Category: News This Week

  • Juul founders sued

    Juul founders sued

    Juul Labs’ founders used a $12.8 billion investment from Altria Group to enrich themselves, according to a minority shareholder.

    In a lawsuit filed in California state court last week, Daniel Grove says Juul founders Adam Bowen and James Monsees each sold $500 million in stock after the deal with Altria while denying similar opportunities to minority stakeholders.

    The suit seeks to block Juul Labs’ board from approving further transactions involving its members and to make the company hold annual meetings. It also seeks to represent others as a class of plaintiffs.

    Describing the suit as “without merit and filled with factual inaccuracies,” Juul Labs countersued  stop Grove from gaining access to its books and record.

    Grove’s lawyer, Francis Bottini, said his client is seeking information about payments to Juul Labs’ board members related to the Altria deal and that under California law he didn’t sign away those rights as Juul contends.

    Bottini said Juul Labs’ lawsuit against Grove is “without merit.”

  • Papers seized

    Papers seized

    Customs authorities seized about 15 million contraband cigarette papers in western Turkey, the country’s trade ministry said.

    Customs received a tip that a shipment of illegal filter-tipped cigarette papers would be brought into the country through the Kapikule border gate in the Edirne province bordering Bulgaria.

    Officials found 14.75 million filter-tipped rolling papers and 120 cigarette rolling machines in two trucks that were flagged for X-ray.

    The market value of the contraband product is about TRY2 million ($340,000).

  • JV in Balkans

    JV in Balkans

    Sunel and Oz-Ege Tutun San. Tic. have created a joint venture to operate in Albania and Macedonia.

    Bacco Albania has been operating since 2019. Bacco Macedonia will sign grower contracts for the 2020 crop.

  • Khan to lead PM Malaysia

    Khan to lead PM Malaysia

    Philip Morris Malaysia has appointed Naeem Khan as its managing director, reports The New Straits Times.

    Khan is the co-founder and chief operating officer of EZbuy Holding in Pakistan, an international online shopping platform. Previously he was chairman and CEO of Phillips Group of Companies in Malaysia in 2011 and vice president of consumer lighting for emerging markets based out of China.

    “Naeem is a genuine leader who has a strong organizational focus on developing people,” said Paul Riley, Philip Morris president for East Asia and Australia region. “He was recognized in accelerating revenue growth in commercial and healthcare environments through product marketing, innovation, as well as consumer experience.”

    “The tobacco industry is evolving rapidly; new and robust innovations that build on harm reduction will help the world achieve smoke-free future in a faster pace,” said Khan.

    “I am extremely excited and proud to be part of this historical journey with Philip Morris in their on-going drive towards a smoke-free world for the future generations.”

  • New chairman 22nd Century

    New chairman 22nd Century

    22nd Century Group has appointed Nora Sullivan as chairman of its board of directors. Roger O’Brien has joined the board to fill the vacancy resulting from the death of Joseph Dunn.

    Sullivan has served as a director of 22nd Century Group since May 2015. Sullivan is also currently president of Sullivan Capital Partners, a financial services company providing investment banking and consulting services to businesses seeking growth through acquisitions, strategic partnerships and joint venture relationships.

    Her experience includes the development and advancement of strategic initiatives and the implementation of best practice governance policies.

    O’Brien has served since 2000 as the president of O’Brien Associates, a general management consulting firm. From 1998 to 1999, O’Brien served as the chief operating officer of Ultralife Batteries, and from 1991 to 1996, he was the chief executive officer and a major shareholder of Holotek.

    “We welcome Roger to 22nd Century’s board of directors and congratulate Nora on her appointment as chairman,” said Michael Zercher, president and chief operating officer of 22nd Century Group.

    “Roger’s extensive experience in strategy and management consulting and Nora’s deep experience in capital markets, private equity and matters of public company governance, including as a long-time member of 22nd Century’s board, will be of tremendous value to the company as we pursue our two strategic growth objectives in tobacco harm reduction and the emerging hemp/cannabis space.”

  • RELX announces expansion

    Photo: RELX Technology

    Relx Technology, a Chinese vapor company, plans to invest RMB500 million ($72.53 million) in establishing 10,000 stores worldwide over the next three years. Relx opened its first retail store in January 2019. Today, it operates more than 1,400 stores across 300 cities in China.

    “Relx is investing heavily in breakthrough technologies to enhance franchisees’ profit margins and increase consumer loyalty during the course of its brick-and-mortar expansion,” said Jiang Long, co-founder and head of sales, in a statement. “As always, our focus will remain on preventing minors from using e-cigarette products and leading the path of innovation for the entire industry by developing advanced retail technology.”

