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  • Maryland Court Rules Tobacco Companies Can’t Offset Litter Lawsuit

    Maryland Court Rules Tobacco Companies Can’t Offset Litter Lawsuit

    The Circuit Court for Baltimore City ruled that tobacco companies cannot deduct potential damages from Baltimore City’s lawsuit over environmental harm caused by discarded cigarette filters from their annual payments to Maryland under the 1998 Master Settlement Agreement (MSA). The ruling followed a motion for summary judgment filed by Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown’s office, which intervened to protect the state’s settlement payments. The court found that the MSA does not cover Baltimore’s environmental claims. The companies, including Philip Morris USA and R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co., are therefore not entitled to offset any damages awarded to the city against payments owed to Maryland.

    The decision allows Baltimore City’s lawsuit to proceed. It protects the state’s annual MSA payments, which help fund health care for people with smoking-related diseases and other public health programs. According to Brown’s office, the ruling is the first in the nation to address whether the MSA covers local government claims against tobacco companies for environmental damage caused by their products.

  • Turning Point Brands Declares Quarterly Dividend

    Turning Point Brands Declares Quarterly Dividend

    Turning Point Brands declared a regular quarterly dividend of $0.08 per common share, payable Jan. 8, 2027, to shareholders of record as of Dec. 18, 2026. The company’s brand portfolio includes Zig-Zag, Stoker’s, FRE, and ALP.

  • BAT Launches Dual-Flavor VELO Pouches in Sweden

    BAT Launches Dual-Flavor VELO Pouches in Sweden

    British American Tobacco launched VELO WRKS in Sweden, a new nicotine pouch line featuring cans divided into two compartments, each containing a different flavor, on Nov. 2. The first release, called Drop 1, includes three combinations: Raspberry Lime/Strawberry Basil; Tropical Orange/Lemongrass Ginger; and Cardamom Bread/Red Miso. Each can contains 20 tobacco-free pouches, with 10 in each compartment, and delivers 8 milligrams of nicotine per pouch.

    The products are priced at SEK 52.99 ($5.10) per can, with discounts for multipack purchases. BAT describes WRKS as a platform for new product ideas and flavor combinations.

  • Italy Accelerates Tobacco Tax Increases

    Italy Accelerates Tobacco Tax Increases

    Italy’s 2027-2029 Budget Bill would accelerate previously scheduled tobacco excise increases by six months, resulting in two cigarette price increases in 2027. The first is scheduled for January under Law 199/2025, with a second taking effect July 1. According to the bill’s technical report, a pack of cigarettes would increase 10 to 13 cents per pack, depending on the price category.

    The changes also affect other tobacco and nicotine products. The minimum excise duty on hand-rolling tobacco would increase from €165.50 to €169.50 per kilogram, while the rate would rise from 60.9% to 61.1%. The excise rate on heated tobacco, calculated against the cigarette equivalent, would increase from 41% to 42%. For e-cigarette liquids, the rate would rise from 20% to 22% for nicotine-containing products and from 15% to 17% for nicotine-free products.

  • Malaysia Poisons Board Backs Proposal to Allow Nicotine Vape Sales

    Malaysia Poisons Board Backs Proposal to Allow Nicotine Vape Sales

    Malaysia’s Poisons Board endorsed Health Minister Dzulkefly Ahmad’s proposal to remove nicotine-containing e-cigarette liquids from the Poisons List, potentially allowing their commercial sale under a ministerial exemption order. The proposal follows a May 2026 Kuala Lumpur High Court ruling that overturned a 2023 exemption issued by the previous health minister. The Malaysian Pharmacists Society confirmed the board’s support, although its deliberations were confidential.

    The proposal would reverse the current restrictions on nicotine vape products, but sales cannot resume until the health minister formally issues and gazettes the exemption order. The development also comes amid the government’s previously announced plans to introduce a nationwide vape ban.

  • ITC Profit Falls 20% Under Pressure from Taxes, Input Costs

    ITC Profit Falls 20% Under Pressure from Taxes, Input Costs

    India’s ITC reported a 20% year-over-year decline in quarterly profit to 41.37 billion rupees ($455.1 million) for the three months ended Sept. 30, as higher cigarette taxes, price increases, and rising raw material costs pressured its tobacco business. Profit from its cigarette segment fell more than 25%, with the company attributing weaker industry volumes to an “unprecedented increase in tax.” Cigarette manufacturers, including ITC and Godfrey Phillips India, have raised prices in recent months following the introduction of a new cigarette excise duty in India. ITC said material costs increased 15% because of sharp input cost escalation linked to the fallout from the Middle East war.

    Despite the decline in profit, ITC’s total revenue increased 46% to 283.18 billion rupees ($3.1 billion), supported by demand for its consumer goods businesses and higher prices. The company said demand remained resilient in rural and urban markets but warned that uneven monsoon conditions and strengthening El Niño conditions could affect agricultural production and inflation. ITC shares have lost more than one-third of their value over the past year, compared with a 9% decline in India’s Nifty 50 index.

