Category: News This Week

  • FDA Requests PMTA Extension

    FDA Requests PMTA Extension

    The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has requested a 120-day extension to the May 12 premarket tobacco product application (PMTA) deadline due to complications associated with the coronavirus.

    The FDA submitted a letter to the Maryland District Court requesting that Judge Grimm, the judge who ordered the original deadline, postpone the court-ordered May 12 PMTA deadline to Sept. 9.

    The FDA cited lab and research organization closures; travel restrictions creating limits on information gathering; factory closures; the reallocation of some Center for Tobacco Products employees to the U.S. Public Health Service; and FDA employees working remotely, making it difficult to review applications.

    The FDA’s request follows an earlier request from Altria to extend the PMTA deadline and letters from more than 15 manufacturers requesting extensions.

    As of February 2020, the FDA has received 30 PMTAs for e-cigarettes and 28 substantial equivalence applications for cigars.

  • Papastratos Donates Ventilators to Greek Hospital

    Papastratos Donates Ventilators to Greek Hospital

    Philip Morris International’s (PMI) Greek affiliate Papastratos donated 50 ventilators to a hospital in Greece to help “flatten the curve” after the coronavirus outbreak.

    Stavros Drakoularakos, PMI’s director of communications for Greece, said he was “sky-high proud” and said that it was “proof of what sheer will and collaboration between all can achieve.”

    Anti-tobacco advocates, however, have been criticizing the move, stating that it was simply a publicity stunt. “If smoking does predispose people to having adverse outcomes during Covid-19, it is a funny position to be giving ventilators but selling a product that leads to worse outcomes,” said Constantine Vardavas, a research associate at the University of Crete’s school of medicine.

    “We were happy to help the Greek government fulfill a critical need by sourcing this lifesaving equipment,” said Moira Gilchrist, vice president at PMI.

  • Altria Asks for Delay PMTA Deadline

    Altria Asks for Delay PMTA Deadline

    Altria has sent a letter to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) requesting that the agency push back the May 12 authorization deadline by eight weeks due to the coronavirus outbreak.

    In order to keep certain tobacco and nicotine products on the market, companies must submit applications to the FDA by May 12, but many companies have been disrupted due to the virus outbreak; many companies have asked employees to work from home, factories have temporarily closed and Altria’s CEO contracted the virus.

    Altria has requested that the FDA seek an extension following the eight-week social distancing recommendation from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

    “Although we make this request and raise these issues given these unprecedented times, we remain committed to working with the agency on these important product submissions,” Paige Magness, Altria’s senior vice president, said in a letter. The company has asked that if an extension is not possible the FDA allow companies to submit data and product samples after the deadline if they are affected by the outbreak.

  • New Zealand Classifies Tobacco as Essential Business

    New Zealand Classifies Tobacco as Essential Business

    Imperial Tobacco’s factory in Petone, New Zealand, has been listed as an essential business by the government, allowing it to stay operational amid the coronavirus outbreak.

    The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) stated that “ongoing supply of consumer goods needs to continue.”

    “The suppliers to an essential business are also considered an essential business, including those who sell cigarettes. However, it can only sell to the essential business. It cannot be open to the public,” the MBIE said.

    “Imperial can supply the demand safely,” an Imperial spokesperson said. “The number of factory staff has been reduced and are working to a production layout and shift format that maintains physical distance between them.”

    Not everyone is happy about the facility remaining open, however. “We’re dealing with a major health crisis and it doesn’t seem to make any sense that a tobacco factory that produces cigarettes is an essential service when so many other [industries] have been required to shut down,” said Richard Edwards, a professor at the University of Otago and part of the Asthma Foundation’s scientific advisory board.

  • Scandinavian Tobacco Suspends Guidance

    Scandinavian Tobacco Suspends Guidance

    Niels Frederiksen, CEO of Scandinavian Tobacco

    Scandinavian Tobacco Group has suspended financial guidance for 2020 as a result of the global outbreak of the coronavirus and the uncertainty and lack of transparency it has created.

    “As authorities across the world are implementing measures to contain and fight the spread of the coronavirus, we are seeing more and more restrictions to consumer movement, which affects normal purchase and consumption patterns,” the company wrote in a press release.

    “This leads to a situation where we have significantly less transparency on consumer behavior and consumption, and retail customers are changing behavior as they try to respond to the constantly changing environment. As the situation develops from day to day in countries around the world, we are currently unable to accurately assess the short-term impact of these developments on our business.

    “Hence, we are suspending our financial guidance for 2020 pending further clarification of the general situation, market developments and the impact on our business. We expect consumer behavior to normalize following the pandemic situation and consider the effect on our business temporary,” the statement said.

    “We have a fundamentally resilient business with healthy earnings and strong cash flows,” said Niels Frederiksen, CEO of Scandinavian Tobacco.

    “I am confident that we are in a good position to deal with the issues we are facing, and we are dedicating all our efforts to navigating through an uncertain period where we both have to protect our employees, our customers and our business.”

    The company still expects to provide further financial insights into the impact of the acquisition of Agio Cigars when the integration planning period has been finalized. The decision to initiate a share buyback program in 2020 of a total value of up to DKK300 million ($43 million) is unchanged, although the timing of the initiation may be affected.

    The board of directors’ proposal for an ordinary dividend for 2019 of DKK6.10 ($0.87) per share remains unchanged. Scandinavian Tobacco will present its interim report for the first quarter of 2020 on May 20, 2020.

