Category: News This Week

Egypt to Monitor Tobacco Industry

Photo: Taco Tuinstra
Egypt has created an observatory to monitor tobacco companies—the first of its kind in the Middle East, reports Al-Monitor. Among other things, the observatory will keep track of the industry’s promotional spending and interactions with the scientific community.
Critics have accused the tobacco industry of paying scientists to claim that smoking protects against Covid-19.
A 2019 study by the Cairo Center for Economic Studies and Alastaratejah showed that Egypt was among the top 10 countries in terms of tobacco consumption. According to the statistics, Egyptians consumed 83 billion cigarettes worth EGP73 billion ($4.6 billion) in 2017-2018. During the same period, consumption of hookah tobacco reached 50,000 tons, or EGP3 billion.
Tobacco, alcohol and drugs account for a quarter of Egyptian households’ spending, according to the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics. An estimated 171,000 Egyptians die annually due to smoking-related diseases.
Through its stake in Eastern Co., The Egyptian government is the largest operator in the domestic tobacco industry.
January 5, 2021
E-Cig Sales Slumping in Convenience Stores

Photo: Juul Labs
Convenience store e-cigarette sales have slumped over the past 10 months in the United States, according to Nielsen. The segment has been in retreat since the Food and Drug Administration restricted flavors in cartridge-based e-cigarettes on Feb. 6, 2020.
Overall e-cigarette sales-volume growth has declined steadily since Nielsen’s Aug. 10, 2019, report, when it was up 60.2 percent year over year, according to a story in The Winston-Salem Journal. Nielsen does not track vape shop sales.
Top-selling Juul’s four-week dollar sales have dropped from a 50.2 percent increase in the Aug. 10, 2019, report to a 15.6 percent decline for the latest report. By comparison, Reynolds’ Vuse was up 87.3 percent in the latest report and NJoy down 31.5 percent.
Bonnie Herzog
Juul’s market share dropped from 54.3 percent in the previous report to 53.8 percent. It was at 55.1 percent a year ago. Vuse’s market share slipped from 28.5 percent to 28.1 percent, while No. 3 NJoy was unchanged at 5 percent, and Fontem Ventures’ Blu was unchanged at 3.6 percent.
Goldman Sachs analyst Bonnie Herzog observed increasing consumer demand for lower-priced traditional cigarettes during the pandemic, which she attributed to downtrading. That trend could be offset somewhat by the scheduled $600 federal stimulus payments to most Americans, which are expected to arrive in many households soon.
January 4, 2021
Study: Vaping Clouds Thinking

Photo: Kevinsphotos from Pixabay
Vaping can have a negative effect on memory, thinking skills and the ability to focus, particularly for young people, according to a recent study by researchers at the University of Rochester (New York) Medical Center.
“Our studies add to growing evidence that vaping should not be considered a safe alternative to tobacco smoking,” said Head researcher Dongmei Li.
The study is based on data analyzed from the over 886,000 participants involved in the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System Survey and the more than 18,000 responses from the National Youth Tobacco Survey.
The researchers concluded that those who vaped or smoked cigarettes were more likely to struggle with cognitive function than those who had never smoked in any capacity. Also, the researchers noted that age played a large role in the participants’ cognitive abilities as they found that when participants were younger than 14 when they started vaping or smoking, they were even more likely to have cognitive struggles as adults.
“With the recent rise in teen vaping, this is very concerning and suggests that we need to intervene even earlier. Prevention programs that start in middle or high school might actually be too late,” Li added.
January 2, 2021
‘Smoke Locally’ Law Tabled in France

Photo: Olrat | Dreamstime.com
French Parliament member Bruno Fuchs recently introduced a draft bill proposing that cigarettes must be consumed in the same country that they were purchased. According to Fuchs, about one-third of the 54 billion cigarettes consumed in France were purchased abroad by either legal or illicit means.
Of primary concern are cigarettes purchased in Luxembourg by French travelers and brought home. The difference in price of a pack of cigarettes in France and Luxembourg is €3 ($3.68). If Fuchs’s measure is approved, France could generate about €2 billion in additional tax revenue.
January 2, 2021
Imperial Canada Opposes Lower Nicotine

