Category: Featured

  • Prevalence Halved

    Prevalence Halved

    Photo: sezerozger

    The share of smokers in Russia’s population has plunged from 40 percent in 2009 to 19 percent today, reports Interfax.

    Russian Deputy Prime Minister Tatyana Golikova credited a national project that included the development of health centers, the creation of medical prevention offices and an informational campaign.

    “We were able to only partially change citizens’ attitude to their health, reduce alcohol and tobacco consumption, reduce bread consumption considerably,” she said.

  • Azerbaijan Hikes Tobacco Taxes

    Azerbaijan Hikes Tobacco Taxes

    Photo: Taco Tuinstra

    Azerbaijan has increased taxes on cigarettes and cigarillos, according to local reports.

    The excise rates for cigarillos went from AZN43 ($25.20) per 1,000 pieces to AZN45.5 per 1,000 pieces.

    Excise rates for cigarettes jumped from AZN46.5 per 1,000 pieces to AZN53.5 per 1,000 pieces.

    The new resolution will come into force 30 days from the date of its publication.

  • BAT Reports Results

    BAT Reports Results

    BAT reported revenue of £12.34 billion ($15.88 billion) for the first half of 2024, down 8.2 percent from the comparable 2023 period. The decline was driven by unfavorable currency exchange rates and the sale of BAT’s businesses in Russia and Belarus following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

    Reported revenue from new-category products, which include vapes, heated tobacco and nicotine pouches, declined 0.4 percent to £1.65 billion. Smokeless brands now account for 17.9 percent of BAT’s group revenue, up 1.4. percentage points from fiscal year 2023.

    Profit from operations was £4.26 billion on a reported basis, down 28.3 percent from the first half of 2023. BAT attributed the decline to its December 2023 decision to write down the value of some of its traditional cigarette brands in the United States to reflect the diminishing outlook for combustible tobacco products, along with its exit from Russia and Belarus.

    The company said it’s unlikely to hit its £5 billion revenue target in 2025 for new-category products, blaming fierce competition from illicit vapes in the United States. The U.S. accounted for more than 40 percent of BAT’s revenues in 2023, primarily from traditional tobacco products, according to Reuters.

    Tadeu Marroco

    In a statement, BAT CEO Tadeu Marroco welcomed the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s recent marketing authorization of its Vuse Alto device and tobacco flavor consumables but expressed concern about the continued lack of enforcement against unauthorized single-use vapes, which makes it difficult for authorized brands to compete in that market.

    Nonetheless, Marroco said BAT is on track to deliver its full-year guidance. “Focusing on ‘quality growth’ is delivering better returns on more targeted investments across all three new categories,” he said. “In H1 2024, we increased organic new-category contribution by £165 million—at constant rates—and I am particularly pleased with the growth of modern oral. We expect to deliver further improvement in revenue and profitability across our new categories for the full year.”

    Photo: BAT
  • Kutsaga Releases Climate Resilient Seeds

    Kutsaga Releases Climate Resilient Seeds

    Photo: Taco Tuinstra

    Zimbabwe’s Kutsaga Tobacco Research Board (TRB) has unveiled new tobacco hybrids designed to thrive in challenging climatic conditions.

    Frank Magama

    According to TRB CEO Frank Magama, the varieties grow rapidly, allowing them to withstand the impacts of drought and heat, which have become increasingly prevalent in the country due to the impact of climate change. Furthermore, the new varieties are resistant to multiple tobacco diseases.

    The TRB says they can yield between 2,500 and 3,000 kilograms per hectare even in the harshest environments.

    The new varieties are currently undergoing a limited-release program, targeting farmers in the arid regions of Masvingo, Midlands and Matabeleland South.

    “This program ensured that all Kutsaga varieties are extensively tested for their drought tolerance,” Magama told The Herald.

    More than 85 percent of Zimbabwean tobacco growers are smallholders, whose lack of irrigation facilities leaves their operations dependent solely on rainfall.

    This year’s El Nino weather phenomenon caused prolonged drought in Zimbabwe, resulting in low yields, poor-quality tobacco and reduced revenue.

    As the 2024 marketing season draws to a close, national crop output stands at 226 million kg, down from last year’s record-breaking harvest of 298 million kg.

  • Tracking Legislation Advances in Philippines

    Tracking Legislation Advances in Philippines

    Photo: Maksym

    The Philippines’ House ways and means committee on July 23 approved legislation to enhance the tracking of tobacco products through the supply chain, reports Business World.

    Under the measure, tobacco companies will be required to implement a digital tracking system on cigarette products to help prevent illicit trade.

    Tobacco duty avoidance has caused the government to “lose” around PHP220 billion in revenue over the past four years, according to Representative Jose Ma. Clemente S. Salceda, who heads the House ways and means committee.

    The legislation would require manufacturers to fix stamps to cigarette packs, vapes and related products, allowing authorities to determine where and when the product was manufactured.

    “We would see where [the cigarette] came from because the tracking system allows us to trace it,” Salceda was quoted as saying. “We will see who brought it here and who sold it, all because of the tracking system.”

