Category: Featured

  • BAT Nigeria Fined for Dominance Abuse

    BAT Nigeria Fined for Dominance Abuse

    Image: alexlmx

    British American Tobacco Nigeria has been fined $110 million fine following allegations of market dominance abuse and infringement of public health regulations, reports Reuters.

    The Federal Competition & Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) said BAT had also penalized retailers for providing equal platforms for its competitors’ products.

    The fine, which is not eligible for appeal, is the highest ever levied by the Nigerian competition commission.

    The FCCPC started investigating BAT in 2020 and obtained a federal court order to search multiple BAT sites and those of service providers for evidence used in a forensic analysis.

    The competition watchdog will monitor BAT for 24 months to ensure appropriate behavior and business practice consistent with prevailing competition laws and tobacco control efforts, the FCCPC wrote on X.

    “In exchange for BAT parties fulfilling their obligations under the consent order, the commission withdrew pending criminal charges against BAT Nigeria and at least one employee with respect to obstructing the commission,” the FCCPC wrote.

  • Zimbabwe Growers Cheer Extension of Planting Deadline

    Zimbabwe Growers Cheer Extension of Planting Deadline

    Photo: Taco Tuinstra

    Tobacco growers in Zimbabwe have welcomed a government decision to extend the tobacco planting deadline, reports The Herald.

    Originally, farmers were required to clear their seedbeds by Dec. 31. However, due to the late start of the 2023-2024 season, the Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Resettlement, has postponed the deadline to Jan. 15.

    Zimbabwe Tobacco Growers Association Chairman George Seremwe said farmers appreciated the government’s gesture, adding that it would lead to an increase in the planted area.

    “The rainfall season started just before Christmas for most tobacco areas and the dryland farmers are busy planting, hoping to have finished planting by Jan. 15,” he was quoted as saying. “As the season seems to have shifted due to the dry spell, the combination of current rains and the deadline extension will enable the hectarage to increase, thereby allowing the Tobacco Industry and Marketing Board [TIMB] to adjust its projections on hectarage and yields upwards.”

    “This is a noble idea that will allow those seedlings in seedbeds that had survived the recent moisture stress from lack of water and excessive heat to resurrect after the current rains,” said Tobacco Farmers Union Trust President Victor Mariranyika.

    While granting the extension, Minister of Agriculture Anxious Masuka warned that growers who fail to adhere to the deadline would risk stiff penalties and even prison sentences.

    As of Dec. 15, the planted areas was down 27 percent, from 75,4111 ha in 2022 to 55,170 hectares in 2023, according to the TIMB.

  • KT&G Starts CEO Search

    KT&G Starts CEO Search

    Photo: Ink Drop

    KT&G Corp. has started the process for appointing its next CEO.

    To secure a wide array of qualified candidates, the external CEO candidate pool will be drawn from a combination of open recruitment and search firm recommendations. The internal CEO candidate pool will include individuals who have participated in KT&G’s senior management training program, as well as the incumbent CEO, Beak Bok-in. The governance committee will impartially assess both the external and internal pools to establish the longlist for CEO candidates.

    Then, the governance committee will institute an advisory panel comprised of external experts to bring an objective perspective into the process of selecting the shortlist for CEO candidates, thereby enhancing the impartiality of the process. KT&G plans to proactively identify and nurture both external and internal CEO candidates moving forward, under the guidance of the governance committee.

    The eligibility criteria for candidates participating in the open recruitment for the CEO position include individuals with experience in the tobacco or consumer goods industry (manufacturing or distribution business) as a representative director, or in the profit/loss management of a business unit equivalent to a company’s representative director.

    KT&G lists the following skill requirements:

    • in-depth understanding of the tobacco or consumer goods industry and management expertise, capability in driving new business initiatives and global expertise;
    • business intuition and strategic thinking skills responsive to environmental changes;
    • ability to communicate with and manage stakeholders;
    • universal morality and ethical awareness required of a CEO

    Candidate application for the open recruitment will be accepted through registered mail or e-mail by Jan. 10, 2024. Details regarding the application will be available on the KT&G website from Dec. 28, 2023.

    According to KT&G, the CEO appointment process will be conducted over approximately three months in a fair and transparent manner. The governance committee will finalize the shortlist for CEO candidates in late January by incorporating the impartial and objective opinions of the advisory panel composed of external experts, and recommend to the CEO candidate recommendation committee.

