Category: Covid-19

Turning Point Brands Retools to Make Hand Sanitizer
Turning Point Brands (TPB) repurposed select manufacturing infrastructure to produce free hand sanitizer for communities in California, Kentucky and Tennessee. TPB division Nu-X distributed the first few thousand hand sanitizer bottles and bulk gallons on Tuesday in an emergency production run to the UCLA Ronald Reagan Medical Center.
“We saw an opportunity to contribute and help. We hope other companies with the capacity to do so will do the same,” said Lorenzo De Plano, senior director of Nu-X.
TPB will have two vans delivering Nu-X products around the Los Angeles area every day until all available inventory is depleted.
The company is also looking for opportunities to provide needed materials to other organizations out of its Louisville, Kentucky facility. Hospitals and elderly homes will have priority of hand sanitizer products. All hand sanitizer bottles produced will be under the brand Nu-X and will not be for resell purposes.
“Our company takes very seriously our role in providing support to the communities where we operate. We hope that through this action we can both help those impacted by the Covid-19 situation and inspire others to act,” said Larry Wexler, president and CEO of TPB.
March 29, 2020
Scandinavian Tobacco Suspends Guidance

Niels Frederiksen, CEO of Scandinavian Tobacco
Scandinavian Tobacco Group has suspended financial guidance for 2020 as a result of the global outbreak of the coronavirus and the uncertainty and lack of transparency it has created.
“As authorities across the world are implementing measures to contain and fight the spread of the coronavirus, we are seeing more and more restrictions to consumer movement, which affects normal purchase and consumption patterns,” the company wrote in a press release.
“This leads to a situation where we have significantly less transparency on consumer behavior and consumption, and retail customers are changing behavior as they try to respond to the constantly changing environment. As the situation develops from day to day in countries around the world, we are currently unable to accurately assess the short-term impact of these developments on our business.
“Hence, we are suspending our financial guidance for 2020 pending further clarification of the general situation, market developments and the impact on our business. We expect consumer behavior to normalize following the pandemic situation and consider the effect on our business temporary,” the statement said.
“We have a fundamentally resilient business with healthy earnings and strong cash flows,” said Niels Frederiksen, CEO of Scandinavian Tobacco.
“I am confident that we are in a good position to deal with the issues we are facing, and we are dedicating all our efforts to navigating through an uncertain period where we both have to protect our employees, our customers and our business.”
The company still expects to provide further financial insights into the impact of the acquisition of Agio Cigars when the integration planning period has been finalized. The decision to initiate a share buyback program in 2020 of a total value of up to DKK300 million ($43 million) is unchanged, although the timing of the initiation may be affected.
The board of directors’ proposal for an ordinary dividend for 2019 of DKK6.10 ($0.87) per share remains unchanged. Scandinavian Tobacco will present its interim report for the first quarter of 2020 on May 20, 2020.
March 29, 2020
South Africa Suspends Cigarette Sales During Shutdown

As part of its 21-day nationwide shutdown of business to curtail the spread of Covid- 19, South African Trade and Industry Minister Ebrahim Patel noted that cigarette sales would be prohibited during the shutdown. Alcohol sales will be strictly confined to bars, nightclubs, restaurants, liquor stores and taverns at set hours.
“We have to contain the spread of the virus,” said Patel. “If this virus spreads widely, it can cause very, very serious damage. So, we will implement and learn from implementing, and we can amend the regulations as we go on. We have a 21-day lockdown, it’s not a year, it’s not two years. It’s a 21-day lockdown to try to see if we can contain this.
“On the items that people can buy, obviously we wanted to keep the list as short and simple as possible so that we can do a quick turnaround at shops so that people spend the minimum amount of time there and travel as infrequently to the shops as possible, Patel added.
“Cigarettes is not a basic good.”
March 27, 2020
‘Vaping Increases Covid-19 Risk’
The popularity of e-cigarettes is making young people more susceptible to coronavirus than would otherwise be the case, according to some experts.
New data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention suggests that young people may be more impacted by COVID-19 than was initially thought, with patients under the age of 45 comprising more than a third of all cases, and one in five of those patients requiring hospitalization.
In an updated risk assessment, the European Centre for Disease Control and Prevention included smokers among those potentially most vulnerable to COVID-19.
The agency cited a study by Chinese doctors which on a sample of 99 patients affected by the coronavirus found that acute smokers were more at risk of dying than elderly people.
Conventional cigarette smokers are likely to have more serious illness if they become infected with COVID-19, according to the World Health Organization. Because vaping can also cause dangerous lung and respiratory problems, experts say it makes sense that the habit could aggravate the symptoms of COVID-19.
March 27, 2020
Covid-19 Bill Passes U.S. Senate

