Category: Featured

  • ITGA to Hold AGM in North Carolina

    ITGA to Hold AGM in North Carolina

    Photo: Taco Tuinstra

    The International Tobacco Growers Association (ITGA) will hold is 2024 annual general meeting (AGM) in Raleigh, North Carolina, USA, Oct.15-18. The event, which coincides with the organization’s 40th anniversary, is hosted by the Tobacco Growers Association of North Carolina and brings together growers’ representatives and tobacco sector stakeholders from around the world.

    Delegates to the meeting will visit an auction center, observe receiving station delivery, tour a processing plant, visit university and research farms and the North Carolina State Fair.

    This year, ITGA’s focus is on farm productivity and tobacco yields. An extensive research effort revealed crucial variations between markets as well as between small scale and commercial growers. This will be the focus of the open day conference.

    For more information, visit www.itgaevents.com.

     

  • Universal Announces New Leadership

    Universal Announces New Leadership

    Preston D. Wigner will succeed George C. Freeman III as chairman, president and CEO of Universal Corp. on Oct. 1, 2024.

    Wigner joined Universal in 2003. After serving as the company’s vice president, general counsel and secretary for nearly 20 years he was appointed senior vice president of Universal in December 2023. Prior to joining Universal, Wigner served as an associate with the law firms Williams Mullen and Hunton Andrews Kurth.

    According to Universal, Wigner’s appointment is the culmination of a succession planning process conducted by the board of directors and assisted over the past two years by a global leadership advisory firm. Freeman will serve as vice chair of the company through Dec. 31, 2024, and then as a senior advisor through the company’s fiscal year-end on March 31, 2025.

    “George has played a critical role in shaping Universal into the company it is today, and we are grateful for his tremendous leadership,” said Thomas H. Johnson, lead independent director of Universal’s board, in a statement.

    “During the last several years, George and the senior leadership team have consistently delivered value to Universal’s shareholders by driving strong tobacco results and establishing our Universal Ingredients business. With the positive momentum from our most recent fiscal year and the strong beginning to our current fiscal year, now is the right time to implement this leadership succession.

    “We are delighted to name Preston as our next chairman, president and CEO. Preston has been a valued member of Universal’s senior leadership team for many years. With significant tobacco industry experience, active involvement in our ingredients business strategy from its inception, and deep familiarity with our global organization, Preston has the right mix of skills and expertise to drive Universal forward.”

    I am energized by the opportunity to lead our incredible organization and advance our growth strategy by optimizing our leading tobacco business and expanding our ingredients business.

    Preston D. Wigner

    “It is a privilege to be named chairman, president and CEO of Universal at this exciting time in the company’s 100-plus year history,” said Wigner. “I am energized by the opportunity to lead our incredible organization and advance our growth strategy by optimizing our leading tobacco business and expanding our ingredients business.

    “Our future success will build on the foundational work we have accomplished under George’s leadership as well as our continued efforts to develop and pursue innovative strategies, set new standards of social and environmental performance, and motivate and inspire our global workforce. I am grateful to George for his mentorship and friendship, and I look forward to continuing to work with him through the remainder of our fiscal year.”

    “It has been an honor to lead Universal in building and growing our portfolio of agriproducts and extending our sustainable supply chain operations to now support more than 200,000 farmers over five continents,” said Freeman. “We have made incredible advances in the 27 years I have been with Universal, and I thank our talented employees around the world who work tirelessly for all our stakeholders. As I prepare to leave the board, I would also like to thank each director for their support and guidance as we have worked to position the company for success. I have worked closely with Preston, and my decision to retire is made with the utmost confidence in his ability to advance Universal’s strategy with the support of the board and management team and deliver long-term value for our shareholders. I look forward to supporting a smooth transition.”

  • Luxembourg Urged to Hike Tobacco Prices

    Luxembourg Urged to Hike Tobacco Prices

    Photo: danimages

    Public health activists are urging Luxembourg raise tobacco prices, reports the Luxembourg Times.

    Tobacco in Luxembourg is considerably cheaper than it is in all surrounding countries, which spurs cross-border sales and supplies a steady stream of revenue to the principality.

    As much as 5 percent of Luxembourg’s treasury income is generated from tobacco sales. However, much of this is purchased by people who live in France, Belgium and Germany. A pack of cigarettes is roughly twice as expensive in France as in Luxembourg.

    Finance minister Gilles Roth noted in March that the treasury actively relies on that money, making price increases unlikely.

    Health advocates are also urging Luxembourg to tighten laws on retailer tobacco displays.

