Tag: Featured

Stories featured at the top of tobaccoreporter.com

Premium Cigar Makers Get Reprieve from FDA

Photo: 13 Motortion – Dreamstime.com
The District of Columbia on Aug. 19 ruled that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) cannot enforce premarket review requirements for premium cigars until it considers a “streamlined” process for cigar makers to equate their products to older ones.
The ruling means that premium cigar companies will not have to file for product approval on the Sept. 9, 2020, deadline. This ruling applies to almost all cigars found in humidors across the country except for flavored and infused cigars, which are not considered premium by the FDA.
Companies will not need to file paperwork with the FDA to prove that their products are premium; rather, any company selling a cigar that does not meet the definition of “premium cigar” will be subject to the Sept. 9 premarket approval deadline and will need to file for substantial equivalence or another approval pathway.
The ruling does not require the FDA to enact a “streamlined” process for premium cigars but says it must study the issue and cannot require premium cigars to go through substantial equivalence or another process until after that study is complete.
The ruling came from a lawsuit against the FDA by three cigar trade groups: Cigar Association of America, Cigar Rights of America and the Premium Cigar Association (PCA). “This is another monumental victory for the premium cigar industry,” said PCA’s Scott Pearce. “This comes on the heels of legal victories striking down warning labels for premium cigars.”
August 21, 2020
Critics Lambast Axing of Public Health England

Photo: Chris Dorney – Dreamstime.com
The abolition of Public Health England (PHE) puts at risk staff who specialize in tackling alcohol abuse, obesity and smoking, according public health experts.
Earlier this week, U.K. Health Secretary Matt Hancock announced that PHE was being scrapped and merged into a new National Institute for Health Protection alongside National Health Service Test and Trace and the Joint Biosecurity Centre.
PHE had come under fire for its performance in the coronavirus crisis, but critics suspect government officials view the agency as a convenient scapegoat for flawed decisionmaking in the early weeks of the coronavirus crisis.
The timing is also controversial. “It’s an incredibly stupid move,” a health official told The Economist. “We’re in the middle of a pandemic.”
PHE was created in 2013 with responsibilities including preparing and responding to health-related emergencies, such as pandemics. It currently employs around 5,500 full-time staff made up mostly of scientists, researchers and public health professionals.
In the nicotine business, PHE is best known for its 2015 assertion that vaping is 95 percent less harmful than smoking. The agency has been credited with Britain’s comparatively pragmatic vapor policies and progressive attitude toward tobacco harm reduction.
August 21, 2020
Vaping up Among High School Students

Photo: <a href="https://www.dreamstime.com/stock-photo-young-pretty-woman-red-cap-smoke-electronic-cigarette-vape-shop-image90748444" Aliaksandr Barouski – Dreamstime.com
Nearly 11 percent of U.S. high school students used e-cigarettes frequently in 2019, according to the most recent Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS), which was released by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) on Aug. 20.
The YRSB defines “frequent” use as consuming a product on at least 20 of the 30 days preceding the survey. It also distinguishes “ever” use and “current” use (at least one day during the 30 days prior to the survey).
The YRBS found that 32.7 percent of high school students were current e-cigarette users in 2019, up from 24.1 percent in 2015. Six percent of high school students were current cigarette smokers in 2019, down from 27.5 percent in 1991. Of these 6 percent, 22.2 percent were frequent users.
Current smokeless tobacco use was 3.8 percent among high school students last year. Nearly 29 percent of these students consumed smokeless tobacco frequently.
Among current electronic vapor product users aged 17 years or younger, the most reported source was “borrowing them from someone else” (42.8 percent). Among current electronic vapor product users aged 18 years or older, the most cited source was “buying them in a store” (56.4 percent).
“Although current cigarette smoking, cigar smoking, and smokeless tobacco use has decreased among high school students, the increased prevalence of electronic vapor product use among youths is concerning,” the CDC wrote in a statement. “Continued surveillance for all tobacco product use is warranted for guiding and evaluating public health policy at the local, state, tribal, and national levels.”
The Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids (CFTFK) called for regulatory action. “The 2019 YRBS results released today by the CDC are a powerful reminder of the severity of the youth e-cigarette epidemic and demonstrate that it is as urgent as ever that policymakers eliminate the flavored, nicotine-loaded products that have addicted millions of kids,” said Matthew L. Myers, president of the CFTFK.
August 21, 2020
Ceylon Sales Recover to Pre-Pandemic Levels

