TobaccoReporter logo

Category: News This Week

  • Kretek Splash Draws Interest at TPE

    Kretek Splash Draws Interest at TPE

    One of the products that gained significant interest at TPE 2025 in Las Vegas last week was the Splash menthol-filtered smokes that were launched at the end of 2024 by Kretek International. The tobacco-free products are being introduced as a legal alternative in restricted markets.

    “We think we’ve come as close as you can get with a nicotine-free smoke to the taste and satisfaction of current tobacco menthols,” said Kretek president Sean Cassar. “Our combined effort with PT Djarum has been highly focused on the taste and feeling that menthol smokers told us they expect.”

    Kretek is using the first six months of 2025 to measure smoker appeal in restricted markets such as California and Massachusetts to show retailers the benefits of legal nicotine-free menthols that are free of federal excise tax.

    “We want customers’ expectations to be based on realistic sales and repeat purchase levels after the FDA ban,” explained Kretek Sales & Marketing Sr. VP Albert Jose. “Given menthol smokers’ level of taste-driven loyalty, we weren’t surprised that more than half the trial smokers said they’d try Splash after their brands were removed from the shelf. The surprise was how many of them discovered during the smoking trials that some of their nicotine buzz was actually menthol’s neuro-calming effect”

    Splash menthol-filtered smokes come in nicotine-free Classic and Smooth styles, available to all retail channels in 20-pack king-size flip-top boxes, delivered in 10-pack cartons. Kretek makes no health claims and has placed a tar and carbon monoxide warning on all Splash packs and cartons. Splash menthols are made in Indonesia by PT Djarum, whose cigarettes and cigars have been imported and sold in the U.S. exclusively through Kretek International Inc. since 1983.

  • Osaka Tightens Smoking Regs Around World Expo 2025

    Osaka Tightens Smoking Regs Around World Expo 2025

    Last week the city of Osaka imposed a smoking ban on public streets in an attempt to be more “visitor friendly” ahead of this year’s World Expo 2025 being held in Japan. Held every five years in different locations, more than 160 countries are expected to participate in this year’s six-month-long event, however, ticket sales are currently about half of what was expected.

    “We want to welcome many people from all over the world, so we want to make Osaka a city where people feel safe with smoke-free streets,” mayor Hideyuki Yokoyama said.

    Smoking was previously banned in six zones of the city, including the area around Osaka station, the hub of the event, and in restaurants larger than 100 square meters. The ban has now been expanded to the entire city and restaurants larger than 30 square meters, save for designated smoking areas. Violators will face a 1,000 yen ($6.40) fine.

    The bans are similar to those implemented by Tokyo in advance of the 2018 Olympics.

    In addition to Japan owning a one-third stake in Japan Tobacco, the world’s third-largest tobacco company, the country also makes about around two trillion yen ($13 billion) in cigarette tax revenue annually.

  • U.K. Stores Debate Definition of “Tobacco Product”

    U.K. Stores Debate Definition of “Tobacco Product”

    Sainsbury’s and Morrisons, the second and fifth largest supermarket chains in the U.K. respectively, are being accused by the Chartered Trading Standards Institute (CTSI) of displaying ads for “tobacco products” in their stores, a violation of a law passed in 2002.

    Video screens and posters at the stores promote devices that deliver nicotine by heating tobacco rather than burning it, products that the two stores say are not covered under the advertising law.

    Previously, Japan Tobacco International, which makes heated devices, said the 2002 law defines a tobacco product “as something that is smoked, sniffed, sucked, or chewed,” and because heated tobacco products do not produce smoke, they aren’t covered by that definition. The supermarkets used the same argument, with a statement from Morrisons saying, “On that basis, we are comfortable that it is legal for heated tobacco products to be advertised in store.”

    CTSI says the issue has never been tested in court, so it cannot say conclusively that running the ads is illegal.

    “The only people who can definitively test it are the courts,” said Kate Pike, lead officer for tobacco and vaping at CTSI. “Now the courts are chocka. Trading Standards is very stretched, and I think that’s probably the reason why you’re seeing more and more of these ads.”

    A spokesperson for the government would not weigh in on the current debate but said a forthcoming bill would expand the ban to all advertising of nicotine and tobacco products including nicotine pouches and vapes.

    “This government’s landmark Tobacco and Vapes Bill will enhance existing legislation, including on advertising, and put us on track for a smoke-free UK,” the spokesperson said.

  • Denmark Goes All-In on Action Plan

    Denmark Goes All-In on Action Plan

    Health concerns are growing in Denmark as a reported 36% of people between the ages of 15 and 29 use at least one tobacco or nicotine product. To combat this, Denmark has enacted the entirety of a 30-point action plan aimed at protecting youth from using nicotine products and alcohol. The original plan was proposed in November 2023 and implementation of about half its point began in April 2024. The final 16 measures were recently approved and are beginning to be implemented.

