Tag: Featured

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Warning Against Loose ‘18650’ Batteries

Photo: Trodler – Dreamstime.com
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) has warned that consumers should not buy or use loose 18650 lithium-ion battery cells due to a possible fire and even death risk. The batteries are commonly used in flashlights and toys and some vapor products.
The commission said it is working with e-commerce to remove listings of loose or repackaged “18650 lithium-ion” batteries, according to a press release. A superior court in California recently denied a request by Samsung to dismiss a lawsuit about an exploding e-cigarette lithium-ion batteries.
The CPSC warning is about batteries separated from cells that use multiple 18650s such as battery packs for electric automobiles.
“These cells are manufactured as industrial component parts of battery packs and are not intended for individual sale to consumers. However, they are being separated, rewrapped and sold as new consumer batteries, typically on the Internet,” the CPSC said in a statement on Saturday. “Specifically these battery cells may have exposed metal positive and negative terminals that can short-circuit when they come into contact with metal objects such as keys or loose change in a pocket.”
Once shorted, loose cells could overheat and experience thermal runaway, igniting the cell’s internal materials and forcibly expelling burning contents, resulting in fires, explosions, serious injuries and even death.
“Unfortunately a growing number of small consumer products such as vaping devices, personal fans, headlamps and some toys are using loose 18650s as a power source,” the CPSC stated in its release.
January 12, 2021
Smoker Friendly Recapitalizes

Photo: Myriams-Fotos from Pixabay
Smoker Friendly (SF) has completed a minority recapitalization and debt restructure with Main Street Capital Corp. Based in the United States, Smoker Friendly continues to be owned and operated by the Gallagher Family and led by the current management team.
Smoker Friendly acquired 33 Smokers’ Outlet (SO) stores in Missouri, 22 Tobacco Road Outlet locations in North Carolina and three Smoker Friendly dealer stores in North Carolina in the last 14 months.
“Having experienced previous acquisitions, the process Smoker Friendly utilized when purchasing SO was by far the best,” said Perry Cheatham, former president, Smokers’ Outlet. “My team was welcomed into the SF family and from day one felt like valued members of the team.”
Smoker Friendly was founded in 1989 by the Gallagher family, who owned Gasamat, and a group of family owned candy and tobacco wholesale distributors in the Rocky Mountain region and Midwest. The Gallagher Family has wholly owned it since 2005.
“This new partnership will allow us to bolt on more businesses to our platform and continue to execute our acquisition strategy,” said Dan Gallagher, COO, Smoker Friendly. “The acquisitions this past year have been seamlessly integrated into the operation and we’ve added many terrific people to our team.”
“Smoker Friendly ensured a smooth transition with their team of specialists during the acquisition,” said Rex Whitaker, former pPresident, Tobacco Road Outlets. “One of my primary concerns was our employees and they offered positions to all who chose to remain, and it was a very smooth transition.”
Smoker Friendly has more than 160 retail stores across seven states that operate as tobacco stores, cigar lounges, liquor stores and fuel outlets. The company also owns a full line private-label tobacco brand that has an additional 700 stores that sell its branded product.
“I look forward to our partnership with Main Street Capital and believe it will be very beneficial to our company and strengthen Smoker Friendly, allowing the company to accelerate and execute acquisitions across the country,” said Smoker Friendly CEO, Terry Gallagher. “The strategic investment by Main Street will continue to fuel our growth and allow us to expand into new markets and grow in existing [ones].”
January 12, 2021
Marijuana Stocks Rise After Democrats Wins

