Category: News This Week

  • CTP Updates Compliance Website

    CTP Updates Compliance Website

    Credit: Postmodern Studio

    The U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s Center for Tobacco Products (CTP) has announced an enhancement to its website, which will more easily present information about tobacco compliance check outcomes.

    The agency noted in a statement that the database is designed to be a resource for various audiences, including the general public, public health groups and the tobacco industry.

    The new database offers the ability to search for various compliance and enforcement outcomes among brick-and-mortar and online retailers, including warning letters, civil money penalties and no-tobacco-sale orders.

    Previously, this information lived in various locations across the FDA website, so the enhancement will allow site visitors to more easily find outcomes from the FDA’s compliance and enforcement efforts of retailers in one centralized location, according to reports.

    This centralized database will be updated monthly with the latest compliance check outcomes. “The enhancements to this database reflect CTP’s continued efforts to optimize transparency and communication with stakeholders,” the statement continued.

  • Smoking Rates Still High in Switzerland

    Smoking Rates Still High in Switzerland

    Photo: Taco Tuinstra

    Nearly a quarter of Switzerland’s population (24 percent) smoked in 2022, down 3 percentage points from the rate in 2017, reports Le News, citing new data from the Federal Statistical Office. The decline in smoking is a relatively new phenomenon in Switzerland. In 1992, 30 percent of the population aged 15 and over reported smoking.

    The reduction has been most pronounced among educated people. In 2022, Swiss without post-compulsory education smoked more frequently and more heavily than those who had completed a university or higher vocational education. This distinction too is new. Thirty years ago, there were hardly any differences in smoking by level of education.

    New types of tobacco products or e-cigarettes are particularly popular among younger people, consumed by 17 percent of 15- to 24-year-olds in 2022.

    Despite the recent declines, Swiss smoking rates remain high compared with many other nations. Rates in the U.K. (14 percent), Norway (14 percent), Canada (12 percent) and Australia (13 percent) are far lower.  

    Meanwhile, public smoking remains widely tolerated in Switzerland. Many smokers will light up on train platforms, where it is largely banned, at bus stops or while seated at outside restaurant tables.

  • Maldives to Ditch Import Duty Exemptions

    Maldives to Ditch Import Duty Exemptions

    Image: amazing studio

    The Maldivian government will eliminate import duty exemptions on vape products next month, reports The Edition.

     Deputy Chief Superintendent of Maldives Customs Service Ahmed Niyaz said that the duty exemption previously allowed for tobacco products and vape appliances will be removed starting August 1

    “The Maldives has signed many international treaties on health,” he was quoted as saying. “Allowing exemptions for things such as tobacco is not encouraged by the treaties.”

  • Activists Lament Tax Plans

    Activists Lament Tax Plans

    Photo: mrizwan

    Pakistan’s decision to maintain cigarette tax rates at their current level represents a missed opportunity, according to health activists, reports Business Recorder.

    Speaking at a forum organized by the Society for the Protection of the Rights of the Child, former Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Murtaza Solangi said the revenue could have been invested in public health, easing the economic burden on Pakistan’s healthcare system.

    Instead, he said, maintaining current tax rates benefits cigarette manufacturers without additional excise tax contributions, undermining tobacco control efforts and worsening the public health problems caused by tobacco use.

    “The government’s decision to spare the cigarette industry from any tax hike, despite the need to generate additional revenue to address the fiscal deficit, is concerning,” said Muhammad Asif Iqbal, director of the Social Policy and Development Center.

    He said that the government was unlikely to achieve its cigarette tax collection target of PKR324 billion ($1.16 billion) for 2024-2025 at current rates.

    Malik Imran Ahmed, country head of the Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids, said the prevailing rules allowed cigarette manufacturers to increase consumer prices without contributing more to excise tax revenue.

    This situation, he said, not only undermines tobacco control efforts but also risks exacerbating the public health problems caused by tobacco consumption.

     

  • Pakistan Urged to Block Small Pack Exports

    Pakistan Urged to Block Small Pack Exports

    Image: Maksym Kapliuk

    The African Tobacco Control Alliance (ATCA) has urged Pakistan to prevent British American Tobacco from exporting cigarettes in packs of 10 sticks to Sudan, reports The Independent.

    Pakistan prohibits the sale of cigarettes in such packs on its domestic market. BAT subsidiary Pakistan Tobacco Co. (PTC) has asked the government to make an exemption for a large order from Sudan, which permits the sale of 10-stick packs on its territory.

    In its statement, the ATCA urged the Pakistani government to reject PTC’s request, emphasizing the need to protect children from the dangers of smoking.

    According to the ATCA, the 20-cigarette per-pack rule is the global standard for the protection of children. Because packs with fewer than 20 cigarettes are less expensive, the argument goes, it is more likely that underage buyers will purchase them. The ATCA refers to such packs as “kiddie packs.”

    At least 82 countries have laws requiring a minimum of 20 cigarettes a pack.

    “BAT is pushing you to change regulations so that it can manufacture 10-stick cigarette packs and export them to Sudan, the ATCA wrote in its letter to the government of Pakistan. “However, the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control in its Article 16 calls on parties to prohibit the sale of cigarettes in small packets, which increases the affordability of such products to minors. Consequently, Pakistan as a party to the convention should not allow manufacturing of 10-stick cigarette packs.”

    The organization condemned BAT’s explanation that the 10-stick packs will be sold only in Sudan, noting that if the tobacco giant is allowed to succeed with this plan in Sudan, other African countries would be next. “It is unconscionable that BAT thinks it is ok to change a law on one continent in order to target vulnerable populations on another,” ATCA wrote.

