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Category: Top News

  • Malaysia Requires Retailers to Hide Tobacco

    Malaysia Requires Retailers to Hide Tobacco

    Photo: Taco Tuinstra

    Retailers in Malaysia will have to store cigarettes out of sight of customers following the enactment of the Control of Smoking Products for Public Health Act 2024 on Oct. 1.

    It is the first standalone act in Malaysia to control cigarettes and electronic cigarettes, and this includes all types of cigarette products in the market with their advertisement, promotion and sponsorship prohibition.

    A coffee shop operator told the Daily Express the profit margin offered by tobacco companies had dropped to MYR0.90 ($0.21) per pack that costs smokers close to MYR20, and some brands only have a profit margin of MYR0.70 per pack.

  • Philippines to Step Up Anti-Smuggling Fight

    Philippines to Step Up Anti-Smuggling Fight

    Photo: PMFTC

    The Philippines will step up its fight against tobacco smuggling, reports ABS-CBN, citing a Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) announcement on Oct. 3.

    On Sept. 26, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. signed the Anti-Agricultural Economic Sabotage law, which aims to make food more affordable and provide better income to local farmers. The law classifies smuggling, hoarding, profiteering, cartel formation and financing of these crimes involving agricultural and fishery products as acts of economic sabotage. Violators risk life imprisonment and fines up to five times the value of the goods involved.

    BIR Commissioner Romeo Lumagui Jr. emphasized that the agency will keep a close watch on tobacco smuggling as the national government loses billions of pesos from excise tax violations. This is also meant to protect the livelihood of local tobacco farmers.

    The BIR said it will continue coordinating with the National Tobacco Administration (NTA) and other law enforcement agencies for anti-tobacco smuggling efforts.

    The illicit trade of tobacco causes serious loss of revenue, business closures, decrease in local demand and environmental degradation in the economy, according to the NTA.

  • More Vapers Without Smoking History in England

    More Vapers Without Smoking History in England

    Photo: fotofabrika

    About 1 million vapers in England have no history of regular smoking, reports Bloomberg, citing a new University College London (UCL) study.

    From 2016 to 2020, the country’s rate of vaping among adults without a smoking history remained stable and low at 0.5 percent, according to the paper, which was published in The Lancet Public Health this week.

    When disposable vapes became popular after 2021, the share of vapers without a smoking history increased rapidly, with the rate reaching one in every 28 as of April this year.

    One in seven people aged 18 to 24 who never regularly smoked are now using e-cigarettes, the study found. There has also been a noticeable increase in the proportion using disposable devices.

    “These findings are a reminder that action is required to try to minimize vaping among young people,” Jamie Brown, the study’s co-author and professor at the UCL Institute of Epidemiology and Health Care, was quoted as saying by Bloomberg. “Banning disposables, as the U.K. government currently plans, is unlikely to fix the issue as popular brands have already launched reusable products with very similar designs and prices.”

  • PMI Describes Difficulties of Ukraine Production

    PMI Describes Difficulties of Ukraine Production

    Image: Filipp

    The realities of war make it cheaper for Philip Morris International Ukraine to import cigarettes from Poland than to manufacture them domestically, reports Interfax-Ukraine, citing comments made by PMI Ukraine Deputy General Director for Corporate Relations Mykhailo Poliakov during a seminar devoted to business and the ongoing conflict with Russia.

    PMI opened a cigarette factory in the Lviv region in May 2024 and recently compared the production costs of its new facility with that of its factory across the border, in Krakow, Poland.

    Due to the war, PMI’s Ukrainian operation must contend with higher rates of employee absenteeism. In addition, the Lviv facility is forced to cease operations during air raids. Frequent power failures add to the production cost, as the local grid was not designed to accommodate the large number of enterprises that have relocated to the region after the start of the conflict. Curfews too pose challenges for PMI’s workforce.

    The combination of these factors makes it 10 percent cheaper for PMI to produce cigarettes in Poland and bring them to Ukraine.

    Since starting operations in Ukraine in 1994, PMI has invested more than $700 in the country. After Russia’s 2022 invasion, the multinational suspended operations at its factory in the Kharkiv region and started importing products from PMI factories outside the country. It also temporarily licensed the production of some PMI brands to another multinational factory in Ukraine.

    In 2022, due to the war, PMI reduced shipments to Ukraine by 30.1 percent to 11.07 billion cigarettes and tobacco sticks, but in 2023, it managed to increase shipments of finished products by 8.4 percent, including 14.9 percent in the fourth quarter. In October last year, the company reported the restoration of its share in the Ukrainian market to 24 percent after falling to 14 percent from 28.5 percent in the first months after the Russian invasion.

    PMI has invested $30 million in its Lviv factory. Eventually, the factory will have five production lines. The first was launched in May, and four more will be put into operation by the end of 2024, which will bring the factory’s production capacity to 10 billion cigarettes per year.

  • Regulations Decimate Philippine Vape Sector

    Regulations Decimate Philippine Vape Sector

    Image: freshidea

    Onerous government regulations have forced about one-fifth of Philippine vaping companies out of business, according to Philippine E-Cigarette Industry Association President Joey Dulay. Importers, he added, have found it easier to comply than their domestic counterparts.

    “But we are pushing them to try and comply,” Dulay was quoted as saying by Business World.

    Under the Vaporized Nicotine and Non-Nicotine Products Regulation Act, manufacturers or importers must register their products and secure licenses to operate.

    They are also required to adhere to packaging standards and pay duties and taxes.

    Manufacturers, distributors and importers were given an 18-month transition period to comply with the regulations laid down in the vape law.

