Category: Featured

  • Zimbabwe: Record Tobacco Area Expected

    Zimbabwe: Record Tobacco Area Expected

    Photo: Taco Tuinstra

    Industry representatives expect Zimbabwe’s tobacco farmers to plant a record hectarage of leaf this season as sales of seed soar, reports The Herald.

    As of Sept. 2, 2022, at least 925 kg of tobacco seed with the capacity to cover 184,999 ha was sold, according to the Tobacco Research Board. This would be the largest hectarage ever planted if all the seed sold is sown.

    Planting of irrigated tobacco began on Sept. 1, 2022, according to the Tobacco Industry and Marketing Board (TIMB). The TIMB stated that it has designed a monitoring system for contractors’ compliance to help relieve farmers’ anxiety over contract farming agreements.

    “As the 2022/2023 season commences, TIMB is working toward standardizing the inputs package offered by contractors to growers,” said Chelesani Moyo, TIMB public relations officer.

    “We have come up with a compliance administration framework that every registered contractor should meet. This stipulates the minimum inputs package for both small[-scale] and large-scale growers. The conditions also include the last date for inputs distribution for those who are contracted.”

    “The pricing of tobacco being determined at the auction floors through a transparent system is justified as the grower is protected from any unfair pricing by the contractor who stands guided by the previous day grade price matrix obtained from the auction floors,” Moyo added.

  • Btomorrow Invests in Kanvas

    Btomorrow Invests in Kanvas

    Photo: By Olivier Le Moal

    BAT’s corporate venturing unit, Btomorrow Ventures (BTV), has invested an undisclosed amount in the Kanvas Co., a developer of patented electronic vaporizer technology solutions.

    The investment will fuel the research, development and growth necessary to commercialize Kanvas’ proprietary Vapetelligence technology platform and further enable scalability of its products, which are designed to promote device safety in electronic vaporizers and regulated marketplaces globally.

    “Kanvas is excited to work with BTV as a strategic investor to advance the commercialization of our unique IP portfolio and technology platform, focusing on our patented and temperature-controlled dosing technology and hardware that provides a secure and controlled delivery system for brands,” said Andy Fathollahi, CEO of Kanvas, in a statement.

    “Kanvas’ pioneering innovations will be a catalyst for brands to support better, safer consumer experiences through integrating higher quality software and smart-chip technology.”

    “BTV is thrilled to support Kanvas. With its innovative product proposition, strong management team and now strategic partnership with BAT, we believe the company is poised for success, and we welcome it to BTV’s portfolio,” said Lukasz Garbowski, BTV investment director.

    Kanvas has a diverse portfolio of patents in technology, software and hardware products to offer brands a comprehensive suite of premium solutions for electronic CBD, cannabis and nicotine-delivery systems.

  • Juul Settles Teen Vaping Investigation

    Juul Settles Teen Vaping Investigation

    Photo: steheap

    Juul Labs will pay nearly $440 million to settle a two-year investigation by 33 U.S. states into the marketing of its vaping products, which critics have blamed for sparking a surge in underage vaping, reports AP.

    The probe found that Juul marketed its e-cigarettes to underage teens with launch parties, product giveaways and ads and social media posts using youthful models.

    “Through this settlement, we have secured hundreds of millions of dollars to help reduce nicotine use and forced Juul to accept a series of strict injunctive terms to end youth marketing and crack down on underage sales,” Connecticut Attorney General William Tong said on Sept. 6 in a statement.

    In reality, most of the limits imposed by the settlement won’t affect Juul’s practices, which halted use of parties, giveaways and other promotions after coming under scrutiny several years ago.

    While Juul’s early marketing focused on young, urban consumers, the company has since shifted to pitching its product as an alternative nicotine source for older smokers.

    “We remain focused on our future as we fulfill our mission to transition adult smokers away from cigarettes—the number one cause of preventable death—while combating underage use,” the company said in a statement.

    While resolving one of the biggest legal threats, Juul Labs still faces nine separate lawsuits from other states. Additionally, Juul faces hundreds of personal suits brought on behalf of teenagers and others who say they became addicted to the company’s vaping products.

    The company is also in the process of appealing a marketing denial order (MDO) by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, which, if upheld, would force its products off the market.

    In June, the FDA rejected Juul Labs’ premarket tobacco product applications, saying that the company has submitted insufficient evidence that its products were appropriate for the protection of public health.

    While the agency subsequently suspended its MDO, citing scientific issues in the application that warrant additional review, the agency stressed that the stay does not rescind the order.