    After conducting a systematic and in-depth review of the shortlisted candidates, the CEO candidate recommendation committee will name the final CEO candidate and report to the board of directors in late February. The board of directors will then resolve the agenda for the annual general meeting of shareholders, and the CEO will be appointed following the approval at the annual general meeting of shareholders in late March.

    “We have been committed to improving our CEO appointment process, especially focusing on strengthening the transparency, impartiality and objectivity of the process,” said Lim Min-kyu, chairman of the KT&G board of directors.

    “Moving forward, we plan to conduct a comprehensive candidate selection process, taking into account the assessment and perspectives of the advisory panel comprised of external experts.”

    Earlier this month, KT&G shareholder Flashlight Capital Partners urged the tobacco company to select its next CEO in a more transparent manner, after expressing disappointment with the current CEO’s performance and identifying several shortcomings in the previous selection procedure.

    In a press note announcing the new CEO search, KT&G stressed that its governance committee is composed exclusively of outside directors. The Dec. 28 board of directors meeting, it added, was attended only by outside directors, “reinforcing the company’s commitment to ensuring independent decisionmaking of the board.”

  • Morocco to Cap Cigarette Deliveries

    Morocco to Cap Cigarette Deliveries

    Image: Achira22

    Morocco will tighten regulations on cigarette sales starting Jan. 1, 2024, reports Morocco World News.

    The new rules set maximum levels of substances in domestically sold cigarettes. Tar content will be capped at 10 milligrams, nicotine at 1 milligram and carbon monoxide at 10 milligrams.

    The Customs and Indirect Taxes Administration announced that all cigarettes must be accompanied by laboratory analysis results from accredited laboratories.

    Earlier this month, the Commission for the Approval of Manufactured Tobacco Product Prices approved a hike in cigarette prices. Starting Jan. 1, 2024, smokers will pay an additional MAD1 ($0.10) to MAD2 per cigarette pack.

    Morocco’s budget calls for an increase in the domestic consumption tax on tobacco from MAD100 in 2022 to MAD 550 by 2026.

    Tax authorities expect to collect about MAD12.5 billion from manufactured tobacco sales in 2023, up 5.82 percent from the amount earned in 2022.

  • New Year Begins Belgium’s Vaping Tax

    New Year Begins Belgium’s Vaping Tax

    Credit: Master Sergeant

    Beginning January 1, 2024, Belgium will introduce a new tax on e-liquids used in electronic cigarettes. The tax will be set at 15 cents per milliliter.

    The move has received criticism from both users and retailers who fear that it will lead to increased costs and a potential shift back to traditional tobacco cigarettes.

    The spokesperson for the federal Finance Minister defended the tax, stating that it aligns with Germany’s tax rate, which is also set to increase in the coming years, according to media reports.

    They further clarified that the goal is not to encourage people to return to smoking combustible cigarettes but to recognize that e-cigarettes are also tobacco products and should be used as a temporary measure to quit smoking.

  • U.S. Premium Cigar Imports Flat in 2023

    U.S. Premium Cigar Imports Flat in 2023

    A recent report by the Cigar Association of America (CAA), an industry trade group, found that the United States imported a total of 338.87 million premium cigars between January and September 2023. The amount is only 2.61 million cigars less than the number imported during the same period in 2022. This represents a decrease of 0.8 percent.

    “As of the end of the third quarter this year, premium imports have climbed back to near breakeven when comparing this year with the third quarter in 2022,” said Daniel Cotter, chief statistician for CAA, in a press release. “The data show the low point when comparing this year to last year was at the end of April. As of 4/30/23, premium imports were down almost 7 percent year-over-year (YOY).”

    Nicaragua continues to be the top supplier of premium cigars to the U.S. with 181.41 million premium cigars imported in the first nine months, accounting for roughly 53.5 percent of all imports.

    The Dominican Republic, which accounts for 30.7 percent of imports, has had increased exports for most of 2023, compared to 2022.

    In order to surpass 2022 imports, the U.S. would need to import an average of 41 million cigars per month. CAA calculates its numbers based on both the import data provided by the U.S. Census Bureau and U.S. Customs Services, as well as information from cigar companies themselves.

