New smoking rules come into effect Jan. 1 in Portugal, dictating that “In catering or drinking establishments, including those with rooms or spaces intended for dancing, places where smoking is allowed in areas intended for customers may be set up, provided that these establishments have an area for customers equal to or greater than 100 square meters and a minimum ceiling height of 3 meters,” reports The Portugal News.
Spaces intended for smokers “can be constituted up to a maximum of 20 percent of the area intended for customers,” according to the law. There must be posted signs relaying maximum capacity for the spaces and “no entry for persons under 18 years of age.”
The price of all types of cigarettes in Serbia will increase by RSD10 ($0.09) per pack, effective Jan. 1, according to Serbianmonitor.com.
Cigarette prices have increased twice a year since the excise duty schedule was adopted in 2020. Prices will continue to increase until 2025 with the goal to align Serbia with EU standards.
Excise duty for e-liquid is increasing by RSD1 per milliliter, and the price of nonburning tobacco will also increase.
The price of tobacco-based products, including cigarettes, will increase effective January 2023 in Morocco, according to the Administration of Customs and Indirect Taxation, reports Morocco World News.
The increase is part of Morocco’s five-year strategy to decrease smoking rates by raising tariffs. Cigarettes sold in the country will see a MAD1 ($0.09) to MAD2 per pack increase.
Taxes on tobacco-based products will be gradually increased annually for five years under the new strategy.
Shisha and electronic cigarette prices are also set to increase. Now, for every kilo of shisha smoking material, consumers will pay MAD675.
Tax revenues from tobacco products are expected to reach MAD12.5 billion, about a 6 percent increase.
Effective Jan. 1, tobacco companies will have to pay part of Ireland’s multimillion-euro street cleaning bills under new legislation driven by EU moves to cut plastic waste, reports The Irish Times.
Cigarette butts account for half of all litter and are “the biggest litter scourge,” according to the National Litter Pollution Monitoring System.
Beginning this year, tobacco companies will be liable in arrears for part of the costs. The full liability amount will not be set until data is collected on the contribution of cigarette butts to the 2023 litter toll.
A statutory company overseen by the Department of the Environment will be established to ensure that producers are contributing to the cost or redesigning their products to abide by the Brussels directive.
The legislation will later focus on fishing gear, balloons and wet wipes. The change makes producers responsible for the entire life cycle of products, including end-of-use costs.
“It forces companies to rethink what they’re putting on the market and the costs involved—if they have to pay for litter clean-ups, if they have to pay for recycling,” said Bernie Kiely, a senior environment official in circular economy materials management. “What you are doing is putting that whole-of-life cost back on the producers who put it on the market in the first place.”
Cambodia’s Consumer Protection and Fraud Repression General Department of Ministry of Commerce, in cooperation with the National Authority for Combating Drugs, burned 288 boxes of UOLO e-cigarettes, equivalent to 7,200 packs, at a landfill in Phnom Penh’s Dangkor district, reports the Khmer Times.
Heng Maly, director of the Consumer Protection and Fraud Repression General Department, said, “The e-cigarettes were confiscated on Nov. 3, 2022, from a warehouse, pursuant to the order to seize and destroy by the prosecutor of the Phnom Penh Municipal Court.”
The e-cigarettes were discovered after an investigation by the General Department of CCF, which confiscated 3,600 packs of UOLO e-cigarettes, 1,800 e-cigarette machines and 1,800 e-cigarette mouthpieces.
Pyxus International released its Fiscal Year 2022 Sustainability Report. This is Pyxus’ first sustainability report following the release of its environmental, social and governance (ESG) framework in December 2021.
“This report marks a significant milestone in Pyxus’ sustainability journey. It provides stakeholders with a comprehensive understanding of how our ESG framework and business strategy are intertwined and reaffirms our commitment to transparent reporting as we execute against our measurable ESG goals,” said Pyxus President and CEO Pieter Sikkel in a statement. “We are excited to share tangible examples of our progress as we work to transform people’s lives and improve the communities in which we operate.”
“I am proud of the progress made against our global ESG goals, which was achieved in spite of operational hurdles, including two consecutive years of La Nina. This is a prime example as to why we must continue to identify innovative solutions and collaborate with like-minded companies to drive the greatest global impact so that together we can grow a better world,” said Sikkel.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is planning to make recommendations on how to regulate the use of the popular cannabis compound cannabidiol (CBD) in food and supplements, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing agency officials.
After weighing the evidence on the compound’s safety, the FDA will decide within months how to regulate legal cannabis and whether that will require new agency rules or new legislation from Congress, according to the report.
In an interview, Janet Woodcock, the FDA’s deputy commissioner and leader of the agency’s cannabis regulation efforts, expressed concern about the safety of CBD and whether current regulatory pathways for food and dietary supplements are suitable for this substance.
However, the agency is interested in determining whether it is safe to consume CBD on a daily basis for extended periods of time or during pregnancy.
