Category: Featured

Kazakhstan to Ban Vaping

Photo: udmurd
Kazakhstan will outlaw the sale and use of vaping devices, reports AKIPress, citing Member of Parliament Amanzhan Zhamalov.
Lawmakers also decided to introduce an excise tax on “smoking sticks” at 70 percent of the excise tax on cigarettes. It wasn’t immediately clear from the AKIPress article whether “smoking sticks” refers to tobacco-heating sticks or something else.
Earlier, the country’s national economy minister, Alibek Kuantyrov announced a plan to raise cigarette excise taxes to nearly $30 by 2024.
It was also suggested to raise excise taxes on other tobacco products, such as heated-tobacco, to harmonize tobacco product excise within the Eurasian Economic Union. According to the minister, this will require a staged increase in duties.
June 9, 2022
Taat Adds Southern California Locations

Photo: Taat Global Alternatives
Taat Original, Smooth and Menthol are now sold in over 100 franchised stores in Southern California belonging to a major global convenience chain, an increase of more than 80 stores in eight weeks following an initial placement in 23 stores, the company announced in a press release.
Taat established dialogues with the owners of these franchises through an independent association of franchise owners in Southern California who are part of the convenience chain’s network of over 9,300 stores in the United States and more than 70,000 stores worldwide. Approximately 35 percent of the initial group of franchised stores carrying Taat have already placed reorders.
The company is currently planning to begin initiatives in Southern California to promote Taat Menthol in light of an upcoming ban of flavored tobacco products in Los Angeles set to begin on Jan. 1, 2023. On Wednesday, June 1, 2022, the Los Angeles City Council unanimously voted to ban the sale of flavored tobacco products, such as menthol tobacco cigarettes. Menthol tobacco cigarettes have proven to be exceptionally popular in Los Angeles, with 94.5 percent of tobacco retailers carrying products in this segment and 31.2 percent displaying menthol cigarette price promotions.
June 8, 2022
China Cracks Down on Tobacco Counterfeiters

Photo: Tobacco Reporter archive
Chinese authorities seized 2.1 million counterfeit cigarettes, nearly 100,000 metric tons of leaf tobacco and about 1,700 cigarette-making machines between 2017 and 2021, reports China Daily. They also detained 44,000 suspects. The law enforcement actions prevented CNY100 billion ($15 billion) in lost tax earnings, according to the Ministry of Public Security (MPS), which coordinated its campaign with the State Tobacco Monopoly Administration (STMA).
The joint crackdown targeted the production and distribution of counterfeit cigarettes in key areas. Authorities focused on disrupting the criminal networks’ logistics, strangling the supply of production materials for fake cigarettes at the source.
Officials insisted the crackdown on counterfeiting will continue, with emphasis on combating activities such as illegal sales of leaf tobacco and illegal transport of cigarettes, and on cutting off the underground supply chain for the production and sale of counterfeit cigarettes.
June 7, 2022
China: E-Cig Licensing Rules Explained

Photo: Taco Tuinstra
The law firm Kelller & Heckman has published an article summarizing the requirements for obtaining an e-cigarette manufacturing license in China.
The State Tobacco Monopoly Administration (STMA) has now published a rule outlining the process for Chinese e-cigarette manufacturers to obtain the required manufacturer license. This rule applies not only to manufacturers producing e-cigarettes for the domestic Chinese market, but also to the manufacturing of e-cigarettes solely for export.
According to Keller & Heckman, manufacturers will have to prepare many materials for their license application. Among other information, they will have to provide proof of suitable funds, production and sales information, including the balance sheet, income statement, cash flow statement and production and sales statistics.
E-liquid manufacturers will have to supply a license for operating dangerous chemicals and identify the sources of nicotine used in the past three years. Applicants for export must submit materials explaining the export business and the scale of export, including the customs declaration forms for the past three years
Remarkably, the rules require companies manufacturing exclusively for export to obtain trademark registration in China. Although Keller and Heckman considers it unlikely that the STMA intended to impose the Chinese trademark registration requirement on exporters, the law firm advises clients to seek clarification from the authorities.
June 7, 2022
EU Sanctions Belarusian Tobacco Firms

