Category: Featured

  • Post-Brexit U.K. Urged to Tout Vaping

    Post-Brexit U.K. Urged to Tout Vaping

    Photo: sea and sun

    David Jones, a former Welsh secretary and Brexit minister, has urged Britain to use its Brexit freedoms to tout the health benefits of e-cigarettes during the next summit on tobacco organized by the World Health Organization, reports The Express.

    The parties to the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control are set to meet virtually in November to discuss tobacco control policies.

    Delegates will debate the success and failure of recent and ongoing tobacco control initiatives. They will discuss how best the world can be convinced to give up traditional cigarettes, and they will debate matters such as law enforcement’s involvement in the illicit tobacco trade.

    Both the WHO and the EU have taken a dim view of e-cigarettes, pushing for ever-tighter restrictions. The WHO has claimed on its website that there is growing evidence of risk from e-cigarettes.

    Britain has taken a pragmatic approach to the category, allowing vapor products to remain on the market within a comparatively light regulatory framework.

    “Unlike previous COPs [Conference of the Parties], the U.K. does not have to join the EU’s position,” said Jones. “We are not bound by Brussels; we are independent and free to back the science, back Public Health England and back our own health experts over the WHO.

    “We must not fall into bad habits and simply join the EU position because it would be the easy thing to do. Brexit meant control over our own policies. This is our chance to show the electorate what that means in reality. We must use our freedom to save lives.”

    There are concerns, however, that the WHO will not recognize the U.K. as an independent voice at its summit. Instead, it may defer to the EU as the voice for the European region.

  • Study: Kreteks Emit More Particulate Matter

    Study: Kreteks Emit More Particulate Matter

    Photo: Bruno R.B S.

    Kretek cigarettes emit significantly higher levels of particulate matter (PM) than conventional cigarettes, according to a new study published by the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco.

    Kretek clove cigarettes, which are popular in Indonesia, contain more tar and nicotine than regular cigarettes, but little is known about PM emissions.

    To learn more, the researchers generated secondhand smoke in a closed measuring chamber. They then measured PM fractions (PM10, PM2.5, PM1) of three popular kretek brands (two king-sized and one slim-sized) in comparison to conventional cigarettes and a reference cigarette by laser aerosol spectroscopy in real time.

    The king-sized kreteks reached PM10 and PM2.5 mean concentrations of up to about 3000 µg/m³, and PM1 mean concentrations of up to about 2700 µg/m³. Consequently, these kreteks emitted up to about 100 percent more PM10 and PM2.5, respectively, 84 percent more PM1 than the reference cigarette; and up to about 260 percent more PM10 and PM2.5, respectively, 234 percent more PM1 than the other investigated cigarettes.

    The researchers suggested that the declaration of PM data of kreteks and other tobacco products can play a key role in a more effective tobacco policy to reduce consumption of tobacco products.

  • Trade Warns Against Tax Hike’s Unintended Consequences

    Trade Warns Against Tax Hike’s Unintended Consequences

    Photo: RomanR

    A coalition of trade associations, including the National Association of Convenience Stores, has warned U.S. Congress against the unintended consequences of raising tobacco taxes, reports Politico.

    Lawmakers have been debating an ambitious plan to create jobs and lower the cost for services such as childcare, higher education and healthcare. The Build Back Better Bill is to be funded by higher taxes on the wealthiest individuals and large corporations, including tobacco companies.

    The proposal would effectively double the federal excise tax on small cigars and cigarettes, and it would increase the tax on chewing tobacco from a little over $0.50 to $10.70—more than 21 times its current level. It also establishes a new tax on vaping, or e-cigarettes.

    In a letter dated Sept. 14, the trade associations argued that if the price of tobacco products spikes, buyers would move to the tobacco black market where sellers don’t abide by standard regulations and often prey on young people.

    “When the price of a product rises too much too fast, illicit purveyors will seize the opportunity to exploit and take advantage of current users and entice new users without discriminating based on age,” the letter reads. “This undermines the responsible measures our retailers have taken and creates a problem for society as a whole.”

    Erika Sward, assistant vice president of national advocacy at the American Lung Association, countered that raising taxes is effective at reducing tobacco consumption.

    “Very predictably and very unfortunately, this letter goes right to what the industry always argues when a meaningful and effective proposal is on the table, which is that there’s going to be a black market,” Sward said. “It bears itself out over and over again, but the bottom line is [that] what happens is we have fewer people buying tobacco products, especially kids,” with higher taxes.

