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  • Illicit Market Threatens Harm Reduction Progress

    Illicit Market Threatens Harm Reduction Progress

    The growing illicit nicotine market is creating risks for brand protection, consumer safety and tobacco harm reduction, speakers said at GTNF 2026 in Lisbon during the “Playing Defense – Brand Protection and its Impact on Harm Reduction and Consumers” panel. Following a keynote address, Lillian Ortega, founder and chief regulatory strategist at WOW Solutions, moderated the panel and said the U.S. unauthorized vape market is already significant and warned that “you can’t enforce your way out of it.” Ortega said an estimated 70% of the U.S. vape market is unauthorized, although the figure does not capture online sales and some vape shops, and argued that regulatory delays and gaps in FDA oversight can leave demand to illicit suppliers. She called for timely and predictable product authorization, better tracking of products entering the U.S. and greater information sharing throughout the supply chain.

    Michael Horowitz, managing counsel at RAI Services Company, said an entrenched illegal market is difficult to reverse, particularly when consumers may not realize they are purchasing unauthorized products. He also pointed to fragmented enforcement and the difficulty of distinguishing unauthorized products from products that are genuinely illicit.

    Abel Vecino, head of illicit trade prevention for Southwest Europe at Philip Morris International, said brand protection is also about protecting consumers as they move away from combustible products. He said criminal organizations are scaling production, moving closer to consumer markets and exploiting enforcement gaps, while adapting to demand for lower-priced products. Vecino called for greater cooperation with law enforcement and proactive partnerships before problems emerge.

    Stevan Vranes, global head of corporate affairs at Imperial Brands, said illicit products are increasingly visible in local communities and legitimate retail channels, while distinguishing legal from illegal products has become more difficult in newer nicotine categories. He said illicit cigarette factories across Europe can now produce up to 1 million cigarettes an hour and that illicit sales are increasingly moving online. Vranes called for a holistic approach, including greater pressure on social media and stronger action against online sales, while acknowledging that authorities cannot physically inspect every container entering global ports.

  • GTNF Keynote Challenges Tobacco Control’s Approach

    GTNF Keynote Challenges Tobacco Control’s Approach

    Benjamin Dessart, head of external affairs at Universal Corporation, used his GTNF 2026 keynote in Lisbon to compare the regulatory approaches of the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), arguing that transparency, stakeholder participation and due process produce stronger policymaking. Dessart said climate policy has embraced collaboration with industry, while an increasingly restrictive interpretation of FCTC Article 5.3 has limited participation by tobacco-industry stakeholders. He contrasted the UNFCCC’s Article 6, which calls for public participation in addressing climate change, with FCTC Article 5.3, which requires parties to protect tobacco-control policies from commercial and other vested interests of the tobacco industry.

    Dessart said the difference has become increasingly visible at the respective Conferences of the Parties, noting that climate COPs provide greater public access and increasingly engage industry, while tobacco COPs have tightened observer and media access. He presented a regression analysis of 48 European countries comparing FCTC implementation levels with changes in tobacco use from 2000 to 2025. According to his presentation, the analysis produced an R-squared of 0.02 and a p-value of 0.32, indicating no statistically significant relationship between the level of FCTC implementation and reductions in tobacco use.

    Dessart pointed to the U.S., which is not a party to the FCTC, as an example of a country that engages stakeholders and has adopted a harm reduction approach. He said U.S. tobacco use declined 23.4% between 2000 and 2025, compared with declines of 25.9% in the United Kingdom, 26.7% in Austria, 30% in Sweden and 33% in Norway. He concluded by calling on industry, farmers, retailers and consumers to participate when governments seek input and said industry must be “a trusted partner” by being transparent, consistent and intellectually honest.

