Category: News This Week

  • EU MPs Tested on E-Cigarette Knowledge

    EU MPs Tested on E-Cigarette Knowledge

    Photo: Dan Johnston from Pixabay

    How much politicians know about e-cigarettes and other novel tobacco products has a major effect on their perceptions of safety and risk, new research suggests.

    A survey of members of the European Parliament (MEPs) found that those who were knowledgeable about novel tobacco products were far more likely than those with no knowledge to consider them less risky than smoking.

    The survey conducted by ECigIntelligence and TobaccoIntelligence, independent data providers to the sector, found that:

    • A high proportion of MEPs have no knowledge about new nicotine products.
    • Views on risk seem linked to knowledge of the products. Those MEPs with knowledge of the products are more likely to consider the products less risky than smoking; those with no knowledge are more likely to consider the products the same or more harmful compared to smoking.
    • Most MEPs believe new nicotine products are likely to help existing smokers quit.
    • MEPs predominantly think that vaping is safer than smoking, but up to one in five think that some new nicotine products can be as risky as smoking.

    The survey was carried out online and anonymously, and all data remains confidential other than in consolidated analysis. It was sent to all MEPs (from all member states and political parties), and responses were obtained from over 30 MEPs, representing nearly 5 percent of the European Parliament.

  • KT&G Seeks to Generate Half of its Sales Abroad

    KT&G Seeks to Generate Half of its Sales Abroad

    KT&G seeks to generate half of sales from abroad by 2025, according to the Yonhap News Agency.

    Currently, KT&G earns 40 percent of its tobacco sales from exports.

    The company operates sales subsidiaries in five countries—Russia, Indonesia, Turkey, Taiwan and the United States.

    In 2020, its sales rose 6.8 percent to a record KRW5.3 trillion ($4.68 billion) from KRW4.96 trillion a year earlier, helped by strong demand for its products in Russia, the U.S. and the Middle East.

    KT&G’s factories in South Korea, Russia, Turkey and Indonesia had a combined capacity of 13.6 billion cigarettes a year in 2020.

    In addition to its mainstay tobacco business, KT&G owns Korea Ginseng Corp., which produces ginseng and cosmetics products.

  • Japan Tobacco Releases Integrated Report

    Japan Tobacco Releases Integrated Report

    Photo: JTI

    Japan Tobacco (JT) has released its 2020 Integrated Report.

    In full year 2019, JT began publishing its Integrated Report as a substitute for its Annual Report and Sustainability Report.

    The report provides stakeholders with both key financial and nonfinancial information in order to have clearer and deeper understanding of the JT Group’s sustainable corporate value growth.

  • Registration Mandate for SEZ Manufacturers

    Registration Mandate for SEZ Manufacturers

    Cigarette manufacturers operating in the Philippines’ special economic zones (SEZ) will soon have to register with the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) to help curb illicit tobacco trade, reports The Philippine Star, citing the Department of Finance (DOF).

    Some companies registered with the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) have allegedly been engaging in illicit activity and enjoying tax breaks, according to Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III. “These errant firms have been depriving the government of unpaid income taxes, excise taxes, value-added tax (VAT) and customs duties whenever their illicit products are sold in the local market,” he said in a statement.

    The BIR is drafting revised rules covering the operations of cigarette makers in SEZs, according to a letter from Dominguez to Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez.

    “The fact that the alleged illicit activities occurred inside the PEZA Ecozone is alarming,” Dominguez wrote. “Not only did PEZA provide tax breaks to the alleged perpetrators, the government has lost billions of pesos in income taxes, excise taxes, VAT and customs duties when these illicit goods entered the local market.”

    “It appears that the manufacturers took advantage of the lackadaisical monitoring inside the zone to perpetrate their schemes under the cover of the laws, rules and policies enacted to favor them,” said Dominguez.

    PEZA-registered locators are subject to an income tax holiday between four years and eight years as well as duty-free importation of raw materials, capital equipment, machinery and parts. Locators can only sell up to 30 percent of their production to the domestic market—if they sell more than that, they must pay taxes and duties at regular rates.

    “We expect the completion of the revised rules by the BIR soon after the PEZA and other stakeholders have provided comments thereon,” Dominguez wrote in his letter.

  • Manila Drops Vaccine-Purchasing Ban

    Manila Drops Vaccine-Purchasing Ban

    Image: Malacanan Palace Presidential Museum & Library

    Tobacco companies in the Philippines will be allowed to purchase Covid-19 vaccines after all, reports The Manila Times, citing a statement from the presidential palace.

    The announcement follows controversy over proposed implemented rules and regulations of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 Vaccination Program Act of 2021, which would have barred manufacturers of tobacco, milk and sugary beverages from procuring vaccines for their workers.

