Blog - Tobacco Reporter

Cancer Society Concerned About Nicotine Pouches

The American Cancer Society is concerned about the growing popularity of nicotine pouches.

Overall U.S. sales of nicotine pouches increased during 2019–2022, according to a new study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) Network Open. The data also showed sales of 8 mg nicotine concentration level (highest available) products rose more rapidly than those with different concentration levels.

“Our findings are important as nicotine is a highly addictive substance. The growing popularity of nicotine pouches may increase the risk of children finding these products to be attractive and risk-averse health outcomes and addiction to nicotine,” said Nigar Nargis, senior scientific director of tobacco control research at the American Cancer Society and senior author of the study, in a statement. “Health campaigns warning of potential adverse health outcomes of nicotine pouches are needed.”

Study authors analyzed data comprising weekly Nielsen IQ Retail Scanner point of purchase sales from August 2019 through March 2022 for 2,182 local trade areas in the contiguous 48 states and Washington, D.C. Sales trends of four nicotine pouch brands (Zyn, Rogue, On! and Velo) were analyzed.

The results showed overall sales increased from 126.06 million units from August to December 2019 to 808.14 million units from January to March 2022. Zyn (58.8 percent) led the overall unit share followed by On! (24.6 percent), Velo (12.1 percent) and Rogue (4.8 percent) during the study period. Zyn sales peaked in September 2021 and increased more than other brands from October 2021 to March 2022; however, Rogue sales increased more rapidly than all other brands.

December 8, 2022

BAT Reports Continued Gains in Noncombustibles

BAT gained 3.2 million consumers within its noncombustible business during the first nine months of 2022, thanks in part to new product launches and geographic expansion, CEO Jack Bowles wrote in a trading update.

The New Category business continues to drive strong volume, revenue and market share growth and has become a significant contributor to group performance, according to BAT.

The global value share of Vuse vapor cigarettes reached 35.7 percent in key vapor markets by September 2022, up 2.2 percentage points over full-year 2021. In the U.S., the brand extended its leadership position by 6.8 percentage points, achieving a total value share of 39.3 percent.

BAT’s Glo tobacco-heating product (THP) increased its category volume share by 1.6 percentage points in key THP markets to reach 19.5 percent by September 2022. In Europe, Glo achieved a 20.4 percent volume share in key THP markets, up 4 percentage points. In Japan, Hyper drove Glo’s total nicotine volume share up 50 base points versus 2021 to reach a share of 7.3 percent.

BAT’s Velo modern oral brand reached a volume market share in Europe of 69.1 percent.

Meanwhile, BAT reported a flat combustible cigarette value share, with gains in the United States, Asia-Pacific and the Middle East offset by declines in the company’s Americas, Sub-Saharan Africa and Europe regions. In the U.S., BAT begun new sales strategies in the second half to offset “early signs of accelerated downtrading,” according to Bowles.

BAT reiterated its guidance for mid-single percentage growth in adjusted earnings per share at constant currency this year. Price increases and marketing campaigns should offset higher raw material prices, according to the company.

December 8, 2022

Court Blocks FDA Graphic Health Warnings

A federal judge has blocked the U.S. Food and Drug Administration from enforcing a rule requiring tobacco manufacturers to print graphic warning labels on their products, citing the companies’ First Amendment rights, reports Law360.

The Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act of 2009 instructs the FDA to create visual health warnings, but the D.C. Circuit in 2012 blocked the agency’s first attempt, saying that regulators had not convincingly demonstrated that the warnings would actually reduce smoking.

In March 2020, the FDA released the final rule requiring new graphic warnings for cigarettes that feature some of the lesser known but still serious health risks of smoking, such as diabetes, on the top half of the front and back of cigarette packages and at least 20 percent of the area on the top of cigarette advertisements.

R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co., ITG Brands and Liggett Group filed a First Amendment challenge in April 2020. The rule was set to take effect in November 2023 after it was repeatedly pushed back by court.