    The funding proposal has also been criticized for making potentially less harmful smoking alternatives, such as vapor products, more expensive than cigarettes.

  • Court Partially Nullifies ‘Fire-Safe’ Paper Patent

    Court Partially Nullifies ‘Fire-Safe’ Paper Patent

    Photo: Vitalii Vodolazskyi

    The German Federal Court of Justice has partially nullified a European patent assigned to U.S. paper manufacturer Schweitzer-Mauduit International (SWM), reports Juve Patent.

    European patent 1 482 815 protects a paper with reduced ignition proclivity characteristics used for manufacturing cigarettes. The papers are treated with film-forming solutions, which makes them less permeable to oxygen. As such, the embers inside the cigarette cannot easily spread to any material it may be lying on. This is to prevent fires caused by dropped or discarded cigarettes.

    In 2015, SWM sued Julius Glatz, insisting the German company’s Cigla brand of cigarette papers infringed on its patents. After much legal back and forth, Julius Glatz stopped its production of the disputed papers, closing production facilities and laying off employees.

    Following the recent ruling, Julius Glatz announced it would restart production with immediate effect. “As the patent in suit was held invalid, Julius Glatz GmbH and its daughter company LIPtec GmbH never infringed a valid patent,” the company wrote in a statement.

    “Glatz is assuring the high quality, service level and competitiveness the industry is used [to] from them in all paper segments and is therefore proud to say that they are back as a full-service supplier, meaning with LIP-papers too.”

    Julius Glatz is demanding almost €40 million ($46.3 million) from SWM in compensation for the damages it suffered in the dispute.

  • Cuba Starts Planting for 2021-2022 Season

    Cuba Starts Planting for 2021-2022 Season

    Photo: Habanos

    Cuba will kick off its 2021–2022 tobacco growing season by planting of 25,000 hectares this Sunday, reports Market Research Telecast, citing the state company Tabacuba.

    Some 13,800 producers are expected to harvest 27 million kg of tobacco this season.

    Farmers in the country’s leading tobacco growing area, Pinar del Rio, will plant 16,373 hectares, including 760 hectares covered by cloth for the production of Cuba’s famous Havana cigars.  

    In addition, growers in Pinar del Rio will plant 510 hectares of flue-cured Virginia leaf for a cigarette factory in the neighboring Artemisa province.

    Cuba’s tobacco sector has been struggling with a shortage of inputs due to the Covid-19 pandemic and the continuing U.S. trade embargo.

  • TPB’s Marketing Denial Order Rescinded

    TPB’s Marketing Denial Order Rescinded

    Photo: momius

    The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has rescinded the marketing denial order (MDO) it issued for some Turning Point Brands (TPB) e-liquids. The products that had been denied are now back under review.

    In a letter addressed to TPB’s senior vice president of external affairs, Brittani Cushman, the FDA said it had found relevant information that was not properly assessed.

    “Specifically, your applications did contain randomized controlled trials comparing tobacco-flavored ENDS to flavored ENDS as well as several cross-sectional surveys evaluating patterns of use, likelihood of use and perceptions in current smokers, current ENDS users, former tobacco users and never users, which require further review,” wrote Matthew Holman, the director of the Office of Science at the FDA’s Center for Tobacco Products.

    The agency indicated that it would not initiate enforcement action against the TPB products under review.

    The move comes after TPB challenged the MDOs in court. TPB has now withdrawn its appeal.

    “We are encouraged by the FDA’s decision to reconsider our product applications and look forward to engaging the agency as our PMTAs are reviewed,” said TPB President and CEO Larry Wexler in a statement. “It is important that the PMTA process is transparent, purposeful and evidence-based. Our organization dedicated significant time and resources in filing our applications in accordance with agency guidance.

    “We remain hopeful that the depth and range of our studies and data will persuade the FDA that the continued marketing of our vapor products is appropriate for the protection of the public health and that the agency will ultimately preserve a diverse vapor market for the more than 30 million American adult smokers who may wish to transition from combustible cigarettes to lower risk alternatives.”

    Industry representatives suggest the clerical error is a result of the rush with which the FDA was forced to decide on premarket tobacco product applications. The Sept. 9 deadline was ordered by a court in response to litigation by anti-vaping groups, including the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids.

