Category: News This Week

  • Land Reform Beneficiaries to Receive Tenure

    Land Reform Beneficiaries to Receive Tenure

    Photo: Taco Tuinstra

    Zimbabwe will give Black farmers who benefited from land seizures in the early 2000s tenure, allowing them to use their properties as collateral or sell them, reports Bloomberg.

    “All land held by beneficiaries of the land reform program under 99-year leases, offer letters and permits will now be held under a bankable, registrable and transferable more secure document of tenure, to be issued by the government,” said Information Minister Jenfan Muswere Oct. 8 in Harare.

    The latest “measures will have a huge impact on our economic growth, and will unlock the full value of the land while enhancing the performance of our economy,” Muswere said. “This will facilitate accelerated investments in agriculture and associated value chains, which include irrigation, dam construction, power supply and rural road construction.”

    Nearly two decades ago, Zimbabwe under then President Robert Mugabe began seizing properties from commercial farmers, including many tobacco farmers, in order to redress “colonial imbalances.”

    Most prime properties in the country were held by whites, who constitute a minority of Zimbabwe’s population

    The controversial land reform program caused Zimbabwe’s agricultural industry and tobacco output to collapse, causing a severe economic crisis characterized by hyperinflation and other problems.

    Whereas Zimbabwe’s entire tobacco crop was once supplied by perhaps 1,500 large-scale growers, today’s crop is supplied more than 100,000 smallholders.

    The southern African country has since agreed to pay $3.5 billion in compensation to the white commercial farmers.

    In terms of volume, the tobacco industry has recovered from land reform. In 2023, Zimbabwe harvested a record 296 million kg and earned more than $1 billion from leaf exports.

  • JTI Sets up Tech Hub

    JTI Sets up Tech Hub

    Image: Zerophoto

    Japan Tobacco International has established a technological hub in Romania, reports Romania Insider.

    The new center will support the company’s global operations with business technology solutions, analytics and cyber security, among other services. JTI has 36 factories globally and eight research and development centers, according to the company.

    “The technology hub established in Romania is one of the most important among the six global technology centers established by JTI worldwide and symbolizes our continued strong commitment to the success of Romania,” said Alexander Pitchka, general manager of JTI Romania, Moldova and Bulgaria.

    JTI employs more than 1,400 people in Romania, spread across its Bucharest headquarters, its factory, the recently established technological hub and more than 30 sales offices.

    JTI Romania also coordinates the company’s activities in Bulgaria and Moldova.

  • Malaysians Urged to Report Smokers

    Malaysians Urged to Report Smokers

    Photo: Hope

    Health Minister Dzulkefly Ahmad is encouraging citizens to report rather than confront violators of the country’s new public smoking restrictions, according to The Star.  

    Following the implementation of the Tobacco Product Control for Public Health Act 2024, citizens have expressed concern about potential conflicts when confronting smokers.

    Dzulkefly is suggesting that individuals should take photographs and report the situation to the health ministry instead.

    “Don’t worry. When faced with such situations, report them to us and let the authorities take action,” he was quoted as saying.

    Dzulkefly said the 2010 Whistleblowers Protection Act would safeguard those who report violations.

    Since the new law took effect, the health ministry has issued warnings to premises as it remains in the educational phase, with stricter actions planned from April 1, 2025.

    Throughout 2023, the ministry received 9,440 complaints about smoking violations at food premises.

  • Trade Group Speaks up for Vape Flavors

    Trade Group Speaks up for Vape Flavors

    Photo: DD Images

    The Canadian Vaping Association (CVA) has expressed concern over recent attempts by tobacco control lobbyists to convince the government to ban vape flavors nationwide. According to the trade group, such a ban would have negative public health consequences and undermine Canada’s goal of reducing smoking rates to less than 5 percent by 2035.   

    “We must acknowledge and not ignore that more than 1.5 million adult vapors in Canada use flavored vaping products to stop smoking,” the CVA wrote in a statement.

    “We agree underage youth should not vape; however, more needs to be done through education and providing the necessary tools for parents, teachers, coaches and community members to understand the underlying issues as to why youth are vaping and providing solutions to solve their nicotine dependence.”

    According to the CVA, Canada already has some of the best vape regulations globally, covering labeling, packaging, marketing, promotions, reporting and nicotine concentration limits. The group also urged the tobacco control lobbyist to consider the risks of the illicit market.

    “The bullying tactics of anti-harm reduction lobbyists pressuring Minister Saks and Health Canada to act quickly will only help grow the black market of vaping products,” the CVA wrote. “This will make vaping more accessible to youth at much lower prices and greater risk to their health.”

  • Kyrgyzstan Mulls Temporary Market Closure

    Kyrgyzstan Mulls Temporary Market Closure

    Photo: Taco Tuinstra

    Kyrgyzstan’s Ministry of Economy and Commerce has proposed a ban on the import, transit or reexport of cigarettes for six months, reports Trend News Agency.

