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Category: Around the Industry

  • Queensland Legal Cigarette Sales Surge After Illicit Crackdown

    Queensland Legal Cigarette Sales Surge After Illicit Crackdown

    Legal cigarette sales in Queensland, Australia, rose 55% in the first month after tougher enforcement laws took effect in November and remained 40% to 45% above previous levels for the following six months, according to retailer data provided to Australia’s Illicit Tobacco and E-cigarette Commissioner. The increase contrasts with a largely flat national market and comes as Queensland has stepped up efforts to shut illicit tobacco, vape, and nicotine pouch retailers. More than 300 closure orders have been issued in the state since November, contributing to the closure of more than 1,000 illicit tobacco shops nationwide.

    The crackdown is projected to generate A$89 million ($62.3 million) in additional tobacco excise revenue and A$11 million ($7.7 million) in GST over two years, potentially covering enforcement costs. Quitline calls more than doubled in the 10 days following major enforcement operations, while a recent 10-day blitz resulted in 148 store closures and seizures of 11.8 million cigarettes, 1.7 tonnes of loose tobacco, 87,000 vapes, and 270,000 nicotine pouches.

  • FDA Releases Transparency Roadmap

    FDA Releases Transparency Roadmap

    The U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued a press release today (Oct. 2) outlining its Transparency Roadmap that calls for greater disclosure of the scientific and regulatory basis for agency decisions, while protecting confidential commercial information and trade secrets. The Roadmap focuses on five components: complete response letters; investigational stage and marketing application lifecycle disclosures; new approach methodologies and novel biomarkers; patient- and consumer-centered product labeling; and compliance and inspectional records.

    While the new transparency initiative does not directly address tobacco and nicotine products, it could affect industry manufacturers navigating the agency’s premarket review process, particularly as FDA considers changes to its Premarket Tobacco Product Application (PMTA) framework. FDA already publishes marketing orders and related documents for tobacco products, as well as aggregate data on PMTA, substantial equivalence, and exemption applications, but greater transparency could be relevant to how the agency evaluates applications and reaches regulatory decisions.

    The initiative comes as FDA says it intends to evaluate changes to the PMTA framework, citing its experience implementing the current rules, the development of an illicit and unregulated market, and the pace of new product introductions. The agency said a revised framework should provide greater clarity and predictability for applicants.

  • Oxford Economics Report Links High Cigarette Taxes to Illicit Growth

    Oxford Economics Report Links High Cigarette Taxes to Illicit Growth

    A new Oxford Economics report commissioned by British American Tobacco found an average correlation of 80% between real duty-paid cigarette prices and illicit cigarette market share across nine countries from 2015 to 2025. The study found that taxes accounted for an average of 77% of the retail price of duty-paid cigarettes in 2025, while illicit cigarettes were priced between 1.5 and 3.5 times lower than legal products. Across the countries studied, illicit market share increased by an average of 25 percentage points, from 18% in 2015 to 43% in 2025.

    Australia and Chile recorded some of the largest increases. Australia’s illicit cigarette market share rose from 13% in 2015 to at least 55% in 2025, with Oxford Economics estimating A$7.1 billion ($5 billion) in lost tobacco tax revenue. In Chile, illicit market share increased from 12% to 53% over the same period, with estimated tax losses of CLP 1.4 trillion ($1.4 billion). The report, which also examined Bangladesh, Brazil, France, Malaysia, the Netherlands, Pakistan, and Ukraine, said illicit trade is influenced by factors beyond price and called for strategies combining tax policy with enforcement measures. BAT said the findings highlight the need for policymakers to consider illicit-market risks when setting tobacco excise rates.

  • Sen. Schumer Urges FDA to Crack Down on Illicit Chinese Vapes

    Sen. Schumer Urges FDA to Crack Down on Illicit Chinese Vapes

    New York Sen. Chuck Schumer is calling on the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to provide more information on how it identifies illicit nicotine products and investigate whether Chinese manufacturers are using chemical substitutes to evade FDA oversight. In a letter to acting FDA Commissioner Kyle Diamantas, Schumer also urged the agency to use its enforcement authorities to remove unlawful products from the market. He cited concerns that unauthorized products manufactured in China are entering the U.S. market and being marketed in ways that appeal to youth.

    Schumer cited estimates that unauthorized products account for 70% of U.S. e-cigarette sales, including more than 97% of disposable e-cigarette sales, and requested a response from the FDA within 30 days. He also raised concerns about FDA staffing and its ability to monitor illicit nicotine products following workforce reductions in 2025.

  • Riot Labs Says Open Letter from Health Orgs is Hypocritical

    Riot Labs Says Open Letter from Health Orgs is Hypocritical

    UK e-liquid maker Riot Labs is challenging proposed UK restrictions on vape packaging, appearance, and retail displays, arguing that requiring vape products to be hidden from view could discourage smokers from switching. The company’s comments follow an open letter circulated by the National Centre for Smoking Cessation and Training (NCSCT), with support from Action on Smoking and Health (ASH), calling on the government to implement proposed restrictions in full. The consultation closes Oct. 2.