    The MDO withdrawal has left some speculating as to whether the rejected applications of other companies would also receive a second look. Several companies, including Triton and Bidi Vapor, are currently awaiting court decisions on their MDO challenges.

  • Study: Thousands of Unknown Chemicals in E-Cigarettes

    Study: Thousands of Unknown Chemicals in E-Cigarettes

    Photo: pavelkant

    E-cigarettes and other vapor products contain thousands of unknown chemicals and substances not disclosed by manufacturers, according to a study published on Oct. 6 by Chemical Research in Toxicology.

    The authors noted that the aerosols produced by vapor products contain more than 2,000 chemicals, the vast majority of which are unidentified. The researchers, who are from Johns Hopkins University, reported that the findings suggest people who vape are using a product whose risks have yet to be fully determined and could be exposing themselves to chemicals with adverse health effects.

    The researchers used a chemical fingerprinting technique based on liquid chromatography and high-resolution mass spectrometry, which can identify organic compounds in wastewater, food and blood. The team evaluated four popular products: Mi-Salt, Vuse, Juul and Blu, testing only tobacco-flavored products.

    The examined e-liquids contained hydrocarbon-like compounds, typically associated with combustion, which manufacturers claim are not produced during vaping. “More and more young people are using these e-cigarettes, and they need to know what they’re being exposed to,” study co-author Carsten Prasse was quoted as saying by Johns Hopkins Magazine. “E-cigarette aerosols contain other completely uncharacterized chemicals that might have health risks that we don’t yet know about. People just need to know that they’re inhaling a very complex mixture of chemicals when they vape. And for a lot of these compounds, we have no idea what they actually are.”

  • Cambodia Tobacco Exports Down

    Cambodia Tobacco Exports Down

    Photo: camvalleys

    Cambodia’s tobacco exports dropped more than 50 percent in the first nine months of 2021 from the comparable period last year, reports The Khmer Times, citing data from the country’s ministry of agriculture.

    From January to September, Cambodia exported 2,514 tons of tobacco to eight countries, including Vietnam, Belgium, Hungary, Bosnia and Herzegovina, China, Indonesia, Singapore and Germany.

    The biggest destinations were Vietnam (2,432 tons), Belgium (59.42 tons). Hungary (19.80 tons) and Bosnia and Herzegovina (1.9 tons).

    Last year, Cambodia exported 5,820 tons of dried tobacco worth a total of $17.4 million.

    Cambodia’s tobacco is grown along the Mekong Delta in areas such as Tboung Khmum and Kampong.  

  • Indonesia to Raise Cigarette Taxes

    Indonesia to Raise Cigarette Taxes

    The government of Indonesia will increase cigarette taxes next year, reports Tempo, citing Finance Ministry Head of Excise Sarno.

    According to Sarno, cigarette sales in Indonesia reached 356.5 billion units in 2019, a year in which there was no tax increase and cigarettes sold for IDR22,940 ($1.61) per pack. In 2020, a tax hike drove the per pack price to IDR24,632 and sales dropped to 322 billion sticks.

    Sarno explained that the Finance Ministry decided to raise the excise because it is considered to be effective in controlling tobacco consumption or smoking, particularly among children. “The support from various parties makes us enthusiastic to support public health,” he said in a webinar held by the Center of Human and Economic Development of the Ahmad Dahlan Institute of Technology and Business Jakarta on Oct. 7, 2021.

    The Finance Ministry also aims to reduce the prevalence of underage smokers from 9.1 percent to 8.7 percent, which is in line with the National Medium-Term Development Plan 2024.

    Sarno said that the ministry considered issues of health, state revenues, labor, farmers, industry, raw materials trade and illegal tobacco before raising the cigarette tax.

  • PMI to Acquire Turkish Tobacco Firms

    PMI to Acquire Turkish Tobacco Firms

    Photo: niyazz

    Philip Morris International will pay TRY2.88 billion ($325.9 million) to purchase the shares it did not already own in Philsa and PMSA of Turkey, reports Hurriyet Daily News.

    Philsa manufactures tobacco products and PMSA is a distribution company. Both were created in the 1990s.

    PMI already holds a 75 percent share in the firms. The current owner of the remaining shares, Sabancı Holding, has applied to Turkey’s Competition Authority to sell its stakes in the two companies.

    The sale contract is expected to be signed after necessary approvals by the authorities, and the purchase is scheduled for completion by the end of 2021.