  • Bangladesh Urged to Keep Vapes Legal

    Bangladesh Urged to Keep Vapes Legal

    Delon Human (Photo: Taco Tuinstra)

    Bangladesh must keep e-cigarettes legal if it wants to achieve its goal of becoming a tobacco-free country by 2040, according to tobacco harm reduction activists.

    Speaking during a webinar organized by the Bangladesh-based Voices of Vapers and reported by The Daily Star, several experts addressed the government’s recent proposal to ban vapor products, heat-not-burn devices and other cigarette alternatives in a new amendment to the country’s tobacco control legislation.

    Delon Human, president of Health Diplomats, said there is no evidence for the National Tobacco Control Cell’s statement that nicotine in vapes is more harmful than cigarettes.

    “There needs to be a credible harm reduction strategy as practiced by many developed countries,” he added. “The authorities must consider regulating a safer alternative, such as vape, and make it accessible to smokers wanting to quit.”

    Schumann Zaman, president of the Bangladesh Electronic Nicotine Delivery System Traders Association, said not recognizing vape traders and vape users as stakeholders will have major consequences as many of these vapers are using e-cigarettes as a smoking cessation tool.

    John Dunne, director general of the U.K. Vaping Industry Association, said vapes should be regulated separately because vapes and cigarettes are different products.

    “Vapes are far safer and a proven method of nicotine-replacement therapy [NRT]. Regulating vapes will help smokers who are trying to quit have access to vapes,” he added.

    “Countries such as the U.K., France, New Zealand and Canada have successfully lowered smoking rates by using vaping as NRT. Banning vapes will lower the number of smokers trying to quit.”

  • Volumes Down, Prices up in Southern Brazil

    Volumes Down, Prices up in Southern Brazil

    Photo: Taco Tuinstra

    Tobacco growers in southern Brazil produced 560.18 million kg in 2021–2022, 10.9 percent less than in the previous growing season, reports Kohltrade, citing figures released by the Brazilian Tobacco Growers Association, Afubra, on Sept. 5.

    Production included 512.59 million kg of flue-cured Virginia, 41.79 million kg of burley and 5.79 million kg of Galpao Comum, a native tobacco variety.

    The area planted with tobacco in southern Brazil decreased by 8.8 percent year-on-year to 246,590 ha in 2021–2022.

    While the leaf volume was down, the average price paid to tobacco growers in southern Brazil grew by 61.5 percent to BRL17.02 ($3.25) per kg this year.

    The average price was BRL17.26 per kg in Rio Grande do Sul, BRL17.19 per kg in Santa Catarina and BRL16.41 per kg in Parana.

    Industry representatives expect the southern Brazil region to cultivate a slightly larger tobacco area for the 2022–2023 crop.

    The production estimate will be completed by the end of October.

  • PMI Mulls Lowering Threshold for SM Bid

    PMI Mulls Lowering Threshold for SM Bid

    Photo: Swedish Match

    Philip Morris International is considering lowering the acceptance threshold on its $16 billion takeover bid for Swedish Match, reports Bloomberg, citing people with knowledge of the matter.

    The multinational is reportedly contemplating the move as it seeks ways to increase the likelihood the acquisition will go through amid opposition from shareholders, including Elliott Investment Management.

    Elliott has secured a 5.25 percent stake in Swedish Match. The activist investor has a history of building stakes in European targets to block full takeovers and secure a higher price.

    PMI’s bid was originally conditional on it getting more than a 90 percent stake in Swedish Match, a level that would normally allow it to squeeze out any remaining dissenters and take the company private. The idea of lowering the acceptance threshold raises the prospect that Philip Morris could end up with a majority stake in Swedish Match and keep it publicly traded, at least temporarily.

    Last month, Philip Morris extended the acceptance period for the offer to Oct. 21 after regulators in Europe indicated they needed more time to review the bid.

  • BAT Study Confirms Positive Impact From Switching to Glo

    BAT Study Confirms Positive Impact From Switching to Glo

    Photo: BAT

    The full results from a year-long study showed that smokers switching exclusively to Glo, BAT’s flagship tobacco-heating product (THP), achieved significant and sustained improvements in several indicators of potential harm associated with early disease development compared to smokers who continued to smoke. This included lung disease, cancer and cardiovascular disease.

    Published in Internal and Emergency Medicine, the results build upon the favorable changes reported at three and six months. The improvements observed were sustained over the 12 months of the study, adding to the weight of evidence that supports Glo as a less risky alternative for adult smokers who would not otherwise quit, according to BAT.