    Those provisions have now been removed, according to The Manila Times.

    In 2010, the Civil Service Commission and the Department of Health (DOH) issued a joint memorandum banning all forms of government interaction with the tobacco industry.

    It is one thing to discourage smoking or lactose intolerance and quite another to destroy the livelihood and the lives of people who depend on the tobacco, milk, sugar and soda companies, which pay more taxes than the directors of PhilHealth have stolen.

    This memorandum was being cited by the DOH in moving to ban tobacco and select other industries from availing of Covid-19 vaccines from the government.

    “The DOH, in its review, shall ensure that the tobacco, formula milk and other industries in conflict with the interest of public health will not be part of this endeavor pursuant to existing DOH guidelines and issuances,” the draft regulations said.

    The move attracted widespread criticism. Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin likened it to the Nazi-era when leaders decided who would live or die. “It is one thing to discourage smoking or lactose intolerance and quite another to destroy the livelihood and the lives of people who depend on the tobacco, milk, sugar and soda companies, which pay more taxes than the directors of PhilHealth [Philippine Health Insurance Corp.] have stolen,” he said.

    Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire stressed that the administrative order leaked online was a draft.

    She added that the Philippines is party to the World Health Organization’s Framework Convention on Tobacco Control that prevents tobacco-related industries from providing health-related services for marketing advocacy.

  • Turning Point Appoints Reformina as CFO

    Turning Point Appoints Reformina as CFO

    Photo: Jakub Jirsák | Dreamstime.com

    Turning Point Brands has appointed Chief Business Development Officer Louie Reformina as the company’s new chief financial officer effective May 1, 2021. Reformina is replacing Bobby Lavan, who will step down after first quarter earnings to pursue a new opportunity. In addition, Brian Wigginton, Turning Point Brands’ chief accounting officer, has been promoted from vice president to senior vice president.

    “I would like to thank Bobby for his unceasing commitment to the company,” said Larry Wexler, Turning Point Brands’ president and CEO, in a statement. “Bobby played a major role in improving Turning Point Brands’ capital structure, streamlining the business, making accretive acquisitions and investments and positioning the company for the growth that we are experiencing today.

    “I look forward to tracking his future progress. Additionally, Louie has played an important leadership role in the company by pivoting our focus to higher growth opportunities in cannabis-related and other branded consumer product industries. I am excited to see him expand his responsibilities as we accelerate our growth trajectory.”

    “Turning Point Brands is one of the most innovative and well-capitalized companies in the high-growth cannabis-related accessories market,” said Reformina. “Our iconic brands and market-leading distribution platform set us apart in this rapidly evolving space. In addition, our New York Stock Exchange listing helps to provide deep access to the capital markets, which allows us to opportunistically take advantage of acquisition opportunities that are beyond the reach of many competitors.

    I look forward to continuing to work with the team to reinvest our substantial free cash flow in high-growth branded consumer products, expand our distribution infrastructure and strengthen our capital position.

    “As CFO, I look forward to continuing to work with the team to reinvest our substantial free cash flow in high-growth branded consumer products, expand our distribution infrastructure and strengthen our capital position.”

    “I would like to thank Larry and the management team at Turning Point Brands for the opportunity to work with them on the company’s continued evolution,” said Lavan. “I have been working closely with Louie since he first joined the company and am confident that his elevation to CFO will help to ensure a seamless transition while continuing the company’s focus on growth.”

    Reformina joined Turning Point Brands in 2019 and has more than 20 years of financial experience. He previously served in investment roles at Point72 Asset Management, Waterfront Capital Partners, Perella Weinberg Partners and Vestar Capital Partners. He began his career as an investment banker at Goldman Sachs & Co. and received his Master of Business Administration degree from the Stanford University Graduate School of Business as well as his Bachelor of Science degree in electrical engineering from Cornell University, where he graduated summa cum laude.

    Turning Point Brands estimates that net sales for the first quarter of 2021 will be at the high end or above the previous guidance of $97 million to $102 million provided during the presentation of its full-year and fourth-quarter 2020 results on Feb. 10, 2021.

  • Vietnam Extends Quota for Cambodian Leaf

    Vietnam Extends Quota for Cambodian Leaf

    Photo: BAT

    Vietnam has extended its 3,000-ton duty-free quota for Cambodian dried tobacco leaves for 2021, reports the Phnom Penh Post, citing Ministry of Commerce spokesman Seang Thay.

    The extension is part of the renewal process of a bilateral trade facilitation agreement for 2021–2022 reached by the 18th Cambodia-Vietnam Joint Commission meeting on Dec. 22 and yet to be formally ratified, with retroactive benefits for exports.

