Tag: Featured

Stories featured at the top of tobaccoreporter.com

Ministry OKs Japan Tobacco Price Increases

Photo: Colleen Williams
Japan Tobacco (JT) has received approval from the Ministry of Finance for its application dated July 31, 2020 to amend retail prices of its Japanese tobacco products.
The new retail prices will be effective on Oct. 1, 2020 for a total of 224 products, including 136 cigarette products, 16 cigarillo products, three pipe tobacco products, three cut tobacco products, 18 snuff tobacco products and 48 tobacco vapor products.
In a statement, JT said it will strive to continue to improve the quality of its products and services, in line with the expectations of its consumers.
The retail price amendments are already included in the 2020 consolidated forecast announced on July 31, 2020, along with certain assumptions.
Under the Tobacco Business Act, list prices for any tobacco products in Japan must be approved by the Ministry of Finance.

August 19, 2020
FDA Accepts Juul Applications

Photo: Juul Labs
Juul and Juul pods will now move into the substantive review phase of the premarket tobacco product application (PMTA) process. Juul Labs has received acceptance and filing letters from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for its battery and nicotine cartridges, the company announced Tuesday.
Joe Murillo
Juul Labs filed the applications last month and all PMTA applications are due to the FDA by Sept. 9. The company’s submission includes “comprehensive scientific evidence for the Juul Device and Juul pods in Virginia Tobacco and Menthol flavors at nicotine concentrations of 5 percent, 3 percent and information on data-driven measures to address underage use of its products.
“We will continue to follow the PMTA process and look forward to this next step as the FDA commences substantive review of the application,” said Juul Labs Chief Regulatory Officer Joe Murillo in a statement.
August 19, 2020
Juul Campaigns Against Counterfeit Products

Photo: Juul
Over the coming weeks, Juul Labs will be filing trademark infringement lawsuits against approximately 20 retailers that the company has identified as some of the worst offenders in the United States.
According to Juul Labs, the defendants targeted in these cases are retail outlets that refused to stop selling counterfeit Juul products even after Juul Labs verified their illicit activities, demanded they stop, and served them with cease and desist notices.
Juul Labs has already filed six trademark infringement actions in several states across the U.S. as part of its global enforcement program directed at disrupting the illicit trade of black-market vapor products.
According to Juul, such products circumvent federal and state laws, can present additional health and safety risks to adult consumers, and undercut underage-prevention measures.
“Through robust enforcement, Juul Labs aims to help create a more responsible marketplace for current adult users while addressing underage use,” the company wrote in a statement.

August 19, 2020
UKVIA: Stanford Vaping Study ‘Fundamentally Flawed’

Photo: lexphumirat from Pixabay
Contrary to what its authors suggest, a recent study led by Stanford University fails to demonstrate a causative relationship between vaping and Covid-19 infection, according to the U.K. Vaping Industry Association (UKVIA).
Researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine recently found that among young people who were tested for the coronavirus, those who vaped were five times to seven times more likely to be infected than those who did not use e-cigarettes.
John Dunne
“Whilst we welcome any research which can assist people in staying safe during the Covid-19 pandemic, the UKVIA is disappointed by the Stanford-led study which appears to dismiss the vital harm-reduction role of vaping for smokers. The study draws disproportionate conclusions, is fundamentally flawed and inconclusive,” said John Dunne, director of the UKVIA.
“While the leader of the study, Dr. Shivani Gaiha, has attempted to account for study participants ‘sheltering in place,’ this metric is self-reported and as such may be unreliable.
“Dr. Gaiha’s study also considers ‘ever-use’ to indicate that a person is a vaper. When this is corrected for those who were vaping within 30-days of a Covid-19 diagnosis, the connection between vaping and the virus is no longer significant. To suggest that any use of a vaping product dramatically increases the chances of contracting Covid-19 is therefore a gross exaggeration.”
“Furthermore, the UKVIA is concerned to see the researchers taking a partial approach to this research and calling upon regulation as a result of dubious findings. Putting such a call out on the back of the research seriously calls into question its purpose.”
Dunne also noted that the issue of youth vaping observed in some other countries is not representative of the situation in the U.K.
August 18, 2020
STG Changes Financial Reporting Structure

Photo: STG
To increase speed to market and unlock synergies, Scandinavian Tobacco Group on May 19, 2020, announced a new organizational structure with three new commercial divisions. To align financial reporting with the new organizational structure and ensure consistency with internal management reporting, the group has now revised its external reporting structure accordingly.