Photo: Edna Rabago from Pixabay
Imperial Tobacco Canada has publicly stated its opposition to proposed regulations by Health Canada that would reduce the maximum nicotine level in vapor products to 20 mg/mL. Imperial noted that such a measure would hurt the government’s goal of reducing the national smoking prevalence rate to less than 5 percent by 2035.
“Health Canada recognizes the concept of offering reduced-risk products as a way to reduce exposure to the harmful chemicals caused by smoking,” said Imperial spokesperson Eric Gagnon. “In addition, it recognizes vaping as a less harmful alternative to smoking. It is unfortunate that the government is considering a measure that will hinder vaping products from reaching their full potential as a less harmful alternative to smoking.
“Capping nicotine levels at 20 mg/ml will mean that smokers will not be able to find a product that satisfies them, and many former smokers who now vape will go back to smoking. It could be debated whether or not the current cap of 66 mg/mL is appropriate. However, the proposed 20 mg/mL is too low and will not satisfy a portion of current Canadian vapers nor smokers seeking a less harmful alternative.”
Imperial stressed that it agrees with the government’s plans to prevent youth from using vapor products.
January 2, 2021
Cigar Industry Booms Amid Lockdowns

Photo: Tobacco Reporter archive
Coronavirus lockdowns worldwide are proving to be a boon for the Dominican Republic’s cigar industry, reports Bloomberg.
Already the world’s largest cigar producer, the Caribbean nation is on track to export a record $1 billion worth of tobacco products this year, up 6 percent over the $942 million it sold abroad in 2019, according to government figures.
The cigar industry has emerged as a bright spot for the region’s largest economy, which is expected to shrink 5.5 percent this year, as its critical tourism and services sectors are impacted by coronavirus-related restrictions.
The Dominican Republic is thought to be one of the birthplaces of the cigar; islanders were rolling and smoking tobacco centuries before Columbus set foot on the island. When Cuba nationalized its cigar industry during the 1959 revolution, many of the top growers moved to the neighboring island, propelling the Dominican industry.
Hendrik Kelner, president of the Association of Dominican Cigar Manufacturers isn’t surprised by the resilience of the “puros.” With cigar afficionados around the world unable to frequent bars and restaurants, they’re spending more money and time on their smoking habit,” he said.
“A cigar,” said Hendrik, “is like a loyal friend who accompanies you when times are tough and you’re lonely.”
December 30, 2020
Minimum Price Challenge Rejected

Photo: Okan Caliskan from Pixabay
A U.S. federal judge has denied a request to halt the portion of a tax measure that established a minimum price for cigarettes in Colorado.
In the November general election, Colorado voters approved a proposition that set the price of cigarettes to at least $7 per pack.
Three manufacturers of discount cigarettes—Liggett Group, Vector Tobacco and Xcaliber International— plus Littleton resident and smoker Jennifer A. Smith, filed a federal complaint, asking for a preliminary injunction to prevent the price floor from taking effect.
The plaintiffs had argued that the provision violated the Commerce Clause of the U.S. Constitution by discriminating against them, with benefits accruing to in-state retailers of cigarettes. By establishing a price floor, they contended, any money not remitted to the state in the form of taxes would accrue to the sellers of cigarettes.
However, U.S. District Judge Raymond P. Moore deemed unpersuasive the claim that the discount cigarette companies competed not only with premium cigarette manufacturers like Philip Morris but also with the Colorado-based retail establishments that dispense the products.
Moore also decided the minimum price provision did not place an unconstitutional burden on interstate commerce, even though it does put burdens on certain manufacturers. The provision will now take effect on Friday.
December 30, 2020
Anti-Tobacco Activist Joins U.S. Covid Team

