Category: News This Week

Fierce Opposition to Legalizing E-Cigarettes

Photo: 1STunningART
A proposal to legalize e-cigarettes in Thailand has run into fierce opposition, reports the Bangkok Post.
Digital Economy and Society Minister Chaiwut Thanakamanusorn said on Tuesday he is exploring ways to permit the sale of e-cigarettes, citing economic opportunities and their potential to help people quit smoking.
At least 67 countries have approved e-cigarettes as a less harmful alternative to smoking while Thailand still refuses to accept them, Chaiwut noted. More importantly, if it is possible to turn tobacco grown in Thailand into e-cigarette products and export them, both the Tobacco Authority of Thailand and tobacco growers will benefit, he said.
The National Alliance for a Tobacco-Free Thailand (NATFT) responded by calling on the government to increase efforts to protect the public from all forms of tobacco products. “Various elements of society, both government and nongovernment, have been working hard to reduce the number of smokers, so legalizing e-cigarettes will only exacerbate the situation,” said NATFT chairwoman Somsri Pausawasdi.
E-cigarettes are not safer choices for people who want to quit smoking while knowledge about their long-term effects on health remains limited for now, echoed Ronnachai Kongsakon, director of the Tobacco Control Research and Knowledge Management Center.
The Medical Association of Thailand, too, has come out strongly against Chaiwut’s proposal.
The organization sent an open letter to Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha asking him to caution the minister. The letter was signed by Amorn Leelarasamee, president of the Medical Association of Thailand, and supported by heads of other organizations, including 14 royal colleges and the National Alliance for Tobacco-Free Thailand.
The president of the Royal College of Surgeons of Thailand, Pramuk Mutirangkura, also voiced his opposition.
Responding to the minister’s assertion that at least 67 countries had approved e-cigarettes as being less harmful than smoking tobacco, Pramuk said that each of those countries had allowed the sale with conditions attached. They were not sold without restrictions, he noted.
Many other countries still banned e-cigarettes because they wanted to protect the people’s health, preferring the “prevention is better than cure” principle, he added.
There are at least 10 million smokers in Thailand.
October 7, 2021
Imperial on Track to Meet Expectations

Photo: MIND AND I
Imperial Brands expects its group net revenue to grow by around 1 percent on an organic constant currency basis for fiscal year 2021, the company revealed in a pre-close trading update ahead of its annual results announcement on Nov. 16.
“We have made good progress in implementing our strategy through a sharper management focus, greater investment behind our priority combustible tobacco markets and new market trials in heated-tobacco and vapor,” said Imperial Brands’ CEO. “We are building a high-performance culture with the introduction of new more consumer-focused ways of working and have made a significant number of new hires to enhance our capabilities in key areas. I am pleased to report the business continues to perform well and we remain on track to deliver our full-year results in line with expectations.”
In Imperial Brands’ combustible cigarette business, greater focus on the company’s five priority markets is beginning to stabilize the long-term aggregate market share performances in these markets with share expected to be slightly lower by around 2–3 basis points compared with a 17 basis point decline in the prior year. The company is stepping up its investment behind its strategic initiatives in each of these priority markets to drive performance improvements. Overall tobacco volumes are in line with expectations, and total group cigarette market share is expected to grow by about 20 basis points. The net effect of the Covid-19 travel restrictions and changes in consumer buying patterns have been a small mix benefit, according to Imperial Brands, although this is beginning to reduce as restrictions are lifted and is likely to unwind further in fiscal year 2022.

We have made progress in implementing our strategy through a sharper management focus, greater investment behind our priority combustible tobacco markets and market trials in heated-tobacco and vapor.
Stefan Bomhard, CEO, Imperial Brands
In next-generation products (NGP), Imperial Brands expects its second-half revenue to be at a similar level to the first half, reflecting the impact of market exits as the company focuses on the categories and markets with the best potential for sustainable growth. The company has taken steps this year to strengthen its capabilities and performance to create a solid foundation for future growth. In line with this strategy, it has launched market trials for its heated-tobacco proposition in the Czech Republic and Greece as well as a trial of an improved consumer marketing proposition for its vapor product, blu, in Charlotte, North Carolina, USA. The company says it will be monitoring the consumer response to these trials over the coming months and will update on progress during 2022.
Group adjusted organic operating profit growth is expected to be in line with Imperial Brands’ guidance of low to mid-single digit constant currency growth, reflecting significantly reduced losses in NGP and increased distribution profit. “The tobacco business has performed well, although adjusted operating profit will be slightly lower than last year, as previously guided, as a result of the planned increased investment to support our strategic plan as well as lower stock revenue/profit in Australia (about £90 million) and U.S. state litigation settlement costs (about £50 million),” the company wrote in its trading update.
October 6, 2021
EU Tax Consultation Split on Vapor Issues

