Category: Featured

TIMB Introduces Natural Air Curing Systems

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The Tobacco Industry and Marketing Board (TIMB) in Zimbabwe has introduced a natural air curing system (NACS), reports New Zimbabwe.
The new NACS will help prevent farmers from losing leaf due to lack of space in curing facilities. NACS is a drying technique that forces ambient air through the leaf to attain acceptable moisture content.
“This significantly reduces farmers’ post-harvest yield losses and ultimately improves farmer viability, profitability and sustainability,” said the TIMB.
“The introduction of this natural Virginia tobacco product to the Zimbabwe tobacco industry is in line with the Tobacco Value Chain Transformation Plan, which has the farmer at the core of the transformation and seeks to improve productivity and sustainability.”
“The introduction of new systems and practices will also aid in addressing side marketing. Farmers’ cost of production will be reduced, increasing profitability, thereby reducing farmer incentive to side market.”
“Atlas Agri (Private) Limited will be joining TIMB to spearhead this new initiative,” added the TIMB.
March 24, 2023
Latvia May Raise Tobacco Purchase Age

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Latvia’s Saeima approved amendments that would raise the purchase age to 20 for tobacco products, substitute products, plant smoking products, electronic smoking devices and fillers, reports LSM.lv.
There were six votes against and 79 votes for the amendments. They still have to pass in a third reading in Parliament.
Production and sale of tobacco products, substitute tobacco products and electronic smoking devices that visually resemble sweets, snacks and toys will be limited as well.
Majority of the Saeima also supported a proposal to ban smoking in Saeima and Cabinet buildings.
March 24, 2023
Cuba Headed for Worst Tobacco Crop

Shade grown tobacco growing at the historic Robaina farm in Pinar del Rio (Credit: Hirochi Robaina)
Cuba´s Pinar del Rio province, renowned for its high-quality tobacco, is heading towards the worst harvest in its history, state-run media reported late on Wednesday.
The struggle with leaf production was expected this year. The province was heavily impacted by Hurricane Ian last fall. Most of the region´s tobacco-drying houses were flattened and homes and infrastructure were destroyed.
The 2022-2023 planting season will go down as the “smallest in Pinar del Rio´s history,” according to a report in Granma, Cuba´s state-run newspaper, as reported by Yahoo.
Prior to the hurricane, the province aspired to plant 11,200 hectares, the report said, but the region will struggle to reach half that goal.
State-run tobacco company Tabacuba said in the report it would instead prioritize the highest quality crop to assure sufficient output for the all-important export sector.
The planned area for tobacco planting this year is down to 9,500 ha from an initial plan of 15,000 ha, Enrique Blanco, agricultural director of Tabacuba said last month. Under fabric cover, 2,100 ha of premium leaf will be grown, which Cuba hopes to use to cover export demand.
March 23, 2023
High Tobacco Auction Rejection Rate

Image: Tobacco Reporter archive
The rate of rejection at Zimbabwe’s tobacco auction floors is 60.78 percent higher this year than it was during the same time last year, according to Tobacco Industry and Marketing Board (TIMB) statistics, reports The Herald.
“Generally, this season has been very difficult to cure good quality leaf, hence the tendency by some small-scale farmers to mix hands and at times moldy leaf, which accounts for about 97 percent of the rejected tobacco,” said Edward Dune, Tobacco Farmers Union Trust vice president. “The remaining small percentage emanates from pricing issues while at contract floors, even defective tobacco bales are accepted.”
The high rejection rate is a cause for concern, according to Zimbabwe Tobacco Growers Association chairman George Seremwe. “We do not rule out the inside job of middlemen (makoronyera) who collude with buyers to reject certain bales for them to be able to rehandle,” he said. “Rehandling charges can be the driving force behind this menace, and this needs to be investigated thoroughly.”
According to Victor Mariranyika, Tobacco Farmers Union Trust president, bale rejection is subjective and can be abused. “At auction floor, there seems to be a syndicate that is using false allegations, a scam that is meant to siphon money from vulnerable farmers.” He said farmers need a clear breakdown of rejection categories to be sure rejections are valid.
TIMB data shows that rejection rates are generally low at contract sales due to contractors’ ability to buy defective bales.
“Tobacco presentation issues (wet or too dry, mixed hands, moldy tobacco, or they are underweight or overweight or contain nontobacco-related material like stones and wood) account for 97 percent of the rejected tobacco, and the balance is for pricing issues,” said Chelesani Tsarwe, TIMB public affairs officer. “To prevent bales from getting rejected, farmers should focus more on grading and presentation from TIMB, contracting companies’ or Agricultural and Rural Development Advisory Services’ agricultural extension officers who are in all tobacco-growing regions.”
March 23, 2023
FDA Publishes Citizen Petition Webpage

A new webpage was published by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration of all the tobacco products-related citizen petitions received by the agency’s Center for Tobacco Products (CTP).
A citizen petition is a way for the FDA to give individuals, regulated industry representatives, or consumer groups to petition the agency to issue, amend, revoke a regulation, or take other administrative action. The requirements for a citizen petition are set out in the Code of Federal Regulations.
As part of CTP’s stated commitment to increase transparency, the webpage was developed to provide the public with more easily accessible and user-friendly information about tobacco product-related citizen petitions submitted to FDA and the center’s responses.
This webpage was one of the immediate actions toward transparency outlined by CTP Director Brian King in CTP’s Response to the Reagan-Udall Foundation’s report.
March 23, 2023
Al Fakher Considering Going Public

