Category: Featured

JT Complains About Eastern’s Dominance

Photo: Anton Petrus
Japan Tobacco International has complained to the Egyptian Competition Authority (ECA) about Eastern Co.’s dominance of the domestic cigarette market, reports Daily News Egypt.
The complaint allegedly involves JTI’s Gold Coast brand, which competes in Egypt’s low-priced cigarette segment. Recent tax amendments have made it costly for JTI to import the cigarette from Turkiye, where it used to be produced.
JTI has reportedly been trying to get Gold Coast produced by Eastern Co., which has a monopoly on domestic cigarette production, and included it in the contract between the two parties, which will expire in mid-2024. However, the two parties have not yet reached a final agreement, and JTI has stopped selling its Gold Coast brand until the negotiations with Eastern Co. are completed.
While the state-owned Eastern Co. continues to dominate the Egyptian tobacco market, its position has weakened in recent years.
In September 2022, United Tobacco Co. (UTC) started manufacturing cigarettes in Egypt, ending Eastern Co.’s decades-old monopoly. UTC is jointly owned by Eastern Co. and Philip Morris International.
The tax amendments also allowed the cigarette companies to increase the prices of their products after the crisis that hit the cigarette market in Egypt amid a shortage in supply.
Earlier this month, Global Investment Holding Co. of the United Arab Emirates completed its acquisition of a 30 percent stake in Eastern Co.
November 21, 2023
Brazil Busts Fake Cigarette Network

Photo: Policia Federal
Brazil’s Federal Police cracked down on a criminal network trafficking fake Paraguayan cigarette brands in Minas Gerais state, according to the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP). Law enforcement agents reportedly issued multiple arrest warrants and froze more than $4 million in assets.
The suspects face charges of smuggling, counterfeiting, human trafficking, slave labor, forgery, misuse of machinery, crime against consumer relations, crime against trademark registrations and money laundering.
Led by a businessman from Sao Paulo, the organization forced Paraguayan nationals to make the cigarettes in hidden factories. The group reportedly picked up workers in Paraguay, blindfolded them, and drove them east across the border into Brazil, where they were held under surveillance inside the factories for several months. Their telephones were confiscated and they had no contact with the outside world.
The workers produced counterfeit versions of Paraguayan brands, such as the Tabesa’s TE, Eight and Palermo. Once finished, the cigarettes were transported in trucks, hidden behind shoes.
Paraguay is a major contraband hub in South America. More than 97 percent of cigarettes produced in Paraguay end up in countries such as Brazil. The business is also entangled with money laundering, political corruption and criminal gang activities.
In March of this year, the OCCRP reported on the rescue of 19 Paraguayans trapped in an illegal cigarette factory in Rio de Janeiro. Brazil rescued 918 people working as slaves in the first three months of this year.
November 20, 2023
Finland: Smoke-Free Tax Plans Draw Fire

Photo: Marko Hannula
The Finnish government’s recent proposal to increase taxes on nicotine pouches and vape liquids has drawn criticism from the World Vapers’ Alliance (WVA). The current plan would increase the price of one nicotine pouch box by approximately €2.50 ($2.74).
This move, which aims to bring smokeless nicotine products under tobacco taxation, is a significant step backwards in harm reduction efforts, according to the consumer group.
“Finland’s plan to increase taxes on less harmful nicotine alternatives is deeply concerning. Not only does this reduce the price differential between deadly cigarettes and safer alternatives, but it also directly undermines public health goals. By making products like nicotine pouches and vape liquids more expensive, we risk discouraging smokers from switching to these less harmful alternatives,” said WVA Director Michael Landl in a statement.
The proposal, which seeks to amend the law on tobacco taxation, will encompass smoke-free nicotine products, including nicotine pouches and vape liquids. The WVA warns that such tax increases will disproportionately impact low-income groups, who statistically exhibit higher smoking rates.
“Imposing higher taxes on harm reduction products hits the most vulnerable groups the hardest. These are the same groups with the highest smoking rates. Instead of providing them with affordable alternatives to quit smoking, the government is pushing them back to the more harmful habit. This move by the Finnish government is a step in the wrong direction that ignores public health benefits and deepens social inequalities,” said Landl.
The WVA suggested that the Finnish lawmakers don’t need to look far for successful examples of harm reduction. Sweden is on track to become the first smoke-free country because of its progressive harm reduction policies. Earlier this year, Sweden announced a program of lowering tax on snus and nicotine pouches while significantly raising cigarette tax.
November 20, 2023
Thailand Asked to Embrace Alternatives
Asa Saligupta
The director of ENDS Cigarette Smoke Thailand (ECST) has asked the Thai government to pass legislation that encourages smokers to switch to less-harmful methods of nicotine consumption, reports The Inquirer.
Asa Saligupta believes that Thailand’s current restrictions on smoking alternatives are pushing these products underground, resulting in an unregulated market that deprives the government of revenues and forces consumers to keep smoking.
Thailand banned on vapes and other electronic nicotine delivery systems in 2014, resulting in the arrest of local vapers and foreign tourists. Saligupta says the measure has discouraged smokers from switching to potentially less harmful innovative products.
According to Saligupta, Thailand should follow the lead of the Philippines, which passed a law that recognizes tobacco harm reduction as a legitimate tool in the campaign against smoking.
Republic Act 11900, or the Vaporized Nicotine and Non-Nicotine Products Regulation Act, became law in 2022. The Vape Law regulates the importation, sale, packaging, distribution, use and communication of vaporized nicotine and non-nicotine products and novel tobacco products such as electronic cigarettes and heated tobacco products.
Thailand’s vaping regulations are among the strictest in Asia.
November 20, 2023
Malawi Now a Full Party to FCTC