The three divisions are North America Online & Retail, North America Branded & Rest of World and Europe Branded.

Division North America Online & Retail includes direct-to-consumer sales of all product categories sold via the online, catalogue and retail channel in North America.

Division North America Branded & Rest of World includes sales of all product categories to wholesalers and distributors that supply retail in the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, international sales (Norway, Finland, Switzerland, Israel and Russia), Asia, global travel retail and contract manufacturing for third parties.

Division Europe Branded includes sales of all product categories to wholesalers and distributors that supply retail in Germany, Denmark, Sweden, France, Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Spain, Portugal as well as the United Kingdom and Ireland.
STG recently raised its full-year guidance. The group will announce its 2020 second quarter results Aug. 28, 2020.
August 18, 2020
PMI Pays Fine in Anti-Competition Case

Photo: Taco Tuinstra
Philip Morris International (PMI) has paid a UAH1.18 billion ($66.07 million) fine imposed by the Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine (AMCU), reports Interfax-Ukraine.
In October 2019, the AMCU imposed a UAH6.5 billion fine on four international tobacco companies and their local distributor, Tedis Ukraine, for alleged anti-competitive behavior. The agency said the country’s leading tobacco companies and their common distributor, TEDIS, had conspired to keep new businesses from entering the market. However, critics said the AMCU helped bring about the current situation by permitting Tedis Ukraine to acquire several key distribution companies.
The companies appealed the decision at the Economic Court in Kiev but lost. Last week, the American Chamber of Commerce (ACC) in Ukraine expressed concern about the fairness of the trial, saying the defendants had not been given full access to the evidence on which the AMCU based its allegations.
The ACC cautioned that the international publicity associated with the case could negatively impact Ukraine’s image among foreign investors.
Since 1994, PMI has invested more than $370 million in the production and distribution of cigarettes and commercialization of reduced-risk products in Ukraine.
In 2016, Ukraine became the seventh market where PMI launched sales of IQOS tobacco-heating systems. The company employs more than 1,300 people in Ukraine.
August 18, 2020
South Africa Lifts Tobacco Ban

Photo: David Carillet – Dreamstime.com
Consumers will be able to legally purchase tobacco products in South Africa again this week, President Cyril Ramaphosa announced on Saturday.

Sales of tobacco products and alcohol have been banned since March 27 as part of a nationwide lockdown to stem spread of the coronavirus. Alcohol sales were prohibited to ease pressure on hospitals, allowing doctors in emergency wards to focus on Covid-19 rather than road accidents and other alcohol-related injuries. Tobacco products were restricted because of the health impacts of smoking as well as the risk of contamination between people sharing cigarettes.

Despite the announcement, the Fair-Trade Independent Tobacco Association (Fita), which represents seven local cigarette makers, said it would continue its legal challenge of the ban. The organization wants to prevent the government from being able to reinstate the tobacco product ban should cases of Covid-19 spike again.

Another reason for Fita to continue the case is cost. The organization’s legal challenge was initially dismissed by the High Court, but on Saturday the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) granted Fita permission to appeal that ruling. In its decision, the SCA temporarily set aside the costs order currently against Fita. Should Fita discontinue the case, the costs order would be reinstated, leaving the association liable for millions in legal fees.

South Africa’s tobacco sales ban has been controversial. Tobacco product manufacturers have questioned the science behind the measure, arguing that a short-term ban on a product whose health risks become evident only in the long run makes no sense. They also questioned the rationale of the argument around cigarette sharing. Tobacco shortages and high prices of black market cigarettes would only increase the likelihood of smokers sharing their “stompies,” the tobacco companies said.

