Category: Featured

Karnataka Gears up for Selling Season

Photo: Tobacco Reporter archive
Karnataka will start auctioning its flue-cured Virginia tobacco crop in October 2022, the Tobacco Board of India announced.
The board expects a crop of approximately 64 million kg of good quality with a comparatively high share of bright grades.
In a letter to customers, the Tobacco Board said it is promoting various sustainable tobacco production practices, including the promotion of integrated pest management, natural farming practices, NTRM-free tobacco production, fuel conservation measures and tree planting programs to ensure product integrity and compliance with buyer requirements.
The Tobacco Board urged leaf buyers to communicate their requirements well in advance.
“I would request you to plan your requirements for the 2022–23 Karnataka crop well in advance for timely liquidation of the produce and early conclusion of auction sales, thereby avoiding leaf quality deterioration as well as weight loss, which could be beneficial to the farmers as well as the traders,” wrote Tobacco Board Executive Director A. Sridhar Babu.
October 9, 2022
VTA Questions FDA’s Youth Vaping Analysis

Tony Abboud (Photo: Taco Tuinstra)
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration misrepresents the latest data on youth vaping, according to Vapor Technology Association (VTA) Executive Director Tony Abboud.
On Oct. 6, the FDA and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released new data from the 2022 National Youth Tobacco Survey (NYTS) on e-cigarette use among U.S. youth.
“The FDA represents the NYTS data to show that youth vaping ‘remains high,’ yet a deeper dive into the data show[s] only a small uptick in experimental or infrequent use while regular use remains flat or is slightly down,” said Abboud in a statement.
Abboud notes that since 2019, according to the CDC, the number of high school students who have tried vaping (one time in the last 30 days) has dropped by 50 percent, and the number of middle school students has plummeted by 70 percent. During that same time period, the number of high school students who “frequently” vape dropped by 37 percent, and the number of middle school students dropped by 65 percent.
“FDA’s near single-minded focus on youth who experiment with vaping versus those who are frequent users ignores what clearly is a consistent trend of youth away from vaping products. Rather than focusing on removing products from the market in an attempt to impact youth vaping, the FDA should instead support common sense regulatory reforms that would better restrict access to products instead,” said Abboud. “Simply removing products from the market is not the answer when those products are also proven to help adult smokers quit.”
According to Abboud, it is well documented that flavored vapor products help adult smokers switch to less harmful vaping and “study after study after study” has confirmed the data. Since 2010, when e-cigarettes became widely available in the U.S., smoking rates have declined by more than half, he noted.
“Tobacco use is down. Youth vaping is down. These are both good things and are not in dispute. Unfortunately, there are still 40 million Americans addicted to cigarettes,” Abboud said. “Every year, 500,000 die from smoking-related diseases and yet less than 3 percent of our kids are using vapes on a regular basis. The FDA’s failure to acknowledge this reality ignores the role vaping plays in harm reduction and smoking cessation and puts more lives at risk.”
October 9, 2022
CRP to Build $80 million Plant in Harare

