Category: News This Week

  • 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.  

  • Menthol Sales up After U.S. Flavor Ban

    Menthol Sales up After U.S. Flavor Ban

    Photo: Photo: Miriam Doerr | Dreamstime.com

    Sales in menthol e-cigarettes have risen since the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) guidance banning flavors has gone into effect, according to an article in Tobacco Control.

    Since Juul Labs has taken mint flavors off the market and the FDA has banned flavors other than menthol and tobacco, market shares of menthol-flavored e-cigarettes increased.

    After Juul’s actions, there was a 59.4 percent increase in the market share of menthol products after four weeks, and after the FDA guidance, there was a 54.5 percent increase after four weeks and an 82.8 percent increase after eight weeks.

  • Trump Bans Cuban Tobacco

    Trump Bans Cuban Tobacco

    U.S. President Donald Trump has banned U.S. citizens from bringing Cuban tobacco and alcohol into the U.S. as well as staying at Cuban government-owned hotels.
     
    “Today, as part of our continuing fight against communist oppression, I am announcing that the Treasury Department will prohibit U.S. travelers from staying at properties owned by the Cuban government,” Trump said at a White House event. “We’re also further restricting the importation of alcohol and Cuban tobacco.”
     
    Since being in office, Trump has been rolling back a detente with Cuba initiated by former President Barack Obama. Under Obama’s policy, U.S. citizens were allowed to bring back as much Cuban alcohol and tobacco as they could fit in their bags for personal use.
     
    Under Trump’s ban, citizens will be able to buy Cuban alcohol and tobacco while in Cuba but will not be allowed to bring it back to the states.
     
    “The current U.S. authorities insist on the application of a sanctions policy against Cuba that has not achieved the proposed objectives in 60 years,” said a Cuban embassy official in Washington. “It is a wrong policy that is widely rejected by American society and even among Cuban Americans.”
     
    Political observers suggest Trump is trying to lock in the Cuban-American vote in Florida for the upcoming November presidential election.

  • E-cigarettes to be Made Prescription-Only

    E-cigarettes to be Made Prescription-Only

    Starting next year, vapor products will be available to consumers only by a doctor’s prescription, Australia’s drug regulator said on Wednesday.

    The Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) announced its interim decision to reclassify nicotine as a prescription-only medication, meaning nicotine for use in e-cigarettes, and e-juice containing nicotine, would become prescription-only from June 2021, according to The Guardian.

    The changes would also affect heat-not-burn tobacco products, chewing tobacco, snuff and other novel nicotine products. The decision is open for consultation until Nov. 6.

    Existing state and territory laws make the sale of nicotine e-cigarettes and e-juice illegal throughout Australia and its possession illegal everywhere but in South Australia.

    In a statement, the TGA said the proposed changes meant that “while you would still be able to use the ‘personal importation scheme’ under the Therapeutic Goods Act 1989 to order online from your usual supplier … it would be clear that you would be required to have a prescription”.

    “You would also be able to fill your prescription at your local community pharmacy, however your pharmacy may have to order it in for you,” the statement said.

  • South Korea to Double Liquid Taxes

    South Korea to Double Liquid Taxes

    Photo: Purilum

    The government of South Korea will double taxes on e-liquids in 2021.

    The “health promotion tax” on nicotine solutions will be raised from the current KRW525 ($0.45) to KRW1,050 a milliliter, according to a story in The Korea Herald.

    Ministry of Health and Welfare officials said the revisions are intended to achieve a fairer taxation on varying types of tobacco products. Currently, the tax rate for e-cigarettes is only 43 percent of that for conventional cigarettes.

    The ministry has also warned against the use of e-cigarettes or vaping products, citing global instances of lung injuries associated with their use.

  • Filter Cigarettes Sales to Drop this Year

    Filter Cigarettes Sales to Drop this Year

    Photo: Tobacco Reporter archive

    Sales of filter cigarettes are expected to decline this year, according to the latest estimates from GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company.

    Filter cigarettes remain the largest-selling tobacco product with global forecast sales of $651 billion in 2020, an 8 percent drop on sales of $707 billion in 2019.

    This is a potential revenue loss of $56 billion for the tobacco industry as the Covid-19 pandemic continues to cause significant numbers of consumers to quit tobacco products. For plain cigarettes, the fall is higher at 11 percent, and in niche categories like chewing tobacco, forecast sales are expected to drop by 13 percent in 2020. 
     
    “Our data seems to corroborate what others, such as University College London, have found—people are quitting tobacco during the pandemic, and this is especially pronounced among younger people,” said Ryan Whittaker, consumer analyst at GlobalData. “Many younger consumers are working in less secure jobs and are more likely to move back with their parents upon losing employment.
     
    “Lower disposable income from lack of employment, lockdown-related closures and social distancing have all resulted in fewer social settings for smokers. GlobalData’s most recent consumer survey found that around 8 percent of global consumers, which included more millennials than any other age group, intend to stop buying tobacco and tobacco alternatives, considering them to be beyond their current shopping budgets.
     
    “Regardless of age, many consumers are understandably concerned about their respiratory health due to Covid-19’s propensity to attack the lungs. Our survey also found that over a quarter (26 percent) of global consumers are extremely concerned about their physical fitness and health with only 14 percent saying they are not concerned at all. 
     
    “As things stand, we expect that it will take at least until 2023 for global tobacco sales values to fully recover.”