Ceylon Tobacco (CTC) said that cigarette sales are recovering to pre-pandemic levels following a 38 percent decline in sales during the second quarter of 2020.
CTC revenue for the second quarter of 2020 declined by 35.2 percent from the second quarter of 2019 to LKR5.53 billion ($30 million), while profits for the quarter dropped by 33 percent to LKR3.10 billion.
CTC’s sales were impacted due to product access restrictions faced by consumers and retailers because of the island-wide curfew imposed to contain the Covid-19 pandemic from late Mach to mid-May.
“Post June, the business recovery is reverting to nearly pre-Covid-19 levels encouragingly faster than anticipated, and the business is cautiously optimistic of the future in anticipation of revival of the economy,” a CTC spokesperson said.
British American Tobacco holds 84.13 percent of CTC’s shares, with Philip Morris International accounting for an 8.32 percent stake.
August 21, 2020
BAT Mulls Sale of Globe House

Photo: BAT
British American Tobacco (BAT) is considering a sale-and-leaseback deal for its Globe House headquarters in London. The Times of London reported the tobacco manufacturer may be able to sell the Westminster property for more than £250 million ($328.69 million).
“We are continually striving to become a stronger, simpler and faster organization,” a spokeswoman was quoted as saying. “As part of this journey, we are always exploring ways to best leverage our assets, including the possible option of a sale and subsequent leaseback of our Globe House head office in London.”
She said that irrespective of the outcome, the company had no plans to leave Globe House, which it has occupied since 1998.
In September 2019, BAT cut 2,300 jobs as part of a restructuring effort to focus the firm on e-cigarettes and other new products. The company employs around 55,000 employees worldwide, with 55 factories in 48 countries.
When asked by a U.S. newspaper whether it had plans to sell its U.S. headquarters in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, BAT did not comment.
In June 2014, Reynolds American sold its iconic former headquarters building for $7.8 million to PMC Property Group of Philadelphia.
August 20, 2020
U.K. Firms Told to Step up Litter Control

Photo: Tobacco Reporter archive
U.K. environment minister Rebecca Pow has threatened the tobacco industry with tough action unless it does a better job of controlling cigarette litter.
In letters sent to Philip Morris, Japan Tobacco International and the Tobacco Manufacturers Association (TMA), Pow described smoking-related litter as a particularly persistent and widespread problem
“I had hoped to see the TMA and the companies it represents work more proactively to deliver on the commitment it gave during the 2015 select committee inquiry on litter and fly-tipping.”
Pow said she was prepared to hold talks with the tobacco industry and Keep Britain Tidy (KBT) but kept open the option of additional steps if the roundtable yielded insufficient progress.
“We will have to reflect on what steps the government can take going forward to ensure that the tobacco industry takes increasing responsibility for the litter that its products create,” she said.
Pow warned this “could go beyond what KBT has proposed to the industry as a voluntary approach”.
The Environment Bill contains clauses that would allow the creation of an environmental permitting regulations scheme for tobacco filters.
August 20, 2020
Call for Crackdown on Illicit Trade After Ban

