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  • Encouraging Engagement

    Encouraging Engagement

    Image: SolaruS

    Open dialogue is key to fully realizing the beneficial public health impact of tobacco harm reduction.

    By Danni Tower

    Tobacco harm reduction (THR) is one of the greatest public health opportunities available today. By fully embracing this concept, we can significantly reduce the more than 8 million deaths attributed to smoking cigarettes each year. To do this, we need open discussion of and collaboration on evidence-based science, which underpins the development of reduced-risk tobacco and nicotine products and inspires confidence in THR.

    The biannual Cooperation Centre for Scientific Research Relative to Tobacco (CORESTA) Congress plays a major role in progressing the THR agenda globally and enabling change. This October, over 165 member organizations—including companies, research institutes, laboratories, associations and regulatory bodies from around the world—will come together for five days in Edinburgh to showcase and discuss the latest research and findings on this topic, under the theme of “Advancing Tobacco Harm Reduction Through Scientific Collaboration.” By facilitating international dialogue on best practices in scientific research related to tobacco and profiling the research contributions from CORESTA members, we hope to further encourage the transition from combustible tobacco to smoke-free alternatives.

    At BAT, we are proud to be hosting the 2024 event, building on our commitment to building a smokeless world—creating a pathway for hundreds of millions of smokers who would not otherwise quit to transition from combustible tobacco products to smokeless alternatives. As an organization, we have long been dedicated to sharing and debating robust, world-class science exploring the concept of THR. Our extensive research on the topic can be found in our most recent publication, the Omni, a summary of the global THR evidence base created over the past decade and insights into what successful harm reduction policies look like, intended for scientists, public health authorities, regulators, policymakers and investors.

    Nonetheless, while progress is being made in these circles of interested parties, we must widen the net to ensure more governments and regulators increasingly recognize the public health potential of THR. All too often, the industry is excluded from the relevant conferences and conversations around the globe, and our science is dismissed out of hand. To make the THR agenda a meaningful success and save lives, an ongoing inclusive and open dialogue with all stakeholders is required. That includes policymakers, regulators and the healthcare and medical communities—particularly those who are currently misinformed or skeptical about the opportunities presented by smokeless alternatives.

    There are numerous examples of where THR is making a significant difference. Countries with supportive THR policies, such as the U.S., the U.K. and Japan, are currently witnessing their lowest smoking rates on record while Sweden is on track to declare itself smoke-free this year—defined as having less than 5 percent of daily smokers in the population—16 years ahead of the 2040 EU target. These remarkable transformations have been driven by widespread THR acceptance from policymakers, regulators and health officials in these markets, enabling and encouraging smokers to switch to smokeless alternatives such as vapor, oral nicotine pouches, snus and heated-tobacco or herbal products. 

    We will, therefore, continue to advocate for open and inclusive conversations essential to build a smokeless world. Playing our part in progressing awareness and understanding of the science behind THR. Events like CORESTA Congress are an important forum to review and discuss the latest science with specialists in the field.

    Alongside investing in the development of new, innovative lower-risk profile smokeless products, backed by world-class science and high product standards, we are focused on creating the environment to deliver public health benefits of THR across the globe. We look forward to bringing as many people as possible with us on this journey.

    Danni Tower is group head of scientific and regulatory affairs at BAT.
  • JT Completes Vector Acquisition

    JT Completes Vector Acquisition

    Image: somchaij

    The JT Group completed the acquisition of Vector Group (VGR) on Oct. 7, following a tender offer, initially announced on Aug. 21.

    The tender offer period, initiated on Sept. 4, 2024, expired at one minute after 23:59 Eastern Daylight Time, on Oct. 4, 2024. The conditions of the tender offer having been satisfied, the JT Group has accepted all such tendered shares, and, following a statutory merger on Oct. 7, 2024, VGR became a wholly owned subsidiary of the JT Group and was delisted from the New York Stock Exchange on Oct. 7, 2024.

    In a statement, the JT Group said it expects the acquisition to improve the company’s return-on-investment in combustibles by significantly increasing the group’s presence and distribution network in the U.S, the second largest tobacco market in net sales and one of the most profitable.

