Tag: Featured

Stories featured at the top of tobaccoreporter.com

Leonhard Kurz Wins Innovation Award

Photo: Leonard Kurz
Thin-film expert Leonhard Kurz has won third main prize in the Bavarian Innovation Prize for its IMD Varioform with functional in-mold labeling process. This technology allows touch sensors to be deformed in three dimensions, injected with plastic and integrated into geometrically sophisticated and decorated components.
The process was developed to produce plastic parts with extreme 3D geometry, for example, heavily bent, domed or curved shapes. Based on the proven in-mold decoration technology, Kurz was able to effectively combine the previously successive processes of decoration, single-image illumination and capacitive sensor integration into a 3D-shaped HMI component and combine them in a single manufacturing step.
In 2020, the Bavarian Innovation Prize was awarded for the fifth time by the Bavarian State Ministry for Economic Affairs, Regional Development and Energy, the Bavarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Bavarian Chambers of Trades and Crafts Association. It honors outstanding innovation drivers of the Bavarian economy.
February 2, 2021
TPB Announces Private Offering

Photo: Tobacco Reporter achive
Turning Point Brands (TPB) announced the proposed private offering of $250 million aggregate principal amount of its senior secured notes due 2026. The notes will bear cash interest semi-annually beginning in 2021. The notes will be TPB’s senior secured obligations and will be guaranteed on a senior secured basis by each of TPB’s wholly owned domestic subsidiaries (except for certain specified subsidiaries).
TPB intends to use the proceeds from the offering to repay all obligations under and terminate its existing term loan and revolving credit facility; to pay related fees, costs and expenses; and for general corporate purposes. The offering is subject to market conditions.
TPB also announced that in connection with the offering, it intends to enter into a new $25 million senior secured revolving credit facility. The offering is not conditioned on the entry into the revolving credit facility.
In connection with its proposed offering, TPB announced certain preliminary operating results for the fourth quarter and full year ended Dec. 31, 2020.
TPB estimates that for the fourth quarter of 2020 net sales will be between $103.5 million and $105.5 million, income before taxes will be between $16 million and $17 million and adjusted EBITDA will be between $25 million and $26 million. Each of net sales and adjusted EBITDA will be near or above the high end of TPB’s previously disclosed guidance for the fourth quarter of 2020. TPB plans to release its full year end 2020 financial results on Feb. 10, 2021.
The company will hold a conference call to review fourth quarter and fiscal year 2020 results on Feb. 10.
February 2, 2021
Perfect Score for Altria on Equality Index

Photo: Altria
Altria Group received a score of 100 on the Human Rights Campaign Foundation’s 2021 Corporate Equality Index (CEI), a prominent benchmarking survey and report measuring corporate policies and practices related to LGBTQ workplace equality. Altria joins the ranks of 767 major U.S. businesses, including Reynolds American Inc., that also earned top marks this year. This is the fourth year in a row Altria has received a score of 100.
“We know that to be successful in our 10-year vision to responsibly lead the transition of adult smokers to a noncombustible future, we need to be a diverse, inclusive and welcoming place to work,” said Billy Gifford, Altria’s CEO, in a statement. “This recognition is a testament to our employees and Mosaic, our LGBTQ employee resource group, who continuously work to ensure that our LGBTQ colleagues are included and have equal opportunity to grow and thrive.”
The CEI rates companies on detailed criteria falling under four central pillars: nondiscrimination policies across business entities; equitable benefits for LGBTQ workers and their families; supporting an inclusive culture; and, corporate social responsibility. Altria’s efforts in meeting all of the CEI’s criteria earned a 100 percent ranking and the designation as one of the Best Places to Work for LGBTQ Equality.
February 2, 2021
FTC Staff Urges Timely Start of Altria Trial

