Category: Featured

  • Taat Lifestyle now Taat Global Alternatives

    Taat Lifestyle now Taat Global Alternatives

    Photo: Taat Global Alternatives

    Taat Lifestyle & Wellness will change its name to Taat Global Alternatives effective as of the commencement of trading on April 28, 2021.

    There will be no change to the symbol, and the company’s common shares will continue to trade under the ticker “TAAT” on the Canadian Securities Exchange.

    “Now that we have gained momentum in the $814 billion global tobacco industry, we have determined it to be important to ensure the most prominent identifying attributes of the company reflect our mission and business objectives,” said Setti Coscarella, Taat CEO, in a statement. “Last week, we announced our Beyond Nicotine initiative based on reports that the Biden administration plans to take action to reduce nicotine content in tobacco cigarettes sold in the United States.

    “Our value proposition is built around offering a better alternative for smokers aged 21-plus, giving them the choice to keep the experiences they enjoy while leaving nicotine behind. With over 1.3 billion users of tobacco worldwide, we believe Taat and its Beyond Tobacco base material are relevant globally, which led to our board of directors agreeing on the updated name.”

    Earlier this week, Taat applied for a Nasdaq listing.

  • Lessebo Paper Certified “Cradle to Cradle”

    Lessebo Paper Certified “Cradle to Cradle”

    Image: Lessebo Papers

    Lessebo Paper has achieved a Cradle to Cradle Certified Gold award for its white ranges of uncoated, premium graphical papers, Lessebo Design and Scandia 2000. End users can thus not only support their own sustainability strategy but also give consumers who are looking for a sustainable solution a decision-making aid. Lessebo Paper has been producing paper since 1693, making it one of the oldest paper manufacturers in Sweden.

    The company focuses on innovative graphic papers in the premium segment.

    Cradle to Cradle Certified is a globally recognized measure of safe, sustainable products made for the circular economy. To receive certification, the products are assessed for environmental and social performance across five critical sustainability categories: material health, material reutilization, renewable energy, water stewardship and social fairness.

    To be awarded with the gold award, gold standards must be met in all categories.

    “Our products have once again been proved to be a leader in sustainability,” says Eric Sigurdsson, CEO at Lessebo Paper, in a statement. “Being the first paper producer worldwide to receive Cradle to Cradle Certified at Gold level for our uncoated paper products is a big achievement and has been made possible by our focus on sustainability. This is clearly showing that our paper is one of the most climate-friendly paper qualities in the world.”

    The paper is produced from totally chlorine-free pulp and has a minimal carbon footprint. It is especially suitable for printing materials where quality and sustainability are of importance, two factors that are key values of the Lessebo brand.

    The manufacturer has a long history in Sweden and a track record when it comes to sustainability. Starting in 1662 as an iron mill, the company soon began to focus especially on paper production. And though Lessebo Paper has significantly grown over the years, its tradition and core value—to develop high-performance and environmentally responsible papers and boards—has persisted.

    The continuing improvement on every level of production as well as the use of certified management systems has made Lessebo Paper one of the world’s most environmentally friendly paper mills, with emissions at 22 kg per metric ton of finished product—more than 96 percent lower than an average producer of graphical paper.

    This commitment has over the years also been acknowledged by the industry: Lessebo Paper is qualified with many sustainability certificates, like the EU Ecolabel for its Lessebo Recycled paper range, the Forest Stewardship Council for several of its paper and board ranges and now also with the Cradle to Cradle Certificate.

    In addition, Lessebo Paper had its white ranges of uncoated paper, Lessebo Design and Scandia 2000, assessed in the category of material health and was awarded a platinum level material health certificate by the Cradle to Cradle Products Innovation Institute. This means that all ingredients and process chemicals have been evaluated and accepted by the organization.

  • Lawmakers Propose Federal Vapor Tax

    Lawmakers Propose Federal Vapor Tax

    Photo: Innovated Captures

    Lawmakers have introduced into the U.S. Senate a bill that would establish a federal tax on vaping products and increase the traditional tobacco tax rate for the first time in a decade, reports CStoreDecisions.