  • Imperial Reports Trading In Line with Expectations

    Imperial Reports Trading In Line with Expectations

    Photo: Igor Golovnyev

    Imperial Brands reported trading in line with expectations for fiscal 2024.

    “We are pleased to report another year of operational and financial delivery against our five-year strategy to transform the business,” the company wrote on its website ahead of the Nov. 19 announcement of its annual results.

    “At constant currency, we are on track to deliver in line with our full-year guidance with an acceleration in tobacco and NGP [next-generation products] net revenue growth versus last year and group adjusted operating profit growth close to the middle of our mid-single digit range.

    “Constant currency tobacco and NGP net revenue growth has strengthened over the same period last year underpinned by strong combustibles pricing and further growth in our NGP business. Our investment activities in our five priority markets continue to deliver stable aggregate market share with gains in the U.S., Spain and Australia, broadly offsetting declines in Germany and the U.K.

    These results are consistent with our medium-term objective to hold or grow aggregate share across these markets. At the same time, we have delivered strong pricing, while industry volume pressures have eased across the majority of our wider market footprint.”

    Imperial Brands expects NGP net revenue to grow in the range of 20-30 percent at constant currency, with increases across all three regions as we build scale in our existing footprint. “Our results this year have benefited from the launch of innovative products with new formats under the Blu brand, new iSenzia non-tobacco heat sticks and new flavors in the modern oral segment,” the company wrote. “Our entry in the U.S. oral nicotine category with the launch of the Zone range of pouches has been well received and supported a stronger NGP performance in our U.S. business.”

    Imperial Brands’ constant currency group adjusted operating profit growth improved in the second half of the year driven by strong results across all three regions, including the group’s Africa, Asia, Australasia and Central & Eastern Europe region where shipment timings in the Middle East affecting the first half have now been resolved.

    “Our profit performance also reflects reduced NGP operating losses as we build scale while continuing to invest in line with our plans,” Imperial wrote. “Group adjusted operating profit has benefited from growth at Logista, the Spanish-based distribution business in which we have a 50.01 percent stake.”

    Along with its trading update, Imperial Brands announced a further £1.25 billion ($1.64 billion) share buyback, which it expects to complete before Oct. 29, 2025. This represents approximately 7 percent of the current share capital and is a 13.6 percent increase on the 2024 share buyback of £1.1 billion. The company says it  is on track to deliver total share buyback returns of £3.35 billion since we started the buyback program in 2022.

  • Imperial Sued Over Zone Trademark

    Imperial Sued Over Zone Trademark

    Photo: Olivier Le Moal

    2ONE Labs and Performance Plus Marketing have filed both a trademark infringement lawsuit and a preliminary injunction against Imperial Brand subsidiaries Zone nicotine pouch trademark.

    The suit alleges that Imperial’s Zone products willfully infringe the 2ONE nicotine pouch brand. In addition to seeking an award for damages, 2ONE is also seeking cancellation of Imperial’s Zone mark.

    According to the plaintiffs, the 2ONE brand has been continuously marketed and sold to adult consumers through thousands of U.S. convenience chain and independent grocery and smoke shop stores for the last five years.

    The suit alleges Imperial Brands made false statements by claiming a significantly earlier use of their mark in commerce than had occurred. The suit further alleges the false statements allowed Zone to be granted a fraudulent mark.

    “We have experienced numerous instances of consumer confusion since Imperial launched its Zone brand in 2024 and we intend to vigorously fight this type of blatant infringement, no matter how big the corporate bully,” said 2ONE Labs founder and partner Vincent Schuman in a statement.

    The case is before the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.

  • KT&G Steps up Investment in Indonesia

    KT&G Steps up Investment in Indonesia

    Photo: KT&G

    KT&G will invest KRW600 billion ($454 million) and hire about 1,000 people in Indonesia. The company’s local operations will serve not only Indonesia but also the Middle East and other markets in the Asia-Pacific region.

