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Category: News This Week

  • Zig-Zag Introduces Value-Priced, High-Turnover Line  

    Zig-Zag Introduces Value-Priced, High-Turnover Line  

    Zig-Zag launched itsWoods brand, a new line of premium natural leaf cigars designed to meet rising demand in the rough-cut segment. Many consumers refer to rough-cut cigars as “woods.”

    “Zig-Zag Woods features a slow-burning, all-natural leaf wrap filled with premium rough-cut tobacco, delivering a rich and smooth smoking experience,” the company said. “With bold flavor profiles and recognizable Zig-Zag branding, this line is engineered for fast sell-through and high margins.”

    The cigars will be offered in five flavors and be pre-priced at $1.39 for two sticks. They will be sold in 15-pouch cartons and 24-carton cases, “ready to hit retail shelves with high-margin potential.”

  • Canopy Growth Tags Stewart as Interim CFO

    Canopy Growth Tags Stewart as Interim CFO

    Canopy Growth Corporation appointed Tom Stewart as its Interim Chief Financial Officer, effective immediately, following the departure of Judy Hong, who served in the role since April 2022. A formal search is underway for a permanent CFO.

    Stewart, who has been with Canopy Growth since 2019 as Chief Accounting Officer, brings over two decades of financial leadership experience, including prior roles at Constellation Brands and PricewaterhouseCoopers. He is a Certified Public Accountant in New York.

  • Philippines Cracking Down on Illegal Cigarettes, Criminals

    Philippines Cracking Down on Illegal Cigarettes, Criminals

    The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) in the Philippines filed tax evasion charges totaling nearly ₱797 million ($14.3 million) against individuals involved in the large-scale illegal cigarette trade, intensifying its crackdown on illicit tobacco and vape operations. BIR Commissioner Romeo Lumagui Jr. announced that the charges stemmed from two recent raids.

    In Valenzuela City, authorities seized 600 master cases of untaxed cigarettes from a warehouse, with estimated tax liabilities of ₱200.7 million ($3.6 million). The lessee of the facility now faces criminal charges.

    A separate raid in San Rafael, Bulacan, uncovered an illegal cigarette factory allegedly operated by a Chinese national. The BIR recovered 7,884 master cases of illicit cigarettes and manufacturing equipment, worth ₱596.2 million ($10.7 million). The suspect also faces human trafficking charges after 155 workers were rescued from the facility.

    In a third similar bust, the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) and the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) arrested five individuals in Sta. Cruz, Manila, for allegedly selling unregistered vape products online. More than 25,000 vape units worth ₱8.16 million ($147,000) were confiscated in the joint operation, following test-buy and surveillance efforts. The suspects face charges for violating trade and consumer protection laws.

  • Drug-Laced Vape Ring Busted in Malaysia

    Drug-Laced Vape Ring Busted in Malaysia

    Malaysian authorities, working closely with South Korea’s National Intelligence Service (NIS), dismantled an international drug ring accused of attempting to smuggle 2 million doses of etomidate- and cocaine-laced e-cigarettes into South Korea. Authorities seized nearly 5,000 cartridges and thousands of packaging boxes. Etomidate, a potent anesthetic, can cause severe health risks or death when abused.

    Four suspects, including the 31-year-old Singaporean ringleader, were arrested in June in Malaysia. The group allegedly aimed to distribute 20,000 liquid e-cigarettes monthly via Malaysia and other transit points. The ringleader had set up a fake headhunting business in Seoul’s Gangnam district, targeting South Korean students studying in Singapore to build a distribution network. The NIS began tracking the operation in 2023.

  • Serbia Eliminates Favorable Tax Treatment for Alternative Products

    Serbia Eliminates Favorable Tax Treatment for Alternative Products

    Serbia’s Ministry of Finance announced sweeping changes to excise tax regulations, set to take effect in January 2026. Under the new rulebook, alternative tobacco products such as heated tobacco, hookah flavors, and herbal smoking products will now be taxed at 100% of the minimum cigarette excise duty, up from the previous 40%.

    The move aims to eliminate favorable tax treatment for alternatives and boost state revenue, as consumers increasingly shift away from traditional cigarettes. The list of excisable products has also been expanded to include nicotine pouches, biofuels, bioliquids, and natural gas.

    In addition, revamped tax return forms will now require twice-monthly filings and include new reporting codes and fields to improve accuracy and digital tracking. Officials say the overhaul will strengthen tax compliance and align with broader health and fiscal objectives.

  • Uganda Ups Cigarette Taxes

    Uganda Ups Cigarette Taxes

    Uganda increased excise duties on cigarettes, raising taxes on soft cap products from Shs 55,000 ($15.40) to Shs 65,000 ($18.20) per 1,000 sticks, and on hinge lid cigarettes from Shs 80,000 ($22.40) to Shs 90,000 ($25.20). For non-East African Community imports, the rates doubled to Shs 150,000 ($42) and Shs 200,000 ($56), respectively.

