Category: Featured

Finland Tightens Tobacco Laws

Photo: sezerozger
On May 1, 2022, a revised Tobacco Act took effect in Finland as part of a long-term strategy to eliminate smoking, according to reports by YLE News and Business Standard.
Smoking at playgrounds and on public beaches is now banned. The beach ban is in effect annually from the beginning of May to the end of September.
The ban aims to protect youth from secondhand smoke as well as reduce littering and environmental damage related to smoking.
Tobacco flavoring products including flavor cards are also banned under the revised legislation. Characterizing flavors such as menthol or strawberry in cigarettes were illegal already. The new rules are targeted at products that enable consumers to flavor their unflavored tobacco products.
Products already in stores and warehouses have until the end of April 2023 to be sold.
By May 2023, stricter regulations on product packaging will go into effect. Brand images will no longer be allowed on packaging, with the goal of reducing the appeal of tobacco products.
Finland has been gradually restricting public smoking since 1976, starting with bans on public transport and later extending to all public indoor areas.
May 3, 2022
U.S. Premium Cigar Imports Up

Photo: Media Ingenious Corp
The United States imported 21.4 million premium cigars in 2022, up 3.8 percent from the previous year, reports Halfwheel, citing the Cigar Association of America (CAA).
Nicaragua supplied 14.73 million premium cigars while Honduras delivered 3.21 million, both showing increases from 2021.
Imports from the Dominican Republic, on the other hand, decreased by more than 40 percent.
The CAA calculates its report numbers based on import numbers from the U.S. Census Bureau, U.S. Customs Services and information reported by cigar companies. Numbers are not exact due to reporting differences, according to the association. The CAA estimates how many “large cigars” were actually “premium cigars.”
May 3, 2022
Prospect of Menthol Ban Divides Black Leaders

Photo: BrAt82
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s recent announcement of its proposed menthol ban has divided leaders in the Black community.
Menthol cigarettes are disproportionately popular among Black smokers in the United States. Out of all Black smokers, nearly 85 percent smoke menthol cigarettes, compared to 30 percent of White smokers who smoke menthols, according to the FDA.
While proponents argue that the ban will help end “predatory marketing” of menthol cigarettes to Black communities, some civil rights advocates worry the measure might contribute to more violent interactions between police and communities of color.
“What we said is, ‘Y’all have got to consider unintended consequences.’ Imagine some cop pulling a kid over, saying, ‘Where did you buy or get that Kool cigarette?’” Reverend Al Sharpton was quoted as saying by Politico after the FDA announcement. “People are not going to stop smoking Newports and Kools because of a rule. They’re going to go and get them from people that go to the street in the black market. Then what happens?”
“The proposed ban could also have serious economic and criminal justice implications for communities across the nation,” Representative Donald McEachin said. It will “disproportionately impact African Americans and lower income communities while tobacco products commonly used by predominantly white or more affluent populations [go] unchecked.”
On April 22, Family members of George Floyd, Eric Garner and Trayvon Martin—black men who were killed by either police or people acting as security guards—sent a letter to the White House urging President Biden to understand the unintended consequences of such a ban, according to The Hill.
“Banning menthol cigarettes will only increase the value and attractiveness. While we have been told that Black smokers will not be criminalized for possessing menthol cigarettes, that does not match our experience with other cigarette policies,” said the letter.
Representative Lisa Blunt Rochester, by contrast, welcomed the FDA plans. “I’ve seen in my own family and through my own life experience the consequences of the tobacco industry specifically targeting the Black community in America,” she said. “It’s time for these highly addictive menthol cigarettes to be banned.”
The Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, meanwhile, accused the tobacco industry of pushing “false claims” that a menthol ban will subject Black Americans to more law enforcement abuse. The FDA, it stated, has said that it rules will apply to manufacturers and retailers and that it cannot and will not enforce individual consumer possession or use of menthol cigarette or any other tobacco products.
“Racial bias in policing is a critical issue that must be addressed. But the tobacco industry’s cynical fearmongering cannot hide the fact that the industry itself has caused so much harm to Black Americans through the targeted marketing of menthol cigarettes,” the CTFK wrote in a statement.
May 2, 2022
Hong Kong Bans E-Cigarettes

