Category: Featured

  • Portugal Tobacco Use Up

    Portugal Tobacco Use Up

    Credit: Butenkov

    Tobacco consumption in Portugal increased from 48.8 percent in 2017 to 51 percent in 2022, according to The Portugal News and Portugal Resident.

    Alcohol consumption also increased while the use of sedatives decreased.

    The data is from the V National Survey on the Consumption of Psychoactive Substances in the General Population 2022 promoted by the Service of Intervention in Addictive Behaviors and Dependencies.

    The data shows that tobacco is the second most consumed psychoactive substance, below alcohol. About 50 percent of the population 15 years old to 64 years old stated they consumed tobacco at some point in their lives.

    “The prevalence of current consumption (in the last 30 days) is always lower than that recorded in the last year,” the study authors stated. “This is due to the fact that the number of experiences without continuity or abandonment during this period does not exceed the new experiences in the last month.”

  • FDA Issues Warning Letters to 189 Retailers

    FDA Issues Warning Letters to 189 Retailers

    Credit: Monticello

    The U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued warning letters to 189 retailers for selling unauthorized products, specifically Elf Bar and Esco Bars, according to a press release.

    “The FDA is prepared to use all of its authorities to ensure these and other illegal and youth-appealing products stay out of the hands of kids,” said FDA Commissioner Robert M. Califf. “We are committed to a multipronged approach using regulation, compliance and enforcement action and education to protect our nation’s youth.”

    The warning letters were the result of a nationwide retailer inspection blitz over the past several weeks, according to the FDA.

    “All players in the supply chain—including retailers—have a role in keeping illegal e-cigarettes off the shelves,” said Brian King, director of the FDA’s Center for Tobacco Products. “This latest blitz should be a wake-up call for retailers of Elf Bar and Esco Bars products nationwide. If they’re waiting for a personal invitation to comply with the law, they might just get it in the form of a warning letter or other action from the FDA.”

    Elf Bar and Esco Bar products do not have the required marketing authorization from the FDA. The FDA has authorized 23 tobacco-flavored e-cigarette products and devices to date. The distribution and sale of unlawfully marketed products is subject to compliance and enforcement action.

    As of June 16, the FDA has issued more than 570 warning letters to firms for manufacturing, selling and/or distributing illegal tobacco products, including e-cigarettes, and filed civil money penalty complaints against 12 e-cigarette manufacturers.

  • Zanzibar Bans Shisha, E-Cig Import and Use

    Zanzibar Bans Shisha, E-Cig Import and Use

    Image: mikefoto58 | Adobe Stock

    Zanzibar authorities plan to impose a ban on import and consumption of shisha and e-cigarettes, according to The Citizen.

    “We are all witnesses—the consumption of shisha and e-cigarettes has become commonplace, and we shall come up with a special regulatory law to govern those who will have special permits to import and sell shisha or electric cigarettes,” said Masoud Ali Mohammed, Zanzibar’s minister of state, office of the president, regional administrations, local governments and SMZ departments.

    Current importers have been advised not to restock products but rather to reach out to authorities for new directives. “Do not order more products after your current stock is depleted,” said the minister. “You will have to follow the new laws that the government is going to issue.”

  • Scandinavian Welcomes Employee Rep

    Scandinavian Welcomes Employee Rep

    Image: Tobacco Reporter archive

    The employees of the parent company Scandinavian Tobacco Group have elected a new employee representative for the company’s board of directors, according to a press release.

    The newly elected employee representative, Karsten Dam Larsen, replaces the employee-elected representative Trine Eriksen, whose mandate expired in connection with an internal merger of some Danish companies in the group.

    Karsten Dam Larsen joins the board of directors effective June 22 and for the remainder of the ordinary term of the current employee-elected board members, which runs until Scandinavian Tobacco Group’s annual general meeting in 2027.

  • 22nd Century Produces Homogenized Leaf

    22nd Century Produces Homogenized Leaf

    Image: Tobacco Reporter archive

    22nd Century Group has successfully produced homogenized tobacco leaf (HTL) sheet using VLN reduced-nicotine content tobacco, demonstrating a reduced-nicotine content pathway for additional large markets, such as heat-not-burn products, and as the binder or wrapper for machine-made cigars.

