The GTNF 2022, scheduled for Sept. 27–29 in Washington, D.C., is made possible by the generous support of these sponsors. For more information about the event, please visit gtnf.org.
TR Staff Report
22nd Century Group is a leading plant biotechnology company focused on technologies that alter the level of nicotine in tobacco plants and the level of cannabinoids in hemp/cannabis plants through genetic engineering, gene editing and modern plant breeding.
The company’s primary mission in tobacco is to reduce the harm caused by smoking by bringing our reduced-nicotine content tobacco cigarettes—containing 95 percent less nicotine than conventional cigarettes—to adult smokers in the U.S. and international markets. 22nd Century Group’s mission in hemp/cannabis is to develop and commercialize proprietary hemp/cannabis plants with valuable cannabinoid profiles and desirable agronomic traits.
VLN cigarettes are made with 22nd Century Group’s U.S. grown tobacco, specially developed to contain 95 percent less nicotine. VLN King and VLN Menthol King cigarettes are the world’s first and only combustible cigarettes to receive modified-risk tobacco product (MRTP) authorization from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
In granting the designation, the agency established that VLN cigarettes—which smoke, taste and smell like a conventional cigarette—“help reduce exposure to and consumption of nicotine for smokers who use them.”
With the FDA’s MRTP authorization, 22nd Century Group can now communicate the key features of VLN cigarettes to adult smokers: helps you smoke less; 95 percent less nicotine; helps reduce your nicotine consumption; and greatly reduces your nicotine consumption. These features are critically important because nicotine has long been known as the primary addictive chemical in cigarettes.
Visit the company’s website at www.xxiicentury.com.
Founded in 2009 and headquartered in Shenzhen, China, ALD Group Limited is an innovation-driven enterprise specializing in a full range of next-generation products, including electronic nicotine-delivery systems, CBD vaporizers and heated-tobacco devices.
As one of the leading vape manufacturers, ALD is capitalizing on years of R&D know-how and manufacturing experience to provide global one-stop service. With a powerful intellectual property system, high-quality assurance, fast delivery service and a strong commitment to social responsibility, ALD serves worldwide clients with the most cutting-edge products. Visit the company’s website at www.aldgroup.com.
Alliance One International (AOI) is a leading independent leaf tobacco supplier. Working with tobacco farmers in 20 countries, AOI is recognized for producing sustainable and traceable leaf tobacco. The company purchases tobacco on five continents and ships to customers globally. Through direct contracts, it is able to provide agronomic expertise and technical guidance to help growers improve the quality and yield of their crops.
AOI is dedicated to supporting efforts to address human rights concerns in the tobacco supply chain by using on-farm good agricultural practices assessments to evaluate contracted farmers’ compliance with labor practices.
Additionally, the company establishes contract terms and conditions with tobacco farmers related to issues such as forced and child labor, and it conducts social compliance due diligence throughout its tobacco-growing regions.
AOI’s SENTRI ”track-and-trace” platform provides transparency into the lifecycle of agricultural products by monitoring information and obtaining data related to the growth, cultivation, harvest, processing, formulation, testing and release of individual batches of products. By obtaining data on products at each stage of the supply chain, SENTRI permits proactive decision-making for both the company and its customers.
AOI believes that everything it does is to transform people’s lives in order to grow a better world. The company’s global ESG strategy was built off its strong sustainability legacy and achievements throughout the years. For AOI, sustainability is about balance—finding the balance between what the company does and how it does it. Balance between adding value in the communities where it operates and achieving the long-term success for its company, and doing its part to contribute to the success of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
Visit the company’s website at www.aointl.com.
Altria Group’s tobacco companies have a long history of leading the industry. Today, adult tobacco consumers are increasingly seeking new options, including those that reduce risk, and their preferences are evolving rapidly. In fact, almost a third of adult smokers aged 21 and up have tried smoke-free products.
“Our vision is to responsibly lead the transition of adult smokers to a smoke-free future,” writes Altria. “Importantly, we will work within the framework that government, public health and regulatory bodies have established to communicate about reduced-harm choices. And for any tobacco consumer who wants to quit, offers access to a breadth of information from experts on how to do so successfully.