In a lengthy opinion issued Dec. 7, U.S. District Judge J. Campbell Barker of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas vacated the FDA’s rule after finding that the required label statements and graphic images are not narrowly tailored to the agency’s interest in promoting public awareness of the health risks of smoking.

“The government has not shown that compelling these large graphic warnings is necessary in light of other options,” the judge said, noting that the government could put more effort into public awareness campaigns.

Public health campaigners were aghast. “Today’s decision by a federal judge to block implementation of graphic cigarette warnings ordered by the Food and Drug Administration is wrong on the law, inconsistent with decades of precedent and harms public health,” read a joint statement issued by the American Academy of Pediatrics, American Cancer Society, American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, American Heart Association, American Lung Association, Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids and Truth Initiative.

“We urge the justice department to appeal this decision, and we are confident that the FDA’s warnings will ultimately be upheld by a higher court.”

The health groups also noted that the U.S. had fallen behind other countries with its tobacco control policies. Prior to 2009, when Congress passed the Tobacco Control Act, only 18 countries required graphic warnings for tobacco products, they pointed out. Today, more than 120 countries require them.

December 8, 2022

Bristol Mayor Vetoes ‘Navy Cut’ Road

Bristol Mayor Marvin Rees vetoed naming a South Bristol road after a tobacco product following pushback from Action on Smoking and Health (ASH), reports Bristol Live.

The road was set to be named Navy Cut Road after a brand produced by the Imperial Brands tobacco factory that formerly occupied that area. After ASH said that was “morally unacceptable,” however, Rees vetoed the name in favor of naming the road after Florence Mills Brown, the first female lord mayor.

Councilor Richard Eddy criticized the move, saying that Mayor Rees is “imposing” his will on the citizens of the area.

“Having served on Bristol City Council for 30 years, it does not escape me that, contrary to all previous practice, your team is not seeking the views of my local community and its elected councilors on a proposed street-naming within my neighborhood,” Eddy wrote in an email.

“Whilst I’m sure former Lord Mayor Florence Brown was a creditworthy woman, why name a road here after a Labour politician who represented two wards miles away in North Bristol and has no discernible links to Bishopsworth?

“This is not just a small disagreement over street naming in a southern city suburb, but it goes to the heart of the debate about whether Bristol should be ruled by one man with a ‘God complex’ or whether local communities and their duly elected councilors should determine their own destinies.”

December 8, 2022

Juul Settles More than 5,000 Lawsuits

Juul Labs has settled more than 5,000 lawsuits covering more than 10,000 individual plaintiffs, reports The Wall Street Journal. The deal resolves much of the legal uncertainty that had driven the company close to bankruptcy.

Juul announced on Dec. 6 that it has secured an investment to cover the cost of the settlement. The company has been in talks with two early investors to fund a bailout that would cover legal liabilities.

According to Juul CEO K.C. Crosthwaite, the settlement addresses the vast majority of outstanding litigation facing the company, including two pending bellwether trials that were set to go to court early next year and four broad groups: personal injury plaintiffs, Juul consumers, government entities such as school districts and Native American tribes. Lawsuits brought by several attorneys general are pending.

A pioneer in the vaping business, Juul Labs has gone from dominating the U.S. e-cigarette market to fighting for its survival in a relatively short time.

Following its initial success, the company quickly came under regulatory scrutiny over its marketing practices. Critics blame Juul Labs for contributing to an “epidemic” of underage vaping.

Thousands of lawsuits have been filed against Juul over the past several years, alleging that the company marketed its e-cigarettes to children. Juul has said it never marketed to underage users.

In September, Juul Labs agreed to pay nearly $440 million to settle a two-year investigation by 33 U.S. states into the marketing of its vaping products.

Juul’s e-cigarettes were briefly banned in the U.S. in late June after the Food and Drug Administration concluded that the company had failed to show that the sale of its products would be appropriate for public health. But following an appeal, the health regulator put the ban on hold and agreed to an additional review of Juul’s marketing application.

In October, Juul published the details of its marketing denial order appeal. In late September, Juul shareholder Altria Group exercised the option to be released from its noncompete deal with the e-cigarette maker.

