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Category: News This Week

  • Black Buffalo Named Official Dip of Major League Fishing

    Black Buffalo Named Official Dip of Major League Fishing

    Black Buffalo Inc. announced that it has been named the “Official Dip of Major League Fishing” under a yearlong marketing partnership spanning the Bass Pro Tour, Fishing Clash Team Series, Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit, Toyota Series, and Phoenix Bass Fishing League. The agreement integrates the brand across MLF’s social, broadcast, livestream, newsletter, and on-site event channels, including logo placement on 2026 Team Series boat wraps and a major presence at REDCREST 2026 and the Outdoor Sports Expo at Table Rock Lake near Springfield.

    Executives from both organizations said the partnership aligns with the outdoor lifestyle of MLF’s fanbase and Black Buffalo’s adult consumer audience aged 21+, with brand visibility planned across the league’s 360-degree media platform throughout the 2026 season.

  • PCA Acquires The Cigar Academy

    PCA Acquires The Cigar Academy

    The Premium Cigar Association announced that it has acquired The Cigar Academy from Oliva Cigars, positioning the platform as the industry’s central education and certification hub for premium cigars. Created to preserve artisanal knowledge and heritage, the Academy will now operate as a PCA-controlled unit, offering scalable global training for retailers, manufacturers, duty-free, and hospitality partners, with a growing base of certified professionals.

    PCA CEO Joshua Habursky said the move expands the association’s role beyond advocacy into professional development, while Oliva CEO Cory Bappert welcomed the transition as a natural next step for the program’s growth. Planned expansions include a retailer-focused curriculum, in-person training at farms and factories in the U.S. and major producing countries, and an online Luxury Hospitality Executive Education Program in collaboration with Florida International University.

  • Pakistan Arrests Two for ‘Procedural Violations’ in Selling Tobacco Machines

    Pakistan Arrests Two for ‘Procedural Violations’ in Selling Tobacco Machines

    Two people were arrested in Swabi, Pakistan, after a raid by the Federal Board of Revenue over the alleged unlawful removal of tobacco manufacturing machinery, in a case that has drawn competing claims from authorities and industry representatives. Officials from RTO Peshawar say the action was taken under the Federal Excise Act, 2005, which requires prior excise approval before any cigarette production equipment is relocated, due to the risk that machinery could be used for untaxed manufacturing. An FIR was lodged following the raid, and two “owners,” along with an excise manager, were detained.

    The company disputes the allegations, saying the machinery was surplus equipment legally sold on March 19 to a registered buyer, with Rs1.8 million ($6,480) paid in sales tax, and those arrested were employees, not owners. Management argues that the transaction complied with applicable rules and that excise officials acted unjustly, causing reputational harm. Industry figure Iqbal Khan Shewa also criticized the arrests, suggesting the action could negatively affect tobacco growers and associated livelihoods, while authorities maintain the case centers on procedural excise violations rather than the commercial sale itself.

  • Azerbaijan Bans E-Cigarettes

    Azerbaijan Bans E-Cigarettes

    Azerbaijan banned the import, export, production, storage, sale, and use of electronic cigarettes and their components from April 1, under amendments to the tobacco law approved by President Ilham Aliyev. The changes classify nicotine-containing e-cigarettes as tobacco products and define them as devices for inhaling nicotine or nicotine-free vapor, while explicitly excluding heated tobacco products from this category.

    Amendments to the administrative code set fines for violations at 350–500 manats ($206 to $294) for individuals, 1,650–2,200 manats ($971 to $1.294) for officials, and 4,000–5,000 manats ($2.353 to $2.941) for legal entities. Heated tobacco products are defined separately as items that generate a nicotine-containing aerosol through heating without combustion or smoke.

  • Illicits Cutting into Malaysian Sundry Shop Sales Beyond Cigarettes

    Illicits Cutting into Malaysian Sundry Shop Sales Beyond Cigarettes

    Sundry shops across Malaysia are losing customers to widespread illegal cigarette sellers, according to the Federation of Sundry Goods Merchants Associations of Malaysia. Its president, Hong Chee Meng, said illicit sales by unlicensed retailers, including outlets run by migrant workers outside the association, are undercutting legitimate family-run businesses that comply with regulations and contribute to government revenue.

    With legal cigarette prices ranging from RM12.40 to RM18.40 ($3.10 to $4.60) per pack versus RM3 to RM8 ($0.75 to $2) for illicit products, the price gap is drawing smokers away from compliant retailers. Hong said cigarettes are a key traffic driver for sundry shops, and when customers buy from illegal sellers, shops also lose add-on purchases such as drinks, snacks, and household goods, compounding the impact on small businesses.

