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Category: News This Week

  • JTI to Increase Heated-Tobacco Investment by 60%

    JTI to Increase Heated-Tobacco Investment by 60%

    Japan Tobacco International plans to invest ¥800 billion (about €4.5 billion) in heated-tobacco products from 2026 through 2028, a 60% increase over the previous three-year period, according to Spanish business newspaper Cinco Días. The investment is intended to expand the company’s Ploom brand and strengthen its position against Philip Morris International’s IQOS.

    JTI is targeting an average 15% market share across the 29 markets where Ploom operates, with Poland and Italy among its priorities. The investment comes as major tobacco companies expand smoke-free product portfolios and compete for share in heated-tobacco markets.

  • Geek Bar Leads with Youth Vapers

    Geek Bar Leads with Youth Vapers

    About 1.44 million U.S. middle and high school students used e-cigarettes in early 2025, with 64.1% of youth vapers reporting use of Geek Bar, according to an Oct. 5 Public Health Alert published by the University of Minnesota’s Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy and NEJM Evidence. The analysis of the 2025 National Youth Tobacco Survey found that 5.2% of students currently vaped, while approximately 460,000 used nicotine pouches, 69.2% of whom reported using Zyn.

    Fruit was the most popular vape flavor, while mint led among pouch users. The report noted that Geek Bar’s share had increased sharply from 2024, when Elf Bar was the leading brand. The FDA has said Geek Bar products are not authorized for sale in the United States.

  • China Destroys $355M of Illicit Tobacco, Nicotine Products

    China Destroys $355M of Illicit Tobacco, Nicotine Products

    Chinese authorities destroyed 188 million smuggled cigarettes, 55,000 e-cigarettes, and 2.7 metric tons of cut tobacco Oct. 12 as part of a nationwide crackdown on tobacco-related crimes. The coordinated operation took place in several regions, including Guangdong, Guangxi, Yunnan, and Xinjiang. Since the start of 2026, a joint campaign involving 13 government departments, including the State Tobacco Monopoly Administration, Ministry of Public Security, and General Administration of Customs, has led to investigations of more than 4,500 smuggling cases and seizures of approximately 1.3 billion cigarettes, 150,000 cigars, and 39.8 metric tons of cut tobacco and tobacco leaves. The seized products were valued at 2.37 billion yuan ($355.5 million).

    The campaign targets tobacco products manufactured illegally overseas and smuggled into China, with enforcement covering purchasing, transportation, storage, and sales. Authorities have increased inspections at ports and border areas and expanded international law enforcement cooperation to disrupt smuggling routes.

  • Türkiye Eyes Electronic Age-Verification for Tobacco Sales

    Türkiye Eyes Electronic Age-Verification for Tobacco Sales

    Türkiye plans to require age verification for cigarette purchases as part of proposed legislation to curb tobacco use, Health Minister Kemal Memişoğlu said Oct. 10-11, adding that the government is considering electronic systems that protect personal data following privacy concerns over a proposal requiring buyers to provide national identification numbers. The bill, expected to be submitted to Parliament within weeks, would also reduce the visibility of tobacco products, strengthen penalties for violations, and clarify smoking restrictions in cafes, restaurants, schools, sports facilities, and indoor public spaces.

    Memişoğlu said about 33% of Türkiye’s population uses tobacco and that the country sold 160 billion cigarettes, equivalent to 8 billion packs, in 2025, generating an estimated $20 billion to $30 billion in revenue. He also cited a Turkish Green Crescent Society study finding that 80% of people in the country want to quit smoking.

  • Russia Attacks JTI Subsidiary in Ukraine

    Russia Attacks JTI Subsidiary in Ukraine

    Russia’s Defense Ministry said it struck a subsidiary of Japan Tobacco International (JTI) in Ukraine’s Poltava region as part of an attack on Ukrainian defense industry enterprises, port infrastructure, and vessels. Russia alleged the JTI facility was producing ammunition for Ukrainian forces. JTI denied the allegation, saying it manufactures and sells tobacco products and has never been involved in military production.

    JTI said the factory had been struck several times and that operations were suspended before the latest attacks. The company said all employees were safe. The Japanese Embassy in Ukraine said it had no information indicating that any Japanese nationals were affected by the latest attack.