December 7, 2022

Companies to Post ‘Corrective Statements’

Tobacco companies will have to start displaying signs with “corrective” statements about the health effects and addictive nature of cigarettes at U.S. points of sale in the second half of 2023, according to the Department of Justice (DOJ), reports Fox News. A court order requiring the statements will take effect July 1, 2023, after which tobacco companies will have three months to start posting the statements for 21 months in English and Spanish.

The order “resolves the government’s long-running civil racketeering lawsuit against the largest United States cigarette companies,” according to the DOJ. The racketeering lawsuit was filed in 1999 and ended in 2005; however, the DOJ said the new court order is the last of several corrective remedies related to that case.

Altria Group, Philip Morris USA, R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. and four cigarette brands owned by ITG Brands are subject to the order. An estimated 200,000 of 300,000 retail stores in the U.S. that sell cigarettes have agreements with the tobacco companies. The order requires the companies to amend their agreements, requiring corrective statements to be placed at the stores on color signs that are eye-catching. Messaging will include adverse health effects of smoking, the addictive nature of nicotine and adverse health effects of secondhand smoke, among others.

“Justice Department attorneys have worked diligently for over 20 years to hold accountable the tobacco companies that defrauded consumers about the health risks of smoking,” said Associate Attorney General Vanita Gupta. “Today’s resolution implements the last remedy of this litigation to ensure that consumers know the true dangers of the smoking products they may consider purchasing.”

“This is an important moment in the history of cancer control in the United States,” said William Klein, associate director of the National Cancer Institute’s behavioral research program. “Smoking causes about 30 percent of all cancer deaths in the United States, and therefore, the court-ordered corrective statements appearing at the point of cigarette sale will help support our mission to reduce the burden of cancer. We are grateful to our colleagues at the Department of Justice for having completed this significant work.”

December 7, 2022

Sweden Approaching ‘Smoke-Free’ Goal

Smoking in Sweden has fallen to 5.6 percent, making Sweden the only European nation close to reaching the smoke-free goal set by the EU ahead of the 2040 target, Swedish authorities confirmed, according to BusinessWire.

According to participants in an event organized by the Oral Nicotine Commission in Stockholm, Sweden is about to become the first country in the world to be defined as “smoke-free,” representing a share of less than 5 percent of the population smoking.

Sweden’s smoking rates have plunged since the 1980s from 35 percent to below 6 percent. The next lowest smoking rate in Europe is double that of Sweden’s, with the EU average sitting around 23 percent, four times higher than in Sweden.

“If all smokers in the world, some 1.1 billion people, would switch to one of [the] less harmful alternative smoke-free, nicotine-based products, it could prevent disease and save millions of lives worldwide. Sweden has found the fire escape for smokers. We need to work together to repeat the Swedish experience globally to save lives,” said Delon Human, president of Health Diplomats and organizer of the Oral Nicotine Commission event.

“The upcoming Swedish EU presidency is a great opportunity to share their 5 percent success story to other EU countries,” said Karl Fagerstrom, professor, at the event. “We hope that Sweden will be generous with sharing this know-how internationally.”

Speakers at the conference emphasized the need for sound evidence-based policy interventions in tobacco control.

December 7, 2022

U.K. Smoking Levels at All Time Low

U.K. smoking levels have fallen to just 13.3 percent—the lowest since records began—according to new government data that says vaping played a “major role” in the decline.

The latest data from the Office of National Statistics (ONS) shows that the smoking rate for 2021 is down from the previous low of 14 percent in 2020, which means that there are around 6.6 million smokers in the U.K.

The ONS said this was the lowest proportion of current smokers since records started in 2011, based on estimates from the Annual Population Survey.

The report said: “Vaping devices such as e-cigarettes have played a major role in the decrease in smoking prevalence in the U.K.

“In this bulletin, we have reported an increase in e-cigarette use, and organizations such as Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) have reported similar increases in e-cigarettes (vapes) usage among adults in Great Britain.”

In the U.K. as a whole, 15.1 percent of men and 11.5 percent of women smoked, a trend that has been consistent since 2011.