Photo: Earnest Tse
Hong Kong’s ban on the importation and sale of alternative smoking products, including vaping and heat-not-burn products, took effect on April 30, reports ABS-CBN.
The Smoking (Public Health) (Amendment) Ordinance 2021 also prohibits using or carrying an activated vaping device in no-smoking areas. Offenders risk a fine of HKD1,500 ($191).
The ban covers electronic smoking products, heated-tobacco products, herbal cigarettes and their accessories, according to The Star.
The ordinance also prohibits the promotion, manufacture and possession for commercial purposes of novel tobacco products. Those convicted of violating the law will be fined HKD50,000 and imprisoned for six months.
Several vape shops have already closed as a result of the ban, according to news reports. Sales before the ban took effect increased dramatically as users stocked up on products before they could no longer buy them legally.
Heated Tobacco Concern Group HK said that the ban could encourage the smoking of traditional combustible cigarettes; about 90 percent of more than 800 vapers polled last year stated they would use traditional cigarettes following a ban on e-cigarettes. The other 10 percent indicated that they would buy alternative products on the black market.
“The new policy has left users with no choice but to smoke traditional cigarettes,” said Joe Lo Kai-lut, convener of Heated Tobacco Concern Group HK. “It is a bad thing for public health … I hope the government will review the policy by looking into other countries’ regulatory measures.”
Hong Kong customs arrested 11 people on charges of smuggling vaping and heated-tobacco products and confiscated HKD15 million worth of e-cigarettes and heated-tobacco products on Friday.
Given Hong Kong’s proximity to Shenzhen—the world’s largest manufacturing hub for vapor devices, authorities are expected to have their work cut out in enforcing the ban.
May 2, 2022
Livestream to ‘Expose Anti-Vape Agenda’
sCOPe, a global livestream featuring leading tobacco harm reduction (THR) advocates, will broadcast again on both World Vape Day and World No Tobacco Day.
During the event, European, African, Indian, North and South American, and Asia-Pacific THR consumer organizations will discuss advocacy and issues in their countries and take questions from viewers.
The two-day sCOPe22 livestream will broadcast for World Vape Day 2022 on May 30 and broadcast for World No Tobacco Day 2022 on May 31. It will run for eight hours each day from 07:00 CDT/13:00 BST.
“This sCOPe livestream is so important. Too many smokers continue to die from the narrow-mindedness of an anti-vape agenda that has been funded by the likes of American billionaires,” says Nancy Loucas of the Coalition of Asia Pacific Tobacco Harm Reduction Advocates (CAPHRA).
“The global evidence is overwhelmingly in favor of vaping, yet hundreds of millions of smokers are blocked from accessing harm reduced alternatives. People’s health and human rights are denied in favor of greed and ego. sCOPe 2022 will discuss where the money is coming from and expose the motivation,” says Loucas.
The organizations set to feature include European Tobacco Harm Reduction Advocates, the Campaign for Safer Alternatives in Africa, Vaping Saved My Life South Africa, the Association of Vapers India, and the CAPHRA.
The Americas are represented by Latin American-based ARDT Iberoamerica, Rights for Vapers Canada, the Tobacco Harm Reduction Association of Canada, and United States-based Consumer Advocates for Smoke-Free Alternatives Association.
Last year, sCOPe livestreamed around the clock from Nov. 8 to Nov. 12 during COP9—the Ninth Conference of the Parties to the World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control. The unprecedented broadcast gave a global voice to leading consumer advocates who were shut out of COP9.
May 2, 2022
Mixed Reactions to Menthol and Cigar Flavors Plan