  • JTI Adding €300M Factory in Romania

    JTI Adding €300M Factory in Romania

    Japan Tobacco International announced a €300 million investment to build a new, state-of-the-art factory in Ștefăneștii de Jos, marking its next step after more than 30 years of operations in Romania. In a LinkedIn post, JTI said the facility will add nearly 70,000 square meters of production space and feature advanced equipment, 100% renewable energy operations, expanded waste management, and a dedicated water treatment system, underscoring the company’s long-term commitment to sustainable manufacturing in the country.

  • Al Fakher to Debut Nicotine Pouches

    Al Fakher to Debut Nicotine Pouches

    Al Fakher, best known for its hookah products, announced the launch of Al Fakher Nicotine Pouches today (March 31) at the Total Products Expo in Las Vegas, marking the brand’s entry into the tobacco-free oral nicotine category. The product line debuts with four flavors—Frosty Apple, Spearmint, Mango, and Wintergreen—each offered in 4 mg and 8 mg strengths, and will roll out broadly in April 2026 following the show.

  • BAT Malaysia to Trim Workforce

    BAT Malaysia to Trim Workforce

    British American Tobacco Malaysia Bhd said it may reduce its workforce as part of an operational “optimization” linked to the rollout of a new route-to-market distribution model from July 1. In a filing today (March 31), the company said affected employees would receive statutory and contractual entitlements, including retrenchment benefits where applicable. BAT Malaysia reported 283 employees in its 2024 annual report, but the filing did not specify how many roles could be impacted. The company said the move is intended to align staffing with future operating requirements and follows a shift begun in 2022 toward allowing retailers to place orders through online channels, sales representatives, or call centers, a model it previously said could reduce costs by 20% to 25%.

    The announcement comes amid tighter regulation of tobacco products in Malaysia, including a reported plan for a nationwide vape ban starting with disposable products, a 42.8% excise duty increase on tobacco and heated tobacco products under Budget 2026, new pictorial health warnings, and a ban on retail cigarette displays. The Control of Smoking Products for Public Health Act, which took effect in 2024, prohibits the sale of tobacco and vape products to individuals under 18. Shares of BAT Malaysia last traded at RM5.65 ($1.41) at today’s noon break, valuing the company at RM1.61 billion ($403 million).

  • Charlotte’s Web Announces Financials, Deal with BAT

    Charlotte’s Web Announces Financials, Deal with BAT

    Charlotte’s Web Holdings, Inc. announced a transaction with BT DE Investments yesterday (March 30), a subsidiary of British American Tobacco, to convert a $54.2 million convertible debenture plus accrued interest into equity at $0.68 per share and complete a concurrent $10 million private placement, resulting in the issuance of about 110 million shares and a total equity commitment of roughly $75 million. The deal would eliminate about $65 million in debt, stop future interest accrual, and leave the company with no long-term debt, subject to shareholder and TSX approval at a meeting planned for May 28, 2026.

    Today (March 31), the company released its 2025 financials and said it advanced product innovation, in-house manufacturing, and healthcare channel development while holding annual revenue broadly steady at $49.9 million. Fourth-quarter revenue rose 4.7% year over year to $13.3 million, supported by new Brightside low-dose hemp THC gummies, sleep products, functional mushrooms, and minor cannabinoids, though gross margin was affected by a one-time inventory charge tied to legacy gummies. Full-year gross margin improved to 43.5% and SG&A fell 21% to $42 million following cost reductions, narrowing the operating loss to $20.3 million from $32 million in 2024. The company ended the year with $8 million in cash and reported progress toward internalizing gummy production, achieving a clean NSF 455-2 cGMP audit, and establishing a Scientific Advisory Board to support its expanding medical practitioner channel.

    Charlotte’s Web said the strengthened balance sheet will support its planned participation in a Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Innovation pilot enabling access to hemp-derived CBD products for Medicare beneficiaries and ongoing clinical development by DeFloria, its joint venture with BAT and Ajna BioSciences, which is preparing to begin Phase 2 trials of a botanical CBD-based treatment candidate in mid-2026.

  • Nicokick Urges Clarity on Smoke-Free Information

    Nicokick Urges Clarity on Smoke-Free Information

    Nicokick.com, owned by Haypp Group, called on policymakers and health professionals to provide clearer, evidence-based information distinguishing the risks of combustible cigarettes from non-combusted nicotine products. The appeal follows a report by the Foundation for American Innovation highlighting high tobacco and nicotine use among U.S. servicemembers and recommending that institutions recognize differences between product types when addressing health and readiness. Nicokick cited the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s recognition of a “continuum of risk” across tobacco products and said improved adult-focused communication could help consumers and healthcare professionals better understand these distinctions while reinforcing that smoke-free products are intended only for existing adult users.