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Category: News This Week

  • Judge: Calif. Tribe Didn’t Comply with Tobacco Laws

    Judge: Calif. Tribe Didn’t Comply with Tobacco Laws

    A U.S. District Judge said the U.S. Department of Justice did nothing arbitrary or capricious when the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives’ (ATF) blocked the Twenty-Nine Palms Band of Mission Indians from shipping cigarettes. Judge Sunshine S. Sykes said Twenty-Nine Palms was fine to sell untaxed cigarettes to other Native nation tribes, but when those cigarettes were then resold to “non-Native nation customers” without collecting California taxes it was a violation of the Prevent All Cigarette Trafficking Act.

    The tribe did not dispute that the cigarettes were resold without being taxed but instead argued that when the ATF initially put it on the non-compliance list it incorrectly listed the sale to Native-nation customers as the reason before changing it to non-Native nation customers.

    “Even if the court were to hold that ATF’s argument that the tribe’s Native nation customers violate the [California Licensing Act] were improper post-hoc legal justifications, ATF’s decision remains on solid ground,” the judge said.

    In its opposition to summary judgment, the tribe said ATF’s logic undercuts tribal sovereignty, forcing tribal nations to be subject to state laws.

    “Subjecting Indian tribes to a state-licensing scheme as a condition of doing business with their own tribal members is simply unconscionable and would violate the most basic inherent sovereign right of tribes to make their own laws and be ruled by them,” the tribe said. “ATF’s failure to consider whether the application of California law as adopted in the decision allows for tribes to conduct on reservation business with their members free of state taxation and regulation was arbitrary and capricious.”

  • FCTC Slammed for Self-Congratulatory Approach

    FCTC Slammed for Self-Congratulatory Approach

    Last week, the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC) – one of the biggest United Nations treaties in history – celebrated its 20th anniversary with WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus calling tobacco a plague on humanity.

    “Over the past two decades … global tobacco use prevalence has dropped by one-third,” he said. “The WHO FCTC has helped to save millions of lives through strengthened tobacco control measures around the world.”

    Not everyone was impressed, however, as today the Coalition of Asia Pacific Tobacco Harm Reduction Advocates (CAPHRA) condemned the FCTC for “celebrating institutional achievements whilst millions across the Asia Pacific region continue to die from preventable smoking-related diseases.”  

    “The FCTC’s self-congratulatory approach is deeply offensive to communities devastated by preventable tobacco deaths,” said Nancy Loucas, Executive Coordinator of CAPHRA. “While they celebrate incremental victories, over one billion people globally continue smoking, with the majority in low and middle-income countries across our region. Their refusal to acknowledge harm reduction alternatives is costing countless lives.” 

    CAPHRA said that despite mounting evidence supporting tobacco harm reduction, the FCTC continues to marginalize consumer advocates while maintaining policies that deny smokers access to potentially life-saving alternatives. The FCTC systematically excludes these voices from policy deliberations, dismissing their lived experiences and denying others who smoke in Asia the opportunity to access reduced harm alternatives.  

     “The FCTC’s unwillingness to evolve in the face of overwhelming evidence amounts to a human rights issue,” Loucas said. “By reducing tobacco harm reduction to an industry construct, the FCTC effectively sentences millions to preventable suffering.” 

    CAPHRA is calling on delegates of the upcoming COP11 meeting to “adopt risk-proportionate regulations that distinguish safer alternatives from deadly combustible products, subject FCTC policies to UN human rights oversight, and acknowledge the successes of countries who have embraced tobacco harm reduction in their public health policies that confirms the scientific consensus on safer nicotine products as critical harm reduction tools.” 

  • TTI Flavors Achieves Prestigious Certification

    TTI Flavors Achieves Prestigious Certification

    Tobacco Technology, Inc. announced that its subsidiary and manufacturing facility, TTI Flavors s.r.l., in Assisi, Italy, has successfully obtained ISO 900:2015 certification. This prestigious certification underscores TTI’s dedication to maintaining the highest quality standards in manufacturing and operational excellence.

    ISO 9001:2015 certification is a globally recognized standard that ensures companies meet rigorous quality management system requirements. By achieving this certification, TTIF has demonstrated its commitment to continuous improvement, customer satisfaction, and adherence to international best practices.

    “We are incredibly proud of our team in Assisi for their hard work and dedication in achieving [this] certification,” said David Johnson, president of TTI. “This milestone reaffirms our ongoing commitment to quality and strengthens our ability to serve our global customers with the highest level of precision and reliability.