  • Climate Policy and Sustainability Take Center Stage at GTNF 2026

    Climate Policy and Sustainability Take Center Stage at GTNF 2026

    GTNF 2026’s “Innovative Responses to Climate Change & Global Climate Policy” panel examined how the nicotine industry is responding to environmental pressures through sustainability strategies, regulation, and industry-government cooperation. Moderator Ben Dessart, vice president of external affairs at Universal Corporation, opened by stressing the need for industry to “be part of the conversation.”

    Nicole Austin, director of sustainability engagement and strategic partnerships at Philip Morris International, said sustainability must be integrated across business decisions rather than treated as a separate initiative. She identified combustible products as the company’s largest negative environmental impact and smoke-free products as its largest positive contribution, with PMI’s strategy focused on making cigarettes obsolete by addressing both supply and demand. Austin said, “Reacting is much more expensive than predicting,” emphasizing long-term planning to mitigate risk.

    Aylèn Van Isseldyk, founder and director of THR, Ethics and Sustainability, focused on the environmental challenges posed by disposable vaping products. She said the industry cannot allow advances in nicotine delivery to create a new source of environmental harm and argued for proportional policies that consider both human and environmental health while protecting vulnerable populations. Miranda Kinney, senior vice president and global head of corporate affairs and impact at Pyxus, emphasized the need for industry and governments to work together and said environmental efforts should begin with farmers rather than at the manufacturing stage. She said educating farmers about why environmental practices matter can change how they handle materials such as plastic. Tadas Lisauskas, president and co-founder of Greenbutts, said regulation and compliance will be key to driving adoption of biodegradable products, arguing that large companies need regulatory certainty to justify allocating budgets to solutions that consumers may not yet demand.

  • FDA Names Koplow as Tobacco Center Director

    FDA Names Koplow as Tobacco Center Director

    The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has selected Bret Koplow, Ph.D., J.D., as director of the Center for Tobacco Products, giving the center a permanent leader with more than a decade of legal, policy, and regulatory experience at the agency. Koplow has served at FDA since 2011, including as senior counselor to the FDA commissioner, where he focused on regulatory, policy, and operational matters involving tobacco products. He had been serving as CTP’s acting director before the appointment.

    According to the Department of Health and Human Services, Koplow will lead CTP around two priorities: promoting innovation and access to less harmful alternatives for adults who smoke while taking action to protect youth and minors from tobacco and nicotine. His appointment was part of four senior FDA leadership selections announced by HHS, including Jared Seehafer as the agency’s first deputy commissioner for technology and artificial intelligence, Michael Davis as director of the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research and Karim Mikhail as director of the Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research.

    HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said the appointments are intended to advance reforms and strengthen FDA’s leadership in medical innovation. Acting FDA Commissioner Kyle Diamantas said the selections “signal the direction we are heading” as the agency seeks to build its workforce and infrastructure and accelerate innovation across its centers.

  • Surviving a Global Trade System: GTNF 2026

    Surviving a Global Trade System: GTNF 2026

    At GTNF 2026 in Lisbon, Chris Greer, senior vice president for regulatory and external affairs at Stryk Brands, moderated a panel examining how companies can navigate an increasingly fragmented global trade environment. “Surviving in a Global Trade System” focused on cross-border challenges involving taxes, tariffs, regulation, movement of goods and services, and labor, with panelists arguing that increasingly localized requirements are creating high costs and complexity for businesses.

    Greer said the panel was focused on systemic issues that are changing rapidly, including the growing influence of health regulations on international trade. He warned against one-size-fits-all approaches and said excessive non-tariff barriers can reduce market efficiency and contribute to illicit markets.

    Tracy Berry, vice president of tax compliance at Laudisi Enterprises, said the costs of increasingly complex requirements ultimately fall on consumers. She also highlighted the burden on small businesses, pointing to FDA treatment of an artisan pipe maker producing a single pipe in a garage compared with a large manufacturing facility.

