Category: News This Week

  • Grants Under Scrutiny

    Grants Under Scrutiny

    Image: Piotr Pawinski

    A corporate accountability group is urging Nigeria to investigate the Export Expansion Grant (EEG) awarded to tobacco companies by previous governments, reports the Daily Trust.

    The EEG is a post-shipment incentive to encourage indigenous companies to expand the volume and value of their exports.

    The Corporate Accountability and Public Participation Africa (CAPPA) made its call on Dec. 1, after the chairman of the Presidential Committee on Tax Reforms and Fiscal policy suggested that Nigeria’s administration of tax waivers fell short in terms of prudence and transparency.

    “We demand a full and transparent inquiry into these shady waivers that have ripped the country of its revenues,” CAPPA Executive Director Akinbode Oluwafemi was quoted as saying. “More so, we are concerned about the benefits awarded to the tobacco industry under the Export Expansion Grant Scheme, and other untoward agreements which insult every Nigerian striving for a healthier and more equitable society’.’

  • Kathmandu to Ban Plastic-Pack Products

    Kathmandu to Ban Plastic-Pack Products

    Photo: Taco Tuinstra

    Kathmandu will ban the sale of tobacco products in all its 32 wards from Dec. 13, 2023, reports myRepublica.

    Ram Prasad Poudel, chief of the Kathmandu Metropolitan City’s (KMC) health department, said the measure would apply to the sale, storage and use of all tobacco products packaged in plastic. This includes not only cigarettes and bidis, but also tamakhu, sulfa, kakkad, gutkha and paan parag, among other regional products.  

     “We are on a campaign of making Kathmandu a healthy city,” said Poudel.

    The KMC reportedly plans to apply similar measures to water pipe tobacco at a later stage.

  • PCA Debuts Advocacy Grant Program

    PCA Debuts Advocacy Grant Program

    Image: Olivier Le Moal

    The Premium Cigar Association (PCA) of the United States announced a new state advocacy grant program aimed at investing in state associations and their boots-on-the-ground lobbying capacity for the 2024 legislative cycle.

    The resources in the program approved by the PCA board of directors will be spent much like a match grant program where the state association agrees to match funding by the PCA, going toward hiring contract lobbyists to advance positive legislation or fight back against erroneous regulations. State associations must have a basic infrastructure in place and must meet certain criteria to be eligible for funding, including having an incorporated state association and agree to accountability and transparency with the PCA about where the funds will be spent. 

    “This is not only a way for us to support existing state associations and their advocacy capacity, but it also establishes a baseline for starting a brand new state association with the prospective of seed funding. This criterion is a blueprint to get started and to receive funding. Our staff will continue to support individual associations and retailers with strategy and logistics, and this is a new tool to help maximize that effectiveness,” says Scott Pearce, executive director of the PCA.

    Grant criteria include: having an incorporated and active state association; having an elected board of directors; having a designated treasurer with authority over accounts; agreeing to comply with PCA reporting requirements; agreeing to PCA involvement in consulting lobbyist selection process; agreeing to disclose any and all issues for which funds are used and for which lobbyist is engaged; and providing the PCA with the operating budget and amount and source of funds raised by the state association.

    “This year, our team has been extremely effective in the states and is reflective of retailers stepping up to defend their businesses. This state grant program is aimed at spurring this level of activity and, frankly, success moving forward. Each year, our team must evaluate our priority area, and in the past, our Vision 50 strategic plan focused on litigation or international outreach. Make no mistake, this is the year of the states,” says Joshua Habursky, the PCA’s head of government affairs.

    Applications can be submitted to the PCA online portal and will be reviewed by appropriate advocacy staff and the PCA Legislative Affairs Committee. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis and will reflect legislative/regulatory necessity in the state. 

  • Canada Targets Zonnic Marketing ‘Loopholes’

    Canada Targets Zonnic Marketing ‘Loopholes’

    Image: Imperial Tobacco Canada

    Canadian Health Minister Mark Holland announced that the health department will address “loopholes” surrounding Zonnic, a flavored nicotine pouch product from Imperial Tobacco Canada, reports the Canadian Broadcasting Corp.

    Health Canada previously approved the sale of Zonnic without any advertising or sales method restrictions.

    According to Holland, “the behavior and intentions of the tobacco industry have raised serious concerns as they appear to want to addict new young people to nicotine, which is appalling, and we want to address this issue.”

