Category: News This Week

Smoore Recognized for Industrial Design

Photo: Smoore
Smoore has been recognized by the Shenzhen Municipality Industrial Design Development Support Program for its innovation and design capabilities.
The municipality singled out the vaping technology’s specialist for its “innovative design and achievement transformation of closed-pod electronic atomizer based on leadless ceramic heating technology.”
The industrial design team of Feelm, Smoore’s flagship atomization brand, has designed a number of solutions that combine consumer experience with advanced smart manufacturing.
Between 2020 and 2022, Feelm’s industrial design team won eight prestige International design awards, including the Red Dot Award, the iF Design Award, the German National Design Award and the MUSE Design Award.
In 2022, won a Red Dot Product Design Awards for four products, including a lipstick-inspired vaporizer with a twistable nozzle that prevents dust from collecting on the mouthpiece, and an eco-friendly disposable e-cigarette composed of recyclable and reusable aluminum foil.
“Feelm design is devoted to helping clients in improving the user experience from the perspective of a vaping tech brand,” said Totom Lu, head of Feelm Industrial design team, in a statement. “I think the future direction of design of closed-pod vaping solution should lean on three dimensions: product experience, emotional experience—to identify problems before users notice them—and sustainable experience, to focus on product sustainability.”
July 1, 2022
Bentley: Juul Exit Bad For Harm Reduction

Photo: steheap
The Food and Drug Administration’s order to remove Juul products from the U.S. market threatens progress in tobacco harm reduction, according to Guy Bentley, director of consumer freedom at the Reason Foundation.
Guy Bentley
Writing on the foundation’s website, Bentley reminds his audience that e-cigarettes are not only less harmful than their combustible counterparts, but they are also more effective in helping smokers quit than FDA-approved therapies such as nicotine gum and patches
The FDA, he writes, acknowledged as much when it authorized Vuse e-cigarettes in 2021 and claims it recognizes the role these safer nicotine alternatives can play in reducing smoking.
If the Juul order is implemented, says Bentley, many Juul users will likely return to smoking, while a portion of smokers who would have transitioned to Juul will continue to light up.
Bentley says the FDA Juul denial makes a mockery of the claim that it’s evaluating science in the best interests of public health. A study published in the New England Journal of Medicine found e-cigarettes to be twice as effective as traditional nicotine replacement therapies.
According to Bentley, the decision also punctures a hole in the logic of the FDA’s recently announced policy to reduce nicotine levels in cigarettes to minimally or non-addictive levels. Without an acceptable legal alternative, smokers may simply smoke more cigarettes to get their nicotine fix.
“By banning the most popular e-cigarette among adults, the agency’s commitment to transitioning smokers to safer alternatives rings hollow,” writes Bentley.
June 30, 2022
Taat Quarterly Revenue up Nearly 10 Percent

Photo: Taat Global Alternatives
Taat Global Alternatives reported gross revenue of CAD515,464 ($399,049) for the second quarter of fiscal 2022, up 9.7 percent over that reported in the comparable 2021 quarter. More than 54 percent of its gross quarter revenues came from repeat orders during the quarter.
The company’s cost of goods sold dropped, reflecting an improvement in gross margin from 28.09 percent in the first quarter of 2022 to 46.1 percent in second quarter of 2022
The company’s flagship product, a nicotine-free and tobacco-free cigarette called Taat, is currently sold in over 2,700 U.S. stores, which include locations of major national and global chains in the convenience and gas categories.
As a greater quantity of Taat in retail circulation is now manufactured with the Version III formulation of its patent-pending Beyond Tobacco base material, the company and its wholesale/retail partners have reported improvements to the conversion rates of adult smokers who choose Taat instead of their preferred brand of tobacco cigarettes.
Earlier this year, Taat entered into an agreement to acquire ADCO Distributors, an Ohio tobacco distributor. The Taat brand name became a registered trademark in eight global markets including the the United States and the European Union.
“Our fiscal Q2 2022 was a pivotal timeframe for the company as we made two key transitions,” said Taat Founder Joe Deighan in a statement. “The first was the acquisition of ADCO, which added integrated distribution to our business model in addition to a steady revenue stream of over CAD$87 million (based on 2021 financial results) to complement our existing sales pipeline of Taat throughout the United States.
“The second was rotating Taat inventory with our wholesale and retail partners to ensure Taat made with the V3 formulation of Beyond Tobacco is as available as possible across our nationwide footprint. It’s tricky to articulate just how significant V3 is compared to our previous formulations.
“Consumer feedback from adult smokers who have tried V3 reflects validation of our mission to create an experience that is truly better than their preferred tobacco cigarette brand. This has done wonders for our conversion rates at the point of sale, which is why we elected to take the plunge to voluntarily replace existing inventory with product made using V3.
“With the added distribution bandwidth resulting from our acquisition of ADCO, we are excited to be carrying on as an integrated player in the $812 billion global tobacco category, and are thankful to our loyal base of investors for their continued support.”
June 30, 2022
Commission Wants Ban on Flavored THPs

