Category: News This Week

Avail Vapor has hired Ramesh Srinivasan as business development director for scientific services.

Srinivasan is tasked with engaging and supporting companies looking for help regarding the U.S. Food & Drug Administration’s rapidly approaching submission deadlines of their harmful and potentially harmful constituents (HPHC), and premarket tobacco applications (PMTA). In anticipation of these requirements, Avail’s team of experts has spent the past five years developing a comprehensive portfolio of scientific services to meet the needs of electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS) manufacturers across the industry.

“We continue to rapidly grow our portfolio of scientific services, and we are investing in more resources to help companies who will ultimately define the future compliance state of our industry working with the FDA and bringing Ramesh onto our team is part of that strategic investment,” said Russ Rogers, chief operating officer at Avail.

Srinivasan brings to the position more than 20 years of experience in scientific business development and will be responsible for providing companies a turnkey solution to meet their needs with a proven science-driven approach to testing for HPHCs, good manufacturing practices (GMP), as well as additional analytical lab testing and resources critical to the PMTA process.

“Several factors such as cost, timing, efficiency and turnkey solutions are all things manufacturers are considering in relation to all of these FDA required submissions including PMTA,” Rogers said.

“Cost is such a key consideration in all of this, and Avail has developed what we believe is a PMTA model that will efficiently deliver the necessary and sufficient information to the agency, while controlling costs that can otherwise quickly get into the tens of millions of dollars for companies.

“We truly hope to partner with more of the best-of-the-best, to help ensure that those who emerge from the PMTA process successfully will define a responsible and long-term sustainable industry.”

Teens who vape are more likely to steal and commit violent crimes, according to a new study by the University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA).

The study, published this month in The Journal of Criminal Justice, tracked a national sample of U.S. youths in the eighth and 10th grades, and found that those who vaped were at an elevated risk for committing acts of violence and property theft. Those who vaped marijuana instead of smoking it were at an even more at risk for criminal activities, the researchers said.

“This is in part due to the vape’s ability to conceal illicit substances,” said lead study author Dylan Jackson, a UTSA criminal justice professor.

“Parents may think their kid is smoking tobacco—but it’s difficult to really tell. Our hope is that this research will lead to the recognition among policymakers, practitioners, and parents that the growing trend of adolescent vaping is not simply ‘unhealthy’—or worse, an innocuous pastime—but that it may in fact be a red flag or an early marker of risk pertaining to violence, property offending and other acts of misconduct.”

By James Dunworth

A VAT challenge on electronic cigarettes in the U.K. aims to break the mold of ever-increasing taxes on the sector by calling for a drop in Value Added Tax to 5 percent.

The challenge, led by U.K. accounting firm MHA MTaxco, has brought together both larger retail firms and smaller independents to raise funds for the challenge, with an initial meeting with the Revenue and Customs department (HMRC) scheduled to take place shortly. If negotiations are not successful, the case is likely to proceed to a tribunal in 2019.

In response, HMRC are likely to argue that e-cigarettes are not licensed for quitting, and are not held out for sale as a quitting aid. However, the case rests on the definition of the phrase “designed to help,” which states that products that are created to help consumers with medical issues such as quitting smoking can attract a reduced rate of VAT.

If successful, the case would also lead to re-payments of VAT for electronic cigarettes products sold since 2015.

James Dunworth is the co-founder of E-Cigarette Direct. You can find him blogging at the Ashtray Blog.

The Czech government has approved a Finance Ministry proposal to impose a higher consumer tax on tobacco, spirits and gambling, reports Radio Praha.

The tax on cigarettes and tobacco will most likely go up by 10 percent, increasing state revenues by approximately CZR10 billion ($431 million) a year. If approved by Parliament and signed by President Zeman the amendment would come into effect January 2020.

According to Czech Finance Minister Alena Schiller, the justification for the increased tax on vices is due to the salary growth and increase in purchasing power among the average Czech citizen over the past decade.

Zimbabwe has earned $214 million from flue-cured tobacco exports to date—55 percent more than during the same time last year, reports The Herald citing statistics from the Tobacco Industry and Marketing Board (TIMB). The country has exported 52 million kg thus far, compared with 28 million kg in the 2018 period.

