The International Tax Stamp Association (ITSA) is recruiting new members, including government authorities, universities, foundations, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and other associations, who can help fight the fraudulent trade of tobacco, alcohol and other products.
All prospective associate members must have a legitimate and established interest in tax/security stamps or secure track-and-trace systems. Associate membership is not open to individuals or to organizations that collaborate significantly with manufacturers, distributors or sellers of excisable products or with their subsidiaries and associates.
“We want to increase our influence in the fight against the illicit trade of tobacco and other products by forging closer links with NGOs, research bodies, government authorities and other key bodies,” said Juan Carlos Yanez, chairman of the ITSA. “Tobacco fraud in particular leads to a rapid increase in poor health and costs revenue authorities millions of pounds in lost excise duty.”
While not yet official, the deadline for submitting premarket tobacco product authorizations (PMTA) to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is one step closer to being delayed from May 12, 2020 to Sept. 9, 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Judge Paul Grimm of the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland issued an “indicative ruling” granting the FDA’s request to delay the deadline by 120 days.
The ruling is not yet final, however, due to procedural issues that are expected to be resolved expeditiously. Due to appeals filed by several organizations, including the Vapor Technology Association and the FDA itself, Grimm no longer has the authority to modify his original ruling which moved the deadline to May 2020. That power now lies with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit.
For the ruling to become valid, the Fourth Circuit must remand the case back to Grimm’s court where Grimm says he would modify the order to allow the FDA to delay the change. The FDA will then need to update its regulations to move the PMTA date to Sept. 9, 2020.
Philter Labs, a San Diego-based technology company that produces micro-sized air filters to help reduce the impacts of secondhand smoke, announced it has received $1 million in new investments.
The capital will be used for research and development, building out an extensive product roadmap, and launching what the company says will be first-of-its-kind personal filtration products, according to an article on Benzinga.com.
This new round of funding brings Philter’s total to $3 million. Bravos Capital and Explorer Equity both participated in the effort.
Philter Lab’s patented zero-5 technology utilizes a five step filtration process that manipulates smoke and vapor at the molecular level to dissipate up to 97 percent of emissions and dissolve harmful particulates and pollutants. Also unique to Philter is it’s pocket-sized design, allowing for ease of use and portability.
For over 20 years, the team behind Philter has been working to solve major medical problems, and identify consumer-centric solutions for common issues. Philter also aims to help re-frame popular associations behind controversial human behaviors, according to the article.
Philter’s technology encourages consumers to practice responsible vaping and empowers them to protect those they love, and the environment, by drastically reducing harmful emissions and airborne contaminants. The company’s overarching mission is to change the way people perceive vaping tobacco and cannabis.
CEO Christos Nicolaidis told Benzinga the goal at Philter Labs is to eliminate the impacts of secondhand smoke and harmful emissions while empowering consumers to vape responsibly, according to the article.
“This new series of funding builds on our momentum and will allow us to expand on our scientific research and launch new innovative, cutting-edge filtration products,” Nicolaidis said. “We want to lead the charge on a cultural shift for cleaner air and a better environment — and hopefully change the way people vape for the better.”
Several multinational cigarette makers including Philip Morris International (PMI), Japan Tobacco International (JTI) and British American Tobacco (BAT) have suspended their cigarette manufacturing operations in Russia pending clarification about coronavirus policies.
The Russian government has listed tobacco products as “non-food” commodities and therefore prohibited them from operating during this stage of the pandemic.
JTI, which announced a “Putin break” from March 30 to April 3, stated, “This decision was due to the ambiguity of how various regulatory measures taken in the past week, and the definition of continuous production and nonbusiness days, relate to each other, and also the fact that tobacco products were excluded from the list of non-food commodities.”
The spokesperson noted that JTI has taken measures to ensure an uninterrupted supply of its products to consumers. BAT has closed its St. Petersburg production facility until April 5 for similar reasons. PMI has closed its St. Petersburg production facility until April 3.
