Two suspects were arrested in connection with multiple vape shop break-ins across Western Ontario, Canada. Police said the investigation began in November and resulted in the recovery of thousands of vaping products valued at about C$150,000 ($108,000), and was connected to a commercial storefront in Brampton, Ontario. The Canadian Vaping Association said the case highlights a broader rise in targeted thefts against vape retailers following sharp excise tax increases in 2024, which significantly raised retail prices and increased the resale value of legally compliant products, making them more attractive to organized theft and potentially feeding illicit markets where age-verification safeguards do not apply.
Category: Around the Industry
-
Store Crackdowns Move Hong Kong Illicits Online
Illicit cigarette sales in Hong Kong have increasingly shifted online following the implementation of tighter enforcement rules targeting duty evasion, according to media reports. After the Tobacco Control Legislation (Amendment) Ordinance 2025 took effect in September, requiring cigarettes priced below the tobacco duty to prove they are duty-paid, many newsstands and retailers stopped selling “cheap whites.” In response, illicit wholesalers moved the products online to social media and messaging platforms to solicit customers directly.
Reports indicate that some wholesalers are advertising on Facebook and WhatsApp, using discounts, referral incentives, and giveaways to attract buyers. To avoid platform detection, sellers often use “IN” instead of the Chinese word for “cigarette,” relying on images of cigarette packs or smoking imagery to signal the products being offered. Orders are typically handled via private WhatsApp or Telegram groups, with sellers promoting same-day or next-day delivery across Hong Kong.
Hong Kong Customs said it is monitoring these developments and adjusting enforcement strategies accordingly. Authorities said their approach combines risk assessment and intelligence analysis, including action against cross-border smuggling, storage and distribution centers, and street-level and online peddling.
-
Free Cigarettes at Bangladesh Concert Draw Criticism
The distribution of free cigarettes at a concert at Bangladesh’s Dhaka University on Saturday night triggered widespread criticism from students and public health advocates, as the Abul Khair Tobacco Company reportedly set up a stall at the venue to hand out complimentary cigarettes. If true, the incident would violate the Smoking and Tobacco Products Usage (Control) Act, which prohibits the free distribution of tobacco products and the sponsorship of events by tobacco companies. (It is also illegal to sell tobacco products within 100 meters of educational institutions.) Breaches of the law carry penalties of up to three months’ imprisonment, fines of up to Tk100,000 ($820), or both. Separately, the government recently raised fines for smoking in public from Tk300 ($2.46) to Tk2,000 ($16.40).
The concert was jointly organized by the Dhaka University Central Students’ Union (DUCSU) and Spirits of July, a student-led nonprofit organization. DUCSU literature and culture secretary Musaddik Ali Ibne Mohammad said he was only aware of a designated “smoking zone” and was unaware of any free cigarette distribution. Neither Spirits of July representatives nor university officials have been available for comment.
-
Haypp Tabs De Prado as President of U.S. Market
Today (January 19), Haypp Group announced the appointment of Gabriel De Prado as president of its U.S. market, effective January 9. The parent company of Nicokick.com and Northerner.com, Haypp said the move is intended to accelerate growth in the nicotine pouch category.
De Prado, who previously served as Chief Commercial Officer, will oversee U.S. business operations with a mandate to strengthen commercial execution, deepen regulatory engagement, and further position Haypp as a leading compliant retailer in the fast-growing U.S. market. Chief Executive Officer Gavin O’Dowd said the appointment comes at a pivotal moment for the company’s U.S. expansion, citing De Prado’s international leadership experience, commercial discipline, and expertise in highly regulated sectors. De Prado brings more than 20 years of experience across Latin America and Europe, including senior roles at British American Tobacco, where he led strategic planning, consumer insights, and commercial execution across multiple markets.
During his tenure as Haypp Group’s CCO, De Prado led commercial operations across six countries, supported revenues exceeding €300 million, and built the company’s global insights and analytics function.
“Responsible growth isn’t optional in this category, it’s fundamental,” De Prado said. “My priorities are clear: disciplined growth, top-tier talent, and setting the highest standard for modern oral nicotine in e-commerce, while continuously listening to and adapting for the American consumer.”
-
Tobacco Companies Funding €1.1M to Clean Portugal’s Litter
Portuguese municipalities will receive €1.1 million a year from the tobacco industry in 2026 and 2027 to help offset the cost of cleaning discarded cigarette butts from public spaces, under a new government decree. Lisbon will receive the largest allocation, €41,153, while the smallest payment of €325 will go to Alvito. The figures apply to mainland Portugal, with allocations for the autonomous regions still to be determined. According to Jornal de Negócios, the decree sets out for the first time mandatory financial contributions from tobacco producers, calculated according to four territorial categories: urban, semi-urban, rural, and beach areas.
The payments are based on a proposal by Único – Associação de Gestão de Plásticos de Uso Único, a non-profit body licensed since late 2024 to operate Portugal’s first extended producer responsibility system for waste from filtered tobacco products. Único, whose members include BAT, Imperial Brands, JTI, Landewick, Tabaqueira, and Electrão, said the reform makes companies financially accountable for tobacco-related litter. Beyond funding, producers are also expected to support measures to reduce improper disposal, including public awareness campaigns. The decree further requires Único to submit a national study on urban cleaning waste in 2026, in line with EU guidelines, to help determine whether current cost estimates should be revised under existing European legislation that obliges tobacco producers to finance the clean-up and management of discarded filtered products.
