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Category: News This Week

  • Selected Tobacco Opens Spain’s First Premium Cigar Factory in 50 Years

    Selected Tobacco Opens Spain’s First Premium Cigar Factory in 50 Years

    Selected Tobacco opened a new 3,000-square-meter (30,000-square-foot) premium cigar factory in Madrid, marking the return of premium cigar production to Spain for the first time in more than 50 years. The five-story facility signals a rare revival of Spain’s historic role in global tobacco manufacturing, reintroduced through a modern, vertically integrated model focused on long-term aging, craftsmanship, and controlled production.

    Founded by Nelson Alfonso, and known for cigar brands Atabey, Byron, Alfonso, and Bandolero, Selected Tobacco said Madrid was the sole location considered for the project, reflecting Alfonso’s personal connection to Spain and a deliberate effort to rebuild the country’s presence in premium cigar making through contemporary infrastructure rather than nostalgia.

    The facility is designed to guide tobacco and visitors through the entire production lifecycle. Raw tobacco enters on the ground floor for sorting, fermentation, and aging, while upper levels house design studios, rolling galleries for master torcedores, and a central space capable of hosting industry and consumer events. A key feature is what the company describes as the world’s largest multi-cedar-lined humidor, consisting of 24 individual aging rooms, supporting Selected Tobacco’s proprietary aging protocols.

    Additional areas are dedicated to fermentation and leaf aging, including rooms equipped with French oak wine barrels used to rest wrapper and filler tobaccos. A hydroponic grow room supports seed development and agricultural experimentation, reinforcing a seed-to-cigar philosophy. The top floor includes a private smoking lounge and terrace overlooking Madrid, emphasizing hospitality alongside production.

  • JTI to Launch Four New EVO Flavors

    JTI to Launch Four New EVO Flavors

    Japan Tobacco (JT) is set to launch four new EVO variants for its Ploom heated tobacco line, covering mint, capsule (crushball), and regular (non-menthol) flavor segments, according to Neosmo. The variants—Green Mint, Cacao Mint Crystal, Tropical Lime Crystal, and Sakura Regular—will be sold in 20-stick packs at 550 yen ($3.50) each, keeping the range within the same price band. Two flavors go on sale January 22 and the remaining two on February 3, initially through CLUB JT online and Ploom retail stores. Consumers will vote to select one variant for nationwide distribution, including convenience stores, with results expected in early March.

  • Indonesian Cig Tax Plan Comes with Risk: Economist

    Indonesian Cig Tax Plan Comes with Risk: Economist

    Indonesian Finance Minister Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa is exploring the introduction of an additional excise tier for cigarettes, a move intended to provide a legal pathway for certain illegal tobacco products. While economists see potential fiscal benefits, including expanded tax revenue and improved enforcement legitimacy, experts caution that outcomes are not guaranteed. Imanina Eka Dalilah, a senior researcher at Universitas Brawijaya, said that if the new tier simply shifts consumption from higher-taxed legal products to lower-tax brackets, it could cannibalize revenue rather than expand the tax base. She added that law-abiding manufacturers could face new competition from previously illegal producers, creating a moral hazard if past compliance is effectively penalized by regulatory changes. According to Dalilah, the success of the policy hinges on careful design: it should be transitional, tightly regulated, and include safeguards to prevent consumption shifts and revenue erosion, ensuring that compliance is rewarded and illegal actors remain deterred. Without such measures, the excise tier risks becoming a short-term fix that could destabilize the legal tobacco market.

  • PMI Positive After FDA’s Zyn Hearing

    PMI Positive After FDA’s Zyn Hearing

    Philip Morris International (PMI) believes it moved a step closer to securing permission to market its Zyn nicotine pouches as a reduced-risk alternative to cigarettes in the United States, following a full-day public hearing convened by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) yesterday (January 22). At the meeting, PMI scientists presented evidence to the FDA’s Tobacco Products Scientific Advisory Committee (TPSAC) in support of a Modified Risk Tobacco Product (MRTP) application that would allow the company to tell adult smokers that switching completely to Zyn lowers the risk of major smoking-related diseases. FDA briefing materials and staff presentations suggested regulators are leaning toward approving the proposed claim, with the agency stating that “the evidence suggests the proposed modified risk claim is scientifically accurate.”

