Blog - Tobacco Reporter

Dalli: ‘No Evidence for Snus Bribery Allegation’

Former European Commissioner John Dalli, who stands accused of trading in influence and attempted bribery to help lift the EU ban on snus, said that no evidence was brought against him in two recent sittings, according to a report by the Malta Independent.

Dalli’s statement was in reaction to the decision on Friday by Magistrate Caroline Farrugia Frendo that enough evidence has been brought forward for him to stand trial.

Dalli has pleaded not guilty to the charges.

“Some media in Malta must have had a schadenfreude pleasure in reporting the decision of the court that there is a prima facie case against me and therefore the compilation is to continue,” Dalli said.

“Anyone following the case objectively would know that in two sittings, not one shred of evidence has been brought against me. It must be said that it was my choice not to move for the prima facie dismissal of the case. I want this hearing to go through the full process and have the opportunity to expose the machinations of the Commission and OLAF officials about this case. This should start during the next sitting. I hope that there will be no attempt to stop this through claims of immunity.”

The case dates from 2012, when Dalli’s aide Silvio Zammit allegedly tried to obtain a €60 million ($71.17 million) bribe from Swedish Match to reverse the EU ban on snus. The company rejected the offer as improper and reported it to the European Commission.

Zammit who was charged in December 2012 for trading influence and complicity in the request, passed away earlier this year.

February 22, 2022

‘Relapse Study Asks Wrong Question’

A recent study suggesting that vaping doesn’t prevent smokers from relapsing to cigarettes is flawed because it asks the wrong question, according to Cameron English of the American Council on Science and Health.

For the study, “Effectiveness of E-Cigarettes as Aids for Smoking Cessation,” researchers analyzed data on 3,578 previous-year smokers who had recently attempted to quit and 1,323 recent former smokers from the Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health (PATH) Study between 2017–2019. Participants self-reported their use of e-cigarettes or other products to quit cigarettes. The researchers then investigated who among the study participants had abstained from smoking or any tobacco products in 2019. They concluded that sales increases in high-nicotine cigarettes in 2017 did not improve successful quitting or prevent relapse.

English contends that the significance of the study is limited because of the way it defines “relapse.” To determine how many smokers returned to cigarettes, the authors asked study participants whether they had smoked a cigarette in the past 12 months, “even one or two puffs/times.”

“Using this metric, an individual who has almost entirely quit smoking, save for ‘even one or two puffs’ of a cigarette, and someone who has gone back to smoking a pack a day would be counted as having relapsed,” English writes.

“This definition ignores the fact that many smokers gradually switch from combustible cigarettes to their electronic counterparts. This is known as ‘dual use,’ and properly designed epidemiological studies (even those based on PATH data) and clinical trials try to account for this behavioral shift, correctly noting that replacing even some cigarette smoking with vaping is desirable because vaping is the far safer option.”

Additional high-quality research would be helpful, but “preventing relapse” is an all but useless outcome, according to English. “Unless the researchers evaluate how e-cigarettes are used in the real world, the only thing their next paper will confirm is that asking the wrong question inevitably leads to the wrong answer, he writes.

February 22, 2022

Tobacco Commission Malawi Returns to Profit

The Tobacco Commission of Malawi posted a profit of MKW325 million ($404,374) in 2021, allowing the parastatal to recover from previous financial losses, reports The Nyasa Times.

In 2019–2020, the Tobacco Commission posted revenue of MKW3.6 billion but recorded a loss of MKW81 million.

Tobacco Commission spokesperson Telephorus Chigwenembe attributed the improvement to reforms implemented last year. “The improved performance has come about because of sound financial management measures that the institution put in place to avoid the loss that was recorded in 2020,” he told The Nyasa Times.

Between March 2021 and February 2022, the Tobacco Commission said it strengthened its regulatory framework, enhanced tobacco production and marketing integrity, improved stakeholder understanding of the commission’s mandate and roles, improved financial sustainability and bolstered “institutional capacity.”

The Tobacco Commission generates its revenues from statutory levies.

February 22, 2022

Smuggling Ring in Spain and Portugal Disrupted

Spanish and Portuguese law enforcement agencies have dismantled a criminal network involved in cross-border tobacco smuggling, according to Europol.

On Feb. 16, more than 100 officers simultaneously raided addresses on either side of the border, detaining eight suspects.

The officers seized 2 tons of cut tobacco and tobacco strips, more than 10,000 counterfeit cigarettes and tobacco cutting and drying equipment. They also recovered €37,800 ($42,778.46) in cash.

