Category: News This Week

  • Investing in Smoke-Free Future

    Investing in Smoke-Free Future

    Broughton Nicotine Services has made three senior appointments and completed investments totaling more than £10 million ($12.27 million) into people, facilities, equipment, software development and quality standard certification.

    Fozia Saleem has joined Broughton Nicotine Services as director of scientific affairs and program management. Saleem will be responsible for leading pre-market tobacco applications (PMTA) for e-cigarette companies seeking regulatory approval for their products.

    Toxicology expert Louise Neilsen has been appointed as a principal scientist and will lead the non-clinical elements of regulatory applications for companies in U.S. and U.K. markets.

    Leon Birch has become the new head of scientific development. He will lead a team of development scientists and analytical experts focused exclusively on advancing scientific methodologies for the analysis of ENDS.

    In January 2019, Broughton Nicotine Services opened a new contract research organization facility at its Lancashire. U.K. headquarters; in March, the site achieved GLP certification. Defining a set of quality standards for study conduct, data collection, and results reporting, the certification provides reassurance to Broughton’s clients that studies it conducts can be completed for PMTA and Medicinal Product submissions.

    In response to announcements in July that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) would be implementing changes to ENDS testing requirements for the PMTA regulatory process, Broughton Nicotine Services also developed and validated innovative harmful and potentially harmful constituent (HPHC) testing methods, adhering to ISO 17025 standards and in line with the low limit of detection/limit of quantification levels required for precise toxicology assessments of the new FDA list of 33 analytes.

    Broughton Nicotine Services has also invested into high quality equipment and services for its facility. First, into the bespoke LIMS software system, LabHQ Link, which has been deployed to enable direct capture of test data from analytical equipment, reinforcing data integrity for all Broughton’s clients. And second, into high specification analytical equipment for use in Broughton’s specialist laboratories.

    “We have seen rapid change over recent months within the reduced-risk nicotine products market, and we are committed to supporting this evolving industry towards creating a smoke-free future,” said Broughton CEO Paul Moran.

    “Fozia, Louise and Leon will be great additions to the Broughton team as we continue to pursue new innovations and scientific advancements to help clients achieve success and remain at the forefront of ENDS regulatory compliance.’’

  • Prevalence Down

    Prevalence Down

    In its annual study released on Nov. 14, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported that the U.S. adult smoking prevalence rate for 2018 was 13.7 percent or 34.2 million people, slightly down from 2017.

    The U.S. adult e-cigarette prevalence rate for 2018 was 3.2 percent, up from 2.8 percent in 2017. Brian King, deputy director for research translation in the CDC’s office on smoking and health, noted that young adults spurred the increase as 7.6 percent of adults between the ages of 18 and 24 vape.

    “What we don’t want to be doing is playing a game of public health whack-a-mole where we let the use of some products go up while others go down, particularly among the young adult population,” said King.

  • Protecting the Environment

    Protecting the Environment

    Independent tobacco dealer NewCo recently started to dispatch its leaf samples in biodegradable, pesticide-free cotton bags, rather than in traditional plastic bags.

    Rainer Busch, the company’s principal, said that the move away from plastic is part of NewCo’s growing effort to provide for a sustainable future.

    The printed, cotton bags are considerably more expensive than are plastic bags, though, as Busch points out, their extra cost is irrelevant when set against the cost of sample consignments and, especially, against the positive contribution the bags will make to the protection of the environment.

    The first batch of 2,000 cotton bags, comprising 1,000 bags in each of two sizes, were received earlier this week at NewCo’s offices in Friedberg, Germany. They will be used for the dispatch of all samples unless a client insists on the use of plastic bags, something Busch believes is unlikely.

    In another change, NewCo will dispatch scraps and DIET tobaccos in carton boxes rather than in hard plastic boxes or plastic bags.

    With about 1,000-1,500 sample bags expected to be dispatched by NewCo during the next 12 months, the positive impact on the environment will not be huge, but, as Busch says: “Each of us can do something to help—we can stop using plastic bottles, use bicycles and public transport, and buy food fresh from the city market instead of at the supermarket”.

