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  • Don Emmanuel and Duran Cigars Join Creativas Group PR

    Don Emmanuel and Duran Cigars Join Creativas Group PR

    Creativas Group Public Relations announced the addition of two new clients, Don Emmanuel Cigars and Duran Cigars. The company will oversee public relations and communications initiatives for both brands, including media outreach, event coordination, and product news.

    Duran Cigars is a premium cigar company that crafts it products in “authentic Cuban tradition,” while Don Emmanuel Cigars “brings a boutique sensibility to the premium cigar world—blending tradition, artistry, and authenticity in every hand-rolled creation.”

  • SA’s Cigarette Market ‘Captured by Criminals’

    SA’s Cigarette Market ‘Captured by Criminals’

    South Africa’s cigarette trade has been “captured by criminal syndicates,” with three-fourths of all cigarettes now sold coming from illicit sources, the South African Revenue Service (SARS) said this week. Speaking to Parliament’s health committee on October 22, SARS Commissioner Edward Kieswetter said the illegal trade has drained billions in tax revenue and poses a growing threat to the economy. Research from the University of Cape Town, Ipsos, and Tax Justice SA shows the illicit tobacco market has ballooned from 19% in 2014 to 75% in 2025, costing the state roughly R84 billion ($4.9 billion) in excise losses between 2020 and 2022.

    Kieswetter described the trade as “industrial-scale criminality,” involving money laundering through gold refineries, property schemes, and offshore investments. He linked the rise of illicit tobacco to weakened enforcement between 2014 and 2018, during the Zuma era, which saw oversight dismantled and revenue stagnate despite steady consumption.

    The South African Police Service (SAPS) confirmed that the illicit cigarette trade has become a “national priority threat” linked to organized crime, saying the trade now operates through five-tiered syndicates spanning financiers, smugglers, and distributors connected to drug trafficking and human smuggling networks. Most contraband enters through Zimbabwe, Mozambique, and Botswana, it said.

  • Taiwan Allows Display of Legal Heated-Tobacco Devices

    Taiwan Allows Display of Legal Heated-Tobacco Devices

    Today (October 24), Taiwan’s Health Minister Shih Chung-liang said that licensed retailers may display legal heated tobacco devices to help consumers distinguish them from illegal products. The clarification follows earlier confusion from last week when the HPA incorrectly announced all displays were banned. Shih noted that the approved devices have passed safety and design reviews to avoid enticing youth, and retailers are allowed to use displays that show the brand and prices, but should not “promote” them. The ministry is also considering requiring warning labels on heating device packaging.

    Taiwan legalized heated tobacco in March 2023, with the first batch of 14 products and four component devices approved for sale in October 2025.

  • Pakistani Court Strikes Down Local Tobacco Excise Duty

    Pakistani Court Strikes Down Local Tobacco Excise Duty

    Pakistan’s Peshawar High Court declared the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government’s provincial excise duty on unmanufactured tobacco unconstitutional. The bench ruled in favor of multiple petitions filed by leading tobacco companies, including Pakistan Tobacco Company, stating that the relevant provisions of the KP Finance Act, 2024 conflicted with the Constitution.

    The petitioners challenged the Rs50 ($0.18) per kilogram levy on unmanufactured tobacco, arguing that excise duties fall exclusively under federal jurisdiction under the Federal Legislative List, and that the provincial assembly had no authority to impose a parallel duty. Lawyers for the petitioners emphasized that federal excise duty (FED) on tobacco is already administered by the Federal Board of Revenue under the Federal Excise Act, 2005, and the KP law encroached on parliamentary powers.

    The court sided with the petitioners, agreeing that following the Eighteenth Amendment, the omission of the concurrent legislative list gave parliament exclusive power over matters such as excise duties, making the provincial tobacco levy ultra vires.

  • Vape, Nicotine, Tobacco Law Symposium Dates Announced

    Vape, Nicotine, Tobacco Law Symposium Dates Announced

    Keller and Heckman announced that it will be hosting its 10th Annual E-Vapor, Nicotine, and Tobacco Law Symposium, taking place on May 4 – 5, 2026, in Las Vegas, NV, at the Paris Las Vegas hotel. This two-day seminar is designed to provide in-depth knowledge on legal, regulatory, and scientific issues essential for tobacco, nicotine, and CBD/hemp product manufacturers, suppliers, distributors, and retailers. 

    Registration for the symposium will begin in December. For questions related to the program, contact Emma Kyle at kyle@khlaw.com.

  • HQD Launches GO Disposable E-Cigarette in the U.S.

    HQD Launches GO Disposable E-Cigarette in the U.S.

    HQD introduced its new disposable e-cigarette, the HQD GO, across its official website and multiple U.S. retail channels. The device is “rated for up to 35,000 puffs, features Soft, Regular, and Boost power settings, and offers adjustable airflow.” The U.S. version contains 30 mg/ml (3%) nicotine and is priced at approximately $29.99. The HQD GO is available in six colors and 14 flavors, including fruit, chocolate, tobacco, and cooling varieties.

