Category: Featured

  • 22nd Adjourns Meeting for Shares Proposal

    22nd Adjourns Meeting for Shares Proposal

    Image: mojo_cp

    22nd Century Group conducted its Jan. 24, 2024, special meeting of stockholders and adjourned the meeting solely with respect to Proposal 2 set forth in its Definitive Proxy Statement previously filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Proposal 2 is a proposal to increase the number of authorized number of shares of common stock. All other proposals were passed at the special meeting with strong support from stockholders.

    “We sincerely appreciate the support of our stockholders on these important items as we work to swiftly effect a turnaround of the business,” said Larry Firestone, chairman and CEO of 22nd Century, in a statement. “In the seven weeks since I joined the company, we have fully focused the business on our tobacco operations, implemented aggressive operating cost reductions and extended our balance sheet runway. We are also actively working to improve our tobacco business margins and increase the returns from those assets as we work to make this company self-sufficient, including efforts to increase the channels and channel support for VLN sales.

    “While I am pleased with the progress on these and other initiatives we have underway, Proposal 2 is still critically important to ensuring that the company can address any strategic needs as we bridge to self-sustaining operations as quickly as possible. We hope that the adjournment will enable additional shareholders to vote for this proposal, or those who may have voted against to reverse their vote and support our efforts to complete the turnaround process.”

    The company has adjourned the special meeting solely with respect to Proposal 2 to provide its stockholders additional time to vote on Proposal 2. The special meeting will resume with respect to Proposal 2 at 11:00 a.m. Eastern Time on Feb. 15, 2024. The reconvened meeting will be held at 11988 El Camino Real, Suite 400, San Diego, California, 92130. The record date for determining stockholders eligible to vote at the special meeting will remain the same. To date, more than 48 percent of all shares outstanding as of the record date have voted in favor of the proposal.

    Stockholders as of close of business on Dec. 6, 2023, the record date for the special meeting, who have not yet voted are encouraged to vote over the internet at http://www.proxyvote.com/.

  • Lung Association Urges Menthol Ban

    Lung Association Urges Menthol Ban

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    The American Lung Association’s State of Tobacco Control 2024 Report highlights the impacts of tobacco use and urges the White House to finalize rules on the impending menthol ban.

    The 22nd annual State of Tobacco Control report evaluates state and federal efforts to eliminate tobacco use and save lives with proven-effective tobacco control laws and policies. This year’s report highlights the public health perils of menthol tobacco use and the failure of the White House to finalize the rules to end menthol cigarettes and flavored cigars in 2023, according to an American Lung Association press release.

    “It is unacceptable that after decades of research and proven tobacco control efforts, tobacco use is still the leading cause of preventable death and disease in the U.S. Tobacco use is responsible for 480,000 deaths each year, including 45,000 Black individuals,” said Harold Wimmer, president and CEO of the American Lung Association, in a statement.

    “Right now, President Biden can take action and save lives if he finalizes the rules to end the sale of menthol cigarettes and flavored cigars. Menthol cigarettes make it both easier to start and harder to quit by reducing the harshness of the smoke and cooling the throat. Once these rules are final, fewer people will start smoking, millions will begin their journey to quit, and lives will be saved.”

    The federal section of the report highlights the failure of the Biden White House to finalize rules to end the sale of menthol cigarettes and flavored cigars in December 2023, the continued delay of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to complete its review of premarket tobacco product applications and the beginning of meaningful enforcement against illegal e-cigarette products.

    In the State of Tobacco Control report, the American Lung Association identified four key actions for the Biden administration and Congress to take in 2024 that will help ultimately eliminate the death and disease caused by tobacco use: The White House must finalize the rules to end the sale of menthol cigarettes and flavored cigars; the FDA must finalize premarket review and work with other federal agencies to remove all illegal e-cigarettes and other flavored products from the marketplace; Congress must maintain or increase current funding for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Office on Smoking and Health; and Congress must pass H.R. 4775, the Helping Tobacco Users Quit Act, bipartisan legislation giving more people access to the resources they need to quit tobacco.

