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  • Zimbabwe: Push for Local Participation, More Tobacco Processing

    Zimbabwe: Push for Local Participation, More Tobacco Processing

    Industry experts are calling for a more inclusive and diversified tobacco sector in Zimbabwe, urging greater opportunities for small-scale indigenous players in value addition and exports.

    Speaking at the 2025 Tobacco Conference, Mutandwa Mutasa, from the Zimbabwe Progressive Tobacco Farmers Association, said the industry remains dominated by foreign companies, with locals largely excluded from lucrative processing and manufacturing stages. He proposed measures including indigenous export quotas, government-backed production guarantees, and mandatory sourcing of tobacco volumes through local companies. Mutasa also called for more indigenous professionals in key industry roles.

    While land reform has expanded primary production to nearly 150,000 farmers, 90% of Zimbabwe’s tobacco is still exported semi-processed, with most profits captured abroad. Experts say a strong indigenization roadmap is needed to secure a larger share of the value chain for local players.

  • Philippines Warns Against Deadly ‘Tuklaw’ Cigarettes

    Philippines Warns Against Deadly ‘Tuklaw’ Cigarettes

    The Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) and Dangerous Drugs Board warned the public to avoid “tuklaw,” or black cigarettes, after reports of teenagers suffering seizure-like symptoms.

    Tests show the product contains nicotine levels up to 9% and synthetic cannabinoids, which can trigger psychosis and hallucinations. PDEA chief Isagani Nerez said tuklaw, believed to originate from Vietnam’s “thuoc lao” tobacco, is being smuggled into the country and sold online.

    Authorities plan to work with health agencies and law enforcement to curb its spread.

  • Pakistani Tobacco Growers Struggle to Sell Surplus Crop

    Pakistani Tobacco Growers Struggle to Sell Surplus Crop

    Tobacco farmers in Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Swabi district are enduring three to four days in open-air queues to sell flue-cured Virginia tobacco to multinational companies, as a surplus crop creates a buyers’ bottleneck.

    While those with purchase agreements secure better prices, many growers without contracts are left waiting with no guaranteed sale. Officials estimate this year’s production at over 100 million kilograms, 20 million kg above the announced combined demand declared by 80 purchasing companies. Farmers say selling to smaller national buyers often means delayed payments, sometimes for months or years. A parliamentary sub-committee will visit tobacco-growing districts to address the crisis, which follows crop losses from hail and storms.

    Last fiscal year, the federal government collected Rs300 billion ($1.1 billion) in taxes from the sector, mostly from two multinational firms, Pakistan Tobacco Company and Philip Morris International, raising concerns about market imbalance and buyer accountability.

  • Nigeria Urged to Double Tobacco Tax

    Nigeria Urged to Double Tobacco Tax

    Nigerian advocacy group CAPPA has urged the government to raise excise taxes on tobacco products to 100%, saying the move could save thousands of lives and recover ₦526 billion ($347 million) annually in health and productivity losses.

    CAPPA said the tobacco industry continues to target youths with cigarettes, vapes, and e-cigarettes despite nearly 30,000 tobacco-related deaths a year. The group called for swift action on a delayed 50% tax proposal and alignment with stronger tobacco controls seen in other African countries.

  • Malaysia Moving Toward Vape Ban

    Malaysia Moving Toward Vape Ban

    Malaysian Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad said he will present an expert committee’s recommendation to ban electronic cigarettes and vape to the Cabinet once its study is complete. He said the move is “no longer a matter of if” and follows the enforcement of the Control of Smoking Products for Public Health Act 2024, which has cut the number of smoking product variants in the market by nearly 60%.

    “With strict enforcement, I am confident we can effectively regulate cigarette and vape sales,” Dzulkefly said. “Most importantly, we must protect non-adults, students, and our children from exposure to vape. The Act will be enforced firmly to regulate all smoking products, including vape, for public health.”

  • Canopy Growth Q1 Revenue Jumps on Strong Cannabis Sales

    Canopy Growth Q1 Revenue Jumps on Strong Cannabis Sales

    Canopy Growth Corp. posted a 9% Y-Y revenue increase to $72.1M in Q1 FY2026, driven by a 43% surge in Canada adult-use cannabis sales and strong demand for new products, including Claybourne infused pre-rolls. The company achieved $17M of its planned $20M in annualized savings, cutting SG&A expenses by 21%. Gross margin fell to 25% from 35%, hurt by lower Storz & Bickel vaporizer sales and a shift toward higher-cost cannabis products.

    International cannabis revenue rose 4% to $9M, with supply chain upgrades expected to boost European margins later this year. Canopy plans to launch a new Storz & Bickel vaporizer in the second half of 2025.

    Net loss from continuing operations narrowed 21% to $23M, while adjusted EBITDA loss widened to $8M.

  • Hank Mozingo, Retired Tobacco Associates President, Passes Away at 57

    Hank Mozingo, Retired Tobacco Associates President, Passes Away at 57

    Henry “Hank” Mozingo, the esteemed retired president of Tobacco Associates, Inc., and a respected figure in the U.S. flue-cured tobacco industry, passed away. His passing was announced by Corporate Secretary Veronica Martins and the Tobacco Associates Board of Directors, expressing deep sadness at the loss of a leader who left an indelible mark on the organization and the livelihoods of U.S. growers.

