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  • Cuba’s Habanos Depending More on Machine-Made Cigars

    Cuba’s Habanos Depending More on Machine-Made Cigars

    Habanos S.A., Cuba’s premium cigar exporter, is increasingly leaning on machine-made cigars produced at the Internacional Cubana de Tabacos (ICT) factory in Havana, according to The Havana Times. Though lacking the prestige of hand-rolled cigars, these products generated $38 million in revenue in 2024, part of Habanos S.A.’s record $827 million annual earnings.

    The factory, a joint venture with Spain’s Tabacalera, runs 64 machines and operates three shifts daily, producing up to 800,000 cigars a day to meet global demand under the Cohiba, Partagás, Montecristo, and Romeo y Julieta brands.

    Industry insiders acknowledge that Habanos’ luxury clientele won’t abandon premium hand-rolled cigars. Yet for now, machine-made alternatives are helping cushion the blow from Cuba’s deepening agricultural and infrastructure crisis, according to the newspaper.

  • AIR Unveils First Sustainability Report and Roadmap

    AIR Unveils First Sustainability Report and Roadmap

    Advanced Inhalation Rituals (AIR) published its inaugural sustainability report, detailing a long-term strategy focused on public health, innovation, and environmental and social responsibility. The report positions AIR as a pioneer in tobacco- and nicotine-free shisha alternatives, highlighting major milestones such as the launch of Zodiac, a tea-based inhalation product, and OOKA, what the company says is the “world’s first pod-based, charcoal-free shisha device,” with over 14,500 devices and 500,000 pods sold to date.

    AIR’s new 2030 Roadmap, aligned with the UN Sustainable Development Goals, centers on five ESG (environmental, social, and governance) pillars: public health and innovation, working conditions, business integrity, environmental impact (notably water usage), and governance. The roadmap includes goals like improving gender diversity in leadership, strengthening supply chain standards, and increasing public education around harm reduction.

    “This report celebrates the huge progress we have already made in optimizing all aspects of our operations, but we are also aware that we have a responsibility to accelerate our ESG efforts over the coming years to protect the world around us,” AIR CEO Stuart Brazier said. “As the global leader in our industry, our purpose is to transform the sector by creating a safer, cleaner, and more sustainable inhalation experience whilst also preserving the rich social and cultural value of shisha.”

    The full report is available at www.air.global.

  • Eastern Company Caps Cig Prices After Egypt Ups Taxes

    Eastern Company Caps Cig Prices After Egypt Ups Taxes

    Eastern Company announced that beginning today (July 1), prices for the Egyptian cigarette maker will be capped at EGP 45 ($0.90) per pack following recent tax bracket changes. Company CEO Hany Aman said the company had reached the upper limit of the previous tax bracket, and maintaining those prices was causing losses as rising raw material and transportation costs significantly increased production expenses.

    The new tax laws cap the lowest-tier cigarettes at EGP 48 ($0.96) and the mid-tier at EGP 69 ($1.38). Previously, the lowest tier retailed for EGP 38 ($0.76) per pack, with 60-65% of the price collected being tax. This past weekend, the government amended the Value Added Tax (VAT) on cigarettes, which will increase the minimum and maximum retail prices by 12% annually for three years starting in November.

    Sales were paused on Sunday and Monday to adjust pricing, with the new rates taking effect on Tuesday. Aman said the company is still assessing the full impact of the updated tax regulations and may provide further updates soon.

  • Long-Standing Greek Tobacco Practice Now Criminal

    Long-Standing Greek Tobacco Practice Now Criminal

    Beginning today (July 1), Greece is implementing new restrictions to curb youth access to tobacco and alcohol, with Health Minister Adonis Georgiades announcing that the sale of tobacco products to minors will now carry criminal penalties. Under the new law, adults will be banned from sending minors to purchase cigarettes, a long-standing practice in the country.

    “We are making a very strict bill to protect our minors from both alcohol and tobacco,” Georgiades said. “The kiosk attendant, to give a packet of cigarettes to someone, must ask for identification and establish that they are an adult – otherwise they are criminally liable.”

    The new legislation, soon to be published in the Official Gazette, also includes a 16-gram cap on the nicotine levels in tobacco pouches. Some products were recently found to contain as much as 70 grams of nicotine.

  • Thai Police Raid Illicit Vape Facility

    Thai Police Raid Illicit Vape Facility

    Thai police raided a large-scale illegal e-cigarette manufacturing facility this past weekend in the Khu Khot subdistrict, seizing more than 21,000 e-cigarette devices and arresting 29 suspects. Officers stormed a three-story commercial building in Lam Luk Ka district, Pathum Thani Province, which had been transformed into a covert production hub. Behind the main office and worker accommodation, police discovered a sprawling three to four rai (4,800 to 6,400 square meters) factory producing disposable and refillable e-cigarettes.