    The new bags will be on display at NewCo’s stand at the TABEXPO exhibition due to be held at the RAI Exhibition and Convention Centre, Amsterdam, the Netherlands, on Nov. 12-14.

  • Registrations Down

    Registrations Down

    Registrations to produce leaf tobacco in Zimbabwe are down 16 percent following a growing season characterized by drought, falling prices and challenges obtaining foreign currency payments, reports The Herald.

    As of Nov. 8, 136,762 farmers had registered to grow tobacco during the 2019–2020 season, down from 162,028 during the corresponding period last year, according to the Tobacco Industry and Marketing Board (TIMB).

    In some areas last season, the crop succumbed to drought while in parts of the country, it suffered premature ripening, compromising quality and weight—and thus compensation.

    Depressed prices during the season were compounded by rules preventing growers from receiving foreign currency payments in cash.

    During the marketing season, prices are calculated in U.S. dollars, but farmers are paid the equivalent in local currency using the interbank exchange rate. Prices ranged between $2.99 per kg down to just $0.10 per kg depending on the quality of the crop.

    Tobacco deliveries generated just over $530 million this year, compared to about $737 million last year.

    TIMB Chief Executive Andrew Matibiri said grower registrations might still increase as farmers start planting their crops.
     

     

     

     

     

  • Engaging in Dialogue

    Engaging in Dialogue

    Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky met with representatives of the country’s largest tobacco manufacturers in Ukraine to discuss the challenges facing their business.

    “The growth of investment into the economy of Ukraine is important for us as it is an increase in the number of jobs and tax revenues,” Zelensky said.

    Tobacco companies are among Ukraine’s largest taxpayers, according to Zelensky. In the past nine months, the government collected almost UAH30.5 billion ($1.24 billion) in tobacco revenues, up 7.5 percent over the same period in 2018.

    Zelensky stressed the importance of improving the business climate and ensuring the predictability of regulations in Ukraine, adding that combating monopolies and building competitive markets was also a priority.

    In October, Ukraine’s competition watchdog fined cigarette manufacturers and a distributor UAH6.5 billion for anti-competitive behavior, according to Interfax Ukraine.

    The Anti-Monopoly Committee said the country’s leading tobacco companies and their common distributor, TEDIS, had conspired to keep new businesses from entering the market.

    Some tobacco companies have been mulling over the transfer of their offices and shutdown of operations.

  • Vitamin E ‘Likely Culprit’

    Vitamin E ‘Likely Culprit’

    U.S. health officials have found vitamin E acetate in the lung fluids of 29 people sickened in the recent outbreak of vaping-related injuries, according to reports by The Washington Post, Reuters and other sources.

    Described as a “breakthrough,” the discovery points to the oil as a likely culprit in the outbreak that has affected more than 2,000 people and killed at least 39.

    The findings are significant because for the first time, scientists have been able to connect results from product testing with clinical specimens from patients.

    “These findings provide direct evidence of vitamin E acetate at the primary site of injury within the lungs,” said Anne Schuchat, principal deputy director at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

    Significantly, no other potential toxins were detected, according to Schuchat. The CDC tested for a wide range of substances in patients’ lung fluids, including plant oils and petroleum distillates, such as mineral oil.

    Vitamin E acetate has been used in recent months as a cutting agent or additive on the cannabis black market to stretch the amount of THC in vape cartridges, officials and industry experts have said. Vitamin E acetate is a popular additive because it is colorless and odorless, has similar viscosity to THC oil and is much cheaper.

    CDC officials found THC in the lung fluids of 23 patients, including three who said they had not used THC products.

    Used in many foods and in cosmetics, vitamin E acetate is not known to cause harm when swallowed or applied to the skin. But when it is heated and inhaled, it may interfere with normal lung function, causing symptoms similar to those described by the patients suffering from vaping illness, according to experts.

    As of Nov. 5, 2,051 cases of vaping-associated lung injury and 39 deaths had been reported to the CDC.

