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Category: Business & Finance

  • PMI Hosts Shareholders Meeting

    PMI Hosts Shareholders Meeting

    Philip Morris International Inc. held its 2025 Annual Meeting of Shareholders today (May 7), with board chairman André Calantzopoulos and CEO Jacek Olczak answering questions and presenting the company’s performance.

    “Our smoke-free transformation continues to advance rapidly,” Olczak said. “We marked the 10-year anniversaries for both IQOS and ZYN in 2024 while achieving several key milestones, including our smoke-free business reaching almost $15 billion in net revenues.

    “We are increasingly deploying a multicategory strategy with our leading brands IQOS, ZYN, and VEEV, supporting our position as the global smoke-free champion as we continue to deliver meaningful value for our shareholders.”

    Shareholders elected 11 nominees for director; approved, on an advisory basis, the compensation of named executive officers; and ratified the selection of PricewaterhouseCoopers SA as independent auditors. Final voting results will be included in a Form 8-K that PMI will file with the SEC in the coming days.

    An archived copy of the webcast is available at  www.virtualshareholdermeeting.com/PM2025.

  • BAT Debuts New Cigarette in Korea

    BAT Debuts New Cigarette in Korea

    BAT Rothmans, the South Korean subsidiary of British American Tobacco, announced today (May 7) the global launch of a new cigarette brand, Global Editions by Dunhill, with Korea serving as the first market. The release marks the debut of Dunhill’s first-ever sub-brand.

    Inspired by three of the world’s most iconic cities—New York, Paris, and London—the Global Editions aim to capture the spirit of travel and the allure of brief escapes from everyday life. The company said the brand is designed specifically with Korean consumers in mind, reflecting their tastes in both flavor and design.

    The new line includes two King Size products—the New York Edition and the Paris Edition—each featuring a dual capsule system and delivering distinctive flavor combinations. The London Edition, a Fine Cut Super Slim cigarette, offers a crisp, single-capsule experience. Tar and nicotine levels range from 3.0mg to 0.20mg in the King Size variants to 1.5mg to 0.10mg in the Super Slim.

     “Global Editions by Dunhill captures special moments of travel and offers consumers a distinctive sensory experience,” said a BAT Rothmans representative. “As we take this first step, we are committed to establishing a strong presence in the combustible cigarette market and building a new global brand story beyond Korea.”

    The three editions will be available nationwide at convenience stores and tobacco retailers, priced at 4,500 won ($3.22).

  • 22nd Century Further Reduces Debt by $1M

    22nd Century Further Reduces Debt by $1M

    22nd Century Group, Inc. today (May 7) announced that repaid an additional $1 million in debt to its senior lender. The company’s total debt principal outstanding now stands at approximately $3.9 million.

    “Our debt reduction progress has been outstanding and total debt principal is now less than $4 million, as compared with approximately $20 million of total debt obligations when I joined the company in December 2023,” said Larry Firestone, CEO of 22nd Century Group. “We are on our way to becoming debt-free, which will allow us to focus our resources on growth opportunities we see across our contract manufacturing business, as well as reduced nicotine content and branded products.”

    22nd Century will report its complete first quarter results on May 13 with a conference call the same day.

  • ALP Partnership Gets Pouches Delivered “Almost Instantly”

    ALP Partnership Gets Pouches Delivered “Almost Instantly”

    ALP announced it has partnered with Gopuff to launch a new instant delivery feature via ALP’s website. ALP Supply Co. will be using Gopuff’s new “Powered by Gopuff” technology to help ALP customers get D2C orders “almost instantly.”

    Tucker Carlson’s ALP will now offer customers the ability to order nicotine pouches and get them delivered through Alppouch.com’s “Instant Shop,” which leverages Gopuff’s 200+ micro distribution centers across the United States to deliver goods in as little as 15 minutes.

    “Our new partnership with Gopuff is designed to put the customer first and to make ALP accessible to more adult American consumers than ever before,” said ALP co-founder Tucker Carlson, “Now you can scratch that itch with the ultimate fix, which is ALP!”