  • ‘Vaping Increases Covid-19 Risk’

    ‘Vaping Increases Covid-19 Risk’

    The popularity of e-cigarettes is making young people more susceptible to coronavirus than would otherwise be the case, according to some experts.

    New data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention suggests that young people may be more impacted by COVID-19 than was initially thought, with patients under the age of 45 comprising more than a third of all cases, and one in five of those patients requiring hospitalization.

    In an updated risk assessment, the European Centre for Disease Control and Prevention included smokers among those potentially most vulnerable to COVID-19.

    The agency cited a study by Chinese doctors which on a sample of 99 patients affected by the coronavirus found that acute smokers were more at risk of dying than elderly people.

    Conventional cigarette smokers are likely to have more serious illness if they become infected with COVID-19, according to the World Health Organization. Because vaping can also cause dangerous lung and respiratory problems, experts say it makes sense that the habit could aggravate the symptoms of COVID-19.

  • BAT Launches Sustainability Report to Deliver ‘A Better Tomorrow’

    BAT Launches Sustainability Report to Deliver ‘A Better Tomorrow’

    Today, BAT publishes its new sustainability report based on the group’s evolved strategy to deliver “A Better Tomorrow” by reducing the health impact of its business through offering a greater choice of enjoyable and less risky products to consumers.

    The publication is launched alongside the group’s annual report and follows last week’s Capital Markets webcast which announced stretching new targets across the environmental, social and governance (ESG) landscape, including:

    • Increasing BAT consumers of non-combustible products to 50 million by 2030
    • Achieving carbon neutrality by 2030 and accelerating existing environmental targets by 2025
    • Eliminating unnecessary single-use plastic and making all plastic packaging recyclable by 2025.

    The group’s new sustainability agenda supports the company purpose to deliver A Better Tomorrow with a principal focus on harm reduction, underpinned by excellence across its other ESG priorities. Together, this will drive BAT’s long-term business sustainability and create shared value for consumers, society, employees and shareholders.

    Since launching its first vapor products in the U.K. in 2013, BAT has made significant progress in developing, manufacturing and commercializing a range of new category products. Today, its potentially reduced-risk products are available in 48 markets globally and in 2019, the company grew its new categories business by 37 percent to £1.3 billion.

    “Today we are transitioning from being a business where sustainability has always been important to one where it is front and center in all that we do,” said Jack Bowles, chief executive of British American Tobacco.

  • RELX Wins Red Dot Award for Design

    RELX Wins Red Dot Award for Design

    RELX Technology has been awarded the Red Dot Award: Product Design 2020 for its latest e-cigarette, RELX Infinity.

    The Red Dot Award: Product Design is one of the world’s largest design competitions. In 2020, designers and manufacturers from more than 50 countries entered more than 6,500 products in the competition. An international jury comprising experts from different disciplines assessed the entries on criteria such as innovation, functionality, formal quality, longevity and ergonomics.

    Unveiled in Shenzhen, China, in January, the RELX Infinity has been designed to deliver a full flavor and a smooth. The smoothness is achieved by RELX’s Active-steam Pro and Air Boost technologies. Active-steam Pro achieves a consistent vapor volume and quality by actively balancing and controlling both atomizing power and temperature; while the aerodynamic Air Boost creates negative pressure that pushes the vapor up from the atomizer.

    Infinity also features enhanced battery performance and wireless charging. RELX also improved the product’s resistance to leakage.

    RELX products have been recognized before. In 2019, the RELX i e-cigarette was awarded the 2019 Bronze Prize at the European Product Design Awards and the Bronze award at the 2018 International Design Awards.

  • Pyxus Reviews ‘Strategic Alternatives’

    Pyxus Reviews ‘Strategic Alternatives’

    Pyxus International is evaluating strategic alternatives to maximize value. As part of the process, the board of directors established a special committee of independent directors, which will be chaired by Martin R. Wade III.

    The special committee will consider and assess a range of strategic, operational and financial alternatives, which may include a sale, recapitalization or other transaction, and will make related recommendations thereon to the full board.

    Pyxus has retained Lazard and RPA Advisors as its financial advisors to assist with the strategic review process and Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP as legal counsel.

    Pyxus previously initiated an evaluation of plans for a potential partial monetization of interests in its nontobacco subsidiaries and launched a global operations efficiency program with the aim to position the company for long-term success.

    The company has not set a timetable for completion of the review and does not intend to disclose developments related to the process unless and until the company executes a definitive agreement with respect thereto or the board otherwise determines that further disclosure is appropriate or required.

  • Restrictions forcing Japanese smokers outside

    Restrictions forcing Japanese smokers outside

    Outdoor smoking is on the rise in Japan as a law is set to take effect April 1 to ban indoor smoking.

    Japanese smokers are finding it increasingly harder to secure indoor smoking areas, causing them to revert to smoking outdoors, often in parks and other public places where smoking is banned. This is also creating an issue with cigarette butt litter, which has led to some companies reinstating smoking facilities to combat the issue.

    Smoking indoors in places such as government agencies, schools and hospitals was banned under the revised Health Promotion Law, which partially took effect July 2019. In April 2020, more establishments, such as bars and restaurants, will be affected by the ban. Smokers caught breaking the law could face fines up to ¥300,000 ($2,694), and facility managers caught breaking the law could face fines up to ¥500,000.

    There will be exemptions to the ban, however. Restaurants and bars with initial capital up to ¥50 million and customer seating up to 100 square meters will be exempt if they display “smoking allowed” signs at the entrance.