Category: Packaging

  • Flexible Solutions

    Flexible Solutions

    Photos: Parkside Flexibles

    The prospects for tobacco packaging remain bright despite stagnating cigarette sales.

    By George Gay

    A recent Fortune Business Insights report predicted that the turnover of the global tobacco and nicotine packaging business would grow from the $16.15 billion of 2019 to $20.45 billion by 2027. This seems like a healthy increase given what we are often led to believe is the declining state of the business, at least the overwhelmingly dominant part of it that is made up of sales of traditional cigarettes.

    Given this, Tobacco Reporter asked Paula Birch, global sales director of Parkside Flexibles, whether she believed the sector of the tobacco and nicotine packaging business that Parkside operated in would grow to this extent, and she kicked off her emailed reply by providing some context to the growth figures.

    As was mentioned by Fortune Business Insights, the value of the tobacco packaging market was predicted to grow by about 27 percent during the next six years, she said. Additionally, research by British American Tobacco had found that more than 19 percent of the world’s population comprised smokers who consumed more than 5.3 trillion cigarettes annually across a global cigarette market worth about $700 billion, a figure that rose to $814 billion annually when other tobacco and nicotine products were included. It was also the case, though, that cigarette sales had fallen by 17 percent since 2010, so the high and increasing figures for the value of sales had been down to retail prices, which, at the same time, had increased by 91 percent, according to figures by the U.K. Office for National Statistics.

    Keen to serve increasingly environmentally conscious consumers, Parkside Flexibles has developed products such as recycled content inner liners.

    “As prices have risen, consumers have increasingly demanded value for money and greater premiumization to ensure they are getting what they pay for,” said Birch. “The key to achieving these two aspects is via enhanced barrier performance, which provides improved tobacco quality, freshness and extended shelf life, all of which can be achieved with flexible packaging. By using flexible solutions for inner liners, pack wraps and pouches, brands can provide consumers with the superior quality they are seeking.

    “As a result, we are now seeing the emergence of flexible packaging as the solution of choice for tobacco brands in Eastern and Western markets due to its greater ability to protect, preserve and present throughout the supply chain from manufacture to supermarket shelf. For tobacco brands, flexible packaging offers greater flexibility and cost-effectiveness in production when compared to other popular solutions, such as cardboard. At Parkside, we develop flexible packaging solutions that offer superb barrier performance to prevent product deterioration and aroma transmission and inhibit the growth of bacteria within the pack, thus ensuring premium freshness and quality of tobacco products.

    “The benefits of flexible packaging for the consumer and brand mean we feel confident that over the next decade, this packaging format for tobacco will grow at a similar double-digit rate in line with the overall tobacco packaging market.”

    As prices have risen, consumers have increasingly demanded value for money.

    JPaula Birch, global sales director, Parkside Flexibles

    Growing populations and hectic lifestyles

    One question that arises out of this is whether the growth in tobacco and nicotine packaging turnover will be driven mainly by demand in particular countries and regions or be a worldwide trend. Consumption patterns, at least up until the Covid-19 pandemic struck, would seem to suggest that growth would have to be fueled by developing countries, but is there more to it than volume consumption?

    The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention stated that between 2005 and 2015, the percentage of adults smoking fell worldwide, said Birch. Despite this, the global tobacco packaging market continued to grow because, while the overall percentage of people smoking had reduced, global populations continued to rise, resulting in higher numbers of people consuming the product. And, as mentioned previously, packaging company turnover was increasing as a result of their meeting the rise in consumer expectations about product quality.

    “The modern-day lifestyle in many countries—with increased workloads, hectic schedules and, indeed, the Covid-19 pandemic—has led to a significant increase in tobacco consumption among professionals and those with stressful professions,” said Birch. “We expect to see the Asia-Pacific region experience the fastest growth in tobacco packaging turnover due to this combination of population growth and working lifestyle. We also anticipate continued growth across Europe and the U.S. for the same reasons.

    “Interestingly, growth in the flexible packaging format does not rely solely on consumption patterns. Due to the versatility of the format across pack wraps, inner liners and pouches to name a few, the substitution of metal, card and paperboard continues to drive market growth.”

