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Category: News This Week

  • Philippines Flagged ‘Elevated Risk’ for Illicit Cigarettes as Price Gaps Grow

    Philippines Flagged ‘Elevated Risk’ for Illicit Cigarettes as Price Gaps Grow

    The Philippines has been identified as an “elevated risk” market for illicit cigarettes, with illegal products accounting for 25.3% of total sales last year and projected to rise to 28.9% by 2028, according to a Euromonitor International study commissioned by the EU-ASEAN Business Council. The report estimates the government lost nearly $980 million in 2024 and about $1.1 billion last year due to the illicit cigarette trade, while illegal e-vapes, which make up 86% of the market, caused an additional P23 billion ($400 million) in losses from 2024 to 2025.

    Researchers cited price-sensitive consumers, porous maritime borders, established regional smuggling routes, annual excise tax hikes of 5%, and enforcement challenges as key drivers, with illicit products increasingly imported from neighboring ASEAN states and China. The study also highlighted the growing role of digital platforms such as Telegram, WhatsApp, and Facebook Marketplace in distributing illegal tobacco, alongside traditional sari-sari stores and street vendors, and warned that paper-based tax stamps are easily counterfeited, recommending a shift toward digital tax verification systems to better protect revenues and track the trade.

  • Maldives Customs Seizes 2.3M Smuggled Cigarettes

    Maldives Customs Seizes 2.3M Smuggled Cigarettes

    Authorities at the Maldives Customs Service intercepted more than 2.3 million smuggled cigarette sticks during an operation at the Malé Commercial Harbor last week, uncovering over 230 cases of illicit tobacco products with an estimated street value exceeding MVR 32 million ($2.1 million). Officials did not disclose further operational details, but the seizure comes amid a noted surge in cigarette smuggling following recent hikes in tobacco import duties. The case also follows earlier incidents involving charges over the theft of a container holding previously confiscated cigarettes, underscoring growing enforcement challenges tied to the expanding black market for tobacco in the Maldives.

  • Bosnia, Industry Cracking Down on €500M Tobacco Black Market

    Bosnia, Industry Cracking Down on €500M Tobacco Black Market

    Authorities and industry representatives in Bosnia and Herzegovina say the illegal tobacco trade is costing the country more than €500 million annually, as cigarettes without excise stamps and cross-border smuggling continue to undermine the legal market and public revenues. Officials from the Indirect Taxation Administration of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Finance Ministry stressed that coordinated enforcement, stable excise policy, and cooperation with manufacturers such as British American Tobacco and Japan Tobacco International helped reverse a sharp market collapse seen around 2019–2020, when legal cigarette volumes fell from 12 billion to 3.5 billion sticks annually.

    Authorities say improved policy alignment and citizen reporting through the “Stop Smuggling” campaign have since supported revenue recovery, while warning that the shadow market still distorts competition, drains budgets that fund public services, and complicates efforts to align with European regulatory standards. 

  • BAT Stock Surges, Despite Legacy Combustibles Shrinking

    BAT Stock Surges, Despite Legacy Combustibles Shrinking

    Shares of British American Tobacco climbed 13.99% in London trading last week to £48.64 on May 15, as investors reacted to a mix of regulatory, legal, and capital signals. Market attention followed the U.S. Food and Drug Administration authorization of flavored Glas ENDS products, seen as a reference point for how flavored e-cigarettes may fare under the PMTA pathway, even though the decision did not involve BAT’s Vuse brand. Sentiment was further supported after a U.S. court dismissed a sanctions-related criminal case tied to BAT’s prior North Korea compliance matter, confirming the company had fulfilled its deferred prosecution agreement, alongside continued focus on BAT’s planned £1.3 billion 2026 share buyback and growth prospects for its newer nicotine portfolio, including VELO.

    In contrast, BAT Bangladesh reported a 14% year-on-year drop in cigarette volumes and a 34% decline in profit for Q1 2026 amid higher taxes, inflationary pressure, and weaker consumer purchasing power, underscoring the diverging performance between BAT’s legacy combustible markets and investor expectations tied to reduced-risk product expansion.

  • PMI Accused of Hypocrisy for Cigarette Ads While Pivoting to Smoke-Free

    PMI Accused of Hypocrisy for Cigarette Ads While Pivoting to Smoke-Free

    The Guardian published an article today (May 18) titled, “Marlboro maker accused of ‘exploiting’ young people with new global ad campaign,” which reported that anti-tobacco campaigners have accused Philip Morris International of hypocrisy over its global “I AM Marlboro” campaign, saying the ads link Marlboro cigarettes with youth identity and lifestyle despite CEO Jacek Olczak previously declaring that “cigarettes belong in museums” as the company pivots toward smoke-free products. Advocates from the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids and Vital Strategies told the paper the campaign, which is running in 20 countries, echoes PMI’s earlier “Be Marlboro” effort that was banned in Germany over youth appeal concerns, while researchers at the University of Bath said the decline in PMI’s cigarette sales has stalled since it announced its smoke-free ambitions. PMI disputed the criticism, saying 43% of its Q1 2026 net revenue came from smoke-free products and that its marketing is restricted to adults under strict internal codes and legal requirements.

