Category: Featured

  • Bidi Vapor Enters Four New Markets

    Bidi Vapor Enters Four New Markets

    Bidi Vapor successfully completed the regulatory process to enter four new, significant markets. Bidi Vapor’s primary offering, the Bidi Stick is a closed system disposable electronic nicotine-delivery system (ENDS).

    Bidi Vapor recently successfully received premarket authorization from the United Kingdom’s regulatory body, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, to sell and market Bidi Vapor products through Kaival Brands in the U.K.

    Moreover, Bidi Vapor has successfully completed all necessary certifications and finished the process for distribution approvals to market and sell products in Russia, New Zealand and Australia.

    Once Kaival Brands solidifies local distribution agreements, we will begin to sell and market our full scope of products.

    Niraj Patel, CEO, Kaival Brands

    “We are extremely excited to roll out Bidi Vapor products in four significant, new markets for us,” said Niraj Patel, Kaival Brands’ CEO, in a statement. “Once Kaival Brands solidifies local distribution agreements, we will begin to sell and market our full scope of products. We believe our first sales in each of these new regions will occur within the next six months with U.K. being the first.”

    Kaival Brands will showcase its Bidi Stick at the VOXPO virtual trade show on April 28–30.

    “We believe the Bidi Stick will be a welcomed entry into the U.K. market as long-time adult cigarette smokers look to transition to ENDS products,” said Patel, who is also president and CEO of Bidi Vapor.

    “While the VOXPO conference is our first international show, we anticipate participating in similar events in Australia, New Zealand and Russia. We see ample opportunity in these new markets, as the success we’ve seen in the United States shows us that once consumers discover an e-cigarette that can provide them a consistent, premium experience, they will welcome the option.”

  • PAX Labs Launches Era Life Cannabis Vaporizer

    PAX Labs Launches Era Life Cannabis Vaporizer

    Photo: PAX Labs

    PAX Labs has launched the Era Life cannabis vaporizer, created for the on-the-go consumer. According to the company, Era Life delivers an effortless experience without compromising on full flavor, vapor or consistency. The device brings together a high performing battery with PAX’s most compact device yet. Era Life works with any PAX Era pod, featuring curated, high-purity cannabis produced by one of PAX’s carefully selected partners across the country. Era Life is available in the colors Onyx, Grass, Blaze and Indigo.

    “We designed the Era Life to provide a simple, fun way to enjoy cannabis while still carrying the PAX promise of iconic design and enduring quality that our customers have come to know and trust,” said Colt Stander, head of product at PAX Labs, in a statement.

    We designed the Era Life to provide a simple, fun way to enjoy cannabis while still carrying the PAX promise of iconic design and enduring quality.

    Colt Stander, head of product, PAX Labs

    “Cannabis is one of today’s fastest-growing industries, and we’re seeing new consumers enter the space rapidly. We’ve taken the best PAX has to offer, perfected the core functionality and packaged it up in our most portable design yet—perfect for those who want the easiest possible experience but still care about durability, aesthetics and safety in the products they use.”

    PAX’s temperature control checks the temperature 125 times per second, ensuring a consistent temperature that delivers a full, never-burnt flavor throughout the life of the pod. Whether using lower temperature for more flavor or higher temperature for more vapor, Era Life creates smooth airflow through laser cut sidings and achieves better hits every time.

    Era Life provides more than 150 puffs per charge and an easy-to-read LED low battery indicator ensures it’s never without juice. The product is UL-certified, meeting the leading safety standards.

    Priced at $35, Era Life is available for purchase by those 21 and over on pax.com and at licensed retailers in legal U.S. states where PAX products are sold.

  • Bidders Ask Egypt to Adjust Terms of Auction

    Bidders Ask Egypt to Adjust Terms of Auction

    Photo: Tobacco Reporter archive

    Several tobacco manufacturers have asked the Federation of Egyptian Industries to change the conditions of a manufacturing license auction issued by the Industrial Development Authority (IDA), reports Zawya.

    According to the companies, the IDA conditions protect Eastern Co.’s market share by preventing the new company from producing cigarettes at the same price point as the monopoly’s mass-market Cleopatra brand, which accounts for 98 percent of Eastern’s revenues.

    On March 21, the tobacco manufacturer announced that the IDA has invited companies to the tobacco industry through tendering a new cigarette production license.

    Eastern could own 24 percent of the to-be-established company without paying its share in the cost of the license.

    The monopoly reported a 14 percent year-on-year increase in its net profit in the second half of 2020, recording EGP2.54 billion ($161.52 million).

    Eastern company’s product portfolio includes cigarettes, cigars, pipe tobacco and molasses tobacco as well as cigarette filter rods and homogenized tobacco.

  • New York Poised to Legalize Marijuana

    New York Poised to Legalize Marijuana

    Photo: Erin Stone from Pixabay

    Lawmakers in New York state have agreed to legalize marijuana for recreational use. Legalization could bring the state about $350 million annually, according to a story in the Associated Press.