    The Fondation Cancer group believes the visibility of tobacco and nicotine products not only encourages smokers to increase their consumption but also entices young people to start smoking.

    “Tobacco products and related displays are often strategically placed at the entrances of supermarkets, near sweets and magazines or directly at checkout counters,” said Fondation’s public health liaison, Lex Schaul.

    “These high-visibility areas make the products more noticeable to young people, normalizing their consumption and downplaying the associated dangers,” he said. 

  • Switzerland to Tighten Tobacco Rules

    Switzerland to Tighten Tobacco Rules

    Photo: Heorshe

    Switzerland will strengthen its restriction on tobacco advertising and nicotine product notification requirements effective Oct. 1, reports Swissinfo.

    The new rules include a nationwide ban on sales to people under the age of 18 and stricter advertising restrictions, for example on posters, on public transport, in cinemas, in publicly accessible buildings such as train stations and airports and on sports grounds.

    Existing smoking bans will now also apply to heated products and electronic cigarettes.

    Sponsorship of events with an international character or for an underage audience is no longer permitted.

    Cigarette manufacturers will also be required to print pictorial warnings on tobacco packaging

  • Lawmakers Act Against ‘Mimic Menthols’

    Lawmakers Act Against ‘Mimic Menthols’

    Photo: niroworld

    The California legislature has passed two bills to strengthen enforcement of the state’s law ending the sale of flavored tobacco products. The legislation must still be signed into law by Governor Gavin Newsom.

    On Jan. 1, 2023, California implemented one of the strongest laws  in the United States prohibiting the sale of flavored tobacco products, including flavored e-cigarettes and menthol cigarettes. In response, tobacco companies have developed alternative products that provide a similar cooling sensation with a less pronounced flavor. While tobacco companies insisted the such “mimic menthols” complied with state law, critics said they were designed to circumvent California’s rules.

    One of the new bills (AB 3218) requires the state Attorney General to establish and maintain a list of unflavored tobacco products, putting the onus on the tobacco industry to demonstrate that a product does not have a flavor and can be legally sold in California. The bill also updates the definition of a prohibited “characterizing flavor” to include products that impart a menthol-like cooling sensation, thereby making it illegal to sell tobacco companies’ menthol-like cigarettes.

    The second bill (SB 1230) authorizes the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration to seize illegal, flavored tobacco products discovered during routine tobacco tax inspections.

    Anti-tobacco activists advocates welcomed the move. “We applaud the California leaders who have championed these bills,” said Yolonda C. Richardson, president and CEO of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, in a statement. “They are ensuring that California’s law works as intended to protect kids from tobacco addiction, advance health equity and save lives.”

  • Conflict Forcing Growers From Fields

    Conflict Forcing Growers From Fields

    Photo: Hussein

    The escalating conflict between Israel and Hezbollah is forcing tobacco farmers in Lebanon to abandon their fields, reports Xinhua.

    Hezbollah launched hundreds of missiles into Israel in retaliation for the killing of its commander, Fouad Shokor, in an Israeli airstrike on Beirut last month.

    In response, Israel reported conducting numerous preemptive airstrikes targeting Hezbollah’s rocket launchers in southern Lebanon.

    Amidst the turmoil, tobacco farmers in border villages were forced to abandon picking and drying their leaves.

    “This is the first time in more than 40 years that I have abandoned tobacco cultivation in my fields,” Jamal Abdallah, a 60-year-old displaced farmer, told Xinhua. Abdallah said around 85 percent of tobacco farmers in southern Lebanon have left their fields due to the ongoing conflict.

    According to the Lebanese Regie for Tobacco (RLTT), between 15,000-16,000 families cultivate tobacco in southern Lebanon, covering an area of some 90 square km.

    While the annual production usually exceeds 5 million kg, RLTT said initial estimates show this year’s production will dip to 2 million.

  • Mozambique Leaf Production Plunges

    Mozambique Leaf Production Plunges

    Photo: Taco Tuinstra

    The value of Mozambique’s tobacco production dropped 71.7 percent to MZN200 million ($3.13 million) year-on-year in the first six months of 2024, according to the Club of Mozambique. The organization did not provide a reason for the decline.

    The revenues amounted to 2.7 percent of the target set for the whole year and 1 percent of Mozambique’s industrial output from January to June.

    The government expects growers to cultivate 129,321 hectares and 81,223 tons of tobacco this year.

    According to a 2023 World Health Organization report, Mozambique had the eighth largest tobacco-growing area in the world and the third largest tobacco-growing area in Africa, after Zimbabwe and Malawi.

