22nd Century says that it could supply within one growing season enough low-nicotine-tobacco seed to satisfy the needs of the US tobacco industry.
The company’s claim is contained in a press note outlining its response to the US Food and Drug Administration’s proposed rule that would require all cigarettes sold in the US to contain minimally or non-addictive levels of nicotine.
‘In preparation for the prompt implementation of the new FDA rule, 22nd Century is already growing increased amounts of the company’s VLN™ tobacco in order to be able to supply a sufficient quantity of the company’s proprietary VLN™ tobacco seeds to grow enough VLN™ tobacco for the entire US tobacco industry in just one growing season,’ the press note said.
22nd contrasted its position with that of Reynolds American, which, 22nd said, believed the industry was 20 years away from being able to comply with the FDA’s proposed rule.
22nd Century said in the press note that it was willing to license the use of its VLN™ technology and VLN™ tobacco seeds/plants to all interested companies.
‘The availability of this licensing opportunity from 22nd Century negates any argument by other tobacco companies that contend it is somehow not possible to comply with the planned FDA nicotine reduction mandate,’ the note added.
“Big tobacco companies now have a choice: Combat, obfuscate and attempt to delay the most important public health initiative of the last 100 years… or demonstrate a genuine commitment to improving the health of their customers,” said Henry Sicignano, III, president and CEO of the 22nd Century Group. “Now that 22nd Century’s VLN™ technology is proven and readily available for licensing, it will be interesting to see which big tobacco companies genuinely care about smokers… and which are determined to keep their customers addicted to the deadliest consumer product available on the market.”
Category: Leaf
Century's best initiative
China to buy Bulgarian leaf
Speaking at a press conference in Sofia, China’s Prime Minister Li Keqiang promised his Bulgarian counterpart, Boyko Borisov, that China would buy up to 10 million kg of leaf tobacco from Bulgarian farmers each year, according to a Novinite story relayed by the TMA.
The comments followed the conclusion of the 16+1 forum, an initiative by China aimed at expanding co-operation with 11 EU member states and 5 Balkan countries in the fields of investments, transport, finance, science, education, and culture.
Bulgaria produces about 25 million kg of tobacco each year, about 15-18 million kg of which comprises oriental tobacco.
China has for many years been expected to enter the market for classical oriental tobacco, an entry that, at this stage, could have a significant effect on the market.
Borisov was quoted as saying that Li had suggested that Bulgarian farmers should start growing ‘Chinese varieties of tobacco’ – perhaps Chinese styles of tobacco.Andhra prices tumble
Tobacco growers in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh had sold 63.51 million kg of leaf during the 98 days of marketing since auctions began in early March, according to a story in the latest issue of the BBM Bommidala Group newsletter.
The average price was said to have been down to Rs137.38, but there was no mention of what the comparison average price was.
However, a previous report, after 60 days of marketing and with 24.77 million kg of tobacco sold, put the average price at Rs163.00 per kg; so the average price fell by nearly 16 percent during the period from the 60-day to the 98-day stage of the marketing season.
In addition, a newsletter story from last year had it that after about 40 days of marketing, 21.57 million kg of tobacco had been sold for an average price of Rs145.53 a kg; so it would seem that prices this year are running about 5-6 percent below those of the previous year.
It is often said that prices are dependent on the quality of the leaf on offer, but this seems unlikely to the case here. The report said that a major share of the 63.51 million kg that had been auctioned, 34.36 million kg, comprised bright grades that fetched an average of Rs154.00 a kg.
Meanwhile, 18.39 million kg of medium-grade leaf had traded for an average price of Rs133.18 a kg, and 10.8 million kg of low-grade leaf had sold for an average price of Rs91.19 a kg.
In fact, as is usually the case, prices seem to be being driven by volume demand, or lack of it. By the 98-day point of last year’s sales, double the 63.51 million kg of this year’s sales had been auctioned.
Earlier this year, growers, worried at the slow pace of sales, called on the Chief Minister to hold a meeting with traders.
