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  • Wild Bill’s Tobacco Buys 34 Cheap Tobacco Shops

    Wild Bill’s Tobacco Buys 34 Cheap Tobacco Shops

    Credit: Wild Bill’s Tobacco

    Wild Bill’s Tobacco has acquired all 34 locations of Cheap Tobacco, including 33 in Central and Eastern Ohio and one in West Virginia, according to a press release from Wild Bill’s Tobacco. The deal was finalized in early November, allowing Cheap Tobacco’s Founder and CEO, Dennis Harper, to retire after “celebrating his 30th year with the company.”

    Harper stated, “We’re confident that Wild Bill’s Tobacco will continue to provide amazing products and service you’ve come to expect while adding even more options to enjoy. We wouldn’t have passed the torch to anyone else but the Wild Bill’s family. Their reputation as a leader in our industry can’t be understated. We are proud to have served you over the years and know you will enjoy the added benefits of this transition.”

    Prior to this deal, Wild Bills’s Tobacco had over 200 stores in Michigan, Indiana and Ohio and celebrated its 30th anniversary this year, according to the release. Wild Bill’s said it is “thrilled” to add its first store in West Virginia with this acquisition. Wild Bill’s said it is the second largest tobacco retailer in the United States and continues to grow its brand rapidly as the premier tobacco retailer in the world.

    “This acquisition allows us to serve a broader customer base and be a part of new communities across the Midwest,” said Jon Welzel, chief marketing officer at Wild Bill’s Tobacco. “Guests will still experience the competitive pricing that became synonymous with Cheap Tobacco, but the store design that is brought to life and streamlined for customer needs, selection, and speed at checkout, as well as the expanded product offerings and premium customer experiences, will create a unique experience for these new members of our family.”

    The retailer plans to renovate and provide a facelift to all 34 Cheap Tobacco stores within six to nine months. Walk-in humidors will be added to each location, featuring cigars from around the world.

    Through this acquisition, Wild Bill’s Tobacco “has retained all Cheap Tobacco store-level employees, from district managers down, and plans to offer additional benefits for Cheap Tobacco staff members.”

  • The Paradox of Publicity

    The Paradox of Publicity

    While commercial promotions have been severely restricted, media stories, however negative, are keeping tobacco in the picture.

    By George Gay

    The following is a transcription of a conversation between Ian Wright and Irene Demur recently overheard at an international tobacco conference.

    Wright: Tobacco advertising and promotions are banned in the U.K., right?

    Demur: Wrong.

    Wright: OK, if you want to be pedantic, there are a few obscure exemptions to the ban, but, taking a specific case, it is not possible to promote cigarettes in a newspaper, right?

    Demur: Wrong.

    Wright: You’ve lost me.

    Demur: Well, it’s just a matter of changing circumstances—as in when, after tobacco adverts were banned, the emphasis was switched to promotions, and when promotions were banned, the emphasis was switched to sponsorships ….

    Wright: You are correct, of course, but in the end, the tobacco industry ran out of road, so my example of there being no way that cigarettes could be promoted in a newspaper today is correct, right?

    Demur: Wrong.

    Wright: Are you being difficult?

    Demur: Certainly not! You should have been more precise in stating your specific example by asking, “It is not possible for those with a pecuniary interest in selling tobacco to promote cigarettes in a newspaper, right?” Then I would have agreed.

    Wright: You seem to be suggesting that others, without such a pecuniary interest, might promote cigarettes in newspapers, but that seems absurd.

    Demur: Right. But it happens, and even those who vigorously oppose cigarettes and smoking sometimes play a part by de facto giving legitimacy to such promotions.

    Wright: But why?

    Demur: I’m afraid that is one question I cannot answer. Perhaps you should ask those involved.

    In August, The Guardian ran a story titled “Totally lit: It’s suddenly fashionable to be seen with a cigarette, but experts fear for young.” The story gives the writer’s view of how risky cigarette smoking is but quickly moves on to say that recently in the U.K., some celebrities have been seen smoking or indulging in, horror of horrors, that most dangerous of activities, carrying cartons of cigarettes—presumably adding hernias to the list of risk factors.

    A rather puny attempt is made to rationalize these actions, and then, with input from anti-tobacco professionals, we are told that while in the 1950s and 1960s smoking was seen to embody coolness and glamour, since then, overall smoking rates have been declining, with, from 2021, higher rates of decline among younger adults than among older people. The story also says that surveys by Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) have found that the younger you are, the less likely you are to be aware of the full health risks of smoking, though no attempt is made to interpret why this seems to translate into higher rates of smoking decline among the young.

    In any case, in the 1990s, the story goes on, smoking rates stopped falling because cigarette marketing was rife and smoking once again had “cultural cachet.” Hazel Cheeseman of ASH (her title wasn’t given, but I believe she was at that time the deputy chief executive and chief executive designate) was quoted as saying that she hoped there wouldn’t be a repeat of what happened in respect of smoking during the 1990s. However, the worry was that despite a tobacco advertising ban having been in force for more than 20 years, the tobacco industry had lots of ways of projecting its image, including through social media.

    Let’s draw breath here and ask why The Guardian or the anti-tobacco professionals it quotes might believe the tobacco industry would spend its resources “projecting its image” when The Guardian is willing to project that image free of charge or project at least what the newspaper sees as the industry’s image but which image large parts of the industry, now busying themselves with lower-risk products, would no longer recognize.

    The story, taking up the equivalent of a full page, spread over two pages, six and seven, includes a portrait picture, 19 cm x 11 cm, of a cool-and-glamorous-looking female model holding a lit cigarette to her mouth. There is another picture, 10 cm x 8 cm, showing a female model wearing shorts decorated with illustrations of red lips holding cigarettes (no, I don’t know either) and two pictures, each 6 cm x 5 cm, showing—inexplicably, given the thrust of the story—a female model smoking in 2002, though possibly not while on a modeling assignment, and Anne Bancroft smoking while playing Mrs. Robinson (the baddy—geddit?) in the film The Graduate, which was made in 1967.

    This story was de facto cigarette promotion, aimed almost exclusively at women, dressed up as a warning about smoking. Take another look at the story’s heading. It’s suddenly fashionable to be seen with a cigarette (read: a few people who we didn’t know smoked enjoy the occasional cigarette, and we thought we could blow this up into a tabloid story), but experts fear for the young (read: but we need to cover our backs in case the story is seen as promoting cigarettes, so we’ve convinced some anti-tobacco professionals to take part).

    This raises the question as to why anti-tobacco professionals allow themselves to be suckered into trying to give legitimacy to such stories. There is of course the possibility that these professionals need to keep smoking alive so they don’t find themselves out of work just short of pensionable age, a view that is supported by the fact that many of these people also oppose vaping in a backhanded way.

    But while I regard myself as being cynical to the point of nihilism, I don’t buy such an argument, which leaves me with the above question hanging in the air. Why, for instance, would Cheeseman be happy to be quoted in a story with the sort of imagery described above as saying: “[w]e know smoking-related imagery can encourage people to try smoking. It is therefore plausible that these depictions of smoking might influence some young people to try a cigarette.” In fairness to Cheeseman, I should point out that when she refers to “these depictions of smoking,” she is probably referring to the story’s rather vague reference to social media use among young people, though the reference doesn’t specify smoking imagery nor depictions. However, looking at the story, it is the smoking imagery of the story’s pictures that stand out, and you cannot help but wonder whether Cheeseman and the other no-doubt well-meaning anti-tobacco professionals mentioned in the piece were happy to be associated with it.

    My advice to them would be to refrain from panic. No matter the situation, it is always worthwhile giving yourself 20 seconds to think, and 20 seconds of thought is enough to tell you that the whims of celebrities are here today and gone tomorrow. Mostly, and not unreasonably given the way they make their livings, what they do is aimed at attracting publicity, which they have managed admirably in this case, partly because of the anti-tobacco professionals whose comments have allowed the story to run. If the anti-tobacco professionals have more than 20 seconds, they might like to research the number of times that celebrities have taken to fine cigars without causing any long-term increase in consumption of these products by either themselves or others.

