According to Tip Ranks, British American Tobacco repurchased 146,615 of its ordinary shares yesterday (January 5) under its shareholder-approved buyback program, paying a volume-weighted average price of 4,101.38 pence per share. The company plans to cancel the repurchased shares, reducing its outstanding ordinary shares with voting rights to 2,179,187,085 while maintaining 132,988,352 shares in treasury. The move is expected to slightly enhance earnings per share and signals continued capital return discipline to shareholders.
Category: News This Week
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Nicotine Pouch Payments Get New Avenue
Tower Payments announced the launch of a dedicated payment gateway and merchant account service aimed at nicotine pouch e-commerce businesses that have lost card processing abilities after being declined by other providers. According to Tower Payments, companies such as Stripe, Square, banks, and PayPal classify nicotine pouches as high risk under acceptable-use rules, disrupting cash flow for compliant merchants. This new offering is designed to restore stable credit card acceptance by using nicotine-friendly underwriting and clear pricing, addressing a common industry problem of sudden account closures and frozen deposits.
Tower Payments’ service uses underwriting teams familiar with both synthetic and tobacco-derived nicotine and assists merchants with required Visa and Mastercard registrations. The gateway integrates with platforms including Shopify, WooCommerce, BigCommerce, ClickFunnels, and others, while preserving existing checkout flows.
Tower Payments adds that the service includes fraud tools, subscription support, PCI DSS compliance, and upfront pricing with no hidden fees. Founder Nyah Penney said the company focuses on prescreening and one-on-one support to reduce delays and avoid held funds, positioning the service as a practical processing option for nicotine pouch retailers heading into 2026.
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Court Creates Split on Cannabis Landscape
A U.S. appeals court ruling last Friday (January 2) added fresh legal uncertainty to the regulated cannabis landscape, with potential implications for adjacent nicotine and tobacco industries. The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals held that the dormant commerce clause does not apply to state-legal cannabis markets because marijuana remains illegal under federal law. The decision allows states within the Ninth Circuit to maintain residency-based licensing and other local protectionist measures, and directly conflicts with earlier rulings from the First Circuit (2022) and Second Circuit (2025), which extended constitutional commerce protections to legal cannabis despite federal prohibition—creating a clear circuit split.
The case challenged residency requirements for retail marijuana licenses in Washington State and Sacramento, California, brought by an out-of-state applicant who argued the rules unfairly favored locals. Writing for the court, Judge Daniel A. Bress said federal courts are not required to “inaugurate free trade” in a market Congress has deemed illegal under the Controlled Substances Act. While the ruling strengthens state and local control—often tied to social equity frameworks—it increases regulatory fragmentation across the U.S., underscoring the uneven legal footing of cannabis compared with federally lawful tobacco and nicotine products and raising the likelihood of eventual U.S. Supreme Court review.
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Charlie’s Holdings, IKE Tech Launch AI Verification for Vapes
Charlie’s Holdings announced a licensing deal to bring what it describes as the first AI-powered, blockchain-based age-verification system for vape products to the U.S. market. The California–based company said it signed a definitive agreement with IKE Tech to commercialize the technology, which is designed to prevent underage access to vapor products while allowing compliant sales to adults.
The company positioned the move as a response to regulatory pressure on flavored vaping products, which it said are preferred by 80–90% of adult consumers and play a key role in helping smokers switch away from combustible cigarettes. Charlie’s noted that despite broad recognition of vaping as a lower-risk alternative to smoking, the FDA has yet to authorize a single flavored vapor product, while state-level flavor bans in markets such as California and Massachusetts have reshaped the legal landscape.
According to Charlie’s, those restrictions have contributed to growth in illicit products and reduced legal options for adult smokers seeking alternatives. The company said its age-gating system is intended to address youth-access concerns directly, potentially offering regulators a technology-based compliance tool that could support more balanced oversight of the flavored vapor category.
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Florida AG Moves to Block Marijuana Legalization from Ballot
Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier urged the state Supreme Court to block a new recreational marijuana legalization initiative from reaching the ballot, calling it “fatally flawed,” misleading to voters, and unconstitutional. In a 75-page brief, Uthmeier argued the proposal—backed by Smart & Safe Florida and largely funded by medical cannabis operator Trulieve—violates Florida’s single-subject rule, misrepresents restrictions on public use, and conflicts with federal law under the Controlled Substances Act.
Uthmeier’s position is supported by a coalition of business and anti-drug groups, which contend the initiative would improperly legalize and commercialize cannabis while obligating the state to license federally illegal activity. Opponents say the ballot summary falsely implies a broad ban on public consumption, lacks enforcement mechanisms, and bundles unrelated policy changes—such as advertising limits and business licensing—into a single constitutional amendment.
The legal challenge comes as Smart & Safe Florida races to meet a February 1 deadline to submit nearly 880,000 valid signatures, amid disputes over tens of thousands of signatures invalidated by state officials. The measure follows a similar 2024 proposal that won a majority but failed to clear Florida’s 60% approval threshold. While polling continues to show strong public support for legalization, the Supreme Court’s ruling will determine whether voters get another chance to decide the issue in 2026.