    “The FDA’s Center for Tobacco Product’s mission is to make smoking-related disease and death a part of America’s past,” said Keagan Lenihan, Chief External Affairs Officer for PMI U.S. “Smoke-free products, like Zyn, play a critical role in helping CTP achieve this mission and provide adults who smoke with important information to guide their choices and a real opportunity to change.”

    The proposed language would allow PMI to say that using Zyn instead of cigarettes reduces the risk of mouth cancer, heart disease, lung cancer, stroke, emphysema, and chronic bronchitis. FDA scientists said the “totality of the evidence” shows Zyn contains substantially lower levels of harmful chemicals than cigarettes, and that consumer research suggests the claim increases awareness of reduced risks without misleading users into believing the product is risk-free. The agency also noted that youth nicotine pouch use remains relatively low, at 2.4% of U.S. high school students in 2024, and that exposure to the proposed claim did not increase young adults’ intentions to use Zyn. PMI executives argued that clearer communication of relative risk could help smokers move away from combustible products, drawing comparisons to Swedish snus, which received an MRTP designation in 2019 and has been linked to Sweden’s low smoking rates.

    However, members of the independent TPSAC panel raised concerns about gaps in long-term data and whether reduced-risk marketing would meaningfully accelerate smoking cessation in the U.S. Public health advocates also warned about the potential appeal of flavored pouches, discreet use, and social-media promotion to underage users. While panelists generally agreed that Zyn is far less harmful than cigarettes, they questioned whether the evidence shows that marketing claims will drive widespread switching. The FDA is not bound by the panel’s non-binding recommendations and has not set a deadline for its final decision, which will determine whether PMI can formally promote Zyn as a reduced-risk product to adult smokers.

    “While the relatively expedited timeline for this MRTP review is encouraging, the fact that the TPSAC did not vote on a recommendation makes me question the reason for these meetings moving forward,” said Laura Leigh Oyler, VP of Regulatory Affairs for Haypp Group, whose subsidiaries sell nicotine pouches online. “The science, and the many public speakers who supported the authorization were clear: Americans deserve honest messaging around these products and their impacts on harm reduction.”

  • IKT Announces New Distribution Structures for Asian Expansion

    IKT Announces New Distribution Structures for Asian Expansion

    International Korea Tobacco (IKT) announced that it has launched aggressive expansion domestically as well as within Indonesia. In both markets, the company has established distribution structures through partnerships with state-owned enterprises, reflecting a high-barrier but strategically positioned market entry. IKT said it contributes more than 20 years of tobacco R&D and manufacturing experience with an annual capacity of 250 million packs.

    In Indonesia, IKT has partnered with the local distributor Mir Six Global to launch the machine-made white cigarette (SPM) products Pointful Blue and Pointful Flow, initiating distribution through approximately 100 Bright Store outlets, the convenience store chain owned by Pertamina Retail, while simultaneously pursuing an expansion into nationwide minimarket chains. This collaboration is regarded as a tobacco distribution partnership aimed at positioning Indonesia as a strategic logistics hub within Southeast Asia, leveraging a Java-centered distribution structure to enhance logistics efficiency and scalability.

    Domestically, IKT signed a distribution agreement with the Korea Supermarket Cooperative Federation, an affiliate of the Korea Federation of SMEs, to supply Pointful Korea cigarettes across South Korea’s small supermarket and convenience store network. The rollout will distribute the brand to more than 50,000 retail outlets nationwide, aiming to revitalize local retail channels and create new profit opportunities for small businesses.