    I think that one minor reason why smoking imagery was so prominent in the story was because it was used to brighten up what was a double-page spread in which the smoking piece was squashed between two ill-health stories: “Majority of most popular takeaway dishes rated as unhealthy, study shows,” which sported only modest pictures of a pizza and a burger, and “Shortage of medicine for alcoholics ‘scandalous,’ says doctor,” which had no illustrations.

    The Guardian has been banging the drum about unhealthy food for some time, and on Aug. 28 last year, it led with the story, “Ultra-processed foods causing a tidal wave of harm,” say experts. An interesting aspect of that story was a quote from one expert that said, “[t]here is now significant evidence that these products inflame the gut, disrupt appetite regulation, alter hormone levels and cause myriad other effects which likely increase the risk of cardiovascular and other diseases much in the same way that smoking does.”

    One question this raises concerns the cause of death when somebody who smoked tobacco and ate ultra-processed food (UPF) dies of one of these diseases. Was the death caused by eating UPF, cigarette smoking or a combination of both and, perhaps, other factors? I assume that it is impossible to know, but I also assume the death would nevertheless be put down to smoking because, I believe, the death of a smoker from a “smoking-related” disease is automatically put down to smoking, no matter what other risky activities the smoker got up to during her life.

    And you can also assume that this means that deaths from smoking have been and are exaggerated whereas deaths from UPF consumption, alcohol consumption, pollution, etc., have been underestimated. But things won’t change, because preventative medicine runs on the parallel rails of hypocrisy and inertia.

    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.
  • Strong Action Needed

    Strong Action Needed

    Billy Gifford | Photo: Altria Group

    Altria calls for a reset of the regulatory system in a way that supports the needs of adult smokers, enforces the rules for all and prevents underage use.

    By Stefanie Rossel

    With a new program, U.S. tobacco manufacturer Altria is seeking to enhance its transition toward a smoke-free future in its domestic market: During its third quarter results in late October, the company announced “Optimize and Accelerate,” a multi-phase initiative intended to centralize, streamline and standardize the organization’s processes with the use of artificial intelligence and automation.

    Anticipated to be substantially complete in 12 months to 18 months, the plan is expected to deliver at least $600 million in cumulative cost savings over the next five years in its initial phase, which the company intends to invest in its businesses in support of its vision to move beyond smoking and its 2028 enterprise goals. As part of the initiative, Altria plans to establish an accelerated business solutions organization within Altria Client Services, which will be responsible for driving efficiency and process improvement across Altria companies in partnership with external service providers.

    Enhancing operating efficiency is vital in a nicotine market where transformation appears to be in full swing. In August this year, cigarette smoking in the U.S. was at its lowest point in 80 years with only 11 percent of adults having smoked a cigarette in the past week, according to Gallup’s annual consumption habits poll. A year-on-year decline of 10.6 percent for Altria’s total cigarette shipment volume and 9.4 percent for its flagship brand Marlboro in the first nine months of 2024 reflected this development. Due to its strong pricing power, though, revenue in Altria’s smokeable products segment declined only by about 3 percent during that period. With net revenues of $15.94 billion during the first nine months of 2024, compared to $16.48 billion during the same period last year, smokeable products remain by far the largest category in Altria’s portfolio.

    Making Progress

    As combustible products lose popularity in the U.S., the market for reduced-risk products continues to grow. At the end of the third quarter, Altria estimated the e-vapor category to include about 19 million adult vapers, up 2.5 million versus a year ago. Altria is well positioned for the category: Through its subsidiary Njoy, the company was the first and is still the only manufacturer to have received marketing granted orders (MGOs) for menthol-flavored vape products. In June, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration authorized two menthol-flavored pods for Njoy’s Ace closed e-cigarette device, which was authorized in April 2022, and two disposable e-cigarettes, Njoy Daily Menthol 4.5 percent and Njoy Daily Extra Menthol 2.4 percent, through its premarket tobacco product application (PMTA) pathway.

    Consequently, Njoy consumables shipment volume grew more than 15 percent to 10.4 million units in the third quarter. Consumables shipment volume for the first nine months was approximately 34 million units. Njoy device shipment volume for the quarter nearly tripled versus the prior year to 1.1 million units and was 3.9 million units for the first nine months.

    “We remain excited about Njoy and its potential as a competitive alternative with both smokers and vapers,” commented Altria’s CEO, Billy Gifford, during the third-quarter earnings report. “This year, Njoy has focused on enhancing trial generation, distribution, visibility at retail and connections with consumers. As a result of these efforts, we’ve seen encouraging repeat purchase data, growing customer loyalty and strong share momentum.

    In the third quarter, Njoy pulled back on certain retail promotional offers to better understand consumer retention and underlying demand. Initial retention results were promising. In the retail accounts where Njoy conducted tests, the promotion drove increased volume by approximately 85 percent compared to the pre-promotion period, and Njoy retained more than half of that volume growth following the promotional period. We believe these results reflect consumer interest in Njoy and their satisfaction after trying the brand, and Njoy plans to continue testing trial-focused investments with a view toward long-term profitability.”

    According to the company, Njoy’s third-quarter retail share of consumables was 6.2 share points, up 2.8 share points versus the year’s period and 0.8 share points sequentially.

    Despite these promising figures, competing in the U.S. vape market remains a challenge for authorized brands. The country has a massive and growing illegal vape market, which reportedly accounts for 60 percent of total sales. “While Njoy’s results are encouraging in the context of the broader e-vapor category, category growth continues to be driven by the proliferation of illicit disposable products,” Gifford specified. “Over the last year, the number of vapers using illicit product grew by approximately 45 percent to 12.4 million vapers while pod vapers declined by more than 20 percent to 2.7 million. While we believe the growth in e-vapor is a proof of concept for tobacco harm reduction, there are too few FDA-authorized products in the market, and FDA enforcement is inadequate.”

    Fighting Illegal Products

    The FDA’s market authorization process is notoriously slow—of the 26.6 million applications the agency received between October 2019 and March 2024, the agency agreed to review roughly 1.2 million, of which it granted MGOs for 30 products, which corresponds to 0.001 percent of new product applications. Until last year, the FDA’s primary enforcement tool was a warning letter to manufacturers, importers, distributors and retailers. Recently, there has been more activity: In June, the Department of Justice announced the creation of a federal multiagency task force with the FDA and other agencies to combat the illicit distribution and sale of e-cigarettes.

    Gifford sees some recent positive developments. “This summer, the FDA, jointly with U.S. Customs and Border Protection, seized more than 50,000 unauthorized vapor products from China at the Chicago port of entry. In August, the FDA issued a proposed rule requiring all imported vapor products to include a PMTA submission tracking number; closing this loophole is something for which we have long advocated. We’ve provided our comments in support of this rule and encouraged additional actions, such as extending it to cover nicotine pouch products.”

    In October, the federal task force announced a joint seizure of unauthorized e-vapor products valued at $76 million. “A strong course correction is needed to protect the harm reduction opportunity for the 30 million adult smokers in the U.S., and moving forward, we hope to see more meaningful enforcement action.”

    In addition, 12 U.S. states have enacted vape product registry bills to compensate for meek federal enforcement, with Louisiana being one of the first. “We support legislation in the states to require manufacturers to certify that they are in compliance with federal law to be allowed to sell in that state,” an Altria spokesperson commented to Tobacco Reporter. “While still early, we believe Louisiana’s enforcement efforts illustrate the effectiveness of a state directory in reducing illicit e-vapor products in the marketplace.” For example, in Louisiana, manufacturers supply documents, such as the cover page of a PMTA with evidence of support.

    At its 2024 CAGNY conference, the company presented data showing that the shipment volume for illegal disposable products in the state declined to almost zero within six months of implementation of the registry bill. It should be noted, though, that in Louisiana, the registry bill tracks wholesale and retail but not vape stores, e-commerce or smaller independent “bodegas,” the channels where most illicit trade is suspected to take place.

    Increase in Illicit Pouches

    With the FDA’s slow progress in authorizing novel tobacco products, Altria is worried that the modern oral nicotine products category in the U.S., in which its brand On! held an 8.9 percent market share in the third quarter of 2024, could suffer the same fate as the vape segment.

