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  • Thailand’s Tiered Tobacco Tax System Under Fire

    Thailand’s Tiered Tobacco Tax System Under Fire

    Dr. Roengrudee Patanavanich, an academic at Mahidol University’s Faculty of Medicine, said Thailand’s Excise Department is considering a new tax structure for cigarettes to replace the current system, which has been in effect for almost four years. At present, a two-tier system is applied to excise duties levied on cigarettes, which comprises a 25% tax on cigarette packs with a retail price of up to 72 baht ($2.16) to ease the burden on low-income earners, and 42% for packs priced higher than 72 baht. Packs are also subject to an additional tax of 1.25 baht (3.8 cents) per cigarette, regardless of the retail price.

    Academics say the tiered system has neither curbed illegal cigarettes, increased state revenue, nor prevented new smokers, and are calling on the government to restructure it to a single excise tax rate as recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO).

    Roengrudee said under the previous non-tiered system, government tax revenue increased from 13.6 billion ($408 million) in 1990 to 68.6 billion ($2 billion) in 2017 even as smoking rates declined 12%. She said revenue rates have dropped steadily since the tiered system was introduced in 2017, including a 15-year low of 51.24 billion ($1.5 billion) last year 

    “Since the two-tiered tax system was introduced in 2017, the smoking rate has not fallen, while the Finance Ministry has failed to achieve its goal of collecting 60 billion baht ($1.8 billion) in cigarette tax annually,” Roengrudee said. “The problem of illicit cigarettes also remains unsolved. The WHO presented an analysis of the cigarette tax between 2018 and 2019 to the Excise Department. The WHO suggested Thailand should adopt a single tax rate of 40% and impose an additional tax of 1.25 baht per cigarette.”

    Dr Prakit Vathesatogkit, executive secretary of the Action on Smoking and Health Foundation, spoke out against the Thailand’s Authority of Tobacco’s proposal to change to a three-tiered tax structure. He said that would be a retrograde step, as other countries are shifting to a single-tax rate in line with the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control. With the proposed three-tiered structure, the price of cigarettes produced by the TAOT would fall, not different from the prices of illicit cigarettes that avoid taxes, Dr Prakit said, adding this will also lead to cheaper cigarettes being imported from foreign producers to compete with the TAOT’s cigarettes.

    “To tackle cigarette tax avoidance, the government must tighten controls on illicit cigarettes instead of reducing taxes or using multiple-tiered tax systems. Cheaper prices will prompt more people to smoke,” Prakit said.

  • Cambodia PM: E-Cigarette Investment Not Welcome  

    Cambodia PM: E-Cigarette Investment Not Welcome  

    Cambodia’s Prime Minister Hun Manet said the country does not welcome investment in e-cigarettes, even if the products are being solely exported. He said that today (May 5), speaking at the official launch of the National Cancer Control Plan (NCCP) 2025–2030.

     “If investors come for other types of investments, I welcome them,” he said. “But for e-cigarettes, Cambodia can say, ‘No need — please go elsewhere.’”

    He also issued a strong appeal to the public, particularly young people, urging them not to use e-cigarettes.

    “Please don’t think it’s cool to smoke or vape,” he said. “Instead, focus on your studies and strive to become someone recognized for your achievements.”

    Cambodia has banned the import, trade, and use of e-cigarettes, shishas, and heated tobacco products (HTPs) since 2014.

  • Brian King Joins Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids

    Brian King Joins Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids

    Yesterday (May 1), the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids today named Brian King as Executive Vice President for U.S. Programs to lead the organization’s work at the federal, state and local levels. Last month King was forced out of his role as the director of the U.S. Food & Drug Administration’s (FDA) Center for Tobacco Products (CTP).

    “Brian King is extraordinarily qualified to lead our U.S. programs at this critical time.,” said Yolonda C. Richardson, president and CEO of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids. “Brian has dedicated his career to advancing science-based policies and programs that reduce tobacco use and its devastating consequences. His leadership, passion and breadth of knowledge and experience will guide us in the next phase of our work to protect children and end the death and disease caused by tobacco.”

    Under King’s leadership, the CTP was besieged by criticism from all sides, including politicians, anti-smoking advocates, and tobacco and vaping companies, as the FDA rejected applications for millions of flavored e-cigarettes, citing insufficient data that the products would help adult smokers while not becoming popular with underage kids. Those rejections resulted in multiple lawsuits against the FDA from vape makers.

    Prior to joining FDA, King served as the Deputy Director for Research Translation in CDC’s Office on Smoking and Health and as Executive Editor of CDC’s Morbidity & Mortality Weekly Report. He holds a doctorate and M.P.H. in Epidemiology from the State University of New York at Buffalo.