    The legislation would allow recreational marijuana sales to adults over the age of 21 and set up a licensing process for the delivery of cannabis products to customers. Individual New Yorkers could grow up to three mature plants and three immature plants for personal consumption, and local governments could opt out of retail sales. The bill also sets aside revenues to cover the costs of everything from regulating marijuana to substance abuse prevention.

    New York would set a 9 percent sales tax on cannabis plus an additional 4 percent tax split between the county and local government. It would also impose an additional tax based on the level of THC, the active ingredient in marijuana, ranging from $0.005 per mg for flower to $0.03 per mg for edibles.

    If passed, the legislation would take effect immediately, though sales wouldn’t start until New York sets up rules and a proposed cannabis board. Assembly Majority Leader Crystal Peoples-Stokes estimated on March 26 it could take 18 months to two years for sales to start.

    Fourteen U.S. states already allow residents to buy marijuana for recreational use.

    The tobacco industry has been keeping an eye on opportunities created by the spreading legalization of cannabis.

  • Calls to Quit-Smoking Lines Plunge

    Calls to Quit-Smoking Lines Plunge

    Photo: Momentmal from Pixabay

    Calls to U.S. quit-smoking help lines have dropped sharply during the coronavirus pandemic, according to a report released by the North American Quitline Consortium (NAQC) on Friday. At the same time, cigarette sales increased after years of steady decline, according to data from the Treasury Department.

    Last year, calls to the national portal linking people to quit-smoking lines decreased by 27 percent compared to 2019, which translates to a drop of roughly 190,000 calls—the lowest call volume seen since 2007, according to data compiled by the NAQC. In recent years, annual call numbers have ranged from 700,000 to 900,000, the report said.

    The largest drop, 39 percent, occurred in the three-month period from April to June during the height of lockdowns and when infections and deaths were skyrocketing.

    Furthermore, rates of anxiety and depression were also on the rise at the time, with a third of Americans showing signs of the pandemic’s psychological toll.

    The pandemic definitely had a big influence on whether or not people were able to quit smoking last year.

    Linda Bailey, president and CEO, NAQC

    Meanwhile, cigarette sales rose by 1 percent in the first 10 months of 2020 compared to the same period in 2019. Sales of cigarettes had been decreasing by 4 percent to 5 percent annually since 2015.

    The NAQC annually analyzes data on the use of quit lines without issuing reports. But the changes were so big this year that the group decided to publish a report.

    “We really were surprised by how dramatic the data was,” Linda Bailey, president and CEO of the NAQC, told The Washington Post. “It shows that the pandemic definitely had a big influence on whether or not people were able to quit smoking last year.”

    Bailey attributes the drop in calls to smokers’ stress and anxiety caused by the pandemic. “They were worried about other things and just not able and not motivated to quit.”

    The pandemic has hindered smoking cessation in other countries, too. During Italy’s lockdown, 5.5 percent of smokers surveyed in a recent study quit or reduced smoking, but 9 percent of the sample started smoking, relapsed smoking or increased their smoking intensity.

    In total, the country’s lockdown increased cigarette consumption by 9.1 percent.

  • RELX Launches New E-cigarettes in Colombia

    RELX Launches New E-cigarettes in Colombia

    Photo: RELX International

    RELX International will launch its next-generation e-cigarettes, the Infinity and Essential, in Colombia this month. The Infinity features RELX International’s latest innovations in product design, vapor quality, mobility and overall user experience. The Essential allows users to experience key elements of the Infinity’s design at a more accessible price point.

    According to RELX, Infinity and Essential feature a full flavor and smooth puff due to the independently developed Super Smooth Performance technology. With more than a year dedicated to the design process, this data-driven technology was developed by defining five key elements that constitute the perfect puff. This technology was perfected through 76 sensory tests and repeated refinements of the parameters measuring RELX Super Smooth Performance.

    The design of the Infinity device was optimized more than 40 times, and more than 12,000 pods were tested to ensure leak resistance and high-quality standards. Patent applications have been submitted for more than 50 innovations used in the device, including its leak-resistant design, e-liquid pods and wireless charging case. In March 2020, the Infinity was awarded the Red Dot Award: Product Design 2020.

    Our goal is to help smokers who cannot or do not want to quit to transition to a better alternative with confidence.

    Bing Du, CEO, RELX International

    “I’m proud of the entire RELX global team for creating this beautifully designed Infinity device with superior technology and with a dedication to innovation that we are now known for worldwide,” said RELX International CEO Bing Du in a statement. “Ultimately our goal is to help current smokers who cannot or do not want to quit to transition to a better alternative with confidence. The more budget-friendly Essential device also allows users to experience RELX’s premium quality features.”

  • KT&G Opens Office in Taiwan

    KT&G Opens Office in Taiwan

    Photo: Taco Tuinstra

    KT&G opened an office in Taiwan as part of the company’s ambition to become the fourth-largest tobacco manufacturer by 2025, reports The Korea Times.

