Category: Featured

In Memoriam: Dimitar Yadkov
Dimitar Yadkov
Dimitar Yadkov, the president of Bulgartabac from 1972 to 1991 passed away on Aug. 21, at the age of 94.
Yadkov ran Bulgartabac during the two most dynamic and successful decades in the company’s history—a time that was marked by creativity, enthusiasm and innovation, according to people familiar with the business.
Under his leadership the monopoly established and maintained trade relationships with 130 companies in 36 countries and became firmly positioned as one of the leaders in international tobacco community.
For many years Bulgaria competed with the U.S. as the world’s largest cigarette exporter and ranked seventh in the world as tobacco leaf producer.
Yadkov was elected as Coresta vice-president in 1978 and served on that organization’s board for 12 years.
“The loss to Bulgarian society is huge,” wrote Bulgaria’s President Rumen Radev in a condolence letter. “A dignified person has left us; a business manager who steadfastly proved his professionalism over the years and uncompromisingly defended the Bulgarian tobacco industry’s interest.”
September 2, 2022
Journal Plans Tobacco Transformation Issue

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The Society for Research on Nicotine & Tobacco (SRNT) is calling for papers to publish in a special issue of its official journal, Nicontine & Tobacco Research, about the tobacco industry transformation.
This themed issue will inform whether and how the tobacco control community should respond to and engage with the tobacco industry transformation narrative and with tobacco companies that claim to be transforming by moving away from producing and selling hazardous tobacco products.
“Critically assessing the validity of the industry’s transformation narrative will be important as sections of the industry are likely to increasingly use this framing in order to position themselves as legitimate stakeholders in debates about how to end the smoking epidemic and the nature and direction of tobacco control policies,” the SRNT writes on its website.
Nicotine & Tobacco Research says it will not consider for publication papers submitted by tobacco industry employees or affiliated organisations.
The organization anticipates that the themed issue will publish in mid/late 2023.
September 2, 2022
Report Details Vapor Recycling Programs
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Research and Markets has published a global overview of recycling programs for e-cigarettes, heated tobacco products and vaporizers.
Every year, manufacturers and consumers generate 44.7 million tons of e-waste containing up to $65 billion worth of raw materials like gold, silver and platinum. The amount of global e-waste is expected to increase by almost 17 percent to 52.2 million tons in 2021, or around 8 percent every year.
Vape products are e-waste because they contain lithium-ion batteries, a heating element and a circuit board, which can contain plastics and heavy metals.
While the world’s leading jurisdictions have legislation governing the management of e-waste in general, they generally have no rules designed specifically for e-cigarettes, heated tobacco products or vaporizers.
To fill the void, manufacturers of electronic nicotine delivery devices have developed their own initiatives to tackle e-waste. The Research and Markets report list the following examples:
Philip Morris International has established hubs in Europe and Asia that inspect, process and separate materials from electronic devices for recycling.
BAT has replaced plastic elements of vapor products with pulp-based alternatives.
JTI launched a return scheme of used devices through the recycling boxes at shops.
Imperial Brands has launched take-back recycling schemes for used vaping devices and pods.
Other vape companies, such as DotMod, Shanlaan and Dovpo, have launched their own recycling programs by return schemes. Innokin is working on battery utilization programs. Recycling companies, such as Gaiaca and TerraCycle cooperate with vape manufacturers to provide services for collecting and recycling e-waste.
The Bowman company offers pod refill stations to reduce plastic usage for vapor bottles production in future.
September 2, 2022
UTC to Manufacture PM Products for Egypt

