Category: News This Week

New CFO of Imperial Brands to Start Earlier

Photo: Casimirokt | Dreamstime.com
Lukas Paravicini will join Imperial Brands’ board of directors on May 1 and become chief financial officer on May 19, the day after the company publishes its half-year results.
Oliver Tant will step down from the board on May 19 and will be available to work with Paravicini through the end of June to ensure a smooth and orderly handover.
The dates have been brought forward from those announced on Feb. 17, when Imperial Brands first revealed Paravicini’s appointment.
Before joining ED&F Man Holdings, Paravicini held senior positions at Fonterra, the world’s largest dairy exporter. He was chief financial officer from 2013–2017 and chief operating officer of global consumer and foodservice business from 2017–2018. Prior to that, he spent 22 years with Nestle in various senior finance and general management roles, working in South America and latterly in Switzerland for Nestle Professional, the food service arm of Nestle, first as chief financial officer and then as vice president and general manager of Europe.
As chief financial officer of Imperial Brands, Paravicini will receive an annual salary of £730,000 ($1 million) and a pension allowance.
April 12, 2021
Saudi Arabia Bans Underage Sales

Saudi Arabia has banned the sale of tobacco to people under 18 years old and smoking in areas where children are present, reports The National.
Importing and selling toys or candy made to look like cigarettes, or that bear images that encourage children to smoke, has also been banned by law.
Saudi Arabia aims to reduce tobacco consumption to 5 percent by 2030.
In 2019, it banned smoking in public places, such as airports, restaurants, educational institutes and public transport.
The kingdom has also introduced a tax on tobacco products to curb smoking and raised the price of shisha by 100 percent.
Meanwhile, the Saudi Ministry of Health has launched anti-smoking clinics to facilitate access to therapeutic services and provide consultations to those who wish to quit smoking.
April 12, 2021
U.S. Customs Seize Unapproved Juul Pods
U.S. Customs and Border Protections (CPB) officers in Indianapolis seized six shipments containing more than 10,000 unapproved Juul Pods. All the shipments originated from an individual in Ontario, Canada, and were headed to various locations in New York and New Jersey.
The shipments arrived separately and were all seized on April 8. The packages were mismanifested as electrical apparatus, a common practice used by smugglers. A total of 10,464 pods were seized. The pods had an MSRP over $156,000.
“Our officers are dedicated to identifying and intercepting these types of shipments that could potentially harm communities,” said Kerry Carter, acting port director for Indianapolis in a statement. “Our officers and specialists enforce hundreds of laws for many partner agencies and are committed to ensuring the health and safety of American citizens.”
Last year, the Food and Drug Administration announced an increased enforcement priority of electronic nicotine-delivery systems and issued detailed guidance to the industry of these new enforcement priorities that regulate the unauthorized importation of tobacco products.
April 12, 2021
Global Tobacco Market to Reach $1.1 Trillion

Photo: Igor Akimov | Dreamstime.com
Amid the Covid-19 crisis, the global market for tobacco estimated at $845.1 billion in the year 2020 is projected to reach a revised value of $1.1 trillion by 2027, according to a new report published by Research and Markets. This translates into a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 3.2 percent.
Cigarettes are projected to record a 3.1 percent CAGR and reach $734.4 billion by 2027. After an early analysis of the business implications of the pandemic and its induced economic crisis, growth in the smokeless segment is readjusted to a revised 3.1 percent CAGR for the next seven years.
The U.S. tobacco market is estimated at $228.8 billion in the year 2020. China, the world’s second-largest economy, is forecast to reach a projected market size of $203.5 billion by the year 2027, trailing a CAGR of 5 percent over the analysis period.
Among the other noteworthy markets are Japan and Canada, forecast to grow at 2 percent and 2.5 percent, respectively, over the 2020–2027 period. Germany is forecast to grow at approximately 2.4 percent CAGR.

In the cigars and cigarillos segment, Canada, Japan, China, Europe and the U.S. will drive the 3.1 percent CAGR estimated for this segment. These markets accounting for a combined value of $57.2 billion in the year 2020 will reach a projected size of $70.8 billion by the close of the analysis period. China will remain among the fastest growing markets in this cluster.
Led by countries such as Australia, India and South Korea, the market in Asia-Pacific is forecast to reach $135.1 billion by the year 2027 while Latin America will expand at a 3.5 percent CAGR through the analysis period.
April 9, 2021
Stop-Smoking Chemicals in NZ Plants