  • Employee-Owned Transition for U.S. Cannabis Operator

    Employee-Owned Transition for U.S. Cannabis Operator

    Chicago Atlantic announced it acted as joint lead arranger and administrative agent on a senior secured credit facility for S1 Enterprises—the parent company of vertically integrated cannabis operator Illicit—with operations in Missouri and New Jersey. Proceeds will finance the sale of 100% of the company’s equity to an Employee Stock Ownership Plan, making Illicit a 100% employee-owned S Corporation and creating a long-term ownership pathway for more than 500 employees. The ESOP structure is expected to enhance cash flow through tax-exempt status and support continued growth, investment, and employee benefits across the company’s operations.

  • Whole Foods Faces Class-Action for Surcharge on Tobacco-Using Employees

    Whole Foods Faces Class-Action for Surcharge on Tobacco-Using Employees

    Whole Foods Market Inc. is facing a proposed class-action lawsuit filed last week alleging the retailer unlawfully imposes a tobacco-use surcharge of about $780 per year on employees’ health insurance premiums without providing a compliant alternative to avoid or recover the fee, according to HR Dive. The suit, brought by three current and former workers, claims that while employees can enroll in a tobacco cessation program, the surcharge is only removed prospectively and cannot be recouped retroactively, falling short of federal requirements outlined in the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA). The case comes amid a broader wave of ERISA lawsuits challenging employer tobacco surcharge programs, with plaintiffs arguing such policies unfairly raise costs for tobacco users without reasonable alternatives, potentially breaching fiduciary duties under ERISA and related federal laws.

  • BAT Named Global Top Employer for 9th Straight Year

    BAT Named Global Top Employer for 9th Straight Year

    BAT announced it has been named a Global Top Employer for the ninth consecutive year by the Top Employers Institute, also earning Top Employer certification across five regions and a record 44 countries worldwide. BAT says the recognition highlights its best-in-class employment practices, commitment to employee development, inclusion and wellbeing, and its ability to align people strategy globally while delivering locally relevant experiences. Chief People Officer Cora Koppe-Stahrenberg said the achievement reflects BAT’s continued investment in its people and culture as it transforms its business, while Top Employers Institute CEO Adrian Seligman praised BAT’s sustained excellence and global workforce resilience.

  • Philippines to Investigate Politicians Complicit in Cigarette Smuggling

    Philippines to Investigate Politicians Complicit in Cigarette Smuggling

    Philippine lawmakers announced they will investigate alleged political involvement in large-scale cigarette smuggling that cost the government more than P44.8 billion ($762 million) in lost sin tax revenue last year, House Ways and Means Committee chair and Marikina Rep. Miro Quimbo said. Speaking at the Kapihan sa Manila Bay forum, Quimbo warned of “impunity” in the entry of illegal cigarettes, noting that about half of sin tax collections fund healthcare programs such as PhilHealth. He said cigarette smuggling not only deprives the state of revenue but also makes cigarettes more accessible to young people. A resolution seeking the probe will be referred to the House plenary and then to the Ways and Means Committee, with hearings expected within two weeks. Quimbo added that cigarette smuggling, including products originating from Thailand and Malaysia via transshipment, now falls under the anti-agriculture smuggling law.

    Source: The Philippine Star

    https://www.philstar.com/nation/2026/01/22/2502596/house-probe-pols-over-cigarette-smuggling
  • Seoul Rolling Out Public Smoking Booths

    Seoul Rolling Out Public Smoking Booths

    Seoul’s Gangnam District began rolling out newly designed “separated smoking booths” along major commercial streets to curb secondhand smoke and reduce friction between smokers and pedestrians, officials said today (January 22). The first installations physically separate smokers from passersby and also distinguish between conventional cigarettes and e-cigarettes, assigning each to different structures. Fully enclosed cigarette booths feature smoke-control systems, air purifiers, and air curtains, while semi-open e-cigarette booths emphasize ventilation and filtration. District officials said the initiative aims to improve street cleanliness and walkability in high-traffic areas, with expansion to be considered based on public response.