The sale of flavored tobacco products, including menthol cigarettes, has become illegal in Massachusetts as of today.
Massachusetts became the first state to approve such a ban when Governor Charlie Baker signed the bill in November.
The law applies to the sale of all flavored tobacco products in Massachusetts retail stores and online.
Cigar bars, hookah lounges and other licensed venues can continue selling flavored tobacco as long as these products are consumed on-site.
Massachusetts’ decision to extend the ban to menthol flavors has been contentious in part because studies have shown menthol cigarettes are consumed disproportionately by minorities, which activists have warned could lead to disproportionate police enforcement in the black community.
The liberalization of vaping has considerable potential to help millions of people switch from traditional tobacco smoking to vaping, according to the Consumer Choice Center (CCC). Vaping is widely believed to be a less harmful way of consuming nicotine than smoking.
The CCC examined 61 countries and assessed how “smart” tobacco harm reduction policies could make the switch easier.
Fred Roeder
“We looked at 61 countries (including the U.K.) around the world and compared the current rate of daily and occasional vapers,” said Fred Roeder, health economist and managing director of the CCC. “We used the United Kingdom’s progressive tobacco harm reduction policies as a reference point and estimated how many current smokers could be helped to switch to vaping by having a more permissive vaping framework.”
“More liberal rules on advertising to smokers, displaying products at the point of sale for cigarettes, lower taxation, and public health bodies endorsing the evidence of vaping being at least 95 percent less harmful than traditional smoking can help smokers to switch to vaping.”
The CCC estimates that nearly 200 million adults in the analyzed 60 countries could switch to vaping and urges public health bodies and regulators to endorse tobacco harm reduction
President Donald Trump said Friday that the U.S. will be terminating its relationship with the World Health Organization. He said that the UN agency failed to adequately respond to the coronavirus because China has “total control” over the global organization.
He said Chinese officials “ignored” their reporting obligations to the WHO and pressured the WHO to mislead the world when the virus was first discovered, according to an AP story.
He noted that the U.S. contributes about $450 million to the world body while China provides about $40 million.
The U.S. is the largest source of financial support to the WHO and its exit is expected to significantly weaken the organization. Trump said the U.S. would be “redirecting” the money to “other worldwide and deserving urgent global public health needs,” without providing specifics.
The Global Forum on Nicotine (GFN) will take place online June 11-12, 2020, following the cancellation of the face-to-face event in Warsaw due to Covid-19.
The conference is free of charge and open to everyone with an interest in nicotine science and policy.
During the conference, experts will discuss advances in nicotine science, the ethical arguments in favor of tobacco harm reduction and the human rights issues for all those who advocate for the right to health will be explored.
“As always, and perhaps even more so in this critical year, GFN is open to everyone with an interest in nicotine science and policy,” said Paddy Costall, co-director of the conference.
“It is open to everyone who wants to reduce the toll of tobacco-related death and disease worldwide. And it is open to everyone who recognizes that global tobacco control will fail without the strategic addition of tobacco harm reduction, in the form of widespread access to safer nicotine products. We look forward to welcoming you on the 11 and 12 June—and hope to see many of you in Warsaw, where we plan to meet again in June 2021.”
Youth smoking is up for the first time in a decade, according to government figures. Photo: Taco Tuinstra
The number of young Taiwanese people smoking rose for the first time in a decade in 2019, reports Taiwan News, citing a report by the Ministry of Health and Welfare’s Health Promotion Administration.
Remarkably, considering that e-cigarettes are illegal in Taiwan, the popularity of vaping rose by half.
An estimated 81,000 young Taiwanese smoked combustible cigarettes last year, while 57,000 youths vaped, Central News Agency (CAN) reported.
The survey found that the proportion of junior high school students with a smoking habit rose from 2.8 percent in 2018 to 3 percent in 2019, and the proportion of senior high school students from 8 percent to 8.4 percent.
Four out of every 10 young smokers smoke flavored cigarettes, which are more popular with women, the study discovered. The most popular motivator to start smoking cited was curiosity, followed by “seeing other people smoke,” parents smoking and the desire to relieve pressure.
The popularity of vaping among young people surged from 2.7 percent in 2018 to 4.2 percent last year, with male senior high school students the most likely category to use e-cigarettes.
The FDA signed off March 18 on a new set of 11 graphic warning labels for traditional cigarettes that are toned down considerably from its first attempt in 2012, which was abandoned after an industry legal challenge.
The new set of warnings contains images of diseased lungs, a man experiencing erectile dysfunction, a man with surgical stitches from heart or lung surgery and a child with an oxygen mask. But there is no smoke coming out of a tracheal hole, no cadaver and no photo of a man who appears deathly ill, as the FDA proposed.
The labels must cover the top 50 percent of the front and rear panels of packages, as well as at least 20 percent of the top of advertisements. The messages must be randomly and equally displayed and distributed on cigarette packages and rotated quarterly in cigarette advertisements.
The warnings were mandated by a federal judge for cigarette packaging and marketing. The ruling does not affect other tobacco products, such as electronic cigarettes.
Initially, the agency set a deadline for June 18, 2021. However, on April 3, Philip Morris USA, R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co., ITG Brands and Liggett Group filed a joint motion requesting a preliminary injunction on implementing the labels and a ruling to prohibit enforcement. The manufacturers insist that the labels violate the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, which guarantees free speech.