“The actions that we are taking will create a different Altria—and a different landscape that we believe will benefit today’s adult tobacco consumers, our business and the thousands we employ.
“That’s why we’re focused on moving beyond smoking by providing more potentially reduced-harm alternatives.”
Learn more at www.altria.com.
ANDS’ vision is to put the safest and most credible nicotine-delivery systems within reach of the 144 million adult smokers across the Middle East and Africa. Its mission is to deliver the best-in-class brand distribution, staging and communication while respecting local regulations—and to continuously adapt to the latest consumer trends and technologies in its field.
ANDS believes that alternative nicotine-delivery solutions should be sold and used only by adult smokers who wish to quit smoking and that minors and nonsmokers should be protected from being exposed to these products. The company has offices in the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Egypt and is expanding soon to the U.K., the U.S. and the EU.
Visit the company’s website at www.ands.com.
BAT is a leading consumer-centric, multi-category consumer goods company that provides tobacco and nicotine products to millions of adult consumers around the world.
Its purpose is to build “A Better Tomorrow.” It will achieve this by reducing the health impact of its business through a multi-category portfolio of noncombustible products tailored to meet the preferences of adult consumers.
BAT continues to build on its portfolio of reduced-risk tobacco and nicotine products alongside its traditional tobacco business—including vapor products, tobacco-heating products and modern oral products, which are collectively termed New Categories, as well as traditional oral products.
The company employs more than 52,000 people, operates in more than 175 markets and has 75 owned manufacturing facilities worldwide. In 2021, the BAT Group generated revenue of £25.7 billion ($30.24 billion) and profit from operations of over £10 billion.
Visit BAT’s website at www.bat.com.
BMJ is the world’s No. 1 partner for specialty paper and packaging materials in the cigarette industry. BMJ produces cigarette paper, plugwrap paper, base tipping paper and printed tipping paper with standard weights of 18 g to 40 g per square meter. As a printing packaging company, BMJ represents high-quality packaging utilizing both rotogravure and offset.
Visit BMJ’s website at www.bmjpaperpack.com.
Boegli-Gravures designs, develops and manufactures state-of-the-art embossing tools and solutions for an exacting worldwide clientele. The company’s combination of artistic vision and engineering excellence has brought it recognition as a world leader in high-precision embossing and as an original equipment manufacturer supplier. The secret of Boegli-Gravures’ success lies in the company’s vision and passion for innovation.
Visit www.boegli.ch for more information.
Broughton is an independent global contract research organization (CRO) offering fully integrated end-to-end services to deliver U.S. premarket tobacco product applications, EU medicinal product applications and EU Tobacco Products Directive notifications for next-generation nicotine products including EVPs, MOPs and heated-tobacco products.
Its in-house laboratories are equipped with high-end analytical instruments to evaluate the chemistry of next-generation nicotine products and facilitate batch release testing ensuring product integrity. The company continues to invest in new science and innovations aligned with global regulatory requirements, and having been granted a U.K. controlled drug license, it also offers a range of services for medicinal cannabis and CBD.
By partnering with Broughton, clients will know they have access to some of the most experienced consultants in the world with deep industry knowledge combined with regulatory-compliant CRO laboratory facilities. Broughton is committed to supporting clients in the development of safer nicotine products for a smoke-free future.
Visit the company’s website at www.broughton-group.com.
Chemular employs a world-class team of tobacco-specific toxicologists, chemists and clinical trial experts in addition to project managers and other various subject matter experts to assist customers with their regulatory needs in the tobacco industry. Chemular offers complete or partial assistance with premarket tobacco product application submissions, EU Tobacco Product Directive fillings, Prevent All Cigarette Trafficking Act compliance, SDS sheet creations, regulatory consulting advice and more.
Founded in 2015 by experts in tobacco, pharma and U.S. Food and Drug Administration compliance, Chemular’s core team combines 50-plus years of expertise in tobacco, medical, pharma, food and cosmetics and has a successful track history with the FDA. Although focused on North America, the company has established a global footprint, including Europe and Asia, enabling it to support clients at all levels, including ingredients, design, software, manufacturing and distribution.