Photo: Photo: forcal35 from Pixabay
Marijuana stocks have risen this week following the victories of Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff, both Democrats, in Georgia’s Senate election runoffs, reports Fox Business. Following President-elect Joe Biden’s win, Democrats will now have control of the presidency as well as both chambers of Congress. Democrats will have 50 seats in the Senate, giving Vice President-elect Kamala Harris the tie-breaker vote.
Canopy Growth, the first marijuana stock to ever be publicly traded in North America, is up 13.2 percent since the election. Shares of Green Thumb stock are up more than 10 percent.
“This new slate of leadership presents an incredible opportunity for national cannabis reform in the United States—the beginning of the end for the long-outdated prohibition on cannabis,” David Culver, U.S. vice president of government relations at Canopy Growth, told Fos Business. “We feel confident that Congress, with the support of the incoming Biden administration, and particularly Vice President-elect Kamala Harris who was an original sponsor of the MORE [Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement] Act, can achieve full federal legalization in the very near future.”
The Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement Act (MORE) Act was passed by the House in December, but Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell denied bringing it to a Senate vote. This may change under the incoming Biden administration, however.
While Harris was against marijuana legalization while working as district attorney and attorney general in California, she changed her position in the Senate to co-sponsor the MORE Act. Biden, as well, favored decriminalizing marijuana during his 2020 presidential campaign.
Green Thumb Founder and CEO Ben Kovler predicts that a fully legalized marijuana market in the United States could be an $80 billion to $100 billion industry, according to Fox Business.
“Consumers are choosing; they’re replacing alcohol,” Kovler said. “Consumers 35 and under are choosing cannabis over alcohol. We’re seeing seniors, 60 and over, choose this to replace things like Ambien, or pain meds [for] arthritis. There are all kinds of different uses for the plants as we turn the plants into consumer products.”
Further legalization of marijuana could open new opportunities for tobacco farmers faced with declining demand for their crops.
In 2018, U.S. Congress legalized hemp with less than 0.3 percent THC, the psychoactive component in cannabis, in all 50 states. Since then, some tobacco farmers have either shifted to growing hemp or added it to their repertoire as an additional income source. Some major tobacco companies have taken stakes in the cannabis industry in recent years. Altria Group, for example, purchased a stake in Cronos Group, a leading global cannabinoid company, headquartered in Toronto, Canada. Pyxus International, the parent company of leaf tobacco merchant Alliance One International, purchased a 40 percent share in Criticality, an integrated industrial hemp company.
The global industrial hemp market size is expected to reach $15.26 billion by 2027, exhibiting a revenue-based compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 15.8 percent over the forecast period, according to Grand View Research. Additionally, according to Global Market Insights, the cannabidiol (CBD) market exceeded $2.8 billion in 2019 and is set to grow at around 52.7 percent CAGR between 2020 and 2026, with the global market valuation for CBD crossing $89 billion by 2026.
The opportunities presented by legal marijuana extend also to suppliers of the tobacco industry. For example. German tobacco machinery maker Hauni recently developed equipment or cannabis processing.
January 11, 2021
Lawsuit Against Juul Distributor Dismissed

Photo: Okan Caliskan from Pixabay
A federal judge in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, USA, has dismissed investors’ lawsuit against tobacco distributor Greenlane Holdings, reports Reuters.
Investors filed a class action lawsuit, claiming Greenlane should have mentioned a pending ban on e-cigarettes before publicly offering stock in 2019.
U.S. District Judge Roy Altman dismissed the proposed class action, saying the distributor for Juul Labs had no duty to flag San Francisco’s then-pending ban on e-cigarettes to investors ahead of its initial public offering in 2019, according to Reuters. Altman called the class action “nothing more than a hammer in search of a nail.”
Altman ruled that the investors did not have a viable claim under the Securities Act of 1933 because Greenlane warned them of the risk of increased tobacco regulation in its registration statement, and the proposed e-cigarette ban was already public.
January 11, 2021
Court Clears Way for E-Cig Explosion Case

Photo: 정수 이 from Pixabay
A superior court in California has denied a request by Samsung to dismiss a lawsuit about an exploding e-cigarette lithium-ion battery.
According to the complaint, the plaintiff had purchased the Samsung batteries on the recommendation of an e-cig retailer, and used them without issue until April 14, 2018, when the Samsung battery exploded in his pocket, inflicting second- and third-degree burns on his left leg and genitalia, requiring skin-graft surgery, and leaving him with permanent scarring, discoloration and hyper-sensitivity.
According to the lawsuit, Samsung had known since at least January 2016 that individual consumers were purchasing and using Samsung batteries for use in electronic cigarettes—a use that Samsung allegedly knew would subject consumers to potential harm. Instead of taking meaningful action to limit the risk or remove its batteries from the marketplace, Samsung ignored the problem, resulting in at least 88 cases filed against Samsung for similar battery explosion issues.
Samsung filed a motion for summary judgment/adjudication attempting to dismiss the case, including a request to dismiss claims for punitive damages. The Court denied Samsung’s motion in its entirety, leaving it to the trier of fact to determine not only Samsung’s liability for the harm caused by its batteries, but Samsung’s culpability for punitive damages as well.
“Samsung has known for years that its batteries were being used in e-cigarette products,” said Greg Bentley of Bentley & More, the law firm representing the plaintiff, in a statement. “Instead of getting them off the market, Samsung has taken the greedy path putting profit over safety, evidenced by the huge uptick in sales of just this one model alone—from 14.1 million sales in 2015 to 63.7 million in 2017, and many millions more over the last three years. Enough is enough. We look forward to the jury seeing the evidence and holding Samsung accountable.”
It is believed that this is the first of its kind ruling regarding punitive damages claimed against Samsung involving injuries suffered as a result of an e-cigarette battery explosion.
January 8, 2021
Nat Sherman Brands Acquired