  • Radloff Tabbed to Head USTC

    Radloff Tabbed to Head USTC

    The U.S. Tobacco Cooperative’s (USTC) board of directors appointed Ron Radloff as president and Chief Executive Officer. Most recently serving as senior vice president of operations, Radloff joined USTC in July 2016 as the director of finance at USTC’s manufacturing operations, U.S. Flue Cured Tobacco Growers, and has held a variety of positions at USFC, including director of manufacturing and operations. Before joining USTC, Radloff served as a controller for Mohawk Industries, assistant controller of Daltile, and held engineering and finance positions with Norfolk Southern and IBM.

    “Ron brings fresh experience and leadership to guide us forward,” Danny Watkins, USTC chairman, said. “At U.S. Tobacco Cooperative, we take great pride in our longstanding commitment to excellence. Ron is poised to uphold and build upon that standard.”

  • Continuous Verification Vape ID Files for PMTA

    Continuous Verification Vape ID Files for PMTA

    IKE Tech LLC announced today (May 1) that it has filed a component Premarket Tobacco Product Application (PMTA) and Tobacco Product Master File (TPMF) with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for its blockchain-based Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) System-on-a-Chip with the smartphone-enabled identity and age-verification IKE Mobile Application.

    “This marks the first-ever complete PMTA submission for a standalone, scalable age-gating component that provides real-time, continuous age verification at the point-of-use for electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS),” the company said in a press release. “The IKE System is designed for universal integration across all ENDS devices, utilizing unique blockchain-based tokenization technology to further ensure user privacy and security.”

    IKE Tech said in a multi-center Human Factors Validation Study submitted as part of the PMTA, the system proved to be 100% effective in preventing device activation for anyone under the age of 21. The company has formally requested an expedited review of its application, emphasizing the system’s potential to enhance public health.

    “This is a major milestone for IKE Tech and the ENDS category,” said John Patterson, president of IKE Tech. “We’re not just building technology. We’re paving a new regulatory framework that gives the FDA and manufacturers powerful tools to safeguard public health and ensure adult-only access to vaping products. With proven, scalable age-gating technology built into ENDS devices, the sector now has a real opportunity to eliminate underage vaping for good.”

    Unlike existing solutions that allow permanent access after a single verification, IKE’s system requires continuous verification to maintain device access. The Human Factors Validation study showed 91% of users (aged 18-67) rated the app as “Extremely Easy” or “Very Easy” to use, with a user error rate of less than 0.8%. 

    Read more about IKE Tech here.

  • Dominoes Falling in Cigar Tariff Increases

    Dominoes Falling in Cigar Tariff Increases

    When President Donald Trump announced the United States’ new tariff policy on April 2, many tobacco enthusiasts wondered how the premium cigar industry would react. A casual poll by Halfwheel said half the cigar manufacturers were going to raise prices due to the tariffs, but for more than a month, they took a wait-and-see approach to see what their competitors did. It seems the first domino fell April 29, when Perdomo became the first cigar company to up its prices, 25 cents per cigar, because of the tariffs.

    On April 30, both CLE Cigar Co. and RoMa Craft Tobac announced price increases effective May 5 due to tariffs, according to Halfwheel.

    CLE Cigar Co. said cigars up to 52 ring gauge will increase 20 cents on the wholesale price, while cigars 54 ring gauge and larger will increase 30 cents.

    “We have to increase prices starting Monday, May 5th,” said Christian Eiroa, the company’s founder, in a letter to retailers. “We have waited as long as we could, optimistic that the tariffs would be reversed, but no such luck.”

    Skip Martin, co-founder of RoMa Craft Tobac, said the increases will typically be less than 5%, but there are some SKUs that are increasing by more than 10%.

    “As the tariffs are assessed on our import price, and not on our wholesale price, the impact varies based on how much margin we have built into our wholesale prices,” said Martin. “In most cases, we are absorbing some of the tariffs and not passing them on to the retailer, knowing that the retailer will keystone any increase we pass onto them, doubling the impact on our consumers. Given our more generous margins on LEs, these are generally affected the least. Given our very tight margins on Maestranza, this brand is affected the most severely.”

    Martin also said that if the tariffs were removed, RoMa Craft would not lower prices. This, according to Halfwheel, is likely to be the strategy that most cigar companies take.

    “Should the unlikely reversal of the tariffs occur, we will not reduce our prices as this would only devalue our retailer’s inventory. It would delay any future price increase and could possibly allow us to do more in terms of discounts and free goods to support our retailers’ ability to drive sales of our brands.”