  • Juul Ends Mint Sales

    Juul Ends Mint Sales

    Juul Labs will stop selling mint-flavored pods, reports The New York Times. The company will continue selling its menthol and tobacco-flavored pods.

    Juul had already stopped selling an array of fruit- and dessert-flavored pods, like mango and creme brulee, to retailers, and recently stopped selling them online as well.

    Mint-flavored pods reportedly make up about 70 percent of Juul’s sales.

    The move precedes an anticipated federal ban on e-cigarette flavors, which the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) initially said would include mint and menthol flavors.

    However, intense lobbying by the vaping and tobacco industries against a menthol ban has heightened speculation that menthol would be exempt from any prohibitions against flavors.

    Juul has been blamed for a spike in U.S. teenage vaping.

    Earlier this week, two major surveys showing another year-over-year increase in underage e-cigarette use, and the rising popularity of mint-flavored nicotine pods as other youth-friendly flavors were pulled from retail shelves.

    In addition, U.S. healthcare providers have been grappling with an outbreak of vaping-related lung injuries.

    While most victims reported vaping THC, others reported using nicotine products, leaving researchers to suggest there may be more than one culprit behind the respiratory illnesses.

    The Federal Trade Commission and the FDA are investigating Juul’s marketing practices.

     

     

  • Underage Vaping Up

    Underage Vaping Up

    The number of U.S. middle school students and high school students using e-cigarettes increased to 5.3 million in 2019 from 3.8 million in 2018, according to a study published by JAMA Network.

    From 2017 to 2019, “current” (past 30 day) e-cigarette use more than doubled among high school students (from 11.7 percent to 27.5 percent) and tripled among middle school students (from 3.3 percent to 10.5 percent).

    In 2019, 1.6 million middle school students and high school students used e-cigarettes on at least 20 days a month, according to the study. Nearly 1 million are daily e-cigarette users, including one out of five high school e-cigarette users.

    Juul is by far the most popular e-cigarette brand among kids. Among current e-cigarette users, 59.1 percent of high school students and 54.1 percent of middle school students reported Juul as their usual e-cigarette brand. No other brand topped 10 percent.

    Most youth e-cigarette users use flavored e-cigarettes, according to the study. Fruit, menthol or mint, and candy, desserts or other sweets were the most commonly reported flavors.

    Youth use of mint and menthol e-cigarettes increased sharply in 2019 after Juul restricted the availability of other flavors.

  • Call for Restrictions

    Call for Restrictions

    Germany’s new drug commissioner, Daniela Ludwig, has called for restrictions on outdoor tobacco and e-cigarette advertising.

    While fewer Germans use cigarettes, vaping is becoming far more popular, especially among young people, according to the 2019 national drug and addiction report

    “We’re seeing that the use of e-cigarettes is clearly increasing, especially among teenagers and young adults,” Ludwig said. “This trend has to be stopped.”

    Ludwig stressed that there needed to be a bigger push to help people with addictions as well as a more open dialogue about drug policy rather than “ideology-based debates.”

  • Out of Control

    Out of Control

    Illicit cigarettes now account for nearly two-thirds of the Malaysian tobacco market, according to research commissioned by the Confederation of Malaysian Tobacco Manufacturers (CMTM).

    The study showed that the share of illegal cigarettes sales went from 59.7 percent from March to May to 64.6 percent from June to August.

    The government lost an estimated MYR6 billion ($1.45 billion) in tax revenue this year due to the illegal import of cigarettes.

    Japan Tobacco International Malaysia’s managing director, Cormac O’Rourke, said rise was deeply worrisome for Malaysia.

    “To think that any legitimate industry can be corroded to this extent to the benefit of criminal gangs casts Malaysia in a poor light on the international stage,” he said.

    Malaysia requires tobacco companies to sell cigarettes at a minimum price of MYR10, but contraband varieties are available at MYR3 to MYR7 a pack.

    The government plans to increase the minimum price of cigarettes to MYR15, a policy O’Rourke described as “reckless.”