    The 2024 State of Tobacco Control report grades the federal government in five areas: federal regulation of tobacco products—grade C; federal coverage of quit smoking treatments—grade D; level of federal tobacco taxes—grade F; federal mass media campaigns to prevent and reduce tobacco use—grade A; and federal minimum age of sale for tobacco products to 21—incomplete (the FDA is overdue in finalizing the Tobacco 21 regulations as required by statute, which is why it earns an “incomplete”).

    The 2024 State of Tobacco Control report grades states and the District of Columbia in five areas that have been proven to prevent and reduce tobacco use and save lives: strength of smoke-free workplace laws—16 states and Washington, D.C., earned “A” grades; ending the sale of all flavored tobacco products—45 states earned “F” grades; funding for state tobacco prevention programs—41 states and Washington, D.C., earned “F” grades; level of state tobacco taxes—31 states earned “F” grades; and coverage and access to services to quit tobacco—20 states and Washington, D.C., earned “A” or “B” grades.

  • Industry Sounds Alarm About Illicit Trade

    Industry Sounds Alarm About Illicit Trade

    Photo: Taco Tuinstra

    Tobacco industry officials are sounding the alarm over an influx of smuggled and counterfeit cigarettes into Pakistan, reports Pakistan Today.

    From July 2023 to November 2023, the industry’s output declined by 40 percent, according to data from the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics. Officials of BAT subsidiary Pakistan Tobacco Co. (PTC) attributed the decrease largely to an increase in illegal tobacco products.

    PTC Senior Business Development Manager Qasim Tariq says that around 850 million counterfeit cigarette sticks are currently being sold across Pakistan, causing the government to miss out on PKR5.7 billion in tax collections.

    While they together control only 60 percent of the domestic tobacco market, PTC and its competitor, Philip Morris Pakistan, pay 98 percent of the country’s tobacco taxes. The remaining 52 tobacco companies, by contrast, paid only PKR2 billion in taxes during fiscal 2022, while accounting for 40 percent of cigarette market.

    A 2019 report by the Federal Board of Revenue report suggested that illicit cigarette trade has a market share of more than 36.2 percent in Pakistan.

    Qasim underscored that revenue collections have declined between 2012 and 2016, following the government’s switch to a new tax structure.

    On Jan. 13, officers of the Inland Revenue Service Officers conducted a seized 13.77 million non-duty paid cigarettes.  

  • Activists Criticize COP10 Tactics

    Activists Criticize COP10 Tactics

    Photo: Alexey Novikov

    The Coalition of Asia Pacific Tobacco Harm Reduction Advocates (CAPHRA) today issued a sharp critique of the World Health Organization’s Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) for its exclusion of consumer groups and harm reduction advocates from the 10th Session of the Conference of the Parties (COP10).  

     “CAPHRA argues that this exclusionary practice is in stark contrast to the successful, pragmatic approaches of countries like New Zealand, the Philippines and Malaysia, which have embraced vaping as a harm reduction tool,” said Nancy Loucas, a public health policy expert and passionate advocate for tobacco harm reduction and executive coordinator of CAPHRA. 

    The press release condemns the COP10 meetings for silencing the voices of those who advocate for harm reduction strategies, such as vaping, which have been shown to significantly reduce smoking prevalence in countries where they are available and regulated. 

     CAPHRA points out that the prohibitionist approach of countries like Australia, which recently banned vaping products, is not in the best interest of public health. 

     “CAPHRA calls on FCTC officials to open their minds to harm reduction and to consider the evidence from countries like New Zealand, where smoking rates have decreased due to the availability of regulated vaping products,” said Loucas. 

    The organization stresses the importance of including consumer groups in the decisionmaking process, as they provide essential insights into the needs of smokers and how alternative products can be used effectively. 

  • Ploom X Advanced Named Product of Year

    Ploom X Advanced Named Product of Year

    Image: JTI

    Japan Tobacco International’ s Ploom X Advanced device has been named the best product available in the heated tobacco category at the U.K. Product of The Year Awards 2024.

    Product of the Year is the U.K.’s largest consumer survey of product innovation. Every year over 10,000 shoppers vote to crown the winning products in each category, giving retailers a picture of what customers think about the products they stock.