A new company will bring back select products from the illustrious tobacco seller.
Michael Herklots and Brendon Scott have purchased various Nat Sherman International brands from Altria, according to a report by Halfwheel. Herklots and Scott are former employees of Nat Sherman International.
The brands will be sold by a new company, Ferio Tego.
Altria placed Nat Sherman International for sale in 2019 after announcing its departure from the premium cigar business. The brand was purchased by Altria in 2017.
The Covid-19 pandemic allegedly derailed an agreement to sell the entire division to an unnamed buyer, and Altria announced it would close Nat Sherman International.
Herklots and Scott did not bid on the entire Nat Sherman International portfolio because it would have been a conflict of interest; Herklots led the Nat Sherman brand after it was purchased by Altria, and he was helping to sell the brand when it was put up for sale.
“We closed the business (on) Nov. 15, and once it was closed, I couldn’t sleep thinking that there might be a chance to continue the legacy myself,” said Herklots. “I was heartbroken thinking that the brands I worked so hard to build would be left ‘on file.’ And so I asked for consideration to acquire the brands after we closed.”
“We are grateful to Altria for working with us to find a path forward for these brands,” said Scott. “I am extremely excited to work with Michael and our manufacturing partners to continue the legacy of these brands built by so many people over many decades. We are eager to bring our products back into the humidors of retailers and consumers.”
Herklots and Scott hope to have their new cigar line, Ferio Tego, on the market in spring. The two also purchased the rights to Nat Sherman pipe tobacco, but they have no current plans to place pipe tobacco on the market.
January 7, 2021
Essentra Launches Biodegradable Filters

Image: Essentra
Essentra Filters has launched three new proprietary products—ECO Cavitec, ECO Sensation, and ECO Cavitec Sensation, delivering a plastic-free, 100 percent biodegradable alternative while maintaining the unique sensorial attributes, performance and quality characteristic of Essentra Filters.
“Although recent trends have brought the topics of single-use plastics and sustainability to the forefront of the conversations, Essentra Filters has always been committed towards a sustainable future,” says Seng Keong Low, global marketing manager at Essentra Filters.
“We have continuously been innovating new, high quality, eco-friendly products, with existing offerings such as our paper-cellulose acetate mix Bitech Filter to single-segment paper filters such as Myria and Ochre Filters. In the latest step of our sustainability evolution, our new ECO Cavitec, ECO Sensation and ECO Cavitec Sensation filters offer a plastic-free, 100 percent biodegradable alternative with unique sensorial attributes and quality performance, a true revolution in filters technology.”
The ECO Cavitec Filter is a proprietary, patent-filed, eco-friendly filter with unique sensorial attributes, reducing the efficiency of a typical paper filter to allow for a fuller flavor delivery. Manufactured using Essentra’s market Cavitec technology, the design is customizable and can be combined with any other segments, in addition to customization for the size, cavity length, number of cavities, pressure drop and constructed material, i.e. paper or other nonwoven materials.
The ECO Sensation Filter is a proprietary, eco-friendly filter option to engage the consumer with his or her senses. A capsule is embedded in the paper material during manufacturing and can be crushed at any point, giving consumers control of their taste experience. In addition to customization of capsule type, cavity size, or use of colored plugwraps, ECO Sensation Filter can be manufactured using different paper types, combined with other end segments, or make use of Essentra’s Infused technology to achieve additional sensory benefits.
A proprietary patent filed filter, ECO Cavitec Sensation is an eco-friendly filter with three unique sensorial attributes, combining the properties of non-woven materials with the Essentra’s Cavitec technology. As the capsule is free to move within the cavity, consumers can hear the capsule rattle within the cavity while feeling the vibration through the fingers.
The capsule can be crushed at any time, providing consumers flavor on demand. As with all offerings from Essentra Filters, the design of ECO Cavitec Sensation is customizable and can be manufactured using different paper types, combined with other end segments, or make use of Essentra’s Infused technology, in addition to customisation of capsule type, cavity size, or use of colored plugwraps.