    Taiwan has been one of KT&G’s key markets since 2002 when the company began exporting to the island and upgraded products sold there with premium quality brands.

    In 2020, KT&G sold more than 771 million cigarettes in Taiwan, up more than 2,200 percent from 2002.

    “We will set up a team to bolster marketing and sales activities while working on new brands that fulfill consumers’ needs,” said Kim Na-mi, KT&G Taiwan Corporation head.

    According to Kim, the market in Taiwan offers great potential. She noted that the country’s consumer spending is quickly recovering due to a highly effective Covid-19 response and that the country’s GDP growth will be higher than previously forecast.

  • Imperial Expects Results in Line With Guidance

    Imperial Expects Results in Line With Guidance

    Photo: Casimirokt | Dreamstime.com

    Imperial Brands is on track to deliver full-year results in line with the guidance it gave in November, with low-to-mid single-digit organic adjusted operating profit growth at constant currency, the company announced in a trading update.

    First half group net revenue is expected to grow by at least 1 percent on an organic constant currency basis, driven by continued strong pricing in tobacco as well as some benefit from growth in next-generation product (NGP) revenues against a weak comparator period.

    “In tobacco, we have begun to achieve aggregate market share growth in our five priority markets with gains in [the] U.S., U.K. and Spain more than offsetting declines in Germany and Australia,” the company wrote in a statement. “We are investing behind the operational levers outlined at our January 2021 Capital Markets Day in each of these priority markets to drive performance improvements over time. Overall tobacco volumes are in line with expectations, although Covid-19 continues to affect consumer buying patterns across different channels and markets.

    “In NGP, our clear focus is to improve performance, returns and capabilities. Our preparations for market trials in vapor and heated-tobacco later this year are on track.”

    Imperial Brands expects first half group adjusted organic operating profit growth to be at least mid-single digit at constant currency, benefiting primarily from significantly reduced losses in NGP and increased logistics profit. Tobacco operating profit has been impacted by a lower duty windfall in Australia and the impact of U.S. trade inventories following the higher wholesaler purchases in March 2020 to meet Covid-19 pantry loading demand.

    “Full-year adjusted group operating profit will reflect increased investment consistent with our strategic plans and is expected to be in line with our guidance for low-mid single digit organic growth at constant currency,” the company wrote.

    The interim results for the six months ended March 31, 2021, will be announced on May 18, 2021.

  • Thailand to Start Producing Hemp

    Thailand to Start Producing Hemp

    Photo: Rolf Hansen from Pixabay

    The Tobacco Authority of Thailand (TOAT) plans to start planting hemp for commercial purposes by August, reports The Bangkok Post.

    The Council of State is currently reinterpreting the Tobacco Authority of Thailand Act that states TOAT can only produce tobacco leaves and other plants. The council decides if TOAT is legally eligible to produce hemp for commercial purposes, said TOAT governor Panuphol Rattanakanjanapatra.
    The decision is expected next week.

    TOAT will focus on production of hemp in the preliminary stage, which can be used for medical and industrial purposes. TOAT aims to encourage 13,500 tobacco farmers to shift to hemp or cannabis farming to increase their income; the authority cut its tobacco leaf purchases to 13 million kg per year from 20 million kg per year.

  • Zimbabwean Growers Face ‘Debt Trap’

    Zimbabwean Growers Face ‘Debt Trap’

    Poto: Taco Tuinstra

    Tobacco farmers in Zimbabwe are facing a vicious debt trap, reports The Zimbabwe Independent, citing the Zimbabwe Tobacco Association (ZTA).

    The government payment system ensures tobacco growers receive only part of their income in U.S. dollars with the remaining share being paid in Zimbabwean dollars at an inflated exchange rate.

    Because most Zimbabwean growers have borrowed U.S. dollars from their contractors to finance their operations, this means they will have difficulties repaying their loans.

    Of the approximately USD600 in export earnings generated annually by farmers only USD150 is flowing into the country, according to the ZTA.

    For the longer part of last year, farmers were paid 50 percent of their revenues in forex with another half being paid in Zimbabwean dollars at a fixed rate of one U.S. dollar to 25 Zimbabwean dollars.

    We plead with the authorities to review the foreign currency retention level before the start of the selling season.

    Rodney Ambrose, CEO, ZTA

    On the black market, however, one U.S. dollar fetched up to ZWD165 during the first quarter of 2020.

    While the government has recently increased farmers’ foreign currency retention to 60 percent, it is insufficient to solve growers’ problems, according to the ZTA.

    “Growers’ viability will not improve with the retention levels announced, and we plead with the authorities to review the foreign currency retention level before the start of the selling season,” said ZTA CEO Rodney Ambrose.

    Zimbabwe’s tobacco markets are scheduled to open April 7.

    Tobacco farmers’ profits have been declining while debts owed to contractors in U.S. dollars have been mounting. Industry representatives have also called on the government to stop basing the pricing of contract tobacco, which makes up 95 percent of national production, on the minimum of tobacco prices paid on the auction floors.