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Category: Around the Industry

  • Nicotine-Like Products Expose Blind Spot in Korean Vape Rules

    Nicotine-Like Products Expose Blind Spot in Korean Vape Rules

    South Korea is facing a regulatory gap involving nicotine-free and nicotine-imitation e-cigarette liquids following an April revision to the Tobacco Business Act that brought natural and synthetic nicotine products under government oversight, according to a report in The Korea Times. The revised law does not cover liquids without nicotine or those containing nicotine substitutes such as 6-methylnicotine, leaving some products outside tobacco advertising, sales, and disclosure rules. A 2024 Korea Consumer Agency survey found actual nicotine in seven of 12 online products labeled nicotine-free, while five of 15 e-cigarette liquids examined lacked required warning labels.

    The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety plans to complete a safety assessment of 6-methylnicotine this year and examine other nicotine-imitation substances, while the National Assembly Research Service has called for stronger coordination among government agencies and new rules covering advertising, vending machines, and product disclosures.

  • Hungary Emerging as Key Link in EU’s Illegal Cigarette Trade 

    Hungary Emerging as Key Link in EU’s Illegal Cigarette Trade 

    Hungary is emerging as an important production hub in Europe’s illegal cigarette trade, according to a recent investigation by French broadcaster TF1, which visited clandestine factories previously dismantled by Hungary’s National Tax and Customs Administration (NAV). The report found that criminal groups are operating sophisticated production facilities capable of manufacturing hundreds of thousands of cigarettes, using industrial equipment, specialized logistics, and extensive networks to move products into Western Europe. NAV has recently seized large quantities of tobacco, counterfeit cigarettes, and manufacturing equipment, including a 2025 operation that confiscated 156 tons of tobacco and more than 1 million packs of counterfeit cigarettes.  

    The investigation comes as Europe’s illicit cigarette market remains substantial. KPMG estimates that 41.8 billion illegal cigarettes were consumed in the EU in 2025, representing 10.3% of total consumption and an estimated €16.7 billion in lost tax revenue. France was the largest illicit market, with about 20.5 billion illegal cigarettes consumed, while TF1 identified Eastern Europe, particularly Hungary, as an important source of supply. KPMG data also indicate that counterfeit production is becoming more prominent, with Hungary among the countries recording large volumes seized in factory raids.  

    NAV has also reported a 2026 operation targeting a Hungarian illegal factory linked to a cross-border criminal organization, underscoring the continuing challenge of dismantling networks that combine manufacturing, storage, transport, and sales across multiple European markets. 

  • Investigative Article Focuses on Chen Zhi and Cuba’s Struggling Cigar Market  

    Investigative Article Focuses on Chen Zhi and Cuba’s Struggling Cigar Market  

    Today (Sept. 3), Financial Times published investigative journalist Jack Adamović Davies’ article “The mystery tycoon, his fall from grace, and the Cuban cigar market”, detailing how a combination of aggressive price hikes and illicit corporate financing transformed the global Cuban cigar industry.  

    Davies centers the investigation on Chen Zhi, a Cambodian-Chinese tycoon who secretly acquired a massive stake in Cuba’s cigar marketing giant, Habanos, after Imperial Tobacco sold its share in 2020. Chen used his influence and Habanos’s prestige to build credibility among global elites, while Habanos drastically increased prices to target wealthy Asian buyers and boost revenues. However, Chen’s empire unraveled when U.S. and UK authorities sanctioned him for running vast transnational fraud operations, leading to his extradition to China in early 2026 and the liquidation of his business assets, including his Habanos holdings. 

    Beyond Chen’s downfall, Davies highlights how Cuba’s tobacco monopoly is now facing severe long-term fallout. Decades of underinvestment in production, coupled with skyrocketing prices and recent geopolitical blockades, have alienated traditional cigar enthusiasts. As a result, retailers and consumers are increasingly turning to modernized “New World” competitors in the Dominican Republic, Nicaragua, and Honduras, threatening Cuba’s historic dominance in the cigar trade. 