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UK Government Acknowledges Nicotine Pouches as Harm Reduction Tool
The UK government confirmed that nicotine pouches are likely lower-risk alternatives to smoking, recognizing them as a distinct product category under the upcoming Tobacco and Vapes Bill. In response to campaigners advocating for a 20 mg nicotine strength cap, officials emphasized that any future regulations will be evidence-based and proportionate, aiming to protect public health while avoiding rules that could push adults back to smoking. Sales to under-18s will remain illegal, and the Department of Health and Social Care highlighted concerns about youth uptake, particularly among young men.
Campaign groups, including 20isPlenty, We Vape, and Considerate Pouchers, welcomed the acknowledgment, noting that government recognition of nicotine pouches’ lower risk and separate status from cigarettes marks a major concession. Officials also confirmed that upcoming regulations on flavors, ingredients, packaging, and display will be subject to consultation, allowing stakeholders to advocate for measures that preserve adult access while limiting youth appeal.
Further research into nicotine products and vaping has been commissioned, including a “living evidence map” by the National Institute for Health and Care Research to inform policy development. The Tobacco and Vapes Bill, currently awaiting report stage and third reading in the House of Lords, will also implement the government’s “smoke-free generation” plan, banning tobacco sales for anyone born on or after January 1, 2009, starting in 2027.
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California Publishes First Unflavored Tobacco List
California Attorney General Rob Bonta announced the release of the state’s first-ever Unflavored Tobacco List (UTL), created under Assembly Bill 3218 (Wood, 2024). The list identifies unflavored tobacco products that may be legally sold under California’s flavored tobacco restrictions. Any covered product not included on the UTL is deemed flavored and prohibited from sale.
To be considered for the initial list, manufacturers and importers were required to submit applications by October 9, 2025. All timely submissions have now received a determination, while ongoing registrations remain open. State officials warned that products not registered and listed on the UTL are subject to seizure and penalties.
Enforcement of the flavored tobacco ban is led by the California Department of Public Health, with support from the Department of Tax and Fee Administration and state and local law enforcement. While enforcement will prioritize clearly flavored products, authorities said the UTL is intended to provide clarity for regulators, retailers and manufacturers and strengthen oversight aimed at reducing youth tobacco use.
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Alabama Bill Would Extend Indoor Smoking Ban to Vaping
Alabama’s Senate Bill 9 would update the state’s indoor air quality laws by treating e-cigarettes and other vaping devices the same as traditional tobacco smoking in indoor public places. Sponsored by Sen. Gerald Allen (R), the bill is set for review by the Healthcare Committee and would rename the Alabama Clean Indoor Air Act in honor of civil rights attorney and public health advocate Vivian Davis Figures.
The legislation expands the definition of “smoking” to include vaping, banning e-cigarette use in the same indoor locations where smoking is already prohibited, including workplaces, restaurants, government buildings, schools, hospitals, retail spaces, airports, and public transport. SB9 does not add new penalties or enforcement powers, but applies existing rules to vaping, requiring businesses to update signage and policies while leaving sales, flavors, age limits, and outdoor use unchanged.
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Report: Non-U.S. Manufacturers Capture 75% of Pouch Search Visibility
Although North American consumers drive the majority of the nicotine pouch industry’s revenue (78.4%), a new report from eCig One finds that manufacturers outside the United States capture the majority (75%) of modeled search visibility for white-label production queries. The study estimates search-driven demand by capturing the rankings of 29 white-label pouch manufacturers across 14 high-intent search keywords. A modeled click-through rate is then applied to each ranking. The analysis uses a ranking snapshot from December 2025 and sources monthly search volumes from Ahrefs.
Number of White-Label Nicotine Pouch Manufacturers by Nation
The top six contract manufacturers hold about 76% of modeled search-driven demand for white-label nicotine pouch manufacturing, according to the report. The top three manufacturers—NicoKickers (24.9%), Daily Manufacturing (15.5%), and TJP Labs (13.4%)—account for more than half of modeled search visibility across the 14 tracked keywords.
“The data suggests a gap between where demand is forming and where manufacturers are capturing it,” said study author Jason Artman. “There may be an opening for white-label manufacturers to attract more business by meeting clients where they are.”
The report notes that the model estimates relative share of search-driven opportunities and that conversions and revenue depend on many other factors in addition to search visibility. -
Over a Fifth of Irish Vape Shops Caught Selling to Minors
More than 22% of vape shops inspected in Ireland were found selling vaping products to under-18s despite a legal ban in place since December 2023, according to figures from the Health Service Executive (HSE). Between January and October last year, 51 out of 224 retailers failed test-purchase checks conducted by inspectors, up from 40 violations recorded in 2024.
The HSE’s National Environmental Health Service, which gained test-purchasing powers in March 2024, carried out hundreds of inspections to enforce the law. Retailers caught selling vapes to minors face fines of up to €4,000 and up to six months in prison. Authorities also issued dozens of prohibition orders against shops selling unregulated products.
The data emerged in response to a parliamentary question, as Ireland considers further tightening vape laws. A proposed bill would ban disposable vapes, restrict flavors, and limit packaging colors and imagery to reduce youth appeal and environmental harm. Lawmakers are calling for even tougher measures, arguing that flavored and brightly packaged vapes continue to target young people despite existing restrictions.