Category: News This Week

  • Republic Buys French E-Liquid Maker

    Republic Buys French E-Liquid Maker

    Republic Technologies International (RTI) has bought Innovative – So Good to expand the scope of its business. The acquisition bolsters RTI’s presence in the e-cigarette segment and establishes the company as a major player in premium certified French origin e-liquids.

    Based in Angouleme, France, Innovative – So Good manufacturers e-liquids and distributes equipment exclusively available through the tobacconists’ network.

    “So Good is a recognized brand and customers appreciate the high quality of its liquids,” said RTI Managing Director Olivier Partouche, who oversaw the purchase. “Thanks to the work of Cedric Lacouture and his teams, it has become a major premium brand available through the tobacconist network. The complementary nature of our E-CG liquids was obvious to us and this merger will help us further expand our product offering and enable us to support tobacconists as they grow this new segment.”

    “Our joining forces with Republic Technologies through the E-CG brand is excellent news for our customers,” said Lacouture, So Good’s founder. “In the short term, they’ll get access to a comprehensive offering of e-liquids, e-cigarettes and items for smokers. Of all the acquisition proposals that we received, [RTI’s] was the most persuasive as far as So Good’s future and its development are concerned.”

    For more than 150 years, the Republic Technologies group has been developing and manufacturing cigarette paper under the OCB, Job and Zig-Zag brands. Building on its industrial experience, the group has been selling e-liquids and vaping accessories under the E-CG brand since 2015.

  • India Bans Per-Stick Bidi and Cigarette Sales

    India Bans Per-Stick Bidi and Cigarette Sales

    Photo: Denis Shevyakov

    The state health department in India has banned the sale of loose cigarettes and bidis to help stop the spread of Covid-19 and to discourage smoking, reports Mumbai Mirror.
     
    Vendors will have to sell full packs rather than single sticks. The police department and local self-government bodies are tasked with enforcing the ban.
     
    Tobacco laws state that 85 percent of tobacco packaging must be health warnings, but when consumers are buying single sticks, they are not seeing these warnings. Officials are hoping requiring the sale of whole packs will discourage smokers; many tobacco consumers in India cannot afford whole packs.

  • Modern Oral Less Toxic Than Other Products

    Modern Oral Less Toxic Than Other Products

    Emma Cheung (Photo: BAT)

    British American Tobacco (BAT) has published a new study in Food and Chemical Toxicology showing that modern oral products (MOPs) elicit lower toxicity responses than traditional tobacco products.
     
    Velo, one of BAT’s nicotine pouch products, was compared with a traditional cigarette as well as a Swedish-style snus pouch and found to be “less biologically active than cigarette smoke and snus, even at greater concentrations of nicotine, across a range of tests,” according to a company press release. “In many cases, Velo failed to elicit a biological response at all, supporting the view that MOPs are likely to be less risky than traditional cigarettes and Swedish-style snus for users who switch completely.”
     
    “Velo was found to be less biologically active than cigarette smoke in certain assays, which is very encouraging,” said Emma Cheung, a preclinical scientist at BAT, in a statement. “This study helps to support the reduced-risk potential of MOPs. Our scientists will continue to build evidence to support our new category products.”

  • PMI to Discuss Workplace Equality

    PMI to Discuss Workplace Equality

    Photo: Truthseeker08 | PixaBay

    Philip Morris International (PMI) will participate in several global forums focused on equality in the workplace.  Starting today, members of PMI’s senior management team—including Chief Diversity Officer Silke Muenster—will detail the steps PMI is taking to further diversify its workplace and explain how fostering a culture built on broader perspectives increases creativity and productivity, ultimately driving innovation and consumer-centricity.
     
    Forums include The Hill’s “Century of the Woman,” Financial Times LIVE’s “Accelerating Equality,” Financial Times LIVE’s “Women at the Top U.K.,” Women in Technology World Series, and Financial Times LIVE’s “Women at the Top USA.”

  • Tobacco Firms Fined for ‘Distorting Competition’

    Tobacco Firms Fined for ‘Distorting Competition’

    Photo: Eugene-Onischenko

    The Dutch competition watchdog has fined Philip Morris (PM) Benelux, British American Tobacco (BAT), Japan Tobacco International (JTI) and Van Nelle Tabak a total of €82 million ($95.7 million) for “distorting competition,” according to Reuters.

    BAT was fined €31.2 million, PM Benelux was fined €27.5 million, JTI was fined €13 million and Van Nelle Tabak was fined €10.4 million.

    The Authority for Consumers and Markets claims the companies illegally exchanged future pricing plan information between 2008 and 2011 in order to adjust their own prices. The companies have all filed objections. Three of the companies went to court to attempt to stop the publication of the ACM’s decision, but the court denied that request.

  • Call for Common Ground in THR

    Call for Common Ground in THR

    Joe Murillo

    For tobacco harm reduction to be successful, it is imperative that alternative products can compete with combustible cigarettes and that adult smokers have clear information on a product’s relative risk compared to smoking, according to Juul Labs Chief Regulatory Officer Joe Murillo.
     