    Some of the new measures include:

    • Penalties for selling tobacco and nicotine products that are illegal to market in Denmark and for selling tobacco, nicotine products, and alcohol to minors are being increased, with fines starting from €6,700.
    • The Danish Safety Technology Authority can permanently confiscate illegal tobacco and nicotine products without a court order.
    • In some situations, the authority can temporarily deprive retailers of the right to market tobacco and nicotine products.
    • The authority can use fictitious profiles and go undercover to search for sellers or ads marketing illegal goods on social media.
    • Beginning in July, appealing flavors—defined as tobacco or menthol—and scents in tobacco substitutes, such as nicotine pouches, will be banned.
  • Illinois: Smokers Get Health Coverage Settlement

    Illinois: Smokers Get Health Coverage Settlement

    Car parts manufacturer UGN Inc. signed a $299,000 class settlement in a lawsuit saying it wrongly charged tobacco-using workers an annual $1,152 penalty for health coverage without providing a valid way to avoid the fee.

    It appears employees could have avoided the $96 monthly surcharge by completing a smoking cessation program, but the complaint alleged that the company’s health plan information documents did not mention this alternative. In fact, the filing claimed “the various benefits guides provided to participants are ‘silent’ on the topic of smoking cessation programs or the possible reimbursement of the tobacco surcharge.

    Filed in October 2024 in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, the lawsuit argued the extra fee violated the federal Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA), whose anti-discrimination provisions preclude any insurer or medical plan from assessing an additional charge based on a “health-status related factor,” which includes tobacco use unless the surcharge is part of a bona fide “wellness program.”

    The proposed settlement would benefit 431 people who paid the tobacco surcharge in connection with UGN’s health plan between August 2018 and December 2024 and would amount to an estimated 36% of the workers’ damages.

  • Pakistan: Growers Stuck Between Federal and Local Government Row

    Pakistan: Growers Stuck Between Federal and Local Government Row

    The row between the Pakistani federal government and the Khyber Pakhtunkhawa (KP) provincial governments over Rs4 billion (USD $ 14.4 million) of assets from the Pakistan Tobacco Board (PTB) has deepened as the process of devolution of the board to the province in the works.

    Mohammad Ayaz Khan, a former member of the board of directors of PTB, told Dawn that federal the government decided to hand over PTB to the provincial government. A majority of government departments were devolved to the provincial governments following the passage of the nation’s 18th Amendment, however, the tobacco board was held by the central government due to its value and revenue-generating potential.

    The KP government made it clear that the PTB reserves, pensions to its employees, salaries of various officials and workers, buildings, vehicles, and all other facilities should be managed by PTB through the levy imposed on tobacco produced in the province.

    As the two sides position, the growers are stuck in the middle. Liaquat Yousafzai, central president of the Tobacco Growers Association, said that neither the federal government nor the provincial government spent a single penny on tobacco development. Despite huge incomes, he said the growers were always exploited and PTB failed to play its due role in that regard, leaving tobacco growers constantly trapped in financial quagmire.

    According to the process, the federal government will transfer important functions of PTB to the provincial government and while the rightsizing committee will submit its report in the current month, and then it will be decided how to hand over PTB to the province. 

  • Study: Airborne Ultrasound Damages Tobacco  

    Study: Airborne Ultrasound Damages Tobacco  

    Ultrasound is a powerful tool with diverse applications in medical diagnostics (diagnostic sonography), therapeutics (treatment of soft tissue ailments), industry (cleaning, welding, cutting, shaping, separating, mixing, etc.), and agriculture. Airborne power ultrasound is a green technology with significant potential for food and environmental applications. For example, the exposure of soybean seeds to the airborne ultrasound increased water uptake without altering the morphology and the wettability of the seed coat; the implication of ultrasound increased the yield rate constant for the ultrasound extraction of saponins from alfalfa leaves almost two times more than that of routine heat-reflux methods; and ultrasound has been widely used to reduce the energy consumption and drying time of herbs.

    A recent study by the Department of Plant Biology at Tarbiat Modares University in Iran was conducted to elucidate the physiological responses of plant cells to airborne ultrasound in tobacco plants. Homogeneous suspension-cultured tobacco cells were subjected to airborne ultrasound at 24 kHz in two pulsatile and continuous modes for 10 and 20 seconds. The study’s outcome revealed that airborne ultrasound triggered the production of H2O2, elevated internal calcium concentration, and reduced antioxidant capacity upon cavitation. Alteration of covalently bound peroxidase and other wall-modifying enzyme activities was accompanied by reduced cellulose, pectin, and hemicellulose B but increased lignin and hemicellulose A. The biomass and viability of tobacco cells were also significantly decreased by airborne ultrasound, which ultimately resulted in programmed cell death and secondary necrosis. The results highlight the potential risks of even short-time exposure to the airborne ultrasound on plant physiology and cell wall chemical composition raising significant concerns about its implications.

    In conclusion, even short exposures to ultrasound can be damaging to tobacco plants, meaning growers should evaluate sound pollution effects on the plant’s living status. Various machines act as sources of airborne ultrasound, including high-frequency cutting tools, ultrasonic cleaners, welding equipment, and some laboratory and medical instruments such as fans, compressors, air handling units, transformers, high-voltage power lines, and electrical discharge machining.