  • Davidoff Announces Two U.S. Store Closures, Opens in Sydney

    Davidoff Announces Two U.S. Store Closures, Opens in Sydney

    Davidoff announced that it will be closing two of its four “Davidoff of Geneva” U.S. flagship stores this fall. The company said it is opting not to renew the leases on its stores in River Oaks in Houston or Brookfield Place in New York City, though both will remain open through September. Davidoff has two other stores in New York City and more than 60 globally. There are also three Davidoff franchises in the U.S., located in Brooklyn, Las Vegas, and Hollywood, Fla.

    “Both our River Oaks and Brookfield Place stores have been a treasured location for our valued clients,” said Lana Fraser, head of marketing and retail for Davidoff of Geneva USA. “While we have made a difficult decision to close these two locations, we remain dedicated to serving our customers at our 6th Avenue, NYC location, and our newly renovated Madison Avenue, NYC store which will reopen in summer this year. We also welcome our customers to shop with us online at DavidoffGeneva.com. We sincerely appreciate the dedication and contributions of the River Oaks and Brookfield teams and extend our heartfelt gratitude to our patrons for their loyalty and support.”

    Davidoff opened the two stores around a decade ago when the company was in a period of major investment. At one point, there were nine flagship stores in the U.S.

    On the same day, Australia’s first official Davidoff of Geneva store opened in the heart of the Strand Arcade, located just off Sydney’s bustling retail Pitt Street Mall precinct. The store owners, who previously operated the Sydney Cigar House store at the Strand Arcade, have closed that much smaller kiosk and joined the Davidoff brand.

  • Smoker Friendly Announces Promotions in Accounting Department

    Smoker Friendly Announces Promotions in Accounting Department

    The Cigarette Store LLC, the parent company of Smoker Friendly, announced the promotions of Cameron Schwehr to vice president of Finance and Accounting, and Jon Gallagher as controller. The two have worked together since 2021.

    Schwehr previously worked in public accounting for 14 years, primarily as an auditor and consultant with nonprofit, construction, and retail companies. He worked with Smoker Friendly as a contractor for six of those years before being hired as Controller in 2021.

    Jon Gallagher, nephew to Smoker Friendly president Dan Gallagher, CEO Terry Gallagher Jr., and senior vice president of Governmental and External Affairs Mary Szarmach, continues to contribute to the legacy of Smoker Friendly’s founding family with his new appointment. He joined Smoker Friendly as an entry-level accountant in 2008, and advanced to accounting analyst, lead analyst, and assistant controller before accepting his latest promotion

    “I’m excited for both Cameron and Jon to take this next step, leading our finance and accounting team, and they will be integral members of our strategic management group,” Dan Gallagher said. “Both have shown tremendous dedication and work ethic in their respective careers with Smoker Friendly.”

  • PMI Exec Sees Strong Potential for Smoke-Free Products in Philippines

    PMI Exec Sees Strong Potential for Smoke-Free Products in Philippines

    A top executive of Philip Morris International (PMI) expressed optimism about the growth of smoke-free alternatives in the Philippines, saying the company sees strong potential despite being in the early stages of its market rollout.

    “In the Philippines, we are still at the very early stages, but we have a lot of confidence in smoke-free products,” said Stefano Volpetti, president of the smoke-free products category and chief consumer officer at PMI.

     Volpetti said progress in Metro Manila is already showing promise, drawing parallels with the company’s initial launches in other countries. He said PMI is committed to making smoke-free alternatives accessible to Filipino smokers, particularly through education and proper explanation of the products.

    “If you think about it, when we started in Italy and in Japan, we started from Milan and Nagoya,” Volpetti said. “We are starting the same journey in the Philippines, starting from Metro Manila. It is clear that when those smoke-free alternatives are well explained to Filipino smokers, there is clearly attraction to move from traditional cigarettes.