    In his closing remarks at the 2020 Global Tobacco & Nicotine Forum (GTNF), Murillo spoke on how the category can sustainably accelerate the market away from combustible products while at the same time combating underage use and fostering a more responsible marketplace for vapor products that ensures equal access for all adult smokers.
     
    Murillo’s address pinpointed critical areas where the industry and stakeholders can find common ground in the pursuit of progress, including educating society on the benefits of tobacco harm reduction and using risk-proportionate regulation to elevate alternatives that can ultimately end the death and disease caused by smoking combustible cigarettes.
     
    According to Juul Labs, this year’s GTNF provided an invaluable opportunity for a diverse set of stakeholders to come together and speak about using innovation and regulation to create sustainable change in the tobacco and nicotine market.

  • Peter Hoffmann Joins Goebel IMS

    Peter Hoffmann Joins Goebel IMS

    Photo: Goebel IMS

    Peter H. Hoffmann has joined IMS Technologies Group as business development film vice president for Goebel IMS brand.
     
    Hoffmann has decades of experience in the plastic film industry in North America. He also worked for many years for one of the leading suppliers of bi-oriented film stretching lines.
     
    In his new role, Hoffman will report directly to Marino Ferrarese, group sales and marketing director, collaborating with Tobias Lanksweirt, sales director for the film business unit, and Maurens Amaral Gomes, sales manager for the Americas.

  • Imperial Delays Sale of Cigar Business

    Imperial Delays Sale of Cigar Business

    Photo: Tobacco Reporter archive

    Imperial Brands will complete the sale of its premium cigar business slightly later than originally envisioned. Given the challenges caused by Covid-19, both transactions will now be finalized on Oct. 29, 2020, the company said in a statement.
     
    In April, Imperial Brands announced the sale of its worldwide premium cigar businesses for €1.2 million ($1.4 million), of which net cash proceeds of €1.1 billion will be used to reduce debt.
     
    Gemstone Investment Holding and Allied Cigar Corp. have made a nonrefundable down payment of €91.7 million to Imperial. In addition, the purchasers have agreed to pay a further nonrefundable down payment of approximately €85 million to Imperial by Oct. 7.
     
    Imperial has also agreed to provide a six-month vendor loan at completion of up to €250 million while the purchasers finalize long-term financing arrangements. All other terms remain in line with the April 27 announcement.

  • Industry Critic Stanton Glantz Retires

    Industry Critic Stanton Glantz Retires

    Photo: StockSnap from Pixabay

    University of California San Francisco (UCSF) professor and anti-tobacco activist Stanton Glantz has retired after 45 years.
     
    “I have finally retired from UCSF, ready to move to the next phase,” Glantz wrote in an email to colleagues that has since been shared by many, including Clive Bates, on Twitter. “I will also be continuing to work with my UCSF colleagues to complete work that is underway. From talking to colleagues who have already retired, I am confident that there will be more ways that I can keep contributing to fighting the tobacco industry and promoting public health.”
     
    Glantz announced that he would be stepping down as UCSF Center for Tobacco Control Research and Education director in June of this year after previously stepping down as principal investigator for the center.
     
    Glantz’s research on tobacco and vaping has been frequently criticized by vaping advocates. Recently, he was forced to retract a 2019 study that suggested a connection between vaping and heart attacks. It turned out that participants in the study had heart attacks before beginning to vape.
     
    In 2018, Glantz was accused of sexual harassment by two different women, resulting in a university settlement of $150,000 outside of court.
     
    Many of his critics are celebrating Glantz’s retirement. “Stanton Glantz’s long-overdue retirement is a win for taxpayers, consumers and public health,” said Taxpayers Protection Alliance President David Williams.
     
    Clive Bates wrote on Twitter, “It should have happened years ago—many lives would have been saved. And much else.”

  • Smoking Now Viewed as a ‘Moral Offense’

    Smoking Now Viewed as a ‘Moral Offense’

    Vyacheslav Dumchev | Dreamstime.com

    The Freedom Organization for the Right to Enjoy Smoking Tobacco (Forest) released a new report stating that “smoking is no longer seen merely as a health risk to the consumer but as a moral offense to be kept ‘out of sight, out of mind.’”

    The report follows an uptick in smoking and vaping bans across England, Wales and Scotland. Freedom of Information requests were made to 340 authorities in England and Wales and 32 authorities in Scotland; 283 provided responses.

    More than 100 councils banned smoking outside council buildings and on council grounds, and 68 percent of councils had a policy restricting smoking and vaping for employees during working hours. There were 49 councils that banned smoking and vaping breaks completely, even if workers were clocked out, and the bans also included walking between work appointments.

    Many councils, says the report, are introducing outdoor smoking bans by stealth. “This isn’t about the risk of passive smoking, it’s a moral crusade,” said Josie Appleton, author of the report. “Smoking is being treated as a shameful activity that should never be seen in public spaces or near official buildings.”

    Absurdly, according to Forest, some councils are stopping their workers from vaping too, which makes it harder for smokers to give up. “It would be better if councils focused on providing public services rather than interfering in the lifestyle choices of their employees and residents,” Forest wrote in its report.