Illustration: Iamnee – Dreamstime.com
A recent study in Addiction shows that a chemical found in many New Zealand plants, including the kowhai, is just as effective as varenicline in helping people quit smoking.
The chemical is called cytisine and has been used in some Central and Eastern European countries for decades to help with smoking cessation. It is relatively unknown elsewhere. Not only is the chemical cheaper than other smoking cessation medications, but it also has very few known side effects.
“This is a quitting tool that comes from a plant instead of a lab,” University of Auckland Researcher Associate Professor Natalie Walker said.
“Identifying the potential of the cytisine component of the kowhai is part of the revitalization of matauranga Maori [Maori knowledge].”
This is a quitting tool that comes from a plant instead of a lab.
Natalie Walker, associate professor, University of Auckland
The study was done in collaboration with Brunel University London and Lakes District Health Board. It involved hundreds of Maori participants from across the Bay of Plenty, many of them women.
Participants were an average age of 43 and had been smoking for around 25 years. Twelve percent of those who took cytisine pills still were not smoking after six months while 8 percent of those who took varenicline were not smoking after six months.
Those taking cytisine experienced fewer side effects such as nausea, headaches and difficulty sleeping. “Varenicline is New Zealand’s best smoking cessation medication available but also expensive for the government,” Walker said. “Cytisine is cheap, it works and it suits Maori and their whanau.”
In earlier research, scientists showed that cytisine was more effective than nicotine-replacement therapy, such as nicotine patches, gum or lozenges.
April 9, 2021
Malaysians Quitting Cigarettes with Vaping

Infographic: Green Zebras
Eighty-eight percent of Malaysian vapers successfully quit smoking cigarettes due to their vape products, reports the New Straits Times, citing a survey commissioned by the Malaysian Vape Industry Advocacy (MVIA).
Conducted by the Green Zebras market research firm, the survey also reported that 79 percent who are dual users (users of both vapor products and cigarettes) have reduced the number of cigarettes they smoke since they began vaping.
MVIA President Rizani Zakaria noted that the survey’s results clearly show that vaping can be an effective tool to help smokers quit cigarette smoking and is a much less harmful alternative.
“There is a real need for the Malaysian government to recognize the benefits of vaping, especially the potential that it has to help smokers to quit cigarette smoking by switching to a less harmful product,” he said.
There is a real need for the Malaysian government to recognize the benefits of vaping.
Rizani Zakaria, president, MVIA
“As it stands, the vape products are still unregulated, and we believe it is time for the government to look into introducing regulations on the products and adopt policies that would encourage smokers to switch to vaping that is less harmful.”
April 9, 2021
Vape Shops in England and Wales Reopen

Photo: Oxford Vapours
Vape shops across England and Wales are expecting huge numbers of customers—including many smokers seeking expert help and guidance to quit—when they reopen on Monday.
More than 2,000 vape shops across the U.K. are preparing to reopen their doors to customers again on April 12 after the government confirmed the next stage of lifting lockdown restrictions will proceed as previously announced.
Nonessential retail outlets, including vape shops, will be able to reopen their doors from Monday across England and Wales. In Scotland, however, nonessential retail must remain shut until Monday, April 26.
The U.K. Vaping Industry Association (UKVIA) welcomes the relaxing of restrictions as the latest step on the government’s roadmap out of lockdown, especially as this coincides with the hugely successful month-long awareness campaign VApril.
Run by the UKVIA and now in its fourth year, VApril aims to help educate smokers on how to successfully quit conventional cigarettes by transitioning to vaping.

The closure of retail outlets has been especially difficult for some users of vaping products who have struggled to get hold of equipment and advice.
John Dunne, director general, UKVIA
This year’s VApril campaign kickstarted with a webinar featuring leading industry experts, including UKVIA Director General John Dunne, All-Party Parliamentary Group for Vaping Chair Mark Pawsey, Global Legal and Regulatory Strategist at Andina Gold Corp. Patricia Kovacevic and former Director of Action on Smoking and Health Clive Bates.
“The closure of retail outlets has been especially difficult for some users of vaping products who have struggled to get hold of equipment and advice that they needed and who might well have returned to smoking over the past few months,” said Dunne.
“I am so pleased that the wider vape retail sector in England and Wales is now able to reopen its shop doors on Monday 12th April and begin trading again.
“Given the evidence that vaping is at least 95 percent less harmful than smoking, according to Public Health England, it is vital that smokers are now given all the advice they need on making the switch from smoking both in store and using online advice, including the VApril website.”