    “KT&G chose Indonesia as the company’s center of production for the Asia-Pacific market,” KT&G Indonesia’s president director, Jeong Yun-sig, told JoongAng Daily. Indonesia is KT&G’s biggest market outside Korea, accounting for 22.6 percent of the tobacco company’s total exports as of 2023.

    KT&G entered Indonesia in 2011, when it bought a local tobacco company. As of 2023, the company had sold 9.55 billion cigarettes in the country, propelling it to the No. 4 spot among tobacco manufacturers in Indonesia, ahead of multinationals such as British American Tobacco and Japan Tobacco International.

     In April, KT&G broke ground for two additional Indonesian factories. Upon completion, company will have a production capacity in Indonesia of 35 billion cigarettes annually.

     “We have consistently invested in the Indonesian market, building a local R&D center and hiring experts for localization efforts,” Jeong Yun-sig said. “The localized version of Esse and new brands for the Indonesian market worked well for the company.”

  • Ispire and ANDS Sign Distributor Deal

    Ispire and ANDS Sign Distributor Deal

    Photo: Mongkolchon

    Ispire Technology and Dubai-based ANDS have signed a five-year agreement under which the partners will commercialize Ispire’s Hidden Hills Club nicotine portfolio to the Middle East, North Africa (MENA) region and global duty-free markets.

    “This collaboration is a pivotal moment for Ispire as we continue to expand our global footprint at a time when consumers are looking for harm-reduced products to transition away from combustible cigarettes,” said Ispire Technology Co-CEO Michael Wang in a statement.  

    “By partnering with ANDS, we gain access to one of the fastest-growing regions in the world, where smoking rates remain high, but there is a significant demand for harm-reduced products. With ANDS’ robust regulatory, legal, compliance, brand building, sales and distribution expertise as well as local market insights, we are well-positioned to bring the Hidden Hills Club nicotine portfolio to new markets, offering consumers innovative, harm-reduction alternatives to combustible cigarettes.”

    “We are thrilled to collaborate with Ispire to bring the Hidden Hills Club nicotine products and their marketing power to the MENA region and global duty-free markets,” said ANDS co-founder and CEO Fadi Maayta.

    “With Ispire’s cutting-edge products and our extensive reach and expertise, we are confident that this partnership will provide consumers with innovative nicotine delivery solutions that will bring potentially reduced risk products to adult smokers. Together, we aim to meet the evolving needs of consumers in the region while ensuring compliance with local laws and regulations.”

  • ‘Never Smoker’ Ill-Defined in Study: UKVIA

    ‘Never Smoker’ Ill-Defined in Study: UKVIA

    Photo: Tobacco Reporter archive

    A recent study suggesting there are more vapers without a history of smoking in England improperly defines “never smokers,” according to the U.K. Vaping Industry Association (UKVIA).

    “This new research talks about ‘never-regular-smokers’ vaping, their definition for this being people who have not smoked for more than a year,” said UKVIA Director General John Dunne in a statement.

    “This definition is problematic as it does not exclusively include what most people would define as nonsmokers. As the study authors also point out, it is impossible to say if their cohort, whether experimenting with cigarettes already or not, would not have become smokers were it not for vapes.

    “The authors themselves also note that some people have genes and circumstances leading them to like nicotine products; traditionally, they ended up smoking, but some are now discovering vaping without becoming smokers first. If vaping did not exist, they would be smoking.

    “Vaping should only be for smokers looking to quit, but we also need to ensure that those smokers continue to have access to what they need in order to quit.”    

  • Vietnam Continues to Reject ENDS

    Vietnam Continues to Reject ENDS

    Image generated with Adobe Firefly

    Vietnam’s Ministry of Health rejected claims that next-generation nicotine products are less harmful than traditional cigarettes during a seminar held on Oct. 3, reports VietnamNet.

    Nguyen Trong Khoa, deputy director of the ministry’s Department of Medical Examination and Treatment, insisted that there is no scientific evidence suggesting that e-cigarettes or heated tobacco products reduce harm or aid in quitting smoking.

    Khoa emphasized that e-cigarettes and heated tobacco products contain high levels of addictive nicotine and contain hazardous chemicals that can cause cancer.