Bechara Choucair
(Photo: Kaiser Permanente)
President-Elect Biden has appointed Bechara Choucair as vaccinations coordinator of the White House Covid-19 response team.
Choucair is senior vice president and chief health officer for Kaiser Permanente and a board member of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids (CTFK). Previously, he served as Chicago’s public health commissioner.
Choucair will step down from his board position at CTFK as he assumes his new position.
“In appointing Dr. Choucair as vaccinations coordinator, President-Elect Biden has chosen an extraordinarily experienced and capable public health and medical leader,” said Matthew L. Myers, president of the CTFK, in a statement. “We congratulate Dr. Choucair and look forward to working with him in the future.”
December 30, 2020
Bangladesh: New Factory Draws Ire

Photo: Kolozov | Dreamstime.com
Health activists have criticized plans to build a new tobacco factory in Bangladesh, reports The Financial Express.
Asian Tobacco recently signed an agreement with the Bangladesh Export Processing Zones Authority (BEPZA) to establish a modern cigarettes and tobacco processing plant in the Ishwardi Export Processing Zone.
The company will reportedly invest $2 billion to produce 1.2 billion cigarettes and 73,205 kg of tobacco annually.
Voices for Interactive Choice & Empowerment (VOICE) said the move goes directly against Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s vision to make Bangladesh a tobacco-free nation by 2040.
“Permitting a tobacco company to establish a new factory in the country directly contradicts with the prime minister’s vision and what she said back in 2016 in the South Asian Speaker’s Summit on achieving the sustainable development goals,” said VOICE Executive Director Ahmed Swapan Mahmud.
“If things continue this way, becoming a tobacco-free country by 2040 will remain as a dream.”

December 29, 2020
Funding for Covid-19 Antigen Research

Photo: Tobacco Reporter archive
The European Investment Bank (EIB), the Foundation for Innovative New Diagnostics (FIND) and several South African funders have pumped almost ZAR900 million ($61.4 million) into Cape Bio Pharms to further Covid-19 antigen and antibody research using tobacco plants.
The South African company, which has roots in the University of Cape Town’s Biopharming Research Unit, is investigating plant-based rapid diagnostic Covid-19 test kits to provide an affordable alternative to developing nations, according to a report by Business Insider.
The EIB funding, which accounts for 70 percent of the total project cost, will be used to open a new Covid-19 research facility operated by Cape Biologix Technologies, a subsidiary of Cape Bio Pharms, in Mauritius.
Funding from FIND, which covers a further 7 percent of the project costs, will be used to scale up the pilot production program currently underway in Cape Town.
The Mauritius facility will feature laboratories, processing plants and climate controlled hydroponic grow rooms to provide stable plant-made proteins to combat Covid-19. Cape Bio Pharms’ research has focused extensively on the use of Nicotiana Benthamiana, which contains nicotine and alkaloids similar to those found in the tobacco plants used for making cigarettes.
Indigenous to Australia, Nicotiana benthamiana has impressive biopharming properties. It adjusts well to genetic engineering and reproduces proteins at a superior rate.
Cape Biologix Technologies aims to turn the Nicotiana benthamiana plants into antibody production centers that can later be extracted and applied to use in rapid antigen tests and even vaccines.
Rapid antigen tests detect viral proteins associated with Covid-19 through samples gathered from the respiratory tract. Results can be determined within 30 minutes.
Plant-based vaccines, like the one being studied by Cape Bio Pharms, have the advantage of being stable at room temperature unlike the Pfizer/BioNTech dose which needs to be kept at -70 degrees Celsius.
Around the world, multiple efforts are underway to combat Covid-19 using tobacco plant technology.
Recently, British American Tobacco subsidiary Kentucky BioProcessing announced plans to commence a Phase I first-time-in-human study of its Covid-19 vaccine candidate following approval of its investigational new drug application by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
In July, Medicago, a Quebec-based biotechnology company backed by Philip Morris International and other investors, also started human trails for a tobacco-based Covid-19 vaccine.
Researchers in Thailand, too, are developing a tobacco-based Covid-19 vaccine.
December 29, 2020