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Category: Around the Industry

  • Thailand Simplifying Cigarette Tax, Tightening Controls 

    Thailand Simplifying Cigarette Tax, Tightening Controls 

    Thailand’s Excise Department is preparing to replace the current two-tier cigarette tax with a single rate, aiming to improve revenue collection and remove pricing distortions. Cigarettes priced up to THB72 ($2.16) per pack currently face a 25% tax, compared with 42% above the threshold, resulting in more than 95% of cigarettes being priced at the low end. The proposal is under review before submission to the Finance Ministry, with the policy direction expected by October 2026. 

    Separately, the department plans to require excise tax to be paid upfront on cigarettes for export, with refunds issued after Customs confirms the goods left Thailand. The measure is intended to prevent tax-exempt export cigarettes from being diverted into the domestic market and is expected to take effect by end-2026. 

    Thailand is also expanding data-led enforcement against illicit tobacco. In the first 11 months of fiscal 2026, the Excise Department recorded 35,739 enforcement cases, up 5.8%, while estimated fines rose nearly 15% to THB6.27 billion ($188 million). Tobacco offences increased 32.7%. 

  • Filipino Lawmakers Weigh Unified Vape Tax  

    Filipino Lawmakers Weigh Unified Vape Tax  

    Philippine lawmakers are considering a single excise tax for vape products, as health advocates push for a rate of at least P80 ($1.28) to discourage youth access and curb nicotine addiction. The House committee on ways and means is studying a unified rate for salt-nicotine and freebase products, citing existing tax disparities and their potential impact on consumer behavior and illicit trade. 

    The Department of Finance and Department of Health have proposed a unified P72.93 ($1.17) tax by 2027 covering cigarettes, heated tobacco, and vape products. Health groups argue this is too low, while a proposal by Cagayan de Oro Rep. Rufus Rodriguez would set the vape rate at P15 ($0.24) per milliliter, with the aim of balancing revenue collection against the risk of driving consumers toward illegal products. 

  • Illegal Cigarette Trade Costs Suriname $40M 

    Illegal Cigarette Trade Costs Suriname $40M 

    Illegal cigarette trading remains a major challenge in Suriname, with government revenue losses estimated at $40 million per year, according to a presentation to the parliamentary committee overseeing the Ministry of Economic Affairs. The presentation linked the expansion of smuggling to tax increases introduced in 2006, noting that illicit trade persists despite periods of improvement. Smugglers are moving both genuine cigarettes and counterfeit “cheap whites” into the country. 

    Authorities also highlighted links between cigarette smuggling and other criminal activities, including drug trafficking, human trafficking, weapons trading, and money laundering. Free-trade zones remain an important enforcement challenge, with importers and traders continually developing new methods to evade detection. 

    The presentation called for greater coordination among finance, trade, security and public-health authorities to address the illicit market and protect government revenues. 

  • Vietnam Health Official Backs ID Checks for Tobacco Sales

    Vietnam Health Official Backs ID Checks for Tobacco Sales

    Vietnam’s Ministry of Health is proposing age verification for tobacco purchases, allowing retailers to ask customers who appear under 18 to show an identity card, passport, or verify their age through the VNeID national digital identification app. Dr. Duong Huy Luong, deputy director of the ministry’s Department of Medical Services Administration, said at an Aug. 26 seminar that the measure is reasonable and should be supported by effective enforcement and communication. He also called for the revised tobacco-control law to cover emerging nicotine products based on their characteristics rather than specific product names or technologies, while Hoang Duc Nam of the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union said controls should extend to online sales and social media marketing, where young people increasingly encounter nicotine products.

  • Philippines Says 93% of Vape Brands Unregistered

    Philippines Says 93% of Vape Brands Unregistered

    The Philippines’ Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) said 292 of 313 vape brands (93%) identified in the market are not registered with the agency. DTI Assistant Secretary Marcus Valdez II disclosed the figures during an Aug. 25 House Ways and Means Committee hearing on tobacco and vapor excise taxes.

    Lawmakers and government agencies are considering a single excise tax rate for nicotine salt and freebase vapor products, arguing the current two-tier system contributes to tax leakage and illicit trade. “They will not register because the tax is too high,” committee chairman Miro Quimbo said. The Bureau of Internal Revenue reported 6,196 tobacco and vape enforcement operations in 2026, generating an estimated P1.7 billion ($27 million) in excise taxes.

    The Bureau of Customs reported 253 tobacco seizures worth P10 billion ($160 million) and 18 vapor-product seizures worth P1.6 billion ($25.6 million) this year, compared with P1.87 billion and P649 million ($29.9 million and $10.4 million), respectively, in 2025. Lawmakers cautioned that excessive taxes could drive more consumers toward illicit products, with Rep. Roberto Nazal saying authorities should avoid “overtax[ing] to the point that we will promote further smuggling.”

