Category: Featured

  • 22nd Century Signs New Manufacturing Deal

    22nd Century Signs New Manufacturing Deal

    Photo: thodonal

    22nd Century Group has expanded its Pinnacle private label brand to add distribution of cigarillo products to its existing Pinnacle cigarette products. Pinnacle products are currently sold as a private label brand in a leading U.S. gas station convenience store chain comprising approximately 1,700 stores in 26 states.

    According to 22nd Century Group, Pinnacle cigarette product re-order volumes are now achieving sustained sequential growth as the private label contract enters its second year with this top retail customer, which is itself seeing notable growth in its tobacco sales and gaining market share by offering value to its customers.

    “We are excited to expand our Pinnacle brand with new cigarillo products based on the successful sales growth of these private label cigarette products sold at one of the top U.S. c-store chains,” said 22nd Century Group Chairman and CEO Larry Firestone in a statement.

    “Agreements like this help us to further enhance revenue and profitability in our business as we work toward breakeven operations by the first quarter 2025.”

    The cigarillo expansion agreement is in addition to a recently announced new CMO customer contract that is expected to increase the 22nd Century Group’s contract manufacturing organization production volumes by at least 20 percent, with shipments commencing from the second quarter.

  • Vaping Additives Harm Lung Membrane: Study

    Vaping Additives Harm Lung Membrane: Study

    Panagiota Taktikakis (left) and Christine DeWolf (Photo: Concordia University)

    The e-cigarette additive tocopherol—an organic compound better known as vitamin E—and tocopherol acetate can damage the lungs, according to two Concordia University researchers writing in Langmuir.

    When heated and inhaled, the compound embeds in the pulmonary surfactant, a nanoscopically thin lipid protein membrane coating the surface of the alveoli that regulates the oxygen-carbon dioxide gas exchange and stabilizes the lungs’ surface tension during breathing.

    The researchers used one-molecule-thick model membranes called Langmuir films to simulate the expansion and compression of the pulmonary surfactant. They then added vitamin E, which is structurally similar to the lipids found in the membrane.

    They used different observational techniques including microscopy, x-ray diffraction and x-ray reflectivity. The researchers observed how the presence of the additive changed the surfactant’s properties and monitored changes as they added more to simulate how a real surfactant would accumulate and retain the compound in the lungs.

    “We can see that the presence of vitamin E changes the functional properties of the surfactant,” said Christine DeWolf, a professor in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry and co-founder of the Centre for NanoScience Research at Concordia University, in a statement.

    “Oxygen is exchanged for carbon dioxide across the pulmonary surfactant, so if the surfactant properties are altered, so can be the ability for gas to be exchanged. And if the surface tension is changed, that affects the work of breathing. So combined, these changes make breathing more difficult. We think this is the molecular basis contributing to the shortness of breath and reduced oxygen levels seen in people suffering from EVALI [electronic cigarette or vaping product use–associated lung injury]”

    This paper is the first of a larger project that looks at the components of the vaping solutions that deliver the nicotine or cannabinoids to users.

    “Many of the components in these solutions are approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration for other uses,” DeWolf says. “But the high heating rates needed to vaporize these components can cause further chemical reactions to occur. The components that are actually being inhaled may not be the ones in the original e-liquid.”

  • Smoore Quarterly Pretax Profit Up a Quarter

    Smoore Quarterly Pretax Profit Up a Quarter

    Photo: Taco Tuinstra

    Smoore International Holdings reported an unaudited pretax profit of RMB399.7 million ($55.23 million) for the three months that ended March 31, up 25 percent over its pretax profit in the comparable 2023 quarter. After-tax profit was up 12.8 percent to RMB339.5 in the quarter.

    “Total comprehensive income” was RMB209.8 million in the quarter, compared with RMB293.3 million in the comparable 2023 period.

  • Video: FDA Urged to Prioritize Access to Safer Alternatives

    Video: FDA Urged to Prioritize Access to Safer Alternatives

    Consumer advocates spoke out against what they describe as the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s “alarming neglect” in facilitating access to safer nicotine alternatives for millions of adult consumers during a House Oversight hearing today.

    “Despite the bipartisan mandate of the Tobacco Control Act of 2009, the FDA’s performance has fallen short of expectations, leaving countless individuals without viable options to effectively transition away from combustible cigarettes,” the Consumer Choice Center wrote in a press note.

    “With over 26 million premarket tobacco product applications (PMTA) languishing in bureaucratic limbo, the FDA has only authorized fewer than 50 granted to just a handful of firms, completely disregarding the 180-day review deadline set imposed by Congress,” said Consumer Choice Center U.S. Policy Analyst Elizabeth Hicks.

    “Less than 10 unique devices are available on the regulated marketplace, all of which come from industry incumbents, not to mention the growing categories of nicotine alternatives such as heaters, pouches, toothpicks, and more.

