Category: News This Week

  • Hoffmann Buys CM

    Hoffmann Buys CM

    Hoffmann Neopac, a global provider of plastic and metal packaging, has acquired CM Packaging in Dronten, Netherlands, for an undisclosed sum. As of Jan. 1, 2020, the company intends to operate as a single entity.

    Hoffmann Neopac is also investing in a three-piece can making line at CM Packaging.

    Andreas Geiger, former CTO of Hoffmann Neopac, will assume leadership of the metal packaging division as managing director. The overall sales team will be led by Tomas Pivko, currently head of sales, tins at Hoffmann Neopac. The three owners of CM Packaging will remain with the company.

    “The team at CM Packaging has been a tremendous partner through the years, and with them joining the Hoffmann Neopac family we now have a production site in the EU in the metal sector and can also successfully implement our internationalization in this area,” said Mark Aegler, CEO of Hoffmann Neopac.

    “The acquisition of CM Packaging by Hoffmann Neopac will combine the clear strengths of both companies and improve our position in an increasingly challenging market,” said Herbert van de Beek, sales and marketing director of CM Packaging. “It will also further strengthen our service and development power, which is a benefit to our customers.”

  • Tackling Bribes

    Tackling Bribes

    The Dutch product safety board NVWA is going to clamp down on tobacco manufacturers who are bribing tobacconists to sell more cigarettes, reports DutchNews, citing De Telegraaf.

    Tobacco companies have reportedly been paying up to €3,000 ($3,317) a year to tobacconists who sell a previously agreed number of cigarettes.

    The practice is illegal, the NVWA said, because it contravenes the advertising ban on cigarettes.

    Tobacco firms can expect an initial fine of €45,000 and repeat offenders can be fined up to €450,000.

    Junior health minister Paul Blokhuis said the practice is “worrying as it is aimed at keeping smokers addicted.”

    He praised the NVWA for giving off a clear signal that the illegal contracts between retailers and manufacturers will not be tolerated.

  • ‘Tobacco’ Use at Record High

    ‘Tobacco’ Use at Record High

    About 6.2 million U.S. middle and high school students were current (past 30-day) users of some type of tobacco product in 2019, according to new National Youth Tobacco Survey data.

    The survey found that about one in three high school students (4.7 million) and about one in eight middle school students (1.5 million) are current tobacco users.

    According to the Campaign for Tobacco-free Kids the percentage of tobacco users among U.S. high school students is at its highest level in 19 years.

    For the sixth year in a row, e-cigarettes were the most used tobacco product among high school (27.5 percent) and middle school students (10.5 percent). Tobacco products used by middle and high school students were not limited to e-cigarettes, but also included cigars, cigarettes, smokeless tobacco, hookahs, and pipe tobacco.

    “Our Nation’s youth are becoming increasingly exposed to nicotine, a drug that is highly addictive and can harm brain development,” said Robert R. Redfield, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

    “Youth use of any tobacco product, including e-cigarettes, is unsafe. It is incumbent upon public health and healthcare professionals to educate Americans about the risks resulting from this epidemic among our youth.”

  • Entering Ontario

    Entering Ontario

    Figr Brands, a subsidiary of Pyxus International, has entered legal cannabis market of Ontario, Canada. Figr’s cannabis products are now available for sale online through the province’s Ontario Cannabis Store, as well as at various retail locations.

    “The entrance into Ontario marks yet another significant milestone for Figr as it continues to expand its footprint across Canada,” said Pieter Sikkel, president, CEO and chairman of Pyxus. “Ontario is the most populated province in Canada with more than 14 million residents, all of whom now have the opportunity to purchase Figr’s high-quality, fully traceable cannabis products.”

    Figr’s entrance into Ontario follows the November approval by Health Canada of the company’s license amendment for its Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, facility.

    The amendment permitted the facility to operate in an additional 210,000 square feet, resulting in an expected run rate of up to approximately 28,000 kilograms of product per year. Upon completion and licensing of the full Prince Edward Island expansion project, Figr expects the facility’s production capacity to be up to approximately 43,000 kilograms annually.

    With the addition of Ontario, Figr’s products are now available in four Canadian provinces: Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick and Ontario.

  • Demanding Choice

    Demanding Choice

    Nearly 70 percent of Malaysian smokers want the government to permit the distribution and sale of nicotine e-cigarettes to give them a viable alternative to smoking tobacco, reports The Straits Times, citing a recent poll conducted by Green Zebras.

    The poll also found that 58 percent of Malaysians surveyed believe that nicotine e-cigarettes should be taxed but at a level lower than regular cigarettes.

    More than half of parents (55 percent), teachers (51 percent) and healthcare professionals (52 percent) polled agreed that the government should emulate health ministries of countries like the United Kingdom and New Zealand that regulate the sale of nicotine e-cigarettes as a means to help smokers quit.

    Nicotine-containing vape products are currently illegal for sale in Malaysia. The government is in the process of drafting a new Tobacco Control and Smoking Act.

     

  • Nova Scotia Bans Flavors

    Nova Scotia Bans Flavors

    Nova Scotia will ban the sale of flavored vapor products on April 1, making it the first Canadian province to take such action, reports CBC.