Growers’ concerns will have been heightened by the fact that the Andhra crop on offer is not a big one. The authorised crop size was 136 million kg, but the production estimate puts it at about 125 million kg.Banning tobacco
A recent meeting in Sri Lanka tried to sell the idea of switching tobacco growers to ‘alternative’ crops. Something needs to be done because the Government is planning to ban tobacco cultivation from 2020.
According to a story in The Lanka Business Online, also from 2020, the Government plans to ban the importation of ‘cigarettes and tobacco’. If tobacco here refers to leaf tobacco, then the country is moving towards prohibition and the repercussions could be enormous.
Sri Lankan consumers’ annual expenditure on cigarettes and tobacco is higher than the annual export revenue the country earns through the EU GSP Plus, according to the Lanka Business story quoting the Industry and Commerce Minister Rishad Bathiudeen. The EU GSP (European Union Generalised Scheme of Preferences) helps developing countries export their products to the EU.
“Reports say that Sri Lankan consumers spend more than Rs200 million per day for cigarettes,” Bathiudeen was quoted as saying.
“According to the World Health Organization, in 2015 the direct and indirect cost of tobacco use in Sri Lanka was estimated at Rs89 billion or US$662 million.”
Bathiudeen was addressing the launch event of the tobacco farmer research report titled Farmer Perspectives on Proposed Tobacco Growing Ban and Opportunity to Diversify, by Dr. Chatura Rodrigo of Green Space Consultancies.
“We annually spend more than $660 million for tobacco use and resulting expenses,” said Bathiudeen. “When we compare this $660 million with some other important values we can understand the huge cost for the economy from tobacco use.
“Sri Lanka’s annual expenditure on tobacco use is even higher than the additional export income from EU GSP Plus, which is around $480 million.”
Bathiudeen said the Government was therefore making attempts to switch the tobacco economy to a more productive livelihood stream comprising alternative, export-driven crops.
Currently, Lanka Business said, more than 3,300 tons of tobacco was reportedly produced in Sri Lanka on 0.07 percent of the country’s agricultural lands.
An expert tobacco panel at the event indicated that tobacco was considered to be an industrial crop, rather than a commercial crop. Since the bulk of the harvest was used for nicotine products, it ended up in industrial/machine processing, unlike many other commercial crops.
Among all types of full-time farmers in Sri Lanka, tobacco growers are some of the most profitable, earning regular margins of 20 percent or higher.Leaf growing not lucrative
An abstract of a research paper posted on the Tobacco Control website concludes that tobacco farming is not a lucrative economic undertaking for smallholder farmers in Kenya.
The paper is entitled: Costs, contracts and the narrative of prosperity: an economic analysis of smallholder tobacco farming livelihoods in Kenya.
The researchers found that: ‘Both contract and independent farmers experience small profit margins per acre, with contract farmers operating at a loss. Even when family labour is excluded from the calculation, income levels remain low, particularly considering the typically large households.’Price reductions continuing
The Tobacco Association of Zambia (TAZ) says that the ‘continued reduction’ in tobacco prices has negatively affected the growth of the sector, according to a story in The Zambia Daily Mail.
During the past three years, the TAZ was quoted as saying, tobacco prices had been declining, with flue-cured Virginia and Burley averaging US$2.50 per kg and US$1.90 per kg respectively this year.
This year’s marketing season started in the third week of April.
In its annual report, TAZ says the decline in the price of tobacco had led to the sector becoming less profitable.Application will be ‘robust’
The 22nd Century Group says it has initiated three short-term studies ‘investigating the behavioral and biochemical responses’ to its proprietary ‘Very Low Nicotine Content’ tobacco.
The company said in a press note that its scientists would submit to the US Food and Drug Administration the data collected from these studies as part of its ‘revised and enhanced Modified Risk Tobacco Product (MRTP) application for “BRAND A” Very Low Nicotine Content cigarettes’.