Photo: Kuznietsov Dmitriy
The European Commission on June 29 proposed a ban on the sale of flavored heated tobacco products.
The move is part of Europe’s “beating cancer plan,” which envisions less than 5 percent of the EU population using tobacco by 2040.
“With nine out of 10 lung cancers caused by tobacco, we want to make smoking as unattractive as possible to protect the health of our citizens and save lives,” said EU health commissioner Stella Kyriakides.
According to EU figures, cancer is the second-leading cause of death in the bloc of 450 million residents. There are about 1.3 million cancer deaths and 3.5 million new cases per year in the EU.
Kyriakides said that regulators need to “keep pace” with new developments to “address the endless flow of new products entering the market.”
A recent report showed a 10 percent increase in sales volumes of flavored heated tobacco products in more than five EU countries between 2018 and 2020. Overall in the EU, these products exceeded 2.5 percent of total tobacco product sales in 2020.
The Council and the Parliament will debate the Commission’s proposal before it enters into force 20 days after the publication in the Official Journal. EU countries will have eight months to transpose the directive into national law, and a further three months before the provisions will apply.
June 29, 2022
AOI Partners with University of Lavras
Alliance One International recently partnered with the Federal University of Lavras (UFLA) in Minas Gerais, Brazil, to provide third-party, specialized training to its agronomic employees around the world. The program was established to promote an enhanced employee skillset, which ultimately can benefit AOI’s contracted farmers through improved efficiencies and maximized income potential.
The virtual training program, “From the Seeds to the Cured Leaves,” was conducted by UFLA agronomy professors and took place over the course of six weeks, bringing together AOI tobacco leaf agronomists from 18 countries on five continents.
“Our global agronomy team members have extensive agronomic knowledge about tobacco production, and most have been working with the crop for several years. This professional development program was organized to offer our employees a continuing education opportunity to deepen their knowledge on some of the most technical and scientific aspects of tobacco cultivation,” said Helio Moura, AOI’s global agronomy director, in a statement.
Topics covered in the training ranged from methods to build soil fertility to tobacco ecophysiology—the connection between the plant and its environment—at varying stages of the crop production process.
“Crop production methodologies and best practices are rapidly evolving due to new technologies and research, as well as the impacts stemming from climate change,” said AOI President Alex Strohschoen. “Ensuring our agronomists continue to advance their knowledge base not only encourages employee motivation and engagement, it also aids our global agronomy team in transferring this knowledge to our grower base, helping to strengthen the farmers’ crop quality and yield and delivering value to our stakeholders.”
The Company intends to expand the partnership to provide further training and education opportunities to employees. Additionally, the training sessions “From the Seeds to the Cured Leaves,” have been recorded and will be available to employees to review.
June 29, 2022
PMI’s Swedish Match Offer Document Now Public

Photo: Swedish Match
The Swedish Financial Supervisory Authority has approved and registered the document of Philip Morris International’s offer for Swedish Match.
Last month, PMI’s Philip Morris Holland Holdings affiliate offered SEK161.2 billion ($16.14 billion). Swedish Match’s board of directors has advised the company’s shareholders to accept the offer.
The offer document is available on the offer website in English and Swedish and will be available on the Swedish Financial Supervisory Authority’s website in Swedish.
A copy of the offer document and a preprinted acceptance form will be sent to shareholders of Swedish Match whose shares were directly registered with Euroclear Sweden as of June 29, 2022.
The acceptance period ends on Sept. 30, 2022.
June 29, 2022
Nigeria Raises Tobacco Taxes

Photo: Richard Darko
The Nigerian government has enacted a new tax regime this month, reports ICIR Nigeria
On June 1, the ad valorem tax rate has increased to 30 percent from 10 percent. In addition, the government raised the excise rate on cigarettes to NGN84 ($0.20) from NGN58 per pack of 20 sticks. The excise tax is set to increase further to NGN94 per pack in 2023 and NGN104 per pack in 2024.
Shisha tobacco, which is currently taxed at NGN3,000 per liter and NGN1,000 per kg will increase yearly by NGN500.
“This pro-health tax is an effective public health control measure against behavioral risk factors as it can reduce demand and consumption of tobacco products,” said Minister of State for Health Olorunimbe Mamora.
“It will also prompt tobacco users to switch spending their resources on tobacco products to healthy alternatives such as education, health and others.”
In compliance with the National Tobacco Act (2015) and Regulations (2019), the government has also commenced screening and issuing operational licenses to qualifying tobacco businesses.
The new licensing guideline requires strict adherence to regulations requiring graphic health warnings on tobacco product packaging.
According to Mamora, about 4.5 million Nigerians 15 years and older use tobacco products, and about 3.1 million are current smokers.
June 29, 2022
Juul: FDA ‘Overlooked’ Aerosol Data