Photo: Taco Tuinstra
Malawi is now a full party to the World Health Organization’s Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC). The government ratified the FCTC in August 2023, and the treaty took effect Nov. 16.
“WHO congratulates Malawi for this historic step and reaffirms its strong commitment to collaborating closely with the government to achieve the shared goals of the WHO FCTC,” said Neema Rusibamayila Kimambo, WHO representative in Malawi, in a statement. “Together, we will continue our collective efforts to protect public health and work towards a tobacco-free future.”
The WHO said it is ready to provide extensive support to ensure Malawi’s successful implementation of the convention and welcomes the nomination of a government liaison to work closely with the FCTC Secretariat.
The FCTC, which entered into force in February 2005, provides an internationally coordinated response to combating the health impact of tobacco, setting out specific steps for governments addressing tobacco use and production.
The treaty also promotes crop replacement and diversification.
Malawi is one of the world’s tobacco-dependent economies. Depending on the season, tobacco accounts for between 40 and 70 percent of the country’s export earnings.
In a special report earlier this year, Tobacco Reporter examined industry efforts to help Malawi strengthen its economy by developing supplemental value chains, such as groundnuts, bananas and mushrooms.
November 20, 2023
Egypt Releases Details of Eastern Sale

Photo: MamdouhKamals
Egypt’s Ministry of Public Enterprises has released details of the sale of a 30 percent stake in Eastern Co. to Global Investment Holdings Co (GIHC), reports Ahram Online.
The Emirati company will pay EGP19.336 billion ($625 million) for 6.689 billion shares of Eastern Co. The payment will be made in U.S. dollars in two transactions. The first payment will be made upon conclusion of the deal in the amount of EGP16.403 billion, and the second payment will be made in the amount of EGP2.932 billion on an agreed upon schedule.
GIHC has also pledged to provide $150 million to procure tobacco required for Eastern Co.’s manufacturing processes.
This deal is part of Egypt’s broader initial public offering program aimed at selling stakes in 35 state-owned companies to strategic investors by the end of June 2024.
In February, the government announced a list of 32 companies for privatization, subsequently adding Eastern Company, Telecom Egypt, and Ezz El-Dekheila. The privatization program is a component of Egypt’s commitment under its $3 billion loan program with the International Monetary Fund. The government hopes to attract $5 billion through privatization between October 2023 and June 2024.
November 20, 2023
Pakistan Urged to Swap Tobacco For Food