    In November, six national health organizations called on the government to immediately regulate the advertising and sale of flavored nicotine products; Zonnic is not included in any existing federal or provincial tobacco or e-cigarette legislation as it does not contain tobacco, contains less than 4 mg of nicotine and is not inhaled.

    Holland reportedly takes responsibility for the oversight and plans to review the approval process for nicotine products.

    Imperial Tobacco Canada must conduct annual self-reports and “identify any appeal or abuse of their products among young people,” Health Canada stated.

    “Marketing targeted at young people will be considered deceptive advertising and may trigger post-listing compliance action,” the Canadian Ministry of Health stated. Decisions regarding product sales locations and age restrictions are determined by individual provinces and territories, according to Health Canada.

    In response to earlier criticism, Imperial Tobacco Canada said that it has already taken measures to prevent youth access to its products.

  • Canary Islands to Revise Tobacco Tax Law

    Canary Islands to Revise Tobacco Tax Law

    Image: Comugnero Silvana

    The Canary Islands plans to revise its tobacco products tax law in 2024, according to 2Firsts.

    Beginning next year, e-cigarette products and e-cigarette juices will be subject to a tax of €0.10 ($0.10) per milliliter with the revenue being incorporated into the 2024 budget proposal.

    Implementing this tax will make the Canary Islands the first Spanish autonomous community to impose a specific tax on tobacco products.

    The tax will affect e-cigarette devices and liquids regardless of nicotine content.

    A Ministry of Health report titled E-Cigarette Tax Review: European Regulations and Potential Scenarios in Spain predicts that the impending tax could increase national public revenue from €7 million to €48 million.

    The revised bill will also increase the tax rate for cigars and small cigars to 4 percent from 2 percent and increase the tax rate for other tobacco products to 10 percent from 5 percent.

  • Elf Bar Removing Some Flavors from U.K.

    Elf Bar Removing Some Flavors from U.K.

    Image: Tobacco Reporter archive

    Vaping brands Elf Bar and Lost Mary will remove dessert, candy and soft drink flavored disposable vapor products from the U.K. market, according to Vaping360.

    The brands make up more than half of the U.K.’s disposable vape sales, according to data firm NielsenIQ. They are owned by the Chinese firm Shenzhen iMiracle Technology, and it is unclear if the Chinese company will remove these flavors from other markets.

    Elf Bar has already ended U.K. sales of Bubble Gum and Cotton Candy flavors and renamed Gummy Bear “Gami,” according to the BBC.

    The decision is meant to help curb claims that the popular vapes are marketed to youth following a panic over youth vaping that has seen an uptick in the past couple years.

    Prime Minister Rishi Sunak proposed changes to the vaping laws in October. There is currently a public consultation to determine what actions to take.

    “The introduction of such a regime would mitigate children’s access to vapes and make it easier for the authorities to regulate the sale of vaping devices better. Furthermore, we believe it would help combat the growing illicit vape market and drive increased rates of vape recycling,” an Elf Bar spokesman said.

    Clive Bates of The Counterfactual questioned whether the move would silence the company’s critics. “Their detractors will take it as an in-principle admission of culpability and then build outward from that principle,” he said.

  • Filtrona Launches Cannabis Division

    Filtrona Launches Cannabis Division

    Photo: yellowj

    Filtrona has launched Cannatrona, a dedicated division serving the cannabis and hemp market.

    The Cannatrona business supplies filter tips, mouthpieces and pre-roll solutions for cannabis and hemp products, alongside scientific services.

    “The cannabis and hemp industry is seeing rapid expansion, but the regulatory landscape is also shifting at speed,” said Filtrona CEO Robert Pye in a statement. “What businesses in this field need is a partner with a proven track record of quality, innovation, brand development and compliance, and that’s exactly what Cannatrona offers. With the company’s launch, we’re looking to propel the sector to even greater heights in a transformative and meaningful way.”

    “In any growing market, new businesses can be found all along the supply chain,” said Jeni Sperry, head of new business development at Cannatrona. “However, Cannatrona has something that the rest don’t, and that’s the century-long experience of Filtrona, one of the world’s leading special filter brands. For cannabis and hemp product innovators, we’re not just introducing filter tip and mouthpiece products to the market, we’re bringing expertise, innovation and a very bright future.”

