Category: News This Week

  • Recreational Cannabis Poised for Growth

    Recreational Cannabis Poised for Growth

    Recreational cannabis sales will drive global legal market growth by 376 percent over the next five years, outpacing medical and CBD, according to global market research company Euromonitor International’s new cannabis database.

    Recreational cannabis will capture 67 percent of legal sales globally in 2025, whereas medical cannabis will account for only 9 percent, declining from 23 percent in 2020, according to Euromonitor.

    “New consumption occasions and tailored value propositions will drive the industry into fast-moving consumer goods territory,” says Spiros Malandrakis, head of alcoholic drinks at Euromonitor International. “The modern cannabis consumer will not only continue to drink less alcohol and smoke less tobacco but also diversify from traditional recreational flower to other formats.”

    Flower remains the dominant legal cannabis format globally but will record the biggest share of sales decline, from 35 percent in 2020 to 27 percent in 2025, according to Euromonitor’s new webinar, “The Evolving State of Global Cannabis: Market, Consumers and the Future,” which is scheduled for Nov. 17. Topicals, tinctures and edibles will steal market share as the three fastest-growing categories, respectively, over the next five years.

    Shane MacGuill

    “Cannabis is already a nearly $170 billion global industry, but the legal market today is only approximately $30 billion,” says Shane MacGuill, senior head of nicotine and cannabis at Euromonitor International. “As regulation progresses, the legal market is expected to capture 40 percent of global cannabis sales in 2025, and companies will be able to tap into a large existing user base as well as nurture the curiosity of new adult consumers.”

    Euromonitor’s new cannabis database provides global, regional and country-level sales and pricing across categories, including recreational, medical, CBD and illicit, and 10 formats, including flower, edibles, vapor and topicals, among others. The database also features a new Cannabis Survey, tracking consumer habits and attitudes in 20 markets.

     

     

  • Purilum and EAS Sign Liquid Supply Deal

    Purilum and EAS Sign Liquid Supply Deal

    Photo: Purilum

    Purilum has signed an exclusive, long-term supply agreement with E-Alternative Solutions (EAS).

    Purilum is a leading flavor house and e-liquid manufacturer in Greenville, North Carolina, USA. EAS is an independent, family-owned innovator of consumer-centric brands, including Leap vapor products.

    The contract extends and enhances Purilum and EAS’ long-standing relationship and offers the option for renewal of the exclusive supply agreement on a rolling basis. The Leap products containing e-liquids provided by Purilum have been on the market since prior to Aug. 8, 2016, and are currently under review by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration.

    In a statement, Purilum said its e-liquids have been tested through a rigorous research and development process to meet EAS’ exact criteria for compliance adherence, product quality and consumer experience.

    Jacopo D’Alessandris

    “We look forward to working with EAS while leveraging our decades of experience, technical knowledge and expansive flavor library,” said Bianca Iodice, president of Purilum. “At Purilum, we set the standard for excellence in flavor formulation and e-liquid production through rigorous product testing and quality verification. This agreement is a recognition of our investment in a scientific, data-driven approach to flavor delivery, and we are excited for the opportunity to support EAS in its efforts to elevate the consumer experience.”

    “At EAS, we have always held ourselves to the highest standards when supplying adult consumers with products they can trust,” said Jacopo D’Alessandris, president and CEO at EAS. “The quality and consistency of Purilum’s products are exemplary, and we are excited to continue working with them over the decades to come.”

  • Estades steps down as Cigar Association Chair

    Estades steps down as Cigar Association Chair

    Javier Estades

    Javier Estades has stepped down as chairman of the Cigar Association of America (CAA). Elected in 2016, Estades, who is also CEO of Tabacalera USA, is the organization’s longest-serving chairman. He will be succeeded by John Miller.

    At the CAA annual meeting Friday, Estades was lauded for his leadership and commitment to the cigar industry. “There are some people in life who just get it. We call them naturals, and for naturals, it just clicks—the long days, hard work and often tiring tasks comes easily,” said Craig Williamson, president of the CAA, which is based in Washington, D.C. 

    “Javier’s caring personality, willingness to serve others and deep understanding of our industry all contributed to his success as chairman,” Williamson added. “Javier served as our chairman during a rough and tumble time for our industry, while simultaneously running one of the most successful premium cigar companies in the world. His affable demeanor and steady hand have been critical to our continued efforts. As his time as chairman comes to a close, we owe him a great deal of gratitude.”

    In his final remarks as chairman, Estades pointed to several hard-earned victories and accomplishments over the past half-decade for the cigar industry by CAA. “During my tenure, we faced a perfect storm of unprecedented regulatory intervention by the FDA, increases in taxes at state and federal level, a divided industry, the Covid-19 pandemic and more. Despite it all, here we are—alive and kicking and very proud of what we have accomplished.”