    Mozingo’s career with Tobacco Associates spanned over three decades, beginning in 1990 with his first trip to Korea. He dedicated himself to expanding markets for U.S. flue-cured tobacco, fostering relationships with industry leaders, and promoting the quality of American leaf globally. His vision led to the development of new brands in several countries, including “Türkiye”, Taiwan, Korea, Thailand, Hungary, Jerusalem, the Philippines, and Vietnam. Notably, Mozingo was the first U.S. tobacco official to visit VINATABA after the normalization of U.S.-Vietnam relations in 1995.

    Mozingo is remembered by colleagues as a gentle, honorable, and unwavering individual who treated those he worked with as family.

    A Celebration of Life will be held  August 10, at 3 p.m. at Calvary Baptist Church, 134 S Peace Haven Rd, Winston-Salem, North Carolina. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made via the family’s GoFundMe, which will support the local Humane Society and establish a scholarship in Mozingo’s name at his alma mater, James Madison University.

  • China Fuels Zimbabwe’s Record-Breaking $1.2B Tobacco Season

    China Fuels Zimbabwe’s Record-Breaking $1.2B Tobacco Season

    Zimbabwe’s 2025 tobacco marketing season closed yesterday (August 7), with farmers earning a record $1.2 billion from 352.7 million kilograms of the golden leaf, significantly surpassing the 300 million kg target. About 11% of total production was sold to China, according to the Tobacco Industry & Marketing Board (TIMB).

    “The global demand for tobacco also pushed the prices,” TIMB chairman Patrick Devenish said in an interview. “The Chinese are our biggest customers and the demand for nicotine through the vaping business also had a good effect for us.”

    According to TIMB data, the average 2025 price was $3.32/kg, slightly down from last year’s $3.43. Auction prices peaked at $4.99/kg, while contract growers saw highs of $6.30/kg. Lands and Agriculture Permanent Secretary Prof. Obert Jiri hailed the season as a milestone for the Tobacco Value Chain Transformation Plan, urging greater local value addition, which currently stands at 10.15%, toward a 30% goal under the National Development Strategy 1.

    With 93% of production under contract farming, the government is working to refine the system and has proposed a $50 million agriculture fund. Stakeholders emphasized the need for local financing to reduce reliance on foreign currency and boost cigarette manufacturing, which currently produces 4 billion sticks annually against a 17 billion-stick capacity.

    Zimbabwe, the world’s fifth-largest tobacco producer, has over 140,000 active farmers.

  • California Drafting Rules for Unflavored Tobacco List

    California Drafting Rules for Unflavored Tobacco List

    Five years after passing a flavored tobacco ban, the California Attorney General’s Office this week released a draft detailing how tobacco manufacturers can request placement of products on the state’s Unflavored Tobacco List (UTL), a key requirement under the state’s flavored tobacco ban. The list is essentially the state’s official registry of tobacco products that are certified as not having a “characterizing flavor” — meaning they don’t taste or smell like menthol, fruit, candy, mint, vanilla, chocolate, or any other non-tobacco flavor.

    According to the draft, companies wanting to sell tobacco and nicotine products must file an online application for each “Brand Style” they want listed, certify that the product has no characterizing flavor, waive sovereign immunity, consent to California court jurisdiction, and submit a sample in its largest retail package. A $300 fee per product must be paid online, and applications must be truthful under penalty of perjury. Products submitted by the initial deadline will be considered for the first official list, set for release by Dec. 31, 2025.

    Products that require federal premarket authorization but haven’t received it are generally ineligible—unless they meet specific conditions, such as being on the U.S. market by certain dates and having timely FDA applications still pending. Exceptions apply if the FDA says no authorization is needed, a court vacates a denial, or the product is a variant of an already-listed brand.

    “The UTL will cause many companies to stop selling products in California because of the registration process,” wrote Charlie Minato for Halfwheel. “Many might choose not to sell limited edition cigars in California because of the added paperwork. Furthermore, because companies will need prior authorization to sell the products, it might mean that California retailers will receive delayed shipments of new items as cigar companies wait for the attorney general’s office to approve a product for the UTL.

    “It’s not just a problem for California-based retailers; this would apply to all shipments going to California, meaning that a retailer in Florida would run the risk of fines if they were to ship a product not on the UTL to a consumer in California.”

    See the full draft here.

  • Study: Curiosity-Based Messaging Reduces Nicotine Misperceptions

    Study: Curiosity-Based Messaging Reduces Nicotine Misperceptions

    Many Americans still misunderstand nicotine’s role in smoking, with some wrongly believing it causes cancer or isn’t addictive, according to researchers from the University of Pennsylvania’s Annenberg School for Communication and Rutgers University’s Institute for Nicotine & Tobacco Studies.

    In a new Scientific Reports study, researchers focused on three groups of smokers who have “been targeted by the tobacco industry and tend to hold more false beliefs about nicotine” than other populations: Black/African American adults, rural adults, and young adults.

    The study found that messages designed to spark curiosity—such as posing questions or sharing surprising statistics—were more effective at correcting nicotine false beliefs than fact-only statements, though the best approach varied by audience. The findings could help shape public education ahead of a proposed FDA rule to cap nicotine levels in cigarettes, which remain harmful regardless of nicotine content.