Woodcock mentioned concerns about potential effects on fertility in the future, but, at the same time, her comment signaled that the agency is working to establish regulatory frameworks for the legal sale of appropriate cannabis and cannabis-derived products.
CBD is a chemical compound found in cannabis plants. It is one of the main ingredients in cannabis, but unlike THC, it does not cause a high or have psychoactive effects.
The 2018 Farm Bill legalized hemp cultivation in the U.S., which led to significant growth in the market for CBD products. These products, sold as dietary supplements, are believed to have health benefits. As a result, many businesses in the cannabis industry are now selling CBD products across the country.
Over the last few years, the FDA posted several warning letters to companies for illegally selling products containing CBD. The companies are accused of selling products containing CBD that the FDA states some people may confuse for traditional foods or beverages that do not contain CBD or were making medical claims about their CBD products.
In 2021, The FDA told Charlotte’s Web Holdings, one of the world’s largest CBD companies, that its cannabidiol product cannot be sold as a dietary supplement, signaling that CBD reform may have to wait for congressional action.
After more than 25 years of court battles, General Cigar Co.’s trademark for Cohiba cigars was canceled by the United States Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB).
Scandinavian Tobacco Group, General’s parent company, and Empresa Cubana del Tabaco (Cubatabaco) have fought over the U.S. rights to the Cohiba trademark since 1997. In a ruling earlier this month, the TTAB sided in favor of the Cuban cigar conglomerate in its claim on the name, saying that General Cigar Co.’s registrations on the Cohiba trademark are to be canceled due to a violation of an international agreement that dates back to 1929.
In the U.S., the Cohiba brand is made by General Cigar Co. and is known for a Cohiba logo with a red dot that fills the O in the word. In the rest of the world, the Cohibas found on store shelves come from Cuba and are known for a gold and black color scheme as well as the profile image of a Taino Indian, writes Patrick Lagreid from Halfwheel.
While the TTAB’s ruling indicated that General’s registrations on the Cohiba marks are to be canceled “in due course,” it does not mean that the General-made Cohibas have to immediately be pulled from store shelves. First, the TTAB did not award the Cohiba mark to Cubatabaco; second, General Cigar Co. has vowed to appeal, saying that it will continue to manufacture and sell Cohiba cigars during that process.
Cohiba is a particularly unique case due to both its prominence on the global stage and its creation by the state-run tobacco company after the Cuban Revolution, whereas other brands with Cuban roots that General Cigar Co. owns, such as Partagas, Hoyo de Monterrey and La Gloria Cubana, were assumed by the Cuban government in 1959.
Similarly, General’s largest competitor in the cigar industry, Altadis USA, owns several brands with pre-Revolution roots, including Montecristo, Romeo y Julieta and H. Upmann. Prior to Imperial Brands selling its premium cigar business in April 2020, Altadis USA was owned by Imperial, which also owned a 50 percent stake in Habanos S.A., a joint venture with the Cuban tobacco monopoly for the sales and marketing of Cuban cigars. Imperial also owned stakes in distributors of Habanos S.A. products around the world and stakes in companies that make and distribute Cuban machine-made cigars.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in 2015 ruled in favor of Cubatabaco. After the Supreme Court’s denial to hear the case, it went to the TTAB.
Interested parties can now register for the Jan. 12 U.S. Food and Drug Administration seminar covering the ban of menthol flavors in tobacco products. “The Scientific Basis of Proposed Tobacco Product Standards to Prohibit Menthol as a Characterizing Flavor in Cigarettes and Flavors in Cigars” is the first FDA tobacco-related seminar of the year.
The presentation will provide an overview of the scientific evidence that informed the development of these proposed rules, with an explanation of the external peer review process the FDA utilized for review of the highly influential scientific assessments for these proposed rules.
Bridget Ambrose, director of the Division of Population Health Science in the Office of Science at the FDA’s Center for Tobacco Products, will be the speaker. Ambrose has over 20 years of experience in tobacco control and regulatory science, with specialized experience in longitudinal analyses of tobacco use.
With Republicans in control of the U.S. House, some experts expect the vape industry to thrive.
By Timothy S. Donahue
The next two years should be better than the past two years. That was the overall outlook from vapor industry experts speaking during the Vapor Technology Association’s (VTA) 2022 Post-Election Round-Up webinar in late November. Tony Abboud, executive director of the VTA, told attendees that his organization has been working diligently with two Washington, D.C.-based firms, West Front Strategies, a lobbying group, and FORA Partners, a public affairs agency, to promote the interests of the vaping industry as Republicans take over the U.S. House of Representatives in 2023. “We have a very specific agenda, some of which we’ve discussed (as an overview of what) we are pursuing,” he said. “We’ve done an enormous amount of groundwork.”
Shimmy Stein
Shimmy Stein, a partner with West Front Strategies, said the change in leadership at the House could have a positive impact on the vaping industry until at least the next election cycle. “Anytime you can take over the gavels, take over the control of the messaging, take over control of the chairmanships and the legislation, that is an important piece of governing,” he explained. “And so, while it was not to the extent or to the size which Republicans were hoping for in terms of the majority in the House of Representatives, it’s still pretty significant and will change the manner in which Washington will function.”