In announcing in April/May last year that the FDA had granted it authorization to conduct a clinical trial on its Brand B low tar-to-nicotine ratio cigarettes, the company said it intended to submit an MRTP application to the FDA for Brand B.
‘Slated for submission this year, 22nd Century’s MRTP application will request a marketing order from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to allow 22nd Century to disclose to consumers that the VLN™ tobacco of “BRAND A” cigarettes contains at least 95 percent less nicotine than the tobacco in conventional cigarettes,’ the company said in its most recent press note.
’22nd Century is the only company in the world that has grown commercial crops of proprietary VLN™ tobacco with nicotine levels of just 0.4 mg per gram of tobacco – a level that has been recognized by many public health officials as only “minimally or non-addictive”. Independent clinical trials using 22nd Century’s proprietary SPECTRUM® research cigarettes have shown that Very Low Nicotine Content cigarettes “reduce cravings, reduce consumption of cigarettes, and increase quit attempts”.
‘As announced by the FDA in July 2017, the FDA is seeking to dramatically reduce the nicotine levels in all cigarettes for precisely the same reasons 22nd Century is developing “BRAND A” as a Modified Risk Tobacco Product. Accordingly, 22nd Century may be the first company in the world to win FDA approval to market a combustible cigarette as a “Modified Risk Tobacco Product”.
‘22nd Century’s clinical studies are designed to confirm and substantiate further data previously collected by independent researchers. 22nd Century’s short-term studies will expand the demographic reach of the independent trials, thus demonstrating the suitability of the Company’s Very Low Nicotine tobacco for a wide range of smokers.
‘Summaries for two of the studies, “Evaluation of the Abuse Liability of Very Low Nicotine (VLN) Cigarettes” and “Evaluation of the Abuse Liability of Very Low Nicotine (VLN) Mentholated Cigarettes,” are already posted at www.clinicaltrials.gov.
‘The third study, “A Longitudinal Ambulatory Study to Assess Changes in Cigarette Consumption Behavior and Biomarkers of Exposure during a 6-Week Switch to Very Low Nicotine Cigarettes”, will be added soon.
‘While the FDA is engaged in the rule-making process to limit nicotine in all cigarettes to minimally or non-addictive levels, 22nd Century’s MRTP application for “BRAND A” Very Low Nicotine Content cigarettes pursues a complementary and potentially faster pathway for regulatory approval.’
“22nd Century’s team of scientists, regulatory experts, and specialist consultants are meticulously assembling our revised MRTP application for “BRAND A” Very Low Nicotine Content cigarettes,” president and CEO Henry Sicignano, III was quoted as saying.
“Later this year, we will submit a robust MRTP application that answers many of the questions the FDA is asking with regard to the agency’s planned national nicotine reduction mandate. The public deserves – and desperately needs – a minimally or non-addictive cigarette … sooner, rather than later.”Prices heading south
During the first 56 days of flue-cured tobacco sales in Zimbabwe, the average price paid to growers increased by US$0.01 per kg, or about 0.3 percent, according to a story in The Sunday Mail.
After 52 days of sales, according to a previous story in the Zimbabwe Herald, the average price was up by US$0.02 per kg, or about 0.7 percent; so, as far as growers are concerned, the situation is going backwards.
The full-season average paid to growers has not increased for more than 20 years and seems unlikely to do so this year. The average price after 56 days is lower than the full-season average for 2017.
And growers have delivered 190 million kg already, the same amount as they delivered during the full-season 2017 market.
And whereas, for the third time since 2010, they are expected to deliver more than 200 million kg, the Tobacco Industry and Marketing Board (TIMB) seems not to be expecting the total to go far above 200 million kg, even though, officially, there are more than 50 sales days to go.
“There’s a big likelihood that the country may surpass the 200 million kg targeted by Treasury given the amount of tobacco that has been delivered to the auction floors,” said Isheunesu Moyo, the TIMB’s public relations manager.