    Chris Gemmell, chief product and innovation officer at Greentank Technologies, said the era of a single global product platform is ending as companies adapt products to individual markets. He suggested companies think of products like “Legos,” with modular components that can be changed quickly to meet different regulatory requirements. He also pointed to the cumulative costs of compliance, testing, taxes and tariffs, particularly when compliant companies compete against businesses that do not face the same costs.

    Markus Lindblad, head of legal and external affairs at Haypp Group, said companies may be international in scope but increasingly have to operate locally because regulations differ significantly between countries. He argued that regulators should pursue “purpose-driven regulation” rather than simply adding more rules and said global technology platforms also need greater regulatory attention. Lindblad said companies must consider not only whether they can enter a market but whether the market is stable and provides sufficient conditions to operate.

  • Supply Chain Resilience will Depend on Regulatory Readiness: GTNF26

    Supply Chain Resilience will Depend on Regulatory Readiness: GTNF26

    Suppliers to the nicotine industry will increasingly need to anticipate regulatory changes rather than react to them, according to speakers at GTNF 2026’s panel on global supply-chain challenges and opportunities. Moderated by Laura Leigh Oyler, vice president of regulatory affairs at Haypp Group, the panel emphasized that regulation—not supply disruptions alone—will remain one of the biggest risks facing suppliers as new nicotine products and requirements continue to emerge.

    Ross Kirsh, CEO and founder of Dymapak, said companies will need flexible supply chains and contingency plans rather than attempts to predict every potential disruption. Brands that wait until a regulatory change becomes a rule risk scrambling for solutions and facing delays of months or more. Kirsh also argued that standards should focus on performance rather than prescribe specific products or technologies, allowing innovation to determine the most effective and economical solutions.

    Rahul Mathew, director of sales for next-generation products at Leaf N Beyond, said regulatory changes will continue to influence supply and suppliers will need to build expertise to help customers navigate them. He argued that supply-chain planning should become part of product development itself, with companies preparing for multiple possible outcomes rather than trying to predict a single one. Mathew also pointed to sustainability, scale and science as key considerations as the industry evolves. He said traditional customer-supplier relationships will remain important, but the supply chain will become less efficient unless both sides improve communication and better understand each other’s needs.

    Przemysław Pitura, global head of procurement at Chemnovatic, stressed the importance of knowing the supply chain in detail and maintaining the ability to trace products back through every stage of production. He said suppliers should be involved before a product is finalized because making changes later can be difficult and expensive. Pitura also emphasized the value of developing alternative supply sources before they are needed, saying the best time to build an alternative is when there is no immediate need for one. He noted that changing requirements will continue to create challenges, but companies with experienced people and strong supplier relationships can turn that uncertainty into an advantage.

  • BAT Releases 352-Page Omni Update at GTNF 2026

    BAT Releases 352-Page Omni Update at GTNF 2026

    British American Tobacco released a printed 352-page update to its Omni platform, a compendium of scientific research, evidence, and case studies supporting the company’s approach to tobacco harm reduction. Chief Corporate Officer Kingsley Wheaton announced the release at GTNF 2026 in Lisbon, describing Omni as a resource intended to advance discussion among scientists, public health authorities, regulators, policymakers, and investors.

    “Omni is our platform for gathering evidence based around tobacco harm reduction,” Wheaton said. “What we are launching today is a significant update to it, bringing in the latest case studies, the most current scientific research, and the real-world evidence from markets where smoke-free products are already reaching adult smokers at scale.”

    The updated Omni is organized across 10 chapters covering what BAT describes as the key questions facing the company, the science supporting its smokeless products, and the global tobacco harm reduction evidence base developed over the past decade.

    Wheaton said the platform is intended to be more than a conventional corporate publication. “It’s almost easier to say what Omni isn’t instead of what it is,” he said. “It isn’t a book, a report, or a website, although it can look like all three. It’s a manifesto and a mandate. A manifesto to change and a mandate for action, as we worked toward becoming a predominantly smoke-free business.”