On May 8, the FDA and the manufacturers filed a joint motion to extend the deadline by 120 days. The manufacturers said the pandemic has complicated their ability to meet the June 18, 2021, deadline.
Despite the postponement of the deadline, the FDA urged manufacturers to submit plans for compliance as soon as possible.
“Early submission will facilitate timely FDA review of plans prior to the effective date of the required warnings, encourage dialogue with entities regarding any implementation concerns, and provide time to consider proposals by entities in a timely manner,” the FDA said.
British American Tobacco South Africa (BATSA) will resume legal action against the country’s government’s decision to extend the ban on tobacco sales during Level 3 of the nationwide lockdown, reports Polity.
“BATSA has made every effort to constructively engage with the government since the ban came into force, including making detailed submissions, along with other interested parties, to various ministers, as well as directly to the presidency,” the company said in a statement.
“To date, no formal response has been received from the government, and BATSA has also not been included in any of the government’s consultation processes so far.”
The Fair Trade Independent Tobacco Association has already taken the government to court to challenge the ban in a separate case.
Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, argued that, while Covid-19 is a relatively new disease, early studies support the view that using tobacco products increases not only the risk of catching the disease but also the risk of contracting a more serious form of the disease.
“This, in turn, increases strain on the public health system, by increasing the number of people who will need access to resources such as intensive care unit beds and ventilators,” she said.
BAT said the ban threatens the survival of South Africa’s legal tobacco sector, which employs thousands.
The InterTabac and InterSupply trade fairs planned for Sept. 18-20, 2020, in Dortmund, Germany, will not be held in their customary formats this year due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
The traditional versions of both fairs will be postponed to Sept 16-18, 2021
The decision was taken by agreement between the organizer, Messe Dortmund and the partner associations representing the tobacco industry, tobacco product wholesalers and retailers.
The parties involved have agreed to work on an alternative format to take place in autumn 2020 leveraging the strengths of the trade fair for tobacco products and smoking accessories and of the trade fair focusing on the manufacturing process for tobacco products, e-cigarettes, pipes and shisha tobaccos.
“Even though there have been signs of relaxation in Germany in recent weeks regarding the Covid-19 pandemic, and local authorities have again made it possible to hold trade fairs with limited attendance while observing appropriate hygiene measures, we as organizers continue to pay particular attention to our responsibility to protect the health of everyone involved”, explained Sabine Loos, managing director of Westfalenhallen Unternehmensgruppe, the parent company of organizer Messe Dortmund.
“As a result, working closely with our partner associations, we have decided to jointly develop a new concept for this autumn, and to present it in detail shortly.”
Universal Corp. reported net income for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2020, of $71.7 million, compared with $104.1 million for the prior fiscal year. Excluding restructuring and impairment costs and certain nonrecurring items, net income declined by $25.3 million. Operating income was $126.4 million for the fiscal year, down from $161.2 million for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2019.
Results reflected earnings declines in Universal’s North America and Other Regions segments, partially offset by earnings improvements in the company’s Other Tobacco Operations segment.
George C. Freeman III
“We could not have predicted that we would be closing out our fiscal year in the throes of a global pandemic,” said George C. Freeman, III, chairman, president and CEO of Universal.
“Uncertain market conditions, mainly driven by the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, led to extreme weakening of the Indonesian rupiah, Brazilian real and Mexican peso relative to the U.S. dollar, all of which experienced double-digit depreciation during the month of March.”
These currency weaknesses were the primary drivers for unfavorable currency comparisons, according to Freeman.
“Towards the end of our fiscal year, we also saw some shipment delays in certain regions due to the Covid-19 pandemic and slower customer orders, which increased our uncommitted inventory levels,” said Freeman.
“In addition, as we have discussed throughout the fiscal year, our results for fiscal year 2020 have been negatively impacted by lower carryover volumes compared to fiscal year 2019, mainly in North America and Africa. Our gross margins for fiscal year 2020, however, remained relatively flat compared to fiscal year 2019.”
While some of Universal’s processing facilities experienced partial or total closures due to Covid-19, nearly all operations have resumed with measures to protect employees against infection, according to Freeman.
In related news, Universal declared a quarterly dividend of $0.77 per share, payable August 3, 2020.
“Today’s dividend increase is a milestone for our company,” said Freeman. “It is our 50th consecutive annual dividend increase, and we are very proud of this achievement. It represents the continuation of our strong record of returning value to our shareholders through our consistent dividend delivery. We have raised our common dividend every year since 1971.”
Universal’s annual meeting of shareholders will take place August 4, 2020.
A bill that aims to impose an excise duty on such products has been submitted to Russia’s government for review.
Because nicotine packs are a viable alternative to smoking, they should be subjected to state control, argues the bill’s author, Sergey Katasonov, who also serves as first deputy chair of the State Duma committee on budget and taxes.
Katasonov noted that authorities across the Eurasian Economic Union, of which Russia is a prominent member, have already started asserting control over new nicotine products, such as e-cigarettes and heat-not-burn (HNB) products.
At present, the State Duma public health committee is studying a bill envisaging massive changes to Russia’s tobacco legislation. Among other amendments, the bill seeks to treat e-cigarettes and HNB devices like traditional tobacco products.