Property searches were carried out in the province of Sevilla (Spain) and in the cities of Coimbra, Lisbon, Leiria and Aveiro (Portugal).

The criminals are suspected of having illegally imported from Spain to Portugal large quantities of leaf tobacco and strips, destined to produce counterfeit cigarettes. This criminal network had tobacco storage and production facilities scattered across both countries.

Law enforcement believes these criminals have smuggled over 7 tons of tobacco products from Spain to Portugal in 2021 alone.

The revenue loss generated by this illegal activity is estimated at over €163,000 in Portugal.

February 21, 2022

Study: Nicotine Mandate Could Reduce Smoking

Requiring cigarette manufacturers to significantly reduce the nicotine content of their products could dramatically reduce smoking rates in New Zealand, reports Stuff, citing a new study published in The New Zealand Medical Journal.

In December, New Zealand unveiled an ambitious tobacco control plan that in addition to gradually raising the smoking age until it covers the entire population, includes a reduced nicotine mandate. New Zealand aims to reduce its smoking levels across to below 5 percent of the population by 2025.

Mandating about 95 percent less nicotine in cigarettes could have a “plausible chance” of achieving the Government’s Smokefree 2025 goals, wrote Professor Nick Wilson and colleagues from the Department of Public Health at the University of Otago, Wellington.

Wilson was relaxed about the anticipated uptick in vaping and illicit trade following such a mandate. Vaping is “substantially less harmful” than smoking and New Zealand’s remote location would offer some protection against cigarette smuggling, he noted.

Assuming a full ban on nicotine was implemented on March 1, 2023, Wilson and his colleagues predicted the smoking initiation among 18–24-year-olds would reduce by 75 percent due to the nonaddictive nature of the denicotinised tobacco. That would translate into an annual reduction of about 6,500 smokers.

Among older established smokers, the researchers assume that 33 percent would quit each year in 2023, 2024 and 2025.

Such a “relatively high rate” of quitting could be sustained because low nicotine tobacco is not addictive and the “growing denormalisation of smoking,” according to the researchers.

February 21, 2022

ITC Bars Unauthorized Juul-Compatible Pods

The U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) has issued a general exclusion order barring the importation of any unauthorized cartridges compatible with the Juul System that infringe Juul Labs patented product designs, including compatible flavored pods and refillable pods.

This ruling follows a filing by Juul Labs submitted to the ITC on July 10, 2020, that sought a general exclusion order directed at all importers of unauthorized cartridges that copy Juul Labs’ patented pod designs without authorization.

“Today’s ITC ruling represents a major victory against manufacturers of illicit vapor products who seek to bypass regulations and undermine efforts to create a more responsible marketplace for the category,” said Wayne Sobon, vice president, intellectual property at Juul Labs, in a statement.

“In addition to targeting the importation of all infringing products, regardless of the brand, this sweeping action will provide the additional public benefit of helping rid the market of unauthorized Juul-compatible products that can be modified by the user, such as empty and refillable pods.”

February 21, 2022

New Tobacco Restrictions in Mexico

Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador has published a new tobacco control law that includes bans on tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship, alongside restrictions on public smoking.

Under the new law, the use of e-cigarettes and heated tobacco products will also be prohibited in indoor public places.

According to the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids (CTFK), about 30 percent of youth are exposed to secondhand smoke in hospitality venues in Mexico.

“Mexico’s comprehensive law is a victory not only for public health, but for the government champions and advocates in Mexico who worked tirelessly to ensure this life-saving measure was enacted,” wrote CFTK Director of Latin American Programs Patricia Sosa in a statement. “It is critical that the Mexican government ensure swift implementation of the new law so that all Mexicans can truly be protected from the deadly tactics of Big Tobacco companies.

February 21, 2022

Taat to Develop HNB Product with Shunho

Taat Global Alternatives has signed a letter of intent with a U.S. subsidiary of Shanghai Shunho New Materials Technology Co. to undertake development work for a white-labelled heat-not-burn device as well as heatable sticks containing Taat’s proprietary tobacco-free and nicotine-free Beyond Tobacco material in all three flavors (original, smooth, and menthol).

As heat-not-burn has proven to retain users exceptionally well compared to other tobacco cigarette alternatives, Taat has identified the opportunity to build upon its existing international market share in the tobacco industry by planning an expansion into the heat-not-burn category with a tobacco-free and nicotine-free offering that would be among the first of its kind in the United States.