The tobacco marketing season in Zimbabwe started on low note in March, with the first bale selling for $4.50 per kg—$0.40 less than the first bale of the previous season. Low opening bids resulted in subdued delivery of tobacco to the auction floors as farmers held on to their crop in anticipation of an improvement in prices.

Finance and Economic Development Professor Mthuli Ncube said on Monday that the government is clamping down on illegal buyers of tobacco.

“We are aware of the leakages in the tobacco sector,” Ncube said. “We were made aware that there was inside marketing taking place where bogus people were buying tobacco directly from the farmers and then taking it onto the floor.”

The JT Group has published its 2018 Sustainability Report. It includes some of the key contributions of JTI, its international tobacco business, in meeting the group’s sustainability objectives.

JTI’s most significant achievements over the past year include:

• A record of more than 2.7 billion illegal cigarettes seized thanks to information provided by JTI

• More than 30 percent of the electricity in the company’s factories originated from renewable sources

• Human Rights Impact Assessments completed in five high-risk countries

“We take the responsibility to manage our business sustainability very seriously, and I am proud of the progress we are making globally,” says Suzanne Wise, JTI’s senior vice president corporate development. “We constantly challenge ourselves to make the right choices for our business’ long-term sustainability, to actively reduce our environmental footprint and positively contribute to the communities we are a part of.”

Illegal trade is a growing problem, according to JTI. It cheats legitimate tobacco companies and their brands, consumers who don’t know what they’re buying and governments who lose tax revenues. It threatens wider society as the organized crime networks who are behind illegal trade often deal with human trafficking and terrorism. Tackling illegal trade is a key component of JTI’s approach to sustainability, and in 2018 the company provided 1,328 reports to law enforcement agencies, leading to the seizure of more than 2.7 billion illegal cigarettes and the raid of 39 counterfeit factories.

At JTI’s factories around the world, the focus has been directed at minimizing the company’s environmental impact. Following concerted efforts and investments, by the end of 2018, 31 percent of electricity was either purchased or generated from renewable sources. One example is the Philippines, where the largest self- consumption rooftop solar system in South-East Asia was installed, with 17,040 solar panels.

A factory-by-factory feasibility review of opportunities associated with solar, hydro, wind and biomass power has also been carried out—with the aim to achieve net zero carbon emissions in the longer term. In 2018, the JT Group also achieved leadership status in CDP3 Climate Change for the third consecutive year and was selected as a member of the Dow Jones Sustainability Asia/Pacific Index for the fifth consecutive year.

JTI systematically undertakes due-diligence to identify and assess current and potential human rights risks throughout its value chain and aims to assess by 2025 all operations which are situated in ‘high-risk’ countries. Last year, the company ran five human rights impact assessments in Tanzania, Mexico, the Dominican Republic, Myanmar and Malaysia, and consequently launched action plans to act on the findings and required improvements. According to JTI, this ongoing process aims to mitigate and prevent any adverse human rights impacts and ensure the highest standards of behavior are upheld within the business.

“In the run up to 2030, and in line with the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals, the JT Group has committed to new sustainability targets, for which we will have a key role to play in the coming years,” says Maarten Bevers, JTI’s corporate sustainability vice president. “We are pleased with our solid achievements and have already started working towards reaching these newly launched targets,” he concludes.

The JT Group Sustainability report is compiled with reference to the principles of the Global Reporting Initiative.

The number of new smokers in Thailand is rising, despite the country’s decades-long effort to curb smoking rates, reports The Bangkok Post.

“Subsequent measures to increase the tax on cigarette purchases and scare prospective smokers by using graphic images of medical conditions caused by smoking have earned Thailand an applause from the World Health Organization (WHO),” said Daniel Kertesz, WHO’s representative to Thailand.

“Forty-nine percent of the 72,656 patients who suffered from smoking-related lung diseases died prematurely in 2017,” said Roengruedi Pathanwanit, a lecturer for Ramathibodi Hospital’s Faculty of Medicine. “Smoking-related problems cause more than 220 billion baht in economic losses each year — three times the amount received from taxes on tobacco products, which stands at about 68 billion baht.”

Thailand’s first efforts to curb smoking began 31 years ago, when the then-premier Prem Tinsulanonda instructed the Public Health Ministry to draft a plan on tobacco control.