Photo: Tobacco Reporter archive
Cut Rag Processors plans to build an $80 million cigarette factory in Harare, Zimbabwe, reports The Sunday Mail, citing sources familiar with the project.
The company, which is one of the country’s largest exporters of cut rag and manufactures the Remington Gold cigarette brand, has already started clearing 60,000 square meters of land in the Lochinvar industrial area.
The factory will have both a primary department for the production of cut rag and a secondary department for the manufacture of cigarettes, an unnamed source told The Sunday Mail.
While confirming the construction of the new facility, Cut Rag Processors Managing Director Nyasha Chinhara declined to provide details, citing “finalization of confidential internal processes.”
The project fits with Zimbabwe’s Tobacco Value Chain Transformation Plan, which aims to extract more value from the tobacco business.
The world’s sixth largest producer of leaf tobacco, Zimbabwe currently captures only a fraction of the trade’s value. The government aims to unlock $5 billion in export revenue by 2025.
Net foreign currency inflows from tobacco stood at $45.7 million in 2020. About 98 percent of tobacco produced in Zimbabwe is exported in green (semi-processed) form by big tobacco merchants.
Zimbabwe has three processing facilities owned by Zimbabwe Leaf Tobacco, Tobacco Processors Zimbabwe and Mashonaland Tobacco Co.
Cut Rag Processors was formed in February 2000 as the first independent cut rag production facility in Zimbabwe servicing both the domestic and export markets.
The establishment of the company paved the way for the merger of BAT and Rothmans in 2000. Previously, the Competition and Tariff Commission had rejected the merger out of concern that the merged entity would create a monopoly.
Between 2012 and 2014, Cut Rag Processors closed its cigarette line. A year later, the company decided to exit the entire tobacco business. It returned to production after its owner, Gold Leaf, sold the business to new shareholders in 2019.
Encouraged by the government’s plan to boost Zimbabwe’s tobacco earnings, the new investor injected capital into the manufacturing business.
October 9, 2022
Cuba Plots Tobacco Course Post-Hurricane

Photo: Sabino Parente
Tabacuba Business Group of Cuba is drawing up new strategies for tobacco output in the 2022–2023 harvest following the destruction of Hurricane Ian, reports Prensa Latina.
Marino Murillo, president of Tabacuba, considered the Pinar del Rio province as decisive in the effort.
All tobacco that was protected in natural curing houses and warehouses will be collected; 33,000 tons of the existing 41,000 tons are in this province, which reported 80 percent infrastructure destruction.
Anywhere from 15,000 tons to 17,000 tons of tobacco will be taken to other provinces, and seedbed irrigation will be immediately resumed.
Warehouses and natural curing houses that are in good condition will be stripped of available materials because the country is deficient in wood, according to Murillo.
Tobacco growers in Pinar del Rio kept 650 tons of covered tobacco from being damaged with their early actions before the hurricane.
According to Murillo, Cuba is still planning on planting tobacco, which covers 15,000 ha nationwide, but the area to be used in Pinar del Rio has not yet been defined and will depend on possible curing houses that can be rebuilt.
October 8, 2022
Campaign for Harm Reduction in Strasbourg

Photo: WVA
As a kickoff for the #BackVapingBeatSmoking campaign, representatives of the World Vapers Alliance (WVA) presented Members of the European Parliament in Strasbourg with a “Vaping Products Directive” to show how e-cigarettes need to be treated to fulfill their potential as tobacco harm reduction tools.
The campaign launches as European legislators review the Tobacco Products Directive. Responding to the EU Commission’s public call for evidence, the WVA has spoken out against flavor bans and excessive regulation.
“By backing vaping, we can beat smoking and save 19 million lives with sensible regulation,” said Michael Landl, director of the WVA. “The EU call for evidence has seen a record number of 24,000 responses, showing that consumers want to embrace tobacco harm reduction, and it happens that vaping has been proven one of the most successful so far.
“The EU needs to put an end to current discussions about flavor bans, and vaping must be kept affordable and accessible. It is time for the EU to fully endorse tobacco harm reduction and to make vaping a centerpiece of it.”
The #BackVapingBeatSmoking campaign launched in Strasbourg, France, with a “Don’t Let 19 Million Lives Fall” protest art installation and will spread to 10 cities in six countries during October 2022 through November 2022.
“We will host community events and protests in France, Poland, Czech Republic, Italy, Portugal and Belgium to draw attention to one of the most crucial pieces of legislation for the future of vaping. It is time for politicians to listen to consumers and science,” said Landl in a statement.
The WVA has also launched a petition against harmful vaping regulation, such as flavor bans or high taxation on vaping products. The signatures will be delivered to Members of the European Parliament at the end of the tour in November.