Photo: Taco Tuinstra
Pakistan should replace tobacco with food crops, according to experts in nutrition, agriculture and the environment, reports UrduPoint.
Speaking with the Associated Press of Pakistan, the specialists said such a transformation is necessary not only to improve public health but also to overcome the food insecurity faced by more than one third of the population.
In 2018, 36.9 percent of Pakistanis struggled with food insecurity, data from the National Nutrition Survey reveals. Massive floods at home and war in Ukraine have plunged an additional 2.5 million people into hunger according to the Pakistan Fruits and Vegetable Importers and Exporters Association (PFVA).
The group says Pakistan now relies on imports for food items such as wheat, pulses, chickpeas, garlic and ginger. However, a prevailing shortage of hard currency makes it difficult for importers to obtain letters of credit.
PFVA Chief Waheed Ahmad urged policymakers to capitalize on this year’s World No Tobacco Day theme, “Grow Food, Not Tobacco.”
Tobacco is grown in all four provinces and is a significant part of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s economy, where farmers cultivate approximately 30,000 ha of the golden leaf.
Taimoor Khan, general secretary of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Association for Excellence in Agriculture, suggested that if half of this area were converted into growing a new variety of garlic, NARC G1, the farmers would make a remarkable profit.
Khan also called into question the economic contribution of tobacco farming, which is believed to generate revenues of PKR120 billion annually ($416.24 million). The cost of dealing with the health impact of tobacco consumption exceeds the tobacco tax take by a factor of three, he said.
“By transforming tobacco farming to food production, we can create ripple effects that promotes food security, improves public health, contributes to the overall well-being of our communities and benefit the environment,” said Aftab Alam Khan, CEO of Resilient Future International.
The speakers also cited research showing that tobacco cultivation requires heavy use of pesticides and fertilizers, which causes soil degradation, thus lowering the used land’s capacity to grow other crops.
According to the National Health Services in 2018, almost 23.9 million adults currently use tobacco in any form in Pakistan. Around 163,600 people die each year in the country due to tobacco and almost 31,000 of these deaths are due to exposure to second-hand smoke.
Critics of “Grow Food, not Tobacco” campaign have suggested that the theme creates a false dichotomy, as tobacco and food production are not mutually exclusive.
November 19, 2023
Malaysia Minister Vows to Table Smoking Bill

Photo: somemeans
Malaysia’s health minister has vowed to table the Control of Smoking Products for Public Health Bill 2023 before the end of the current parliament’s session on Nov. 30, reports The Star.
“God-willing, I assure you that we will table this Bill before the end of the current Parliament session,” Zaliha Mustafa was quoted as saying.
His comments came after the Attorney General Chambers reiterated an earlier statement that the Generational Endgame Ban (GEG) clause of the proposed legislation can be challenged in court.
The GEG seeks to ban tobacco and vape products for anyone born on or after Jan. 1, 2007.
The Attorneys General Chambers insist this provision contravenes Article 8 of Malaysia’s constitution, as it creates unequal treatment before the law between a person born before that date and individuals born after the date.
It was unclear from contradictory reports whether the bill heading to parliament still includes the GEG. An earlier report by CodeBlue suggested the clause had been removed in response to the constitutional concerns raised by the Attorney General Chambers.
The legislation also includes provisions on registration of tobacco products, advertisement, packaging and smoke-free places, among other items.
November 19, 2023
Tobacco Key Contributor in Thailand: Report

Photo: PiyawatNandeenoparit
The tobacco industry remains an important contributor to Thailand’s economy, reports The Bangkok Post, citing a report by Oxford Business Group.
In 2022, the tobacco industry contributed nearly THB60 billion ($1.71 billion) in excise taxes—12 percent of Thailand’s total tax take that year. The previous year, Thailand exported THB7.4 billion worth of tobacco and related products.

Annually, Thailand directs THB4.1 of its tobacco-related tax collections to the Thai Health Promotion Foundation.
“In addition to being a significant contributor to Thailand’s economy, our research found that Thailand’s tobacco sector is an important employer and is crucial to rural communities and livelihoods, especially in the north and northeast of Thailand,” Marc-Andre de Blois, director of PR for Oxford Business Group was quotes as saying.
The industry supports nearly 50,000 households directly and indirectly, according to De Blois, who says that the crop is resilient to floods, droughts and poor soil conditions.
The Oxford Business Group report also highlights the challenges presented by the illicit cigarette trade in Thailand. According to the Thai Tobacco Trade Association, illicit trade through online channels grew 97 percent between July 2022 and September 2022.
Data from the Excise Department shows that illicit cigarettes accounted for 30 percent of the Thailand’s tobacco market in mid-2021.

November 17, 2023
Alexander Solomakhin To Lead Donskoy Tabak

Photo: JackF
Japan Tobacco International has appointed Alexander Solomakhin as director of its Donskoy Tabak factory in Rostov-on-Don, Russia, reports Interfax, citing data from the Unified State Register of Legal Entities.
Prior to his current position, Solomakhin was director of sales for JTI’s southern Russia region.
JTI Donskoy Tabak was previously headed by Sergei Lavrikov, who is currently director of the Pereslavl Tabak tobacco factory.
JTI closed the acquisition of Donskoy Tabak, which was previously part of Agrokom Group, in 2018 and completed its merger with JTI Russia in December 2021. After the reorganization, production at the Rostov factory was taken over by JTI Donskoy Tabak.
JTI Russia is the largest producer of tobacco products in Russia.
November 17, 2023