TobaccoReporter logo

Category: News This Week

  • U.S. Cigar Imports Up 4.6% in 2025

    U.S. Cigar Imports Up 4.6% in 2025

    Handmade cigar imports to the United States continue to rise, according to new data released this week by the Cigar Association of America (CAA), signaling sustained growth in the premium cigar market. Imports for the first three quarters of 2025 totaled 318.6 million cigars, a 4.6% increase compared with the same period in 2024, according to Cigar Aficionado.

    Nicaragua remained the dominant supplier, accounting for 190.4 million cigars, up 2.1% year over year. The Dominican Republic followed with 69.9 million cigars, a 3.8% increase, while Honduras recorded the fastest growth among the top producers, with shipments jumping 14.8% to 55.5 million cigars. Together, the three countries accounted for more than 99% of all handmade cigar imports.

    The largest monthly surge occurred in March, when imports rose 29% compared with March 2024, following the announcement of the Trump administration’s “Liberation Day” tariffs affecting cigar-producing countries. In 2024, U.S. imports reached 430 million handmade cigars, up 0.9% from 2023. If current trends hold, 2025 is on pace to mark the fifth consecutive year with more than 400 million handmade cigars imported into the U.S.

  • Reynolds Files Complaint with ITC Over Illicit Products

    Reynolds Files Complaint with ITC Over Illicit Products

    R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. and its subsidiaries have filed a complaint with the U.S. International Trade Commission seeking an investigation into alleged unlawful practices by Heaven Gifts International—the company behind Elf Bar and Geek Bar—along with its subsidiaries and nine U.S. distributors. According to Law360, the 247-page complaint accuses the respondents of selling flavored vaping products in jurisdictions where they are banned, selling products not listed in required state directories at the time of sale, and evading state and local excise taxes, conduct Reynolds frames as unfair competition under Section 337 of the Tariff Act and noncompliance with the PACT Act. The ITC has acknowledged receipt of the complaint and opened a public comment process.

    Reynolds argues that the alleged violations have enabled a large, illicit market that has significantly undercut lawful products such as its Vuse brand. The company pointed to FDA data showing that only 39 e-cigarette products and devices are currently authorized for sale in the U.S., including 16 from Reynolds and none from Heaven Gifts or its affiliates. Reynolds is seeking broad remedies, including a general or limited exclusion order blocking imports of the accused products, cease-and-desist orders against the named companies, and the imposition of a bond during the ITC’s 60-day presidential review period.

  • Mexico Implements Vape Ban

    Mexico Implements Vape Ban

    Beginning today (January 16), Mexico has implemented a sweeping ban on the marketing, importation, and sale of electronic cigarettes and vaping devices following a reform to the General Health Law published in the Official Gazette of the Federation. The measure establishes an absolute prohibition covering all electronic smoking devices, including disposable, rechargeable, and nicotine-free products, as well as their accessories and substances, and bars any form of advertising or promotion in all media.

    While personal possession and consumption will remain legal as long as there is no commercial intent, violations of the new rules may result in prison sentences of one to eight years and fines of up to 2,000 times the daily value of the Unit of Measurement and Update (UMA). Health authorities are also empowered to seize products and shut down noncompliant establishments.

  • Barnes Named First Female GM of PMSA

    Barnes Named First Female GM of PMSA

    Philip Morris International appointed Buena Barnes as general manager of Philip Morris South Africa (PMSA), replacing Branislav Bibic, who is now the area vice president for Sub-Saharan Africa. Barnes, who is the first woman to hold the position, previously served as finance director for Sub-Saharan Africa and brings more than four years of local leadership experience as PMI continues its shift toward smoke-free products.

    Barnes played a key role in PMI’s transformation strategy, which has seen smoke-free products account for 41% of the company’s net revenues by Q3 2025, with PMI targeting more than 50% by year-end. Her background includes senior finance and strategy roles at GlaxoSmithKline South Africa and British American Tobacco South Africa. She has been a vocal supporter of PMI’s science-led alternatives, including IQOS, introduced in South Africa in 2017, followed by ZYN nicotine pouches in 2023 and VEEV e-vapor in 2025.

  • ATNF Releases Draft Agenda

    ATNF Releases Draft Agenda

    The American Tobacco and Nicotine Forum (ATNF) announced the draft agenda for its 2026 program set for April 20–22, at the Lansdowne Resort in Leesburg, Virginia. ATNF is the nation’s leading annual conference focused on the future of the tobacco and nicotine industries, serving as a global forum for the exchange of ideas among public health experts, government officials, industry leaders, and investors. Formerly known as the TMA Annual Meeting, the conference has been held continuously for more than 110 years.

    ATNF 2026 plans to feature an innovation product showcase and a wide-ranging program examining science, regulation, litigation, and tobacco harm reduction. Agenda highlights include sessions on the use of artificial intelligence in product research, lessons from the FDA’s nicotine pouch pilot authorization program, pathways to meaningful PMTA reform, state and local policy impacts on harm reduction, enforcement and marketplace integrity, litigation affecting smoke-free products, and strategies for communicating harm reduction to adults who smoke. Additional panels will explore women’s leadership in tobacco and nicotine law, streamlining product reviews through smokefree standards, and the evolving role of advocacy in advancing tobacco harm reduction.

    Click here to register.