    Platform for promotion

    Even with standardized tobacco packaging being introduced in many countries, the authors of the Insights report seem to believe there is still a part that packaging can play in product promotion. So Tobacco Reporter asked whether Birch believed this to be the case.

    “Absolutely,” she said. “Although brands must adhere to strict packaging guidelines in terms of packaging standardization in many countries, there are still significant opportunities to utilize the right packaging to promote a particular product. These restrictions can be challenging when competing with lower-risk products like vapes that are not constrained by packaging design laws as stringent as those for standard tobacco packaging.

    “It is vital in the modern market space that brands market and communicate their products through unique and innovative promotional methods. In particular, the opening and reclosing feature can be differentiated, the use of tactile or premium finishes on the inside of the pack, and integration of novel communications and graphics within the pack can all be leveraged. Tactile packaging and intricate design work like embossing can help to convey a premium quality. This is often seen in the premium spirits market, where bottles are placed in intricately designed boxes to create a sense of luxury, generating a consumer sensory experience beyond the purely visual.

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    “Sustainability is also a feature that consumers consider when making their purchases, so brands can use this to stand out from the crowd. Laminate structures of compostable films can be used to produce the pouches widely used by the roll-your-own tobacco consumer, and they comprise a viable, environmentally friendly alternative to other materials. At Parkside, we have created fully accredited flexible packaging pouches that compost both at home and in industrial composting environments. Accredited to EN13432 and Vincotte OK Home Compost regulations, the compostable OTP pouch enables brands to demonstrate their sustainability commitment.”

    Finally, Tobacco Reporter asked Birch the question that, currently, no interview can leave out: How has the Covid-19 pandemic affected Parkside’s business?

    “The last year has been extremely challenging for all businesses,” she said. “Demand has been volatile, and there have been various supply chain challenges, which we have successfully navigated.

    “At Parkside, our primary focus is on the health, safety and well-being of our employees and their families as well as our customers, suppliers and the communities we operate in. We implemented a range of measures in line with current U.K. government and NHS [National Health Service] guidelines to minimize the spread of the virus and ensure that productivity didn’t come at the expense of staff safety.

    “Importantly, we have continued to successfully work with tobacco brands around the world and implemented a range of supply chain protocols, which have enabled us to operate at full capacity throughout the pandemic. We have excellent supply and stock management systems in place, and we are continuing to meet the increased demand from our customers across all markets.”

    George Gay is Tobacco Reporter’s European editor, but his territory spans the globe. Based in London, George has covered the tobacco industry since 1982, initially for a U.K.-based publication and since 2004 for Tobacco Reporter. George’s understanding of industry issues, combined with his keen sense of observation and dry wit, have earned him a loyal following among Tobacco Reporter’s readers.
  • Chewing the Fat

    Chewing the Fat

    Our U.K. editor ponders the absence of health warnings on his calorie-laden ice cream bar

    Recently, I had an ice cream bar from a stash in our freezer. I appreciate the own-brand product in question because the supermarket that offers it has gone to the trouble of catering for vegans such as me and is offering a tasty ice cream bar whose production is almost certainly more environmentally friendly than that of the usual animal-products-based ice cream bars. And while the vegan ice cream bars are wrapped in nonrecyclable plastic, the wrapping is thin, and the whole is offered in a recyclable cardboard box.

    What’s not to like? Well, when I opened the box, the contents looked as if somebody fairly large had sat on it with intent. Packaging is supposed to protect products, but it cannot work miracles, and there must be a complex set of calculations that would have to be made to determine what is the ideal strength and efficacy of packaging, taking into account such things as the need to maintain product integrity in the supply chain, the danger of waste, the need to protect the consumer’s image of a brand, costs versus benefits, and a whole slew of factors impacting the environment.

    Frankly, despite the forlorn appearance of my squashed ice cream bar, I cannot help thinking that the packaging of this own-brand was just about right. The type of packaging that would have been needed to protect the ice cream bars from the sort of pressure my box came under would make them too expensive at retail and far too damaging to the environment.

    But there was something else about this packaging that made me think. Why was there no health warning on it? I’m sure these ice cream bars could become “addictive,” which means I could become obese eating them; so, using the sort of logic applied to cigarettes, these ice cream bars could kill—me, for one! Cigarette packs are strewn with huge, grizzly warnings while ice cream bar packs are not, which is perhaps part of the reason why only about 14 percent of adults in the U.K. smoke while more than 50 percent are overweight or obese.