These production slowdowns could lead to a cigarette shortage unless the government clarifies its intent.
Malawi is expected to produce 154.7 million kg of all tobacco types this season, 6.62 percent less than last year, reports The Nyasa Times, citing a recent assessment by the Tobacco Commission (TC) of Malawi. The trade also anticipates a 4.4 percent decline in demand for this year.
The TC attributes the decline to the low prices offered for Malawi tobacco during the 2019 marketing season and excessive rainfall during the growing season, which caused the leaching of crop nutrients.
The trade hopes the decline in production will result in attractive prices this year.
“With 2020 trade demand at 161.4 million kg, the 2020 estimated production is expected to attract competitive pricing as companies will out-compete each other to satisfy their requirements,” the report states.
“Regionally, the outlook shows expected reduction in production from neighboring Zambia, Tanzania, Mozambique and Zimbabwe arising from erratic rainfall followed by drought experienced at critical vegetative stage of the crop.”
The TC has suspended the opening of the 2020 tobacco marketing season due to coronavirus, which was declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization.
The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has filed a complaint to force Altria to sell its stake in Juul Labs.
The FTC complaint alleges that Altria and Juul Labs entered a series of agreements, including Altria’s acquisition of a 35 percent stake in Juul Labs, that eliminated competition in violation of federal antitrust laws.
“For several years, Altria and Juul were competitors in the market for closed-system e-cigarettes. By the end of 2018, Altria orchestrated its exit from the e-cigarette market and became Juul’s largest investor,” said Ian Conner, director of the Bureau of Competition. “Altria and Juul turned from competitors to collaborators by eliminating competition and sharing in Juul’s profits.”
A few weeks before announcing its $12.8 billion investment in Juul Labs, Altria announced that it would be taking its MarkTen e-cigarette brand off the market, a brand that had been the second most popular on the market.
Along with the monetary investment in Juul, the companies’ agreement states that Altria will not compete with Juul for six years, according to the FTC.
Altria rejected the complaint. “We believe that our investment in Juul does not harm competition and that the FTC misunderstood the facts,” said Murray Garnick, Altria’s executive vice president and general counsel. “We are disappointed with the FTC’s decision, believe we have a strong defense and will vigorously defend our investment.”
Altria’s investment in Juul Labs has now decreased to $4.2 billion after a series of write-downs following a collection of lawsuits against Juul Labs regarding youth usage.
Anti-counterfeiting technology will continue to grow, according to a recent report cited by the International Hologram Manufacturers’ Association (IHMA).
The market for holograms is expected to grow by 27 percent over the next five years. The global anti-counterfeiting packaging market is expected to reach $133.72 billion by 2026 with a compound annual growth rate of more than 10 percent from 2021 to 2026.
“Digital solutions are a clear and growing addition to authentication solutions, sometimes in isolation, but within the holographic industry it’s the combination with packaging track-and-trace systems, among other solutions, that’s seen as the foreseeable future,” said Paul Dunn, IMHA chair. “In doing so, the opportunities for holograms to be at the forefront will drive sector growth.”
Kentucky BioProcessing (KBP), a subsidiary of British American Tobacco (BAT), is developing a potential vaccine for Covid-19 and is now in pre-clinical testing. If testing goes well, BAT is hopeful that, with the right partners and support from government agencies, between 1 million and 3 million doses of the vaccine could be manufactured per week, beginning in June.
While KBP remains a commercial operation, the intention is that its work around the Covid-19 vaccine project will be carried out on a not for profit basis.
The vaccine in development uses BAT’s proprietary, fast-growing tobacco plant technology which has several advantages over conventional vaccine production technology:
It is potentially safer given that tobacco plants can’t host pathogens which cause human disease.
It is faster because the elements of the vaccine accumulate in tobacco plants much more quickly—six weeks in tobacco plants versus several months using conventional methods.