We are fully committed to achieving a tobacco-free country by 2030, and, with our expert staff now able to open back up the stores, we are ready to help any smoker make the switch.
Doug Mutter, director, VPZ
“We are delighted to have our stores reopen after another lengthy lockdown,” said Doug Mutter, director at VPZ. “From the click-and-collect services alone, we have already seen a huge number of smokers coming forward looking for advice and guidance on their quit journey.
“It has been over a year now that smokers have been struggling with getting expert advice and the selection of products they need from specialist retailers. Vaping retailers have been the last remaining service where people can get help and advice on how best to quit smoking, so we are fully expecting a very busy couple of months.
“We are fully committed to achieving a tobacco-free country by 2030, and, with our expert staff now able to open back up the stores, we are ready to help any smoker make the switch.”
“We are so pleased to be able to give the service we are renowned for to our local customers once again,” said Dan Greenall, managing director at Oxford Vapours.
“Like many other businesses, despite managing to stay afloat during the past 12 months, we have seen a huge drop in aiding smokers on their journey to switching to a less harmful alternative.
“Vaping is personal and guidance is essential to ensure a successful switch attempt. Education through brick-and-mortar retail is the best way to help people looking to make a switch to the less harmful alternative.
“This couldn’t have come at a better time for smokers looking to quit, with the UKVIA recently launching VApril 2021—a dedicated educational campaign to help inform adult smokers of the options available to them and to support those wanting to switch on to vaping.
“Now [that] we can reopen our stores, we are truly able help people make the switch and support the government’s efforts for a smoke-free England by 2030.”
April 9, 2021
Zimbabwe Wants $5 billion Tobacco Industry

Photo: Taco Tuinstra
Zimbabwe wants to create a $5 billion tobacco industry by 2025, reports Bulawayo24, citing Agriculture Minister Anxious Jongwe Masuka.
Speaking at the opening of the Zimbabwe tobacco marketing season on April 7 in Harare, Masuka told stakeholders that the government would increase funding of both large-scale and small-scale tobacco farmers to increase output.
Masuka said agriculture remained one of the key sectors in the quest to transform the country into an upper-middle-class economy.
According to the minister, plans are underway to increase tobacco production to 300 million kg per year.
The Tobacco Industry and Marketing Board expects sales of about 200 million kg this year, up from 184 million kg in the previous season, due to favorable rains.
Tobacco merchants expect to spend around $500 million on Zimbabwean tobacco this year, generating much-needed foreign currency for the country.
The industry is also one of the largest employers in a country suffering from widespread unemployment, despite vast agricultural and mineral resources.
The global tobacco market size was valued at nearly $850 billion in 2019.
April 9, 2021
Major Bonuses for 22nd Century Executives

Photo: Tobacco Reporter archive
The chief executive of 22nd Century Group received $675,000 bonus, bringing his total compensation for fiscal 2020 to $1.04 million, reports The Winston-Salem Journal, citing a regulatory filing this week.
James Mish became chief executive on June 22.
22nd Century said when Mish was hired that his starting base salary would be $450,000 annually.
President and Chief Operating Officer Michael Zercher received a 26.1 percent jump in salary to $366,451. He was promoted to president during the period before Mish was hired.
Zercher received a $366,100 bonus, stock awards valued at $447,831 and total compensation of $1.21 million, up 20.3 percent.
John Franzino was hired in June as chief financial officer and treasurer. He was paid $158,213 in salary, a $125,000 bonus and total compensation of $435,248.
22nd Century reported a $19.7 million loss for fiscal 2020 compared with a $26.5 million loss in fiscal 2019. The company derives most of its revenue from producing traditional cigarettes for third-party customers.
The company is awaiting a Food and Drug Administration decision on its modified-risk tobacco product application, which would allow it to advertise products as reduced harm or reduced risk compared with traditional cigarettes.
A specialist in low-nicotine cigarettes, 22nd Century expects to benefit greatly from an FDA plan to mandate nonaddictive nicotine levels in cigarettes.
22nd Century will hold a virtual shareholder meeting on May 20.
April 9, 2021
Video: Debating the ‘State of Vapor’

Industry experts debated the challenges and opportunities facing the vapor business to mark the start of VApril 2021, the annual awareness campaign launched four years ago by the U.K. Vaping Industry Association (UKVIA) to help educate smokers on how to successfully quit conventional cigarettes by transitioning to vaping.
Participants in the debate included John Dunne, director general of the UKVIA; Mark Pawsey, MP and chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Vaping; Patricia Kovacevic, global legal and regulatory strategist at Andina Gold Corp.; and Clive Bates, director of Counterfactual Consulting and former director of Action on Smoking and Health.
The discussion centered around the repercussions of the pandemic on the vaping industry and vapers; how the sector moves on from the events of the last 12 months; how regulatory review this year and COP9 can be a defining moment and accelerate the shift toward a vaping-driven smoke-free society; addressing the misperceptions of vaping, which are deterring adult smokers from making the switch to less harmful alternatives; and the opportunity for the VApril campaign to take the mantle and in the future make smoking in Britain a thing of the past.
The 2021 VApril month-long initiative will for the second year running be largely digitally based due to the Covid-19 lockdown restrictions. Vape businesses up and down the country, together with vaping trade associations around the world, are getting behind the special month.
Smokers can visit a special campaign VApril website, which provides a special guide, the Switch on to Vaping Plan, to help them make a successful switch to vape products and in doing so break their smoking habits. They can also have their questions answered by an online expert panel.
April 9, 2021