    I have lived a long time, but I have never seen teeth so badly damaged as some of those depicted on cigarette warning labels.

    Okay, you might argue, cigarette consumption causes all manner of health issues—but then so does being overweight or obese. According to my rough-and-ready research, smoking is associated with 16 cancers, but being overweight or obese is associated with 12 cancers. And take a look at our current situation. I see a lot of stories about how smokers who contract Covid-19 are at higher risk of severe outcomes than others in the population, though these reports are often quiet on smokers’ risks of contracting the disease in the first place. But, in fact, “increased body weight is the second greatest predictor of hospitalization and a high risk of death for people suffering from Covid-19,” according to the World Obesity Foundation website.

    And what is the greatest factor? Smoking? No, age.

    So why are there health warnings on cigarettes and none on the sorts of food associated with overweight and obesity. One argument could be that you can eat sugary and fatty foods sensibly and not become overweight or obese just as, according to the government, you can—don’t laugh—drink alcohol responsibly. This, I imagine, is poppycock. The ideas that you couldn’t safely consume one cigarette a day, but you can consume one ice cream bar or one glass of wine and not be tempted to have another, are beyond reason to my way of thinking.

    Am I advocating sensible, responsible smoking? No. Definitely not. But then I wouldn’t encourage either the responsible drinking of alcohol or the sensible consumption of ice cream bars.

    What I find unacceptable is the fact that while the packaging of other consumer products that raise serious health concerns bear more or less no ill-health messages, cigarette packaging does have such messages, and many of those messages, I suspect, are bogus. The trouble is that on cigarette packs that I see, there is no indication of what percentage of smokers ever suffer from the types of complaints depicted or what proportion of smokers suffer those complaints to the level depicted, so what is being conveyed in many of these graphic warnings is misleading at best, wrong at worst.

    One example comprises some of the oral problems portrayed. I have lived a long time, but I have never seen teeth so badly damaged as some of those depicted on cigarette warning labels. In this case, I have to assume that such afflictions affect only a small proportion of smokers, so, to my way of thinking, this should be stated on the warnings. That way, smokers might take note.

    At the same time, it might be worth pondering whether ice cream bars are good for your teeth.

    Oh yes, and one other thing. Purely by chance, I wrote this piece on World No Smoking Day, March 10, so I thought I might check whether there was a similar day in the calendar for obesity. There isn’t. Well, that’s not quite true. There is no World No Obesity Day nor any World No Eating Day. But there is World Obesity Day (March 4 this year), which sounds odd to my way of thinking—almost as if it’s a celebration. —George Gay

  • Innovia Sustainability Efforts Certified

    Innovia Sustainability Efforts Certified

    Photo: Innovia

    Innovia has expanded ISCC PLUS certification to its plants in Australia, Belgium and the U.K. This allows Innovia to produce its range of Encore sustainable films globally, supplying both certified renewable materials and certified circular material.

    “The sustainable team based in Wigton supported the work that the local cross functional plant teams undertook in very tight timescales,” says Paul Watters, product development manager of packaging at Innovia. “To achieve ambitious schedules meant they had to adopt a well-coordinated and collaborative team approach.”

    ISCC (International Sustainability and Carbon Certification) is an independent multi-stakeholder organization providing a globally applicable certification system for the sustainability of raw materials and products.

    Innovia has also developed its own internal life cycle analysis program, which enables it to measure key sustainability metrics, including carbon footprint and fossil scarcity on a cradle to gate basis.

    “These additional certifications show our commitment to increasing our manufacturing footprint of certified renewable and recycled content films in line with customer demand for these types of products,” said Watters.

  • U.S. Graphic Health Warnings Delayed Again

    U.S. Graphic Health Warnings Delayed Again

    Image: FDA CTP

    A district court judge in Texas has again delayed the effective date for graphic health warnings on U.S. cigarette packs, according to reports in The Winston-Salem Journal and Lexus Legal News. The new date is April 14, 2022, pushed back from Jan. 14, 2022.