    The approved legislation also requires tobacco manufacturers and importers to register their products and equipment.

  • BAT Pays Fine in Nigeria

    BAT Pays Fine in Nigeria

    Photo: Confidence

    BAT and several of its affiliates have paid a $110 million fine for violating Nigerian competition laws, reports  Independent.

    Speaking during a media briefing, Adamu Abdullahi, acting executive vice chairman of the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC), said the full $110 million had been paid at the official exchange rate at that time through the Central Bank of Nigeria.

    “The federal government received 40 percent of the amount while 60 percent went to the FCCPC,” Abdullahi was quoted as saying.

    He described the case as watertight, adding that the FCCPC conducted thorough investigations on the tobacco company.

    Abdullahi further revealed that the FCCPC is currently monitoring the activities of another major tobacco company for compliance with international conventions, the National Tobacco Control Act and other regulations, and to prevent potential anti-competitive practices.

    “The commission has launched a multifaceted campaign to combat underage tobacco use and protect vulnerable populations,” he said.

  • Regulator Proposes Retail Licensing

    Regulator Proposes Retail Licensing

    Photo: Tabakprom

    Russia’s alcohol and tobacco regulator wants to extend the country’s tobacco licensing requirements to retailers, reports Interfax.

    Doing so would improve regulatory oversight, boost budget revenues and reduce the share of illegal tobacco on the market, according to Rosalkogoltabakkontrol head Igor Aleshin.

    Manufacturers of tobacco products have been subject to licensing since March 1. Among other things, they are required to register their machinery. Unused equipment must be mothballed under the regulations.

    According to Aleshin, 225 tobacco market participants have received licenses so far, of which 190 are producers and the rest are importers.

    The current law does not call for the licensing of retail sales, but it does prohibit retail sales of tobacco-containing and nicotine-containing products that are not in consumer packaging.

    On Sept. 1, 2023, lawmakers expanded the role of the former Federal Alcohol Market Regulation Service, giving it the right to regulate tobacco and nicotine-containing products and renaming it Rosalkogoltabakkontrol.

  • KT&G Volunteers Help With Harvest

    KT&G Volunteers Help With Harvest

    Photo: KT&G

    KT&G volunteers assisted Boeun County tobacco farmers with their tobacco harvest on July 19.

    Farmers in South Korea have been facing labor shortages due to the ongoing decline in rural populations and aging demographics. The situation is particularly critical during the tobacco harvest season in July and August, which is labor intensive and largely unmechanized.

    To alleviate the burden, KT&G volunteers have been visiting tobacco farms annually since 2007. After assisting with transplanting tobacco seedlings in the spring, the employees also contribute to the tobacco leaf harvest.

    Additionally, KT&G has been carrying out welfare improvement projects for tobacco farmers. In June, the company provided KRW420 million ($303,829.67) to support tobacco farmers with health checkup costs, children’s education fees and fuel-saving curing devices. Since 2013, the company has provided KRW4.27 billion, benefiting 15,212 farmers.

    “The company annually conducts employee volunteer activities to support stable farming operations for tobacco farmers facing labor shortages,” said Jung-Ho Kim, head of KT&G’s SCM division, in a statement. “We will continue our support for mutual prosperity with farmers.”

  • IQOS’ U.S. Launch Postponed

    IQOS’ U.S. Launch Postponed

    Photo: A Stockphoto

    Philip Morris International has postponed the test launch of its IQOS heated-tobacco device in the U.S. to the fourth quarter, reports Reuters. The company declined to say why.

    The pilot was earlier scheduled to run in Austin, Texas, in the second quarter, for which the company reported results on the day.

    Anti-tobacco activists have been seeking to derail the U.S. introduction of IQOS, arguing among other things that PMI exaggerates the number of people who have quit smoking regular cigarettes using IQOS.

    In a joint letter to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration dated June 27, six health groups cited yet-to-be published independent studies contradicting PMI’s findings about how many IQOS users completely switch to the device from cigarettes.

    Meanwhile, PMI said the impact of the EU ban on flavored heated tobacco in the European Union has had a “slightly greater” impact on IQOS sales than previously assumed.

    This led the company to temper its expectations for volume growth in the heated-tobacco category to around 13 percent for the full year, down from between 14 percent and 16 percent expected earlier.

  • Zimbabwean Cigarette Exports up by Half

    Zimbabwean Cigarette Exports up by Half

    Photo: Taco Tuinstra

    Zimbabwean cigarette exports rose from $71 million in 2022 to $106 million in 2023, reports The Herald

    A leading exporter of leaf tobacco, Zimbabwe has been keen to move up the value chain by producing products beyond raw tobacco.

    Zimbabwe is currently Africa’s sixth-largest tobacco exporter, behind countries such as Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa, Morocco and Tunisia, according to Trade Statistics for International Business Development. Worldwide, it ranks 42nd among cigarette exporting nations.

    No African country was on the world’s list of 30 top cigarette exporters in 2023.