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  • PMI Holds Annual Shareholders Meeting

    PMI Holds Annual Shareholders Meeting

    Photo: PMI

    Philip Morris International held its 2024 annual meeting of shareholders on May 8. Andre Calantzopoulos, executive chairman of the board, addressed shareholders and answered questions. CEO Jacek Olczak gave a business presentation commenting on PMI’s 2023 performance and progress in its transformation to a smoke-free business.

    “Our strategy to become a smoke-free company has enabled us to build and sustain strong momentum, resulting in smoke-free products reaching nearly 40 percent of our total net revenues and over 40 percent of our gross profit in the fourth quarter of 2023,” said Olczak in a statement.

    “As a global smoke-free champion with leading brands IQOS and Zyn, we are well positioned to further accelerate our transformation in the years to come, to the benefit of the company, our shareholders, other stakeholders and public health.”

    Approximately 80 percent of the shares entitled to vote were represented at the meeting in person or by proxy. The shareholders elected 12 nominees for director; approved, on an advisory basis, the compensation of named executive officers; and ratified the selection of PricewaterhouseCoopers as independent auditors.

    An archived copy of the webcast of the meeting is available at www.virtualshareholdermeeting.com/PM2024.

  • Procigar Elects New Leadership

    Procigar Elects New Leadership

    Photo: sururu

    Procigar has elected Litto Gomez of La Flor Dominicana as its new president and Ciro Cascella as its new vice president, according to the Premium Cigar Association.  Hendrik Kelner was named president for life due to his dedication to the development of the organization.

    Procigar was formed in 1992 by a group of cigar makers in the Dominican Republic. The goal of this group is to protect the reputation and future of the Dominican Republic’s tobacco industry by setting and maintaining high standards of quality and preserving the heritage of their country’s premium cigar and tobacco culture.

    Members of Procigar include General Cigar Dominicana, La Aurora, Quesada Cigars Oettigner Davidoff, Tabacalera de Garcia, Tabadom Holding, De Los Reyes Cigars, Tabacalera Arturo Fuente, Tabacalera La Alianza, La Flor Dominicana, Oe Tabacalera Palma, PDR Cigars and Arnold Andre.

    Each year, the Procigar hosts an international festival in the Dominican Republic celebrating the country’s cigar culture and tobacco industry.

  • Scientist Urges Caution With AI Vaping Studies

    Scientist Urges Caution With AI Vaping Studies

    Marina Murphy is a scientific communications and engagement expert with more than 20 years of experience.

    Scientists should be aware of the “illusions of understanding” when relying on artificial intelligence for their research, warned Marina Murphy, industry veteran and scientific adviser to the U.K. Vaping Industry Association.

    A recent study, published in Scientific Reports, claims to have uncovered potentially harmful substances that are produced when e-liquids in vaping devices are heated for inhalation.

    The research team at the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI) University of Medicine and Health Sciences, Dublin, used artificial intelligence to simulate the effects of heating e-liquid flavor chemicals found in nicotine vapes.

    The analysis revealed the formation of many hazardous chemicals, including 127 that are classified as “acute toxic,” 153 as “health hazards” and 225 as “irritants.” Notably, these included a group of chemicals called volatile carbonyls (VCs), which are known to pose health risks. Sources for VCs were predicted to be the most popular fruit-flavored, candy-flavored and dessert-flavored products.

    Lead author Donal O’Shea, professor of chemistry and head of the department, said the findings are concerning. “Our findings indicate a significantly different profile of chemical hazards compared to what we are familiar with from traditional tobacco smoking. It is plausible that we are on the cusp of a new wave of chronic diseases that will emerge 15 [years] to 20 years from now due to these exposures.”

    Murphy countered that the effects of overheating e-liquids have been studied extensively. “This can lead to the production of carbonyls, for example, but these compounds make the vapor so caustic as to be un-inhalable,” she wrote in response to the RCSI study. “Newer e-cigarette devices are designed with built-in temperature control systems.”

    She warned that “scary headlines” could prompt smokers thinking of switching to less harmful e-cigarettes to stick with conventional cigarettes instead.

    “Vaping has proven to be the most popular quit aid, and we need to focus less on problems and more on solutions to ensure that vapers continue to get the flavors they need to successfully quit cigarettes in the safest way possible,” said Murphy.

  • KT&G Reports Robust Overseas Performance

    KT&G Reports Robust Overseas Performance

    Photo: KT&G

    KT&G Corp. reported consolidated revenue of KRW1.29 trillion ($942.27 million) and operating profit of KRW236.6 billion for the first quarter ended March 31, 2024.