    This marks the third delay for the warnings. On May 8, 2020, a court ordered the effective date to be delayed from June 18, 2021, to Oct. 16, 2021, because of the coronavirus. In December, Judge J. Campbell Barker further postponed the new requirements to Jan. 14, 2022, agreeing with the tobacco industry’s assertion that question about the validity of the rule remain unanswered.

    The Food and Drug Administration released its final rule requiring new graphic warnings for cigarettes in March 2020. The rule calls for labels that feature some of the lesser known health risks of smoking, such as diabetes, on the top half of the front and back of cigarette packages and at least 20 percent of the area on the top of cigarette advertisements.

    The warnings include statements that tobacco smoke can harm children and that smoking can cause bladder cancer and neck and head cancer.

    The 11 new warnings must be randomly and equally displayed and distributed on cigarette packages and rotated quarterly in cigarette advertisements.

    In April and May 2020, cigarette manufacturers and retailers sued the FDA, arguing that the graphic warning requirements amount to governmental anti-smoking advocacy because the government has never forced makers of a legal product to use their own advertising to spread an emotionally charged message urging adults not to use their products.

    In the more recent challenge, tobacco companies argued that the deadline was too onerous due to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. “These expenditures of resources for the purpose of meeting the rule’s requirements constitute irreparable harm because plaintiffs cannot recover money damages should the rule and/or the graphic warning requirement in the Tobacco Control Act be invalidated,” the companies said in a legal filing.

    This is the Food and Drug Administration’s second attempt to enact graphic health warnings under the 2009 Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act. The first rule was struck down by the federal court in the District of Columbia as a violation of the First Amendment.

  • Leonhard Kurz Wins Innovation Award

    Leonhard Kurz Wins Innovation Award

    Photo: Leonard Kurz

    Thin-film expert Leonhard Kurz has won third main prize in the Bavarian Innovation Prize for its IMD Varioform with functional in-mold labeling process. This technology allows touch sensors to be deformed in three dimensions, injected with plastic and integrated into geometrically sophisticated and decorated components.

    The process was developed to produce plastic parts with extreme 3D geometry, for example, heavily bent, domed or curved shapes. Based on the proven in-mold decoration technology, Kurz was able to effectively combine the previously successive processes of decoration, single-image illumination and capacitive sensor integration into a 3D-shaped HMI component and combine them in a single manufacturing step.

    In 2020, the Bavarian Innovation Prize was awarded for the fifth time by the Bavarian State Ministry for Economic Affairs, Regional Development and Energy, the Bavarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Bavarian Chambers of Trades and Crafts Association. It honors outstanding innovation drivers of the Bavarian economy.

  • Innovative Solutions

    Innovative Solutions

    Photo: Tobacco Reporter archive

    One traditional tobacco industry supplier that has recently diversified into servicing the legal cannabis business is LLFlex. With headquarters and manufacturing facilities in Louisville, Kentucky, USA, the company is a global leader in metals-based laminates for packaging and industrial solutions in the wire, cable, construction and other consumer markets. For nearly a century, LLFlex has supplied packaging materials to the tobacco industry. Its innerliner is available both laminated and coated and in a vast array of colors. The company’s innerframe offering includes plain and printed materials.

    LLFlex has also been working on new packaging designs that will incorporate its laminated carton board into flip-top boxes and cartons. According to LLFlex Business Segment Director Kelley Stearman, the company sets itself apart through its long history and commitment to the tobacco industry and its willingness to make investments to service this industry. “Our reputation of high-quality materials and excellent service is second to none,” she says.

    With sales offices in the U.K. and China and an extensive network of agents, LLFlex services the entire globe. Recently, the company opened a new factory in High Point, North Carolina, USA, allowing it to efficiently service the high concentration of tobacco customers in that region.

    As numerous U.S. states legalized cannabis in recent years, LLFlex started exploring opportunities in that segment as well. While the market remains small compared to that for tobacco, the potential for growth is considerable. “Data shows a huge exponential increase in demand for cannabis packaging over the next five years, and we want to be part of that growth,” says Stearman.

    Cannabis packaging is similar to tobacco packaging in that it requires innocuous materials that won’t impart any taste or odor on the cannabis or tobacco products. From there, however, the similarities diminish. “As we know, most cigarettes are packaged on high-speed packing lines due to the high production volume of these products,” says Stearman. “Cannabis products for the most part are still being made and packed on a much smaller scale. And the cannabis product that a consumer buys typically is in a much different format than a cigarette. Whether it’s a cannabis flower or an edible, the packaging is very different from a cigarette pack.”