  • Campaigners Accuse WHO of ‘Dangerous Misinformation’ on Nicotine Pouches

    Campaigners Accuse WHO of ‘Dangerous Misinformation’ on Nicotine Pouches

    Consumer and harm-reduction advocates have criticized the World Health Organization over its latest report on nicotine pouches, arguing it fails to clearly distinguish between combustible cigarettes and smoke-free nicotine products and risks discouraging smokers from switching to lower-risk alternatives. The WHO raised concerns about youth-oriented marketing, flavors, and discreet-use messaging while calling for tighter controls, and, for example, criticized the marketing slogan “no smoke, no smell, no hassle.” Campaigners such as Considerate Pouchers UK and We Vape, however, said WHO is disseminating dangerous misinformation, as the slogan is factually accurate and reflects relative risk differences.

    “Nicotine pouches do not produce smoke or smell, and pretending otherwise is scientifically absurd,” said Richard Crosby, director of Considerate Pouchers UK, describing the report as part of a “broad, aggressive anti-nicotine ideology.”

    Academics from University College London and the University of East Anglia were cited as saying that while youth safeguards are necessary, nicotine pouches are likely far less harmful than cigarettes and could have a role in harm reduction. The groups also pointed to Sweden’s low smoking rates and the UK’s new regulatory framework under the Tobacco and Vapes Act as examples of risk-proportionate approaches that restrict youth access while preserving adult alternatives.

  • Zimbabwe Reminds Tobacco Farmers Stalk-Destruction Deadline Passed

    Zimbabwe Reminds Tobacco Farmers Stalk-Destruction Deadline Passed

    Zimbabwe’s Tobacco Industry and Marketing Board reminded growers that the May 15 deadline for destroying all tobacco stalks has passed, urging immediate compliance to prevent the carry-over of pests and aphid-transmitted diseases into the 2026/27 season. Under Statutory Instrument 19 of 2008, farmers must completely uproot and destroy stalks to render plants incapable of regrowth, as part of an annual tobacco-free period designed to break pest and disease life cycles. Failure to comply attracts penalties of up to $100 per hectare for a first offence and $200 per hectare for repeat violations, alongside possible imprisonment. Authorities from the Ministry of Agriculture, Mechanization and Water Resources Development, and plant quarantine teams are conducting field inspections across tobacco-growing provinces as preparations begin for sowing seedbeds from June 1.

    TIMB is also urging farmers to conduct soil testing before planting to optimize fertilizer use, improve leaf quality, and reduce input costs, advising growers to work with laboratories, fertilizer suppliers, and government research departments. Additional compliance dates include no planting before September 1, clearing curing facilities by October 31, and destroying seedbed plants by January 1 each year.

  • Former Malaysian Minister Defends Nicotine Delisting After Court Rebuke

    Former Malaysian Minister Defends Nicotine Delisting After Court Rebuke

    Malaysia’s former health minister Zaliha Mustafa defended her 2023 move to delist liquid nicotine from the Poisons Act 1952, calling it a “critical step” to bring a fast-growing vape market out of the black economy and into a regulated, taxable framework. Her remarks follow a High Court ruling by Justice Aliza Sulaiman that described the exemption order as irrational after a judicial review brought by health NGOs.

    Zaliha argued that, at the time, enforcement under the Poisons Act had failed to curb widespread open sales of nicotine vapes, and that the exemption allowed authorities to track supply chains while paving the way for the Control of Smoking Products for Public Health Act 2024 (Act 852), which now regulates vape devices and nicotine liquids and bans sales to minors. She said the legal challenge reflects healthy checks and balances, but confirmed the Health Ministry will appeal, maintaining that the 2023 decision enabled Malaysia to transition from outdated poison controls to a comprehensive tobacco and vape regulatory system.

  • How LIMS supports GMP compliance

    How LIMS supports GMP compliance

    ~ The impact of LIMS in modern labs, from data integrity and traceability to materials management and quality control ~

    Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) compliance is fundamental for laboratories operating in regulated industries such as pharmaceuticals, medical devices, medicinal cannabis, and reduced-risk nicotine products. Ensuring data integrity, maintaining traceability, and enforcing controlled processes are all essential components of GMP. Here, Chris Allen, CEO of contract research organisation Broughton, explains the critical role of laboratory information management systems (LIMS) in supporting these requirements.