Visit the company’s website at www.chemular.com.
EAS Consulting Group is a global leader in regulatory solutions for industries regulated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the U.S. Department of Agriculture and other related federal and state agencies. The EAS mission is to provide quality regulatory advice and service and to represent the best interests of its clients in an ethical, timely and cost-efficient manner.
The company’s network of over 180 independent consultants enables EAS to provide comprehensive consulting, training and auditing services, ensuring proactive regulatory compliance for food, dietary supplements, pharmaceuticals, medical devices, cosmetics, tobacco, hemp and CBD companies.
EAS Consulting Group is part of the Certified family of companies, which recently merged with Food Safety Net Services. The merger has created a leading U.S. testing and regulatory consulting platform.
Visit EAS Consulting Group’s website at https://easconsultinggroup.com.
FEELM is a high-end atomization technology brand belonging to Smoore, a world leader in atomization. Focused on cutting-edge atomization technology research, FEELM specializes in the development and manufacturing of high-quality atomization devices driven by the FEELM ceramic coil.
As the research engine of the global electronic atomization industry, FEELM delivers premium experience. Ever since the successful development of the FEELM black ceramic coil in 2016, FEELM has a significant impact on the research and manufacturing of closed vaping products, changing the whole competitive landscape.
FEELM won a Golden Leaf Award at GTNF 2018, the China Patent Excellence Award and the iF Design Award 2020. Vaping devices loaded with the FEELM atomizer have been exported to Europe, America, East Asia, Africa, Oceania and many other countries and regions. The company’s accumulated sales volume has surpassed 3 billion pieces, and its products continue to gain popularity among consumers worldwide.
Visit the company’s website at www.feelmtech.com.
The Foundation for a Smoke-Free World is an independent U.S. nonprofit grantmaking organization with the purpose of improving global health by ending smoking in this generation. The foundation funds research (and engages in direct charitable activities) that is nonduplicative and novel, focusing on scientific and regulatory gaps in furtherance of the purposes for which the foundation was formed. The foundation supports its mission through three broad categories of work: health and science research, agricultural diversification and industry transformation.
Funded by annual gifts from Philip Morris International Global Services, the foundation is independent from PMI and operates in a manner that ensures its independence from the influence of any commercial entity. Under the foundation’s Pledge Agreement with PMI and bylaws, PMI and the tobacco industry are precluded from having any control or influence over how the foundation spends its funds or focuses its activities.
For more information, please visit www.smokefreeworld.org.
As parent company of VOOPOO, ICCPP was established on Feb. 10, 2014, and is headquartered in Shenzhen, China, with branches in the U.S., the UK, France and many other places. The company’s vaping products and solutions have been applied in more than 70 countries, covering 100,000 offline outlets and serving more than 36 million consumers.
With electronic atomization technology development and related products as the core, ICCPP built a full industry chain ecosystem covering all aspects of atomization technology. In September 2021, ICCPP released its groundbreaking Gene Tree microcrystalline ceramic cores, adopting the powder-free concept and innovatively using new environmentally friendly mineral materials to reshape the microstructure of the grain boundary and improve the toughness of the ceramic.
Visit the company’s website at www.iccpp.com
Innokin was founded in 2011 with the goal of combining innovation, design and the highest standards of quality to create the best electronic cigarettes and advanced personal vaporizers in the world. Partnering with Aquios Labs U.K., Innokin made water-based vaping possible.
The company’s vision is to help, inspire and provide the best alternatives to those who want to live smoke-free. Its mission is to create effective alternatives to cigarettes through continuous research and development. The company wants to assist in reducing the world’s dependency on cigarettes and encourage others to find alternatives.
Innokin’s research and development center has been recognized as the leading vape technology center by local and international authorities. The company has won major international vaping industry awards from Ecigclick, Vaping360, The Vaping Post and several professional vape shows, among other institutions.
Innokin products are available in more than 80 countries, and the company’s products have changed more than 10 million lives.
Visit the company’s website at www.innokin.com.