    The Tobacco Tax Equity Act of 2021 aims to “close tax code loopholes for tobacco products by increasing the federal tax rate on cigarettes, pegging it to inflation to ensure it remains an effective public health tool and setting the federal tax rate for all other tobacco products at this same level.”

    “Tobacco-related disease accounts for one out of every five deaths in America, and I know that story firsthand,” Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin was quoted as saying. “Data shows that the most effective strategy to prevent children from starting this deadly habit is to price it out of their range. This bill would help reduce tobacco and e-cigarette use by ending loopholes that the industry has exploited to target our children. If America can kick its nicotine addiction, it would go a long way to improving our public health for generations to come.”

    “Loopholes in our tax code continue to favor big tobacco while the American public, especially our youth, pays the price,” said Representative Raja Krishnamoorthi. “The Tobacco Tax Equity Act increases taxes on cigarettes and finally imposes taxes on the e-cigarettes hooking our children on nicotine, which would generate billions of dollars in federal revenue. As a father of a high schooler and middle schooler, I’m determined to make sure we end the youth nicotine and vaping epidemic.”

    According to CStoreDecisions, The Tobacco Tax Equity Act of 2021 is endorsed by the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Lung Association, the American Heart Association, the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, the American Public Health Association, the National Association of County and City Health Officials, the Trust for America’s Health and the American Thoracic Society.

  • Stora Enso Releases Interim Report

    Stora Enso Releases Interim Report

    Stora Enso’s headquarters in Helsinki

    Stora Enso reported sales of €2.28 billion ($2.75 billion) in the first quarter of 2021, up 3 percent from the previous year’s quarter due to higher deliveries and prices. Operational earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) increased to €328 million due to lower costs. Operational EBIT margin increased to 14.4 percent from 8.1 percent. Operating profit (IFRS) decreased to €161 million.

    Cash flow from operations amounted to €185 million. Cash flow after investing activities was -€9 million. The net debt to operational earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization EBITDA ratio was 2.3.

    “For the year’s first quarter, I am pleased to deliver yet another solid result, and we are getting back on track with many of our financial targets,” said Stora Enso President and CEO Annica Bresky in a statement.

    “For the full year, the demand outlook continues to be healthy for all businesses except for paper. The operational EBIT in 2021 is expected to be higher than in 2020. We are ahead of plan with our €400 million profit protection program, and it will be concluded already by the end of the second quarter 2021.”

    Earlier this month, Stora Enso announced a plan to permanently cease pulp and paper production at its Kvarnsveden and Veitsiluoto mills due to overcapacity resulting from declining demand.

    “Closing operations that impact our staff is always a last resort, and one based on thorough evaluations,” said Bresky. “However, in order to remain competitive in a rapidly declining paper market, the closing of unprofitable assets is needed.”

  • UKVIA Surveys Vapor Industry About Logistics

    UKVIA Surveys Vapor Industry About Logistics

    Photo: Andrey Popov

    The U.K. Vaping Industry Association (UKVIA) has launched an online logistics survey for the vaping industry.

    This action follows the decision of several delivery companies to stop carrying shipments of vaping products.

    Reports have involved leading providers such as DHL, UPS and FedEx, resulting in varying degrees of disruption to deliveries in recent months. The UKVIA is keen to learn if any disruption is affecting products imported from countries within the European Union or if products imported from China and the USA are also being held up.

    “The UKVIA is extremely concerned to hear of any disruption to deliveries of vaping products experienced by our members or any other businesses in the sector,” said John Dunne, director general of the UKVIA.

    “We will be closely looking into the response to this survey to gauge the severity of the problems faced by businesses. The UKVIA will then be in a better position to take up these concerns on behalf of our members and the wider industry. I would encourage everyone eligible to take part in the survey or to get in contact with the UKVIA directly to flag up any individual logistics issues.”

    The survey is at www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/2YYZYJW.