    Relx announced its plans during the opening of a flagship store in Shanghai. Located in Shanghai’s central business district, the store occupies 140 square meters and functions as a space to educate existing adult smokers and vapers on Relx vapor products.

    All visitors are subject to strict age verification processes when entering the store or making a purchase. Relx’s Project Sunflower facial recognition technology also ensures that minors attempting to enter the store are identified automatically and denied service.

    “The flagship store demonstrates Project Sunflower’s central role in Relx’s retail division,” said Jiang. “As a visionary company, Relx is prepared to shoulder the responsibility of blazing the trail in tech-enabled social responsibility.”

  • New board hologram group

    New board hologram group

    The International Hologram Manufacturers Association (IHMA) has announced a new executive board.

    Rajan Thomas has been elected to oversee operations across Asia. Anton Goncharsky and Manoj Kochar are elected with responsibility for the Eastern Europe/FSA/CIS region and the Authentication Solution Providers’ Association in India, respectively.

    Joanne Ogden will continue to represent the EU and EFTA region, while Brad Hilbert and SeungHyun Lee remain on the board with Alessio Pastorelli and Corinne Murcia Giudicelli.

    Led by Chairman Paul Dunn, the board will direct the IHMA’s work to advance holography as global threats continue to push demand for authentication and brand protection devices such as holograms.

    The IHMA plans to expand the scope of current operations, embracing the widest range of commercial holographic activity.

    “Innovation is pushing the boundaries of what holographic technology can achieve, reflecting that there is plenty of mileage in holography,” said Dunn.

    “I’m very much looking forward to the challenge of taking the IHMA forward and working with members and organizations to ensure it remains a strong advocate and resource for the industry in the future.”

     

  • Claim questioned

    Claim questioned

    An article published on Jan. 8 in the American Journal of Public Health (AJPH) dismisses the claim that e-cigarettes are 95 percent safer than combustible cigarettes as a “factoid”—unreliable information repeated so often that it becomes accepted as fact.

    The 95 percent claim stems from a 2013 study rating the relative harm of 12 nicotine products using 14 criteria. The authors of the 2013 study concluded that electronic cigarettes were substantially less harmful than combustible cigarettes. Their claim was characterized in the popular media as e-cigarettes being “95 percent less risky” than tobacco cigarettes.

    Although the researchers of the original study acknowledged the shortcomings of their work—i.e., a lack of hard evidence for the harms of most products on most criteria—Public Health England and the Royal College of Physicians endorsed the claim, lending it credibility.

    The authors of the AJPH article point out that today’s vapor products are very different from those available in 2013. The devices are now more powerful, create more aerosol and expose users to more toxicants.

    The proliferation of e-liquids with nicotine salts, meanwhile, allow users to inhale significantly higher levels of nicotine. In addition, more research has emerged about the toxicants in e-cigarettes and their potential respiratory and cardiovascular effects, according to the AJPH article.

    “Even if the 2013 estimate was valid then it can no longer apply today,” the authors of the AJPH article wrote.

    “Public health practitioners, scientists and physicians should expose the fragile status of the 95 percent less risky claim by highlighting its unreliable provenance and lack of validity today,” they added.

  • Juul names ‘transformation officer’

    Juul names ‘transformation officer’

    Juul Labs has named Chief Financial Officer Guy Cartwright as its chief transformation officer, reports Reuters.

    According to a spokesman, Cartwright will continue to focus on a restructuring at the company, which includes reducing operating expenses by $1 billion and aligning the budget to key priorities.

    The company has appointed Chief Accounting Officer Saurabh Sinha as its interim chief financial officer.

  • New leadership

    In her new role, Birch will identify and commercialize business opportunities in key packaging markets, including convenience, protein and snack foods, confectionery and tobacco.

    “At Parkside, we pride ourselves on being innovation leaders in the print and packaging sectors, and I am delighted to take up this new role in a fascinating period of global growth for the company,” said Birch.

    Parkside has repositioned itself in recent years, moving the company into the food packaging sector and further bolstering its Asian tobacco packaging business. The announcement of the global sales director role reflects the geographical expansion of the business and the importance of the European and Asian markets to the company.

    “We are delighted to see Paula progress into her new role,” said Robert Adamson, managing director of Parkside. “Her extensive experience is invaluable in supporting the company’s growth and innovation strategy as we head into 2020.”

    Previously, Birch was the European sales director.