    According to Smoke Free Nova Scotia, 95 percent of youth who vape in Nova Scotia prefer flavored juices, and more than 48 percent said they would quit if flavors were banned.

    “This is a good first step and I think we can anticipate a reduction in the number of youth vaping,” said Health Minister Randy Delorey.

    Other provinces have moved to regulate vaping, including restrictions on advertising and promotion. Last month, Prince Edward Island passed legislation that will allow it to ban certain flavors.

    In May 2018, the federal government passed legislation to legalize and heavily regulate vaping in Canada. The legislation included regulations banning flavors designed to mimic “confectionery,” cannabis, soft drinks or energy drinks.

  • ‘Quit, Don’t Switch’

    ‘Quit, Don’t Switch’

    The European Respiratory Society (ERS) said continued exposure to toxins in e-cigarettes is a “bad alternative to quitting smoking,” even if the toxins in vapor are at lower levels than those in tobacco smoke.

    In an editorial, published in the European Respiratory Journal, the ERS’s Tobacco Control Committee argued current health policies that support vaping are based on “incorrect claims or assumptions.” It also warned nicotine-containing e-cigarettes are being used by nonsmokers at an “alarming” rate.

    The ERS authors argued that smokers can quit with will power alone and that tobacco use can be reduced with existing measures such as plain packaging and anti-smoking campaigns. They pointed out the while e-cigarette may be less harmful than smoking, they are not harmless.

    In related news, the American Lung Association urged smokers to quit their habit rather than switch to vaping.

    “E-cigarettes have not been found to be safe and effective in helping smokers quit,” said Albert A. Rizzo, chief medical officer of the American Lung Association. “They were designed to appeal to people who wanted to use something beside a cigarette, or in addition to a cigarette.

    “Instead of helping smokers quit, e-cigarettes have rapidly created another generation addicted to tobacco products by marketing products that appeal to kids, including flavored products like gummy bear, unicorn blood and bubble gum—even apple juice,” he added.

    In November, cardiologists warned countries should consider banning vaping as they published research suggesting it could damage the brain, heart, blood vessels and lungs.

    The intervention comes alongside a case study, also published in the European Respiratory Journal, which claims that a rare form of scarring in the lungs of a 49-year-old woman was likely caused by vaping.

    The researchers found cobalt and other toxic metals in the vapor produced by the device, which they believe comes from the heating coils inside.

    Source: The Daily Mail, American Lung Association

  • Plain Packaging Enacted

    Plain Packaging Enacted

    Turkey’s plain tobacco packaging law takes effect today, reports The Daily Sabah. Manufacturers have until Jan. 5, 2020, to clear branded stock.

    The new regulation mandates cigarette manufacturers use a single, standard pack without logos, graphics or similar signs promoting the product. The warnings and photos must take up at least 85 percent of the packaging surface.

    The move is part of a broader crackdown on tobacco that started in 2009.

    While smoking has been declining in Turkey, consumers still spend $15 billion per year on cigarettes while the government spends $10 billion to treat smoking-related illnesses, according to the Fight Against Smoking Association.

    In requiring plain packaging, Turkey joins countries such as Australia, the United Kingdom and Canada.

  • JTI Sells KT&G Stake

    JTI Sells KT&G Stake

    Japan Tobacco International (JTI) sold its 2.1 percent stake in KT&G of South Korea on Wednesday, ending a decade of strategic partnership, reports The Pulse.

    Citigroup Global Markets reportedly tapped investors to sell the Japanese tobacco giant’s 2,864,094 shares in KT&G in a block deal.

    After gauging investor demand, the final price was set at KRW94,000 ($78.8), a 2.8 percent discount to the Tuesday closing price.

    KT&G shares finished Wednesday at KRW96,500, down 0.72 percent.

    While JTI did not disclose a reason for its sale, market experts speculate the company lost interest in the alliance after shifting its Korean production to the Philippines two years ago.

  • Committee OKs Hahn

    Committee OKs Hahn

    The U.S. Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee on Tuesday approved the nomination of Stephen Hahn to be head of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), reports The Washington Post.

    During his confirmation hearing, senators grilled Hahn about his position on e-cigarettes and the Trump administration’s apparent backtracking on earlier announced measures to ban flavored products.

    Hahn said he was alarmed by 2019 data showing that almost 28 percent of high schoolers have vaped in the past 30 days but said he didn’t want to prejudge the administration’s e-cigarette policy because he hasn’t been involved in developing it. He vowed to use “science and data” to address that issue and others.

    In September, the Trump administration announced it would clear the market of flavored e-cigarettes, but the president has yet to act, citing concern about black market sales.

    Vapor advocates have protested that a flavor ban would cause job losses and drive vapers to cigarettes while conservative pressure groups warned that the measure would erode support for Trump’s reelection.

    Vapor activists have also argued that a flavor ban would hurt adults using e-cigarettes to quit smoking and that youth use should be reduced in other ways, such as by restricting where the products are sold.

    If approved by the Senate, Hahn, a top official at MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, will be the fourth head of the FDA in less than a year.