  • Taat Lifestyle Applies for Nasdaq Listing

    Taat Lifestyle Applies for Nasdaq Listing

    Taat CEO Setti Coscarella
    Setti Coscarella

    Taat Lifestyle & Wellness has submitted an initial application for its common shares to be listed on the Nasdaq Capital Market in the United States.

    Last month, the company’s common shares had been upgraded from the OTCQB Venture Market to the OTCQX Best Market.

    “Ever since Taat became publicly traded on June 22, 2020, we have made great strides in our efforts to gain market share in the $814 billion global tobacco industry,” said Taat CEO Setti Coscarella in a statement.

    “Between listings in American and European markets as well as our rapid ascension of the ranks in the OTC markets, I believe we have consistently strengthened our value proposition to investors around the world as a firm positioned to create long-term value in providing a better alternative to tobacco cigarettes for smokers aged 21-plus.

    “We look forward to working with Nasdaq Inc. in navigating this application process, as I believe being listed on the Nasdaq Capital Market could considerably strengthen our long-term prospects as a public company.”

    Marissa Dean profiled Taat in Tobacco Reporter’s January 2021 edition.

  • Analysts: Nicotine Reduction Takes Time

    Analysts: Nicotine Reduction Takes Time

    Photo: Maksym Yemelyanov

    Industry analysts expect the implementation of any plan to mandate lower nicotine levels for cigarettes sold in the U.S. to take a long time.

    Tobacco stocks plunged on April 19 after The Wall Street Journal published an article suggesting the Biden administration is considering a policy that would require tobacco companies to reduce nicotine levels in cigarettes to nonaddictive levels.

    Industry analysts, however, said this process will be lengthy, according to an article published by CSP.

    “While we see a very long and uncertain road to establishing a legally enforceable nicotine standard, we believe there is heightened headline risk, and the likelihood for a nicotine standard to ultimately be implemented exists,” Bonnie Herzog, a managing director of Goldman Sachs, said in a research note.

    If the Biden administration moves forward with its plan, Herzog said she would expect cigarette volumes to decline dramatically and more people to convert to reduced-risk products and technologies.

    Nik Modi, analyst at New York-based RBC Capital Markets, said in a research note that he’s cautious of becoming too invested in potential consequences at this time because nicotine regulation is just a consideration.

    If the regulation moves to the next step, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) would have to release a notice of proposed rulemaking and consider potential consequences. At a minimum, there is a mandatory one-year to two-year delay between issuing a final rule and policy implementation, Herzog said.

    Among other things, the agency would have to consider whether lowering nicotine levels would increase consumption of cigarettes because of reduced-risk perceptions, and if its policy would boost black market sales or unregulated home manufacturing.

    At a minimum, there is a mandatory one-year to two-year delay between issuing a final rule and policy implementation.

    Bonnie Herzog, analyst, Goldman Sachs

    Commentators have already warned against unintended consequences of a low-nicotine mandate. Such a policy would stimulate illicit trade and could result in more smoking-related illness, wrote Brad Polumbo, a policy correspondent at the Foundation for Economic Education (FFEE).

    “Were the amount of nicotine in cigarettes lowered by law, many people would respond by smoking more total cigarettes to get their nicotine fix. Because it is tar and other carcinogenic substances in cigarettes that cause cancer—not the nicotine itself—this would likely mean more cases of lung cancer and more premature deaths,” he wrote on the FFEE website.

    What’s more, smokers unhappy with the new weak cigarettes for sale at legal outlets may turn to black markets to buy stronger variants, according to Polumbo. “Because black market dealers have little business accountability or oversight, there’s a greater chance that the products could be laced with dangerous substances or dangerously made,” he wrote.

    The argument of compensatory smoking is disputed by 22nd Century Group, a company specializing in low-nicotine tobacco that stands to gain considerably from a nationwide low-nicotine mandate.

    “Public health researchers have conclusively refuted the common misperception that reduced-nicotine content cigarettes could cause smokers to increase their smoking, saying, ‘Effectively compensating to maintain nicotine exposure is virtually impossible when switching to cigarettes with minimally addictive nicotine content,’ and, ‘[M]andated reduction in nicotine content is unlikely to result in an increase in smoking behavior to obtain more nicotine,’” the company wrote in a statement about the topic.