Imperial Brands is a global consumer organization and the world’s fourth-largest international tobacco company. Its products include JPS, West and Davidoff cigarettes, Rizla rolling papers and the vapor brand blu. Imperial Brands operates in 120 markets, including the U.S. where its ITG Brands subsidiary offers a broad portfolio of cigarette and mass market cigar brands, including Winston and Backwoods.
Driven by insights and data, Imperial seeks to meet the expectations of adult smokers by putting the consumer at the center of everything it does. It is also refining its ways of working and its culture to foster a strong challenger mindset among its 27,000 employees worldwide.
Imperial is focused on leveraging its tobacco assets in its five priority markets and on building a successful and sustainable next-generation product (NGP) business. It has refocused its NGP strategy behind heated-tobacco and oral nicotine opportunities in Europe and in selective market opportunities in vapor.
Visit the company’s website at www.imperialbrandsplc.com.
Juul Labs’ mission is to transition the world’s billion adult smokers away from combustible cigarettes, eliminate their use and combat underage usage of its products. The company believes that vapor products can offer adult smokers an alternative to combustible cigarettes and, in so doing, reduce the harm associated with tobacco.
Nicotine is addictive and can potentially be harmful. Juul Labs believes that it would be best if no one used any nicotine product, that anyone who smokes should quit and that adult smokers who have not successfully quit should completely switch to potentially less harmful alternative nicotine products.
Juul Labs does not want any non-nicotine users, especially those underage, to try its products, as they exist only to transition adult smokers away from combustible cigarettes. Juul products are not intended to be used for smoking cessation or other therapeutic purposes.
Visit the company’s website at www.juullabs.com.
Kure currently operates over 130 retail locations across the United States and several more in Europe. It is a recognized leader in the vape industry. Kure’s e-liquid line and bar offers custom, bespoke liquids made with the highest quality ingredients to cater to the tastes of every guest. The company’s tailored in-store service is designed to provide the best support possible to transition from smoking to vaping. The company’s goal is to offer the latest and greatest hardware to ensure its guests receive only the best.
“Kure is proud to have submitted our thorough PMTA applications to the FDA,” the company writes. “These applications detail the high standards we adhere to in all aspects of our business. Moreover, we take our responsibility to our guests and the community we serve seriously and have thus designed and implemented measures to ensure our products never end up in the hands of minors. Kure uses tools such as electronic point-of-service age verification software, secret shopper programs and extensive employee training programs to keep this commitment.”
Visit Kure’s website at www.kurevapes.com.
Labstat is a leading nicotine-containing product testing laboratory specializing in analytical chemistry, in-vitro toxicology, microbiology and method development. The company serves clients from all over the world and sets the standard for quality of science, quality of service and the fastest turnaround times in the industry. This leadership role has now extended to cannabis.
Labstat has been testing nicotine-containing products since 1976. During this period, the company’s scientific personnel have acquired extensive technical experience spanning the entire product life cycle.
In addition to product stability testing, Labstat offers regulatory testing capabilities, quality management and regulatory consulting, among other services.
Visit the company’s website at https://labstat.com.
McKinney Regulatory Science Advisors is an experienced team of internationally recognized scientific, regulatory and business experts that deliver regulatory solutions that position clients for short-term and long-term success. Informed by years of direct experience working with regulatory agencies, its team of regulatory strategists and scientific experts guide clients through regulatory strategy development, product assessment and testing, regulatory application filing and response and postmarket reporting compliance.
Visit the company’s website at www.McKinneyRSA.com.
Philip Morris International is a leading international tobacco company working to deliver a smoke-free future and evolving its portfolio for the long term to include products outside of the tobacco and nicotine sector.
The company’s current product portfolio primarily consists of cigarettes and smoke-free products, including heat-not-burn, vapor and oral nicotine products, which are sold in markets outside the U.S.
Since 2008, PMI has invested more than $9 billion to develop, scientifically substantiate and commercialize innovative smoke-free products for adults who would otherwise continue to smoke, with the goal of completely ending the sale of cigarettes.
This includes the building of world-class scientific assessment capabilities, notably in the areas of preclinical systems toxicology and clinical and behavioral research as well as postmarket studies.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has authorized the marketing of versions of PMI’s IQOS Platform 1 devices and consumables as modified-risk tobacco products, finding that exposure modification orders for these products are appropriate to promote the public health.