    Complicating things from a packaging supplier’s perspective, every U.S. state that has legalized cannabis has its own unique regulations for cannabis packaging. Some states require cannabis packaging to be reclosable, for example. One requirement, however, is common to all jurisdictions: Cannabis products must be sold in child-resistant packaging.

    With its LoCRite product, LLFlex can help cannabis producers comply. LoCRite is a laminated tear-resistant board that can be used to make folding cartons with certain child resistant opening features. The tear-resistance of the board combined with the specialized opening features of the carton make the finished carton child-resistant.

    The LoCRite product has been used in several cartons that have been certified as child-resistant. In developing LoCRite, LLFlex evaluated different types and gauges of films. “The film had to be printable, and we had to achieve superior bond strength in the laminate,” says Stearman. “The finished product had to be printable on both sides, foldable and scorable.” Unlike competing solutions on the market, LoCRite is available in a variety of substrates. It can be made with various paper and board calipers and with Forest Stewardship Council-certified materials. The film component of LoCRite can be clear or metalized, including decorative options such as custom holographics. LLFlex has been supplying LoCRite for cannabis applications for more than three years and partnered with one of its key customers to develop a CR-certified carton for medical or recreational marijuana products. The folding carton is composed of LLFlex’s LoCRite board and is certified child-resistant in compliance with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) 16 CFR 1700.20 testing protocol.

    For the time being, cannabis packaging accounts for a relatively small portion of LLFlex’s business portfolio. The market is likely to grow, however—and when it does, LLFlex will be ready. “We have several projects underway with customers utilizing our LoCRite material, and the child-resistant certifications are in various stages of progress,” says Stearman.

    “We are also working on a completely new packaging format called PotPodz, which was introduced to the market last year as a concept.” The company has received lots of positive feedback and interest in this concept and is working toward commercialization. “Between our LoCRite product and development of the PotPodz concept, we expect our cannabis packaging to become a larger portion of our total business in the next few years,” says Stearman.

    What’s more, as some tobacco companies invest in the cannabis space, LLFlex is able to bring its cannabis packaging solutions to its tobacco consumers. “It’s a great win-win scenario: Our tobacco customer can work with a known and trusted packaging partner, and we can help our existing customers as they expand into new markets,” says Stearman.

    Looking forward, Stearman says she hopes to see more consistency in packaging regulations as cannabis legalization proliferates in the U.S. “Right now, each state has their own unique packaging requirements, which presents challenges for the supplier,” she says. “It will be easier to achieve economies of scale once there is more of a national standard for packaging.”

    While LLFlex does not anticipate having to alter its materials to allow for the fast production speeds common in cigarette manufacturing, the company does expect order sizes to increase. This, says Stearman, will be beneficial for the entire supply chain and ultimately allow LLFlex to offer consistent pricing and short lead times.  

  • Packaging Market to Exceed $20 billion

    Packaging Market to Exceed $20 billion

    Photo: Tobacco Reporter archive

    The global market for tobacco packaging is likely to reach $20.45 billion by 2027, representing a compound annual growth rate of 3 percent, according to a new report published by Fortune Business Insights. In 2019, the market was valued at $16.15 billion.

    The global tobacco packaging market size witnessed progressive growth in the past few years with the advent of smokeless tobacco products worldwide. These products, including gutka, chewing tobacco, snus, snuff and gum act as substitutes for cigarettes.

    In terms of materials, the market is dominated by the paperboard segment as it is widely used for making cigars, cigarettes and other products. Paperboards are thick and based out of paper with properties such as printability, foldability, rigidity, and lightweight nature. The second most used tobacco packaging material is paper, accounting for 17.6 percent of the market.

    In geographic terms, the Asia Pacific region plays a prominent role in the tobacco packaging market, earning a revenue of $9.3 billion in 2019. Dominant markets include Japan, China, and India. Europe ranks second with the UK, Germany, and Russia emerging as leading nations.