    The proposals would require vape products to use plain white packaging, limit device colors to black, white, or gray, and require products to be kept out of sight at retail locations. Riot Labs Chief Executive Ben Johnson said the company supports measures including licensing vape retailers, stronger enforcement of age restrictions, and restrictions on youth-oriented packaging and marketing, but opposes applying tobacco-style display requirements to specialist vape shops. ASH’s consultation guide says it is concerned that a total display ban could undermine the role of vaping in smoking cessation, while also supporting the proposed restrictions.

    Riot Labs cited its own Freedom of Information research covering 21 Trading Standards services, which it said found substantial differences in the frequency of underage-sales testing. The company also cited ASH survey data showing that 61% of smokers who have never vaped believe vaping is as harmful as smoking or more harmful, compared with 27% in 2019. The NCSCT and ASH have separately cited public support for restrictions on youth-oriented vape packaging and marketing.

  • Brazil Intercepts 200K Illicit Vapes

    Brazil Intercepts 200K Illicit Vapes

    Brazil’s Federal Revenue Service seized a container at the Port of Santos containing about 200,000 smuggled electronic smoking devices in an operation conducted Sept. 18. The shipment originated in Yantian, China, and was destined for Montevideo, Uruguay, but was falsely declared as LED screens and electronics.

    Authorities found that about 95% of the cargo consisted of undeclared electronic cigarettes without marketing authorization. The seizure followed information provided by Philip Morris International’s Illicit Trade Prevention team, which alerted Brazil’s General Coordination of Customs Administration after identifying that the vessel would stop in Santos before continuing to Uruguay.

  • Bangladesh Seizes 8.25 Tons of Tobacco-Like Materials

    Bangladesh Seizes 8.25 Tons of Tobacco-Like Materials

    Bangladesh customs officials seized about 17.5 tons of goods at Chattogram Port after finding discrepancies between the declared and actual contents of two consignments imported under the name of Authoy Enterprise. The shipment included tobacco or tobacco-like materials and scrap paper, according to the National Board of Revenue.

    The first consignment was declared as pan masala and zarda, or chewing tobacco, but contained 8,250.4 kilograms, or about 8.25 tons, of tobacco or tobacco-like material. Some materials appeared to be powdery substances resembling narcotics, though laboratory testing is required to determine their composition. The second consignment was declared as printed paper catalogues but contained 9,263 kilograms, or about 9.26 tons, of scrap paper.

    Authoy Enterprise’s proprietor told customs officials that he and the company were unaware of the imports and suspected their name and import information had been misused. Authorities are investigating the shipments and whether any offences were committed.

  • Canada Health Minister Rejects Calls to Loosen Pouch Rules

    Canada Health Minister Rejects Calls to Loosen Pouch Rules

    Canadian Federal Health Minister Marjorie Michel said she is not considering changes to Canada’s regulations governing nicotine pouches, which are regulated as smoking-cessation aids and restricted to adult sales through pharmacies. Zonnic, manufactured by Imperial Tobacco, is currently the only authorized nicotine pouch brand, with sales limited to 4 mg pouches and restricted flavors. Unsmoke Canada, part of Philip Morris International’s Rothmans, Benson & Hedges business, has campaigned for allowing pouches to be sold through retail stores, arguing that broader legal availability could address the illicit market.

    Michel acknowledged challenges with illicit sales, including online sales of products such as Zyn, while tobacco-control groups called for stronger enforcement rather than looser rules. The groups said nicotine pouch use among Canadian youth is increasing and warned that wider retail availability could increase youth access.

  • Cigarette Seizures in Finland Already Double 2025

    Cigarette Seizures in Finland Already Double 2025

    Finnish Customs seized more than 34 million illegally imported cigarettes during the first six months of 2026, twice the amount seized in all of 2025. Customs said the cases identified through June resulted in more than €13.5 million in estimated lost tax revenue, while shipments involving hundreds of thousands or millions of cigarettes have become more common.

    Authorities said ferry routes between Estonia and southern Finland are the main route for illegal shipments, with cigarettes often concealed among legitimate goods and moved through commercial transport networks before being distributed from storage facilities. Customs also reported a June seizure of 4 million cigarettes hidden in legal cargo and an investigation involving 15 people suspected of smuggling up to 10 million cigarettes and other tobacco products into Finland during 2025 and 2026. Investigators said some of the supply originates from illicit manufacturing operations in the Baltic countries and Poland.

  • VTA Launches Ad Campaign on Vaping Regs

    VTA Launches Ad Campaign on Vaping Regs

    The Vapor Technology Association (VTA) launched a seven-figure cable, broadcast, and digital advertising campaign urging President Donald Trump and Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to replace the FDA’s current Premarket Tobacco Product Application (PMTA) framework with what the trade group describes as clear, science-based guidance for vapor products. The campaign is running on Fox News programming, Truth Social, and X. VTA said the campaign cites a poll showing 71% support for replacing the current PMTA rules with scientific guidelines.

    VTA said the campaign follows an August 2026 decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit involving the FDA’s PMTA process. VTA Executive Director Tony Abboud said the proposed framework would provide clearer requirements for manufacturers while strengthening enforcement against noncompliant products.