    Nik Modi

    Analysts also noted that policy implementation could be delayed by legal challenges from the tobacco industry. Cigarette manufacturers could challenge or sue the FDA if they think the agency isn’t acing in accordance with regulatory guidelines or overstepping boundaries, said Modi.

    The current discussion about lowering nicotine dates from 2018, when the FDA introduced its Comprehensive Plan for Tobacco and Nicotine Regulation.

  • Zimbabwe Earns $50 million From First Sales

    Zimbabwe Earns $50 million From First Sales

    Photo: Taco Tuinstra

    Zimbabwean leaf tobacco sales totaled $49.9 million after the first nine days of trading, compared to $24.5 million during the same period in 2020, the Tobacco Industry Marketing Board (TIMB) reported.

    Leaf growers delivered 19.97 million kg during the first nine days, up 83 percent over the 10.8 million kg from like 2020. This season’s crop garnered an average price of $2.50 per kg to date, up from $2.27 per kg at this point last season.

    However, farmers’ unions are displeased with current leaf prices, which dropped during the second week of the marketing season.

    “The first week of this tobacco selling season saw the firming of prices above $5 per kg; some tobacco was sold at $6.30 per kg, which was paid by contractors,” said Zimbabwe Commercial Farmers Union President Shadreck Makombe. “Prices at direct auction hovered around $4.99 per kg. Every merchant was out fighting to dominate. In the second week, most contractors dropped prices. They are now buying at a discounted price. This is a big blow to most of the farmers who are contracted and are the majority of tobacco growers. They cannot sell elsewhere.”

    Prior to the start of the marketing season, industry representatives expressed concern about tobacco growers’ ability to repay their debts.

  • Altria, Juul Likely to Face Suit Over Deal

    Altria, Juul Likely to Face Suit Over Deal

    Photo: jessica45 | Pixabay

    Altria Group and Juul Labs will likely face a proposed antitrust action seeking to unwind a $12.8 billion deal that gave the tobacco giant a 35 percent stake in the vapor company, reports Bloomberg Law, citing a “tentative” ruling by a federal judge in San Francisco.

    Judge William H. Orrick indicated Wednesday that he’s inclined to let most of the lawsuit move forward in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, where it was consolidated after dozens of antitrust plaintiffs sued over deal clauses calling for Altria’s exit from the vaping market.

    The Federal Trade Commission has also sued over the Altria-Juul transaction.

  • Smoker Group Forest to Host Webinar on Vaping

    Smoker Group Forest to Host Webinar on Vaping

    Simon Clark

    To mark the last week of VApril, the U.K.’s annual vaping awareness month now in its fourth year, the smokers’ lobby group Forest is hosting a webinar on April 28 to discuss “Should smokers switch to vaping?”

    “E-cigarettes have been a mainstream consumer product for the best part of a decade, and vaping is credited with encouraging millions of smokers to switch to what evidence suggests is a significantly reduced-risk product,” says Forest director Simon Clark.

    “Despite that, millions more seem resistant to switching, and the latest figures suggest that the number of vapers in the U.K. may have fallen from a peak of 3.6 million to 3 million. The question is, why?”

    Speakers at the virtual meeting include John Dunne, CEO of the U.K. Vaping Industry Association; Joe Dunne, spokesperson for Respect Vapers in Ireland; and Daniel Pryor, head of programs at the Adam Smith Institute think tank.

    “Confirmed smokers are often excluded from public debates about vaping and smoking cessation,” says Clark. “It’s misguided because their views are essential to understanding why more smokers don’t want to quit or switch.

    Confirmed smokers are often excluded from public debates about vaping and smoking cessation.

    Simon Clark, director, Forest

    “We believe adults should have the freedom to make informed choices, so this is an opportunity for confirmed smokers to learn more about reduced-risk products, and for vaping advocates to understand why many smokers still prefer combustible tobacco and to respect that choice.”

    Forest’s webinar will take place on April 28 from 18:00–19:00 U.K. time.

    For further information and to register, click here.