  • Australian Party Calls for 80% Tobacco Tax Cut

    Australian Party Calls for 80% Tobacco Tax Cut

    Australia’s federal opposition is calling for tobacco excise to be cut by up to 80% to undermine organized crime networks that it says now control much of the country’s tobacco market. A coalition task force report released today (Aug. 26) said as much as 80% of tobacco consumed in 2025 was illicit, up from 12% in 2017.

    Sen. Richard Colbeck and Monash MP Mary Aldred said high tobacco taxes have helped fuel an underground market linked to firebombings and arson attacks. “Criminals had taken ‘almost complete control of Australia’s tobacco market,’” the report said. Colbeck said the issue is no longer simply about smoking but “who controls a billion-dollar market in our economy: the Australian government or organized crime?”

    The report said tobacco excise revenue fell from about A$16 billion ($11.2 billion) in 2019-20 to A$8 billion ($5.6 billion) in 2024-25 and is projected to fall to A$4 billion ($2.8 billion) in 2025-26 and A$2 billion ($1.4 billion) by 2029-30. One Nation has proposed a 75% cut, while the Nationals and NSW Premier Chris Minns have also backed lower taxes. The Albanese government has opposed reducing the excise.

  • Fla. Moves to Block Benefits for Tobacco, Vape Products

    Fla. Moves to Block Benefits for Tobacco, Vape Products

    Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis announced the state will restrict Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) benefits from being used to purchase tobacco and vaping products, along with video games, theme park tickets and several other goods and services.

    DeSantis directed the Florida Department of Children and Families to amend the state’s TANF plan. The program already prohibits benefits from being used for alcohol, gambling, and adult entertainment. The new restrictions also cover adult content, tattoos, spa services, tanning, and psychic readings.

    “Taxpayer-funded assistance should help families put food on the table, keep the lights on, purchase clothing, provide for their children, and overcome barriers on the path toward independence,” DeSantis said. He said the changes are intended to ensure taxpayer-funded assistance is focused on essential needs and support families’ path toward self-sufficiency.

  • Marijuana Use Hits High, Cigarette Low: Gallup

    Marijuana Use Hits High, Cigarette Low: Gallup

    Seventeen percent of U.S. adults say they smoke marijuana, matching Gallup’s record high, while cigarette smoking remains at a record-low 11%. The July 1-19 Gallup Consumption Habits poll also found that 15% consume marijuana edibles, 9% vape, and 4% use nicotine pouches. This is the first time Gallup included nicotine pouch use in its survey.

    Marijuana use is highest among younger adults, with 23% of those ages 18 to 29 and 25% of those 30 to 49 reporting smoking marijuana. Cigarette smoking is highest among adults ages 30 to 49 at 16%, while vaping reaches 17% among 18- to 29-year-olds. Nicotine pouch use is highest among adults ages 30 to 49 at 7%.

    Coffee remains the most popular nonalcoholic beverage, with 49% of adults drinking it daily. Tea and caffeinated soda each are consumed daily by about 20%, while 9% drink energy drinks daily. Gallup also found that 5% of Americans identify as vegetarian and 2% as vegan.

  • Netherlands Smoke-Free Generation Goal Faces Setback

    Netherlands Smoke-Free Generation Goal Faces Setback

    About 40% of Dutch adults ages 18 to 29 smoke or vape, putting the government’s goal of a smoke-free generation by 2040 further out of reach, according to research by insurance comparison site Independer involving 2,000 people.

    The share of smokers declines with age, from 30% among people in their 30s to 17% among those over 45 and 10% among people ages 60 and older. The research also found a strong connection between social media and youth tobacco use: about 75% of young adults see smoking or vaping videos, and one-third of those viewers said the content had tempted them to start.

    More than a quarter of young adults who see such content said they buy cigarettes or vapes through social media, despite such sales being prohibited in the Netherlands since July 2023. The government’s 2040 target calls for no young people to smoke or vape and for adult smoking and vaping prevalence to fall to 5%.

  • New Zealand Tobacco Sales Fall More Than 20%

    New Zealand Tobacco Sales Fall More Than 20%

    Tobacco sales in New Zealand fell by more than 20% year over year in 2025, with the volume sold now less than half its level a decade ago, Associate Health Minister Casey Costello said.

    Annual tobacco returns show the volume of tobacco sold has fallen by two-thirds since 2010, while cigarette sales per capita have dropped nearly 80%, trends that correspond with declining smoking rates. Costello said, however, that the sharper decline in legal tobacco sales in recent years could partly reflect increased availability of black-market cigarettes rather than an equivalent decline in smoking.

    The government is focusing on disrupting illegal tobacco sales, preventing youth smoking, and helping smokers quit. Costello also said that measures introduced a year ago to ban disposable vapes, restrict product displays, and increase penalties for underage tobacco and vape sales have been accompanied by increased enforcement activity.