  • Australia’s Coalition Looking to Stop Illicit Tobacco, Gangs 

    Australia’s Coalition Looking to Stop Illicit Tobacco, Gangs 

    Australia’s opposition Coalition has unveiled a plan to tackle the country’s illicit tobacco and vape trade by cutting tobacco excise by 80% and committing A$200 million ($140 million) to a nationwide law-enforcement crackdown. The Coalition estimates organized crime groups make A$4.1 billion to A$6.9 billion ($2.9 billion to $4.8 billion) annually from illicit tobacco, with proceeds funding drug trafficking, scams, money laundering, and violence. Opposition Leader Angus Taylor said the plan would attack criminal gangs by narrowing the price gap between legal and illegal cigarettes while strengthening efforts to shut illegal retailers, intercept shipments, and trace criminal finances. 

    The proposal would cut excise on a standard 20-pack from about A$30 to just over A$6 ($21 to $4.20) and legalize, regulate, and tax vapes and nicotine pouches for adults. The Coalition says illicit tobacco now accounts for about 80% of consumption and 95.7% of e-cigarettes sold are illegal, arguing current restrictions have pushed consumers toward criminal suppliers. It also proposes A$60 million ($42 million) for public education and says Parliamentary Budget Office modelling indicates the package could improve the budget balance by about A$8 billion ($5.6 billion) over four years and more than A$20 billion ($14 billion) over a decade. 

  • Altria Sues FDA Over Product Review System 

    Altria Sues FDA Over Product Review System 

    Altria announced that it has filed a lawsuit against the U.S. FDA in federal court, seeking to force the agency to overhaul its tobacco product review system, which the company says has become a major barrier to growth in the U.S. market. Altria argues that lengthy review delays, including applications remaining pending for years, disadvantage compliant manufacturers while unauthorized products continue to gain market share. 

    The lawsuit is the latest industry challenge to the FDA’s premarket review regime, which requires new tobacco products to demonstrate a net public health benefit before sale. Altria says the agency has failed to meet the statutory 180-day review deadline and argues that recent FDA changes—including a fast-track pathway for nicotine pouches—still have not resolved the backlog. 

  • Indonesia Looking to Bring Illegal Cigarettes Into Fold 

    Indonesia Looking to Bring Illegal Cigarettes Into Fold 

    Indonesian Finance Minister Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa said he had met with several illegal cigarette business owners to understand their concerns and discuss bringing them into the legal tobacco-excise system. The government is preparing an additional cigarette excise tier that Purbaya hopes will give illegal producers a pathway to legalize their operations. He said businesses that take the opportunity would be brought into the formal system, while those that continue operating illegally would face enforcement. 

    Civil-society groups argue that creating another excise tier will not necessarily persuade illegal producers to comply and could further complicate Indonesia’s already complex cigarette tax structure, which currently has eight bands. Critics also warn that a new, potentially cheaper cigarette category could expand the availability of low-priced cigarettes, increase consumption, and ultimately raise health-care costs. 

  • Malaysian MPs Want Vape Liquid Declared Controlled Poisons 

    Malaysian MPs Want Vape Liquid Declared Controlled Poisons 

    Two Malaysian MPs are calling on the government to ban nicotine vape liquids as “controlled poisons” following the government’s decision to withdraw its appeal against a High Court ruling that restored liquid nicotine to the Poisons List. Petaling Jaya MP Lee Chean Chung and Kuala Langat MP Ahmad Yunus Hairi urged the Health Ministry to announce a ban on recreational nicotine vape sales and the Finance Ministry to stop collecting excise duties on the products. 