  • PMI Prevails in Investors’ Suit

    PMI Prevails in Investors’ Suit

    Photo: fotofabrika

    A U.S. appeals court on Dec. 26 dismissed a securities fraud class action brought by shareholders against Philip Morris International, reports Bloomberg Law.

    Investors accused the tobacco manufacturer of misleading them about the methods and results of IQOS clinical studies presented to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. PMI sought the approval so that its former parent company, Altria Group, could sell the device within the U.S.

    Investors also targeted company statements about projected IQOS sales in Japan, the only country at that time where PMI sold the line of products nationwide.

    The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit ruled that statements by PMI and its executives that the IQOS studies were “rigorous,” “the best science,” and “very advanced” were inactionable puffery. The court rejected the investors’ argument that such statements could be proven true or false.

    Optimistic remarks about sales performance in Japan, meanwhile, were allowable forward-looking statements, the court ruled.

  • Minister Rejects Call for Religious Cigarette Ban

    Minister Rejects Call for Religious Cigarette Ban

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    Malaysia’s Health Minister Dzulkefly Ahmad rejected a call to ban cigarettes based on Islamic considerations, reports the Malay Mail.

    “I am not a mufti to make cigarettes haram [forbidden],” he said in response to a lawmaker’s comment at a party convention on Dec. 24.

    The exchange followed the passage in Malaysia of new legislation that regulates tobacco advertisements, packaging and public smoking but excludes a provision that would have made it illegal for Malaysians born after 2007 to buy or consumer nicotine products.

    The so-called generational tobacco ban (GEG) was abandoned after the Attorney General’s Chambers suggested it might violate the constitution by creating different rules for different age groups. Critics however blamed tobacco industry pressure for Malasia’s U-turn.

    Earlier Ahmad had apologized for the failure to retain the GEG in the tobacco law.

  • PMI’s Strategy Multi-Pronged: Baker

    PMI’s Strategy Multi-Pronged: Baker

    Photo: PMI

    Philip Morris International is set to introduce LEVIA, a tobacco-free product boasting a cellulose-based composition with nicotine, aiming to reduce harm significantly compared to conventional cigarettes.

    In an interview with Daily News Egypt, Gizelle Baker, PMI’s vice president of global scientific engagement, emphasized the company’s commitment to offering satisfying alternatives to smokers, understanding the complexity of breaking the smoking habit. PMI’s strategy, she noted, involves varied device types, price points, flavors, and addressing rituals associated with smoking.

    Designed as a nicotine-delivery system resembling e-cigarettes but without tobacco, LEVIA emits 99 percent fewer harmful chemicals than cigarettes, according to PMI. Paired with the ILUMA device, LEVIA aims to provide a sensory smoking experience while minimizing health risks. PMI’s approach to reducing secondhand smoke involves eliminating smoke production by not burning tobacco.

    Bakes said PMI envisions a smoke-free future by eliminating combustion, not necessarily tobacco or nicotine. The company aims to diversify its portfolio beyond smoking-related products into wellness and healthcare sectors, leveraging expertise gained from tobacco research. This transition includes exploring new smoke-free products beyond oral, tobacco-heating systems and vape options, according to Baker.

    The company’s acquisitions in drug manufacturing indicate a shift towards diverse offerings beyond tobacco. PMI foresees future innovative products based on scientific advancements and customer satisfaction across both device and consumable categories.

  • EU Commission Vows Tobacco Lobby Probe

    EU Commission Vows Tobacco Lobby Probe

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    The European Commission said it would investigate the extent of its exposure to tobacco industry influence, following complaints about its inconsistent approach to tobacco lobbyists, reports Politico.

    In April, European Ombudsman Emily O’Reilly noted that the heightened controls and transparency requirements applied by the Commission departments in charge of health and customs policies are not necessarily implemented by other directorates-general.

    O’Reilly’s inquiry found that tobacco industry representatives met with officials from Commission departments in charge of agriculture, climate action, environment, trade, the internal market, among others. Minutes were often nonexistent of lacking detail.

    Article 5.3 of the World Health Organization’s Framework Convention on Tobacco Control instructs parties to protect public health polices from the tobacco industry’s commercial and other vested interests.

    The tobacco industry insists the Commission already applies this FCTC provision too broadly, noting that Article 5.3 does not prohibit discussions or engagement outright.