-
Reynolds Files Complaint with ITC Over Illicit Products
R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. and its subsidiaries have filed a complaint with the U.S. International Trade Commission seeking an investigation into alleged unlawful practices by Heaven Gifts International—the company behind Elf Bar and Geek Bar—along with its subsidiaries and nine U.S. distributors. According to Law360, the 247-page complaint accuses the respondents of selling flavored vaping products in jurisdictions where they are banned, selling products not listed in required state directories at the time of sale, and evading state and local excise taxes, conduct Reynolds frames as unfair competition under Section 337 of the Tariff Act and noncompliance with the PACT Act. The ITC has acknowledged receipt of the complaint and opened a public comment process.
Reynolds argues that the alleged violations have enabled a large, illicit market that has significantly undercut lawful products such as its Vuse brand. The company pointed to FDA data showing that only 39 e-cigarette products and devices are currently authorized for sale in the U.S., including 16 from Reynolds and none from Heaven Gifts or its affiliates. Reynolds is seeking broad remedies, including a general or limited exclusion order blocking imports of the accused products, cease-and-desist orders against the named companies, and the imposition of a bond during the ITC’s 60-day presidential review period.
-
Barnes Named First Female GM of PMSA
Philip Morris International appointed Buena Barnes as general manager of Philip Morris South Africa (PMSA), replacing Branislav Bibic, who is now the area vice president for Sub-Saharan Africa. Barnes, who is the first woman to hold the position, previously served as finance director for Sub-Saharan Africa and brings more than four years of local leadership experience as PMI continues its shift toward smoke-free products.
Barnes played a key role in PMI’s transformation strategy, which has seen smoke-free products account for 41% of the company’s net revenues by Q3 2025, with PMI targeting more than 50% by year-end. Her background includes senior finance and strategy roles at GlaxoSmithKline South Africa and British American Tobacco South Africa. She has been a vocal supporter of PMI’s science-led alternatives, including IQOS, introduced in South Africa in 2017, followed by ZYN nicotine pouches in 2023 and VEEV e-vapor in 2025.
-
ATNF Releases Draft Agenda
The American Tobacco and Nicotine Forum (ATNF) announced the draft agenda for its 2026 program set for April 20–22, at the Lansdowne Resort in Leesburg, Virginia. ATNF is the nation’s leading annual conference focused on the future of the tobacco and nicotine industries, serving as a global forum for the exchange of ideas among public health experts, government officials, industry leaders, and investors. Formerly known as the TMA Annual Meeting, the conference has been held continuously for more than 110 years.
ATNF 2026 plans to feature an innovation product showcase and a wide-ranging program examining science, regulation, litigation, and tobacco harm reduction. Agenda highlights include sessions on the use of artificial intelligence in product research, lessons from the FDA’s nicotine pouch pilot authorization program, pathways to meaningful PMTA reform, state and local policy impacts on harm reduction, enforcement and marketplace integrity, litigation affecting smoke-free products, and strategies for communicating harm reduction to adults who smoke. Additional panels will explore women’s leadership in tobacco and nicotine law, streamlining product reviews through smokefree standards, and the evolving role of advocacy in advancing tobacco harm reduction.
-
Calif. Court Denies Injunction for Cigar Companies in UTL Suit
A Los Angeles County Superior Court judge denied a request by premium cigar manufacturers and trade groups to block enforcement of California’s Unflavored Tobacco List (UTL) requirements. On Monday, January 12, Judge Cherol J. Nellon rejected the plaintiffs’ motion for a preliminary injunction in Rocky Patel Premium Cigars Inc. et al. v. Bonta, a state court case challenging emergency regulations tied to Assembly Bill 3218. The lawsuit was brought by Rocky Patel Premium Cigars, Cigar Rights of America, the Premium Cigar Association, and six other cigar manufacturers.
The plaintiffs argued that the regulations impose duplicative and burdensome SKU-by-SKU submissions on premium cigars that they contend are already unflavored under federal law. Judge Nellon found the plaintiffs were unlikely to succeed on the merits and failed to show irreparable harm.
The case stems from California’s creation of the UTL to enforce the state’s 2020 ban on most flavored tobacco products, requiring tobacco items to be approved for sale in the state. Plaintiffs sought to exempt “premium cigars” from the UTL, relying on a federal definition developed through FDA litigation, but the court held that the regulations lawfully apply to all tobacco products subject to the statute and do not exceed the attorney general’s authority. Nellon noted that the legislature chose a different approach to defining premium cigars and that the UTL rules are reasonably aimed at distinguishing unflavored products from prohibited flavored ones. This state ruling follows similar denials of relief in related proceedings and is separate from a parallel federal lawsuit involving the same parties and law but different legal claims.
-
Murder of Tobacco Company Owners Tied to $5.5M Fraud Case
The two owners of All-American Tobacco LLC, brothers Charles (age 67) and Richard (72) Geragi, were fatally shot inside their office Monday (January 12) in Boynton Beach, Florida. Authorities say they were having a meeting with Nesar Dawla, apparently discussing repayment of stolen funds linked to his brother, former company accountant Sadman Dawla.
Investigators say Sadman Dawla admitted to embezzling more than $5.5 million from the tobacco importing business between 2016 and 2022 and was convicted last year on grand theft and money laundering charges, with sentencing scheduled this week. Police said Nesar Dawla shot the brothers, fled the scene in an SUV, led officers on a brief pursuit, and died by suicide before the vehicle crashed into a tree. Court filings show All-American Farms (the parent company of All-American Tobacco) had sued both brothers and others over the fraud, alleging Nesar Dawla received nearly $47,000 in stolen funds; the civil case was settled in mid-2024.