    With the measure, the ministry aims to protect Kyrgyz citizens against counterfeit and uncertified cigarettes, which evade quality standards. It also seeks to strengthen efforts against cigarette smuggling and ensure that tax revenue projections for the state budget are met.

    According to the tax service, authorities confiscated 65,231 duty-avoiding packs of cigarettes in 2023. Illicit products claimed 17.7 percent of the Kyrgyz cigarette market that year.

    Many of the counterfeit products uncovered were manufactured in Serbia and the United Arab Emirates.

  • Encouraging Engagement

    Encouraging Engagement

    Image: SolaruS

    Open dialogue is key to fully realizing the beneficial public health impact of tobacco harm reduction.

    By Danni Tower

    Tobacco harm reduction (THR) is one of the greatest public health opportunities available today. By fully embracing this concept, we can significantly reduce the more than 8 million deaths attributed to smoking cigarettes each year. To do this, we need open discussion of and collaboration on evidence-based science, which underpins the development of reduced-risk tobacco and nicotine products and inspires confidence in THR.

    The biannual Cooperation Centre for Scientific Research Relative to Tobacco (CORESTA) Congress plays a major role in progressing the THR agenda globally and enabling change. This October, over 165 member organizations—including companies, research institutes, laboratories, associations and regulatory bodies from around the world—will come together for five days in Edinburgh to showcase and discuss the latest research and findings on this topic, under the theme of “Advancing Tobacco Harm Reduction Through Scientific Collaboration.” By facilitating international dialogue on best practices in scientific research related to tobacco and profiling the research contributions from CORESTA members, we hope to further encourage the transition from combustible tobacco to smoke-free alternatives.

    At BAT, we are proud to be hosting the 2024 event, building on our commitment to building a smokeless world—creating a pathway for hundreds of millions of smokers who would not otherwise quit to transition from combustible tobacco products to smokeless alternatives. As an organization, we have long been dedicated to sharing and debating robust, world-class science exploring the concept of THR. Our extensive research on the topic can be found in our most recent publication, the Omni, a summary of the global THR evidence base created over the past decade and insights into what successful harm reduction policies look like, intended for scientists, public health authorities, regulators, policymakers and investors.

    Nonetheless, while progress is being made in these circles of interested parties, we must widen the net to ensure more governments and regulators increasingly recognize the public health potential of THR. All too often, the industry is excluded from the relevant conferences and conversations around the globe, and our science is dismissed out of hand. To make the THR agenda a meaningful success and save lives, an ongoing inclusive and open dialogue with all stakeholders is required. That includes policymakers, regulators and the healthcare and medical communities—particularly those who are currently misinformed or skeptical about the opportunities presented by smokeless alternatives.

    There are numerous examples of where THR is making a significant difference. Countries with supportive THR policies, such as the U.S., the U.K. and Japan, are currently witnessing their lowest smoking rates on record while Sweden is on track to declare itself smoke-free this year—defined as having less than 5 percent of daily smokers in the population—16 years ahead of the 2040 EU target. These remarkable transformations have been driven by widespread THR acceptance from policymakers, regulators and health officials in these markets, enabling and encouraging smokers to switch to smokeless alternatives such as vapor, oral nicotine pouches, snus and heated-tobacco or herbal products. 

    We will, therefore, continue to advocate for open and inclusive conversations essential to build a smokeless world. Playing our part in progressing awareness and understanding of the science behind THR. Events like CORESTA Congress are an important forum to review and discuss the latest science with specialists in the field.

    Alongside investing in the development of new, innovative lower-risk profile smokeless products, backed by world-class science and high product standards, we are focused on creating the environment to deliver public health benefits of THR across the globe. We look forward to bringing as many people as possible with us on this journey.

  • JT Completes Vector Acquisition

    JT Completes Vector Acquisition

    Image: somchaij

    The JT Group completed the acquisition of Vector Group (VGR) on Oct. 7, following a tender offer, initially announced on Aug. 21.

    The tender offer period, initiated on Sept. 4, 2024, expired at one minute after 23:59 Eastern Daylight Time, on Oct. 4, 2024. The conditions of the tender offer having been satisfied, the JT Group has accepted all such tendered shares, and, following a statutory merger on Oct. 7, 2024, VGR became a wholly owned subsidiary of the JT Group and was delisted from the New York Stock Exchange on Oct. 7, 2024.

    In a statement, the JT Group said it expects the acquisition to improve the company’s return-on-investment in combustibles by significantly increasing the group’s presence and distribution network in the U.S, the second largest tobacco market in net sales and one of the most profitable.