The 25–34 age group had the highest proportion of current smokers (15.8 percent) while those aged 65 and over came in lowest (8 percent).

People without qualifications were more likely to be current smokers (28.2 percent) than those whose highest level of education was a degree or equivalent (6.6 percent).

Among respondents to the ONS survey, 7.7 percent said they currently used an e-cigarette daily or occasionally.

According to the authors, this equates to around 4 million adults in the population, an increase on the estimate from 2020, when 6.4 percent of people reported daily or occasional e-cigarette use.

“This is absolutely fantastic news, and I am delighted that the U.K.’s vaping industry is playing its part in making this happen.”

John Dunne, director general, UKVIA

Tobacco harm reduction advocates were elated by the decline in smoking. “This is absolutely fantastic news, and I am delighted that the U.K.’s vaping industry is playing its part in making this happen,” said John Dunne, director general of the U.K. Vaping Industry Association, in a statement.

“The government must now redouble its efforts to ensure that it gets its 2030 smoke-free ambitions back on track so that smoking can finally be consigned to history.”

Dunne said stakeholders should capitalize on the momentum by reaching out to remaining smokers and giving them the facts that they need to make the switch to vaping. “We must allow vape companies to use agreed health claims and switching messages to encourage adult smokers to switch to e-cigarettes and make full use of the different methods of communication available to the government and public health bodies,” he said.

December 7, 2022

FDA Urged to Expand Menthol Ban

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration should extend the ban on menthol cigarettes to other products, like pipe tobacco and cigarette tubes, according to researchers at the Rutgers Center for Tobacco Studies and Ohio State University, reports EurekAlert!.

“Tobacco companies have rebranded their roll-your-own cigarette tobacco as pipe tobacco to avoid taxes and rebranded flavored cigarettes as flavored cigars to skirt a federal ban,” said Andrea Villanti, deputy director of the Rutgers Center for Tobacco Studies and co-principal investigator of a study published in Tobacco Control discussing the addiction potential of menthol cigarette alternatives. “We have already seen companies advertising pipe tobacco and cigarette tubes alongside cigarettes and filtered cigars. The products we tested in our study are likely to be products that tobacco companies will promote following a ban on menthol cigarettes.”

Research showed that mentholated pipe tobacco and tubes in a roll-your-own cigarette were the most appealing substitutes for menthol cigarettes and resulted in the highest number of indicators for future nicotine addiction. The proposed menthol ban does not include these products, however.

“The present findings suggest that components of menthol roll-your-own products, including menthol rolling papers, cigarette tubes and pipe tobacco, should be included in the menthol cigarette and flavored cigar product standards,” said Theodore Wagener, director of the Center for Tobacco Research at the Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center—Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research Institute and corresponding author of the study. “Their absence from this restriction will result in a critical loophole that is already being exploited by the tobacco industry and has the potential to lessen the potential public health benefits of the proposed menthol ban.”

December 7, 2022

Filipino Smoking Rate Decreases

The rate of current tobacco use and smoking among Filipinos aged 15 and older decreased to 19.5 percent, or 15.1 million, in 2021, according to GMA News.

Exposure to secondhand smoke in homes and public places “significantly declined,” according to Vito Roque Jr. from the Department of Health’s Epidemiology Bureau, citing the 2021 Global Adult Tobacco Survey (GATS). The largest decline was in public transportation, decreasing from 37.6 percent in 2015 to 12.2 percent in 2021.

While the quit rate among past 12-month users decreased, the number of adult smokers thinking of quitting because of health warnings increased from 37.4 percent in 2009 to 43.7 percent in 2021.

“Key results from 2009 to 2021 showed a favorable trend in the country’s initiative on tobacco prevention and control. Results show a consistent downward trend in tobacco use prevalence [and] exposure to secondhand smoke,” Roque said.

“These successes may be attributed to the adoption and implementation of tobacco prevention and control health policies and interventions. The results also reflect the effectiveness of the enforced key policies on tobacco taxation, graphic health warnings, protection of bureaucracy against tobacco industry interference and smoke-free environments,” he added.

December 7, 2022