Category: Featured

Prices Slow Tobacco Consumption: Study

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Cigarette sales in Pakistan dropped 18 percent following a price hike, reports The Nation citing a recent survey from Islamabad’s Centre for Research and Dialogue (CRD).
Pakistan’s total consumption, which includes taxed, smuggled and untaxed products, ranges from 72 billion sticks to 80 billion sticks annually.
“Pakistan has a long way to go in tobacco taxation,” said Maryam Gul Tahir, director of the CRD, noting that Pakistan has some of the world’s cheapest cigarettes. “Public health must be prioritized over industry interests.”
The World Bank recommends a uniform tax structure for all tobacco products to reduce consumption further and increase government revenue.
May 22, 2024
Digital Tobacco Platform Launched

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ModernLeaf AI has launched a digital platform offering artificial intelligence solutions to increase productivity for Zimbabwe’s tobacco growers and exporters across the value chain, reports the Zimbabwe Independent.
“Looking beyond Zimbabwe envisions opportunities to expand the platform’s usage across Africa, signaling the need for investment in this ambitious endeavor,” said Takudzwa Sambo, founder of ModernLeaf AI. “ModernLeaf AI is poised to play a pivotal role in advancing the tobacco industry on the continent.”
“With cutting-edge AI technology, ModernLeaf AI empowers you with precision crop monitoring, advanced predictive analysis, early disease detection, premium quality control updates, strategic market insights, cost-efficient solutions, export strategy and compliance in international markets, [and] tobacco business intelligence in over 120 countries,” said Sambo.
Sambo emphasized that leveraging AI to propel Zimbabwe’s tobacco sector onward is a necessity. “I am grateful to the government for its vision outlined in Vision 2030, emphasizing the importance of youth involvement in realizing the strategic goals set forth in the National Development Strategy 1.”
May 22, 2024
Activists Urged to Cite Human Rights

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Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) and Unfairtobacco released a joint report detailing how they believe the industry harms children. Titled Protecting Children From the Tobacco Industry, the report also explains how advocates can use global human rights standards and tools against the tobacco industry.
“Our children deserve to grow up in a world free from the damage, disease and death caused by the tobacco industry,” said Laurent Huber, executive director of ASH, in a statement.
“Every day, tobacco companies are violating children’s right to health, right to a healthy environment and right to be free from racial discrimination. Governments have a duty to protect those basic human rights, and we will stand together with our partners to ensure all children’s rights are upheld.”
According to the report’s authors, human rights mechanisms, such as the Convention on the Rights of the Child, can help protect children and youth from the tobacco industry.
“Human rights mechanisms are a tool to protect children from the harms of the tobacco industry, including health and environmental damages. Public health advocates can and should use these mechanisms to fight for a healthier world for our children,” said ASH Managing Attorney Kelsey Romeo-Stuppy.
May 22, 2024
Court Refuses to Hear Health Label Challenge

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The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit has refused to hear the tobacco industry’s challenge to graphic health warnings required by a 2020 Food and Drug Administration rule.
In March, a three-judge panel of the same court ruled that the federal requirement for cigarette packs and advertising, which includes graphic images of the effects of smoking, including images of smoke-damaged lungs and blackened feet, does not violate the First Amendment of the Constitution, reports AP News.
The March ruling affirmed that the FDA’s graphic cigarette warnings are both scientifically and legally sound. Proponents say these graphic warnings are critically needed as the current text-only warnings have become stale and unnoticed since they were last updated in 1984.
The three-judge panel ruling overturned a lower court order from a Texas federal district court, which ruled that the requirements violate the First Amendment.
Congress first mandated the graphic health warnings as part of the 2009 Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act, which required graphic warnings covering the top half of the front and back of cigarette packs and 20 percent of cigarette advertisements.
Anti-smoking activists welcomed the appeals court’s refusal to hear the industry’s challenge.
“Because of the tobacco industry’s repeated legal challenges, the U.S. currently ranks last in the world in the size of its cigarette warnings and has fallen behind the rest of the world in implementing graphic warnings, which are now required by 138 countries and territories,” said Yolonda C. Richardson, president and CEO of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, in a statement.
“It is time for the U.S. to catch up with the rest of the world in implementing this best-practice policy to reduce tobacco use and save lives.”
May 22, 2024
Innokin Recalls Kroma Nova
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Innokin is recalling its Kroma Nova products due to a defective charging component
“To ensure the safety of our customers and maintain the high standards of our products, we have decided to initiate a precautionary recall of the Innokin Kroma Nova,” the company wrote on its website.
“We encourage all Innokin customers to contact us whenever issues arise, so our team can implement resolutions in a timely manner.”
Kroma Nova users should contact Innokin at support@innokin.com for further instructions on the recall process. Business-to-business clients should contact their sales representatives.
May 22, 2024
‘Generational Ban Not Enough to Level Up U.K.’