    In the company’s view, the illicit market for nicotine pouches is echoing the beginning of the illicit e-vapor market several years ago. “Unfortunately, and similar to e-vapor, we’ve identified more than 1,000 illicit nicotine pouch SKUs at retail and online,” Gifford said during the most recent earnings report. “Many of these are synthetic nicotine pouch products, which are an emerging issue. According to federal law, it is illegal to sell or distribute a synthetic nicotine product in the United States that has not received a market granted order from the FDA by July 2022. To date, the FDA has not authorized any synthetic nicotine pouch products. Despite the clarity of the statute, the FDA’s refusal to enforce the law is causing confusion among legitimate manufacturers, and we call on the agency to clarify its enforcement posture on synthetic products.”

    Stefanie Rossel is Tobacco Reporter’s editorial contributor. An experienced trade journalist, she combines sharp reporting skills with in-depth knowledge of the tobacco and vapor industries. Prior to joining Tobacco Reporter, Stefanie was editor-in-chief at Tobacco Journal International, where she worked for a decade. Fluent in English, German and French, Stefanie covers tobacco news around the world. She is based in Germany.
  • Derailing Harm Reduction?

    Derailing Harm Reduction?

    Image: ArieStudio

    The unhelpful contribution of illicit vaping products

    By Pieter Vorster and Sudhanshu Patwardhan

    The rise of vaping as an alternative to smoking has brought the promise of significant net public health benefits but equally meaningful regulatory challenges. While legitimate vaping products can serve as a powerful harm reduction tool for adult smokers, the proliferation of illicit vaping products has introduced a plethora of problems that require careful consideration.

    This article will address the various impacts of illicit vaping products—ranging from health risks and tax revenue loss to underage use, environmental concerns and the potential for increased criminal activity. In countries where vaping products are banned, the illicit vape market has not only taken over but is also leading to a vicious cycle of vilifying an entire category of products that potentially offer a much less risky alternative to combustible tobacco users. The accompanying stigmatization and criminalization of smokers who seek safer alternatives is an affront to human rights. We will also explore the key drivers of the illicit market and potential solutions to mitigate these.

    Health Risks Associated With Illicit Vaping Products

    A key concern with illicit vaping products is the absence of regulatory oversight. Legitimate manufacturers must adhere to safety standards that ensure their products do not pose unnecessary risks to consumers. These regulations cover product composition, labeling and the disclosure of ingredients. In contrast, illicit products bypass these standards, introducing the potential for harmful substances in e-liquids, unsafe nicotine levels or faulty hardware, such as poorly constructed batteries.

    Potential health risks include:

    • Contaminated ingredients: Illicit vaping liquids may contain dangerous additives such as harmful chemicals or poorly sourced nicotine, increasing the risk of respiratory issues and other health problems.
    • Unregulated nicotine levels: Illicit products can contain nicotine concentrations far beyond legal limits, exacerbating addiction or leading to nicotine poisoning.
    • Defective devices: Poorly made or counterfeit devices may lead to malfunctions, such as battery explosions or inadequate heating mechanisms, posing physical dangers to users.

    Loss of Tax Revenue and Market Disruption

    Illicit vaping products not only pose health risks but have economic consequences as well. In jurisdictions where vaping products are subject to excise taxes or sales tax, such as in many European countries and parts of the United States, the sale of untaxed products represents a significant revenue loss for governments. These funds are often intended to support public health programs, anti-smoking initiatives or infrastructure investments. The absence of taxes on illicit products undermines these efforts and contributes to a broader sense of inequity within the market.

    Moreover, the price difference between legal and illicit products distorts the market. Legitimate operators who comply with taxation and regulatory requirements face unfair competition from cheaper illicit products. The lower price points of these illegal products not only make them more accessible but also undermine the efforts of legal businesses to compete, leading to the potential loss of jobs and investment in the legitimate sector.

    Underage Use and Accessibility

    One of the most troubling aspects of illicit vaping products is their role in enabling underage access and use. In most countries, the sale of vaping products to minors is strictly prohibited, and legitimate sellers are typically required to adhere to age verification processes. However, illicit products bypass these restrictions. Without regulated sales channels, these products can be more easily acquired by underage consumers, contributing to a rise in youth vaping.

    Factors contributing to underage use include:

    • Lower prices: The affordability of illicit products makes them more accessible to those who are underage and often more price-sensitive.
    • Unregulated sales channels: Without the oversight that governs legitimate sales, underage individuals can purchase these products through informal networks or online marketplaces with little to no age verification.

    The availability of illicit products for underage users creates a broader public health challenge. While the long-term effects of nicotine on developing brains remain debated, concerns about early nicotine exposure, potential addiction and its impact on cognitive function continue to drive public health discourse and have been key to the Food and Drug Administration’s highly restrictive premarket tobacco product application process in the United States.

    Elsewhere, the rise in underage vaping, fueled by the availability of illicit products, has prompted calls for stricter regulation of the legitimate market. In the U.K., for example, concerns about underage use have led to proposals for more stringent controls on all vaping products, which could inadvertently restrict access for adult smokers who use vaping as a tool for tobacco harm reduction.

    Environmental Concerns

    The environmental impact of illicit vaping products is another significant issue. Many of these products, particularly disposable vapes, are not designed with recyclability in mind. Since illicit manufacturers often prioritize cost savings over environmental considerations, their products are less likely to comply with proper waste disposal or recycling guidelines.

    Environmental risks include:

    • Disposable vapes: Many illicit, disposable vapes are discarded improperly, contributing to plastic waste and electronic waste.
    • Recycling challenges: Legal products are often part of recycling schemes or are designed with recoverable materials, but illicit products do not follow these environmental protocols.

    A lack of proper disposal mechanisms for illicit products not only exacerbates broader environmental challenges such as electronic waste and plastic pollution but also fuels calls for stricter regulation, or bans, of legal products.

    Criminal Violence and the Illicit Market

    In addition to the public health and economic consequences, the illicit vaping market has the potential to fuel criminal activity, particularly organized crime. The sale of untaxed and unregulated products can provide a significant revenue stream for criminal organizations, which, in turn, may lead to increased violence. Australia, which has imposed a de facto ban on vapes through its prescription model, has seen rising concerns about criminal violence linked to the illegal trade in vaping products. As the illicit market grows, so does the likelihood of violence between rival groups vying for control of the black market.

    Illicit Vaping—A Bipolar Problem?

    Growth in the illicit vaping market is being driven by a combination of factors. Peculiarly, the two bookends of the regulatory spectrum pose the highest risk: overly restrictive or prohibitive at one end and notification with poor enforcement at the other. It is easy to understand why prohibition or overly restrictive frameworks can be conducive for illicit products in the market—decades of prohibition experiments on alcohol, drugs and even chewing gums have shown how that can skew market economics in favor of bad actors.

    Regulations that are perceived as overly restrictive can push consumers and sellers toward the black market. In countries like Australia and the United States, where vaping regulations are particularly stringent, the high cost of compliance, limited access to legal products and high taxes can drive demand for illicit alternatives. These overly restrictive policies, while intended to protect public health, may inadvertently encourage consumers to seek out cheaper, unregulated options that bypass legal requirements.

    In the U.S., where only a limited number of products have been granted marketing authorization by the FDA (none of which are disposable), disposable vapes are estimated to account for close to 60 percent of national unit sales in tracked sales channels.

    Australia is another widely reported example of rampant sales of illicit vapes in response to a draconian regulatory framework, and the list does not end there. India and Thailand, among others where sales of vaping products are banned, have seen significant black markets emerge.

    At the other end are countries where there is no requirement for authorization per se and a basic notification process is considered adequate. Indeed, it may seem counterintuitive that harm reduction goals could be helped by the introduction of barriers to product launches and rapid innovation. However, an overly simplified notification process has the potential to put excessive responsibility on enforcement agencies in the marketplace. For example, in jurisdictions where a vaping product/SKU can be launched following a simple notification process of contents and related risk assessments, the potential exists for unscrupulous manufacturers and distributors to introduce products containing illegal additives or higher-than-allowed nicotine levels in a seemingly legal way. The EU Tobacco Products Directive and its transposition into local regulations in EU and ex-EU countries such as the U.K. creates such a situation. In the U.K., the U.K. Vaping Industry Association (UKVIA) believes that 40 percent to 60 percent of disposable vapes sold in the U.K. are likely illicit.