    “This blatant failure highlights a systemic issue within the agency, where regulatory inertia trumps the urgent need to provide consumers with safer nicotine alternatives such as e-cigarettes which studies have shown to be 95 percent less harmful than combustible cigarettes. As a result, consumers are being pushed towards the illicit market, which does not adhere to regulatory standards, to find their preferred nicotine alternative products,” said Hicks.

    “Consumers are deeply troubled by the FDA’s abject failure to fulfill its obligations under the Tobacco Control Act. It is imperative that the FDA swiftly rectify this situation by implementing a transparent and expedited regulatory pathway that prioritizes access to scientifically validated, less harmful nicotine products,” she concluded.

    The Consumer Choice Center’s concern was echoed by Philip Morris International, which in an e-mailed statement expressed the hope that the hearing would spur the FDA into action to fully embrace the tobacco harm reduction principles enshrined in the Tobacco Control Act.

    “Today’s House Oversight hearing put a bright spotlight on the fact that the agency is failing to help millions of adult smokers access smoke-free options that are better alternatives to combustible cigarettes,” the company wrote. “More than 26 million premarket tobacco product applications have been submitted to the FDA for review, but the agency has authorized fewer than 50 of those applications, and none within the 180-day deadline set by Congress.

    “FDA’s goal to strike ‘an appropriate balance between regulation and encouraging development of innovative tobacco products that may be less dangerous than cigarettes’ is far from the reality of its actions. To assist adult smokers’ transition away from cigarettes, the FDA must develop a fair, efficient and effective regulatory pathway to bring scientifically validated, less harmful products to market with the appropriate safeguards to ensure they do not appeal to youth.”

  • Canada Relaunches Flavor Ban

    Canada Relaunches Flavor Ban

    Photo: DD Images

    Canada is set to enact a three-year-old flavor ban, according to Vaping360. The regulations were first published in June 2021 in the Canada Gazette but then never went into effect. Now, however, Health Minister Mark Holland has reinvigorated the ban.

    Holland previously worked at Heart and Stroke, where he was the national director of children and youth. “I was with Heart and Stroke when we dealt with the issue of vaping,” he said, “and there were many voices at that time, when information was uncertain, who said, ‘Let this exist as a cessation tool. Don’t take action.’ The result of that, unfortunately, was that the tobacco industry was able to addict a whole new cohort of young people—who had no exposure to nicotine—to something that’s absolutely deadly for their health. It has had very injurious outcomes for our health system.”

    Vaping proponents warned that the measure could backfire. “As presented, Minister Holland’s proposal will not achieve the desired public health objectives and could, on the contrary, seriously harm a significant number of Canadian adult ex-smokers, the Vaping Industry Trade Association (VITA) wrote in a press release.

    “This appears to be a personal legacy project for the Minister of Health, supported strongly by his former peers at the Heart and Stroke Foundation, the Canadian Cancer Society, the Canadian Lung Association and some smaller anti-smoking NGOs [nongovernmental organizations],” said VITA Managing Director Thomas Kirsop.

    The ban would give manufacturers a list of fewer than 100 allowable flavoring ingredients that can only be used to create e-liquid in tobacco, mint and menthol flavors. Sweeteners of any kind would be banned. The regulations will also “prescribe sensory attributes standards to prevent a sensory perception other than one that is typical of tobacco or mint/menthol.”

  • Broughton to Open HTP Testing Facility

    Broughton to Open HTP Testing Facility

    Photo: Broughton

    Broughton will open a dedicated facility for heated-tobacco products (HTPs) at its Oak Tree House site in Lancashire, U.K. The space will allow the scientific consultancy and testing specialist to assist manufacturers with a fully integrated HTP service, from the testing and characterization of products through to toxicology and regulatory submission support. 

    Broughton’s HTP facility will house new testing equipment, such as conditioning cabinets, smoke engines and analytical equipment.

    Broughton can test an HTP for a specific suite of harmful and potentially harmful constituents based on the PMI-58 and regulatory required analytes to ensure there are no major toxicological concerns. Its team will also conduct paper-based toxicology assessments to confirm the absence of any other ingredients or materials of high concern.

    “Heated tobacco is an area of growing interest in the next-generation nicotine market, as it’s widely accepted that most of the toxicants associated with combustible cigarettes are caused by the burning of tobacco,” said Chris Allen, CEO of Broughton.

    “Developing and commercializing heated-tobacco products can offer smokers a reduced-risk alternative—the device heats sufficiently to release nicotine but not high enough for combustion.”

    “Understanding the potentially harmful chemicals and the toxicological impact of a nicotine product is essential for marketing authorization,” said Malcolm Saxton, senior consultant at Broughton. “Our new facility will aid our provision of accredited, accurate and flexible testing for all stages of HTP product development.”

  • Kyrgyzstan Proposes Ban on Vapes

    Kyrgyzstan Proposes Ban on Vapes

    But cigarettes will remain readily available. (Photo: Taco Tuinstra)

    Shairbek Tashiev, Member of Parliament in Kyrgyzstan, has initiated a bill that would amend the Code of Offenses and the Criminal Code to protect citizens’ health from tobacco and nicotine consumption and exposure to smoke, reports the AKIPress News Agency.

