TobaccoReporter logo

Category: Around the Industry

  • EU Tobacco Tax Plan Faces Fierce Pushback

    EU Tobacco Tax Plan Faces Fierce Pushback

    The European Commission’s plan to overhaul tobacco taxation has sparked sharp opposition from member states, farmers, and industry groups, who warn it could devastate rural economies, fuel illicit trade, and hand China greater leverage over Europe’s tobacco supply chain. The July 2025 proposals — the first major update to EU tobacco tax rules since 2010 — would harmonize excise duties on heated tobacco, e-liquids, and nicotine pouches, while also bringing raw tobacco under customs tracking. A new “TEDOR” mechanism would redirect 15% of national tobacco excise revenue to the EU budget, raising an estimated €11 billion annually.

    France and the Netherlands have seen illicit trade soar, with untaxed products making up nearly 40% of consumption in France. Sweden, Portugal, and southern European producers are leading resistance, citing threats to tens of thousands of farming jobs.

    The Commission insists the reforms are vital to protect public health and modernize the single market, but unanimity in the Council will be required to push the package through by 2028.

  • Malaysian Think Tank Warns Vape Bans Will Fuel Black Market

    Malaysian Think Tank Warns Vape Bans Will Fuel Black Market

    Policy think tank Datametrics Research and Information Sdn Bhd (DARE) cautioned that state or nationwide vape bans in Malaysia could backfire by boosting the illicit market, undermining investor confidence, and costing the government tax revenue and jobs.

    The warning follows a survey by the Malaysian Vapers Alliance showing 74% of consumers fear bans will drive illegal sales, while 80% worry about unsafe, unregulated products. DARE Managing Director Pankaj Kumar said prohibition “has never worked” and argued that enforcement of existing law under Act 852 is a more effective solution.

    Malaysia’s vape market, once worth RM3.48 billion ($835 million) and supporting 31,500 jobs, has sharply contracted since new regulations took effect, with registered brands plunging from 3,200 to 390. DARE stressed that demand remains strong, but inconsistent state and federal policies are pushing consumers to untaxed and unsafe products.

  • FDA Posts New Materials for IQOS Renewal Applications

    FDA Posts New Materials for IQOS Renewal Applications

    The U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced today that its Tobacco Products Scientific Advisory Committee (TPSAC) will convene October 7, to evaluate the renewal applications of Philip Morris Products S.A. for its IQOS 2.4 and IQOS 3.0 heated-tobacco systems and associated HeatSticks. These devices were originally granted Modified Risk Tobacco Product (MRTP) orders in 2020 and 2022, allowing the marketing of reduced-exposure claims—specifically, that heating (not burning) tobacco significantly lowers exposure to harmful chemicals.

    The renewal will hinge on whether PMI can demonstrate that post-market evidence continues to support those claims under section 911(g)(2) of the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act.  The FDA has republished redacted application materials and opened a public comment period; speakers at the TPSAC meeting may submit data supporting or critiquing PMI’s dossier.

    “A vital mission of FDA is to make tobacco-related disease and death a part of America’s past,” officials from PMI said in a statement. “Smoke-free products, like IQOS, play a critical role in helping achieve that mission and provide adults who smoke with a real opportunity to change. IQOS, when marketed with the reduced-exposure claim, promotes complete switching and reduction in cigarette consumption.”

    Should the renewal be approved, PMI would retain authority to market IQOS with MRTP claims; if rejected, those claims could expire, undermining the company’s “reduced-exposure” positioning in the U.S. market.

    The outcome will not only be of interest for PMI, but for the broader heated tobacco and smoke-free sectors looking for regulatory precedents.

  • BAT France Points to Anti-Smoking Policy Failure

    BAT France Points to Anti-Smoking Policy Failure

    BAT France told lawmakers today (September 24) that France’s reliance on over-taxation and outright bans risks fueling the illicit nicotine market while failing to cut smoking rates, which remain stubbornly above 30%. “This excessive tax policy has, above all, encouraged criminal, structured, and industrial smuggling,” said Sébastien Charbonneau, director of public and regulatory affairs. He added that the government’s planned ban on tobacco-free nicotine pouches would repeat past mistakes, driving consumers to the black market without advancing public health or protecting minors.

    Instead, BAT France urged a pragmatic approach focused on strict but balanced regulation. The company called for a framework that prohibits sales to minors, limits nicotine content and flavorings, enforces retail controls, and applies substantial penalties for violations.

    “The State has a moral duty to adopt the principle of harm reduction related to smoking to allow adult smokers to have access to alternatives to tobacco, and to do so legally,” Charbonneau said. “All we are asking is to look at the scientific data and regulations that have enabled many countries to achieve their public health objective.”

  • South Korea Moving Toward Regulating Vapes Like Cigarettes

    South Korea Moving Toward Regulating Vapes Like Cigarettes

    South Korea is moving to classify synthetic nicotine as tobacco under the Tobacco Business Act, subjecting e-cigarettes to the same regulations and taxes as traditional cigarettes for the first time. A subcommittee of the National Assembly’s Strategy and Finance Committee approved the revision on Monday, expanding the definition of tobacco from “tobacco leaf” to “tobacco or nicotine.”

    If passed in the main session, the measure would generate an estimated 930 billion won ($646 million) annually in new tax revenue, lawmakers said. Synthetic nicotine has until now been treated as an industrial good, free from tobacco levies and restrictions. The bill, which includes a two-year grace period on retail restrictions, marks the first change to the act’s tobacco definition since its enactment in 1988.