    Launched in September 2023, the Ploom X Advanced is the latest heated tobacco device from JTI, featuring an optimized heating system, with higher vapor volume during initial puffs offering an enhanced user experience, and faster charging, now taking less than 90 minutes to achieve a full

    “Just a few months after the launch, we are thrilled that Ploom X Advanced has come out on top in the Product of the Year awards 2024,” said JTI UK Marketing Director Mark McGuinness. “In response to consumer feedback, we made some positive changes when we launched Ploom X Advanced, and the brand has gone from strength to strength with device sales doubling and EVO tobacco stick sales tripling year on year. With the Heated Tobacco category continuing to grow at a rapid rate, this award shows not only the success of our product, but the clear consumer interest in the category and Ploom.”

    The U.K. heated tobacco category is currently worth £105 million ($133.67 million) in traditional retail and growing 20.5 percent year-on-year.

  • XJOY Partners with Smoore to release 1000 puffs in 2mL

    XJOY Partners with Smoore to release 1000 puffs in 2mL

    XJOY has partnered with Smoore to release a single-use vape that offers more than 1,000 puffs in 2mL.

    “I am very fortunate for the opportunity to showcase our latest fully automated production line, all housed in the secure dust free production rooms.” said Thalia Cheng, U.K. business director at SMOORE. “As you can see, we are working in full capacity to bring it to the U.K. to get the first taste of XJOY. We send this first batch of our newest innovation in collaboration with XJOY as our dedicated contribution to support U.K.’s smokers in their smoke-free journey.”

    XJOY Bar 1000 is planned to be stocked by the first 1000 participating stores around the U.K. by February.

    “Our retail partners are all very excited to take on our XJOY Bar 1000, because it provides them with a significant advantage over the other vapes. For one, it is the best and only legal single-use vape that can achieve 1,000 puffs, lasting longer, which is a big deal for our consumers especially now given the rising living costs.” explained an XJOY spokesperson.

    “Consumers will appreciate that our products are competitively priced compared to other 600 puffs vapes available on the market.”

  • Parkside Restructures Management

    Parkside Restructures Management

    Image: Parkside

    Parkside is restructuring its management team.

    The company has appointed Robert Adamson as chairman and Paula Birch as managing director. The flexible packaging innovator’s Asian operations will now be headed by Paul Vaughan, who has been made general manager of Parkside Asia, while Joshua Swann joins the board as technical director to lead on NPD and innovation.

    Laura Haggerty will assume the role of BAT account director and head of client services, and Julia O’Loughlin will become group marketing manager.

    Staci Bye has returned to a customer-facing role as sales account manager while Jonathan Steele is beginning a two-year secondment to the company’s Asian site to bolster its technical capabilities and support its growing business in the region.

    “Thanks to the hard work and passion of the entire Parkside team, we bucked industry trends and enjoyed a hugely successful 2023,” said Birch in a statement. “Our business has grown significantly in recent years as demand for sustainable flexible packaging innovations continues to increase, and it’s important that our business capacity and capabilities grow along with it.

    “This restructure will help us harness the momentum of our recent success so we can continue to deliver market-leading innovations and the best possible service to our customers across the world.”

  • Kenya Relaxes Pouch Health Warnings

    Kenya Relaxes Pouch Health Warnings

    Image: Tobacco Reporter archive

    The Kenyan government has relaxed nicotine pouch health warning requirements following BAT’s statement that it would pull investment from a new factory in the country’s capital, according to The Guardian.

    The government agreed to let BAT sell Velo nicotine pouches with significantly smaller health warnings and without mentioning the presence of potentially cancer-causing toxicants, according to letters between BAT and the Ministry of Health, which were obtained by Examination, an investigative news outlet. The ministry agreed to let BAT sell Velo with a small warning stating, “This product contains nicotine and is addictive.”

    Current regulations in the country state that labels must cover one-third of the package and include information about health hazards.

    Kenya is one of BAT’s key “test markets” in low-income and middle-income countries, according to company financial presentations. The company plans to make Kenya its base of operations for a rollout of Velo across southern and eastern Africa.