  • France Unveils Plans to Curb Smoking

    France Unveils Plans to Curb Smoking

    Photo: Richard-Villalon

    France will increase tobacco taxes, ban disposable vapes and further restrict outdoor smoking as part of an ambitious plan to reduce the health impact of tobacco consumption and create a “tobacco-free” generation by 2032, a term that is usually defined as a situation in which less than 5 percent of the population smokes.

    Smoking rates in France have remained roughly unchanged since 2019 after decades of regularly declining, according to French public health authorities. Nearly a quarter of French adults, or about 12 million people, still smoke daily. Smoking is the leading cause of avoidable mortality in France, causing about 75,000 deaths per year.

    Some 15 percent of teenagers have vaped, and 47 percent of them started their nicotine consumption through e-cigarettes, according to an ACT Alliance Contre Le Tabac survey published in November.

    The government plan bans smoking on beaches, near public buildings like schools and in public parks and forests next year. Previously, local authorities had already barred people from smoking at more than 7,000 outdoor locations, including at beaches, forests and parks across the country, but there was no nationwide ban.

    The government also wants to extend the plain packaging requirement for cigarette packs to vaping products and set a minimum tobacco price of €13 ($14) per pack.

    Health Minister Aurelien Rousseau said the government will enact most measures by degree early next year. The ban on disposable vapes, however, will require legislation that is expected to go to Parliament in December.

    While welcoming France’s ambition to end smoking, tobacco harm reduction activists expressed concern about the planned ban on single-use vapes, which they described as a step backward in the fight against smoking.

    “Such prohibitions only serve to drive consumers either back to smoking or to black markets,” said Michael Landl, director of the World Vapers Alliance, in a statement.

    “We’ve seen time and again that prohibition doesn’t work. France should look to countries like Sweden, where a balanced approach to harm reduction has led to significant public health gains. The French government must recognize the importance of offering a variety of less harmful alternatives to smokers.”

  • Malaysia Passes Watered-Down Bill

    Malaysia Passes Watered-Down Bill

    Image: PX Media

    Malaysia’s lower house of Parliament has passed the Control of Smoking Products and Public Health Bill without the controversial generational endgame (GEG) clause, reports the New Straits Times.

    The legislation regulates advertisements, packaging and smoke-free places but excludes a provision that would have made it illegal for Malaysians born after 2007 to buy or consume nicotine products.

    Health Minister Zaliha Mustafa said the GEG was dropped due to constitutional concerns. The Attorneys General Chambers had warned that the proposal contravenes Article 8 of Malaysia’s constitution, as it creates unequal treatment before the law between persons born before Jan. 1, 2007, and individuals born after the date.

    Critics blamed Malaysia’s U-turn on tobacco lobbying.

    Zaliha insisted that any shortcomings in the bill could be improved over time.

  • Butts Pollution Costs $26 Billion: Study

    Butts Pollution Costs $26 Billion: Study

    Photo: Funkenzauber

    The costs of environmental pollution caused by plastics in cigarette butts and packaging amount to an estimated $26 billion every year in waste management and marine ecosystem damage worldwide, according to a data analysis published online in Tobacco Control.

    To gauge the global economic toll of tobacco waste, Deborah K. Sy of the Global Center for Good Governance in Tobacco Control in Bangkok drew on public data sources for cigarette sales, cleanup costs and plastic waste on land and sea.

    The average weight of each plastic filter is 3.4 grams. As cigarette butts are often littered along with plastic packaging, which weighs an average 19 grams for a standard pack size of 20 cigarettes, this was also included in the calculations.

    The researcher estimated the annual projections of the environmental and economic costs of tobacco plastic based on the tonnage. Ten-year projections were included because cigarette butts are reported to take 10 years to degrade.

    The total figure reflects cost estimates of cleanup and disposal (adjusted for inflation) of the total plastic generated by filtered cigarette sales potentially ending up as waste in the sea, landfills or in the environment.

    Sy estimated that the annual economic cost of cigarette plastic waste is around $26 billion, made up of $20.7 billion in marine ecosystem damage and $5 billion in waste management costs, adding up to $186 billion over 10 years.

    The costs of tobacco product plastic pollution are likely highest in China, Indonesia, Japan, Bangladesh and the Philippines, the estimates suggest.

    The research was funded by Bloomberg Philanthropies.