    “It’s time for the industry to offer adult smokers a true alternative to highly addictive nicotine products in every format,” said John Miller, president of tobacco products for the company, in a statement. “HTL is critical to the fast-growing heat-not-burn product category, where a VLN 95 percent reduced-nicotine content HTL would be a compelling alternative to the nicotine-laden tobaccos commonly used in these products. HTL is also commonly used as the binder and wrapper in the high-volume cigar market due to its greater mechanical resistance and uniformity as compared to whole tobacco leaves.”

    “Conventional tobacco products still seek to create and sustain nicotine addiction to generate sales,” said James A. Mish, CEO. “Even alternatives to conventional smoking products, such as vaping and e-cigarettes, perpetuate sales through nicotine addiction rather than giving consumers a real choice. 22nd Century wants to provide a true alternative that allows users to take control of their consumption habit once and for all by breaking the chains of nicotine addiction.”

    VLN HTL sheet product could be manufactured and sold as a raw material input or produced under license for companies interested in offering reduced-nicotine content and nonaddictive products.

  • Imperial Acquires TJP’s U.S. Nicotine Pouches

    Imperial Acquires TJP’s U.S. Nicotine Pouches

    Image: Rawpixel.com | Adobe Stock

    Imperial Brands acquired a range of nicotine pouches from TJP Labs in order to facilitate its entry into the U.S. modern oral market.

    The transaction will enable ITG Brands, Imperial’s U.S. operation, to offer legal adult American consumers a diverse range of 14 product variants in a pouch, which performs strongly in consumer testing.

    Following further consumer testing, ITG Brands will relaunch this range in 2024 under a new brand, which will be supported by the company’s existing U.S. sales force.

    TJP Labs, a Canada-based manufacturer, will continue to manufacture the oral nicotine pouches under contract for ITG Brands.

    Stefan Bomhard, group CEO of Imperial Brands, said, “Today’s transaction is aligned to our focused, challenger approach in next-generation products and to our disciplined capital allocation framework.

    “While it will take time to build our presence in this category, the proposition we are acquiring is clearly differentiated within the U.S. market and has tested strongly with consumers.”

    Kim Reed, president and CEO of ITG Brands, said, “This is an opportunity to expand our next-generation product offerings in the U.S. and to be able to offer our legal adult consumers a wider range of product options. We look forward to a long and successful partnership with TJP Labs.”

    David Richmond-Peck, CEO of TJP Labs, said, “Imperial has extensive brand development, marketing and sales execution capabilities in the U.S. and a long global track record of operating responsibly. We look forward to a strong and ongoing partnership.

    “This transaction supports TJP Labs’ commitment to developing and producing products to promote global harm reduction, consumer choice and flexibility.”

    Imperial already markets modern oral products in selected European markets under the Zone X and Skruf brands.

  • Public Hearings Ahead of COP10

    Public Hearings Ahead of COP10

    Image: Tobacco Reporter archive

    The Subcommittee for the Defense of the Tobacco Supply Chain, linked to the Committee on Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries and Cooperatives of the Rio Grande do Sul State Assembly, promoted the first of 10 meetings to be held in the interior of Rio Grande do Sul with the aim to debate and see to the future and to the economic and social importance of the sector as well as for collecting data and evidences to formulate and forward the positioning of Rio Grande do Sul with regard to the provisions of the 10th Conference of the Parties (COP10) to the World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control.

    The working meeting brought together approximately 300 people at the City Council Hall in Santa Cruz do Sul, including representatives of the supply chain, authorities, politicians and entrepreneurial leaderships. The premise was presented by deputy Marcus Vinicius de Almeida, coordinator of the subcommittee.

    “We want to give voice to those who frequently are judged without right to their defense. We cannot afford to allow people who do not know the reality of the farmers to dictate the future of our municipalities,” he said. According to the deputy, the committee will hold meetings in 10 municipalities, listening to farmers and companies.

    State Deputy Elton Weber presided over the meeting and prompted the debates. “We know that the federal government will have a seat at the COP, and it is our intention to define, in unified fashion, with all entities linked to the sector, our firm stance. It is an attempt to prevent ideological positions, but positions in accordance with what the sector produces and related to the everyday activities of the sector,” Weber said. The deputy mentioned that the ministries had been invited to participate and regretted the absence of their representatives.