Photo: Alicia
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s recently announced plan to ban menthol in cigarettes and characterizing flavors in cigars has evoked mixed reactions among stakeholders.
The Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids welcomed the move. “By issuing proposed rules today to prohibit menthol cigarettes and all flavored cigars, the FDA is taking historic and long-overdue action to protect our nation’s kids, advance health equity and save lives, especially among Black Americans and other populations that have been targeted by the tobacco industry and suffered enormous harm from the predatory marketing of these products,” the organization wrote in a statement.
The Foundation for a Smoke-Free World (FSW), which is backed by Philip Morris International, said the FDA’s move could become one of the most significant actions in the fight to end the smoking epidemic in the U.S.
“Menthol cigarettes are disproportionately used by African Americans and prohibiting their sale would help address the health disparities caused by these products,” the organization wrote in a statement
“Tobacco product use is the leading cause of preventable death in the U.S. African Americans smoke menthol cigarettes at a rate that is far higher than menthol use prevalence in other racial and ethnic groups. The FDA cites modeling studies that indicate if menthol cigarettes were no longer available, smoking rates and deaths due to smoking would decline significantly in the U.S.”
While describing the menthol ban as an important step, the FSFW stressed that adult smokers who are addicted to menthol cigarettes and who cannot or will not quit entirely require support. “Menthol-flavored harm reduction products (e-cigarettes, nicotine replacement therapy gum, heated tobacco, and snus) provide users with access to alternatives to switching to nonmenthol combustibles or turning to the black market for menthol products,” the group wrote.

We strongly believe that there are more effective routes to deliver tobacco harm reduction than banning menthol in cigarettes.
Kingsley Wheaton, chief marketing officer, BAT
British American Tobacco said it was reviewing the details of the proposed regulations and would continue to actively participate in the rulemaking process by submitting science-based comments to the FDA.
“We strongly believe that there are more effective routes to deliver tobacco harm reduction than banning menthol in cigarettes,” said BAT Chief Marketing Officer Kingsley Wheaton in a statement. “Evidence from other markets, including Canada and the EU where similar bans have been imposed, demonstrates little impact on overall cigarette consumption.
“The scientific evidence shows no difference in the health risks associated with menthol cigarettes compared to non-menthol cigarettes, nor does it support that menthol cigarettes adversely affect initiation, dependence or cessation. As a result, we do not believe the published science supports regulating menthol cigarettes differently from non-menthol cigarettes.”