“We are surprised with the statistics given dry climatic conditions that we have experienced mid-season. The second half rains during end of January changed the course of the season for most tobacco farmers who were heading for total disaster.”
Of the 190 million kg delivered so far, more than 161 million kg were the subject of contracts.
The Mail reported that the average price had increased from US$2.90 per kg last year to US$2.91 per kg this year.
Growers were said to have earned ‘more than US$551 million in the first 56 days of the marketing season, [up] from US$440 million last year’. The amount of tobacco delivered during the two seasons was not mentioned.
The number of growers, however, was said to have risen from 98,705 ‘in the past year’ to 144,905. If the figure of 98,705 referred to last season, the average income per grower has fallen from US$4,458 in 2017 to US$3,802 this year, a drop of nearly 15 percent.Support for leaf export levy
Some anti-tobacco campaigners and economists in Bangladesh have said that the withdrawal of a 25 percent customs duty on leaf-tobacco exports would encourage growers to cultivate more tobacco, despite the health and environmental hazards the crop poses, according to a story in The Dhaka Tribune.
In his recent budget speech, Finance Minister A.M.A. Muhith said he had proposed the withdrawal of the customs duty in order ‘to reduce domestic consumption by encouraging exports’.
However, anti-tobacco campaigners and economists condemned the move, expressing fears that farmers would put more focus on tobacco cultivation and eschew other crops if the customs duty were removed.
“When Bangladesh is supposed to be reducing the production of tobacco, it is giving incentives to increase production by withdrawing duties on exports instead,” Dr. M Asaduzzaman, distinguished fellow of the Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies, reportedly told the Tribune.
If the customs duty were withdrawn, farmers would get better prices and would be encouraged to cultivate more tobacco while shifting away from other crops, he added.
The economist said also that if the government wanted to reduce domestic tobacco consumption, it needed to take stricter measures than incentivizing exports.
Meanwhile, A.B.M. Zubair, executive director of the anti-tobacco NGO, Progga, said Bangladesh’s food security would come under threat if the duty were removed, not only because farmers might shift away from food crops, but also because tobacco cultivation had a negative impact on the fertility of the soil and the environment.
The Tribune reported that, according to a report by the World Health Organization titled Tobacco and its environmental impact: an overview, tobacco cultivation is associated with land degradation or desertification in the form of soil erosion, reduced soil fertility and productivity, and the disruption of water cycles.
The report said that cultivation and curing of tobacco were both direct causes of deforestation, because forests were cleared for tobacco plantations and wood was burned to cure the leaves.
Moreover, chemicals used to control a weed commonly found in the tobacco fields of Bangladesh were found to have been polluting aquatic environments and destroying fish supplies, as well as soil organisms needed to maintain soil health.
Farming communities were exposed to health risks caused by the chemical pollution of their environment because tobacco growers used abnormal fertilizers and chemicals to attain higher yields.Prices increased marginally
The average price paid to Zimbabwe’s growers for this season’s flue-cured tobacco was, after 52 days of sales, up by less than one percent on that of the previous season, according to a story in the Zimbabwe Herald citing figures from the Tobacco Industry and Marketing Board (TIMB).
The full-season average price paid to Zimbabwe’s growers has not increased in 20 years.
At the 52-day mark, 177.8 million kg of flue-cured had been sold for US$515.1 million.
By the same point of last season’s sales, 145.8 million kg had been sold for US$420.6 million.
So the apparent average price so far this season is US$2.90 per kg, up US$0.02 per kg, or about 0.7 percent (the story had the percentage increase at 0.45 percent) on that of the previous season, US$2.88.
So far this season, 151.0 million kg of flue-cured has been sold under the contract system for US$440.4 million, for an apparent average of US$2.92 per kg (the story had the average as US$2.90 per kg, possibly because of rounding).
At the same time, 26.7 million kg of flue-cured has been sold at auction for US$74.7 million, for an apparent average of US$2.80 per kg (US$2.79 per kg).