Photo: Paul Brady – Dreamstime.com
U.S. Federal Trade Commission staffers urged the commission to start its trial against Altria Group’s $12.8 billion investment in Juul Labs in April as scheduled, reports Law360.
The cigarette giant had requested a three-month delay from the current April 12 start, speculating that it will be safe to hold an in-person trial by mid-July. The current April trial will be virtual due to the Covid-19 crisis. The trial was previously moved from Jan. 5 to mid-April because of the pandemic. Altria and Juul said a virtual hearing would diminish their attorneys’ ability to assess the credibility of the testifying witnesses.
In a filing Thursday to the agency’s commissioners, the FTC’s trial staff said that hopes for an in-person, Covid-free proceeding by July are “highly speculative.”
“While the vaccine news is promising, the timetable for the chief administrative law judge and his staff, witnesses and counsel to receive vaccinations is highly uncertain at this time,” the staffers said. “And, while complaint counsel shares respondents’ concerns regarding the severity of the pandemic, these concerns can be remedied by proceeding with a virtual hearing.”
The FTC case alleges that that Altria shut down its own e-cigarette business to pave the way for the investment, in the process eliminating competition in violation of antitrust laws.

February 1, 2021
Reynolds Recognized on Corporate Equality Index

Photo: RAI
For the second consecutive year, the BAT Group’s U.S. subsidiary Reynolds American Inc. (RAI) and its operating companies scored 100 percent on the Human Rights Campaign Foundation’s 2021 Corporate Equality Index (CEI), a prominent benchmarking survey and report measuring corporate policies and practices related to LGBTQ workplace equality.
Guy Meldrum
“Across every aspect of our business, we boldly embrace diversity as a key pillar of our ethos,” Our organization is rich with talent, and everyone is encouraged to be their authentic selves as we work to build ‘A Better Tomorrow,’” said Guy Meldrum, RAI president and CEO, in a statement.
Companies rated in the CEI include Fortune magazine’s 500 largest publicly traded businesses, American Lawyer magazine’s top 200 revenue-grossing law firms, and hundreds of publicly and privately held mid-sized to large-sized businesses.
The CEI rates companies on detailed criteria falling under four central pillars: non-discrimination policies across business entities; equitable benefits for LGBTQ workers and their families; supporting an inclusive culture; and corporate social responsibility.
“From the previously unimaginable impact of the Covid-19 pandemic to a long overdue reckoning with racial injustice, 2020 was an unprecedented year. Yet, many businesses across the nation stepped up and continued to prioritize and champion LGBTQ equality,” said Alphonso David, Human Rights Campaign president.
“This year has shown us that tools like the CEI are crucial in the work to increase equity and inclusion in the workplace, but also that companies must breathe life into these policies and practices in real and tangible ways.”
February 1, 2021
FDA Asked to Prioritize Harm Reduction

Photo: Bacho12345 | Dreamstime.com
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration should encourage harm reduction products and help smokers give up cigarettes, according to Markus Lindblad, head of external affairs at the Haypp Group, the parent company of NicoKick, which describes itself as the world’s largest American e-commerce company in the smokeless industry.
In a letter to Acting Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Janet Woodcock, Lindblad encouraged her to prioritize the goal she helped set at the FDA in previous years to enable greater use of healthier harm reduction products and help smokers quit combustible products.
“Our mission at NicoKick is to drive real change in the industry and encourage alternative nicotine enjoyment for adults seeking products other than inhalants,” Linblad wrote.
“We recognize that your focus is understandably on addressing the coronavirus pandemic, but we hope as you lead the Food and Drug Administration that you continue to prioritize tobacco harm reduction products that will produce better health outcomes for millions of American smokers. We can all agree any effort to transition from traditional tobacco products to those that reduce harm to the consumer should be supported and would be an important win for public health.”
February 1, 2021
Capna Intellectual Sued Over Bloom Logo

Photo: Capna Intellectual
ITG Brands is suing Capna Intellectual for infringing its Kool trademark, according to Bloomberg Law.
According to ITG, the interlocking “O” letters in Capna’s Bloom cannabis e-cigarette brand logo confusingly resemble ITG’s famous Kool logo.
The suit was filed late January in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.
Capna reportedly applied for federal trademarks covering Bloom for e-cigarettes and oral vaporizers. ITG says it sent Capna a cease-and-desist letter in December.
The complaint says the Bloom marks are intended to capitalize on Kool’s well-known branding.
February 1, 2021
Court Upholds Brazil’s Power to Ban Tobacco Additives

