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  • BAT Malaysia Says Illicits Account for 56% of Market

    BAT Malaysia Says Illicits Account for 56% of Market

    British American Tobacco (Malaysia) Bhd. said illicit cigarettes accounted for 56% of Malaysia’s total cigarette market volume as of July, down slightly from 56.2% in May but up from 54% at the end of 2025. The company welcomed the government’s enforcement funding under Budget 2027.

    BAT Malaysia reported third-quarter net profit of RM2.3 million on revenue of RM302 million, compared with revenue of RM300.8 million a year earlier. For the first nine months of 2026, revenue fell to RM977.6 million from RM1.2 billion, while the company reported a net loss of RM22.2 million, compared with RM24.5 million in the first half. The legal cigarette market contracted 3.9%, while BAT Malaysia’s sales volume fell 21.1%, reducing its market share by 1.9 percentage points. The company declared an interim dividend of two sen per share, totaling RM5.7 million, payable on Dec. 28.

  • Skoka Raises $21.5 Million, Submits PMTA for 55 Pouch Products

    Skoka Raises $21.5 Million, Submits PMTA for 55 Pouch Products

    Skoka Inc. said it has raised $21.5 million and submitted a bundled Premarket Tobacco Product Application to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration covering 55 nicotine pouch products across 11 varieties and five strengths. The company submitted the application Oct. 1 and plans to begin U.S. retail distribution in 2027, subject to FDA authorization. Skoka said it has committed $15 million to its regulatory program, including pharmacokinetic studies, toxicology, stability testing, actual-use research, and label-comprehension studies.

    Founded in 2024 by Dan Aziz, Skoka developed its own formulations and has filed two patent applications covering ingredients and blending methods. The products are manufactured in the United States using globally sourced ingredients. Investors include executives and professional athletes, who invested in their individual capacities rather than as brand endorsers.

  • UK Removes Business Rates Relief for Vape Shops, Drawing Industry Criticism

    UK Removes Business Rates Relief for Vape Shops, Drawing Industry Criticism

    The UK government announced today (Oct. 28) that vape shops in England will lose eligibility for Small Business Rates Relief (SBRR) and reduced Retail, Hospitality and Leisure (RHL) business rates multipliers effective April 1, 2027, under its Autumn Budget 2026. The Treasury estimates the changes, which also remove RHL multiplier eligibility for adult gaming centers, will generate £10 million annually. The government is raising the SBRR threshold for qualifying retail, hospitality, and leisure properties to £18,000 in ratable value for full relief and £21,000 for tapered relief, measures it says will extend support to about 70,000 additional high street businesses. The government has not yet finalized the definition of a vape shop for the new rules.

    The UK Vaping Industry Association (UKVIA) criticized the decision, warning it could create a two-tier retail market in which specialist vape shops face additional costs while convenience stores selling the same products retain tax relief. “The Government risks creating a deeply unfair, two-tier vaping retail market in which responsible specialist retailers are financially penalized while other businesses selling exactly the same products continue to benefit from business rates relief,” said John Dunne, UKVIA director general. Dunne also questioned whether the Treasury’s projected £10 million in annual revenue justified the potential impact on legitimate retailers and jobs. UKVIA called on the government to clarify which businesses qualify and to introduce a retail licensing scheme that distinguishes compliant retailers from those selling illegal products or selling to minors.

    British e-liquid manufacturer Riot Labs estimated that an independent vape shop with a ratable value of £6,000 could face an annual bill of about £2,300, while one valued at £15,000 could pay about £5,700. The company said these figures are illustrative calculations based on the 2026/27 small-business retail multiplier, and that the final impact depends on the rules implemented. Riot Labs CEO Ben Johnson said the policy could penalize specialist retailers that check identification and help adult smokers quit while leaving other retailers selling vaping products eligible for relief. Online retailer Haypp also criticized the decision, as Dr. Marina Murphy, the company’s head of external affairs UK and scientific affairs, said the policy “unfairly stigmatizes responsible retailers” and called for a planned retail licensing scheme that would allow authorities to suspend or revoke licenses for businesses that break the rules.

  • ITGA Marks World Tobacco Growers’ Day

    ITGA Marks World Tobacco Growers’ Day

    The International Tobacco Growers’ Association (ITGA) marked World Tobacco Growers’ Day on Oct. 28, an annual observance established in 2012 to recognize tobacco-growing communities worldwide. ITGA President Marcílio Drescher extended his appreciation to tobacco growers and their families, acknowledging the work and challenges involved in farming.

    “We understand the hard work, dedication, and challenges that are part of the daily lives of tobacco-growing families,” Drescher said. “That is why we want to extend our warmest regards and heartfelt appreciation to every tobacco grower, as well as to all those who work hard to produce so much of the food we put on our tables.”

  • ITGA Forum Examines Oriental Tobacco Markets and Regulation

    ITGA Forum Examines Oriental Tobacco Markets and Regulation

    The International Tobacco Growers’ Association (ITGA) and North Macedonia’s Union of Tobacco Producers held the Oriental Tobacco Forum on Oct. 27 in Prilep, North Macedonia, bringing together growers, researchers, and industry representatives to discuss global leaf markets, production trends, and regulation. North Macedonia has approximately 15,000 tobacco growers who produce 25 million kilograms annually and exports more than $200 million worth of tobacco each year.