  • Philippines Approves Tobacco Tracking Bill

    Philippines Approves Tobacco Tracking Bill

    To deter illicit nicotine products, the House of Representatives in the Philippines approved a measure to introduce a track-and-trace system for tobacco products. Under HB 11286, cigarettes, vapes, and tobacco products would need to be affixed with a stamp that has “physical or digital features,” while requiring companies to register equipment needed in making cigarettes and electronic vapes with the government.

    “The illicit tobacco trade in our country is alarming,” Rep. Ray Florence T. Reyes, who sponsored the measure, said. “One in five sticks of cigarettes did not pass the quality control and is more likely to cause death. “These unregulated products expose consumers to greater health risks.”

    Meanwhile, the House Ways and Means panel is eyeing an annually alternating tax rate hike scheme on cigarette products, while also tweaking the tax rate over all tobacco products. HB 11360 seeks to implement an odd-and-even numbered tax rate increase for cigarettes to curb the surge of illicit tobacco products in the Philippines.

    “The rate of tax imposed shall be increased by 2% every even-numbered year effective on Jan. 1, 2026, and 4% every odd-numbered year, effective on Jan. 1, 2027,” the bill stated, changing the tax rate structure across all tobacco products.

     “The increase shall be implemented until Dec. 31, 2035, provided that after the 10-year period, a review of the tax imposed and its impact on revenue collections, health costs, and prevalence of smoking shall be conducted.”

    Discussions over the levied tax rates for cigarettes have taken a front seat at the House tax panel, which is eyeing to reduce excise tax losses over the tobacco industry due to smuggling. Excise tax rates for heated tobacco, cigarettes, and vape products are levied a yearly 5% tax rate increase from 2024, according to the Bureau of Internal Revenue’s (BIR) website.

    “BIR revenue data show that further successive increases in tax rates have failed to result in higher collections,” Euvimil Nina R. Asuncion, revenue operations group director for the Finance department, said. The BIR collected only P134 billion (USD $2.3 billion) of its budgeted P185 billion (USD $3.1 billion) tobacco excise tax in 2024.

    However, Anthony C. Leachon, former Department of Health advisor and convener of health advocacy group Sin Tax Coalition, said the bill would actually lower revenues collected.

    “We project that this will lead to P29 billion of forgone revenue for public health and tobacco farmers from 2026 to 2030 and will make cigarettes and electronic smoking devices more accessible to the youth and the poor,” he said.

  • Japan Tobacco Investing Heavy on RRPs

    Japan Tobacco Investing Heavy on RRPs

    Japan Tobacco Group, the parent company of Japan Tobacco International (JTI), announced that it will be investing 450 billion yen (USD $3 billion) on reduced-risk products (RRPs) by the end of 2026. The parent company is based in Tokyo and invests in various fields including pharmaceuticals and foods, while JTI is based in Switzerland.

    “One of our ambitions is to recoup by 2028 our investments in RRPs and reach profitability,” said Kazuhito Sumimoto, JT investor and media relations vice president, who noted the investment covers capital expenditures, sales promotions, and research and development.

    This investment stands on the shoulders of JTI’s 2021 launch of Ploom X—the latest generation of its heated tobacco product line designed to meet the changing needs of smokers.

    “The geo-expansion of Ploom, our investment priority, has now reached 23 markets, and in Japan, the largest Ploom market, we continued to gain share in this segment, reaching 11.8 percent quarter-to-date,” said Masamichi Terabatake, JT Group’s president and chief executive officer, who added that Ploom’s overall sales grew 40% in the third quarter of 2024

    JT investor and media relations director Ichiro Kawai said the company expects combustibles to decline 2% by 2035, but heated tobacco products to rise by 8%.

    It took two years for Ploom X to expand to 12 markets outside of Japan, including being introduced in the Philippines in November 2024. Its success in the Philippines gives JTI momentum and confidence that it can reach its goal of being in 40 global markets by 2026.

  • Massachusetts Judge Issues Record-Setting Judgement

    Massachusetts Judge Issues Record-Setting Judgement

    A judge in Hampden County, Massachusetts, issued one of the biggest individual civil judgments in history, awarding $105 million to the family of a deceased smoker. Judge Edward McDonough Jr.’s decision came a month after a jury awarded the plaintiffs $10.6 million after a month-long trial, with the judge saying the defendant, R.J. Reynolds, “willfully and wantonly” engaged in a conspiracy to hide the health hazards of cigarette smoking.

    Kevin Penza, along with his daughter, Kimberly Breen Penza, sued on behalf of his late wife, Jacqueline, who died from lung cancer at 59. The plaintiffs argued Jacqueline spent much of her life trying to quit the smoking habit, but was trapped in a nicotine addiction she could not defeat. The defense countered she was a committed smoker who made her own choices and refused to quit despite pleas from her family and doctors.

    McDonough began with the jury’s $10.6 million decision and added $2 million in attorney’s fees. The additional sum included interest and fees, but he did not clarify how the final sum was reached. R.J. Reynolds is expected to appeal this ruling.