January 7, 2021
Zimbabwe Earns $763 Million From Tobacco

Photo: Taco Tuinstra
Tobacco exports earned Zimbabwe $763 million in 2020, reports The Street Journal.
More value-added tobacco in the form of cut rag and cut stems were exported in 2020 compared to 2019, the Tobacco Industry and Marketing Board (TIMB) said.
Exports of byproducts increased from 36 million kg in 2019 to 43 million kg in 2020.
Despite Covid-19, Zimbabwe exported 187 million kg of tobacco, equal to the previous year’s volumes, according to the TIMB. “Global tobacco movements in the year 2020 have not been impacted significantly regardless of the global pandemic,” the TIMB said in a statement. “More value-added tobacco in the form of cut rag and cut stems have been exported this year [2020] compared to 2019. The Far-East was the top destination for Zimbabwean tobacco as 33 percent of total exports were destined for China.”
The average tobacco export price in 2020 was $4.06 per kg compared to $4.51 per kg in the same period in 2019.
Tobacco generates 30 percent of Zimbabwe’s foreign currency, bringing in more than $600 million annually.
January 7, 2021
Swisher Names Rossi SVP Sales & Marketing

Photo: Jakub Jirsák | Dreamstime
Swisher has named Jeff Rossi as senior vice president, sales and marketing. In his new role, Rossi will oversee both sales and marketing functions, including the trade marketing group, focusing on driving success and collaboration. Previously, Rossi was vice president, trade marketing and category development.
“Jeff has demonstrated exceptional work in every position he has held at Swisher,” said John Haley, Swisher’s chief growth officer, in a statement. “His leadership and business acumen will continue to drive success and synergies within the three groups.” Reporting to Jeff will be Dean Simmons, vice president field sales, Dave Untiedt, vice president consumer marketing and Andrew Swartz, senior director trade marketing.
In the fourth quarter of 2020, Swisher announced an expansion of the company’s vision, offerings and focus on adult consumer lifestyles. As part of the strategic focus, Swisher’s five strategic businesses—Swisher Sweets Cigar Company (large & little/filtered cigars); Fat Lip Brands (smokeless); Drew Estate (premium cigars); Hempire (hemp products); and Rogue Holdings (modern oral nicotine)—provide category expertise, product knowledge and a focused approach under a renewed purpose for the company.
The new corporate growth department will also include a renewed focus on servicing the needs of Swisher’s trade partners with better market and in-store data insights, including packaging and merchandising solutions.
“As we begin our 160th year in business, I’m excited to take on this new role and lead Swisher sales and marketing into a new era focused on our five strategic growth categories and continue to drive the implementation of our purpose, mission and vision,” said Rossi.
January 7, 2021
India Mulls Crackdown on Tobacco

Photo: Taco Tuinstra
India’s health ministry wants to ban public smoking, prohibit the sale of loose cigarettes and increase the minimum smoking age from 18 to 21, reports The Economic Times.
Earlier this week, the Union Health Ministry published the draft Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Amendment Act, which if implemented in its entirety could have long-term ramifications for the cigarette industry.
However, some analysts believe the government’s draft policy is ambitious and may not be fully implemented.
“In India, there are rules out there for many things, but implementation will be a major challenge,” said Abneesh Roy, executive vice-president at Edelweiss Securities.
Tobacco companies operating in India’s $12 billion cigarette market are likely to raise objections before the public consultation period of the proposal ends on Jan. 31.
“Some of the measures are very extreme and problematic,” one tobacco industry executive told Reuters. A second executive said concerns around the impact on employment and how farmers could be affected will also be shared with the government.
India had proposed sweeping changes to its tobacco-control law in 2015 as well but the proposal was dropped following protests from the tobacco industry.
Shares of market leader ITC tanked 2.9 percent on Wednesday to INR205.35 ($2.80) on the national stock exchange. Prior to this correction, shares of the soap-to-tobacco maker had risen 30 percent since November as analysts saw signs of recovery in the cigarette and non-cigarette fast-moving consumer goods businesses.
January 7, 2021