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Philip Morris is set to start manufacturing its products for the Egyptian market at its United Tobacco Co. (UTC) subsidiary, reports Daily News Egypt.
The current licensee, Eastern Co., will continue to manufacture Philip Morris’ cigarette products until its production stock has been depleted.
Philip Morris stated that it is proud of the strategic partnership with the state tobacco company, which lasted for nearly half a century, and is looking forward to sustaining this partnership through Eastern’s shareholding in UTC. In May, Egypt’s General Assembly approved Eastern Co.’s plan to buy a 25 percent share in UTC for EGP100 million ($5.2 million), according to the Enterprise Press.
Eastern Co. Managing Director Hani Aman said at the time that his firm would be represented by two members on UTC’s board of directors.
The acquisition was part of the Philip Morris subsidiary’s agreement with Eastern Co. to locally manufacture cigarettes. UTC was the only company to bid in last year’s tender after other companies complained that the conditions of the tender would establish a monopoly over the local market.
Philip Morris confirmed its full commitment to all existing contractual relationships with traders and suppliers to guarantee the availability of its products across Egypt’s governorates. The company said it will continue to provide all of its products at the same prices as recently officially set with no change to the packaging.
Aman said that the Eastern Co. is trying to absorb the rise in production costs internally, resulting from the recent rise in the cost of raw materials.
He pointed out that the disruption of supply chains had a direct impact on the rise of some production inputs, in addition to the impact of the rise in the price of the U.S. dollar on other products.
Eastern Co.’s tobacco business reported revenues of EGP12.78 billion for the first nine months of fiscal year 2021-2022, up 5 percent over those of the comparable period in the previous year.
September 1, 2022
FTC Reports Surge in Flavored Disposables

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Sales of flavored disposable e-cigarettes and menthol e-cigarette cartridges surged dramatically in 2020, according to the U.S. Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) second report on e-cigarette sales and advertising nationwide.
This increase coincides with a federal ban on the flavored cartridges popular with young vapers, suggesting that youth e-cigarette use shifted to substitute products rather than declined.
The FTC has been reporting on tobacco sales annually since 1967 and smokeless tobacco sales since 1987. Last year, the agency expanded its studies of industry and published its first-ever report on e-cigarettes.
This year’s e-cigarette report covers sales and advertising data from 2019 and 2020, a period in which the Food and Drug Administration published an enforcement policy banning the sale of flavored e-cigarette cartridges other than menthol.
Overall, the report found that total e-cigarette sales, which had increased from $304.2 million in 2015 to $2.05 billion in 2018, grew to $2.7 billion in 2019 but then declined to $2.24 billion in 2020.
The sale of disposable e-cigarettes—which are exempt from the FDA’s 2020 policy—increased substantially, with “other” flavored disposable products making up 77.6 percent of all disposables sold in December 2020. The FTC’s data did not show an increase in disposable sales. The FTC report notes that the 2020 decline may not represent the market given major industry shifts.
Similarly, the report found that the sale of the remaining non-FDA-banned flavored cartridge, menthol, increased significantly, to 63.5 percent of all cartridges sold in 2020.
The report also noted record-high e-cigarette discounting and a doubling of nearly free e-cigarette samples.
“This report shows that youth are still at risk from flavored or deeply discounted e-cigarettes,” said Samuel Levine, director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection, in a statement.
“Marketers of e-cigarettes have proven skillful at evading FDA regulation and hooking youth on addictive products,”
September 1, 2022
SindiTabaco’s President Recognized

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The Brazilian media conglomerate Grupo RBS has recognized Iro Schunke, president of the Interstate Tobacco Industry Union (SindiTabaco), for his contributions to the development of Rio Grande do Sul, one of Brazil’s leading tobacco producing states.
During an Aug. 30 ceremony in the municipality of Esteio, Schunke accepted the Guri trophy, which honors the accomplishment of citizens in areas such as agribusiness, music and technology.
A graduate from the Federal University of Santa Maria, Schunke has worked as an agronomist, manager, director and production superintendent. In addition to leading SindiTabaco, he is the director of the Federation of Industries of Rio Grande do Sul. In 2015, he also became director-president of the Instituto Crescer Legal, an entity that promotes professional education for rural young people.
“I thank Grupo RBS for this honor,” said Schunke in an article published on SindiTabaco’s website. “Rest assured that I will continue to work on behalf of the state, the tobacco sector and the Crescer Legal Institute.”
September 1, 2022
Belgium: One in Five Cigarettes Untaxed