    In recent years, CAA expanded and diversified by creating leadership roles for industry partners in the mail order, distributor and importer segments, among other initiatives.

    Estades also pointed to a big win in the high court in Illinois and other litigation as a result of coalition building among like-minded trade associations as well as a strong state government relations program.

    CAA wins at the federal level included having health warnings thrown out, having product testing put off and eliminating the recent “substantial equivalence” deadline for premium cigars. “We still have challenges ahead, and CAA stands ready to continue fighting against improper, overreaching efforts by FDA,” Estades said.

  • Great Wall Factory Celebrates Cigar Culture

    Great Wall Factory Celebrates Cigar Culture

    The Great Wall Cigar Factory held its sixth cigar festival in Shifang, China, Nov 5-8.

    Nearly 600 guests gathered in Shifang to experience the cigar culture and lifestyle in the “Hometown of China Cigars.” At the same time, the event was broadcast live, connecting the main venue to branch venues in more than 100 cities across the country, and nearly 10,000 people watched it simultaneously. The event was also broadcast live online on social media, where it attracted 23,000 participants.

    Guests of honor included Cuba’s ambassador to China, Carlos Miguel Pereira, and Briunny Garabito Segura, the ambassador of the Dominican Republic to China.

    To commemorate the Chinese Zodiac Year of the Ox in 2021, Great Wall Cigar released two limited edition cigars, Great Wall Chinese Zodiac Limited Edition Year of the Ox and Great Wall Collector’s Edition Year of the Ox. The Chinese Zodiac Limited Edition is limited to 5,000 boxes and the Collector’s Edition is limited to 40 boxes.

    During the event, Alibaba Group released a blockchain production traceability system jointly developed with Great Wall Cigar. Consumers can scan the identification mark on the cigar box to understand the detailed information of each step of the cigar production from tobacco leaf to finished product.

    Located in the northwestern part of Sichuan Province, Shifang has cultivated cigar tobacco for more than 400 years. Founded in 1918, Great Wall Cigar is the largest cigar manufacturer and only pipe tobacco manufacturer in China.

  • Study Revives ‘Gateway’ Theory

    Study Revives ‘Gateway’ Theory

    Photo: StockSnap from Pixabay

    Following a decline in adolescent cigarette smoking over the past decades, e-cigarette use presents a new risk for nicotine use disorder, according to a new study. Published Nov. 9 in Pediatrics, the research suggests that e-cigarette use is associated with a higher risk of cigarette smoking among adolescents who had no prior intention of taking up conventional smoking.

    “Research is showing us that adolescent e-cigarette users who progress to cigarette smoking are not simply those who would have ended up smoking cigarettes anyway,” says Olusegun Owotomo, the study’s lead author and a pediatric resident at Children’s National Hospital in Washington, D.C. “Our study shows that e-cigarettes can predispose adolescents to cigarette smoking even when they have no prior intentions to do so.”

    The study uses data collected by the Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health (PATH) study, an NIH and FDA collaborative nationally representative prospective cohort study of tobacco use, from 2014–2016. A more recent PATH study has shown the rate of youth e-cigarette use is declining.

    Among adolescents who did not intend to smoke cigarettes in the future, those who used e-cigarettes were more than four times more likely to start smoking cigarettes one year later compared to those who did not use e-cigarettes.

  • Tobacco Control Urged to Embrace THR

    Tobacco Control Urged to Embrace THR

    Graph: KAC

    A new report published by the U.K. public health agency Knowledge Action Change (KAC) demonstrates an urgent need to scale up tobacco harm reduction, which enables smokers to switch to safer nicotine products, eliminating the smoke that causes death and disease.

    Titled “Burning Issues: The Global State of Tobacco Harm Reduction (GSTHR),” the report reveals that an estimated 98 million people use these products globally, including 68 million vapers, 20 million users of heated tobacco products and 10 million consumers of U.S. smokeless or pasteurized oral snus.

    While showing huge demand for safer alternatives, these numbers are dwarfed by the global total of 1.1 billion smokers—a figure that has remained static for two decades despite billions spent on tobacco control. Eight million people die due to smoking-related disease every year.

    During the report’s online launch, co-hosted with Lilongwe-based NGO THR Malawi on Nov. 4, the report authors showed that both access to and adoption of safer nicotine products largely remains the preserve of higher income countries, while 80 percent of the world’s smokers live in low- and middle-income countries poorly equipped to implement tobacco control or treat smoking-related disease. 

    The report further shows how tobacco control policy at the World Health Organization is being influenced by billions of dollars from U.S. foundations campaigning against tobacco harm reduction, while misinformation is discouraging smokers from switching to safer products.

    KAC Director Gerry Stimson believes the world’s 1.1 billion smokers deserve better. “Integrated into tobacco control, harm reduction could be a gamechanger in the battle against noncommunicable disease,” he said in a statement. “Global tobacco control policymakers must listen to consumers and deliver policies that genuinely focus on reducing smoking-related deaths by all available means.”