    He said the objective is to encourage scrutiny and discussion rather than present a finished position. “The purpose of Omni is not to tell you what to think. It’s to ignite the conversation with stakeholders, a resource built to be scrutinized, challenged, and built upon. Not a closed document but rather an open one. Because if we’re asking regulators and scientists and public health authorities to engage with the evidence on harm reduction, the very least we owe them is to make that evidence physical, current, and rigorous.”

    BAT says Omni is intended to support its broader A Better Tomorrow strategy and its goal of building a “Smokeless World,” in which smokers who would otherwise continue smoking migrate to smokeless alternatives. The company says the resource is designed to allow readers to move between sections according to their interests while examining BAT’s progress, the scientific evidence surrounding smokeless products, and the wider tobacco harm reduction evidence base.

  • GTNF 2026 Opens with Focus on Harm Reduction, Innovation, Regulation

    GTNF 2026 Opens with Focus on Harm Reduction, Innovation, Regulation

    The Global Tobacco & Nicotine Forum 2026 opened today (Sept. 9) in Lisbon, bringing together industry executives, regulators, public health experts, academics, advocates, investors, and other stakeholders for three days of discussions on the future of tobacco and nicotine. Opening the forum, Beth Oliva, chair of the Nicotine Resource Consortium and GTNF conference chair, said the event has evolved since its launch in Rio de Janeiro in 2008 from a conference into an “idea incubator, connection and networking engine” and an “open and participatory think tank.”

    Oliva said the challenges facing the sector are too large and interconnected for any one group to address alone, emphasizing the importance of bringing different stakeholders together for dialogue. This year’s agenda covers tobacco harm reduction, regulation, innovation, sustainability, global trade, supply chains, illicit trade, and the needs of adults who smoke, with more than 20 new speakers joining the program.

    “The true theme of GTNF is ‘move from conversation to action,’” Oliva said, urging participants to turn the ideas and connections developed during the forum into practical approaches going forward. She said the forum’s mission of “honest dialogue” and finding common ground in evidence “has never been more important or critical to people who smoke.”

  • Report Finds EU Lagging in Fight Against Illicit Tobacco

    Report Finds EU Lagging in Fight Against Illicit Tobacco

    The European Court of Auditors (ECA) says the European Union lacks reliable data on the size and impact of the illicit tobacco market and that fragmented national rules and weak coordination are leaving gaps that criminal groups can exploit. Euractiv reported that the auditors estimate the illicit tobacco trade costs the EU and its member states about €13 billion in lost revenue annually, although the ECA cautioned that the estimate should be treated carefully. Euractiv also highlighted the ECA’s criticism of limited transparency around bilateral agreements between EU governments and tobacco companies to combat illicit trade.

    EUobserver reported that the ECA found one in 10 cigarettes made in the EU is either illegally produced or smuggled, while vapes and heated tobacco products account for 13% of the illicit market by value. EUobserver also said the European Anti-Fraud Office helped prevent €178 million in lost tax revenue in 2025 and that the European Commission has accepted most of the ECA’s recommendations but rejected some proposals, including a coordinated EU monitoring system and a framework for assessing member states’ effectiveness in fighting illicit tobacco.

  • Imperial Acquires Owner of Helwit Nicotine Pouches

    Imperial Acquires Owner of Helwit Nicotine Pouches

    Imperial Brands announced the acquisition of Swedish modern oral nicotine company Yoik Group AB, owner of the Helwit nicotine pouch brand, for an initial SEK 515 million (£39.8 million), plus a performance-based deferred payment over two years. Helwit has a 3.4% share of Sweden’s modern oral nicotine market and is sold online across Europe and in select U.K. retailers.

    The acquisition more than doubles Imperial’s existing modern oral market share in Sweden, where the company operates through Skruf AB. Yoik’s founders and employees will join Imperial, while the Helwit brand will remain focused on its flavor-led portfolio and Swedish heritage. The deal is part of Imperial’s strategy to expand its next-generation product portfolio through bolt-on acquisitions.