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Although Britain’s generational tobacco ban will eventually increase “healthy life expectancy” (HLE) by 2.5 years, it will not be enough to let the government meet the targets of its “leveling up” agenda, according to new research.
Local government secretary Michael Gove’s 2022 leveling up white paper pledged to narrow the difference in HLE between England’s most prosperous and most deprived local authorities by 2030 and to boost overall HLE by five years by 2035.
HLE measures the number of years lived in at least reasonable health. In the U.K., it has risen more slowly than life expectancy in recent decades, meaning people are typically spending more years in poor health, with obvious implications for healthcare and social care budgets.
The researchers, drawn from Bayes Business School, Heriot-Watt University and LCP, analyzed the likelihood of the 2035 target being met. They published their paper, “The Great Health Challenge: Levelling Up the UK,” in The Geneva Papers on Risk and Insurance: Issues and Practice.
“It is clear that drastic smoking cessation intervention is necessary to increase healthy life expectancy across the population and to narrow pernicious health inequalities,” said lead author Les Mayhew, professor of statistics at Bayes Business School, in a statement. “The rolling ban proposed in the government’s current legislation is a good first step, but further research could strengthen the case for an outright ban.”
The analysis confirmed that people who have never smoked typically enjoy an additional six years of HLE. Earlier research has shown that smoking kills around 78,000 people in England each year and leads to around 500,000 hospital admissions.
Recent research by the International Longevity Centre concluded that smoking cuts U.K. economic output by £19.1 billion ($24.29 billion) due to shorter working lives. Welfare and healthcare costs would boost that figure significantly.
“Our paper confirms that a smoking ban on those born in 2009 or later is one of the best ways to improve the health of people living in more deprived areas of the U.K.,” said Andrew Cairns, professor of actuarial mathematics at Heriot-Watt University. “The findings vividly illustrate the transformative impact of this measure on the health landscape.”
May 21, 2024
Wholesaler Indicted in Fraud Scheme

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A federal grand jury has indicted the owner of a licensed tobacco wholesale business in Connecticut in connection with a tax fraud scheme.
A 10-count indictment by a New Haven grand jury charged Khawar M. Khokar, 35, with one count of conspiracy, an offense that carries a maximum term of imprisonment of five years; eight counts of wire fraud, each of which carries a maximum prison term of 20 years; and one count of engaging in an illegal monetary transaction, an offense which carries a maximum 10-year term, according to Vanessa Roberts Avery, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut.
The indictment was returned on May 15. Khokhar appeared Monday before U.S. Magistrate Judge Thomas O. Farrish in Hartford, pleaded not guilty, and was released on a $100,000 bond, Avery said, according to media reports.
According to the indictment and statements made in court, Khokhar operated Smokin’ Wholesale LLC, a Connecticut-licensed tobacco wholesale business that acquired smokeless tobacco and other tobacco products from out-of-state distributors, including businesses in Pennsylvania and Illinois, and sold the products to retail merchants in Connecticut.
For roughly two years beginning around May 2017, Khokhar and Smokin’ Wholesale purchased about $2 million in tobacco products from the distributors, but failed to report accurately to the Connecticut Department of Revenue Services the value of the products imported into the state, and failed to pay to the state the associated tobacco taxes owed.
Through this scheme, Khokhar and others caused Connecticut to suffer a tax loss around $1 million, Avery said.
May 21, 2024
New Group to Support Pipe Tobacco, Cigars
The Tobacco Products Association (TPA) announced its official launch on May 17. The TPA is a new organization “committed to uniting, promoting, and advancing its members” in all facets of the cigar and pipe tobacco sector.
“The TPA aims to serve the broad spectrum of the tobacco community, including cigar brands, manufacturers, retailers, pipe carvers, pipe tobacconists, and related accessories companies, with a strong focus on education, advocacy, and innovation,” media reports state. “This unique blend of cigar and pipe brands was born from a collaborative idea at the Chicagoland Pipe Collectors Club, and the TPA is set to champion the unique values and needs of both the cigar and pipe aficionado communities.”
The TPA listed its inaugural board of directors and added that the group will play a pivotal role in guiding the association’s direction and shaping its future initiatives.
The board members include Ismael Olivan, BAMF Cigars; Ron Pecorini, founder of the Great Cigar & Pipe Show Podcast; Dr. Oscar Rodriguez, GTO Cigars; Fouad Kashouty, Hiram & Solomon Cigars; and Ken Dorrbecker, owner of KJD Cigars.
The TPA, in collaboration with SOTL Global Movement and Tobacconist University, will offer its members educational courses, certifications, and webinars to enhance their knowledge and skills.
“These partnerships provide substantial benefits, including access to comprehensive educational programs that elevate members’ expertise in tobacco products, leading to recognized certifications that enhance professional credibility,” the report states. “This collaboration also expands networking opportunities through a global community of tobacco enthusiasts and professionals, fostering stronger industry connections.”
May 21, 2024
Panama Vape Ban Ruled Unconstitutional