The vaccine formulation KBP is developing remains stable at room temperature, unlike conventional vaccines which often require refrigeration.
It has the potential to deliver an effective immune response in a single dose.
BAT’s U.S. subsidiary, Reynolds American Inc., acquired KBP in 2014, with the aim of using some of its unique tobacco extraction technology to aid further development of its new category non-combustible products.
In 2014, KBP made headlines as one of the few companies with an effective treatment for Ebola, having manufactured ZMapp with California-based company Mapp BioPharmaceuticals in partnership with the U.S. Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA).
KBP recently cloned a portion of Covid-19’s genetic sequence which led to the development of a potential antigen—a substance which induces an immune response in the body and in particular, the production of antibodies. This antigen was then inserted into tobacco plants for reproduction and, once the plants were harvested, the antigen was then purified, and is now undergoing pre-clinical testing.
BAT is now exploring partnerships with government agencies to bring its vaccine to clinical studies as soon as possible. Through collaborations with government and third-party manufacturers, BAT believes that between 1 million and 3 million doses per week could be manufactured.
David O’Reilly
“We are engaged with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and are seeking guidance on next steps,” said David O’Reilly, director of scientific research at BAT. “We have also engaged with the U.K.’s Department for Health and Social Care, and BARDA in the U.S., to offer our support and access to our research with the aim of trying to expedite the development of a vaccine for Covid-19.
“Vaccine development is challenging and complex work, but we believe we have made a significant break-through with our tobacco plant technology platform and stand ready to work with governments and all stakeholders to help win the war against Covid-19. We fully align with the United Nations plea, for a whole-of-society approach to combat global problems.
“KBP has been exploring alternative uses of the tobacco plant for some time. One such alternative use is the development of plant-based vaccines. We are committed to contributing to the global effort to halt the spread of Covid-19 using this technology.”
Universal Corp. has appointed J. Patrick O’Keefe as senior vice president of Universal Global Ventures effective April 1, 2020.
Universal Global Ventures is a wholly owned nontobacco subsidiary of Universal Corp. that holds FruitSmart, Universal’s recently acquired independent specialty fruit and vegetable ingredient processor serving global markets.
O’Keefe will oversee the company’s nascent plant-based ingredient platform and the company’s previously stated efforts to continue to build out a broader agri-products services platform.
“We are pleased to welcome Patrick to Universal Corporation as we expand and deepen our strong bench of executive talent in areas outside of tobacco,” said George C. Freeman III, chairman, president and CEO of Universal Corporation. “With almost three decades of food and beverage industry experience, Patrick brings skills that are directly relevant to our ongoing strategic and growth initiatives in adjacent industries.”
O’Keefe brings nearly 30 years of diverse, multilevel experience in the food ingredients industry. Prior to joining Universal, O’Keefe served as chief operating officer for Allen Flavors. From 2015 to 2018, O’Keefe served as CEO of the Americas for Dohler Group. From 2007 to 2015, he served as president of Finlay Tea Solutions U.S. and then CEO of Finlay’s Extracts & Ingredients. Earlier in his career, O’Keefe held roles of increasing responsibility at Sensient Flavors, Givaudan Flavors and International Flavors & Fragrances.
ITG Brands is donating $50,000 to support those impacted by the coronavirus in the Greensboro, North Carolina, USA, community.
The contribution comes in response to the United Way of Greater Greensboro’s request for members of the community to assist its humanitarian efforts in the face of this unprecedented crisis affecting the entire community.
“We share United Way of Greater Greensboro’s concerns—and, indeed, a concern shared around the world—regarding Covid-19,” said Oliver Kutz, Chairman and CEO of ITG Brands. “Our contribution to the United Way of Greater Greensboro’s virus relief fund is one small way we can help our community as we focus on the safety of our employees, customers and the broader community.”
ITG Brands has previously supported relief efforts from a special relief fund designated for natural disasters, such as hurricanes, tornados and earthquakes.