    “In Sudan and other countries in Africa, people need food, medicine and other lifesaving supports. What they do not need is kiddie packs of cigarettes that put them at increased risk of tobacco addiction, diseases and death. And we know that once BAT gets kiddie packs into one country, they will make their way across Africa.”

  • Delayed Payments for Malawi Growers

    Delayed Payments for Malawi Growers

    Photo: Taco Tuinstra

    Malawi tobacco growers have been complaining about tardy payments, with some receiving the proceeds of their leaf sales up to a week late, reports The Nyasa Times.

    “We are expecting the Tobacco Commission [TC], as the regulator, to come out with measures to eradicate this problem,” said TAMA Trust Vice President Rhodes Sulumba.

    TC spokesperson Telephorus Chigwenembe said the problem was limited to isolated cases. “However, we will find out the extent of the problem and the bottlenecks are,” he was quoted as saying.

    Malawi has earned $327 million from tobacco sales since the start of this year’s marketing season, up from $282.62 million from the same period last year.

    After 11 weeks of sales, growers have sold 112 million kg of all tobacco types, according to AHL Tobacco Sales. During the comparable period of 2023, the figure was 94.3 million kg.

  • Ireland to Raise Tobacco Sales Age

    Ireland to Raise Tobacco Sales Age

    Photo: Vasyl

    Ireland will to raise the minimum age for tobacco sales to 21.

    With the measure, the government hopes to accelerate the decline in adult smoking prevalence, which has plateaued at 18 percent for several years, and reduce underage smoking prevalence to zero.

    “My goal with this measure is to assist our young people to avoid a lifetime of addiction and illness from tobacco smoking. The modelling shows us that this measure will not only protect the targeted age group and but will also protect those under 18 as they will be less likely to be in social groups with 21 year olds who can legally purchase cigarettes,” said Health Minister Stephen Donnelly in a statement.

    “Countries around the world are looking at endgame measures for smoking. We are no longer regulating it; we are seeking to eliminate it from our lives and the lives of our children. I’m very proud that Ireland is continuing its tradition of leading the way on this issue, and today’s measure is another important step on our journey towards a tobacco-free Ireland.”

    Ireland will be the first EU country to raise the smoking age to 21. The measure will be phased in so that that those already entitled to be sold tobacco products—that is, persons over 18 but under 21—will not be affected.

  • Imperial Certified as Great Workplace

    Imperial Certified as Great Workplace

    Image: Ricochet64

    Imperial Tobacco Canada has been certified as a Great Place to Work.

    “We are immensely proud of this recognition, especially that it comes directly from feedback received by our employees. We put enormous efforts into creating an environment where we can all shine and achieve our full potential,” said Frank Silva, president of Imperial Tobacco Canada. “We face many challenges in our business, but we do so together, and our people know that we will always do the right thing.”

    To achieve this certification, Great Place to Work surveyed all 500 employees of Imperial Tobacco Canada. This employee-led certification is based on employees’ direct feedback as part of an extensive and anonymous survey about their workplace experience, which measures the level of trust that employees experience in their leaders, the level of pride they have in their jobs and the extent to which they enjoy their colleagues.

    “This certification reflects our ongoing efforts to prioritize employee satisfaction, well-being and professional development. We remain committed to fostering an inclusive environment where every team member feels valued and empowered to contribute their best work. This achievement inspires us to continue our journey toward excellence in workplace culture, ensuring that we remain a preferred employer of choice in our industry,” said Lito Charet, vice president of human resources and inclusion.

  • NYC Wants Wholesalers to End Vape Sales

    NYC Wants Wholesalers to End Vape Sales

    Image: f11photo

    The mayor of New York City has requested a Manhattan judge to intervene immediately and halt the sale of illegal flavored vapes by 11 wholesalers in New York.

    The city filed suit against the wholesalers in April, citing data that kids and teens are getting hooked on flavored e-cigarettes at alarming rates.

    Now, the city’s lawyers say they need a preliminary injunction to force the illegal flavored vape peddlers to quit their noxious practices immediately, according to the New York Post.

    “While we have already filed a lawsuit to hold these distributors accountable for their actions, the motion we have filed will help us ensure that they can no longer peddle this poison to our children while this case is being litigated,” Adams said in a statement after the request for an injunction was filed Monday.

    Court records show that city investigators were able to directly place orders from the wholesalers.

    The probers also were able to uncover sales invoices from vape distributors in the city, the documents show. 

  • Top Court to Hear Triton PMTA Denial Order Suit

    Top Court to Hear Triton PMTA Denial Order Suit

    supreme court of USThe U.S. Supreme Court agreed on Tuesday to hear the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s defense of the agency’s rejection of two companies’ premarket tobacco product applications (PMTAs) to sell flavored vape products that it has determined pose health risks for young consumers.

    The justices took up the FDA’s appeal filed after a lower court ruled that the agency had failed to follow proper legal procedures under federal law when it denied the applications to bring their nicotine-containing products to market.

    The Supreme Court is due to hear the case in its next term, which begins in October, according to Reuters.

    Two e-cigarette liquid makers, Triton Distribution and Vapetasia LLC, filed FDA applications in 2020 for products with flavors such as sour grape, pink lemonade, and crème brulee and names such as “Jimmy The Juice Man Strawberry Astronaut” and “Suicide Bunny Bunny Season.”

    An FDA rule that took effect in 2016 deemed e-cigarettes to be tobacco products, like traditional cigarettes, subject to agency review under a 2009 federal law called the Tobacco Control Act. The rule said manufacturers of the products would need to apply for approval to continue selling them.