As of June 30, 2022, excluding Russia and Ukraine, PMI’s smoke-free products were available for sale in 70 markets, and PMI estimates that approximately 13.2 million adults around the world had already switched to IQOS and stopped smoking.
With a strong foundation and significant expertise in life sciences, in February 2021, PMI announced its ambition to expand into wellness and healthcare areas and deliver innovative products and solutions that aim to address unmet consumer and patient needs.
For more information, please visit www.pmi.com and www.pmiscience.com.
Reynolds American Inc. (RAI) is a wholly owned subsidiary of the BAT Group and the U.S. parent company of R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co., Santa Fe Natural Tobacco Co., American Snuff Co., R.J. Reynolds Vapor Co. and Modoral Brands.
RAI’s vision is to build “A Better Tomorrow” by reducing the health impact of its business through offering a greater choice of innovative products for adult tobacco consumers.
To learn more about RAI and its operating companies, please visit www.reynoldsamerican.com.
Global tobacco and nicotine companies are transforming rapidly. Often, the narrative around the why, what and how of such transformations may not be clearly articulated internally in the business as well as to external stakeholders.
Addressing these gaps within tobacco businesses and with external stakeholders requires a breadth and depth of knowledge and experience. The Global Health Consortium team offers bespoke 360-degree insights and advisory consultancy to enable industry leaders to embrace and implement tobacco harm reduction across multiple dimensions: consumer, science, policy, strategy and regulations.
Founded in 2006, SMOORE is a global leader in atomization technology solutions, covering reduced-risk products, medical, pharmaceutical and beauty atomization technologies.
With interdisciplinary atomization research and a diverse product portfolio, SMOORE is committed to becoming an advanced platform, aspiring to make life better.
Visit the company’s website at https://en.smooreholdings.com.
SWM is a leading global provider of highly engineered papers, films, nets and nonwovens for a variety of applications and industries. As an expert in manufacturing materials made from fibers, resin and polymers, the company provides critical components that enhance the performance of their end products.
The company’s engineered papers group has been serving the tobacco industry for decades with highly technical papers and reconstituted tobacco leaf. SWM continues to innovate, with a special focus on heat-not-burn products, using its advanced paper and reconstitution technologies to meet the demands of this emerging product category. SWM’s versatility and portfolio are designed to deliver satisfaction while meeting stringent specifications.
In recent years, SWM has diversified to include films, nets and nonwovens offered through its advanced materials and structures (AMS) segment. The AMS platform serves a variety of industries with the same focus on technical expertise, operational excellence and customer collaboration that have long been SWM’s hallmark traits.
SWM and its subsidiaries manufacture on four continents, conduct business in over 90 countries and employ approximately 5,000 people worldwide.
Visit the company’s website at www.swmintl.com.
Founded in 1975, Tobacco Technology Inc. (TTI) exclusively develops and manufactures customized flavors, including casings, for the global tobacco industry: cigarettes, cigars, water pipe, snuff, snus, chew, kretek, roll-your-own, pipe, hemp and dissolvables. TTI also offers consulting services to facilitate flavor, process and product development.
E-LiquiTech (ELT), a TTI subsidiary established in 2016, is dedicated to the development and manufacturing of the highest quality e-liquids in addition to offering both bottle and cartomizer filling services. ELT is also the exclusive global distributor to the tobacco industry for Zanoprima, a research-driven, innovation-led life sciences company, offering SyNic high-purity synthetic (S)-nicotine in pure, bitartrate and polacrilex resin form.
TTI Flavors, TTI’s manufacturing facility in Assisi, Italy, produces TTI flavors and casings to offer faster delivery to the company’s customers in Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
In 2022, TTI established Emerald Green Technology. With the rise of the emergent cannabinoid marketplace, Emerald Green Technology (EGT) was born as a natural extension of TTI’s family of flavor companies. It offers a vast array of cannabinoid flavor profiles for CBD and hemp products. Infinite cannabinoid possibilities—if you can imagine it, EGT can create it!