  • Philippine Health Group Warns Against Tobacco Industry ‘Greenwashing’

    Philippine Health Group Warns Against Tobacco Industry ‘Greenwashing’

    On International Coastal Cleanup Day (September 20), advocacy group HealthJustice Philippines urged the government to reject “greenwashing” efforts by the tobacco industry and to end all forms of engagement with it, citing its harm to both health and the environment. The group suggested studies show 4.5 trillion cigarette butts are discarded annually globally, making them the world’s most abundant form of plastic waste.

    HealthJustice president Mary Ann Mendoza accused the industry of using corporate social responsibility projects, such as donations, tree-planting, and cleanup drives, to create a “false image” of environmental advocacy despite tobacco’s damaging impact. “These cannot be regarded as genuine acts of social responsibility, as tobacco products are inherently harmful and provide no societal benefit,” she said, also drawing parallels with ultra-processed food companies.

  • Haypp Calls for Boycott on Champagne, France, After Pouch Ban

    Haypp Calls for Boycott on Champagne, France, After Pouch Ban

    Global nicotine pouch retailer Haypp is urging its customers to boycott champagne and avoid traveling to France as a holiday destination in response to the nation’s decision to impose a total ban on nicotine pouches and other oral nicotine products beginning in March 2026. While describing the campaign as “tongue-in-cheek,” Haypp’s head of legal and external affairs Markus Lindblad said France is removing safer alternatives for its roughly 23% smoking population, while allowing cancer-causing chewing tobacco to remain on the market.

    The ban, announced by the French government on September 5, will cover pouches, gums, and liquids unless classified as medicinal products or medical devices. Critics, including Sweden, Italy, and Greece, have warned that the move is disproportionate and undermines smoking reduction efforts. Lindblad is one of those critics, arguing the new law will criminalize possession as well as sale, meaning both residents and tourists could face fines or imprisonment for carrying nicotine pouches in France. U.K. holiday travelers and other visitors, he said, risk prosecution if caught with the products.

    Haypp also warned that prohibition could fuel black markets, driving nicotine pouch demand underground into unregulated channels, raising further health risks.

  • PMI: EU Vape Research Should Be Independent

    PMI: EU Vape Research Should Be Independent

    Philip Morris International (PMI) says it supports new research into the health impact of cigarette alternatives like vapes and heated tobacco, as long as it is carried out by an “independent and science-driven third-party Association.” The statement comes as the European Commission prepares to assess e-cigarettes and other nicotine products for the first time under its review of EU tobacco directives. Commission officials said future studies will be funded exclusively with EU funds in line with World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines.

    PMI Europe president Massimo Andolina told Euractiv that the company would welcome such studies to validate its claims that next-generation products are less harmful than traditional cigarettes. But both the WHO and the EU stress that e-cigarettes and heated tobacco remain harmful and could act as a gateway to smoking. Several health and cancer organizations have also urged EU governments to tighten rules, warning that alternative products are fueling nicotine initiation among young people.

    The debate comes as Brussels weighs higher taxes on both cigarettes and new products, while proposing that 15% of national tobacco tax revenues be diverted to the EU budget. EU Health Commissioner Olivér Várhelyi recently called vaping “enormously popular” among youth and a “significant health risk,” adding: “They do not pay taxes yet—and it is clear to me that they should do so.”

  • India Hosts First Workshop on Tobacco Ingredient Transparency

    India Hosts First Workshop on Tobacco Ingredient Transparency

    In an effort to curb tobacco-related harm in India, two national health groups held a workshop yesterday (September 16) in New Delhi focusing on the regulation of what goes into tobacco products. The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW), in collaboration with PGI’s Scientific Support Group, hosted the event, titled “Advancing the Implementation of WHO-FCTC Articles 9 and 10.” According to The Times of India, this marks the country’s first dedicated effort to regulate the contents and emissions of tobacco products and to mandate manufacturer disclosures.

  • NZ Health Official Found in Breach for Providing ‘Pro-Tobacco’ Document

    NZ Health Official Found in Breach for Providing ‘Pro-Tobacco’ Document

    New Zealand First Associate Health Minister Casey Costello has been found in breach of the Public Records Act after providing a “pro-tobacco document” to health officials without knowing its origin. According to Radio New Zealand (RNZ), “Costello cut the tax on heated tobacco products (HTPs) despite health officials saying there was no strong evidence either that they worked as a smoking cessation tool or that they were significantly safer than cigarettes.” The Treasury estimated the HTP tax cut would cost up to NZ$293 million ($175.8 million) if continued until 2029, a forecast that included the impact of the Government collecting less in excise if smokers were encouraged to switch to HTPs.

    An inquiry by Chief Archivist Anahera Morehu concluded that neither Costello nor her office maintained accurate records about the “mystery document,” which argued nicotine was no more harmful than caffeine and pushed for tax breaks on heated tobacco products (HTPs). Morehu said the failure undermined government accountability and recommended that the minister’s office improve its record-keeping practices.

    Costello repeatedly insisted the notes were a collation of previous NZ First policy positions, handed to her in hard copy shortly after she assumed responsibility for tobacco and vaping policy in December 2023. The document criticized Labour’s smokefree agenda as “ideological nonsense” and urged that smokeless tobacco products be taxed like vapes rather than cigarettes. Costello said she did not know who wrote or delivered the paper, dismissing claims that her approach favored the industry. “It’s ridiculous, and wrong, to continue to try and link this approach to being pro-tobacco,” she said. According to RNZ, the Treasury said the moves benefited Philip Morris, which has a monopoly in New Zealand’s HTP market.