  • Imperial Targets FY26 Growth, Announces £1.5B Buyback

    Imperial Targets FY26 Growth, Announces £1.5B Buyback

    Imperial Brands expects to meet its FY26 guidance across all key metrics, with tobacco net revenue projected to grow by a low single-digit percentage and next-generation product (NGP) net revenue by double digits. The company said it expects adjusted operating profit growth within its 3% to 5% guidance range, high-single-digit adjusted earnings per share growth, and more than £2.2 billion in free cash flow. Tobacco revenue growth is expected to be driven by pricing and market share gains in the U.S. and Germany, partially offset by low-single-digit volume declines.

    Imperial said it expects share gains across heated tobacco, vaping, and modern oral products. The company also said it is on track to achieve at least £320 million in savings by 2030. Imperial completed its £1.45 billion FY26 share repurchase and announced a further £1.5 billion buyback for FY27, which it expects to complete by Oct. 29, 2027. The company will report full-year results for the year ended Sept. 30 on Nov. 17.

  • Ill. Rep Questions FDA Review of Vape Rules

    Ill. Rep Questions FDA Review of Vape Rules

    This week, Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-Ill.) asked FDA Acting Commissioner Kyle Diamantas for information about the agency’s Sept. 28 announcement that it is considering replacing the 2021 rules governing Premarket Tobacco Product Applications (PMTAs). Krishnamoorthi, co-chair of the Congressional Caucus to End Youth Vaping, questioned whether changes could reduce the scientific requirements for new tobacco products and asked whether FDA consulted tobacco manufacturers, industry associations, or parties challenging the current framework before announcing the review. He also requested communications between FDA officials and Altria, Reynolds American, their subsidiaries, and other parties involved in challenges to the rules.

    Krishnamoorthi also cited FDA’s recent authorizations of flavored e-cigarettes and Juul products in raising concerns about the agency’s approach to scientific review. He asked FDA to identify provisions of the 2021 PMTA rule it may change, explain the evidence supporting those changes, address the relationship between the illicit market and lawful product authorization requirements, and outline additional enforcement actions against unauthorized e-cigarettes. He requested written responses by Oct. 20.

  • Russia to Allow Regional Vape Sales Bans

    Russia to Allow Regional Vape Sales Bans

    Russia will allow regional governments to prohibit the retail sale of electronic nicotine delivery systems and e-liquids for five years beginning March 1, 2027, under a new experimental regime. The measure will run through March 1, 2032, with regions able to adopt their own laws imposing the bans, while existing federal rules will remain in effect in regions that do not introduce restrictions.

    The first regional proposals are already emerging. Authorities in Primorsky Krai have proposed banning retail sales of electronic cigarettes, vape and pod systems, and their liquids, including nicotine-free liquids, from March 1, 2027, through March 1, 2032. The proposal is currently undergoing public discussion.

  • GAO Finds FDA Holding 130K Tobacco Applications to End 2025

    GAO Finds FDA Holding 130K Tobacco Applications to End 2025

    Vaping 360 reports that nearly 132,000 tobacco product applications remained unresolved at the end of 2025, with the applications awaiting decisions for an average of 1,266 days, according to a new Government Accountability Office audit of the FDA’s tobacco product review program. The FDA received more than 26.6 million applications from 2018 through 2025 and completed reviews of about 26.5 million, with most applications submitted after the 2020 deadline for products covered by the agency’s Deeming Rule involving e-cigarettes.

    The GAO found that completed reviews across three premarket pathways averaged 507 days and that FDA systems do not consistently capture information needed to determine whether the agency meets the 180-day statutory target for the scientific-review phase of Premarket Tobacco Product Applications. The FDA has reduced screening times and introduced automated application checks, while also applying lessons from its nicotine pouch pilot to e-cigarette reviews. The GAO recommended that FDA improve data collection to monitor scientific-review timelines, and the Department of Health and Human Services agreed.

  • BAT Bangladesh Appoints Corporate Affairs Head

    BAT Bangladesh Appoints Corporate Affairs Head

    BAT Bangladesh PLC has appointed Momshad Ali Khan as head of corporate and regulatory affairs, effective Oct. 1, 2026. Khan has more than 20 years of experience in corporate affairs, government relations, regulatory strategy, stakeholder engagement, and strategic communications.

    Before joining BAT Bangladesh, Khan was director of public affairs, communications, and sustainability at Coca-Cola Bangladesh and previously served as head of corporate and fiscal affairs at JT International Bangladesh. He also spent more than a decade at Chevron Bangladesh.