The Supreme Court of Justice in Panama has ruled unanimously that Panama’s ban on the sale of all vaping products is unconstitutional.
According to several media reports, the ruling, announced last week, was in response to a lawsuit brought by the Asociación por la Reducción de Daños del Tabaquismo de Panamá (ARDT Panama), a vaping consumer advocacy group.
The court found that Law 315 violated parliamentary procedures spelled out in Article 170 of the Panamanian constitution, according to Panama America.
Law 315 prohibited the sale and import of all vaping and heated tobacco products, with or without nicotine. It also banned online sales, prohibited vaping in any place where smoking is not allowed, and gave customs authorities the right to inspect, detain, and seize shipments into the Central American country.
The law passed the National Assembly in 2021, and was given assent by Panamanian President Laurentino Cortizo nearly a year later, on June 30, 2022. Panama had previously prohibited vape sales under a 2014 health ministry decree.
The ARDT Panama lawsuit challenged the vaping ban on the basis that it violated the constitutional right to health (depriving people who smoke of a lower-risk substitute). Also, it alleged that the National Assembly violated technical parliamentary rules in passing the law.
According to El Capital Financiero, the legal challenge was also supported by the Association of Smokers and Families for a Smoke-Free Panama and the Medicinal Cannabis Association of Panama.
It’s unclear if the high court also weighed in on the health-based challenge.
May 21, 2024
Trust in Industry-Funded Science Growing: Study

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Public trust in tobacco industry-funded scientific research is growing, according to a new study co-authored by researchers in the Tobacco Control Research Group at the University of Bath, University of Colorado and University of Bristol.
The researchers aimed to understand the extent to which the public trusts Philip Morris International’s involvement in science. They asked 1,580 U.K. residents were asked to rate their level of trust in: PMI, the Foundation for a Smoke-Free World (recently rebranded as Global Action to End Smoking), or Cancer Research UK (CRUK), on a scale from 1 (no trust) to 7 (complete trust). CRUK was selected as a control group as a highly trusted scientific organization, wholly independent from the tobacco industry.
Overall trust in PMI was 4.66, compared to 5.79 out of 7 in CRUK. Overall trust for the Foundation for a Smoke-Free World was 5.04. After participants were informed that FSFW is funded by the tobacco industry, the overall trust rating dropped to 4.77.
“This work is important because tobacco companies use their involvement in science as ‘proof’ that they are credible research organizations,” said lead author Tess Legg in a statement. “They also funnel research funds through third-party companies and historically this has involved attempts to obscure their involvement in the resulting science.”
The study’s authors warn against acceptance of tobacco industry funding and dissemination of scientific findings
“As it stands, FSFW still has an immense amount of money from PMI at its disposal and so the risk of it continuing to further the industry’s interests is high,” Legg said. “Our findings suggest that more needs to be done by the tobacco control and public health communities to help the U.K. public understand how underhand the tobacco industry’s attempts to rebrand really are, and to stop scientific front groups from muddying the water by lending the industry an air of credibility.”
May 21, 2024