Photo: Taco Tuinstra
Brazil’s Federal Regional Court of the First Region on Jan. 25 affirmed the Brazilian Health Regulatory Agency’s (ANVISA) power to ban the use of additives in tobacco products.
With this decision, the federal court affirms a February 2018 ruling of Brazil’s Supreme Federal Court–the country’s highest court that recognized ANVISA’s authority to regulate tobacco products and upheld a 2012 regulation prohibiting flavors and additives in tobacco products sold in the country.
Due to a quorum issue, the ruling of the Supreme Court did not have a binding effect over other lawsuits previously filed with ordinary federal courts by tobacco companies and the trade group Sinditabaco.
Based on these lawsuits, British American Tobacco subsidiary Souza Cruz and Phillip Morris International were granted injunctions and allowed to continue selling flavored products. The Federal Regional Court ruling on Monday lifted those injunctions and set a precedent for other similar cases in the country.
“This decision reaffirms Brazil’s role as a global leader in tobacco control,” said Patricia Sosa, director of Latin American and the Caribbean programs at the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, in a statement. “We urge other countries in the region and around the world to follow its lead and ban all flavored tobacco products to protect youth and other vulnerable populations.”
In 2012, Brazil became the world’s first country to ban the use of flavors and additives in tobacco products, including menthol. This ban was approved following two years of public hearings and broad stakeholder participation.
January 30, 2021
PMI Partners with Homeland Security

Photo: Tobacco Reporter archive
Philip Morris International has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the National Intellectual Property Rights Coordination Center at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to assist and support Homeland Security Investigations’ illicit tobacco trade operations and other intellectual property rights investigations.
“We are thrilled to partner with DHS and the IPR Center to combat the illicit tobacco trade,” said PMI’s head of illicit trade prevention for the U.S. Hernan Albamonte in a statement. “This partnership will provide both parties necessary information to thwart terrorist and criminal organizations that profit from the trade of illicit tobacco and jeopardize our national security.”
The MOU is focused on comprehensive strategies and coordinating efforts to disrupt and combat all forms of illicit tobacco trade, as well as to address vital areas of intellectual property, brand protection, and anti-counterfeiting strategies. The agreement will also facilitate knowledge transfer between the center and PMI to share mutually beneficial information and research to combat the illicit tobacco trade and assist in other intellectual property rights investigations.
“The agreement being signed today, is a continuation of a years-long partnership between the IPR Center and PMI to protect the American public by enforcing the nation’s intellectual property rights laws and educating consumers on the dangers of illicitly traded tobacco products,” said Steve Francis, IPR Center director. “The IPR Center will leverage this robust public-private partnership to develop outreach, training efforts and share referral information to open investigations and target these criminal acts.”
J.B. Simko
“PMI is focused on developing smoke-free alternatives that are a better choice for adults than continued smoking,” said PMI’s Vice President Of External Affairs J.B. Simko. “Our goal is that one day these products will replace combustible cigarettes for good. The illicit trade undermines these efforts by making unregulated products more accessible, so we are determined to do our part to fight it.”
January 30, 2021
Smoking up During Kiwi Lockdown

Photo: Tobacco Reporter archive
Many smokers upped their cigarette consumption during New Zealand’s Covid-19 lockdown, according to new research published by the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco.
New Zealand’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic was one of the most restrictive lockdowns of any country, inevitably causing stress for many people. Because situations that increase stress and anxiety are associated with higher smoking prevalence, the researchers examined self-reported smoking before and during the lockdown, and analyzed factors associated with reported changes in cigarette consumption.
The scientists conducted an online panel survey of a demographically representative sample of 2010 adult New Zealanders during the Covid-19 lockdown; the final, weighted sample included 261 daily smokers and 71 weekly smokers. We measured psychological distress and anxiety, as well as situational factors, tobacco consumption and demographic attributes.
Nearly half of daily smokers reported smoking more during than before the lockdown, on average, an increase of six cigarettes a day; increased daily cigarette consumption was associated with loneliness and isolation. Most weekly smokers reported either that their smoking during the lockdown had not changed or had slightly reduced.
“As governments introduce unprecedented measures to manage Covid-19, they need also to consider other public health risks, such as increased smoking among current smokers or relapse among recent quitters,” the authors wrote in their report. “Evidence that loneliness was associated with increased smoking during a lockdown suggests a need for cessation out-reach strategies that promote and support smoke-free practices.”
January 30, 2021