Over the next two years, the vaping industry should feel “a little more comfortable, a little more secure” going into a divided Congress (the U.S. Senate leadership did not change), according to Craig Kalkut, a partner with West Front Strategies. However, the vaping industry has always faced threats from both Democrats and Republicans due to their concerns over teen vaping. “We still need to work with both parties. We still could face issues and threats of overregulation and poorly conceived legislation. But the bottom line is that we will have a more comfortable environment with Republicans controlling one house of Congress,” said Kalkut.
Craig Kalkut
Reconciliation, a way for Congress to enact legislation on taxes, spending and the debt limit with only a majority vote, is no longer a threat to the vapor industry, according to Kalkut. He said that’s just not something that can happen in a divided Congress. “What that means, ultimately, is that anything that passes will need to have bipartisan support,” said Kalkut. “And because of that, [legislation] will likely be more limited, more moderate, and hopefully, if there’s any legislation passed in our area, that will be something that allows us to thrive, which addresses the concerns that linger over teen vaping but does not overregulate and drive people away from vaping.”
Kalkut also confirmed that gridlock is a concern in a divided Congress; however, gridlock could also provide incentives for both parties to compromise. “They’re both seen as in charge, so they both sometimes want to get something done. And that will bring people to the table and often over issues that are not central to either party’s ideology,” he said. “It’s hard to come to a compromise on taxes, or it’s hard to come to a compromise on healthcare … but something like vaping, perhaps there will be opportunity for common sense provisions to prevail in an area where Democrats and Republicans can come together.”
Max Hamel
Max Hamel, founding partner of FORA, said when Congress is split, the White House typically relies heavily on its executive privilege. There is no known administration agenda on vaping, so a vaping-related rule is unlikely. With Republicans in control of the House, they also head committees. The House oversight committee and its subcommittees could present opportunity for the vaping industry, according to Hamel.
“We do have new personalities on both the majority and the minority side, so they’ll probably have some growing pains,” he said. “The big question is, how does this new authority, especially in the House, get wielded[?] … whether it’s one seat or 40 seats, the authority with the majority is the same, and it is substantial from [an] investigation and oversight standpoint; [that’s] probably not necessarily true from a legislative standpoint … the oversight subcommittee, we do have the opportunity to surface some things, but it’s really an opportunity for us now to not be on defense and [to] put forth an agenda and some messaging that really focuses on the things that are advantageous to us.”
Additionally, with Juul losing its stranglehold on the vaping market, Hamel said the vaping landscape is changing. Juul became the focus to save youth from vaping, and today, Juul isn’t the focus. The market is made up of a more diverse group of companies with different technologies dedicated to harm reduction. Hamel said this is the message that should be projected. “I think our priority will be focusing on the messages that really emphasize the harm reduction aspects,” he said.
Kalkut then added that the vaping industry has an opportunity now to change the conversation, particularly with Democrats but also Republican critics and skeptics of vaping through the ever-expanding body of science that shows the relative safety and incredible potential for harm reduction that next-generation tobacco products have. “That has become more and more clear as time has gone on over the last couple of years,” he said. “I think once we show that, once we demonstrate our commitment as an association in the industry to addressing teen vaping, we have a real chance of changing the narrative.”
Ashley Davis
Ashley Davis, a founding partner at West Front Strategies, told attendees that, looking back on industry challenges, there has been success. However, her concerns going into the last Congress (2020–2022) were that she didn’t really know in what direction or how forcefully Biden would lean on the vapor industry. She says the industry “dodged a bullet.” The industry could have suffered more than it did those first two years in a Biden administration. She also said the issue of youth use will remain at the forefront of any discussion concerning electronic nicotine-delivery system products.
“We do have to still deal with the youth issue. And I think we all realize that any negative press that comes up is around the youth issue … Everyone loves a microphone. It’s a member of Congress. If there’s an issue to discuss, that’s what they’re going to discuss,” explained Davis. “[We are] trying to make sure that any bad legislation is not passed—it’s much more unlikely in this Congress than it was before.”
Taking a question from the audience, Abboud closed the session speculating on the impact of the Reagan-Udall Foundation’s external review of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s Center for Tobacco Products, the results of which are expected in mid-December.
Abboud said that numerous comments from staffers of the FDA for the Reagan-Udall assessment suggest the regulatory agency is in a state of disarray and is being influenced by outside forces not scientific research. He said he hopes the foundation will advise the FDA that premarket tobacco product application (PMTA) decisions should be free from any external pressures, especially political pressure.
“[The review should recommend to the FDA that PMTA] decisions must be made based upon the science that is submitted as well as making sure that the agency does, in fact, review all of the science that has been submitted as part of any applications as well as [reviewing] all of the applications that have [been] submitted,” said Abboud. “Because that was another big failing of the current process where applications have been rejected [without a full review].”