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration overlooked a key part of Juul’s premarket tobacco product application (PMTA) when the agency ordered Juul Labs’ products off the U.S. market, according to court documents.
In court filings Tuesday, Juul said the agency overlooked more than 6,000 pages of data that the company had submitted to the FDA on the aerosols that users inhale, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Juul also said the agency failed to consider the totality of Juul’s evidence, which the company said established that the public-health benefits of Juul products significantly outweighed the potential risks.
“FDA’s order acknowledged that ‘exposure to carcinogens and other toxicants present in cigarette smoke were greatly reduced with exclusive use’ of Juul products compared with combustible cigarettes,” Juul Labs stated in court documents.
A federal appeals court last week granted Juul Labs a temporary stay of the FDA’s marketing denial order that requires the vaping company to pull its e-cigarettes off the U.S. market.
“The purpose of this administrative stay is to give the court sufficient opportunity to consider petitioner’s forthcoming emergency motion for stay pending court review and should not be construed in any way as a ruling on the merits of that motion,” the court wrote.
The FDA has until July 7 to respond to Juul’s motion and Juul Labs has until July 12 to reply to the FDA response if submitted.
June 28, 2022
Bangladesh Mulls Ban on E-Cigs and Pouches

Photo: sezerozger
Bangladesh’ Ministry of Health and Family Welfare wants to amend the country’s tobacco act to ban e-cigarettes and oral nicotine pouches, reports The Business Standard. The proposal also includes new restrictions on combustible tobacco products.
Health activists have been calling for prohibition of e-cigarettes, which are not mentioned in the current legislation. The proposal would prohibit not only the consumption of vapor products, but also the production, import, export, storage, sale and transportation of e-cigarettes or their parts.
People caught vaping would face maximum fine of BDT5,000 ($53.80) under the plan, while producers and traders would risk imprisonment for a maximum of six months or a fine not exceeding BDT200,000 or both for the first time. The punishment would double each time the offence is repeated.
E-cigarettes started arriving informally in Bangladesh a few years ago and quickly became popular. As demand increased, British American Tobacco started producing and selling e-cigarettes in the market. Japan Tobacco is also reportedly preparing to market e-cigarettes in Bangladesh.
The health ministry’s proposal would also tighten restrictions on traditional tobacco products. Among other provisions, it includes a ban on flavors and an increase in the size of graphic health warnings to 90 percent of the packaging’s surface from the 50 percent required under current legislation. The draft also foresees new retail licensing requirements and limitation on where tobacco can be sold.
The health ministry has recently sent copies of the draft to stakeholders. The Directorate General of Health Services is accepting opinions on the draft until July 14.
June 28, 2022
Police: Menthol Ban Will ‘Create Crime’

Photo: Nomad Soul
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s proposed ban on menthol cigarettes could have unintended consequences, according to leading law enforcement officers.
Among other problems, it could boost the illicit cigarette market. In 2020, of the $203 billion cigarettes sold in the United States, 37 percent were menthol. “Transitioning from a regulated market to an illicit one will lead to about $30 billion of an illicit market,” said Major Neill Franklin, former executive director of the Law Enforcement Action Partnership, in a statement published by Menthol is Not a Crime.
If the FDA bans menthol cigarettes, this will “create crime,” and you will get “homemade menthol cigarettes,” said retired Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives agent John Rotunno.
Charles Giblin from the Center for the Advancement of Public Safety and Security stated, “Despite the good intentions … the ban will have unintended consequences. Cross-border smuggling will fill the gap of the prohibition.”
Others highlighted the racist implications of the ban since more than 80 percent of African Americans who smoke prefer menthol cigarettes.
“Bans do not work. During the war on drugs, more Black and Brown people went to jail than in all of slavery. About 90 percent of people targeted by stop-and-frisk were Black and Brown people,” according to John Dixon III, former police chief of Petersburg, Virginia, and former president of the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives.
“We are not promoting people to smoke,” but “we don’t want another situation like that of Eric Garner [Garner was killed by New York Police Department officers after they approached him on suspicion of selling single cigarettes],” said Charles Billups, founding member of the NCJP, retired law enforcement officer and chairperson of the New York State Grand Council of Guardians.
Franklin expanded, “An illicit market is even more problematic for the Black community. Law enforcement will have no option other than to aggressively enforce smuggling and smoking bans … In an effort to identify smugglers, police will ‘creatively interact’ with citizens for minor crimes, like jaywalking, loitering, trespassing, traffic violations—using those crimes for leverage for information on their tobacco sources. This is the same tactic we use for locating guns and drugs.”
The public has until Aug. 2 to submit a written comment via the FDA website.
June 27, 2022