  • Top Tobacco’s $1.1M Verdict Likely to Stand

    Top Tobacco’s $1.1M Verdict Likely to Stand

    A company that sold counterfeit Top Tobacco LP cigarette rolling papers likely won’t escape a $1.1 million jury verdict, an Eleventh Circuit panel indicated during oral argument. A jury found Star Importers and Wholesalers Inc. sold counterfeit papers, though not willfully. Although Star proved it profited just $7,000 from accidental infringement, Top Tobacco elected statutory damages, which for non-willful infringement range from $1,000 to $200,000 per mark, and the jury awarded $123,000 for each of nine infringed trademarks.

    The panel suggested that overruling the properly instructed jury’s verdict, which fits within statutory damages boundaries in trademark law, would undercut Top Tobacco’s right to a jury trial.

    Circuit Chief Judge William H. Pryor said the jury was free to consider factors including the value of the brand and deterrence. He noted that statutory damages can be punitive, so no actual losses or profits are required, nor is willfulness.

    “It seems to me hard to accept an argument that there has to be this relation to actual damages, because the entire point of statutory damages is as an alternative to actual damages,” Pryor said. “We’re trying to deter negligence in the distribution of counterfeit products that pose a risk to public safety and that harm the reputation of a brand that a seller has spent millions of dollars every year in marketing.”

    Star was one of several entities sued by Top Tobacco in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia over counterfeit papers in 2019. Another, Gabsons Novelties, filed a failed petition to the Supreme Court arguing its principal couldn’t be personally liable as he didn’t know of the ongoing infringement that had started before his tenure.

  • Malawi Leaf Hits New High 

    Malawi Leaf Hits New High 

    Nyasa Tobacco Company (NTC), Malawi’s leading tobacco buyer, made headlines this week by purchasing tobacco at $3.30 per kilogram on the auction floors, the highest so far this season. Fleetwood Haiya, Director of Nyasa Tobacco, praised farmers for consistently delivering high-quality leaf since the marketing season opened in April.

     “This $3.30 is not just a number, it’s a recognition of the sweat, dedication, and hard work that our farmers invest in producing quality tobacco,” said Haiya. “As a proudly local company, we believe in rewarding excellence, and today’s pricing is a direct result of that belief.”

    Haiya emphasized that this price was not from contract farming, but achieved on the open auction floor, making it a true milestone in farmer empowerment and transparent pricing. He also urged farmers to maintain good grading practices, stressing that proper grading significantly enhances the value of their product. “Grading is key. When the leaf is well-graded, we’re more than willing to pay top dollar,” he said. “We want to ensure that every kilogram reflects a fair return on the farmer’s effort.”

  • Altria to Host Annual Meeting May 15

    Altria to Host Annual Meeting May 15

    Altria Group, Inc. will host a live audio webcast of its 2025 Annual Meeting of Shareholders May 15, 2025, at 9 a.m. EST. During the meeting, shareholders as of the 2025 Annual Meeting record date (March 25, 2025) will be able to vote their shares electronically and will be able to submit questions during the meeting as time permits. Although shareholders will be able to vote their shares during the meeting, they are encouraged to do so before the meeting using one of the methods described in the 2025 Proxy Statement.

    If you are not a shareholder, you may listen as a guest but cannot participate.

    Directions on how to participate in the meeting are posted at www.altria.com/proxy.

    Instead of a business update presentation at the 2025 Annual Meeting, the company encourages shareholders and guests to review resources before the meeting, available at www.altria.com/investors.

  • Illicit Cigarettes Costing Pakistan $1.1B Annually

    Illicit Cigarettes Costing Pakistan $1.1B Annually

    Tax evasion, weak enforcement of the track-and-trace system, and regulatory loopholes are crippling both public revenue and health safeguards, costing Pakistan over Rs300 billion ($1.1 billion) annually to the illicit cigarette trade, experts said. Speaking on “The Express Tribune Podcast,” in collaboration with #BehtareenPakistan, CEO of the Institute for Public Opinion Research (IPOR), Tariq Junaid, said, “This is not just a health issue—it’s an economic crisis. When more than 40% of the cigarette market goes untaxed, the state loses the ability to fund vital services. Smugglers are filling the gap while legitimate businesses suffer.”

    Panelists on the podcast said illegal cigarette manufacturers are exploiting the system by avoiding the Federal Excise Duty and producing below the legal price threshold. These untaxed products are then sold cheaply, undercutting lawful manufacturers and contributing to a shadow economy that thrives on regulatory inaction. The podcast also explored the broader impacts of the illicit trade. Experts emphasized that this is not simply a revenue issue, it also has dire implications for public health. Consumers of illegal cigarettes are often exposed to unregulated, potentially more harmful products.

    In response to these challenges, the panel advocated for the urgent implementation of a fully functional track-and-trace system to digitally monitor cigarette production and distribution. They also called for tougher penalties for violators and more transparent oversight by tax authorities.

    “There needs to be a serious political will to act,” Junaid said. “The solution is not just about enforcement—it’s about protecting Pakistan’s economy from systemic exploitation.”