    Professor David Nutt argued that to reject the opportunity of tobacco harm reduction “is perhaps the worst example of scientific denial since the Catholic Church banned the works of Copernicus in 1616.”

  • Malaysia Announces New Duties

    Malaysia Announces New Duties

    Malaysia will implement an excise duty at an ad valorem rate of 10 percent on all types of vapor and e-cigarette products, reports The Star. Finance Minister Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Abdul Aziz says the tax includes all types of electronic and non-electronic cigarette devices, including e-liquids.

    Electronic cigarettes liquid too will be subjected to an excise duty at a rate of MYR0.40 sen [$0.10] per milliliter. The tax takes effect on Jan. 1, 2021.

    Tengku Zafrul said taxes would be imposed on cigarettes and tobacco products on all duty-free islands and any free zones that have been permitted retail sales of duty-free cigarettes. He added that the issuance of new cigarette import licenses would also be frozen.

    He said that the transhipment of cigarettes activities to selected ports would also be limited.

    “We will impose taxes on drawbacks on all imported cigarettes for the purpose of transhipment and re-exports,” he said, adding that transhipment activities and re-exports of cigarettes using pump boats would also not be allowed.

  • North Korea Bans Public Smoking

    North Korea Bans Public Smoking

    Photo: Taco Tuinstra

    North Korea’s Supreme People’s Assembly on Nov. 4 implemented anti-tobacco legislation that includes a ban on public smoking, reports the Korean Central News Agency.

    In addition to prohibiting smoking in political and ideological education centers, theatres and cinemas, and medical and public health facilities, the legislation will also reportedly tighten the legal and social controls on the production and sale of cigarettes.

    More than 46 percent of adult men in North Korea were smokers in 2017, according to the World Health Organization. But defectors from the country said that the percentage could be much higher as men take to smoking in their teens as a source of entertainment in a place with few alternatives. North Korea claims that no women smoke.

    A common joke among North Korean men, according to defectors, is that it is possible to go “one day without eating but no days without smoking,” according to The New York Times. Packs of cigarettes are used to bribe North Korean officials, they say.

    North Korea’s leader, Kim Jong-un, is known as a keen smoker. On North Korean state media, Kim can often be seen taking a drag of his cigarette while inspecting factories, talking with missile engineers, riding the subway and even visiting schools and children’s hospitals.

  • Covid-19 Weighs on Universal’s Half Year

    Covid-19 Weighs on Universal’s Half Year

    Photo: Taco Tuinstra

    Universal Corp. reported net income of $14.8 million for the first half of fiscal year 2021, compared with $30.1 million for the same period of the prior fiscal year. Excluding certain nonrecurring items, net income declined by $23.9 million. Operating income was $24.9 million, down from $50.7 million in the first six months of 2019.

    George Freeman

    “Timing factors related to Covid-19 continued to impact our results in the second quarter of fiscal year 2021,” said George C. Freeman III, chairman, president and CEO of Universal, in a statement. “Our tobacco customer orders for crop year 2020 are strong, however, and the vast majority of these committed orders are packed awaiting shipment, with customer mandated shipment timing heavily weighted to our fourth quarter of fiscal year 2021.

    “In addition, our uncommitted inventories have come down significantly from the levels at the end of fiscal year 2020 and are at 16 percent of tobacco inventories as of September 30, 2020, which is well within our target range.

    “At this time, we believe our adjusted operating income for fiscal year 2021, excluding acquisitions, will materially exceed that of fiscal year 2020 barring any unforeseen events including shipment delays due to lack of vessel or container availability, port congestion, or Covid-19 related uncertainties. We are closely monitoring shipping conditions and currently expect to complete our scheduled shipments prior to our 2021 fiscal year end.”       

  • Cyprus Tobacco Sales Spike During Lockdown

    Cyprus Tobacco Sales Spike During Lockdown

    Photo: Dimitris Vetsikas from Pixabay

    Sales of tobacco and cigarettes in Cyprus skyrocketed between March and April 2020.
     
    According Retail Zoom, the sale of loose tobacco went up by 28 percent during the Covid-19 lockdown while cigarettes sales increased by 12 percent.
     
    The spike could be linked to a government decision to close all checkpoints to the north as a precaution against the coronavirus pandemic.
     
    Many Cypriots regularly travel to the north to illegally buy tobacco and cigarettes at cheaper rates. With access to the north forbidden, many had to revert to buying them legally and at full price.
     
    Cigarette sales totaled €28 million ($33.1 million) at the end of May compared with €23 million at the start of February. Over the same period, the sale of loose tobacco increased from €3 million to €4.5 million.
     
    According to KPMG, illegal sales in 2019 accounted for 14.3 percent of all tobacco sales, the highest rate ever recorded in the country. The black market caused the government to miss out on €28 million in revenues.