    The MPs also called for refunds of more than RM354 million ($88.5 million) in excise duties collected since April 2023, arguing that continued taxation conflicts with the products’ legal status. The government’s decision leaves nicotine-containing vape liquids classified as Group C poisons under Malaysia’s Poisons Act, meaning recreational sale is prohibited unless prescribed by a doctor or pharmacist, creating significant regulatory and commercial uncertainty for the vaping industry. 

  • Trump Taps Prominent Pastor to Advise on Tobacco Policy   

    Trump Taps Prominent Pastor to Advise on Tobacco Policy   

    Today (Sept. 1), President Donald Trump announced the appointment of prominent faith leader Pastor Darrell Scott as an adviser for tobacco ⁠health issues on a committee that advises the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Scott’s stated mandate is to mitigate the severe economic and medical toll of tobacco-related diseases within historically overlooked and underserved American communities. According to Reuters, the high-profile appointment leverages a trusted, long-term administration surrogate to spearhead public health outreach through localized, faith-based networks rather than traditional bureaucratic channels.  

    This appointment signals a tactical shift toward demographic-specific public health intervention following aggressive administrative spending cuts to the CDC’s Office on Smoking and Health (OSH). Industry analysts expect the administration to utilize Scott’s grassroots community influence to bypass downsized federal agency structures, replacing broad national media campaigns with targeted, community-level advocacy.   

    Scott’s urban-focused mandate directly intersects with a loosening federal framework on Tobacco Harm Reduction (THR), according to Reuters. This regulatory pivot is underscored by the Food and Drug Administration’s recent marketing authorization of multiple ZYN nicotine pouch products, explicitly framed by the agency as population-benefit alternatives to help adult smokers switch from combustible cigarettes.   

  • Ruling Could End Reynolds’ Vuse Alto Royalty Payments to Altria  

    Ruling Could End Reynolds’ Vuse Alto Royalty Payments to Altria  

    Law360 reported that R.J. Reynolds has secured a potentially significant reduction in the long-term costs associated with its Vuse Alto business, after a North Carolina federal court ruled that a sublicense obtained from Juul Labs ends Reynolds’ obligation to make future patent royalty payments to Altria Client Services. The dispute stems from a 2022 jury decision finding that Vuse Alto infringed three Altria patents, resulting in an approximately $95.2 million damages award. Reynolds was later ordered to pay a 5.25% royalty on positive net sales of the affected products.  

    According to Law360, Judge William L. Osteen Jr. found that the Juul sublicense authorized Reynolds’ continued use of the relevant patent rights, eliminating the basis for future infringement royalties. The court rejected Altria’s argument that defects in part of the sublicense invalidated the entire agreement, citing its severability provision. Law360 reported that Altria said potentially “hundreds of millions of dollars” in future royalties were at stake. The ruling does not affect the earlier infringement finding or past damages, but could eliminate Reynolds’ 5.25% royalty payments on future covered Vuse Alto sales.  

  • MVCC Desires Regulatory Certainty for Vape Industry  

    MVCC Desires Regulatory Certainty for Vape Industry  

    The Malaysian Vape Chamber of Commerce (MVCC) called on the government to maintain regulatory certainty for the vape industry following its decision not to pursue an appeal concerning the legal status of nicotine in vape products. MVCC Secretary-General Ridhwan Rosli said the Control of Smoking Products for Public Health Act 2024 (Act 852) was developed through an extensive legislative process involving government agencies and industry stakeholders and should continue to serve as the basis for regulating vape and other smoking products. He stressed that the industry had supported regulation and made significant investments to comply with requirements covering products, packaging, labelling, registration, and business operations.  

    MVCC warned that changes to the legal position could create uncertainty for businesses that have made investment and operational decisions based on Act 852. The chamber said it does not oppose regulation or measures addressing public health, product misuse, or enforcement concerns, but believes these issues should be tackled through stronger enforcement or targeted amendments rather than undermining the existing framework. MVCC is urging the government to ensure consistent implementation of Act 852 while balancing public-health objectives with the sustainability of businesses, employees, distributors, and retailers across the vape industry.