    A lack of adequate resources for law enforcement agencies also contributes to the persistence of the illicit market. Without sufficient funding and personnel to investigate and crack down on illegal operators, the illicit trade in vaping products continues to thrive. The combination of an unregulated supply chain and weak enforcement allows illicit products to enter the market relatively unchecked.

    Potential Solutions

    Addressing the issue of illicit vaping products requires a multifaceted approach involving both regulatory reform and enhanced enforcement mechanisms. Some potential solutions include regulatory reform, strengthened law enforcement and public awareness campaigns.

    Regulatory Reform

    Governments must strike a balance between protecting public health and ensuring that regulations do not drive consumers to the black market. By adopting a regulatory framework that allows adult consumers to access legal vaping products while maintaining appropriate safety and quality standards, policymakers can reduce the demand for illicit alternatives. This could involve:

    • Harmonizing regulations: standardizing regulations across jurisdictions to prevent regulatory discrepancies that fuel the illicit trade.
    • Moderate taxation: implementing reasonable excise taxes that do not create a significant price disparity between legal and illicit products.
    • Allowing legal access to adult smokers: Providing adult smokers with accessible, affordable and satisfactory regulated alternatives will discourage the use of unregulated products.

    Strengthening Law Enforcement

    To effectively combat the illicit market, governments must provide law enforcement agencies with the necessary resources to investigate and shut down illegal operators. This could include:

    • Increased funding for investigations: allocating more resources to law enforcement agencies to crack down on illicit vaping supply chains.
    • International cooperation: As the illicit trade often involves cross-border networks, international cooperation between customs and law enforcement agencies can play a vital role in curbing the flow of illegal products.
    • Licensing and tougher penalties: In the U.K., the UKVIA has proposed a mandatory licensing framework for vape retailers and distributors, with fines of up to £10,000 ($13,038) for retailers and £100,000 for distributors. The scheme aims to generate additional funding for enforcement, estimated at £50 million annually.

    Public Awareness Campaigns

    Educating the public about the risks associated with illicit vaping products can help reduce demand. Public awareness campaigns can inform consumers about the health risks, potential legal consequences and environmental harms linked to using unregulated products.

    By addressing the root causes of the illicit vaping market and implementing effective solutions, governments can safeguard public health, protect revenue streams and ensure that vaping products remain accessible to adult consumers seeking harm reduction.

    Pieter Vorster is a harm reduction expert with a long career as a financial analyst reporting on tobacco industry stocks.
    Sudhanshu Patwardhan is a medical doctor, nicotine expert and health tech entrepreneur from India, based in the U.K. He works on projects around the world to reduce harm from tobacco, especially among the most disadvantaged tobacco user populations.
  • An Outbreak of Sanity

    An Outbreak of Sanity

    Photos: Stuart Mitchell

    Tobacco Reporter joins Forest on the River Thames for its annual Smoke on the Water reception.

    By George Gay

    It seems there has been an outbreak of sanity at the heart of government in the U.K. In an Oct. 25 story in The Guardian, a Downing Street official was quoted as describing moves to ban tobacco smoking in certain outdoor places as comprising an “unserious policy.” “Nobody really believes smoking outdoors is a major health problem [for nonsmokers],” the official added.

    The story was one of several media reports claiming the ban on smoking in certain outdoor places was being dropped from the government’s upcoming Tobacco and Vapes Bill (TVB). But while the change of policy, if that is what it is, is to be welcomed, it raises a couple of questions, one of which asks why the government was faffing about with an unserious policy when there are many serious matters that need fixing.

    However, more importantly, in my view, is the question of trust or lack of it that arises from this volte face. I take it that if the government had not come under pressure from a hospitality sector concerned about the possible closures of some of its venues should the outdoor smoking ban be imposed, it would have gone ahead with the ban, justifying it on the grounds of protecting nonsmokers, a justification that “nobody” would have believed was valid. Indeed, it is difficult to imagine how, since it was unserious, it would have been anything but a vindictive policy dumped on a largely unorganized but significantly sized minority with little means of defense.

    And from here it is but a small step to questioning what of the other information we are fed about tobacco smoking is unserious—unbelievable. It seems obvious, for instance, that the level of harm caused by tobacco consumption is exaggerated. Deaths from other causes are put down to tobacco smoking, all in the best interests of smokers, of course.

    The formulation of unserious tobacco policies is based, I imagine, on the idea that smokers are often from impoverished backgrounds—so not well educated and therefore dumb enough to fall for such chicanery. But this is a dumb idea apparently subscribed to by people who have the power to dictate policy but who engage only with a thin slice of the society on which their policies are imposed. In October, I had an opportunity to speak for a while to a smoker who had thought long and hard about her habit and who was aware of all the misinformation and hypocrisy that defines much of the debate that surrounds tobacco. Paula (not her real name) had a riposte for all the normal accusations and slurs aimed at smokers and smoking, but what impressed me most was her reaction to being told from above that she should stop smoking. Before people told her to stop smoking, she said, they should come and ask her why she smoked.

    So why did she smoke? It was because she had issues in her life and she found that smoking was the best way to relieve the stress they caused. I got the impression that she thought the government’s best tactic for getting her to stop smoking was to act in respect of the causes of the issues she had. This is unlikely to happen, however, because it is cheap to lecture people and bring in some draconian, perhaps unserious anti-tobacco legislation but more expensive in respect of both effort and money to address some of the issues that cause people to seek refuge in smoking.

    I spoke with Paula on the smoking deck of the Elizabethan, a two-deck Mississippi-style paddle steamer that the Freedom Organization for the Right to Enjoy Smoking Tobacco (Forest) occupied for the evening of Oct. 22 as the venue for its Smoke on the Water reception. Such events, which take place as the Elizabethan paddles gently down and up the River Thames, have traditionally been held in July, but this year’s October schedule was timely because it provided an opportunity to address issues concerning the TVB.

    Simon Clark, the director of Forest, in a brief address to the 180 guests aboard the Elizabethan, said he had two main concerns with the TVB. The first was the generational smoking ban that would make it illegal for those born on or after Jan. 1, 2009, to be sold tobacco products. This was a policy first introduced by the previous Conservative government but dropped when the then prime minister called a general election earlier this year and has since been revived by the Labour government that replaced the Conservatives. Clark said he found it weird that the new government should reintroduce a Conservative initiative and bemoaned the fact that the policy, if enacted, would mean future generations of adults would be treated like children.

    The other main concern was the Labour initiative that would mean smoking’s being banned outside pubs and other public venues, but this seems as if it is dead in the water, an outcome for which Clark claimed some well-deserved credit in a statement issued after the reception. “As for the timing of the government’s alleged U-turn, can it be coincidence that it was reported just 48 hours after our Smoke on the Water boat party …? We’re (half) joking, but there’s no doubt that events like this (promoted throughout the Westminster village) have their place and, occasionally, some influence.”

    This was a good point to make and a cheery one for those of us who tend to think that it is difficult if not impossible to give smokers a voice. The Smoke on the Water guests included members of Parliament, parliamentary aides, think tank staffers, broadcasters and supporters of Forest. The largest group were the parliamentary aides, staffers working for Members of Parliament (MPs) across most of the political spectrum: the Conservative, Labour, Liberal Democrat, and Reform U.K. parties.

    Looked at from this point of view, it is difficult to overestimate the importance of Forest and the way it operates under Clark. “The aim of the event was primarily to engage with the new intake of parliamentary staffers because, following Labour’s landslide election victory and the defenestration of so many Conservative MPs who lost their seats, we had lost a large number of contacts from the previous Parliament,” Clark told me after the event but before it was reported that the government seemed to be on the point of dropping the outdoor smoking ban.

    “The need to engage with MPs and their staff was particularly urgent given the expectation that the new Labour government will reintroduce the previous government’s Tobacco and Vapes Bill before Christmas, and it’s our hope that ministers will, at the very least, reconsider the proposal to extend the smoking ban to outdoor spaces, including beer gardens.”