    The South Korean cigarette manufacturer’s overseas and domestic next-generation product (NGP) and overseas cigarette sectors sustained robust performances in the quarter, extending their trend from the previous year.

    Overseas NGP stick volume grew by 14.7 percent, reaching 2.11 billion sticks.

    KT&G also achieved its third consecutive quarters of revenue growth in the overseas cigarette business, driven by strategic pricing in core growth markets such as Indonesia. KT&G’s first-quarter overseas cigarette revenue recorded KRW291.8 billion, up 10.1 percent from the comparable 2023 quarter.

    While the company delivered notable results in core business areas, its consolidated revenue and operating profit for the first quarter decreased compared to the same period last year. This downturn was mainly driven by rising manufacturing costs, the completion of large-scale real estate development projects and reduced revenue from the health functional food sector amid lower consumer spending.

    “KT&G is committed to strengthening its competitiveness in core business areas and driving a business transformation aimed at making a significant leap forward to become a ‘global top-tier company,’” KT&G wrote in a press release.

    “Despite a number of headwinds, such as inflation-driven manufacturing cost pressure and economic recession, KT&G is striving to achieve a business turnaround in the second half of the year by strengthening global competitiveness and pursuing operational efficiency optimization.”

  • British MPs Alerted to Misinformation

    British MPs Alerted to Misinformation

    Photo: Yeti Studio

    The U.K. Vaping Industry Association (UKVIA) has issued a series of letters to Members of Parliament (MPs) to raise concerns over “misleading, incomplete, unsubstantiated, or incorrect” information, which the group says was presented to the Tobacco and Vapes Bill Committee.

    “We are writing to express our grave concerns at the quality and accuracy of some of the oral evidence presented to what turned out to be a mainly one-sided committee stage of the Tobacco and Vapes Bill,” the organization wrote to lawmakers.

    “Because the evidence was mainly given by those who have spoken out against vaping in the past, it presented a very skewed message, which often conflated the legal compliant vape industry with the black market and frequently made no distinction between the tobacco and vaping industries.”

    The UKVIA insisted that it did not intend to defeat, delay or circumvent the legislation. Rather, the trade group wants to ensure that when MPs consider the bill, they are doing so from an informed perspective. “In scrutinizing this bill, MPs must balance the rights and needs of adult smokers to have access to the very best products to help them quit, with those of young people to be protected from age-restricted products, including vaping,” the group wrote.

    Alongside the letter, the UKVIA has also issued a report that reviews some of the evidence presented by those who were invited to speak during the committee stage of the bill.

  • Turkish Smokers Fret About Latest Price Hikes

    Turkish Smokers Fret About Latest Price Hikes

    Photo: lial88

    Cigarette prices in Turkiye increased by TRY3 ($0.9) on May 8, sparking lively discussion among smokers on social media, according to Xinhua.

    The cheapest cigarette brands registered with the Monopoly Dealers’ Solidarity Association now cost TRY53 per pack, while the most expensive one is priced at TRY75 liras per pack, according to association president Erol Dundar.

    “Though a three lira increase per pack might appear to be a small amount, it is not so for smokers,” said Yagmur Sivri, a resident of Istanbul, who smokes one and a half packs of cigarettes a day and spends about TRY2,500 on smoking each month.

    “Considering that millions of people in Turkiye live on a minimum wage of 17,002 liras, the latest price hikes put a very large burden on their budgets,” she said.

    The price hike aggravates Turkiye’s already rapidly increasing costs of living. The country’s  inflation hit 69.8 percent in April.

  • Zimbabwean Shisha Crop Selling Rapidly

    Zimbabwean Shisha Crop Selling Rapidly

    Photo: Cavendish Lloyd

    Growers of shisha tobacco in Zimbabwe sold more than a third of their crop within four days, reports The Herald, citing figures from the Tobacco Industry and Marketing Board (TIMB).

    The farmers pocketed $660,000, earning an average price of $3.62 per kilogram. Out of 2,385 bales presented, 162 bales, or 6.79 percent, were rejected by buyers. The current average price is 15 percent higher than the 2023 season average.

    Nonetheless, the figures make shisha tobacco less profitable for growers than flue-cured tobacco, according to Zimbabwe Tobacco Growers Association Chairman George Seremwe, although he acknowledges that producing shisha leaf is less capital intensive.