October 8, 2022
Shopkeepers up in Arms Over Tobacco Bill

Photo: ink drop
Bangladesh’s proposal to require all tobacco businesses to obtain licenses will adversely impact the livelihoods of small traders and hurt government revenue, according to critics.
Lawmakers are currently reviewing a draft law that would ban tobacco sales from makeshift shops, outlaw product displays and prohibit the sale of single cigarettes, a common practice in many low-income countries.
Muhammad Helal Uddin, president of the Bangladesh Shop Owners Association, insisted licenses should be required only for manufacturers and warned that shopkeepers would take to the streets if the bill became law.
Meanwhile, economists predicted that the proposal would deprive the government of significant tax earnings at a time of economic hardship.
“The tobacco sector is the largest contributor to VAT income. Any abrupt decision without the consultation of the revenue board would surely backfire and nosedive revenue income,” an unnamed National Board of Revenue official was quoted as saying by the Dhaka Tribune.
The National Board of Revenue earned nearly BDT300 billion ($2.91 billion) from cigarette taxes in fiscal 2021–2022—equivalent to approximately 10 percent of Bangladesh’s total revenue income.
Ahsan H. Mansur, executive director of the Policy Research Institute, cautioned that the draft law would boost the illegal trade in tobacco products and drive up sales of low-cost brands at the expense of higher priced varieties.
“Since these vendors will not get the supply of top brands produced by the multinational tobacco companies, they will sell low-quality brands of the local companies that are least interested in complying with rules and regulations,” said Mansur.
Mansur advised government to instead focus on raising awareness of the health risks of tobacco consumption.
According to Global Adult Tobacco Survey, 44 percent of Bangladeshis used tobacco in 2009. Through a range of anti-tobacco measures, the government brought down this number to 34 percent in 2017. If the trend continues, the smoking rate could dip below 5 percent over the next 15 years to 20 years, according to Mansur.
October 7, 2022
Snowplus Expands in the Philippines

Photo: Snowplus
Snowplus of China is expanding its vaping business in the Philippines, reports The Philippine Star.
Co-founder and head of overseas markets Derek Li is confident the company can build a good distribution network in the country.
Snowplus has invested $2 million in quality and safety research since 2019 and has received over $150 million in financing, which is among the largest funding for any startup in the e-cigarette industry.
Snowplus has also committed to raising industry quality and standards to deliver safe and reliable e-cigarettes to consumers in the Philippines.
In line with new vapor industry regulations in China, Snowplus recently obtained permission to operate from the State Tobacco Monopoly Administration. The license authorizes the company to produce 80 million pods per year.
The company established three advanced scientific laboratories with equipment to test its products’ power supply and durability, among other characteristics.
“Consumers can trust Snowplus. We work only with the most reputable partners and deliver products of the highest quality that are 100 percent safe,” Li said.
October 7, 2022
Magellan Denies Receiving MDO

Photo: Surendra
Magellan Technology insists it did not receive a marketing denial order (MDO) for its Hyde Brand, despite a U.S. Food and Drug Administration announcement to the contrary.
In an email to Tobacco Reporter’s sister publication, Vapor Voice, Magellan CEO Jon Glauser said his company had received a “refuse to accept” (RTA) letter. An RTA is not a judgment on the product’s appropriateness for the protection of public health. It is merely a determination that the premarket tobacco product application doesn’t conform to the FDA’s standards, and it leaves the applicant the option to refile.
“A refuse to accept letter is a refusal based on nothing more than a technical review of the applications’ contents, which, in this case, was a missing document, i.e., a sworn certification related to the translation of certain components of the application,” wrote Gauser. “In other words, the refusal to accept was based on bureaucratic technicalities.”
In its letter to Magellan, the FDA wrote that the absence of the forms prevented the agency from accepting and processing the applications. “In other words, FDA could not have conducted any scientific review because it refused to accept the application,” wrote Glauser. “Our counsel has demanded that FDA not only retract the press statement it made but also issue a corrective statement making clear that FDA did not issue an MDO to Magellan and that it has not yet conducted a scientific review of Magellan’s products.”
Magellan is not the first company to take issue with the FDA’s handling of the PMTA process. The agency is currently facing more than 20 lawsuits and has had to backtrack on MDOs issued to companies such as Juul Labs, Turning Point Brands and Kavial Brands.
October 7, 2022
Campaigners Welcome Delay Tobacco Bill