    “The ISO 9001:2015 certification marks a significant achievement for TTI Favors s.r.l., further strengthening its capabilities and reinforcing its position as a trusted manufacturing partner. This certification ensures that TTI Favors s.r.l. upholds the same rigorous quality standards as its parent company, delivering identical products with consistency and reliability.”

  • CORESTA to Host Tobacco Field Research Webinar

    CORESTA to Host Tobacco Field Research Webinar

    Cooperation Centre for Scientific Research Relative to Tobacco (CORESTA) announced it will host an agro-phyto webinar titled “Techniques for Successful Applied Tobacco Field Research” April 15 from 1 p.m. to 2:15 p.m. CET.

    “Tobacco research spans multiple disciplines, including agronomy, plant physiology, entomology, plant pathology, and breeding, each requiring specialized knowledge and protocols,” CORESTA says of the webinar. “However, effective field research in tobacco production shares common principles and practices that ensure reliable and accurate results. This webinar will provide a comprehensive overview of the essential research methodologies for conducting field-based studies in tobacco production. By the end of the session, participants will gain a deeper understanding of the key practices related to applied field research that can be useful across various aspects of tobacco production.”

    Matthew Vann, an associate professor at North Carolina State University will introduce the seminar, followed by Mitchell Richmond, an assistant professor of plant science at the University of Tennessee speaking for 40 minutes. The final 30 minutes will be a Q&A and panel discussion moderated by Christelle Bonnet, a plant science manager at JTI.

    The registration deadline is April 14. Click here to register.

  • Behike Filled Humidor Sells for Record $4.8

    Behike Filled Humidor Sells for Record $4.8

    The final night of the Habanos Festival in Cuba traditionally ends with a lavish gala, culminating with a humidor auction with the proceeds helping the Cuban healthcare system. The final humidor of the night sold for a record $4.8 million, driving the evening total to over $17 million.

    Crafted by Ernesto Aguilera of Humidores Habana, the humidor stood more than two-and-a-half feet tall and more than four-and-a-half feet wide with a curved design, mother-of-pearl inlays, and Swarovski crystals. The true prize, however, was what was inside it: a motherlode of all four of the Cohiba Behike BHK sizes from the dinner that night. Cohiba Behike BHK cigars are arguably the most in-demand cigars in the world, seldom seen in stores anywhere, and the record-setting humidor contained 100 of each size: the 52, 54, 56, and the new 58. 

    Cigar Aficionado covered the event in wonderful detail.

  • Survey: Convenience Stores Expanding OTP Displays

    Survey: Convenience Stores Expanding OTP Displays

    In an editorial for Convenience Store News,editor-in-chief Linda Lisanti talked about the ever-changing tobacco category and encouraged retailers to rethink their “backbar,” the area behind the register. She said in the magazine’s 2025 survey, that half of convenience store operators plan to add more other tobacco product (OTP) SKUs this year and 47% plan to increase the square footage they devote to OTP.

    “Despite the industry’s increasing focus on providing high-quality prepared foods and innovative dispensed beverages, tobacco products are still a crucial part of the convenience store business, comprising roughly 30% of the industry’s annual in-store sales,” she wrote. “As I sit here pondering over the tobacco category, I can’t help but think of the saying, ‘Nothing worth having comes easy’ — because selling tobacco products is anything but easy. It’s a challenging, always-changing business, especially when it comes to regulation.” 

    Lisanti’s article touches on FDA regulation and links to numerous stories written on similar topics.

  • Judge Seals Docs in Juul Case

    Judge Seals Docs in Juul Case

    On Tuesday (Feb. 25), a federal judge in North Carolina granted requests by R.J. Reynolds Vapor Co. and Philip Morris’ parent company, Altria, to seal documents in their ongoing royalty dispute, keeping details of their licensing agreements with the vape brand JUUL confidential.

    “The court ruled that the agreements contained sensitive business information — including financial terms, licensing strategies and negotiation details — that could harm competitive standing, and all six motions to seal were granted,” Andrea Keckley wrote for Law360.

    The court found that an amendment to a licensing agreement between Altria and JUUL and a copy of a licensing agreement between the two were confidential and that disclosing them would “harm the party’s competitive standing or otherwise harm its business interests.” The filings stem RJR’s bid for relief against a $95 million judgement after a jury sided with Altria in a 2022 patent infringement case. The defense has argued that it should receive relief because a deal with Juul sublicensed the asserted patents.