    Cambodia and Vietnam inked the agreement in October 2016 to drop import tariffs on dozens of products to boost bilateral trade and have renewed it every two years since. The goods covered in the deal, however, are determined on a yearly basis.

    The kingdom exported 1.38 million kg of dried tobacco to Vietnam last year valued at $4.2 million, down 34.37 percent by volume from 2019, according to ministry data.

    Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries data shows that Cambodia exported a total of 5.82 million kg of dried tobacco leaves last year, down 14.02 percent from 2019.

    The outbound shipments were worth $17.46 million, 28.34 percent compared to 2019’s value.

    The primary destinations for Cambodian leaf are Vietnam, Indonesia, Hungary, the United Arab Emirates, Belgium, South Africa, Greece, Singapore and Germany.

    Last year, the area under tobacco cultivation was 5,175 ha, of which 4,875 ha were harvested, producing 6,132 tons, representing a 1 percent drop from 2019.

  • Eastern Studies E-cigs as Smoking Alternatives

    Eastern Studies E-cigs as Smoking Alternatives

    Eastern Co. is studying electronic cigarettes as an alternative to traditional combustible products, reports Egypt Today.

    In a statement to the Egyptian Exchange (EGX), Eastern Co. said it is consulting with manufacturers of electronic cigarettes in preparation for putting them on the market after obtaining the necessary licenses.

    The move is in line with the company’s strategy to expand and diversify its products.  

    Earlier in March, Eastern Co. announced that it is studying several new investment projects that will enhance its position in the field of smoking and tobacco alternatives.

    Eastern Co. operates within the food, beverage and tobacco sectors. It was established in July 1920 and currently holds a monopoly in the domestic tobacco market.

    Egypt has invited tobacco companies to bid for a license to manufacture cigarettes in the country, a move that could reduce Eastern Co.’s dominance of the local market.

  • Swiss Mull Tighter Marketing Restrictions

    Swiss Mull Tighter Marketing Restrictions

    Photo: JTI

    The Swiss parliament is debating tighter restrictions on the marketing of tobacco products following a people’s initiative calling for a tobacco ad ban, reports SwissInfo.

    Switzerland’s tobacco laws are among the world’s most liberal. Despite recent implementation of stricter laws for the industry, such as compulsory smoking areas on train platforms, 27 percent of the country’s population over the age of 15 smokes, according to the Swiss Federal Office of Public Health.

    Switzerland is among the few countries that haven’t ratified the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, despite signing on to the treaty 17 years ago. Until now, advertising targeting young people remains unregulated.

    In 2018, more than 100,000 people signed a people’s initiative to protect children and young people from tobacco advertising.

    The government, however, has recommended its rejection of the initiative, saying it would amount to a complete advertising ban, which, it argues, goes too far.

    In place of the initiative, the national government recommended a tightening of the current Tobacco Products Law. The Senate debated this bill in September 2019, and stricter rules on advertising were proposed, including regulating advertising for e-cigarettes. More than 45 percent of 16-year-olds consume this new form of tobacco on a weekly basis.

    In the current spring session, a majority of the House of Representatives followed the recommendation of its Health Committee and rejected the initiative in favor of the bill submitted by the senate.

    The parliamentary committee doesn’t, however, plan to mandate that the tobacco industry report figures for spending on advertising. It also won’t ban tobacco advertising in newspapers or on websites that aren’t exclusively aimed at minors.

    Several parliamentarians view the proposed tobacco rules as an attack on companies’ commercial freedom and on an individual’s right to choose.

    Switzerland is home to Philip Morris International and Japan Tobacco International.

  • Thomas Farrell to Retire From Altria Board

    Thomas Farrell to Retire From Altria Board

    Photo: Altria Group

    Thomas F. Farrell II will retire from Altria Group’s board of directors following the completion of his current term. Farrell has been a director of Altria since 2008.

    Consequently, Farrell will not stand for re-election to the board at Altria’s 2021 annual meeting of shareholders, which is presently scheduled for May 20, 2021. The board will evaluate board leadership succession and intends to appoint a new chairman at its organizational meeting following the 2021 annual meeting.

    Farrell is the chairman of the board, chair of the executive committee and a member of the compensation and talent development and nominating, corporate governance and social responsibility committees.

    Tom’s contributions over the past 13 years have been immeasurable.

    He has served as the executive chairman of Dominion Energy, one of largest producers of energy in the U.S., since October 2020, having previously served as chairman, president and CEO of Dominion from 2007 through September 2020.  

    “Tom’s contributions over the past 13 years have been immeasurable,” said Billy Gifford, Altria’s CEO, in a statement. “We thank him for his distinguished service and wish him the very best.”