Visit TTI’s website at www.tobaccotech.com.
Turning Point Brands continues to grow and evolve to meet changing consumer preferences. Along with a tobacco portfolio that features iconic, historic brands, such as Zig-Zag and Stoker’s, the company has expanded into adjacent segments utilizing its innovative brands to target alternative markets. A highly effective sales force and distribution network ensure that consumers, retailers, partners and shareholders benefit from these products.
Visit www.turningpointbrands.com for more information.
For over 100 years, Universal Corp. has been finding innovative solutions to serve its customers and meet their agri-product needs. The company built a global presence, solidified long-term relationships with customers and suppliers, adapted to changing agricultural practices, embraced state-of-the-art technology and emerged as the recognized industry leader.
Today, Universal is a global business-to-business agri-products supplier to consumer product manufacturers, operating in over 30 countries on five continents, that sources and processes leaf tobacco and plant-based ingredients. The company strives to be the supplier of choice for its customers by leveraging its farmer base, its commitment to a sustainable supply chain and its ability to provide high-quality, customized, traceable, value-added agri-products essential for its customers’ requirements.
Tobacco has been Universal’s principal focus since its founding in 1918, and the company is the leading global leaf tobacco supplier. Through its plant-based ingredients platform, it provides a variety of value-added manufacturing processes to produce high-quality, specialty vegetable-based and fruit-based ingredients as well as botanical extracts and flavorings for the food and beverage end markets.
Universal Corp. has a long history of operating with integrity, honesty and a focus on quality. The company is a vital link in the leaf tobacco supply chain, providing expertise in working with large numbers of farmers, efficiently selling various qualities of leaf to a broad global customer base, adapting to meet evolving customer needs and delivering products that meet stringent quality and regulatory specifications. Going forward, Universal will build on its history by seeking opportunities in both tobacco and plant-based ingredients to leverage its assets and expertise. It will continue its commitment to leadership in setting industry standards, operating with transparency, providing products that are responsibly sourced and investing in and strengthening the communities where the company operates.
Visit the company’s website at www.universalcorp.com.
U.K.-based Zanoprima Lifesciences was founded in 2014 by leading professionals and scientists from the pharma and life sciences sectors determined to create a cleaner nicotine with full traceability to help reduce and ultimately eliminate the harmful effects of tobacco on the environment, society and health.
In pursuit of this objective, Zanoprima patented a cost-effective enzymatic process to manufacture an ultra-high-purity synthetic nicotine ((S)-nicotine) devoid of many of the residual impurities in tobacco-derived nicotine. Furthermore, Zanoprima’s synthetic nicotine is odorless and tasteless for use in the vaping sector.
Zanoprima’s nicotine is produced using “green chemistry” principles—catalytic, renewable resources and water as solvent. In addition, Zanoprima’s groundbreaking technology creates enormous environmental and social benefits fulfilling many of the World Health Organization’s environmental, social and governance goals in the area of tobacco cultivation leading toward a tobacco-free world.
By applying Zanoprima’s cutting-edge expertise and knowhow, its team has developed a suite of products using its ultra-high-purity (S)-nicotine, including sodium-free snus, protonated (S)-nicotine e-liquid for e-cigarettes, sodium-free next-generation gum and lozenges, transdermal patches and heat-not-burn products as potentially less harmful products than those currently on the market.
Visit the company’s website at www.zanoprima.com.
Founded in January 2016 and headquartered in Shenzhen, China, Zinwi Bio-Tech Co. is a high-tech company that develops, produces and sells e-liquids. Zinwi Bio-Tech’s products have been exported to dozens of countries, including markets in Europe, America, the Middle East and Southeast Asia.
The company’s solutions, especially its nicotine salt technologies, have been well received by consumers worldwide. Zinwi Bio-Tech has been recognized by a number of domestic and foreign authoritative organizations with certifications such as ISO 9001 and CNAS.
In 2021, Zinwi inaugurated a GMP workshop. With its high-quality products and services, the company has won the recognition of more than 300 brands around the world and has established long-term strategic cooperative relations with many international and domestic brands.
Visit the company’s website at www.zinwi.com.