The U.S. Senate voted unanimously to pass a $2 trillion stimulus package. The deal is expected to clear the U.S. House of Representatives early Friday morning before being sent to President Donald Trump, who has said he will sign the bill into law immediately.
The signing of the bill in the Senate came after intense negotiations. The bill is said to be one of the most expensive and far-reaching measures passed by Congress. House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer said Wednesday evening that the House plan is to pass the bill by voice vote, which would avoid forcing all representatives to return to Washington for a recorded roll call vote.
“Members are further advised that due to the limited flight options, members participating in self-quarantine and several states mandating stay-at-home orders,” Hoyer announced in a statement Wednesday evening.
The deal was heavily scrutinized by some Republican senators who argued that language incentivizing unemployment would keep some workers from returning to their jobs because unemployment benefits would pay them more money than they would make working. “This bill pays you more not to work than if you were working,” GOP Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina said. “You’re literally incentivizing taking people out of the workforce at a time when we need critical infrastructure supplied with workers.”
The goal of the legislation is to flood the U.S. economy with funds during a period of time that has seen financial systems in chaos, including having several states on lockdown. Numerous businesses have closed and the numbers of infections and deaths from Covid-19 have risen rapidly across the U.S.
Key components of the proposal are $500 billion in loans for distressed companies, $350 billion in small business loans, $250 billion set aside for direct payments to individuals and families, and $250 billion in unemployment insurance benefits. The plan would provide individuals who earn $75,000 in adjusted gross income or less direct payments of $1,200 each. Married couples earning up to $150,000 would receive $2,400. There would also be an additional $500 per child, according to news reports. Payments scale down by income, phasing out entirely at $99,000 for singles and $198,000 for couples without children.
In a press release, Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said the bill also contained a provision that would prevent President Trump and his family, as well as other top government officials and members of Congress, from getting loans or investments from Treasury programs in the stimulu
March 26, 2020
Chinese Hardware Makers Normalizing Operations

The hardware manufacturers in China that produce vapor products for the world market are back in business after a brief hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Based mostly in Shenzhen, the world’s electronics and e-cigarette capital, companies say that they are implementing new standards and processes to keep employees and customers safe.
Several companies have also intensified their data-collection efforts for premarket tobacco product authorizations (PMTA) in U.S. market. “The coronavirus is indeed having an impact on the PMTA process,” says Welford Ou, CEO for SmokTech, a major manufacturer. “For example, the behavioral investigations have been stopped, and it also taking more time for us to prepare all the products for the PMTA.” As of this writing, PMTA applications are due to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on May 12.
Smoore Technologies, the parent to Vaporesso and Feelm, says it “took strong and comprehensive measures” in advance of the virus’ outbreak. “We set up disease prevention and control teams in each of our facilities before the Chinese Spring Festival holiday. Dating back to Jan. 20, Feelm teams started to collect information, investigate employee’s conditions, prepare epidemic prevention supplies and disinfect public areas,” said Sofia Luo, marketing director for Feelm. “Before getting back on track, Feelm handed out a COVID-19 prevention and control booklet to each employee, providing scientific support to enhance health security.”
All Smoore facilities are now back up to at least 85 percent of pre-pandemic production, according to Luo. She says Feelm is already shipping goods to the U.S. and has been since the middle of February. “Smoore and its subsidiaries have enough key materials inventory and all of our supply chain has recovered and is back in production,” she said. When asked whether there was a supply shortage, Luo replied: “In general, the impact of supply shortage is under control.”
SmokTech is getting back to its normal operations and more workers are expected to be hired as the virus outbreak is brought under control, according to Ou, who added that the company is awaiting the return of some workers from Wuhan (located in the Hubei province and the epicenter of the pandemic) where residents were quarantined until March 25.
“The sales are doing well even with the Spring festival and a longtime staying at home for virus control,” says Ou. “Our challenge is to get more skilled workers in short amount of time to meet the growing demand. My concern for the world market is hopefully they will embrace vaping and see it is better and safer than smoking cigarettes.”–T.S.D.
Timothy Donahue is the assistant editor of Tobacco Reporter. Since joining our team in January 2013, he has become not only an expert on the traditional tobacco business but also a well-respected voice in the rapidly developing vapor industry. Tim spends much of his time on the road, attending conferences and interviewing industry representatives. His networking skills, work ethic and quick mind are valuable assets to our diverse audience.