    ITGA estimates global tobacco production will decline about 5% in 2026 following a strong 2025 crop, with a further decrease projected for 2027. Global Oriental tobacco production is estimated at 138 million kilograms in 2026. Forecasts presented at the forum put North Macedonia’s 2026 crop at 30.8 million kilograms, up 17.5% from 2025, and Bulgarian Oriental production at 4.9 million kilograms, up 43.2%. Greek tobacco production fell to 10.52 million kilograms in 2025 from 12.27 million in 2024, while Turkish tobacco purchases reached approximately 68 million kilograms by the end of August 2026, compared with 48 million kilograms a year earlier.

    The forum also covered proposed revisions to EU tobacco product and advertising directives, tobacco excise taxation, and developments under the World Health Organization’s Framework Convention on Tobacco Control. ITGA representatives discussed regulatory effects on growers and rural economies ahead of the treaty’s 12th Conference of the Parties, scheduled for 2027 in Yerevan, Armenia.

  • Zimbabwe Reports 50% Firewood Reduction in Tobacco Curing

    Zimbabwe Reports 50% Firewood Reduction in Tobacco Curing

    Zimbabwe’s tobacco sector introduced curing technologies that have reduce firewood consumption by 50%, Agriculture Minister Anxious Masuka said at the CORESTA Congress 2026 in Victoria Falls. The Kutsanga organization has developed a rocket barn designed to improve curing efficiency, while the government is promoting alternative fuels and has waived the coal levy to encourage adoption. Masuka said the government plans to begin phasing out the use of indigenous trees during the 2027-2029 seasons and is encouraging tobacco contractors to adopt alternative fuels.

    Kutsanga board Chairman Aaron Denenga said the organization is working with contractors and government departments on technologies and education aimed at reducing firewood use and reliance on indigenous timber. Approximately 135,000 predominantly smallholder farmers produce 85% of Zimbabwe’s tobacco.

  • BAT Appoints Former Apple General Counsel to Board

    BAT Appoints Former Apple General Counsel to Board

    British American Tobacco will appoint Bruce Sewell, former senior vice president, general counsel, and secretary of Apple Inc., as an independent non-executive director effective Jan. 1, 2027. Sewell, who held the Apple roles from 2009 to 2018, previously spent 14 years at Intel Corp., where he also served as senior vice president and general counsel. He currently serves as lead independent director of Vail Resorts and as a director of C3.ai. At BAT, he will join the Audit and Nominations committees.

    BAT also announced changes to its Audit and Remuneration committees effective Nov. 30. Non-executive director Véronique Laury will leave the Audit Committee and join the Remuneration Committee, while Serpil Timuray will move from the Remuneration Committee to the Audit Committee. Sewell will join the Audit Committee on Jan. 1, 2027.

  • Study Says AI Bots Flooded UK Tobacco and Vape Consultation

    Study Says AI Bots Flooded UK Tobacco and Vape Consultation

    A study published in Tobacco Control found that 90,835 of the 118,756 responses to the UK government’s 2023 consultation on tobacco and vaping legislation were identified by the Department of Health and Social Care as fraudulent. Nearly all the bot-generated submissions opposed proposed restrictions on disposable vape sales. After the responses were excluded, 79.6% of valid respondents supported the restrictions, according to researchers from the University of Edinburgh and the University of Bath.

    The researchers said the volume and consistency of the submissions suggested a coordinated campaign, but they could not establish who organized it or what its precise objective was. They described the findings as the first documented instance of large-scale automated interference in a formal UK public health policy consultation. Action on Smoking and Health Deputy Chief Executive Caroline Cerny called for safeguards against the use of technology to manipulate public consultations.

  • VST Industries Reports 30.7% Decline in Quarterly Profit

    VST Industries Reports 30.7% Decline in Quarterly Profit

    VST Industries reported standalone net profit of ₹41.04 crore ($4.7 million) for the quarter ended Sept. 30, down 30.7% from ₹59.21 crore ($6.8 million) a year earlier. Revenue from operations increased to ₹844.06 crore ($96.7 million) from ₹450.37 crore ($51.6 million), while total income rose to ₹864.94 crore ($99.1 million) from ₹462.32 crore ($53 million). Total expenses increased to ₹811.64 crore ($93 million) from ₹383.91 crore ($44 million), and earnings per share fell to ₹2.41 from ₹3.49.

    The company said changes to India’s indirect taxes on cigarettes, effective Feb. 1, including the elimination of compensation cess and increases in GST and excise duty, make the current-quarter and six-month results not directly comparable with prior periods. The board approved the unaudited results on Oct. 28.

  • Italian Authorities Seize 4.3M Illicit Vape Products

    Italian Authorities Seize 4.3M Illicit Vape Products

    Italy’s Guardia di Finanza in Latina seized more than 4.6 million items and reported 28 people to judicial authorities following operations targeting smuggling and counterfeiting, according to LatinaQuotidiano.it. The largest seizure involved approximately 4.3 million electronic cigarettes and smoking accessories found in a warehouse operating without the required authorizations. Authorities also seized about 300,000 counterfeit products during inspections across the province.

    The operations also targeted sellers advertising luxury fashion accessories on social media and included seizures at public events.