    “Ultimately, however, this court need not decide whether the documents or hearing are protected by the First Amendment’s right of access, because even assuming the First Amendment standard applies, movants have put forth compelling interests in sealing the order and the proposed sealing is narrowly tailored such that the First Amendment right of access has been overcome,” U.S. District Judge William Lindsay Osteen Jr wrote. “Although this court has considered less drastic alternatives to sealing, the parties have already redacted their filings so as to allow public access to as much information as possible without compromising sensitive business information,” he wrote. “It is this court’s view that the parties’ proposed redactions reflect the least drastic alternative at this time.”

  • Florida Court Expands “Smoking” Definition

    Florida Court Expands “Smoking” Definition

    A Florida appeals court widened the definition of “smoking” Wednesday (Feb. 26) in affirming a judge’s determination that Global Hookah owed the state $1.4 million in taxes. The 2-1 decision said the company wasn’t entitled to recoup excise taxes because its tobacco leaves fell within a state statute’s definition of “other tobacco products” regardless of whether the tobacco was actually smoked by customers.

    Global Hookah argued that its products, which consist of tobacco leaves mixed with glycerol, sugar syrup, and flavorings, are heated, not combusted, and thus should not be considered tobacco for tax purposes. It was seeking a refund from taxes paid between April 2016 to January 2019.

    The First District Court of Appeal ruled that “a fair reading of ‘smoking’ encompassed the process of consuming the vapor that occurs through the process of using the leaves,” and that the state’s 1985 law was intended to tax tobacco products regardless of the details in which they were consumed.

    “As a means to yield vaporized nicotine for inhaling, there is no meaningful difference between combusting cut-up tobacco leaves, on the one hand; and subjecting those cut-up leaves to high heat by burning something else,” Judge Adam Tanenbaum wrote for the majority. “Global’s claim that the vapor from its product differs from ‘traditional’ smoke feels like splitting hairs — the ordinary person, whether in 1985 or today, would not recognize the difference.”

    Judge L. Clayton Roberts dissented, saying, “While there may be policy reasons to tax all nicotine delivery products, we cannot use the intent of the Legislature to effectively amend the adopted text.”

  • JTI in no Hurry to Launch Vape in Malaysia

    JTI in no Hurry to Launch Vape in Malaysia

    Malaysia’s Control of Smoking Products for Public Health Act 2024 has been implemented in stages since it was first launched in October of last year, dictating what can and cannot be done around the sale and use of tobacco and nicotine products. The next stage will be implemented in April when the display of all tobacco and vape products will be banned at retail shops.

    Speaking at a conference this week, JT International’s (JTI Malaysia) managing director, Juliana Mohd Yahaya, was asked if JTI would be introducing Logic, the company’s featured vape device, to the Malaysian market soon.

    “We are not in a hurry,” she said. “If you look at Malaysia’s vaping industry right now, it is not [fully] regulated yet. What we do not want is [for our vape products] to appeal to minors.

    “Once all of the regulations are in place and [the industry is] brought under control, that’s where we will consider that [launching vape products in Malaysia]. We are a responsible company, and we do not want to be selling our vape products to anyone under 18.”

    Until then, Juliana said JTI is more than happy to focus its efforts on promoting Ploom, its heated tobacco product (HTP), that was launched in Malaysia in January.

     “[Ploom has] performed better than what we expected, I guess, also thanks to the fact that HTPs are not a new category,” she said. “If you look at the industry so far, there has been only one choice [Philip Morris’ IQOS]. But now, we have another alternative that we can give the consumers.”

  • BAT’s Block Listing Application and Cancellation

    BAT’s Block Listing Application and Cancellation

    Today (Feb. 27), British American Tobacco announced it made an application to the Financial Conduct Authority and the London Stock Exchange for a block listing totaling 1.5 million ordinary shares of 25p each to be admitted to the equity shares category of the Official List and to trade on the main market of the London Stock Exchange.

    The shares will be issued pursuant to the BAT Sharesave Scheme. Upon issuance, the shares shall rank equally with the existing issued shares of the company. The admission of the shares is expected on March 3, 2025.

    BAT further announced that it currently has 31,189 ordinary shares of 25p each block listed under the British American Tobacco Executive Share Option Scheme. No allotments have been made under the Scheme since the last block listing return was released Jan. 1, 2025. All outstanding options under the Scheme have now been exercised and the Scheme has closed. As a result, the block listing associated with the Scheme has been cancelled.