Cigarette sales became in South Africa became legal again on Aug. 18
(Photo: Michael Turner | Dreamstime)
British American Tobacco South Africa (BATSA) has called on the government to urgently ratify the World Health Organization’s (WHO) illicit trade protocol. The appeal comes after the company lost a substantial share of the domestic market during the country’s coronavirus lockdown, which included a five-month ban on tobacco sales.
Research by the University of Cape Town’s Research Unit on the Economics of Excisable Products (REEP) found that 93 percent of smokers were able to purchase cigarettes during the lockdown. However, the brands they bought changed significantly.
The market share of BATSA products dropped from 48 percent prior to lockdown to 8.7 percent in June, REEP found. According to BATSA, the small share of people who reported being able to buy BATSA brands during the lockdown almost certainly obtained them out of pre-lockdown shipped retail stock.
Meanwhile, sales of cigarette brands associated with the Fair-Trade Independent Tobacco Association (Fita) increased substantially while BAT was unable to operate normally during the lockdown. Sales of Zimbabwean-owned Gold Leaf Tobacco Corp.’s RG brand, for example, exploded. At 11.6 percent of the market, this brand saw approximately 10 million cigarettes purchased every day at prices that were up to five times higher than prior to lockdown despite no tax being paid, according to BATSA.
“Our company has not shipped a single cigarette to South African retail or wholesale customers since the ban came into effect in March,” said BATSA spokesperson Johnny Moloto. “This is why we, as the previously largest tobacco company in the country are barely a footnote in the REEP reports now.”
Cigarette and tobacco product sales in South Africa became legal again on Tuesday, but South African Revenue Service Commissioner Edward Kieswetter said it would take years to root out the corruption and illegal activities that have taken root in the past four months.
The ratification of the global illicit trade protocol that BATSA demands would oblige South Africa to implement WHO track-and-trace guidelines, among other measures. South Africa signed the agreement seven years ago but never ratified it.
August 20, 2020
Cushman Named General Counsel
Brittani Cushman
Turning Point Brands (TPB) has appointed Brittani Cushman as general counsel, effective Oct. 31. James Dobbins, TPB senior vice president, general counsel and secretary, will retire that day following more than 20 years leading the company’s legal and governance functions.
Cushman currently serves as senior vice president of external affairs in the company’s legal department. She joined TPB as director of external affairs in 2014. During her tenure with the company, Cushman has been a key driver of initiatives related to the company’s policy strategy and regulatory filings along with advising on significant acquisitions, TPB wrote in a statement. Prior to joining TPB, Cushman served as general counsel at a privately held tobacco product manufacturer.
“James has been an invaluable resource for our growing organization during his tenure with the company, including the successful initial public offering in 2016,” said Larry Wexler, president and CEO of TPB. “The board of directors and executive team thank James for his leadership and service to the company. I am particularly pleased that he has agreed to remain with the company in a consulting role.”
Cushman will assume the role of deputy general counsel immediately, working with Dobbins to ensure a seamless transition ahead of his departure.
“Brittani has been a critical piece of our leadership team,” Wexler commented. “Since joining the company, her unique skillset and forward-thinking contributions have strengthened the business. Brittani’s ability to diagnose and respond to evolving legal landscapes will be a significant factor to our continued success.”
August 20, 2020
Blackbriar Expands Services

Photo: Avail Vapor
Blackbriar Regulatory Services (BRS), a firm specializing in helping small-sized to mid-sized companies bring regulated products to market, is expanding.
Expansion efforts include adding cleanroom manufacturing space, increasing analytical capabilities and expanding regulatory service offerings.
“With the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s [FDA] premarket tobacco product application [PMTA] deadline approaching within weeks for existing nicotine-based vaping products currently on the market, we are now seeing an increase in PMTA demand for new, innovative nicotine-based vaping products,” said Russ Rogers, CEO at BRS in a statement.
“The FDA rightly worked with the industry to pause and take a look at the appropriateness of the products on the market, and those companies who understand how to make the highest-quality products are in a position to start working on applications for next- generation technologies that should create dramatically improved user experiences and step-wise safety improvements.”
BRS is under contract to file more product applications before the Sept. 9, 2020, deadline for several U.S. and international customers, and is now starting to prepare PMTA submissions for next generation nicotine-based vapor products for companies that are seeking to revitalize their product portfolio after the recent industry-wide focus on obtaining approval for legacy products.
August 20, 2020
BAT Resumes Tobacco Sales in South Africa

Photo: Taco Tuinstra
British American Tobacco has resumed cigarette sales in South Africa after the government lifted its near five-month ban on the sale of tobacco products. The decision was announced by the South African president on Saturday as part of the government’s decision to move from lockdown level 3 to level 2.
“We are pleased with the South African government’s decision to move from lockdown level 3 to level 2 and thereby end the ban on tobacco sales,” said Luciano Comin, British American Tobacco’s (BAT) regional director of the Americas and Sub-Saharan Africa in a statement. “We have resumed out business in South Africa while continuing to await the outcome of our recent legal case.”
BAT’s South African subsidiary, the largest tobacco manufacturer in South Africa, started shipping tobacco products to trade partners on Monday, Aug. 17 with products becoming available for smokers to buy in store from Tuesday, Aug. 18.
August 19, 2020