    Dulay noted that many vape brands and manufacturers have yet to secure their Philippine standard quality and/or safety mark and import commodity clearance sticker.

    By the end of August, the Bureau of Customs had confiscated PHP6.5 billion ($115.21 million) worth of illegal vape products, mostly from China.

    The government is estimated to miss around PHP5 billion yearly from illicit vape products.

  • Ispire Launches New Vape Filling Machine

    Ispire Launches New Vape Filling Machine

    Image: Luluraschi

    Ispire Technology is launching a new vapor device filling machine. Scheduled to be unveiled at the Benzinga Cannabis Capital Conference in Chicago Oct. 8–9, the I-80 can fill and seal 4,000 0.5 mL vapor devices per hour.

    According to Ispire, the machine is 10 times faster than traditional manual methods and twice as fast as current automated systems. It is also cost-effective, saving $1,000 for every 10,000 units produced, the manufacturer wrote in a press release.

    Ispire says its self-sealing devices remove the need for separate capping, boosting overall workflow efficiency by 1,000 percent over manual methods and 100 percent over other automated systems.

    “The I-80 isn’t just a machine; it’s a game-changing solution to the capacity challenges that have hindered cannabis operators for years,” said Ispire Co-CEO Michael Wang.

    “We’re not just improving productivity—we’re leading a paradigm shift in cannabis production efficiency. This innovation aligns with our mission to push the boundaries of technology for the benefit of our customers and the adult consumers they serve.”

  • Switzerland Implements National Age Restrictions

    Switzerland Implements National Age Restrictions

    Photo: Lucia

    Switzerland has enacted a new federal law requiring all cantons to restrict the sale of tobacco products to adults, reports SWI.

    The new tobacco products act ends the cantonal patchwork of rules on cigarettes and tobacco-related products.

    Before Oct. 1, when the new law took effect, the cantons of Schwyz and Appenzell Innerrhoden had no age restrictions on tobacco sales. In other cantons, potential buyers had to be 16 or 18 years old.

    The new federal law also restricts advertising. Tobacco advertisements are no longer permitted on public property, and on private property only if they cannot be seen from public property. Events aimed at minors are no longer permitted to have tobacco sponsors. Free promotional gifts related to tobacco consumption are also no longer permitted.

    Public smoking restrictions now apply to all tobacco products.

    It remains unclear however how the federal law will be implemented as enforcement remains the responsibility of individual cantons.

  • Illegal Factory Raided in Bulgaria

    Illegal Factory Raided in Bulgaria

    Photo: Interior Ministry

    Bulgarian authorities uncovered a large illegal cigarette factory near Sofia, reports the Bulgarian News Agency.

     The facility, which produced fake versions of well-known cigarette brands, was capable of producing some 2,400-2,800 cigarettes per minute. The police also found some 20 tons of processed tobacco, designated to be packaged and branded as cigarettes.

    Pre-trial proceedings have been initiated and a witness has been questioned. The operation was conducted under the Customs Agency’s direct supervision.

  • Lithuania Takes Aim at Cigarette Balloons

    Lithuania Takes Aim at Cigarette Balloons

    Photo: andrei310

    Lithuania may permit its border guards to shoot down balloons carrying contraband from Belarus or Russia when they cross the border, reports The Baltic Times.

    “In my opinion, border guards should have the right to shoot them down in the air,” Defense Minister Laurynas Kasciunas told reporters on Sept. 30.

    The minister’s comments came after a balloon, suspected to have come from Belarus and carrying smuggled cigarettes, fell within Vilnius Airport’s airfield on Sept. 28.

    Rustamas Liubajevas, the commander of the Lithuanian State Border Guard Service (SBGS), said that border guards have neither the necessary weapons nor the legal authority to shoot down objects that illegally cross the Lithuanian border by air.

    He explained that border guards use assault rifles, which do not have the technical capability to shoot down higher-flying objects.

    The SBGS has recorded around 250 incidents involving such balloons in the past month.

    Poland too has recorded increased attempts to smuggle cigarettes into its territory by air.

  • Battery Law Forces IQOS from Kiwi Store Shelves

    Battery Law Forces IQOS from Kiwi Store Shelves

    Photo: vfhnb12

    Philip Morris International pulled its IQOS tobacco heating device from New Zealand store shelves after a new law took effect requiring vaping devices to have removable batteries, reports RNZ. Tobacco heating products (THPs) are classified as e-cigarettes in New Zealand.

    RNZ says it has seen PMI emails sent to suppliers saying IOQS is “unavailable for purchase due to a regulatory change on 1 October 2024 affecting vaping devices.” In a statement, the multinational said it always complies with all necessary regulations, including on electronic devices.

    IQOS consumables, known as Heatsticks, remain available for sale in New Zealand.

    The news follows controversy about Associate Health Minister Casey Costello’s July announcement of a 50 percent cut to THP excise taxes—a move that critics say benefits only PMI, which is the sole supplier of the products in New Zealand.  

    Costello argues the tax cut will encourage smokers to switch to THPs, which are believed to be less harmful than combustible cigarettes. Costello’s plan is to have more than 7,000 people switch to THPs, which she sees as a tool to achieve New Zealand’s smoking reduction targets.

    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has backed Costello, telling RNZ the excise tax cut plan was a 12 month trial to “see how it goes” with HTPs lowering smoking rates.

    Health advocates have accused the ruling coalition of caving to pressure from tobacco lobbyists. In late 2023, the government scrapped the country’s controversial generational tobacco ban, which would have prohibited tobacco products for people born after 2009.

    In a briefing published Jan. 31 by the Public Health Communications Center, three University of Otago public health academics highlight links between government members of parliament and the tobacco industry.