    Brazil, with a cultivation area of 357,230 hectares, and Mozambique are the only Community of Portuguese Speaking Countries nations mentioned in the WHO report.

  • Campaigners Vow to Fight Outdoor Ban

    Campaigners Vow to Fight Outdoor Ban

    Photo: gzorgz

    A leaked plan to drastically extend smoking restrictions in Britain to outdoor spaces has sparked outrage among activists and some politicians.

    According to The Sun, ministers have been “plotting” to make beer gardens, outdoor restaurants and other open-air spaces smokefree. The proposed restrictions exempt private homes, along with large open spaces such as parks or streets.

    Reform UK leader Nigel Farage said: “It’ll be the end of pubs.”

    “Imposing nanny state regulation like this on pubs and restaurants would not only be wrong but economically damaging,” said Former Home Secretary Priti Patel.

    “These are small businesses, run by hardworking people, that provide jobs up and down the country.”

    Simon Clark, director of the smokers’ rights group Forest vowed to fight any attempt to extend smoking bans to outdoor areas.

    “Smoking bans must be evidence based and there is no evidence that smoking in the open air is a significant threat to the health of nonsmokers,” he said.

    “The indoor smoking ban did enormous damage to the pub industry. Extending the ban to beer gardens could force many more pubs to close.”

    Accusing the ruling Labour party of using “bully state” tactics to force adults to quit smoking, Clark said, “If it’s true that the government intends to extend the smoking ban to a raft of outdoor areas, Britain will no longer be a nanny state.

    “We will have crossed a line and become a bully state in which people are punished for the terrible crime of lighting a cigarette outside a pub or in a park.”

  • Law Firm Announces Vapor Symposium

    Law Firm Announces Vapor Symposium

    Keller and Heckman will hold its nineth Annual E-Vapor and Tobacco Law Symposium Jan. 27-28, 2025, in Las Vegas, right before the Total Product Expo. This two-day seminar is designed to provide in-depth knowledge on legal, regulatory and scientific issues that are essential for tobacco, nicotine and CBD/hemp product manufacturers, suppliers, distributors and retailers.

    Registration for this seminar, which will be held at the Hilton-Conrad Resorts World Las Vegas, will launch in September 2024.

  • FDA Issues Final Rule for Tobacco 21

    FDA Issues Final Rule for Tobacco 21

    The U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced a final rule raising the minimum age for certain restrictions on tobacco product sales. The requirements are in line with legislation signed in December 2019, which immediately raised the federal minimum age for the sale of tobacco products in the United States from 18 to 21.

    Once implemented, the requirements are expected to help decrease underage tobacco sales.  

    Beginning Sept. 30, retailers must verify with photo identification the age of anyone under the age of 30 who is trying to purchase tobacco products, including e-cigarettes. Previously, this requirement applied to anyone under the age of 27. It’s important for retailers to request and examine photo IDs to verify age from anyone under 30, regardless of appearance, as research has shown that it is difficult for retailers to accurately determine the age of a customer from appearance alone. 

    Additionally, starting Sept. 30, retailers may not sell tobacco products via vending machines in facilities where individuals under 21 are present or permitted to enter at any time. Previously, this prohibition applied to facilities where individuals under 18 were present or permitted to enter at any time.

    These changes, and the other changes made by the final rule, aim to maximize the public health impact of the original December 2019 legislation, according to an agency press release.

    “Today’s rule is another key step toward protecting our nation’s youth from the health risks of tobacco products,” said Brian King, director of the FDA’s Center for Tobacco Products. “Decades of science have shown that keeping tobacco products away from youth is critical to reducing the number of people who ultimately become addicted to these products and suffer from tobacco-related disease and death.”

    The Further Consolidated Appropriations Act, signed into law on Dec. 20, 2019, increased the federal minimum age for selling tobacco products from 18 to 21 across the United States. Since then, it has been illegal to sell tobacco products, including e-cigarettes, to anyone under 21. The law also directed the FDA to take action today, increasing the age of certain requirements for tobacco product sales, as explained above.

    The agency also continues to provide retailers with resources to improve compliance with tobacco laws and regulations, including age of sale restrictions. For example, the FDA has developed a voluntary education program, “This is Our Watch,” which offers free resources to assist retailers in calculating the age of customers, including a digital age verification calendar and an age calculator app. Retailers can also find information on tobacco products that may be legally marketed in the United States through the Searchable Tobacco Products Database. Updated resources, including further information on these latest requirements, will be made available on the FDA’s website in the near future.