22nd Century Group is confident its VLN Menthol King brand will be exempted from the FDA ban.
(Photo: 22nd Century Group)
22nd Century Group, meanwhile, expressed support for the FDA’s proposed menthol ban, saying it expected its VLN Menthol King reduced nicotine cigarettes to be exempted from the FDA ban. On Dec. 23, 2021, the FDA authorized 22^nd Century Group’s VLN Menthol King brand to be marketed with modified-risk claims.
In its press release announcing that decision, the FDA acknowledged its menthol plans, stating, “In reaching today’s determination [authorizing the MRTP applications for VLN], the FDA considered both the current legal status of menthol cigarettes and the available science demonstrating that these particular products are ‘appropriate for the protection of public health’ and could help addicted cigarette smokers reduce their nicotine consumption and the number of cigarettes they smoke per day,” according to 22nd Century Group.
“Removing menthol from highly addictive cigarettes is a crucial public health step by the FDA, and we welcome today’s announcement,” said John Pritchard, vice president of regulatory science for 22nd Century, in a statement.
“At the same time, we recognize, as the FDA has, that many adults who continue to smoke highly addictive cigarettes after the implementation of a final FDA rule will need access to suitably regulated alternative products. Our VLN products, including our recently authorized MRTP VLN Menthol King is an example of such a product, and we have already and will continue to represent our views to FDA on the importance of MRTP products in achieving FDA’s public health mission.”
Stressing that the FDA’s April 28 announcement relates only to proposed product standards, Swisher, which is best known for its Swisher Sweets cigars, said it would continue business as usual. “The FDA announcement (…) is only a proposed rule and must go through a lengthy comment an approval process before it can be enacted,” the company wrote in a press note.
Insisting there was little scientific evidence to support a ban on characterizing flavors in cigars, Swisher said it plans to vehemently oppose the measure with meaningful scientific and economic data.
May 2, 2022
Kenya Plans to Raise Taxes on Vaping
Credit: Vector Shop
Kenya’s Treasury Cabinet Secretary, Ukur Yatani, has proposed to change the excise tax on liquid nicotine to Sh70 ($0.60 cents) per milliliter in a bid to make it less accessible to users, including school children and the youth.
Vaping industry advocates warn the new proposals to raise excise tax on nicotine products will push safer alternatives for smokers out of reach and help the black market thrive, according to The Standard.
Campaign for Safer Alternatives (Casa), a lobby that aims for smoke-free environments in Africa, said the tax changes would result in higher prices of e-cigarettes and negatively impacting those who rely on them to help them stay off cigarettes.
“Doubling the tax on vapes and nicotine pouches is the opposite of a cash cow. If anything, it will drain more money from the Treasury by forcing vapers into the black market,” said Casa chairman Joseph Magero on the proposals contained in the Finance Bill.
“Already, Kenya’s sky-high vaping taxes have created a thriving black market for vape products, with many shops selling un-taxed vapes in broad daylight.”
He said the tax increase will also raise the healthcare costs for Kenya’s government by leaving vapers with no choice but to revert to smoking or using unregulated black market vapes.
April 29, 2022
FDA Gets Until May 16 to File PMTA Reports
Courtesy: US FDA
UPDATE: The order has been granted. First reports are due May 16.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is asking the U.S. District Court of Maryland for a 14-day extension to file the first status report required by the Court’s revised remedial order.
The plaintiffs in the case consent to the requested extension, according to the motion filed today.
“The extension request is supported by good cause. Compiling the information needed for the status report has required considerable time and effort, and Defendants have been working with
Plaintiffs to resolve any ambiguities about which applications will be covered in the status report,” the motion states. “Also, a number of FDA employees helping to prepare the status report were out of the office on pre-planned leave last week, and a key FDA employee responsible for the status report will be out of the country on pre-planned leave next week.
“Defendants do not seek to modify any other deadline, and the FDA’s second status report would remain due July 28, 2022. Defendants are prepared to have this letter serve as their consent motion for a 14-day extension.”
Judge Grimm is expected to grant the motion’s request. The new deadline for first PMTA status reports would be May 16 if motion is granted.
April 29, 2022
JT Considers Sale of Russian Operations
Japan Tobacco on Thursday announced it was considering selling its Russian operations after suspending investment and marketing activities in the country last month following Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.
The statement by JT, market leader in Russia, came after it said in March it would continue manufacturing in the country, where it has four factories and 4,000 employees.
That announcement drew criticism after many global brands pulled out over the invasion of Ukraine and governments, including Japan, levied heavy sanctions against Moscow. Russia calls its action in Ukraine a “special operation,” according to Reuters.
Japan Tobacco’s move to explore a sale of its Russia operations makes it the last major international cigarette-maker to speak publicly about potentially leaving Russia, the world’s fourth-biggest cigarette market.
Marlboro owner Philip Morris, the No.2 biggest player in the country, said last month that it plans to scale down manufacturing operations in Russia and that it is working on options to exit the market.
April 29, 2022
Nepal Bans Tobacco Imports

Photo: Taco Tuinstra
Nepal has banned the import of tobacco, cars, alcohol and other luxury items and shortened its workweek to conserve its dwindling supply of foreign exchange, according to the South China Morning Post.
Under the ban, only emergency vehicles can be imported, and imports of alcohol or tobacco products, large-engine motorcycles and mobile phones costing more than $600 are prohibited. Import of toys, playing cards, diamonds and other “nonessential” goods are also banned.
The ban is in effect until mid-July, which marks the end of the Himalayan nation’s financial year.
According to officials, without the ban, foreign currency reserves necessary to import goods will only last a few more months.
Nepal’s main sources of foreign currency are tourism, remittances from overseas workers and foreign aid.
April 28, 2022