    Otherwise, the aim of the event had been to highlight the impact of the proposed legislation on future generations of adults, and for this reason, Clark had assembled a panel of people in their 20s to briefly describe where they stood: Sam Bidwell, director of the Next Generation Centre at the Adam Smith Institute; Josh Cheshire, national coordinator for Students for Liberty in the U.K.; Jonathan Heywood, a leading young Labour activist; and Reem Ibrahim, acting director of communications at the Institute of Economic Affairs.

    I think it would be wrong to give the impression that these young people were representative of young people in general, except in the sense that they were looking to have some fun. And those of them who were smokers weren’t representative of smokers, but they were all representative of those who, like Paula, cherish the right to make their own decisions, including decisions that might affect their health, wise or not in the eyes of others.

    One spoke with disdain of a 30-year to 40-year tradition that had imposed on the young “geriatric paternalism,” which, as somebody not far short of being an octogenarian, I can assure the young is what we geriatrics regard as fun. I know it’s sad, but there it is. And another pointed out that with the tide of public opinion going against individual freedoms and the possibility of still more restrictions on tobacco use, smoking was likely to become cool and to be seen as an act of resistance.

    But perhaps the most interesting comment came when Clark asked Ibrahim what she would have said to the secretary of state for health, Wes Streeting, had he been at the reception, which elicited the suggestion that he should have a beer and some fun.

    In fact, I don’t think he needs any such encouragement. In a 2023 interview in The Guardian, Streeting, who was then shadow health secretary, was quoted as saying, “If I’m going out, I’m a binge drinker—terrible messaging for the shadow health secretary!”

    Not wishing to sound even more like a geriatric paternalist, I nevertheless wonder whether that statement goes some way toward explaining why what is being proposed is a generational ban on tobacco smoking and not a generational ban on smoking and drinking alcohol. After all, it is not immediately obvious why drinking should not be targeted. According to the Alcohol Change U.K. website, alcohol consumption is a causal factor in more than 60 medical conditions, including mouth, throat, stomach, liver and breast cancers, high blood pressure, cirrhosis of the liver and depression. Alcohol misuse is the biggest risk factor for death, ill health and disability among 15-year-olds to 49-year-olds in the U.K.

    At the start of this piece, I suggested there might have been an outbreak of sanity at the heart of government in the U.K. Now, it seems I have to qualify that suggestion because the budget, delivered on Oct. 30, indicated there had also been an outbreak of cognitive dissonance, at least in respect of the budget’s treatment of tobacco, nicotine and alcohol. Although the government’s aim is purportedly to improve public health and take pressure off the National Health Service, the chancellor, Rachel Reeves, treated alcohol with kid gloves. But she announced that vapes, the most successful quit-smoking aid, would be the subject of a significant levy. And while the government claims to be helping the less well-off, it is increasing by eye-watering amounts the taxes on tobacco, one of the few pleasures on offer to that demographic.

    This, in part, is what Clark had to say about the budget announcements: “Instead of punishing the low paid, the government should focus on improving the environmental conditions that drive many people to smoke in the first place.” I think that Paula would endorse that.

    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.
  • Study: Online Retailers Fail to Comply With Rules

    Study: Online Retailers Fail to Comply With Rules

    Eric Leas (Photo: University of California San Diego)

     Online e-cigarette retailers are not consistently adhering to laws aimed at preventing the sale of vaping products to minors, including regulations on age verification, shipping methods and flavor restrictions, report researchers at the Herbert Wertheim School of Public Health and Human Longevity Science at University of California San Diego.

    In a study published online on Nov. 11, 2024, in JAMA, researchers asked 16 people to purchase flavored vape products online and have them delivered to their homes in the County of San Diego, then analyzed the results of these attempted purchases. Of 156 attempted transactions 73 percent were processed and 67 percent were delivered.

    As of March 21, 2024, sale restrictions on flavored tobacco have been enacted in eight U.S. states and 392 cities or counties, but some of these do not cover e-commerce. For example, the 2022 California Senate Bill (SB) 793 prohibited the sale of flavored tobacco products but left e-commerce restrictions ambiguous.

    Due to the ambiguity in California law, the researchers aimed to test differences in compliance with local tobacco e-commerce ordinances. Eight buyers were from the City of San Diego, where an ordinance restricts the sale of flavored tobacco products, including online sales. The other eight were from other County of San Diego communities, which do not have the same restrictions. Delivery did not differ significantly between buyers in these two jurisdictions.

    In addition to violations of flavor restrictions, the online purchases violated the Preventing Online Sales of E-Cigarettes to Children Act, a federal law prohibiting the use of the United States Postal Service (USPS) to ship vaping products and requires both age verification and scanning identifications upon delivery.

    “There are longstanding surveillance systems in place that help implement laws at brick-and-mortar stores, but we do not have a system in place for online retailers,” said Eric Leas, an assistant professor at the Herbert Wertheim School of Public Health and Human Longevity Science, in a statement. “The results of this study highlight the need for greater oversight and enforcement of online tobacco retailers.”

    Key findings include:

    • 1 percent of buyers had their IDs scanned
    • 81 percent of deliveries were made via the USPS
    • 9 percent arrived via couriers with policies restricting shipping tobacco, including 4 percent via UPS, 3 percent via FedEx 3.0 percent and 1.8 percent via DHL
    • 78 percent of buyers reported no interaction with delivery personnel
    • 15 percent of buyers spoke with delivery personnel but did not have their IDs checked
    • 6 percent of buyers had their IDs checked but not scanned

    “Online sales of e-cigarettes are the largest and fastest growing sector of the tobacco. We need to evaluate tobacco retail policies and ensure they cover e-commerce and monitor the market to improve implementation,” said Leas, who is also director of the Tobacco E-commerce Lab.

    In a 2023 study published in Tobacco Control, Leas reported that following the implementation of SB-793, online shopping queries were 194 percent higher than expected for cigarettes and 162 percent higher than expected for vape products.

    As a result, to strengthen state tobacco oversight programs, including online sales of flavored tobacco products, California lawmakers recently approved SB-1230, citing Leas’ Tobacco Control study. The law will go into effect on Jan. 1, 2025.

    “This research is piloting a system for monitoring online compliance that local health departments could mimic as a routine surveillance system to strengthen the implementation of public health laws designed to reduce the sale of tobacco products to minors,” said Leas.

     

  • Choppy Waters

    Choppy Waters

    New taxes and regulations are reshaping the tobacco markets in the Baltic countries.

    By Vladislav Vorotnikov

    Following the Europe-wide trend, the Baltic countries are reshaping the tobacco market with new taxes and health regulations. These efforts promise dramatic changes to the industry, which is already experiencing shifts due to changes in consumer demand and demographic factors while dealing with the large-scale counterfeit problem.

    The Baltic region comprises three post-Soviet republics: Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia. Over the past decades, all three countries have been facing similar trends in tobacco consumption, including waning demand for cigarettes.

    “Within tobacco in the Baltic states, cigarettes are expected to continue struggling to maintain demand in 2024,” Bogdanas Poletajevas, senior analyst at Euromonitor International, told Tobacco Reporter.

    In 2023, around 1.9 billion cigarettes were consumed in Latvia, 2.47 billion in Lithuania and 1.29 billion in Estonia, KMPG said in a recent report.

    In recent years, cigarette consumption followed a steady downward trend, the company noted. For example, in 2020, cigarette consumption in Latvia stood at 2.1 billion, in Lithuania at 2.88 billion and in Estonia at around 1.5 billion.

    A steady depopulation process is one of the factors driving down cigarette consumption across the region. As of 2023, Latvia’s population was estimated at 1.8 million, Lithuania’s at 2.6 million and Estonia’s at 1.2 million. Compared with 2015, when the region boasted 6.2 million citizens, the number of residents dropped by nearly 20 percent.

    Several factors are in play, including weak demography and continuing emigration as a large number of young people seek job opportunities in Western European countries.

    In addition, the Baltic region is influenced by a general trend of cigarettes gradually losing their popularity in the developed countries.

    “Smoking prevalence in terms of cigarettes continues a worldwide trend of gradual decrease,” Poletajevas said. “This was underpinned by heightened health concerns as well as an increase in excise taxes and high inflationary pressure on energy and transportation costs, making cigarettes more expensive.”

    However, in the past few years, the cigarette market benefited from a surge in political tensions.