    Retailers such as ohmcityvapes list the HQD GO with 18 ml of e-liquid, which equates to roughly 1,944 puffs per ml, “making it higher than comparable devices like the VOZOL NEON PLUG MAX and SKE 30K Pro Max.”

  • BAT Italia Unveils glo Hilo, a ‘New Era in Heated Tobacco’

    BAT Italia Unveils glo Hilo, a ‘New Era in Heated Tobacco’

    BAT Italia introduced glo Hilo, its latest tobacco heating device, “marking a technological leap in the heated tobacco sector.” Italy is among the first countries globally to roll out this new ecosystem, featuring sticks entirely made in Italy.

    Speaking at the event, Fabio de Petris, CEO of BAT Italia, highlighted the company’s growth and investment plans in Italy. He said that Italy represents a key market for new product categories, with one in three consumers using next-generation tobacco products, and outlined BAT’s €500 million five-year investment plan in its Trieste production hub. The facility, which now serves 14 countries, has expanded with 16 additional production lines for heated tobacco, driving new hires and reinforcing Italy’s strategic role in BAT’s global innovation strategy.

  • NY AG Moves to Shut Down Repeat Vape Lawbreakers

    NY AG Moves to Shut Down Repeat Vape Lawbreakers

    New York Attorney General Letitia James has filed a nearly 50-page petition in Otsego County State Supreme Court seeking to permanently close two smoke shops and bar their owners from the vape industry. The complaint alleges that Eysa Sharhan and Ahmed Mozeb repeatedly sold banned flavored vape products, sold to minors, and operated without proper state licenses.

    The petition targets Pop-In Smoke & Vape LLC, Pufftopia LLC, and Royalty Tobacco LLC, noting that the owners repeatedly changed business names and locations after license revocations to continue illegal operations. The state is seeking to seize illicit profits and collect nearly $200,000 in unpaid fines, arguing that the defendants “continue to operate and sell flavored vapor products, endangering the health and safety of New Yorkers.” This action follows a broader February lawsuit accusing major vape distributors of contributing to the youth vaping epidemic.

  • WHO Secretariat Accuses Tobacco Industry of Interference

    WHO Secretariat Accuses Tobacco Industry of Interference

    The Secretariat of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) accused the tobacco industry of ramping up efforts to interfere with international tobacco control policymaking in advance of the Conference of the Parties (COP11) beginning November 17 in Geneva, according to the Albanian Daily News (ADN). Andrew Black, acting head of the WHO FCTC Secretariat, condemned what he described as deliberate attempts to weaken global health measures.

    “With strategies varying from lobbying to outright attempts to manipulate delegations, the tobacco industry’s tactics are a cause for serious concern,” Black was quoted by the ADN. “This is not just lobbying; it is a deliberate strategy to try to derail consensus and weaken measures to further the treaty’s implementation. Tobacco industry interference is one of the biggest constraints and barriers to the implementation of the Convention. The Secretariat strongly urges Parties, civil society, and other stakeholders working to support tobacco control to remain vigilant against the industry’s tactics and misinformation.”

    The COP11 session will bring together representatives from across the globe to discuss new policies to curb nicotine addiction, protect human health, and address environmental harms linked to tobacco.

  • UK Set to Miss 2030 Smoke-Free Target, New Analysis Finds

    UK Set to Miss 2030 Smoke-Free Target, New Analysis Finds

    A new analysis by Haypp, in collaboration with Swedish economist David Sundén, shows that the UK is unlikely to achieve its goal of being smoke-free by 2030 if current trends continue. Based on smoking rate declines across the UK and EU, England is projected to reach smoke-free status in 2032, Wales in 2033, Scotland in 2034, and Northern Ireland not until 2037. The study defines smoke-free as having less than 5% of the population smoking daily, in line with the World Health Organization criteria.

    The report highlights Sweden as a global leader, set to become smoke-free on October 25, 2025, driven by high cigarette taxes and widespread access to alternatives like snus and nicotine pouches. In comparison, the UK’s overall daily smoking rate remains at 11.9%, with rates among young adults (18–24) at 9.8%. Sweden’s young-adult smoking rate is 2.3%.

    Sundén notes that while alternatives such as vapes have helped reduce smoking, the rate of decline is slowing and some regions have even seen slight increases over the past year.

    The analysis also points to the potential public health impact if the UK adopted Sweden’s harm reduction strategies. Markus Lindblad, Haypp’s Director of External Affairs, emphasized that the UK has an opportunity to follow Sweden’s approach, using alternative nicotine products to accelerate the transition away from combustible tobacco as Parliament considers the Tobacco and Vapes Bill.