March 25, 2020
Physicians Urge Smoking Ban in Fight Against Virus

The New York State Academy of Family Physicians is urging Governor Andrew Cuomo to ban the sale of all tobacco products to help fight the spread of coronavirus.
The group cites a study connecting smoking to a higher risk of contracting the illness. “As our state and country struggle to respond to the rapidly evolving and escalating Covid-19 pandemic affecting our residents and straining our healthcare system, mounting evidence demonstrates the link between tobacco use and increased risk for progressive Covid-19,” said Barbara Keber, president of the New York State Academy of Family Physicians.
Prior to the coronavirus outbreak, Cuomo had banned flavored tobacco-based vapor products to fight against the rise in youth usage.
March 25, 2020
Karnataka Halts Tobacco Auctions

The tobacco auction in Karnataka, India, has been halted across all 10 platforms due to a statewide lockdown to prevent the spread of coronavirus.
The auction began in September 2019 and was scheduled to close by the end of March 2020.
The suspension comes amid rising tobacco prices due to unavailability of tobacco from China.
“Unfortunately, the farmers will not be able to delay the auction endlessly as it is a perishable commodity,” said Javare Gowda, president of the Federation of VFC Tobacco Growers’ Association of Karnataka. He requested that the auction be resumed as soon as the lockdown is lifted.
March 25, 2020
PMI Suspends Bologna Operations

Philip Morris (PM) is suspending operations at its Bologna, Italy, plant for a week.
About 50 percent of PM’s IQOS heatsticks are manufactured at the Bologna plant. The closure comes amid the outbreak of Covid-19 and aims to help prevent further spread of the virus.
There are adequate supplies of inventory to cover the closure of the plant, including more than two months of heated-tobacco units, more than three months of tobacco-heating devices and more than a month and a half of cigarettes, according to the company’s press release.
The company’s other heated-tobacco facilities remain open, and there is flexibility to shift production to other locations. PM operated 38 factories as of 2019, with seven producing heated-tobacco units and the largest facilities in Indonesia, Turkey, the Philippines, Russia, Poland, Lithuania and Italy.
March 25, 2020
Vapor Clouds Don’t Spread virus

There is insufficient evidence to support the claim that Covid-19 can be spread through vape clouds, according to Neal Benowitz, a University of California San Francisco professor of medicine.
“It is my understanding that exhaled e-cigarette vapor consists of very small particles of water, propylene glycol and glycerin and flavor chemicals, not droplets of saliva,” Benowitz said.
“The vaping aerosol evaporates very quickly while particles that are emitted when coughing or sneezing are large particles that persist in the air for a relatively long period of time.
“Thus, I would not think that vapers present any risk of spreading Covid-19 unless they are coughing when they exhale the vapor.”

Benowitz’s remarks follow comments by Tom McLean, a Scottish microbiologist, who claimed that “blowing vapor out is as good as someone spitting in your face.”
“If anyone has the coronavirus and are vaping, they’d be spreading it to a lot of people at the same time,” McLean said.
Doctors are considering vaping as a possible factor in the large rate of those hospitalized for severe Covid-19 symptoms.
March 24, 2020