Photo: Tobacco Reporter archive
The European Union has imposed sanctions against Neman Grodno Tobacco Factory and Inter Tobako in Belarus, reports Interfax. The measures were announced in The Official Journal of the European Union as part of a larger package of sanctions to punish Russia and its allies for the war in Ukraine.
The package also targets Russian oil exports, financial institutions and vehicle manufacturers whose trucks and cars have been used in the “special military operation.”
The Newman Grodno Tobacco Factory was already subject to sanctions following the controversial re-election of Alexander Lukashenko and the regime’s subsequent crackdown on protests challenging the outcome in 2020.
Accounting for 70 percent of domestic cigarette sales, Neman effectively has a monopoly on the Belarusian tobacco market. The United States says it is one of several entities that receive preferential treatment from the regime in return for providing funds to Lukashenko.
The Neman factory has also been fingered as a major source of illicit cigarettes in Europe. Around 10 percent of the 5.5 billion cigarettes sold illegally in the U.K. annually are believed to have originated in Belarus.
With the average price of a pack of cigarettes in Belarus running the equivalent of about $0.80 compared to $4.30 in Latvia and much higher in other parts of the EU, there is plenty of room for profit in smuggling.
June 7, 2022
BAT Conducts Real-World Vuse Study

Photo: BAT
BAT has conducted a first-of-its-kind study of Vuse designed to assess and provide insights into the real-world health impact of vaping. The study compares biomarker measures from Vuse consumers who have been using the product for over six months with the results from smokers, former smokers and never-smokers. Protocol details explaining the innovative design of the latest study were published in the Journal of Health and Environmental Research.
The cross-sectional study design uses a single set of data readings to measure exposure to certain toxicants and indicators of potential harm related to several smoking-related diseases in people who have been exclusively using Vuse.
BAT hopes that the results, which are currently being analyzed and will be published later this year, will provide further supportive evidence that using Vuse can reduce relative risk for certain diseases among adult consumers compared to smoking. The company expects that once available, the results will add to the growing body of evidence on Vuse’s potential as a reduced-risk product.
“This innovative study demonstrates our commitment to researching the reduced-risk potential of our new category products,” said Sharon Goodall, BAT’s group head of regulatory sciences, in a statement.
“What makes it particularly relevant and exciting is that the results generated will be from people who have been using Vuse as they normally would for more than six months prior to testing. The results will provide important new insights and show us the differences between Vuse users, smokers and former smokers across a range of important biomarkers thought to be predictive of disease development. We look forward to sharing the data once available.”
June 6, 2022
UAE Bans Vaping in Public Spaces

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Vaping e-cigarettes is prohibited inside offices and closed spaces across the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the health ministry has confirmed. The use of e-cigarettes is now subject to the federal law on tobacco control in the country.
This came as the Ministry of Health and Prevention (MoHAP) highlighted the dangers of consuming tobacco products, including e-cigarettes, according to the Khaleej Times.
According to the UAE government website, the federal law also forbids and penalizes: the sale of tobacco products to those under 18; smoking in private cars when a child under the age of 12 is present; smoking in houses of worship, educational institutions (such as universities and schools), health and sports facilities; automatic vending equipment and devices for tobacco distribution inside the country; and tobacco advertisement.
The MoHAP said it has collaborated with the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority to block websites that advertise and promote electronic nicotine-delivery systems.
The UAE had originally planned to ban vaping products because UAE-based doctors had said that e-cigarettes would create a whole new generation of smokers. However, the country changed course after advocacy groups pushed for the harm reduction products.
Meanwhile, citing the National Health Survey, the ministry said the prevalence of adult tobacco smoking has declined from 11.1 percent in 2010 to 9.1 percent in 2018.
The latest edition of the Tobacco Atlas suggests that the UAE has among the lowest cigarette consumption rates. A graphic shared as part of the report shows that an adult smoker consumes 438 cigarettes a year in the country.