    He dismissed Public Health England’s finding that e-cigarettes are 95 less harmful than traditional cigarettes as a “tobacco-funded study that lacks scientific credibility.”

    The smoking rate among adolescents aged 13-17 in Vietnam decreased from 5.36 percent in 2013 to 2.78 percent in 2019. For those aged 13-15, the rate of cigarette use dropped from 2.5 percent in 2014 to 1.9 percent in 2022.

    However, the use of new-generation tobacco products has surged recently. A survey found that vaping among students aged 13-15 rose from 3.5 percent in 2022 to 8 percent in 2023.

  • TIMB Deploys Biometrics to Curb Side Marketing

    TIMB Deploys Biometrics to Curb Side Marketing

    Photo: Taco Tuinstra

    Zimbabwe’s Tobacco Industry and Marketing Board (TIMB) is pioneering a new biometric management system to curb side marketing, a practice in which farmers sell their crops to noncontracting merchants and deprive the investor of his tobacco.

    The regulatory body is collecting fingerprints from each tobacco farmer and linking them to their unique grower number. The biometric data is complemented by GPS coordinates of the growers’ farms. When farmers collect inputs, contractors can verify a growers’ authenticity using a scanner.

    The system makes it impossible for farmers to contract with multiple tobacco merchants. It also captures the indebtedness of farmers, minimizing the potential for contractors to manipulate the growers’ financial obligations.

    “The system will help eliminate corrupt elements by verifying their identities and improving the stop order system to prevent the misuse of growers’ numbers,” TIMB acting CEO Emmanuel Matsvaire told The Sunday Mail.

    The old system, which relied solely on registration, allowed nonfarmers to participate in the market, fueling side marketing and leading to high rates of default.

    Side marketing remains a significant problem in the Zimbabwean tobacco industry, responsible for millions of dollars in lost revenue.

    In 2023, TIMB blocked nearly 550 grower numbers on suspicion of their use in side marketing. In 2021, five exporters alone lost $57 million due to the practice.

    Meanwhile, preparations for the upcoming cropping season are progressing as the country seeks to achieve a tobacco yield of 300 million kg, according to Matsvaire.

    Despite the El Nino drought that destroyed various crops last year, tobacco performed relatively well, declining by 20 percent to approximately 231 million kg from a record 297 million kg during the previous season.

    This season’s target aligns with the government’s Tobacco Value Chain Transformation Plan, which also aims to enhance beneficiation and raise local funding.

  • Supreme Court to Hear Avail, Reynolds PMTA Case

    Supreme Court to Hear Avail, Reynolds PMTA Case

    TR Archives

    The Supreme Court of the United States has agreed to consider another case involving federal approval of vapes at the request of the Biden administration on Friday.

    The case arose after the Food and Drug Administration denied R.J. Reynolds Vapor Company’s request to introduce three flavored vapes on the market. The FDA said the company failed to meet federal requirements concerning tobacco products’ marketing, but the company contends that the decision was arbitrary and capricious.

    Reynolds is based in North Carolina, and the federal appeals courts located there and in D.C. already had precedent on the books unfavorable to the manufacturer.

    Under federal law, companies can challenge the FDA denying of a marketing order for a new tobacco product in Washington, D.C., or where the company’s principal place of business is located, reports The Hill.

    The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has been more sympathetic to the industry, making it an attractive place for companies to contest their products being denied.

    The 5th Circuit’s rule effectively enables it to host any tobacco company’s challenge, so long as its lawsuit is joined by a convenience store or other retail seller within the 5th Circuit’s borders—which span Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas.

    Reynolds instead filed its challenge in the 5th Circuit alongside Avail Vapor Texas and the Mississippi Petroleum Marketers and Convenience Stores Association. The federal government attempted to move venues, but the 5th Circuit said the additional challengers meant the case was properly brought.

    No matter which way the justices rule, they are not expected to address the merits of the FDA’s denial. The Supreme Court only took up the question of whether the 5th Circuit was a proper venue.

    “There is no circuit conflict over the meaning of this venue provision. And other vehicle problems abound,” the company wrote in court filings urging the justices to turn away the appeal.