  • Imperial Reports Trading In Line with Expectations

    Imperial Reports Trading In Line with Expectations

    Photo: Igor Golovnyev

    Imperial Brands reported trading in line with expectations for fiscal 2024.

    “We are pleased to report another year of operational and financial delivery against our five-year strategy to transform the business,” the company wrote on its website ahead of the Nov. 19 announcement of its annual results.

    “At constant currency, we are on track to deliver in line with our full-year guidance with an acceleration in tobacco and NGP [next-generation products] net revenue growth versus last year and group adjusted operating profit growth close to the middle of our mid-single digit range.

    “Constant currency tobacco and NGP net revenue growth has strengthened over the same period last year underpinned by strong combustibles pricing and further growth in our NGP business. Our investment activities in our five priority markets continue to deliver stable aggregate market share with gains in the U.S., Spain and Australia, broadly offsetting declines in Germany and the U.K.

    These results are consistent with our medium-term objective to hold or grow aggregate share across these markets. At the same time, we have delivered strong pricing, while industry volume pressures have eased across the majority of our wider market footprint.”

    Imperial Brands expects NGP net revenue to grow in the range of 20-30 percent at constant currency, with increases across all three regions as we build scale in our existing footprint. “Our results this year have benefited from the launch of innovative products with new formats under the Blu brand, new iSenzia non-tobacco heat sticks and new flavors in the modern oral segment,” the company wrote. “Our entry in the U.S. oral nicotine category with the launch of the Zone range of pouches has been well received and supported a stronger NGP performance in our U.S. business.”

    Imperial Brands’ constant currency group adjusted operating profit growth improved in the second half of the year driven by strong results across all three regions, including the group’s Africa, Asia, Australasia and Central & Eastern Europe region where shipment timings in the Middle East affecting the first half have now been resolved.

    “Our profit performance also reflects reduced NGP operating losses as we build scale while continuing to invest in line with our plans,” Imperial wrote. “Group adjusted operating profit has benefited from growth at Logista, the Spanish-based distribution business in which we have a 50.01 percent stake.”

    Along with its trading update, Imperial Brands announced a further £1.25 billion ($1.64 billion) share buyback, which it expects to complete before Oct. 29, 2025. This represents approximately 7 percent of the current share capital and is a 13.6 percent increase on the 2024 share buyback of £1.1 billion. The company says it  is on track to deliver total share buyback returns of £3.35 billion since we started the buyback program in 2022.

  • Imperial Sued Over Zone Trademark

    Imperial Sued Over Zone Trademark

    Photo: Olivier Le Moal

    2ONE Labs and Performance Plus Marketing have filed both a trademark infringement lawsuit and a preliminary injunction against Imperial Brand subsidiaries Zone nicotine pouch trademark.

    The suit alleges that Imperial’s Zone products willfully infringe the 2ONE nicotine pouch brand. In addition to seeking an award for damages, 2ONE is also seeking cancellation of Imperial’s Zone mark.

    According to the plaintiffs, the 2ONE brand has been continuously marketed and sold to adult consumers through thousands of U.S. convenience chain and independent grocery and smoke shop stores for the last five years.

    The suit alleges Imperial Brands made false statements by claiming a significantly earlier use of their mark in commerce than had occurred. The suit further alleges the false statements allowed Zone to be granted a fraudulent mark.

    “We have experienced numerous instances of consumer confusion since Imperial launched its Zone brand in 2024 and we intend to vigorously fight this type of blatant infringement, no matter how big the corporate bully,” said 2ONE Labs founder and partner Vincent Schuman in a statement.

    The case is before the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.

  • KT&G Steps up Investment in Indonesia

    KT&G Steps up Investment in Indonesia

    Photo: KT&G

    KT&G will invest KRW600 billion ($454 million) and hire about 1,000 people in Indonesia. The company’s local operations will serve not only Indonesia but also the Middle East and other markets in the Asia-Pacific region.

    “KT&G chose Indonesia as the company’s center of production for the Asia-Pacific market,” KT&G Indonesia’s president director, Jeong Yun-sig, told JoongAng Daily. Indonesia is KT&G’s biggest market outside Korea, accounting for 22.6 percent of the tobacco company’s total exports as of 2023.

    KT&G entered Indonesia in 2011, when it bought a local tobacco company. As of 2023, the company had sold 9.55 billion cigarettes in the country, propelling it to the No. 4 spot among tobacco manufacturers in Indonesia, ahead of multinationals such as British American Tobacco and Japan Tobacco International.

     In April, KT&G broke ground for two additional Indonesian factories. Upon completion, company will have a production capacity in Indonesia of 35 billion cigarettes annually.

     “We have consistently invested in the Indonesian market, building a local R&D center and hiring experts for localization efforts,” Jeong Yun-sig said. “The localized version of Esse and new brands for the Indonesian market worked well for the company.”