A separate challenge mounted by British American Tobacco’s (BATSA) hinges on the ban’s unconstitutionality. Lawyers for the company told the Western Cape High Court that the harm caused by the ban far outweighs the benefits to the public health system. BATSA advocate Alfred Cockrell argued that the ban violates the rights of consumers and the right to free trade. He also questioned the argument that smoking could result in a severe form of Covid-19.

Fita says the ban has devastated South Africa’s tobacco sector. The association is reportedly considering seeking reparations for the millions of rand of income lost by tobacco traders during the lockdown.

Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma accused the cigarette industry players of being motivated purely by its financial interests.
August 17, 2020
Beyond Tobacco Batch Sells Out in 72 Hours

Photo: Taat Lifestyle and Wellness
A test market batch of Beyond Tobacco cigarettes sold out within 72 hours after the selected stores began selling the products, according to its manufacturer, Taat Lifestyle and Wellness.

In July 2020, Taat undertook a test production run for Beyond Tobacco cigarettes with its manufacturing partner. An allocation of the batch from this test production run was reserved for market research purposes, with the balance to be offered to select retail stores in Nevada, USA.

Less than 72 hours after the selected stores began selling Beyond Tobacco cigarettes, their inventories had sold out at price points aligned with the company’s planned pricing strategy. According to Taat, purchasers provided positive feedback about Beyond Tobacco cigarettes and expressed enthusiasm about the planned product launch in the fourth quarter of 2020.

“One advantage we have is that Beyond Tobacco cigarettes are a completely intuitive product for anybody who smokes tobacco. There’s nothing to learn and nothing to adapt to—it’s something you use exactly the same way you would use a tobacco cigarette,” said Taat CEO Setti Coscarella.

“The product essentially sells itself because of this, which I believe is precisely why the Nevada retailers who participated in the second iteration of retail market testing managed to sell out of Beyond Tobacco cigarettes in less than 72 hours despite being a new product with no advertising or promotion done to date.”
August 17, 2020
Spain Restricts Smoking in Pandemic Fight

Photo: javier alamo from Pixabay
Facing a new wave of Covid-19 infections, Spanish authorities have prohibited smoking outdoors in cases where social distancing cannot be guaranteed.

The new standards would allow people to continue smoking outdoors if they can maintain two meters of distance between people. “The best thing is never to smoke neither in the public space nor at home,” said Health Minister Salvador Illa.

Earlier last week, Galicia and the Canary Islands already imposed coronavirus-related curbs on smoking after experts recommended the measure to the regional government.

The move is supported by health ministry research outlining the link between smoking and the increased spread of coronavirus. It said the risk was heightened because people project droplets—and potentially Covid-19—when they exhale smoke.

It also said smokers risked infection in other ways, such as by touching their cigarettes before bringing them to their mouths and by handling face masks when taking them on and off.

Spain faces the worst infection rate in western Europe. Daily cases have risen from fewer than 150 in June to more than 1,500 throughout August. It recorded 1,690 new cases in the latest daily count on Wednesday, bringing the country’s total to almost 330,000.
August 17, 2020
Industry Accused of Profiting from Ban

Photo: Tobacco Reporter archive
Tobacco companies have profited handsomely from South Africa’s ban on tobacco sales imposed by the government in response to the Covid-19 pandemic, according to a prominent academic.
“The behavior of the tobacco industry during the lockdown has been nothing short of disgraceful … the fact is that tobacco companies have been actively selling in the illicit market,” said Corne van Walbeek, director of the Research Unit on the Economics of Excisable Products at the University of Cape Town.

He said 90 percent of cigarettes sold since March 27, when the ban took effect, were of brands produced locally, giving the lie to the claim by industry groups that the black market was flooded with counterfeit products.

The government in May allowed cigarette companies to resume export production, and trade experts have said this gave them cover to circumvent the sales ban by exporting excess volumes that were then smuggled into the South African black market.

Van Walbeek said the Fair-Trade Independent Tobacco Association (Fita), the first tobacco group to challenge the ban in court, had increased its market share to around 60 percent during the 140-day-old ban.

“The fact that Fita instituted the court case is especially ironic in that their members have been the main beneficiaries of the sales ban,” said Van Walbeek. “Fita members have greatly increased their market share and have increased the price of their product by nearly 500 percent on average.”

August 17, 2020