  • Guam Police Required for School Smoking Incidents

    Guam Police Required for School Smoking Incidents

    Police in Guam will now respond to incidents involving students vaping or using tobacco products on public school campuses following a policy update by the Guam Department of Education (GDOE). Under revised Student Discipline SOP 1200-018, nicotine violations are now classified as behaviors requiring mandatory contact with the Guam Police Department (GPD).

    Under the new procedure, GPD officers will confiscate tobacco or vaping devices, document the incident, issue a notice to appear before the Juvenile Section, and forward cases to the Office of the Attorney General. The policy takes effect immediately after school administrators confirm a violation and notify a student’s parent or guardian, at which point GDOE will initiate a call for police service.

    GDOE said the change follows a rise in vaping and nicotine violations on campuses and guidance from GPD leadership, citing the need to enforce the Youth Protection Act of 2017.

  • FDA Extending Info Collection for Smokeless Products

    FDA Extending Info Collection for Smokeless Products

    The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has submitted a proposed extension of an existing information collection to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review under the Paperwork Reduction Act, covering warning plans for certain smokeless tobacco products. The collection, assigned OMB Control Number 0910-0671, relates to statutory requirements that smokeless tobacco packaging and advertising carry one of four mandated health warnings, randomly displayed and rotated quarterly in accordance with FDA-approved warning plans. FDA said manufacturers, importers, distributors, and retailers must submit these plans for review, either electronically via the Center for Tobacco Products (CTP) Portal or in paper form.

    Public comments on the proposal must be submitted through reginfo.gov within 30 days of Federal Register publication, and FDA noted that two comments received during an earlier 60-day notice period were not related to paperwork burden issues.

  • Calif. Court Denies Injunction for Cigar Companies in UTL Suit

    Calif. Court Denies Injunction for Cigar Companies in UTL Suit

    A Los Angeles County Superior Court judge denied a request by premium cigar manufacturers and trade groups to block enforcement of California’s Unflavored Tobacco List (UTL) requirements. On Monday, January 12, Judge Cherol J. Nellon rejected the plaintiffs’ motion for a preliminary injunction in Rocky Patel Premium Cigars Inc. et al. v. Bonta, a state court case challenging emergency regulations tied to Assembly Bill 3218. The lawsuit was brought by Rocky Patel Premium Cigars, Cigar Rights of America, the Premium Cigar Association, and six other cigar manufacturers.

    The plaintiffs argued that the regulations impose duplicative and burdensome SKU-by-SKU submissions on premium cigars that they contend are already unflavored under federal law. Judge Nellon found the plaintiffs were unlikely to succeed on the merits and failed to show irreparable harm.

    The case stems from California’s creation of the UTL to enforce the state’s 2020 ban on most flavored tobacco products, requiring tobacco items to be approved for sale in the state. Plaintiffs sought to exempt “premium cigars” from the UTL, relying on a federal definition developed through FDA litigation, but the court held that the regulations lawfully apply to all tobacco products subject to the statute and do not exceed the attorney general’s authority. Nellon noted that the legislature chose a different approach to defining premium cigars and that the UTL rules are reasonably aimed at distinguishing unflavored products from prohibited flavored ones. This state ruling follows similar denials of relief in related proceedings and is separate from a parallel federal lawsuit involving the same parties and law but different legal claims.

  • Murder of Tobacco Company Owners Tied to $5.5M Fraud Case

    Murder of Tobacco Company Owners Tied to $5.5M Fraud Case

    The two owners of All-American Tobacco LLC, brothers Charles (age 67) and Richard (72) Geragi, were fatally shot inside their office Monday (January 12) in Boynton Beach, Florida. Authorities say they were having a meeting with Nesar Dawla, apparently discussing repayment of stolen funds linked to his brother, former company accountant Sadman Dawla.

    Investigators say Sadman Dawla admitted to embezzling more than $5.5 million from the tobacco importing business between 2016 and 2022 and was convicted last year on grand theft and money laundering charges, with sentencing scheduled this week. Police said Nesar Dawla shot the brothers, fled the scene in an SUV, led officers on a brief pursuit, and died by suicide before the vehicle crashed into a tree. Court filings show All-American Farms (the parent company of All-American Tobacco) had sued both brothers and others over the fraud, alleging Nesar Dawla received nearly $47,000 in stolen funds; the civil case was settled in mid-2024.

  • Korea Health Insurance Loses Appeal Against Tobacco Cos.

    Korea Health Insurance Loses Appeal Against Tobacco Cos.

    South Korea’s National Health Insurance Service (NHIS) lost its appeal seeking compensation from major tobacco companies after the Seoul High Court upheld a lower court ruling in favor of KT&G, Philip Morris Korea, and British American Tobacco Korea today (January 15). The court agreed that NHIS lacked legal standing to claim damages, ruling that insurance payouts made to smokers with cancer merely fulfilled statutory obligations and did not constitute a legally protected interest that could support a compensation claim.

    The lawsuit, originally filed in 2014, sought 55.3 billion won ($37.6 million) to recover health insurance costs for smoking-related lung and laryngeal cancer patients, arguing tobacco firms should be held liable for the financial burden imposed on the public health system. Both the lower and appellate courts rejected claims that cigarettes were defectively designed or misleadingly marketed, and found that smoking was not the sole cause of cancer. While acknowledging the growing medical costs linked to smoking—estimated at 3.8 trillion won ($2.6 billion) annually by 2023—the appellate court ordered NHIS to bear appeal costs. NHIS said it plans to take the case to the Supreme Court, framing the issue as one of public health accountability and constitutional social rights.