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Category: Around the Industry

  • South Korea Tightening Tobacco Enforcement After Compliance Failures

    South Korea Tightening Tobacco Enforcement After Compliance Failures

    The Seoul Metropolitan Government launched tighter enforcement of South Korea’s revised Tobacco Business Act after inspections found widespread compliance failures among liquid e-cigarette retailers and significant weaknesses in vending machine age-verification systems. Between April 24 and June 23, authorities inspected 666 retailers and found that 28.5% operated vending machines. Of 415 machines examined, 339 used ID-based age verification, but 168 accepted forged or altered identification during testing, while 112 recognized every fake ID used.

     Inspectors also found inadequate youth warning signage and advertising violations, with many in-store advertisements visible from outside. The city said it will push for stronger ID verification requirements, require retailers to improve age-checking systems, distribute compliant warning labels, and continue inspections as liquid e-cigarette use continues to rise, particularly among adolescents, whose 2025 vaping rate exceeded conventional cigarette smoking for the first time.

  • Russia Adds New Laws for Tobacco Licensing

    Russia Adds New Laws for Tobacco Licensing

    Russian President Vladimir Putin signed legislation introducing a licensing system for the wholesale and retail sale of tobacco and nicotine products, with separate licenses required for each retail outlet and delivery vehicle. The new laws also clarify the method for determining exclusion zones around educational institutions where tobacco and vape sales are prohibited, while introducing criminal penalties that include fines and forced labor for large-scale wholesale or retail sales conducted without a license.

    The legislation also gives Russia’s regions the authority to ban the retail sale of vapes, e-liquids, and other electronic nicotine delivery systems under a five-year pilot program running from March 1, 2027, through March 1, 2032. Regions choosing not to participate will continue operating under the existing national regulatory framework, with the results of the pilot expected to inform future policy decisions.

  • Maldives Reduces Cigarette Duty

    Maldives Reduces Cigarette Duty

    The Maldives Parliament approved government legislation cutting the import duty on cigarettes from MVR 8 to MVR 4 ($0.52 to $0.26) per cigarette, with the bill passing unanimously on July 1 without amendments. The measure was approved by 68 MPs after advancing through the Committee of the Whole Parliament, despite earlier heated political debate over the government’s reversal of the duty increase introduced in November 2024. Government lawmakers said the reduction reflects evidence that the country’s vape ban did not lead to a significant increase in cigarette smoking and supports its broader tobacco control strategy.

    The government said the duty reduction follows recommendations from the World Health Organization and forms part of a longer-term approach to sustainable tobacco control. Officials have indicated they will continue to review cigarette duty rates based on future research while maintaining other tobacco control measures introduced in recent years.

  • 5th Circ. Backs FDA’s Block on Vape Marketing

    5th Circ. Backs FDA’s Block on Vape Marketing

    The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit upheld the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s denial of marketing applications for menthol-flavored e-cigarette products submitted by two vape manufacturers, ruling that the agency reasonably concluded the products’ potential benefits for adult smokers did not outweigh the risks of youth initiation. The decision affirms the FDA’s application of the “appropriate for the protection of public health” standard required under the Premarket Tobacco Product Application (PMTA) pathway.

    The ruling, against Triton Distribution and Vapetasia LLC, reinforces the FDA’s authority to reject flavored vaping products where applicants fail to provide sufficient evidence that the products offer a net public health benefit.

  • South Africa Advances Tobacco Bill, Negotiations Loom

    South Africa Advances Tobacco Bill, Negotiations Loom

    South Africa’s Portfolio Committee on Health approved the Tobacco Products and Electronic Delivery Systems Control Bill to proceed to the next stage, though MPs across parties stressed the need for significant amendments. The committee voted 10–1 in favor of continuing the legislative process, but lawmakers said the final law must better differentiate between combustible cigarettes and lower-risk nicotine products such as vapes.

    Chairperson Faith Muthambi said public submissions and scientific evidence supported a risk-based regulatory approach rather than treating all products equally. MPs also raised concerns over illicit trade, enforcement, plain packaging, advertising restrictions, and penalties. The bill would introduce indoor smoking bans, plain packaging, advertising prohibitions, and tighter controls on vaping products, but is expected to be heavily revised during clause-by-clause negotiations.

  • Maldives Debates Proposal to Halve Cigarette Import Duty

    Maldives Debates Proposal to Halve Cigarette Import Duty

    A proposal to cut the Maldives’ cigarette import duty from MVR 8 to MVR 4 ($0.52 to $0.26) per cigarette sparked heated debate in Parliament, highlighting divisions over the impact of tobacco taxation on public health and illicit trade. The government-backed bill would reverse a 2024 duty increase introduced after concerns that a vape ban could drive smokers toward cigarettes.

    Ruling PNC lawmakers defended the original tax hike as a public health measure, while opposition MDP members argued that higher duties have fueled cigarette smuggling and reduced customs revenues. Opposition lawmakers claimed the tax increase helped create a growing black market, with alleged state revenue losses reaching MVR 2 billion ($130 million). Supporters of the duty reduction also argued that previous tax increases failed to curb tobacco use and instead shifted demand toward illicit products.