    In 2023, the share of smokers in Latvia slightly increased, LSM, a local news outlet, reported without providing concrete figures. To some extent, the tendency is attributed to rising stress and anxiety in the context of the Ukrainian conflict.

    “Increased stress levels can drive people to smoke. The geopolitical situation, problems at work, the political and economic situation in the country and possibly price increases [are among contributing factors]. During periods of increased stress, people start smoking to feel a sense of calm,” Agnese Ritene, president of the Association of Pharmacies of Latvia, told LSM.

    Indeed, opinion polls in the past couple of years indicate elevated anxiety levels among the citizens of Baltic countries, which border Russia and Belarus in the east.

    The rise in the number of smokers against this background is tangible. For example, in the age category between 15 and 24, the number of smokers spiked by 18 percent in the past two years, according to the Latvian Center for Disease Control and Prevention. 

    Transition in Progress

    However, market players also indicate that though the number of smokers in the region is on the rise, cigarettes are gradually losing ground to novel tobacco products.

    Poletajevas estimated that regular cigarettes continued to lose retail volume share to perceived less harmful alternatives like e-cigarettes and heated-tobacco products.

    “This trend raises questions about whether the overall popularity of smoking is genuinely decreasing or if consumers are merely transitioning to different forms of tobacco consumption,” Poletajevas said.

    “We have noticed that people are smoking classic cigarettes less. The demand for alternatives to cigarettes, such as electronic cigarettes, heated tobacco and nicotine pouches, has increased,” Madara Apsalone, a spokesperson for Philip Morris Latvia, observed during a press conference in Riga.

    The number of e-cigarette smokers in Latvia jumped from 1 percent to 8 percent, Una Martinsone, a public health analyst with the Disease Control and Prevention Center, reported. The number of women who vape shot up from 1 percent in 2020 to nearly 13 percent in 2022, she added.

    Euromonitor International estimated that the Baltic region’s cigarette market is divided among three leading players: Philip Morris International, BAT and Japan Tobacco International.

    “While cumulatively they are losing volume in the cigarettes category, major investments are focused on alternative nicotine consumption categories like heated tobacco,” Poletajevas said.

    “The leading player in new categories remains Philip Morris as the pioneer; however, BAT has taken [a] more aggressive strategy pricing-wise, which helped to cannibalize [a] substantial part of the market. The latest entrant into the Baltic markets is JTI, albeit [the company] still holds a marginal share and will need time to consolidate,” Poletajevas said.

    On the European Frontline

    The Baltic region also suffers from an inflow of counterfeit cigarettes, primarily delivered by smugglers from Belarus.

    As estimated by KPMG, last year, 260 million cigarettes sold in Latvia were illegal compared to 430 million in Lithuania and 140 million in Estonia.

    Lithuania’s state budget lost nearly €75 million ($82.31 million) as a result of the illegal market, the analyst calculated. Nearly 89 percent of all counterfeit cigarettes to the country were delivered from Belarus.

    In Estonia, the budget losses were nearly €30 million, with 57 percent of the illicit volumes coming from Belarus, the KPMG office noted. Latvia, in turn, lost €43 million, with 61.5 percent of smuggling also coming from Belarus.

    According to PMI’s Apsalone, although the volume of cigarette smuggling in Latvia has decreased in recent years, it still significantly exceeds the EU average. “Smuggled cigarettes in Latvia are still mainly imported from Belarus, even though the border with it is tightly controlled after the start of Russia’s war against Ukraine,” Apsalone indicated.

    Occasional reports indicate that some cigarettes smuggled to the Baltic region from Belarus end up in neighboring EU states, including Poland and Germany.

    KPMG analysts indicated that the general economic situation is tightly linked to the public’s tolerance of smuggling. When the population becomes wealthier, people grow reluctant to buy cigarettes, understanding that they are counterfeit or smuggled.

    However, this trend goes in both directions; when the economic situation deteriorates, illegal traders take advantage of that situation, KPMG indicated, citing the turbulence of the past few years when the energy crisis and rapid inflation took a heavy toll on the Baltic citizens’ purchasing power.

    Legal Initiatives Under Scrutiny

    The shadow segment of the cigarette market is a multifactorial phenomenon that requires the authorities to pursue a well-thought-out excise policy.

    “The legislative direction across all the Baltic states remains united,” Poletajevas said, adding that excise tax increase remains the main method of deterring tobacco consumption.

    However, he noted that regulations on new categories lag behind those for traditional tobacco products, hence offering cheaper alternatives to traditional products.

    This is expected to change in the coming years as plans are set for a steady excise increase for heated-tobacco and vapor categories in the region. Poletajevas said that further talks are being held among lawmakers on disposable vapor products and their risks for youth consumption and sustainability concerns.

    “Although loopholes may exist initially, tighter regulations are expected, potentially impacting the flexibility enjoyed by major players,” Poletajevas stated.

    Latvia is at the forefront of fighting against tobacco consumption in the Baltic region.

    Under a bill recently passed by Latvian Saimas, young people under 20 will be prohibited from smoking, buying or selling tobacco products from Jan. 1, 2025. These restrictions also apply to tobacco substitute products, herbal smoking products, electronic smoking devices and refillable containers for them.

    Other countries in the region also mull various restrictions on tobacco consumption.

    In Lithuania, lawmakers are considering a full ban on e-cigarettes. As explained by Antanas Matulas, chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on Health, earlier in 2024, the authorities are discouraged by persisting fraud on the market. She explained that some tastes and flavors were banned in the country as a part of the anti-smoking campaign, but the companies engaged in this segment refuse to obey. They repacked the banned liquids, put new labels and brought them back on the market, Matulas said.

    However, Matulas admitted that there would not be easy answers.

    The idea of banning e-cigarettes faces firm opposition in Lithuanian society as analysts warn that the move would give a powerful impetus for growth to the illegal segment and push a part of consumers back toward conventional tobacco products.

  • A Breath of Fresh AIR

    A Breath of Fresh AIR

    OOKA is the first heat-not-burn hookah device on the market. | Images: AIR Global

    AIR Global focuses on innovating the shisha and inhalation sphere, catering to growing markets and evolving needs.

    By Marissa Dean

    Paul Dawson

    Much like most of the tobacco industry, the shisha and hookah markets have been around for a long time. Unlike much of the industry, however, these markets have seen comparatively little innovation over the years. Advanced Inhalation Rituals (AIR) Global joined the fray with the goal of “revolutionizing the shisha experience by combining ancient social rituals with cutting-edge technology,” as AIR’s chief product officer, Paul Dawson, said.

    Shisha smoking is risky due to the use of chemical-laden charcoal and combustion. When asked why the company chose inhalation as its focus, Dawson said that they “saw an opportunity to innovate in a space that hadn’t evolved much over the centuries. By focusing on inhalation, we can deliver products that not only provide a better user experience but also reduce health risks and the environmental impact. There is a challenge within this industry sector to harness technology for better experiences and reduce the risk of inhalation rituals.”

    The OOKA device uses pods that contain an intelligent microchip rather than using loose shisha, making the setup much more user-friendly and convenient.

    A New Shisha Experience

    “We’re committed to offering reduced-risk, cleaner and more sustainable alternatives to traditional shisha,” Dawson said. The company’s OOKA product is the perfect example of this. OOKA is AIR’s pod-based heat-not-burn hookah device that heats shisha molasses rather than using charcoal to burn shisha as in traditional hookah smoking. According to the company, OOKA emits on average 94 percent lower levels of harmful chemicals—laboratory aerosol tests showed that carbon monoxide emissions were below the laboratory detection limit of 0.000097 mg per milliliter.

    OOKA uses specially made pods, which contain an intelligent microchip that automatically programs the device to heat to a specific temperature profile that is monitored 25 times per second, creating a consistent experience for users and preventing combustion. Dawson noted that OOKA is a game-changer for the hookah and shisha market. “It’s the world’s first charcoal-free, pod-based shisha device, and by eliminating charcoal, OOKA not only reduces harmful by-products like carbon monoxide but also makes the entire experience more convenient,” he said. “There’s no ash or mess, and the setup time is drastically reduced. This has transformed how people experience shisha, especially outside of traditional lounge settings, allowing them to enjoy it easily at home or even on vacation.”