    Regulators are no longer just inspecting facilities; they are interrogating data. From the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to the UK’s Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) and Health Canada, there is a clear and consistent expectation that companies must demonstrate complete data integrity, traceability and control across the product lifecycle.

    Paper-based systems or fragmented digital tools can make this difficult to achieve consistently. Against this backdrop, LIMS are rapidly evolving from operational tools into critical infrastructure for GMP compliance.

    Ensuring data integrity and traceability

    A well-designed LIMS embeds these controls directly into laboratory workflows, helping ensure processes are followed correctly and records remain secure, complete, and auditable.

    Key capabilities of LIMS that support GMP data integrity include full audit-trail systems that record user actions and changes, version control for methods, products, and specifications, electronic signatures for reviews and approvals, and permission-based access controls to manage user roles and system permissions.

    Together, these features help laboratories maintain confidence in their data while ensuring they are inspection-ready. This both reduces the chances of failing inspections and makes audits less disruptive.

    Traceability of materials and proper equipment management are also essential elements of GMP compliance. Laboratories must maintain visibility over the reagents and materials used during testing, while ensuring that instruments remain calibrated and fit for purpose.

    A LIMS can support this through integrated management of lab resources, including stock batch traceability, stock expiry monitoring, stock status controls, and equipment maintenance and calibration scheduling.

    By centralising this information, laboratories can reduce compliance risks while improving operational efficiency.

    Importantly, the impact of LIMS goes beyond compliance alone. Leading organizations use these systems to gain greater operational control and insight as real-time visibility of laboratory data allows quality teams to identify trends, investigate anomalies and make informed decisions more quickly. This can support faster batch release timelines, improved product consistency and more proactive risk management. In this sense, LIMS is not just a compliance tool, but a platform for continuous improvement.

    Supporting quality control

    Quality management processes, such as identifying and investigating out-of-specification results, are essential components of GMP laboratory operations. Managing these processes manually can introduce delays or increase the risk of errors.

    Within a LIMS environment, testing results can be automatically assessed against predefined specifications, allowing the system to immediately flag potential issues. Investigation workflows can then be initiated and tracked in the system, ensuring corrective actions are documented and managed consistently.

    Embedding these quality processes in the LIMS helps laboratories maintain structured, auditable procedures that align with regulatory expectations.

    Future-proofing labs with LIMS

    As regulatory expectations continue to evolve, the importance of robust digital infrastructure will only increase. Laboratories must manage growing data volumes, support increasingly complex supply chains, and respond to more stringent oversight.

    In this environment, LIMS is no longer a ‘nice to have’, but a foundational component of modern GMP compliance that enables organizations to meet today’s requirements while preparing for those of the future.

    For companies operating in highly regulated sectors, the question is no longer whether to adopt LIMS, but how effectively it can be implemented to support both compliance and long-term operational excellence.

    Broughton has developed its own LIMS platform, LabHQ, to address the real-world challenges laboratories face when operating in highly regulated environments. Drawing on its experience delivering GMP testing services, LabHQ was designed to support the workflows, traceability and data integrity requirements that laboratories need to meet regulatory expectations. To find out more, visit the Lab HQ website.

  • AIR Begins Nasdaq Trading Following SPAC Merger

    AIR Begins Nasdaq Trading Following SPAC Merger

    AIR Limited completed its business combination with Cantor Equity Partners III, resulting in the formation of AIR Global PLC, whose ordinary shares began trading on the Nasdaq Stock Market today (May 18), under the ticker symbol “AIIR.” The transaction, approved by CAEP shareholders on May 12, positions the Dubai-headquartered company known for its Al Fakher brand as the only publicly listed pure-play platform focused on flavored shisha molasses and hookah products. CEO Stuart Brazier said the listing provides access to U.S. capital markets to accelerate international expansion, particularly in AIR’s largest market, the United States, and highlights the global scalability of UAE-founded consumer businesses.

    AIR said it will ring the Nasdaq Opening Bell on May 21 to mark the milestone. The company operates in more than 90 markets and cited industry estimates valuing the global flavored molasses and hookah ecosystem at $15–19 billion with projected mid-single-digit growth through 2030. As part of its growth strategy, AIR plans to open a 70,000-square-foot manufacturing facility in Romania by Q1 2027, expand recently acquired German brand NameLess into new markets, roll out its Crown Switch rechargeable pod system beyond Germany, and advance brand collaborations, including a premium flavor line with Snoop Dogg.