  • Zimbabwe Tobacco Research Shows Progress

    Zimbabwe Tobacco Research Shows Progress

    Zimbabwe’s Tobacco Research Board (Kutsaga) presented research on fertilizer efficiency, greenhouse gas emissions, and energy-saving tobacco curing technologies at the 70th Cooperation Centre for Scientific Research Relative to Tobacco (CORESTA) congress, held in Victoria Falls. One study examined the use of biofertilizers to reduce nitrous oxide emissions from tobacco production, finding that combining 75% of the recommended chemical fertilizer application with 75% biofertilizer produced the most promising balance between crop productivity and emissions reduction.

    Kutsaga also presented its KCC2 tobacco-curing barn, designed to improve heat and moisture distribution while reducing reliance on grid electricity. Comparative trials found that KCC2 achieved a moisture-uniformity coefficient of variation of 3.11%, compared with 5.03% for its predecessor, KCC1. Malawi’s Agricultural Research and Extension Trust CEO Albert Changaya said his organization wants to adopt the technology and plans to invite Kutsaga engineers to Malawi to facilitate its transfer. Researchers also discussed alternative curing fuels, including liquefied petroleum gas, biomass briquettes, and biogas.

  • Study Finds On-Product Warnings Reduce Appeal of Nicotine Products

    Study Finds On-Product Warnings Reduce Appeal of Nicotine Products

    Research from McMaster University published in the Canadian Journal of Public Health examined how health warnings, nicotine strength, packaging, and price influence preferences for e-cigarettes, heated tobacco products, and cigarettes. Researchers surveyed 2,961 Canadians, including 1,839 e-cigarette nonusers aged 16-29 and 1,122 current users, using an online discrete choice experiment featuring JUUL pods, IQOS heated tobacco sticks, and du Maurier cigarettes. Health warnings printed directly on products had the largest effect on preferences. When warnings appeared on all three product categories, the predicted probability of choosing none of the products increased from 50% to 65% among nonusers and from 10% to 18% among current e-cigarette users. Warnings also reduced preferences for vape pods without increasing predicted preferences for cigarettes.

    A 40% increase in vape prices reduced current users’ predicted preference for vape pods from 55% to 48%, while increasing preferences for heated tobacco and cigarettes. Higher cigarette prices did not increase preferences for vaping. Lower nicotine concentrations increased the appeal of vape pods among nonusers and users who did not also smoke, while plain packaging had little effect on product preferences. The researchers cautioned that the experiment measured hypothetical choices rather than actual purchasing behavior and that the results may not reflect real-world consumption.

  • NYC Opens Lottery for Limited Tobacco Retail Licenses

    NYC Opens Lottery for Limited Tobacco Retail Licenses

    New York City opened applications for a lottery to award a limited number of tobacco and vape retail licenses in designated community districts. Applications will be accepted through Nov. 30, with the lottery intended to determine which applicants may receive licenses in areas where the city has capped the number of tobacco retailers.

    New York City’s Department of Consumer and Worker Protection identified available licenses in 38 community districts for tobacco retailers and 23 districts for electronic cigarette retailers. The Oct. 1 review found openings for 224 tobacco retail licenses and 41 e-cigarette retail licenses.

    The city caps the number of tobacco and e-cigarette retailers in each community district, and licenses become available when the number of active licenses falls below the cap. If applications exceed available licenses, the department will randomly select businesses and invite them to complete the licensing process.

  • Dutch Anti-Smoking Groups Preparing Complaint Against Philip Morris

    Dutch Anti-Smoking Groups Preparing Complaint Against Philip Morris

    Dutch pulmonologist Wanda de Kanter and the Foundation for Youth Smoking Prevention (Stichting Rookpreventie Jeugd) are reportedly preparing a criminal complaint against Philip Morris International, alleging the company misleads consumers about the health risks of its heated tobacco products and violates restrictions on nicotine advertising. The complaint, being prepared with attorney Bénédicte Ficq, is expected to be filed within two weeks, with support from the Dutch cancer society KWF Kankerbestrijding and the lung health organization Longfonds.

    The foundation argues that Philip Morris presents heated tobacco as less harmful than conventional cigarettes, despite the Netherlands’ National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM) saying that heated tobacco products remain harmful and are not a safe alternative to smoking.

    The complaint follows an unsuccessful 2016 criminal case brought by Ficq on behalf of De Kanter’s organization against Philip Morris and other tobacco manufacturers. Prosecutors declined to pursue that case, concluding that the allegations did not constitute a criminal matter and that tobacco regulation was a matter for lawmakers. Ficq argues that existing prohibitions on tobacco advertising and misleading consumers provide grounds for prosecution in the new case.