  • AI Search Favors Family-Owned Premium Cigar Brands: Research

    AI Search Favors Family-Owned Premium Cigar Brands: Research

    Family-owned premium cigar manufacturers dominate recommendations generated by leading artificial intelligence search platforms, according to the newly released 2026 Cigar & Pipe AI Visibility Index from communications firm 5W. The study found that Padrón (11.5%) and Arturo Fuente (10.5%) topped the list with Davidoff (7.5%) a distant third, together accounting for nearly a third of the premium cigar brand citations across ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity and Google AI Overviews. My Father Cigars (5.5%, Oliva (4.5%), Rocky Patel (4%), Drew Estate (3.6%), Perdomo (3.4%), Ashton (3%), and non-Cuban Cohiba (2.8% rounded out the top 10.  

    The report argues that AI systems disproportionately favor brands with strong family-ownership narratives, vertical integration and longstanding editorial recognition, particularly from Cigar Aficionado, whose rankings and retailer surveys are frequently cited in AI-generated responses. The study also found that U.S. restrictions on Cuban cigars create a structural advantage for non-Cuban versions of brands such as Cohiba, Montecristo, and Romeo y Julieta, which are more likely to be recommended in response to consumer queries. According to 5W, AI citation patterns increasingly mirror brand visibility and reputation in the premium cigar sector, making search prominence a growing competitive factor as consumers turn to AI platforms for product recommendations.

  • Australian Economist Calls to Eliminate Tobacco Excise

    Australian Economist Calls to Eliminate Tobacco Excise

    Prominent Australian economist and public policy expert Richard Holden called for the temporary elimination of Australia’s tobacco excise, arguing that only a dramatic tax reduction can effectively dismantle the country’s rapidly expanding illicit tobacco market. Holden, a professor at the University of New South Wales and columnist for the Australian Financial Review, said reducing excise rates incrementally would be insufficient and that taxes should be cut to zero for as long as necessary to make illegal tobacco sellers uncompetitive. He argued that enforcement efforts alone are unlikely to succeed given the scale of the illicit market and the limited resources available to police agencies, and that undercutting the illicit process was the best way to eliminate it.

    Holden’s comments come as new data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics estimated that about 80% of nicotine products consumed in Australia in 2025 were sourced from the illegal market, up from 12% in 2017. He noted that the tobacco excise on a single cigarette has risen from 26 cents ($0.18) to approximately A$1.53 ($1.09), adding more than A$30 ($21.30) in tax to a pack of 20 cigarettes. The proposal goes beyond recent calls by Australian politician Pauline Hanson to halve tobacco excise and freeze indexation, highlighting growing debate over whether Australia’s high-tax tobacco policy is contributing to the expansion of a black market estimated to be worth billions of dollars annually.

  • Ukraine Alleges Tobacco Company Hid $55M in Taxes

    Ukraine Alleges Tobacco Company Hid $55M in Taxes

    Ukrainian authorities have notified the former director of a tobacco manufacturing company of suspicion in connection with an alleged tax evasion scheme that prosecutors say deprived the state of more than UAH 2.3 billion ($55 million) in excise tax revenue. According to Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko, company officials allegedly organized the production and sale of unaccounted tobacco products outside official tax and accounting records while presenting the activity as legitimate manufacturing.

    Investigators claim that more than 1,186 tons of tobacco raw materials were processed into cigarettes and sold without payment of excise duties, resulting in a substantial tax shortfall identified through tax audits and forensic economic examinations. Authorities further allege that company officials attempted to conceal the illegal use of raw materials by falsifying claims that the tobacco had been stolen. The former director has been charged under Article 212 of Ukraine’s Criminal Code for intentional tax evasion on an especially large scale, an offense that carries financial penalties, potential asset confiscation, and restrictions on holding certain positions. No company has been officially named in the filings; however, some in the Ukrainian media speculate that the company is Kremin Tabako.

  • Bangladesh Risks $328M From Cigarette Pricing Structure

    Bangladesh Risks $328M From Cigarette Pricing Structure

    Bangladesh could forgo more than Tk 4,000 crore ($328 million) in annual tobacco tax revenue in fiscal year 2026-27 because cigarette prices set in the proposed budget do not reflect actual retail market prices, according to the Power and Participation Research Center (PPRC). The think tank estimates that the government will lose approximately Tk 4,062 crore ($333 million) in revenue because low- and medium-tier cigarettes are sold at prices higher than the official minimum retail prices used for tax calculations.

    Under the proposed budget, the minimum retail price is set at Tk 62 ($0.50) per 10 sticks for low-tier cigarettes and Tk 92 ($0.75) for medium-tier products, while retailers commonly sell individual sticks at prices that translate to pack values of Tk 70 and Tk 100 ($0.57 and $0.81), respectively. Based on sales of 6,118 crore low- and medium-tier cigarette sticks in FY25, PPRC argues that the untaxed gap between official and actual prices represents a significant missed revenue opportunity.

    The organization said total tobacco tax collections have continued to rise, reaching about Tk 45,000 crore ($3.7 billion) in FY26, but contended that a substantial portion of price increases is being retained by tobacco companies rather than captured by the government through taxation. PPRC called for tobacco tax policies that better reflect market realities to strengthen revenue collection and public health outcomes.