    “The results from this study are the most important data we have ever generated about Glo and for the THP category in general,” said David O’Reilly, director of scientific research at BAT, in a statement.

    “This real-world study allows us to assess the changes that adult smokers switching exclusively to Glo experience by assessing early indicators of potential harm associated with disease development. It provides much needed new evidence about the size of the change and durability of the effect switching completely to Glo can have and reinforces Glo’s potential as a reduced-risk product.”

  • Eastern Co. Increases Prices of 10 Brands

    Eastern Co. Increases Prices of 10 Brands

    Photo: Ahmed

    The Eastern Co. in Egypt has increased the prices of 10 popular cigarette brands, reports the Daily News Egypt.

    The new prices took effect Sept. 4, after receiving approval from the company’s board of directors in accordance with the provisions of Egypt’s VAT and health insurance laws.

    Eastern Co. Managing Director and CEO Hani Aman attributed the price hikes to a rise in the cost of raw materials. We were careful to make the increase as low as possible,” he was quoted as saying.

    The price increases ranged from EGP1.5 ($0.08) to EGP2 and included popular brands like Cleopatra Box, Cleopatra Super and Mondial.

    This is Eastern Co.’s second price increase in about six months. In March, the company increases the prices of 10 types of local cigarettes by rates ranging from 4.3 percent to 9.5 percent.

     The Eastern Co. reported an after-tax net profit of EGP4.25 billion during the nine months ending in in March, up 9 percent over the comparable 2021 period.

     Sales increased by 6 percent to reach EGP51.47 billion during the period from July 2021 to March 2022, compared to EGP48.74 billion in the same period of last year.

  • Brazil Cracks Down on E-cigarette Sales

    Brazil Cracks Down on E-cigarette Sales

    Brazil’s Ministry of Justice in Brazilia (Photo: Jose Duardo)

    Brazil’s Ministry of Justice instructed 33 businesses to stop selling e-cigarettes or risk a penalty of BRL5,000 ($966.65) per day, according to the The Brazilian Report.

    E-cigarettes have been banned in Brazil since 2009, but they remain readily available online, at tobacconists and in supermarkets.

    One of the companies targeted by the ministry is France-based Carrefour, one of the world’s largest retailers, which owns more than 1,000 stores in Brazil and accounts for 25 percent of the domestic retail market.

    In July this year, Brazil’s national health surveillance agency, Anvisa, voted to uphold the ban on e-cigarettes, citing studies showing that the use of electronic smoking devices increases the risk of smoking in young people, the potential for dependence and the likelihood of lung, cardiovascular and neurological health problems.

    Around 20 percent of Brazilians aged 18-24 vape, while smokers make up approximately 12 percent of the population, according to April 2022 polling data.

  • Activists: Differentiate Smoking and Vaping

    Activists: Differentiate Smoking and Vaping

    Photo: Andrey Popov

    Malaysian lawmakers must distinguish between smoking and vaping it they want to tackle Malaysia’s smoking epidemic, according to tobacco harm reduction advocates.

    Legislators are currently scrutinizing a bill that would ban smoking and vaping for those born after 2007 in Malaysia. The bill is modelled on legislation in New Zealand, which in December 2021 revealed a plan to phase out smoking by gradually raising the smoking age until it covers the entire population.

    Unlike Malaysia’s proposal, however, New Zealand’s generational ban would prohibit only the sale of tobacco products to anyone born during or after 2009, with vaping products remaining available to those 18 years and older to purchase in retail outlets as was regulated in 2020.

    Samsul Ariffin

    “You can’t ban cigarettes for future Malaysian adults without providing a safer, viable alternative,” said Samsul Ariffin, president of the Malaysian Organization of Vape Entities. “It’s like banning sugary drinks and sugar-free drinks all at once and hoping it will get people off sugar. If our political leaders are serious about eradicating deadly smoking, Malaysia’s generational endgame bill must only ban the purchase of combustible tobacco, not safer nicotine products.”

    According to the Coalition of Asia Pacific Tobacco Harm Reduction Advocates (CAPHRA), New Zealand’s encouragement of smoking cessation through vaping has contributed to a rapid decline in the country’s smoking rate. New Zealand’s current adult daily smoking rate stands at 9.4 percent, down from 18 percent in 2006-2007.

    “New Zealand’s smoking has halved in recent years not because they banned vaping but because they embraced it,” said Nancy Loucas, executive coordinator of CAPHRA.