    Interstate Tobacco Industry Union (SindiTabaco) President Iro Schuenke spoke about his expectation for the upcoming months. “We have plenty of work ahead of us; what we have witnessed in other editions is that the supply chain is simply ignored. Brazil, due to its global leadership position, should be an advocate of the supply chain. Unfortunately, it is not what we have seen while the measures of the Framework Convention are always immediately applied in our country. This is the speed that our subcommittee now needs. We need to work quickly to finish the report before August so that we are effective in our provisions sent to Brasilia. Support from all is necessary, but in Brasilia. Political pressure is the only manner for us to move forward,” Schuenke concluded.

    “The Framework Convention on Tobacco Control is the worst dictatorship I know, where the real interested parties are not allowed to take part in the debates,” said Schuenke at a public hearing requested by federal deputy Alceu Moreira on June 15 at the House of Representatives in Brasilia. “The [ideas] we normally hear, and there are many of them, especially in the area of health, have to be rebutted with facts. It is the case of the pitiable campaign we saw on May 31, where a child is sitting in front of a dinner plate full of cigarette ash. It is an aggression to the child and to the tobacco sector, which produces a licit crop that generates income and jobs for millions of Brazilians and is a protagonist in sustainable production, the so-called ESG. My intervention is to discover what stance the Brazilian delegation will adopt at the upcoming COP10 meeting and warn about the consequences from a poorly conducted positioning at the COP.”

    The public hearing was attended by representatives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock and the Ministry of Agrarian Development and Family Farming. The Ministry of Health did not attend the public hearing but sent a note, which stated that the ministry declined the invitation because the World Health Organization has not yet disclosed the agenda for the COP10, which is supposed to occur in August in Panama, thus making it “unnecessary” for the ministry to take part in the debates.

  • Maine Senate Votes to Ban Flavors

    Maine Senate Votes to Ban Flavors

    Image: Tobacco Reporter archive

    The Maine state Senate voted in favor of a bill ending the sale of flavored tobacco products across the state, reports WGME.

    The bill, which passed 18-16, will now move to the House for further discussion. If passed by the House, it will ban the sale of flavors like mint, vanilla, fruits and menthol. However, the bill will not penalize the use, purchase or possession of flavored products, only the sale by tobacco retailers.

  • Egypt Bans Smoking at Health Facilities

    Egypt Bans Smoking at Health Facilities

    Image: Tobacco Reporter archive

    Khaled Abdel Ghaffar, minister of health and population for Egypt, permanently banned smoking “in all its forms” at all health facilities that provide curative, preventative or rehabilitative services, according to Daily News Egypt.

    The ban also includes facilities of the ministry and its affiliated bodies and agencies, according to Hossam Abdel Ghaffar, official spokesperson for the Ministry of Health and Population. “The director responsible for each facility is obligated to take the necessary measures to prevent smoking in them. In case of violating this decision, the director will be punished according to what the law stipulates, a fine of not less than EGP1,000 [$32.36] and not more than EGP20,000, and the smoker shall be punished with a fine of not less than EGP50 and not more than EGP100,” he said.

    The spokesperson added that the law states “a supreme committee for tobacco control shall be formed by a decision of the Prime Minister, headed by the minister of health and with the membership of concerned ministers and representatives of civil society institutions. The health minister shall present the outcomes of the committee in the Cabinet meeting to take the necessary action.”

    A specialized department within the Ministry of Health will be established, as allowed by the related laws, by a decision of the minister of justice in agreement with the minister of health, and the department will have the capacity to implement laws related to combating smoking.

  • Serbia to Raise Cigarette Excise

    Serbia to Raise Cigarette Excise

    Image: Tobacco Reporter archive

    Effective July 1, Serbia will raise the excise duty on cigarettes, reports SeeNews.

    The proportional component of the excise duty will remain 33 percent, according to the government, but the specific component will increase to RSD84.25 ($0.78) per pack from RSD82.75 per pack.

    The retail price will increase by RSD10 per pack of cigarettes.

    The specific component of the excise duty will increase by RSD1.5 every January and July until 2025, according to Serbia’s excise calendar that was adopted at the end of 2020. The increases are to keep Serbia in compliance with European Union standards.