at the summit. “But criminals don’t just traffic in one commodity; they will traffic in anything that earns them a dollar, whether that’s luxury purses or drugs or even human beings. That’s why USA-IT is so crucial—by bringing together such a diverse group of stakeholders, we can bring this pervasive problem into lawmakers’ focus and can more effectively counter the threat of illegal trade.”

The summit included five panel discussions from experts from companies, law enforcement, academia and policy.

USA-IT was launched in June 2021 and now works across 15 states facing illegal trade issues. USA-IT offers information and training programs for local officials and law enforcement and raises public awareness of the issues surrounding illegal trade.

December 2, 2022

Kenya Urged to Reverse Tobacco Export Deal

Anti-smoking activists are urging the government of Kenya to reverse a deal to export more tobacco to South Korea, reports The Star.

During a recent visit to South Korea, Kenyan President William Ruto signed a bilateral trade agreement that will see Kenya increase its exports of tea, coffee and tobacco.

The Kenya Tobacco Control Alliance (KETCA) has asked the president to reconsider his decision, citing fears that the agreement will persuade farmers to grow tobacco even as health advocates are encouraging them to replace the golden leaf with other cash crops.

Concerned about the environmental and health effects of tobacco production and consumption, the World Health Organization, the World Food Program and the Food and Agriculture Organization in collaboration with the Kenyan government launched a project to discourage tobacco production in western Kenya in March.

The project enables the farmers to stop tobacco growing contractual agreements and switch to food crops that will help feed communities.

According to KETCA national coordinator Thomas Lindi, Kenya’s Tobacco Control Act also commits the government to continually phase out tobacco farming in Kenya.

“Any treaty or agreement that binds Kenya to promote tobacco farming is against the Tobacco Control Act and is therefore illegal,” he said. “We ask the government to immediately cancel aspects of the Kenya-South Korea agreement that touch on tobacco.”

Tobacco is a key cash crop for at least 55,000 farmers in Kenya, mostly from the western and southeastern parts of the country. Though the overall contribution to the national economy is relatively small (about 0.03 percent of GDP), tobacco is an important economic activity in the regions where it is farmed.

December 1, 2022

Macau Bans Vaping

Macau’s ban on vaping, passed in August 2022, is effective Dec. 5, according to Macau Business. The new law prohibits all activities associated with production, selling, distribution, import and export of e-cigarettes.

Private entities caught violating the law, which criminalizes users and carriers of electronic cigarettes, could face a fine between MOP20,000 ($2,505) and MOP200,000, according to health authorities.

The ban is intended to prevent youth vaping.

December 1, 2022

Netherlands Flavor Ban Effective Next Year

The Netherlands will ban all e-cigarette flavors except tobacco effective Oct. 1, 2023, reports NL Times, citing a government amendment to the Staatscourant. The ban extends to pre-filled e-cigarettes and disposable vapes as well.

The ban was announced in 2020, and will also include banning packaging that depicts anything other than tobacco and restricting rules for naming products.

The RIVM, a public health institute, created a list of 16 ingredients that manufacturers can use to make tobacco flavors.

December 1, 2022

FDA Updates Reynolds MRTP

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has added the redacted “September 14, 2020 Amendment: Timing to Respond to September 1, 2020, FDA Deficiency Letter” to R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company’s modified-risk tobacco product (MRTP) applications.

On Dec. 18, 2017, the FDA filed for substantive scientific review of six MRTP applications from R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company for the following smokeless tobacco products: Camel Snus Frost, Camel Snus Frost Large, Camel Snus Mellow, Camel Snus Mint, Camel Snus Robust and Camel Snus Winterchill.

On Oct. 25, 2022, R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company requested to withdraw these applications from FDA review.

December 1, 2022

Excise Duties, Tobacco Purchasing Age Raised

Turkmenistan has raised the excise duty rates for production and import of alcohol and the import of tobacco products, reports Interfax. The legal purchasing age for tobacco products was also raised from 18 years old to 21 years old.

Excise on imported tobacco products will rise from 93 percent to 116 percent effective Jan. 1, 2023. Excise on strong alcoholic beverages produced in the country will increase from 53 percent to 61 percent; beer produced in the country will see an increase from 26 percent to 30 percent; and imported beer will increase from 80 percent to 92 percent.

The purchase age increase is effective immediately.

December 1, 2022

Flavor Ban Didn’t Stop Vapers

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration ban on flavored tobacco products, except for menthol and tobacco flavors, did not stop consumers from vaping, reports EurekAlert!, citing a study published in Tobacco Control.

The study showed that less than 5 percent of the 3,500 adult e-cigarette users surveyed quit using e-cigarettes in response to the ban. The remaining respondents switched to other forms of tobacco products or flavors of e-cigarettes that are not covered by the ban.

“An increasing body of literature shows that e-cig flavors themselves cause damage when inhaled, so it makes sense to ban flavors,” said Deborah J. Ossip, a tobacco research expert and professor in the Department of Public Health Sciences and Center for Community Health and Prevention at the University of Rochester Medical Center (URMC) who co-authored the study. “But the ban doesn’t appear to be working. People—including youth—can still get flavored products and are still using them.”

Lead study author Dongmei Li, associate professor of clinical and translational research, obstetrics and gynecology and public health sciences at URMC, stated that a big issue is that the ban did not cover products such as disposable e-cigarettes and e-cigarettes that use tanks rather than cartridges or pods.

“Other forms of flavored e-cigs, especially disposable e-cigs, have become very popular after the FDA policy,” Li said. “The FDA policy also did not ban menthol[-flavored] or tobacco-flavored products—and our study shows many people switched to menthol-flavored e-cigs after the ban. It seems many people find menthol to be a nice flavor.”

Of the survey respondents, nearly 30 percent switched to tank or disposable flavored e-cigarettes and another 30 percent switched to menthol-flavored or tobacco-flavored pods; 14 percent switched to combustible products, like cigarettes, and 5 percent switched to smokeless tobacco. Less than 5 percent quit using e-cigarettes following the ban.

December 1, 2022