    The tax hike came just before the announcement of the World Health Organization’s “3 by 35” initiative, where it urged all nations to increase real prices on tobacco, alcohol, and sugary drinks by at least 50% by 2035 to combat rising rates of noncommunicable diseas-es such as cancer, diabetes, and heart disease.

    Uganda’s Ministry of Finance said its move aims to reduce tobacco consumption, protect public health, and raise revenue for healthcare and development.

  • Volunteers Pick Up 1M Cigarette Butts

    Volunteers Pick Up 1M Cigarette Butts

    On July 5, volunteers from 25 countries collected nearly 1 million cigarette butts on as part of the expanding global clean-up campaign known as “No Butts Day.” The initiative, launched in the Netherlands in 2019, aims to raise awareness of cigarette filter pollution and advocate for a global ban on plastic filters.

    In Leiden, Netherlands, local environmental group Grachtwacht hosted its fifth annual clean-up, with 30 volunteers gathering over 35,000 cigarette butts in just two hours. One volunteer reported collecting over 750 butts near a central café, while others found hun-dreds more outside Leiden University Medical Center.

    Organizers blamed the spike in litter this year on the recent heatwave and crowds drawn by the city’s annual Lakenfeesten festival.

  • Sampoerna Shows Progress in Smoke-Free Product Innovation

    Sampoerna Shows Progress in Smoke-Free Product Innovation

    PT HM Sampoerna Tbk highlighted major strides in advancing smoke-free alternatives in Indonesia during Technovation 2025, a one-day event held at the Park Hyatt Jakarta. The showcase underscored the growing trust in science- and technology-based nicotine products such as IQOS, VEEV, and ZYN, aimed at adult smokers seeking better alternatives.
    Sampoerna, along with parent company Philip Morris International, reaffirmed its commitment to responsible innovation rooted in science and to addressing public health challenges through cross-sector collaboration.

    Sampoerna President Director Ivan Cahyadi said the company’s goal is to provide adult smokers who would otherwise continue smoking with access to science-backed, smoke-free options. Since launching in 2019, Sampoerna’s smoke-free journey has included the opening of a dedicated production facility in Karawang and first regional exports in 2023.

  • EU Trying to Stop “Tobacco Tourism”

    EU Trying to Stop “Tobacco Tourism”

    As the European Commission considers sweeping tobacco tax reform aimed at narrowing price gaps across the continent, high-income countries like Luxembourg would be hit hardest, RTL Today, Luxembourg’s main television channel, reported. The reform would be meant to deliver a major blow to “tobacco tourism.”

    Most of Luxembourg’s €1.4 billion in 2024 tobacco tax revenue came from foreign buyers, with less than 5% of the tobacco sold in the nation consumed locally. Currently, packs of cigarettes in Luxembourg cost less than €6, far below prices in neighboring France (€13) and the Netherlands (€10), attracting cross-border shoppers and smugglers.

    Though not yet formalized, the WHO’s calls for price hikes on harmful products by 2035 would raise Luxembourg’s prices €3.50 per pack of cigarettes, or 60%. RTL Today said Luxembourg’s Finance Ministry is monitoring the situation.

  • PMI Moving Toward Smoke-Free Goals in Philippines

    PMI Moving Toward Smoke-Free Goals in Philippines

    PMFTC Inc., the combination of Philip Morris International and Fortune Tobacco Corporation in the Philippines, said nearly 150,000 adult Filipino users have switched to cigarette alternatives like IQOS and ZYN nicotine pouches, accounting for 42% of the company’s revenue thus far in 2025.

    PMI’s goal is to have two-thirds of its net revenue come from smoke-free products or alternatives by 2030.

    “This growth underscores our commitment to accelerating the transition away from cigarettes and toward better alternatives,” PMFTC said. “This shift underscores our commitment to accelerating the decline of cigarette consumption by offering scientifically substantiated, less harmful options compared to continued smoking.”

    Tomoko Iida, director of scientific engagement at PMI said the Philippines is still in the early stages of the company’s smoke-free vision, having only seen a slight increase in the use of smoke-free alternative products and a slight decrease in cigarette consumption. She said that consumers receiving accurate information about nicotine products will be key.

    “I really think that having the smoke-free alternative available so that the smokers can move away from cigarettes and switch to this alternative is serving the population, serving the government, and really meeting the public health goal,” she said. “Facts about nicotine, facts about smoke-free products, facts about the data or any of these things have to be accurately communicated so that the Filipino smokers have the right information and they’re able to make a better choice for themselves.”