    However, this region may face challenges in terms of stringent tobacco regulations in the forecast years, according to the authors. Furthermore, the rising demand for chewing tobacco, cigars, cigarettes and other products from nations such as Egypt, South Africa, and Turkey are likely to help the Middle East and Africa witness substantial growth in the coming years.

     

  • Different Packaging Rules After Brexit

    Different Packaging Rules After Brexit

    Illustration Skypixel – Dreamstime.com

    Manufacturers selling tobacco products in the United Kingdom must comply with two sets of health warnings in the wake of the country’s departure from the European Union.

    Cigarettes sold in Northern Ireland must continue to bear the warnings prescribed by the EU Tobacco Products Directive. There are three sets of pictures that are rotated on an annual basis starting on May 20 and ending on May 19.

    Manufacturers selling in Great Britain must ensure that products placed on market after Jan. 1, 2021, feature one of the text warnings with the corresponding color photograph listed in the picture library in Schedule A1 to the Tobacco and Related Products Regulations 2016 as amended by the 2019 Regulations, according to the U.K. Department of Health and Social Care.

    There is one set of pictures and no rotations between sets.

    The U.K.-EU withdrawal agreement allows the continued supply of tobacco products that were lawfully placed on the market in the U.K. before Jan 1, 2021.

    Through the Tobacco Products and Nicotine Inhaling Products (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2020, regulation 9 of the 2019 Regulations has been amended to remove the 12-month sell-through deadline.

    The regulation allows products featuring the EU pictures that were produced and first supplied on the U.K. market before Jan. 1, 2021, to remain on the market until they reach their end-user.

    The diverging packaging requirements for Great Britain and Northern Ireland have prompted cigarette manufacturers to reevaluate their portfolios.

    In December, Imperial Brands said it would likely shrink its portfolio in Northern Ireland due to Brexit.

  • New Graphic Health Warnings in Korea

    New Graphic Health Warnings in Korea

    Image: Ministry of Health and Welfare

    South Korea will require cigarette manufacturers to print nine new graphic health warnings from Dec. 23, reports The Korea Herald.

    The new warnings include images depicting lung cancer, oral cancer, heart disease and stroke. The current images of laryngeal cancer and sexual dysfunction will not be replaced as they are thought to be highly effective, officials said.

    The changes are intended to boost effectiveness of the warning against smoking and tobacco use by replacing the existing warning pictures that had been used for too long, according to the Ministry of Health and Welfare.

    Under the Enforcement Decree of the National Health Promotion Act, the warning images and messages on cigarette packs should change every two years. The current images had been displayed on the tobacco packs since Dec. 23, 2018.

    Tobacco sales and smoking rate among adult males have steadily decreased since the installation of warning pictures and phrases on cigarette packs in 2016.

    The ministry also plans to introduce standardized packaging in South Korea.

  • Tobacco Firms Urged to Submit Health Warnings

    Tobacco Firms Urged to Submit Health Warnings

    Image: Tobacco Reporter archive

    The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is encouraging tobacco companies to submit their plans for compliance with the agency’s upcoming graphic health warning requirements as soon as possible, and in any event by March 16, 2021.

    Following two postponements, the effective date for graphic health warnings is now Jan. 14, 22.

    The FDA’s final rule, “Required Warnings for Cigarette Packages and Advertisements,” establishes new required cigarette health warnings for cigarette packages and advertisements. Each required warning, comprising a textual warning statement and its accompanying color graphic, must be accurately reproduced as shown in the materials contained in “Required Cigarette Health Warnings, 2020.”

    The FDA says it intends to revise its relevant guidance documents related to the rule with the new effective date.

    Tobacco companies may contact CTP with questions about the effective date.

    The graphic health warning requirements had originally been scheduled to take effect on June 18, 2021. Due the Covid-19 pandemic, they were postponed to Oct. 16, 2021.

    In November, R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co., Liggett Group and ITG Brands, along with cigarette retailers, asked for further postponement. The companies argued they would suffer irreparable harm if they were forced to spend millions of dollars to comply with a rule that might soon be invalidated.

    “These expenditures of resources for the purpose of meeting the rule’s requirements constitute irreparable harm because plaintiffs cannot recover money damages should the rule and/or the graphic-warning requirement in the Tobacco Control Act be invalidated,” the companies stated.

    On Dec. 2, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas granted their request and postponed the effective date by an additional 90 days.