Philip Morris International Inc. announced it will host a live webcast of a fireside chat session with CEO Jacek Olczak at the 2025 Morgan Stanley Global Consumer & Retail Conference on December 2, at approximately 10:15 a.m. ET. An archived copy of the webcast will be available for six months post-event. The webcast can be accessed here, or on mobile devices by downloading PMI’s free Investor Relations Mobile App at www.pmi.com/irapp.
Blog
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Zimbabwe Opens $100M Tobacco Plant, Part of 2030’s $7B Goal
Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa inaugurated a $100 million tobacco processing plant in Harare last week, developed by agribusiness firm Cut Rag Processors (CRP). The facility can process 3,000 tons of tobacco monthly into cut rag and produce up to 60,000 master cases of cigarettes, equivalent to 600 million sticks. The investment is intended to strengthen Zimbabwe’s limited processing capacity, as the country’s 10 cigarette manufacturers currently produce 4.4 billion cigarettes annually but process only 10–15% of local tobacco. The Tobacco Industry and Marketing Board (TIMB) aims to raise this rate to 30% through private investment to capture more value in the export-oriented sector.
The expansion supports the government’s target of generating $7 billion in tobacco sector revenues by 2030 under the Food Systems, Agriculture and Rural Transformation Strategy. Zimbabwe earned $1.4 billion from tobacco exports in 2024, with 94% from unprocessed leaf. Production continues to grow rapidly, with the 2025 harvest rising 53% to a record 354,000 tons, representing 92% growth since 2020. TIMB projects output could reach nearly 500,000 tons by 2030, but limited processing capacity remains a challenge.
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Survey Challenges Perceptions on Youth Access to Pouches
Despite extensive media reporting about online and social media enabling youth access to nicotine pouches, survey data suggests that brick-and-mortar stores are a much more common source for minors in the UK. A new survey by Haypp found that two-thirds of Brits believe minors find it easier to buy nicotine pouches online than in physical stores. However, the Nicotine Pouch Report shows the opposite: 56% of under-18s who admitted purchasing pouches said they bought them from corner shops, 17% from supermarkets, and 31% via friends. Only 21% reported buying online.
Currently, UK law does not prohibit the sale of nicotine pouches to under-18s, a loophole set to close under the forthcoming Tobacco and Vapes Bill. While reputable online retailers use strict digital age verification, many physical stores fail to enforce checks. Haypp is urging all retailers to adopt robust age verification measures to prevent underage sales, stressing that online systems often provide more consistent safeguards than in-person checks.
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Pakistan Tobacco Demand Slashed, Farmers Taking Losses
Tobacco purchasing companies in Pakistan have reduced their demand for the 2026 crop by 13.2 million kg, setting total requirements at 61.627 million kg. This marks the fourth consecutive year of cutbacks, with overall demand falling from 85.5 million kg in 2023 to 77.3 million kg in 2024, 74.8 million kg in 2025. The bulk of purchases will be made by multinational firms, led by Pakistan Tobacco Company and Philip Morris (Pakistan) Ltd, which together account for more than 36 million kg of flue-cured Virginia (FCV) tobacco. The remaining FCV demand will be met by 78 national companies, including Khyber Tobacco. While demand for FCV, dark air-cured, and sun-cured tobacco has declined, requirements for White Patta and burley tobacco have increased slightly.
Industry experts note that farmers are facing severe financial losses due to limited storage options and price discrepancies between the weighted average price (Rs 719 per kg) and the minimum indicative price (Rs 545 per kg [$1.96]). Companies profited by Rs 6.2 billion ($22.2 million) from surplus purchases at lower rates in 2025, while growers bore the losses. Despite reduced domestic demand, tobacco exports surged from 20 million kg in 2023-24 to 47 million kg in 2024-25, a 135% increase. However, Ayaz Khan, former director of the Pakistan Tobacco Board, said the benefits of rising exports have not reached farmers, who remain vulnerable to falling purchase prices and shrinking demand, leaving them at a disadvantage compared to multinational and national firms.
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Counterfeit Tobacco Makes up 50% of Cambodian Market
Tobacco industry experts in Cambodia warn that the presence of illicit products in the market are increasing at “an alarming pace,” climbing close to 50% of the market, closing in on neighboring Malaysia’s 60% in the Asean region. The scale of the problem is measured through discarded cigarette pack surveys, which reveal a growing trend of untaxed and unregulated products.
Representatives say that the government is losing more than $38 million annually in tax revenue, noting that the true impact is even greater as the legal industry’s growth is stifled. Authorities destroyed 70 tons of counterfeit cigarettes last year, seizing 23 types of illegal products from a factory inside the Kingdom.