In addition to procuring heatable Taat sticks made using the company’s Beyond Tobacco material, Shunho’s U.S. subsidiary is to supply a proprietary heat-not-burn device on a “white-label” basis, which is to be commercialized in the United States under the Taat brand name. Uniquely, this device will offer reverse compatibility with heated tobacco sticks offered by the company’s competitors, as well as the Taat original, smooth, and menthol heatable sticks.

Headquartered in Shanghai, Shunho is a renowned tobacco ancillary service company that has worked closely with international tobacco companies. Under Shunho, there is a portfolio of firms that are currently developing next-generation electronic cigarette and vaporizing products. Taat will be the first foreign third-party with whom a Shunho subsidiary has partnered for white-label production of heat-not-burn products. Additionally, distribution services will be provided for the Taat heat-not-burn offerings through various in-house and third-party e-commerce channels in the United States.

“The reason we chose to pursue the heat-not-burn segment is because it is the most ‘sticky’ option out of all commercially available alternatives to cigarettes,” said Taat CEO Setti Coscarella in a statement. “The tobacco industry has invested heavily in cultivating a user base for heat-not-burn to the point that it may even replace major brands of tobacco cigarettes altogether in certain markets.

“We are excited to be leveraging innovative technologies to create a unique nicotine-free and tobacco-free experience using heat-not-burn for consumers who currently use and prefer this method. Because the Taat heat-not-burn device will work with Taat sticks as well as certain competitors’ heatable tobacco sticks, we believe this strategy authentically embodies our values as a company by providing consumers the choice and flexibility they deserve to have.”

February 21, 2022

EU Parliament Endorses Harm Reduction

The EU Parliament has adopted, by a margin of 652 votes to 15, a report on Cancer prevention and Treatment that recognizes the potential contribution of vapor products to smoking cessation. The report notes that “electronic cigarettes could allow some smokers to progressively quit smoking.”

In adopting the report, the EU Parliament has become the world’s first elected chamber to endorse tobacco harm reduction, according to the Independent European Vape Association (IEVA).

“This is a landmark declaration by the European Parliament, which should go a long way to reassuring smokers of the health benefits that a switch to vaping can bring,” said IEVA President Dustin Dahlmann in a statement. “We now encourage the other EU institutions—and in particular, the European Commission—to take this on board and ensure that policy follows science, not the other way around.”

In addition to measures to reduce cancer incidence, the committee’s report places a special focus on the serious health effects of smoking.

The report also stresses the need for further research on vaping to be viewed in relative terms, given that tobacco smoking kills and vaping does not.

The final text of the report also includes a mention of further assessment of flavors “particularly attractive to minors and non-smokers” and a possible ban on them in the context of the review of the Tobacco Products Directive.

The IEVA says its crucial to avoid a flavor ban because the variety of flavors is one of the top reasons for adult smokers to switch to e-cigarettes and for vapers not to return to smoking.

“Research into the impact of flavor bans shows that many vapers return to smoking as a result [of a ban],” said Dahlmann. “This must be prevented. We agree that steps must be taken to curtail inappropriate marketing, while recognizing the crucial role flavors play in helping smokers quit.”

February 18, 2022

USTC Plans Bankruptcy Exit

U.S. Tobacco Cooperative (USTC) has begun planning an exit from Chapter 11 bankruptcy later this summer. The cooperative originally filed for protection in July 2021 to meet contractual obligations to its member growers while the company faced uncertainty presented by an ongoing class-action lawsuit.

“On February 2, after 17 years of litigation, we were able to reach economic terms of a settlement with the Lewis Class,” said USTC CEO Oscar J. House. “As we await final approval from the court this summer, we are beginning to prepare our exit from bankruptcy and continue providing the exceptional service and quality products our organization is known for across the globe.”

USTC originally filed for protection in federal bankruptcy court to satisfy obligations to its 550-plus member-growers, 200-plus employees, suppliers and customers. The settlement and plan of reorganization will allow the cooperative to honor its commitments worldwide and emerge from bankruptcy well positioned to serve its member-growers. Details of the agreement will be provided in the ordinary course of obtaining formal court approval of the settlement and USTC’s plan of reorganization.

“USTC is healthy and set for a sustainable, successful future,” continued House. “Throughout the bankruptcy process we have fulfilled all obligations to all stakeholders: our customers, grower-members, vendors and employees. Going forward we will continue to do so, stronger than ever.”

February 17, 2022