    Police confiscated 6.1 million baht ($189,000) of illegal products, along with assembly tools, sealing machines, and e-liquid filling equipment. Authorities said the factory began illegal production in early 2025, and had recently begun transitioning from disposable to refillable models, and was in the process of installing a conveyor-belt system to boost output.

  • Cook Islands Looking to Raise Tobacco Taxes 30%

    Cook Islands Looking to Raise Tobacco Taxes 30%

    The Cook Islands Cabinet approved a 30% increase in tobacco taxes, aiming to “curb high smoking rates and reduce the burden of non-communicable diseases across the country.” Backed by the Ministry of Health and Te Marae Ora, the island’s main healthcare provider, the new policy will raise tobacco taxes by NZ$125.50 ($76.56) per 1,000 cigarettes or per kilogram of tobacco each year for the next three years. Beginning in 2028, an additional 5% annual increase will be added.

    If passed in Parliament, the tax hike would drive up the average price of a 20-pack of cigarettes from NZ$26.88 ($16.40) to NZ$35.54 ($21.68) by July 2027.

    According to the 2022 STEPS health survey, 35.5% of Cook Islands adults aged 25–64 smoke, including 44% of men between the ages of 18 and 44.

  • Nepal Court Lifts Ban on E-Cigarettes

    Nepal Court Lifts Ban on E-Cigarettes

    The Patan High Court in Nepal ordered the government to lift its restrictions on the import and sale of e-cigarettes, allowing vape businesses to resume operations. According to myRepublica, a Division Bench of Justices Kabi Prasad Neupane and Hemant Rawal issued the verdict in favor of Vape Mandu Traders, who filed a writ against several government bodies, including the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Health, and the Customs Department.

    The court ruled that the government’s attempt to enforce a vape ban, based on a 2015 tobacco directive, was not legally sufficient to justify blocking trade. Customs offices halted vape imports after circulars were issued by the Ministry of Health’s education and communication wing.

    In the last fiscal year, Nepal collected over Rs 230 million ($1.7 million) in customs revenue from vape imports, highlighting the sector’s economic footprint.

  • Illinois Raises Taxes on All Tobacco and Nicotine Products

    Illinois Raises Taxes on All Tobacco and Nicotine Products

    Several new Illinois tax increases take effect today (July 1), including for gasoline, sports bets, and tobacco and nicotine products. The state is attempting to raise $30 million in new revenue.

    The tax on tobacco and nicotine products other than cigarettes, including vapes, pouches, and cigars, will increase to 45% across the board, regardless of the previous tax rate. Tobacco retailers will also see their annual license fee double, going from $75 to $150 per year.

  • Croatia Raises Taxes on Tobacco Products

    Croatia Raises Taxes on Tobacco Products

    Effective today (July 1), in order to “bolster public finances while also supporting public health,” Croatia implemented new excise duty regulations on tobacco products in a move expected to boost state revenues by €74.7 million by year’s end. The Ministry of Finance said the impact on cigarette retail prices will be minimal, with “no more than a 20-cent increase per pack.”

    Under the updated rules, the specific excise duty on cigarettes will rise from €53.10 to €56.10 per 1,000 cigarettes, while the minimum excise duty will increase to €124.20. Fine-cut and other smoking tobacco will increase from €114.15 to €120.50/kg, heated tobacco will increase from €185.82 to €198.50/kg, cigars and cigarillos will be taxed at €120.50 per 1,000 pieces, e-liquids will be taxed at €0.20 per milliliter, and new tobacco products will be taxed at €120.50/kg.

  • Truth Initiative Warns Smoking Depictions Threaten Real Decline

    Truth Initiative Warns Smoking Depictions Threaten Real Decline

    According to Truth Initiative’s latest While You Were Streaming report, tobacco depictions in movies jumped by 70% in 2023, which was the first increase since 2020. Meanwhile, 70% of binge-watched shows popular with 15- to 24-year-olds featured tobacco use, according to the seventh-annual report.

    “While youth vaping is down, on-screen tobacco imagery threatens to undo that progress,” said Dr. Jessica Rath, senior vice president of the Truth Initiative Schroeder Institute. “Young people deserve content and on-screen resources that support their well-being — not imagery that makes them more likely to start smoking or vaping.”

    “Widespread tobacco imagery, often portrayed as edgy, rebellious, or cool, risks normalizing nicotine use and slowing the current positive momentum in prevention,” the report said. “In 2023 alone, nearly 17 million young people were exposed to streaming shows that featured tobacco. Research from Truth Initiative shows that the more young people see tobacco imagery while binge-watching, the more likely they are to report intentions to vape or smoke in the future.”