    Traditional hookah devices require the user to pack what is called a bowl, which sits at the top of the device, with shisha tobacco. The tobacco is then heated using charcoal, creating smoke through the waterpipe as users inhale through an attached hose. Some hookahs include multiple hoses for multiple users at once while others only have one hose. Hookah smoking is usually a social experience shared with friends or family, whether in a lounge setting or elsewhere.

    When asked what inspired OOKA, Dawson noted that OOKA was born out of a desire to modernize the traditional shisha experience by using cutting-edge technology to create something cleaner, more efficient and more user-friendly. “We saw a gap in the market where people loved the social ritual of shisha but were looking for an alternative to the mess of charcoals and packing the bowl, as well as the time taken to prepare traditional shisha and the health concerns associated with charcoal heating,” he said. “So, we wanted to create something which eliminated charcoal, was quicker to set up and [was] mess-free which could revolutionize the shisha inhalation experience. Importantly, we must also recognize that whilst most people enjoy consuming shisha, very few enjoy setting it up and even fewer can recreate a decent shisha experience at home. We wanted to create a decent shisha experience that people could love and fit into their busy lives.”

    “There is a challenge within this industry sector to harness technology for better experiences and reduce the risk of inhalation rituals.”

    Expanding Innovative Inhalation

    While AIR offers other inhalation products as well, OOKA is “definitely [the company’s] most revolutionary and innovative product yet,” said Dawson. The shisha device seems to currently have much of the company’s focus as it moves to expand its markets. “That said, each of our products serves a specific market need, and we see strong demand across different regions,” Dawson said. “Traditional shisha products remain popular in regions like the Middle East, but we are seeing OOKA rapidly gaining traction everywhere—for instance, in Germany, OOKA saw off many competitors and was awarded the Best Hookah Award at the Shishamesse 2024 show earlier this year and already has many admirers in the U.S.”

    Hookah and shisha are traditionally more prevalent in the Middle East, but Dawson noted that there is demand for the products elsewhere. AIR has now opened offices in the U.S., among other countries, and factories in the United Arab Emirates as well as Poland, which focus on high-demand markets in the Middle East and Asia and markets in Europe, respectively, with further expansion forming part of the company’s goal. “Our presence in the U.S. has allowed us to tap into a growing interest in shisha among new demographics, but as with all new products, we started with a test market in California to understand our U.S. customers better,” Dawson said. “While the tradition originates in the Middle East, there’s also significant demand in Western markets, particularly as people look for new social experiences post-pandemic. With products like OOKA, we’ve been able to attract a wider audience, including more health-conscious consumers. The U.S. national launch of OOKA begins in October, and we’re excited to see how others in the U.S. respond to the latest innovation.”

    Recently, AIR opened a Research, Design and Development (RDD) Lab in Dubai, which focuses on “creating revolutionary inhalation products.” AIR’s future is in continuing to expand into new markets, launch innovative products, improve consumer experiences and further commitment to sustainability, health-conscious design and revolutionizing the inhalation space, according to Dawson. “RDD is one of the most exciting teams to be part of within AIR, and we’ve brought together a diverse mix of creative people from over 20 different nationalities to spearhead our innovation portfolio,” he said.

    OOKA is by no means the end of the line for AIR’s innovation, according to Dawson. “While I can’t share too much just yet, we have several exciting products in development that we expect to launch later this year and in 2025 and ambitious plans for the next five years,” he said. “These innovations will continue to push boundaries in terms of health-conscious design, convenience and sustainability.”

    Marissa Dean joined Tobacco Reporter in the summer of 2018 as a copy editor. Since that time, she has taken on additional responsibilities, including feature writing. Her skills span the publishing industry from layout and design to copy editing to content creation.
  • Beyond Ordinary

    Beyond Ordinary

    Photo: Vaporesso
    Photo: Vaporesso

    Since 2015, Vaporesso has been the category leader of open-system vape products.

    By Timothy S. Donahue

    Vaporesso has been a force in the open-system vaping segment for nearly a decade. The China-based powerhouse is one of the world’s largest open-system vaping hardware manufacturers and produces a wide range of mods, pods, tanks, coils and accessories. The company has been so successful that it has received recognition from several media outlets such as Ecigclick, Vapouround, Vaping360 and VersedVaper, winning more than a dozen “best international brand” awards in 2023 alone.

    The company has also won several professional international design awards, including the MUSE Design Award, the German Design Award, the London Design Award and the French Design Award. It has also garnered the Golden Leaf Award from the GTNF, one of the most prestigious awards in the nicotine industry.

    Since 2015, Vaporesso’s commitment to helping combustible smokers switch to less harmful nicotine products has been deeply embedded in its core philosophy, which emphasizes innovation, reliability and style. Maggie Chen, a Vaporesso spokesperson, said during an interview at the GTNF in Athens in September that understanding the diverse needs and aspirations of Vaporesso vapers is a priority.

    “By leveraging local insights, such as preferences for design and culture from subsidiaries in key markets like the USA and France, we have established dedicated touchpoints in each market to gather insights from consumers, retailers and various sales channels,” explained Chen. “This approach enables us to understand the specific requirements of different vaper segments while ensuring that the information we collect is objective and reliable, reinforcing our commitment to meeting the diverse needs of users across regions.

    “This commitment allows us to continuously develop product lines that cater to beginners and experienced vapers, ensuring a wide variety of styles and consistent quality. Our advanced automated manufacturing processes ensure each device is crafted with precision and quality, reflecting our dedication to reliability and excellence. Furthermore, we focus strongly on understanding users’ feedback and monitoring market trends while staying committed to ongoing R&D investment. This dedication enables us to consistently offer innovative open-system products that meet the needs of both consumers and the industry.”

    Vaporesso has held a leading position in the global open-system vaping product category for many years. It is recognized as the top brand worldwide in terms of market share. The company also achieved the highest growth rate among open-system brands, with its mouth-to-lung (MTL) products, such as the XROS series, becoming global bestsellers. The success of the XROS series is due to its compatibility with all XROS pods, reliable quality and superior flavor delivery, according to Chen, who added that the accomplishment highlights Vaporesso’s strong presence in key markets, such as the USA and Europe.

    Eve Wang, executive director of Vaporesso’s parent company, Smoore International Holdings, remarked, “The journey of Vaporesso from 2015 truly reflects the value instilled by the parent company, Smoore Group, which has consistently prioritized the importance of R&D. At the beginning of the story, Smoore dedicated two full years to support the development of our very first product: the patented CCELL vape coil, which is recognized as the world’s first ceramic coil.

    “This innovation reflects Smoore’s substantial commitment to R&D; since going public, the company has consistently invested a total of RMB3.94 billion ($551,923) in R&D by the end of 2023, with an additional RMB760 million allocated in the first half of 2024.”.

    Building on this strong R&D foundation, Vaporesso developed three core technologies: the AXON Chip for intelligent power management and optimized performance, SSS leak-resistant technology, which sets new standards for reliability by preventing e-liquid leakage, and COREX heating technology for faster heating and enhanced flavor.

    These innovations drive continuous improvements across Vaporesso’s product lines, ensuring premium quality and performance, according to Chen. The 2024 iteration of the XROS 4 series, featuring pod compatibility, exceptional flavor and a unique design, has become the world’s bestselling MTL product.

    Currently, disposable vapes dominate significant markets. However, despite the challenges posed by the explosive growth of disposable products since 2020, Vaporesso has excelled in the open-system segment, achieving an average annual growth rate of over 20 percent in the past four years, according to company financial disclosures. This trend reflects open-system users’ strong trust in the Vaporesso brand as it consistently meets consumer demand for continuous innovation, reliable quality and diverse styles. The company has also excelled at combating vaping waste, which is much less when using an open system compared to a disposable.

    “In addition to this growth, as a public company, Smoore Group strongly emphasizes developing various ESG indicators,” Wang stated. “Our commitment to ESG [environmental, social and governance], particularly to environmental sustainability, is reflected in several key areas. We aim to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050 by progressively increasing renewable energy use across our operations. Additionally, we have set a target of sourcing 50 percent of our energy consumption from renewable sources by 2030, further demonstrating our dedication to reducing our carbon footprint and fostering a sustainable future.”