Photo: sezerozger
Legalizing vape sales in Malaysia remains on the table despite the heath minister postponing the “generational endgame” anti-smoking bill after considerable public and political pressure, according to the Malaysian Organization of Vape Entities (MOVE).
Malaysia’s Minister of Health, Khairy Jamaluddin, made the decision not to table the bill despite the bipartisan special parliamentary select committee making amendments and reaching consensus.
Samsul Arrifin
“This delay now gives MPs time to get the country’s tobacco control strategy right. We strongly believe that vaping should be not part of the generational endgame bill. It would only criminalize vape consumers and retailers,” said MOVE President Samsul Arrifin.
MOVE would like vaping and noncombustible products out of the legislation and for the government to treat them as harm reduction tools.
Tobacco harm reduction (THR) advocates were heartened in April when the regulation of vaping devices was announced to take effect in August. It was assumed the move would precede the legalization of vape sales in Malaysia.
They also took heart from a visit last month to New Zealand by a Malaysian parliamentary delegation to understand what policies are required to achieve smoke-free. New Zealand has legalized and regulated vape sales and is now on track to achieve its national ambition of Smoke-free 2025—where 5 percent or less of the population smoke regularly.
New Zealand is also looking to implement a similar generational smoking ban, which would see the prohibition of tobacco product sales to anyone born in 2009 or after. However, Malaysia’s proposal for those born in 2007 or after would also ban vaping product sales.
“New Zealand’s smoking rate is less than half of ours because they’ve regulated adult-only retail access to vaping products. New Zealand actively steers smokers toward safer nicotine products, with vaping an incredibly effective off-ramp to smoking. If Malaysia is to reduce smoking to below 5 percent by 2040, then we need to regulate, not ban, vaping products,” said Arrifin.
The Coalition of Asia Pacific Tobacco Harm Reduction Advocates (CAPHRA) says about 70 countries have already proven that a THR approach works. In contrast, Australia is showing just how badly vaping bans fail.
“As well as giving the 21 percent of Malaysians who smoke a less harmful alternative, regulating vaping will ensure Malaysia has product safety standards, not to mention extra tax revenue. We are pleased the government is taking its time on this one. An evidence-based approach will serve them well,” said Nancy Loucas, executive coordinator of CAPHRA.
October 7, 2022
Malaysia Removes NRT from Poisons List

Photo: dalaprod
Malaysia’s Health Ministry has categorized nicotine-replacement products as nonpoisons to make them more accessible to consumers, reports The New Straits Times.
Minister Khairy Jamaluddin said the move was done by granting an exemption to nicotine under the Poisons Act 1952 for products in the form of patches or gum registered under the Control of Drugs and Cosmetics Regulations 1984.
“This exception is expected to help smokers, who are motivated to quit smoking, in dealing with the withdrawal symptoms,” said Khairy.
At present, smokers who want to quit smoking have limited access to nicotine-replacement products as they are regulated under the Poisons Act 1952.
Under the law, nicotine is classified as a “Group C poison” and can be dispensed only by licensed pharmacists or registered medical practitioners.
The New Straits Times article made no mention of nicotine vapor products, which tobacco harm reduction advocates consider to be the most effect nicotine-replacement products on the market.
Malaysian lawmakers are currently considering the Control of Tobacco Product and Smoking Bill 2022, which, among other measures, would ban the sale of tobacco products, including e-cigarettes, to anyone born after 2007.
October 7, 2022