    “But we are very confident, because this is a journey that we have done in more than 90 countries around the world. We know the recipe of this journey and the progress in Metro Manila is very powerful.”

    At present, PMI’s smoke-free offerings in the Philippines include IQOS devices, HEETS and TEREA sticks, the more affordable BONDS device, BLENDS consumables and the ZYN oral nicotine product. When asked about the affordability of smoke-free products for Filipinos, Volpetti acknowledged the economic barriers but said PMI is working to provide more options.

    “In general, we have two important aspects of this journey,” he said. “The first aspect is to be sure that smokers understand the benefits of smoke-free alternatives. Because if you don’t understand the benefits, if the benefits are not explained to you, it is very difficult to be able to appreciate that. 

    “We are able to design the consumables in a way that is more in tune with the experience of different consumers around the world. [What the consumers around] the world wants in terms of taste, flavor, in terms of pleasure, but also in terms of the budget they are ready to pay. In the coming future, you will see a portfolio that is more balanced between the premium segment and the medium segment. Our mission is to provide choices across all consumer categories.”

  • 22nd Century Announces Q1 Webcast

    22nd Century Announces Q1 Webcast

    22nd Century Group, Inc. will host a webcast May 13, 2025, at 8 a.m. EST to discuss its 2025 first quarter results, which are to be reported in a press release at 6 a.m. EST the same day.

    During the webcast, Larry Firestone, chairman and chief executive officer, and Dan Otto, chief financial officer, will review financial results, discuss progress made in the recent months, and update plans for the 2025 year.

    The live and archived webcast will be accessible on the Events web page in the Company’s Investor Relations section of the website, at https://ir.xxiicentury.com/events. The company suggests listeners log in 10 minutes prior to the start of the webcast to register and, if necessary, download and install any required software.

  • Cambodia PM: E-Cigarette Investment Not Welcome  

    Cambodia PM: E-Cigarette Investment Not Welcome  

    Cambodia’s Prime Minister Hun Manet said the country does not welcome investment in e-cigarettes, even if the products are being solely exported. He said that today (May 5), speaking at the official launch of the National Cancer Control Plan (NCCP) 2025–2030.

     “If investors come for other types of investments, I welcome them,” he said. “But for e-cigarettes, Cambodia can say, ‘No need — please go elsewhere.’”

    He also issued a strong appeal to the public, particularly young people, urging them not to use e-cigarettes.

    “Please don’t think it’s cool to smoke or vape,” he said. “Instead, focus on your studies and strive to become someone recognized for your achievements.”

    Cambodia has banned the import, trade, and use of e-cigarettes, shishas, and heated tobacco products (HTPs) since 2014.

  • Brian King Joins Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids

    Brian King Joins Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids

    Yesterday (May 1), the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids today named Brian King as Executive Vice President for U.S. Programs to lead the organization’s work at the federal, state and local levels. Last month King was forced out of his role as the director of the U.S. Food & Drug Administration’s (FDA) Center for Tobacco Products (CTP).

    “Brian King is extraordinarily qualified to lead our U.S. programs at this critical time.,” said Yolonda C. Richardson, president and CEO of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids. “Brian has dedicated his career to advancing science-based policies and programs that reduce tobacco use and its devastating consequences. His leadership, passion and breadth of knowledge and experience will guide us in the next phase of our work to protect children and end the death and disease caused by tobacco.”

    Under King’s leadership, the CTP was besieged by criticism from all sides, including politicians, anti-smoking advocates, and tobacco and vaping companies, as the FDA rejected applications for millions of flavored e-cigarettes, citing insufficient data that the products would help adult smokers while not becoming popular with underage kids. Those rejections resulted in multiple lawsuits against the FDA from vape makers.

    Prior to joining FDA, King served as the Deputy Director for Research Translation in CDC’s Office on Smoking and Health and as Executive Editor of CDC’s Morbidity & Mortality Weekly Report. He holds a doctorate and M.P.H. in Epidemiology from the State University of New York at Buffalo.