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Tobacco Imagery in Movies Increases 10%: Report
The new report from the Truth Initiative found that more than half of 2024’s top films featured tobacco imagery, an increase of 10 percentage points from the previous year. The Tobacco in Films: 2024 report found that 51% of the top 152 box office films contained tobacco imagery, up from 41% in 2023, with a 43% surge in total tobacco incidents (2,858 in 2024 versus 1,989 in 2023). Among films rated appropriate for youth (G, PG, and PG-13), 34% included tobacco imagery.
According to the report, studios outside of the Motion Picture Association (MPA) were responsible for the majority of tobacco depictions, with companies such as Amazon, A24, and other independent distributors driving the surge. In 2024, non-MPA studios released 69 films featuring tobacco use, compared with eight movies from MPA member studios.
The report builds on Truth Initiative’s longstanding While You Were Streaming report series, which has led efforts to raise awareness and drive action on the impact of tobacco depictions on screens.
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Thailand Finding Rise of Narcotic-Laced Vapes
Thailand’s Department of Medical Sciences (DMS) warned that e-cigarettes are increasingly being laced with etomidate, a short-acting anesthetic that poses serious risks to the brain, respiratory system, and other vital organs. Tests conducted between October 2024 and June 2025 found etomidate in 56 of 83 e-cigarette and equipment samples. The Thai Food and Drug Administration (FDA) classified etomidate as a Special Controlled Drug before elevating it to a Schedule 2 Psychotropic Substance on July 27, to enforce stricter importation and usage rules. Despite this, the anesthetic has been detected in e-cigarettes produced in Asia and in smuggled e-liquids entering Thailand.
Reports indicate that etomidate is being mixed with or substituted for nicotine in modified e-cigarettes known as “Zombie Cigarettes” or “Pot K.” The DMS has developed a testing method to detect the substance, which will aid police in drug suppression efforts. Authorities have also found e-cigarettes laced with narcotics such as cocaine and fentanyl, raising concerns about increased fatality risks among users.
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Philippines Pushing for Vape Ban
The Philippines’ Department of Health (DOH) called for a nationwide ban on vape products, warning that advertisements portraying vaping as a safer alternative to cigarettes are misleading. In a news release on November 22, the DOH stressed that both vapor and devices contain harmful chemicals linked to cardiovascular disease, cancer, and lung illnesses. The agency also raised concerns about flavored varieties and colorful packaging that appeal to minors. Citing the 2019 Global Youth Tobacco Survey, the DOH reported that seven out of 10 Filipino youths aged 13 to 15 use vape products, and noted the country’s first recorded death from two years of vape use in the past year.
The DOH said the government is strengthening its engagement with the World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control to address the issue. It added that the Health Promotion Bureau continues to raise awareness in communities, schools, and workplaces about the dangers of vaping and smoking.
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Environment, Liability Remain Focus as COP11 Concludes
The Eleventh session of the Conference of the Parties (COP11) to the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control closed in Geneva after six days with a reported 1,600 participants and 160 Parties, delivering a series of major decisions aimed at strengthening global tobacco control. Delegates focused heavily on environmental protections, sustainable funding for tobacco control programs, and forward-looking regulatory strategies addressing emerging nicotine products.
Among the more significant conclusions was a decision urging Parties to consider stricter regulation of tobacco and nicotine product components—including cigarette filters, electronic devices, and other materials that contribute to environmental pollution. COP11 also reaffirmed domestic resource mobilization as essential for sustainable tobacco control, and advanced efforts under Article 19 of the treaty, encouraging countries to strengthen civil and criminal liability mechanisms targeting the “harms caused by the tobacco industry.” Delegates further considered novel approaches allowed under Article 2.1, signaling readiness among Parties to adopt measures beyond the treaty’s minimum requirements.
COP11 also adopted a decision calling for a total ban on the use and sale of all tobacco products and emerging nicotine products—including heated tobacco, e-cigarettes, disposable vapes, and nicotine pouches—across all United Nations premises worldwide. Discussions also emphasized the growing importance of Article 5.3, which shields policymaking from tobacco industry interference amid rising concerns about marketing tactics for new nicotine products. The conference concluded with the announcement that COP12 and the next Meeting of Parties to the Protocol to Eliminate Illicit Trade in Tobacco Products will convene in Yerevan, Armenia, in 2027.
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NYC, Vape Companies Settle Flavor Dispute
New York City reached a settlement with two e-cigarette wholesalers accused of distributing flavored vapes in violation of the city’s ban, according to Law 360. Under the agreement, EnviroMD Group and GT Imports will stop pushing these products within the five boroughs, facing $1,000 fines for any future violations. The move comes as part of a broader crackdown by the NYC Law Department, which has filed lawsuits against multiple distributors for illegally supplying disposable flavored e-cigarettes.
This settlement is one piece of the city’s aggressive enforcement effort against flavored nicotine products. The administration has pursued both civil penalties and court orders to block sales and distribution, emphasizing its commitment to protecting youth from flavored vape devices.