June 6, 2022
Goebel Helps Forop Secure BOPP Ambitions

Photo: Goebel IMS
Goebel IMS is playing an instrumental role in the expansion plans of Fujian Forop Advanced Materials Co., the Germany-based manufacturer of slitting and rewinding machinery announced in a press note.
Forop Advanced Materials aims to become the world’s largest manufacturer of BOPP films. To help achieve this ambition, the company intends to inaugurate two new BOPP film factories in southern China by 2025, giving it a total of six production sites with 30 BOPP production lines.
In 2021, the company signed an agreement to acquire 16 Goebel IMS Monoslit 9000 BOPP slitter rewinders from Goebel. According to Goebel, Forop Advanced Materials will likely purchase additional primary slitter rewinders for another six BOPP production lines.
“Such a project is unique in our history, we are very proud and thankful that Forop put its trust in Goebel IMS,” said Tobias Lanksweirt, managing director of Goebel Schneid- und Wickelsysteme and sales director film. “With this project we show once more that we are the world market leader if it comes to primary slitting and rewinding, especially in the field of high-speed BOPP converting. We are looking forward to a long and fruitful cooperation with Forop.”
June 6, 2022
Study: Graphic Warnings Boost Pack Hiding

Illustration: FDA
The presence of graphic health warnings encouraged smokers to hide their packs but did not change smoking behavior among participants in a recent study published in Jama Network Open.
As part of their tobacco-control policies, many countries require cigarette manufacturers to print images of smoking-related diseases on their cigarette packs. A similar rule is pending in the U.S., but the measure has been repeatedly postponed due to industry litigation and the Covid-19 pandemic.
A group of public health experts at the University of California in San Diego wanted to find out how graphic health warnings would affect the behavior of U.S. smokers.
They asked smokers to purchase their preferred brand of cigarettes from a study website. Participants were randomized to receive their cigarettes in one of three pack designs: a package with a graphic warning label, with a blank pack, or in a standard commercially available U.S. pack. Approximately 19,000 packs were delivered to participants.
The researchers found that smokers given packets stamped with images of diseased feet, ill children and throat cancer continued to puff on about 10 cigarettes daily up to a year after receiving them. But six in ten admitted to concealing the packets at least some of the time due to the images, which was up 40 percent from before the study began.
More than 120 countries already force tobacco companies to put warnings over the side-effects of smoking on their packets.
But a growing body of studies suggest that the warnings are becoming less effective as smokers are becoming too used to them.
One paper from 2019 found that about 36 percent of smokers in Canada—which has had graphic health warnings for many years—found them “not at all” or “minimally” effective in prompting them to quit.
June 6, 2022
Thai Court Lowers Philip Morris Fine

Photo: Jo Panuwat
An appeals court in Thailand has lowered a fine imposed on Philip Morris (Thailand) for customs violations to THB121 million ($3.53 million), reports The Bangkok Post.
In November 2019, the country’s criminal court found the tobacco giant guilty of evading taxes due on cigarette imports from the Philippines and ordered the company to pay a fine of THB1.2 billion.
While upholding the guilty verdict, the appeals court on June 1 lowered the fine and instructed authorities to pay rewards to those who provided tips leading to the arrests.
The prosecutor filed a lawsuit against Philip Morris (Thailand) and seven of its employees in 2016 for inaccurate price declarations on cigarettes imported from the Philippines from July 2003 to June 2006. The defendants denied the charges.
According to the lawsuit, Philip Morris (Thailand) set the price of L&M cigarettes imported from the Philippines at THB5.88, while other importers declared the same brand of cigarettes at THB6.81 per packet.
The tobacco firm allegedly also declared the cost, insurance and freight rate on Marlboro from the Philippines at THB7.76 per packet, far lower than the THB27.46 reported by other importers.
June 6, 2022