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More than one in five cigarettes smoked in Belgium are untaxed, reports The Brussels Times, citing new research carried out by Cimabel, the Belgium-Luxembourg federation of cigarette manufacturers.
A study of discarded packets and cigarette butts collected between April 18 and May 9 found that 21.8 percent of cigarettes consumed had escaped Belgian tax authorities, accounting for around €700 million ($699.69) in lost tax revenue.
Of the untaxed cigarettes, 1.9 percent were counterfeit. The remaining 19.9 percent were legally brought into Belgium from countries with a lower tax burden. Of the cigarettes purchased outside of Belgium, more than half (51.8 percent) came from Bulgaria. Other countries of origin included Poland (7.8 percent of supply), Turkey (6.88 percent) and Romania (3.67 percent).
During Cimabel’s previous semi-annual survey, which took place in October 2021, the share of untaxed cigarettes was 13.8 percent. The organization attributes the increase in tax-evading tobacco products to drastic tax hikes introduced on April 1, 2022, which have encouraged smokers to find cheaper ways of purchasing cigarettes.
Cimabel urged the Belgian government to refrain from further tobacco tax hikes.
“As long as the federal government continues to drastically increase excise duties on tobacco products each year, the demand for cheap cigarettes will continue to grow, and criminal organizations will continue their illegal practices on Belgian territory,” the federation warned.
September 1, 2022
Thai Minister Reiterates Opposition to Vaping

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Thailand’s health ministry remains opposed to vaping, saying e-cigarettes are affecting the health of consumers of whom more than half are considered youth, reports Bangkok Post.
Speaking at a national conference on cigarettes and public health in Bangkok on Aug. 29, Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul stressed the need to continue banning e-cigarette imports to protect youth from the health risks associated with vaping.
More than half of the about 80,000 vapers in Thailand are aged 15–24, according to a survey conducted by the National Statistics Office last year.
“This clearly showed vaping has created new smokers, especially young people, while a growing number of international studies found smoking e-cigarettes has negative effects on young people’s brains,” said Charnvirakul.
Pointing to “the experiences of other countries,” Charnvirakul said banning e-cigarettes was the most effective measure to control vaping.
Concerns about illicit trade would be addressed by continued “crackdowns on e-cigarettes smuggled into the country,” he added.
Charnvirakul comments follow discussions about making vapor products legal in Thailand. Earlier this year, the Digital Economy and Society Ministry set up a working group to see if electronic cigarettes could be legalized as an alternative for smokers.
August 31, 2022
More Danes Quit Smoking During Covid

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Danish smokers bought less tobacco, and more of them quit smoking than usual during the Covid-19 pandemic, according to new research from the University of Copenhagen that monitored cigarette purchases from the March 2020 lockdown through the end of the year. Those who kept puffing also purchased significantly less tobacco, the study showed.
Among other things, the figures reveal that regular smokers bought 20 percent fewer cigarettes each week than before the pandemic. Meanwhile, the number of those who quit increased by 10 percent from the year prior.
“The big picture is that cigarette consumption fell during the pandemic,” said study author Toke Reinholt Fosgaard, associate professor at the University of Copenhagen’s Department of Food and Resource Economics. “It comes as somewhat of a surprise as one would expect to see people smoking more during a pandemic, a time when people felt worse psychologically and had fewer opportunities to move about. Yet, the opposite occurred.”
Fosgaard attributes the decline in tobacco consumption to the fact that smokers are at greater risk of developing severe Covid symptoms. “For a smoker, the consequences of smoking became more immediate, rather than a consequence in old age, as smokers suffer more severe cases of Covid,” he said.
August 31, 2022
More Americans Smoking Marijuana Than Tobacco

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The use of cannabis in the United States is at an all-time high, with more Americans smoking marijuana than tobacco, according to a recent Gallup poll conducted from July 5 through July 26 and released on August 16.
Sixteen percent of those surveyed said that they smoke marijuana, up from 12 percent in a similar poll only one year ago.
By contrast, only 11 percent said that they had smoked a tobacco cigarette in the previous week in a separate poll published in July. That figure was down from a year ago when 16 percent said that they had smoked a cigarette in the past week and a significant decrease from the peak in the 1950s, when 45 percent of adults polled said that they were smokers.
The share of those who said they smoke marijuana was the highest since Gallup began asking the question in 2013, while the percentage of those who said they smoked a tobacco cigarette in the previous week was the lowest recorded since the public opinion analytics company began keeping track of smokers in 1944.
Nearly half (48 percent) of U.S. adults say they have tried marijuana at some time in their lives, up from only 4 percent in 1969, when Gallup first started surveying rates of lifetime marijuana use. The same year, 40 percent of Americans said that they had smoked a cigarette in the past week.
Despite the growing popularity of marijuana, Americans are split on the effect cannabis has on society. Half of those surveyed think marijuana has an overall negative effect, while 48 percent said that marijuana’s effect on society is positive in the most recent Gallup marijuana poll.
The Gallup poll surveyed 1,013 U.S. adults.
August 31, 2022