Credit: Nomad Soul
The Dubai-based shisha manufacturer Al Fakher has hired Rothschild and Co. to advise on strategic options, including a possible initial public offering, two sources familiar with the matter said, reports Reuters.
An IPO would take place in the region, either on Saudi Arabia’s Tadawul or the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange, the sources said.
Al Fakher is owned by Advanced Inhalation Rituals, a private company that is majority owned by London-based Kingsway Capital.
Al Fakher, which was founded in 1999, makes flavored shisha molasses for use in hookah and is sold in more than 100 countries, according to its website.
Middle East companies bucked global trends last year to raise about $22 billion through IPOs, according to Dealogic, which was more than half the total for the wider Europe, Middle East and Africa region.
March 23, 2023
Vaping Ban Begins in Taiwan

The National Police Agency confirmed to Taiwan News that police can now issue on-the-spot fines of up to TWD10,000 ($330) to those caught vaping after Taiwan’s legislature passed amendments to Taiwan’s Tobacco Hazards Prevention Act.
E-cigarette users can either be fined on the spot, or photo and video evidence can be used by the government to send the fines to violators’ registered addresses, similar to fines currently issued for smoking in nonsmoking areas, jaywalking and other minor offenses.
The fine for vaping is now the same as for smoking in areas designated as nonsmoking, between TWD2,000 and TWD10,000.
The amendments also increase the legal age for purchasing cigarettes from 18 to 20 and prohibit the sale of e-cigarettes and heated-tobacco products. Importers, manufacturers and sellers can now be fined up to TWD50 million.
March 23, 2023
Hong Kong to Lift Ban on Vape Shipments

The government of Hong Kong has decided to reverse its ban on the transshipment of vapor products, reports Loadstar.
Media reports claim the banned cargo amounts to about 330,000 tons a year—the equivalent of some 10 percent of Hong Kong’s annual export volumes by air, according to the Hong Kong Association of Freight Forwarding and Logistics.
The value of the re-export cargo affected by the ban was estimated to exceed CNY120 billion ($17.33 billion).
While some transshipment by air had continued to be permitted, beginning in April of last year, vapes entering Hong Kong by land or sea for onward transport by air were banned. However, with the bulk of these products made in neighboring Dongguan, exporters were keen to ship them via land to Hong Kong International Airport.
Once the proposal is passed, the goods will be able to enter Hong Kong through a secure channel on dedicated barges and be delivered straight to the airport.
“The scheme is only to facilitate direct transshipment through Hong Kong, and the goods will not be available for domestic consumption. The proposal is in response to the demand of the Hong Kong air freight industry,” said Willy Lin, chairman of the Hong Kong Shippers Council.
“We hope we could get back some flights lost to competitor airports due to [the] stoppage of shipments of e-cigarettes and related substances through Hong Kong.”
March 23, 2023
Minnesota Schools Urge End to Flavors

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Students and school staff called on Minnesota lawmakers to end all flavored tobacco sales, according to PR Newswire.
Progress has stalled on the bill (SF2123/HF2177) to end the sale of menthol and all flavored commercial tobacco products in Minnesota, according to a press release. Last week, around 250 youth, parents and advocates from around the state joined Minnesotans for a Smoke-Free Generation’s Day at the Capitol and urged Minnesota lawmakers to end flavored tobacco sales.
This is the fourth year a flavored commercial tobacco sales bill has been in play at the Capitol. At a news conference, students and school staff shared how youth tobacco use, especially youth vaping, remains a huge problem in Minnesota schools.
“We’re asking lawmakers to stay focused on one of the top health problems affecting our kids: tobacco use,” said Bethlehem Yewhalawork, a program manager at NorthPoint Health and Wellness Center. “Passing a comprehensive flavor policy will prevent youth addiction and improve health for all Minnesotans.”
The 2022 Minnesota Student Survey found that over 75 percent of Minnesota’s eighth graders and 11th graders who use tobacco report using flavored products.
March 22, 2023
Vuse Menthol Pods Granted Stay

Image: Tobacco Reporter archive
Two menthol Vuse flavors that received a marketing denial order (MDO) can continue to be marketed by R.J. Reynolds Vapor Co. after the federal 5th Circuit Court of Appeals issued a stay.
Last week, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration denied Reynolds Vapor’s premarket tobacco product applications for the Vuse replacement cartridge Menthol 4.8 percent G1 and the Vuse replacement cartridge Menthol 4.8 percent G2.
As a result, Reynolds would be prohibited from marketing or distributing the products domestically or risk FDA enforcement action. However, the appeals court’s decision allows the products to stay in the marketplace.
In October last year, the FDA issued MDOs for several menthol-flavored vaping products marketed by Logic Technology Development. It was the first time the FDA issued MDOs for menthol products after receiving a scientific review.
A few days after the order was issued, Logic obtained a court order from the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit that temporarily stayed the order.
March 22, 2023