    While shisha is a type of flue-cured tobacco, it is derived from imported seeds and produced using different agronomic practices. To obtain the desired low nicotine levels, the tobacco fields are planted much more densely than is typical with cigarette tobaccos, ensuring fierce competition among the plants for nutrients.

    Cavendish Lloyd is the only shisha leaf merchant registered and licensed with the TIMB. Tobacco Reporter profiled the company in its May 2022 print edition (see “Great Expectations”).

  • Smokers Confused About Relative Risk

    Smokers Confused About Relative Risk

    Photo: auremar

    Many smokers fail to understand the comparative risks presented by vapes and traditional cigarettes, according to a new Ipsos survey among 27,000 smokers in 28 countries carried out on behalf of We Are Innovation.

    Currently, 74 percent of smokers worldwide mistakenly believe that vaping is either as harmful or more harmful than smoking combustible cigarettes. This misinformation challenges public health messaging about vaping as a safer alternative to traditional smoking methods.

    The survey identified countries including Brazil, the Netherlands, Slovenia and Kazakhstan as having the highest proportion of smokers (over 80 percent) incorrectly perceiving vaping as equally or more harmful than smoking tobacco. On the other hand, countries such as Italy, the Czech Republic, France and the United Kingdom exhibited a more accurate understanding, although even in these nations, over half of smokers still hold false beliefs regarding the risks of vaping versus smoking.

    “The consequences are grave,” said We Are Innovation CEO Federico N. Fernandez in a statement. “If smokers are under the incorrect assumption that vaping is no better than smoking, they are far less likely to explore potentially lifesaving products as a means to quit harmful combustibles. Misinformation is stifling innovation and obstructing smokers’ ability to escape the clutches of cigarettes.”

  • Vaping Surpasses Smoking Among European Youth: WHO

    Vaping Surpasses Smoking Among European Youth: WHO

    Photo: Maksym Yemelyanov

    Vaping has surpassed smoking among adolescents in Europe, according to a new report by the World Health Organization.

    The global health body found that among 15-year-olds, 32 percent had used an e-cigarette and 20 percent consumed vaping products in the past 30 days.

    “The widespread use of harmful substances among children in many countries across the European region—and beyond—is a serious public health threat,” said Hans Henri P. Kluge, WHO regional director for Europe. “Considering that the brain continues to develop well into a person’s mid-20s, adolescents need to be protected from the effects of toxic and dangerous products. Unfortunately, children today are constantly exposed to targeted online marketing of harmful products.”

    Historically, there has been a difference between boys and girls, with more boys smoking than girls. With e-cigarettes, girls reach the same level of use by 15 as boys and even outpace them after 15.

    While acknowledging that some health authorities view e-cigarettes as a positive alternative to smoking for adults, the WHO expressed concern about aggressive targeting by manufacturers of a younger market, which has contributed to a particularly sharp rise in consumption between the ages of 13 and 15, according to the organization.

    The WHO report calls for e-cigarettes to be incorporated into smoke-free policies, with similar measures to restrict marketing, reduce toxicity, remove flavors and increase taxation.

    The health body has already called for e-cigarettes to be made available only to those who are trying to quit smoking, where other proven cessation strategies have been exhausted. It has also called for e-cigarettes to be regulated like medicines rather than being sold as consumer products.

  • Reynold American’s WaterHub Recognized

    Reynold American’s WaterHub Recognized

    Reynolds American Inc. (RAI) has been recognized with a 2024 SEAL Business Sustainability Award in the environmental initiative award category for its WaterHub project under construction at the Reynolds Operations Center in Tobaccoville, North Carolina, USA.

    The SEAL Business Sustainability Awards honor leadership, innovation and commitment to sustainable business practices.

    The Environmental Initiative Award evaluated applicants on impact metrics, innovation and uniqueness of the initiative, sharing of insights and best practices along with investment of organizational leadership capital.

    Reynolds’ award-winning initiative, the WaterHub, is an advanced water recycling facility and product of a subsidiary of NextEra Energy Resources, and one of few water recycling projects of its scale. Once construction is complete, the WaterHub is expected to reclaim more than 60 million gallons of water per year, equivalent to the annual water supply of approximately 550 average U.S. households.

    “We are proud of all the efforts being made across the Reynolds American organization to preserve and make efficient use of the precious natural resources we rely on to run our business,” said RAI Executive Vice President of Operations Bernd Meyer in a statement. “This SEAL recognition is a testament to our sustainability progress and the expected positive impact of the WaterHub, our advanced water recycling facility at our largest manufacturing facility, in collaboration with NextEra Energy Resources.”