    In 2021, BAT requested its product be allowed to be sold with a warning label covering 10 percent of the packaging. In a letter, Crispin Achola, BAT Kenya’s managing director, told Mutahi Kagwe, the cabinet health secretary, “our resumption of factory operations and the sale of Lyft [Velo’s previous name] in Kenya hinges on the provision of appropriate text health warnings.”

    “Your positive consideration of this request will allow us to operationalize our factory,” the letter said.

    In response, the Ministry of Health agreed to allow a warning label covering 15 percent of the front of the package.

    Velo is the only nicotine pouch legally available in Kenya, though other brands are smuggled in illegally.

  • Juul Supports Tighter Youth Access Rules

    Juul Supports Tighter Youth Access Rules

    Credit: Piter2121

    Juul Labs wants tighter e-cigarette regulations to help stave off youth demand while also making the industry safer overall.

    In a recent open letter addressed to the Florida House of Representatives and Senate, the company urged lawmakers to endorse legislative proposals to regulate the marketplace for legal nicotine vaping products in Florida.

    The pending proposals require state regulators to develop a directory listing of certified nicotine product manufacturers and certified nicotine products. They also subject retail and wholesale nicotine product dealers to inspections or audits; prohibit sale, shipment or distribution of certain nicotine products into this state; provide criminal penalties; require entities that seek to sell nicotine products or dispensing devices to obtain a wholesale nicotine products dealer permit; provide that permit holders must consent to inspections and searches without warrant; and provide for seizure and destruction of unlawful nicotine products, according to Florida’s Senate.

    In the letter, Juul Labs said it “is on a mission to transition the world’s billion adult smokers away from combustible cigarettes, eliminate their use and combat underage usage of our products,” according to media reports.

    The letter highlighted what the company described as extensive efforts to ensure product quality and compliance with regulatory standards. The letter also emphasized significant investments in product development, regulatory science and manufacturing quality controls.

    Penned by Juul Labs’ regional director for state government affairs, Jennifer Cunningham, the letter states that the company wants a better-regulated market. Cunningham cited measures implemented by Juul Labs, including supporting “Tobacco 21” laws to raise the legal age for tobacco product sales to 21, restricting vaping flavors to tobacco and menthol, limiting product purchases per transaction and promoting retail partner compliance through ID checking and technology advancements.

    However, despite these efforts, the letter points out the challenges posed by a burgeoning illegal vape market in Florida, with the state being the primary destination for sales of illicit vapor products in the U.S. The vape maker also expressed readiness to assist Florida legislators in formulating policies that foster a well-regulated market for legal vapor products.

  • Nicotine Pouch Sales Soar While Vapes Slow

    Nicotine Pouch Sales Soar While Vapes Slow

    Sales of cigarettes and e-cigarettes have declined in the last two weeks, while sales of oral nicotine pouches have seen significant growth, according to analysts at TD Cowen.

    They write in a research note that cigarette volumes across multiple channels were down 10 percent in the two weeks ending Jan. 13, a steeper decline than the trailing four weeks and 12 weeks.

    Bonnie Herzog, managing director at Goldman Sachs, remains cautious on the U.S. tobacco/nicotine industry in the near term as the tobacco consumer remains under substantial financial pressure.

    She stated in an emailed outlook that many consumers are being more selective in their purchases and turning to more affordable alternatives, such as 4th tier/deep discount cigarettes, modern oral tobacco and, increasingly, illicit or gray market disposable vapor products.

    “Shifts in category and consumer spending dynamics have been further exacerbated by flavor ban momentum at the state and federal level (with a final rule expected in March) and uncertainty with regard to the future of the e-cig category and category innovation (with FDA PMTA reviews still pending on big market brands such as JUUL and VUSE Alto, as well as menthol variants more broadly),” Herzog wrote.

    E-cigarette sales fell 11.3 percent in the two-week period and 10.7 percent in the four-week period, according to Barron’s.

    Sales of smokeless tobacco, including nicotine pouches, meanwhile grew 12.1 percent in the two-week period and 13 percent in the four-week period.

    The smokeless category continues to show strong dollar sales growth driven by the Zyn brand, the analysts say.