Image: mazhor
Participants in the public consultation organized by the European Commission on the review of the Tobacco Taxation Directive are split on many questions relating to e-cigarettes and e-liquids, according to the Independent European Vape Alliance (IEVA).
Following the publication of the raw data by the European Commission, the IEVA conducted a preliminary analysis of the first results.
According to the group, the participation rate to this public consultation was higher than usual. The survey gathered 7,262 answers, 89.2 percent originating from EU citizens, 6 percent from companies and business organization and 1.1 percent from business associations.
Most active respondents were based in France (26.9 percent), Greece (23.2 percent), Germany (7.9 percent), Poland (6.5 percent), Italy (5.8 percent), Romania (5 percent) and Spain (4.3 percent).
Regarding specific questions on e-cigarettes and e-liquids, the results provide some light trends but the answers remain overall even split:
Harmonization of tax rules for e-liquids containing nicotine:
45.6 percent against, 44.8 percent in favor, almost 10 percent undecided
Harmonization of tax rules for e-liquids that do not contain nicotine:
50.8 percent against, 40 percent in favor, almost 10 percent undecided
Establishment of a minimum tax on e-cigarettes:
46.7 percent answered “none,” 41.6 percent answered “€0.10/mL,” 5.6 percent answered “€0.30/mL,” 6.1 percent said either “don’t know” or provided no answer
According to the IEVA, the main question to be answered now is how the commission will interpret the 10 percent indecisive parties for the first and the second question, as those 10 percent could tilt the balance in one way or another.
Following the closure of the public consultation, the European Commission may now complete drafting of the proposal to revise the tobacco taxation directive. The IEVA expects the document to be presented in the fourth quarter of 2021 or the first quarter of 2022.
October 6, 2021
Poda Delivers 500,000 Pods

Image: Poda Holdings
Poda Holdings has delivered 500,000 Beyond Burn Poda Pods.
The customer is expected to now begin preparations for launching the products into the Asian and European marketplaces.
“This delivery marks the beginning of large-scale sales of Poda’s products,” said Ryan Selby, Poda’s CEO, in a statement. “Our pilot production facility continues to produce nearly 400,000 Poda Pods per month, and this production will be used to support continued sales growth to strategic customers in markets around the world.
“Our goal is to continue priming key markets so that we will be able to sell the entirety of our anticipated 10 million monthly production capacity as soon as the production facility is brought online. I look forward to an exciting 2022 as we, through our strategic subsidiaries, continue to grow our production capacities and sales volumes and expand our operations into markets around the globe.”
October 6, 2021
BAT to Engage on Executive Pay

Photo: BAT
BAT will be engaging with its shareholders to better understand their perspectives on the management of executive pay, the company announced in a press note.
At the company’s, annual general meeting on April 28, 2021, significant minorities voted against resolutions dealing with directors’ remuneration and authority to allot shares.
Nearly 40 percent of shareholders voted against Resolution 2—Directors’ Remuneration Report. “Whilst we note that the decisions taken by the remuneration committee have been supported by the majority of our shareholders, we do recognize that a significant minority of shareholders and some shareholder advisory bodies have not been supportive of these decisions, in particular, fixed pay increases awarded to executives in 2020 and 2021,” BAT wrote. “This has been taken on board by the committee, and we are committed to achieving a greater understanding of the underlying reasons that have seen some of our shareholders being unable to support the resolution.”
During the annual general meeting, 27.67 percent of participants voted against Resolution 16—Renewal of Directors’ Authority to Allot Shares. “Through our shareholder engagement, the board is aware that there is a divergence between prevailing U.K. market practice for FTSE companies to retain an authority to allot in line with the IA share capital management guidelines and governance policies maintained by certain overseas investors, which either do not support a general allotment authority or only support a general authority at lower levels,” BAT wrote.
“Whilst we recognize that some shareholders are unable to support an allotment authority at the level sought, we note this level of authority continues to be supported by the majority of our shareholders and is in line with prevailing U.K. market practice. Although there is no present intention to exercise this authority, we continue to consider that this level of authority is appropriate to maintain flexibility for the company.
“We will maintain dialogue with shareholders for which this authority continues to present concerns and will keep best practice in this area under review.”
October 6, 2021
British Army to End Smoking by 2022