    The amendments were submitted in February.

    Tashiev proposed banning import of electronic cigarettes with a tank containing special liquid. Violators would face a fine of KGS150,000 ($1,683) to KGS200,000 or imprisonment for up to two years.

    Vaping will be banned in undesignated places, with violators facing fines of KGS40,000 for individuals and KGS60,000 for legal entities.

    Individuals caught selling e-cigarettes with tanks will face fines of KGS50,000, and legal entities will face fines of KGS65,000.

  • Leaf Earnings up in Zimbabwe

    Leaf Earnings up in Zimbabwe

    Photo: Taco Tuinstra

    Zimbabwean tobacco growers had earned $143 million from the sale of 41 million kg of flue-cured tobacco by Day 17 of this year’s marketing season—nearly 50 percent more than they pocketed after the same number of selling days last year, reports The Herald.

    Contract floors accounted for 94 percent of the tobacco volumes after taking delivery of 38,432,613 kg while their auction counterparts stood at 6 percent with 2,583,334 kg, according to the Tobacco Industry and Marketing Board (TIMB). 

    Farmers earned $9.25 million and $134 million under the auction and contract system respectively. The average auction price surged 16 percent from $3.09 per kilogram on Day 1 to $3.58 by Day 17 while contract floors, which opened one day after the auctions, rose 13 percent, from $3.09 by Day 2 to $3.49 by Day 17.

    The number of bale rejections was 38 percent lower than during the comparable 2023 period, a development that the TIMB attributes to the training of farmers on grading, presentation and bale handling, among other skills.

    Despite the increases, some farmers expressed dissatisfaction with the current average price, which they believe should be higher, as supply is curtailed due to the El Nino drought.

    In Brazil, the industry has been paying record prices due to a lower-than-expected Virginia tobacco harvest. According to the growers’ association Afubra, the average per-kilo price in Brazil was up by nearly 20 percent over that paid during the 2022-2023 marketing season.

  • Brazil Urged to Embrace Harm Reduction

    Brazil Urged to Embrace Harm Reduction

    Photo: Taco Tuinstra

    Brazil could prevent almost 1.4 million premature deaths—equivalent to the population of Porto Alegre—by implementing Sweden’s tobacco harm reduction (THR) strategy, according to a new report to be presented in Brasilia by Smoke Free Sweden today.

    Currently, Brazil has a smoking rate of 13.4 percent, well above the World Health Organization’s official “smoke-free” threshold of 5 percent. This means almost 16,000 Brazilians die each month from preventable diseases.

    Sweden, by contrast, is on track to become officially “smoke-free,” with smoking rates only just above 5 percent.

    This translates into the lowest cancer rates in Europe and reduced mortality from smoking. According to the report’s authors, a significant part of this success story is Sweden’s measured approach to reducing the harm associated with smoking through the use of reduced-risk alternative products such as vaping and nicotine pouches.

    “Although smoking continues to be the leading preventable cause of premature death worldwide, conventional methods in tobacco control have reached a standstill,” said principal author Derek Yach in a statement.

    “Policymakers in Brazil need to acknowledge the pivotal role of tobacco harm reduction products, which are already being utilized by 150 million individuals worldwide, in addressing this urgent crisis.”

    “Tobacco control alone is not enough when it comes to combating high smoking levels,” said Delon Human, leader of the Smoke Free Sweden movement and a key contributor to the report.

    “It must be complemented by a comprehensive set of harm reduction measures. This includes the accessibility, acceptability, and affordability of less harmful alternatives like vaping and nicotine pouches.

    “Public health entities in Brazil should seize the opportunity for global replication of Sweden’s successful approach. Together, we can work towards a smoke free world and ensure the well-being of future generations.”

    Brazil’s Federal Senate is currently considering a bill on the regulation of electronic cigarettes, which have been banned in the country for more than a decade.

  • ‘Commission Too Receptive to Lobbying’

    ‘Commission Too Receptive to Lobbying’

    Photo: doganmesut

    The European Commission is inappropriately receptive to tobacco lobbying, according to a white paper scheduled to be presented on April 11, reports Europorter.

    Concerned about the slow progress toward the EU goal of creating “tobacco-free generation” and the union’s inaction on its 2011 tobacco taxation directive and its 2014 tobacco products directive, which are due for revision, several European deputes and public health associations have studied the interactions between industry and EU public office holders.

    The discussions were led by Michèle Rivasi, Anne-Sophie Pelletier and Pierre Larrouturou, with the participation of Smoke-Free Partnership, Alliance Against Tobacco, the University of Bath and Corporate Europe Observatory, among other health groups.

    The themes discussed included the parallel tobacco trade, the “Dentsu Tracking/Jan Hoffmann” traceability controversy, tobacco lobbying efforts and tobacco’s environmental impact.

    The white paper summarizing the working group’s findings will be distributed in French and English to the 27 member states, the Commission, political groups, along with lawmakers and members of the press.