    Chen explained that this commitment is mirrored at the brand level with Vaporesso’s ongoing initiatives, adding that the company embodies this commitment through its dedication to sustainable development.

    “We achieve this by innovating eco-friendly products, such as the ECO series, which features four products made from environmentally friendly materials, including recyclable ocean waste, coffee grounds, sugarcane bagasse and limestone-based inorganic composite material,” said Chen. “Additionally, our brand initiative, Vaporesso Care, promotes global carbon neutrality by collaborating with users, environmental organizations and industry partners, further reinforcing our commitment to sustainability.”

    The vaping industry is still relatively young, with just over a decade of history, and no one can predict the final shape of vape devices, including in the open-system category. Chen explained that Vaporesso is committed to its user-centric R&D approach, focusing on deepening consumer insights.

    “This enables us to anticipate market needs ahead of both competitors and even the consumers themselves,” said Chen. “Moreover, as each market evolves at its own pace with distinct characteristics, we continuously expand our frontline teams to better understand and respond to the specific needs of users in every region. This ensures our products are not only highly preferred but also perfectly tailored to each market.”

    Vaporesso may not have been the earliest entrant into the vaping industry; however, Chen said the company has always dedicated itself to becoming a leading vape brand. As the market has evolved, Vaporesso has stayed true to this vision by continually refining its products, organizational structure and promotional strategies.

    “At Vaporesso, innovation is inspired by our users. We harness advanced insights and global consumer research to deeply understand their preferences. With branches and design centers in North America and Europe, we blend local market expertise with continuous R&D investment to maintain our industry-leading position,” said Chen. “Reliability lies at the heart of everything we do. We prioritize quality manufacturing with the industry’s first medical-grade factory, supported by the most advanced automatic production lines and 14 industrial parks.

    “Our after-sales service, backed by local teams across four continents, ensures top-notch customer support. Our style goes beyond aesthetics. Local design centers provide insights into trends, preferences and lifestyles, enabling us to create stylish products for diverse needs and usage scenarios. Looking to the future, Vaporesso remains dedicated to realizing a smoke-free world, working closely with the industry to turn this vision into reality.”

    Timothy Donahue is the assistant editor of Tobacco Reporter. Since joining our team in January 2013, he has become not only an expert on the traditional tobacco business but also a well-respected voice in the rapidly developing vapor industry. Tim spends much of his time on the road, attending conferences and interviewing industry representatives. His networking skills, work ethic and quick mind are valuable assets to our diverse audience.
  • Increasing Stakeholder Engagement

    Increasing Stakeholder Engagement

    Image: ngstock

    Accelerating actions to clear the smoke: finding common ground in a polarized world

    By Scott D. Ballin

    During September and October 2024, there were a number of tobacco-related and nicotine-related conferences, including the Global Tobacco and Nicotine Forum in Athens; the Nicotine and Tobacco Science Conference in Charleston, South Carolina, USA; the Tobacco Science Research Conference in Atlanta; CORESTA in Edinburg; and the Food and Drug Law Institute annual tobacco and nicotine conference in Washington, D.C. The E-Cigarette Summit will convene in London in December.

    All of these conferences have a number of things in common, including looking at how to move forward in advancing public health and harm reduction and advocating for more stakeholder engagement. While these objectives are to be applauded and enjoy support, the tobacco and nicotine space remains more divided, polarized and tribal than ever.

    This division and the animosity that often goes with it mirrors what we see happening in societies around the world. This is tragic in terms of public health when more time is being spent fighting perceived enemies than looking for common-ground solutions to save lives.

    The divide is not merely between Big Tobacco and mainstream public health organizations but now also seems to include anyone associated with tobacco and nicotine. It is troubling to me that significant divisions continue to occur within the public health community to the extent that some take the position that anyone engaging with the tobacco and nicotine sector needs to be “called out,” blacklisted and even banned from attending some meetings or conferences.

    For some years now, I have taken the position that “safe-haven” dialogues between stakeholders are essential to advancing our public health objectives of reducing disease and death from the use of tobacco and especially the combustible cigarette, which is by far the riskiest tool for nicotine consumption. Today’s rapidly changing tobacco and nicotine environment is very different from the days of the “tobacco wars” of the late 20th century.

    We should be constantly reminding ourselves that globally, there are approximately 1 billion smokers who are subject to dying prematurely from cigarette smoking. In the U.S. alone, the number of smokers remains close to 30 million, making cigarette smoking the single most preventable cause of death.

    Many battles must be fought, but new approaches, ideas and opportunities need to be discussed and considered as well.

    A Role for CTP

    The U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s Center for Tobacco Products (CTP) has an important role to play in providing stakeholders a safe haven where civil dialogue can take place. For me, obtaining FDA regulatory oversight of the tobacco industry and its products was a major priority and a gamechanger in reigning in the bad behavior of the tobacco industry. All three CTP directors—Lawrence Deyton, Mitchell Zeller and Brian King—recognized and acknowledged the critical need for stakeholder engagement. Stakeholder input and engagement has and will continue to assist the agency in its efforts to not only prevent future generations from using tobacco and nicotine products but also to provide significantly lower risk, science-based regulated products to the millions of addicted adult smokers worldwide. It can ensure that bad actors distributing, marketing and selling illegal, unauthorized products are punished and expeditiously removed from the marketplace.

    Many will recall that in July of 2017, the FDA announced a visionary, comprehensive tobacco and nicotine plan. In its press release, then FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb and the Center for Tobacco Products Director Zeller wrote: “Envisioning a world where cigarettes would no longer create or sustain addiction and where adults who need or want nicotine could get it from less harmful alternative sources need to be the cornerstone of our efforts, and we believe it is vital that we pursue common ground …. To succeed, participants from all sectors [emphasis added] need to take a step back and work together to reach greater common ground.”

    This visionary plan was generally well received by a broad spectrum of stakeholders as a way to discuss and address important issues in a rapidly changing environment. Unfortunately, and for many reasons, the CTP has put much of the plan on the back burner.

    The time has come for the FDA/CTP to move the comprehensive plan back to the “front burner” and to begin a series of important discussions on how many of these ideas, challenges and opportunities can be addressed and implemented.

    The Morven Dialogue

    In July, the University of Virgnia’s Institute for Engagement and Negotiation (IEN) released its latest report, titled Accelerating Action to Clear the Smoke: Finding Common Ground in a Polarized World. Referred to as the Morven VII dialogue, the report builds on past dialogues and reports and lays out a set of 10 interrelated and overlapping core principles designed to “provide stakeholders guidance and encouragement to commit to engage and work together in a more transparent and cooperative way.”

    The report addresses topics such as updating definitions and terminologies; recognizing the differences between the risks and relative risks of a spectrum of products along the continuum of risk; the need to “modernize” and develop a more flexible and consumer-friendly regulatory framework; ensuring that scientific research is of the highest integrity; encouraging innovation and technology; ensuring comprehensive regulatory oversight while providing flexibility for “fast-tracking” of approved lower risk products for use by adults; ensuring that adolescents do not have access to any tobacco and nicotine products; providing consumers, the general public, medical professionals and other stakeholders with truthful, accurate and consistent information about the risks and relative risks of all tobacco and nicotine products; and encouraging all stakeholders in both the public and private sectors to engage civilly and honestly.

    The Morven VII dialogue report serves as a means for having a more in-depth civil discussion on issues confronting the tobacco and nicotine space. As the IEN director has stated: “It is owned by no one but can be used by everyone.” There are no copywrite restrictions on the report, and all entities are encouraged not only to use it but also to make it available to others, including policymakers, medical professionals, nongovernmental organizations and the media.

    The Morven VII report can be accessed at http://www.tobaccoreform.org.

    Scott D. Ballin worked in the public health policy arena for more than four decades, with much of his time spent on issues pertaining to tobacco and nicotine. He is a former vice president and legislative counsel for the American Heart Association and two-time chairman of the Coalition on Smoking OR Health, which later became the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids. In recent years, he has focused on the importance of bringing stakeholders together in both the public and private sectors. He also served as an advisor to the Institute for Engagement and Negotiation at the University of Virginia and as an advisor to the Food and Drug Law Institute.