Photo: niyazz
The British Army will no longer allow smoking from 2022.
British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace has directed the Defense Smoke-Free Working Environment policy to help smokers give up smoking and prevent nonsmokers from taking up the habit. Vaping will still be allowed in designated areas.
The policy will support the British government’s aim to reduce U.K. adult smoking from 15.5 percent to 12 percent.
The policy will prohibit “the use of all tobacco products (including combustible and chewing tobacco products) within the perimeter of a Defense site and/or near to site entrances [with the exception of single living accommodations]. The policy is Whole Force and includes anyone on-site (including contractors, visitors and other non-MOD personnel) all hours and all days.”
October 5, 2021
EU Asked to Scrutinize Lithuania’s Flavor Ban

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The Independent European Vape Alliance (IEVA) has called on the European Commission to scrutinize Lithuania’s plan to ban all vapor flavors except tobacco.
Lithuanian lawmakers want to amend the country’s tobacco control laws to reduce the attractiveness and demand for e-cigarettes. The legislators say they are worried about the growing popularity of vaping, especially among young consumers.
The IEVA is particularly concerned by Article 1 of the draft law, which calls for a ban on sales of e-cigarettes and refill containers filled with liquids (both nicotine-containing and nicotine-free) containing flavors other than tobacco.
The IEVA believes the proposed legislation is disproportionate to the objective. In a press note, the group said that, in drafting policies, EU member states should choose the means that least restrict the movement of goods. It noted that Lithuania already has a licensing law that regulates the market and prevents underage consumers from buying vapor products.
The IEVA predicted that the law would eliminate more than 10,000 jobs and reduce tax revenues. It also warned that the ban would boost illicit sales.
The IEVA’s full submission to the European Commission is available here.
October 5, 2021
Taat Reports Increased Loss on Record Revenue

Photo: Taat Global Alternatives
Taat Global Alternatives reported a net loss of CAD7.74 million ($6.15 million) on sales of CAD1.31 million in the third quarter of 2021. In the comparable period of 2020, the company registered a loss of CAD3.75 million on sales of CAD63,481. Gross revenue increased by 1,956 percent from the same period in the prior year.
The company attributes the increase in net loss to increased marketing efforts relating to the advertising of its product in sporting events.
Throughout the third quarter of 2021, the company continued the rollout of its flagship product, Taat, in the United States as a nicotine-free and tobacco-free alternative to tobacco cigarettes. Based on early-stage success at retail in Ohio and through e-commerce across the United States, the popularity of Taat continued to grow among smokers as well as retailers of tobacco products and their respective wholesale/distribution partners, according to Taat Global Alternatives.
Our growth has accelerated this quarter as we continued to build the popularity of Taat among smokers aged 21-plus,” said Taat CEO Setti Coscarella in a statement.
“We have undertaken aggressive strategies to market Taat in this consumer segment in order to sustain and grow interest in the United States by continuing to add stores to expand our sales pipeline. Establishing a reputable and well-known brand comes with the long-term benefit of laying the groundwork to introduce Taat to new global markets.”
During the final week of September 2021, the first overseas shipment of Taat arrived in London for distribution in the United Kingdom and Ireland. Management of Taat anticipates that the existing brand presence will launch the commercialization of Taat in these new markets as the company continues to grow its sales footprint in the United States.
October 5, 2021
Kate Wang Resigns from RLX Audit Committee

Photo: RLX Technology
RLX Technology founder Ying (Kate) Wang has resigned as a member of the audit committee of the company’s board of directors to help RLX comply with the relevant New York Stock Exchange’s listing requirements on audit committees’ independence.
Going forward, the audit committee will be composed entirely of independent directors—Zhenjing Zhu and Youmin Xi—RLX technology announced in press note.
October 5, 2021
Universal Completes Acquisition of Shank’s
Photo: Gajus
Universal Corp. has completed its previously announced acquisition of Shank’s Extracts, a privately held, specialty ingredient, flavoring and food company with bottling and packaging capabilities.
The acquisition expands Universal’s plant-based ingredients platform, adding to the company’s product offerings and growing the value-added services available to its customers by adding flavors, custom packaging and bottling, and product development capabilities.
Shank’s has a strong presence within the flavoring, extracts and bottling marketplace, with significant vanilla expertise, according to Universal Corp. In addition to pure vanilla extract products, Shank’s offers a portfolio of over 2,400 other extracts, distillates, natural flavors and colors for industrial and private label customers worldwide.
Shank’s employs more than 200 people and has a 191,000-square-foot manufacturing campus in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, USA.
October 5, 2021