Tag: Featured

Stories featured at the top of tobaccoreporter.com

  • Malawi Markets to Open Amid Covid-19

    Malawi Markets to Open Amid Covid-19

    Photo: Taco Tuinstra

    Licensed tobacco markets will open this month, following strict guidelines to help prevent the spread of Covid-19.

    The Malawi government earlier decided that tobacco markets should open to protect growers. The Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security has listed April 20 as the opening date for the markets.

    Sales will begin at the Lilongwe selling floor on April 20; at the Chinkhoma selling floor on April 22; at the Limbe selling floor on April 27; and at the Mzuzu selling floor on May 4.

    To help prevent the spread of Covid-19, entry will be restricted to those who have “critical tasks to perform”; those entering will have to wash their hands at the gate with 0.05 percent chlorinated water and wipe their feet on a chlorinated mat; everyone will have their temperature taken upon entry; entrants must have an ID, wear a uniform and wear a face mask; social distancing will be adhered to; and no more than 100 people will be allowed on the floor at a time.

    Once individuals have finished their business, they will be asked to leave immediately. Tobacco bales will not be re-laid, but Saturday contract sales will continue with willing tobacco-buying companies. Growers will not be allowed to witness sales.

  • Swedish Match Restarts Cigar Production in Dominican

    Swedish Match Restarts Cigar Production in Dominican

    Photo: Swedish Match

    Swedish Match has reopened its factory in the Dominican Republic.

    On March 20, Swedish Match announced that the cigar operations of its subsidiary, Swedish Match Dominicana, would be suspended from March 23 with a targeted date of April 6 to resume operations.

    Manufacturing operations have resumed with one shift, and the resumption of any additional shifts is dependent on the national curfew being lifted or altered.

    Swedish Match does not anticipate any material impact from Covid-19 on its ability to meet anticipated demand.

  • BAT Urges South Africa to Lift Cigarette Ban

    BAT Urges South Africa to Lift Cigarette Ban

    Photo: Taco Tuinstra

    British American Tobacco South Africa (BATSA) is urging the South African government to lift a cigarette ban that went into effect with a stay-at-home order to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.

    The government imposed a 21-day lockdown, closing all nonessential services and banning essential businesses from selling tobacco and alcohol. The ban on tobacco sales is meant to help prevent smokers from suffering from severe complications of the virus—studies have shown that smokers and vapers may face more severe complications from the respiratory illness.

    BATSA, however, argues that the ban may thwart the efforts to contain the virus. “It will unintentionally force 11 million smokers to go outside of their neighborhood in search of outlets willing to defy the ban, as we’ve seen in some media reports,” the company said. “This would lead to greater movement of people and more interactions than if smokers were able to buy cigarettes at their nearest legal outlet at the same time as buying all their other essential goods.”

    The company also fears the ban would lead to more illegal trade, forcing smokers to search for cigarettes and other tobacco products on the black market.

    The Fair Trade Independent Tobacco Association (FITA) supports lifting the ban. “Uplifting the ban would, amongst other things, save jobs, bring more money into the state coffers, stimulate the economy and decrease the psychological impact on South Africans of the lockdown period,” said Sinenhlanhla Mnguni, FITA chairperson. 

    BATSA holds a 78 percent market share of the legal cigarette market in South Africa.

  • Malawi President Orders Tobacco Markets to Open

    Malawi President Orders Tobacco Markets to Open

    Photo: Taco Tuinstra

    Malawi President Peter Mutharika has ordered tobacco markets to be opened and allowed to operate without disruption to protect small farmers and bolster foreign currency receipts. Tobacco is Malawi’s primary foreign currency earner.

    The order is part of a stimulus package aimed at mitigating the impact of the coronavirus outbreak, which also includes measures such as tax breaks, fuel price reductions and increased risk allowances for healthcare workers.

    “The coronavirus attack has a huge negative impact on the economy and businesses everywhere,” Mutharika said. “There are many businesspeople and industry players who are uncertain about the situation as it is unfolding. I know that everyone is worried. Therefore, [the] government will take measures to protect jobs and incomes, protect businesses and ensure continuity of the supply chain and the survival of the economy.”

    Mutharika and his cabinet will also take a 10 percent pay cut to help fight the spread of the coronavirus.

    As of Saturday, Malawi had four confirmed cases of Covid-19.

  • Tax Stamp Group Recruiting to Fight Illicit Trade

    Tax Stamp Group Recruiting to Fight Illicit Trade

    The International Tax Stamp Association (ITSA) is recruiting new members, including government authorities, universities, foundations, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and other associations, who can help fight the fraudulent trade of tobacco, alcohol and other products. 

    All prospective associate members must have a legitimate and established interest in tax/security stamps or secure track-and-trace systems. Associate membership is not open to individuals or to organizations that collaborate significantly with manufacturers, distributors or sellers of excisable products or with their subsidiaries and associates.

    “We want to increase our influence in the fight against the illicit trade of tobacco and other products by forging closer links with NGOs, research bodies, government authorities and other key bodies,” said Juan Carlos Yanez, chairman of the ITSA. “Tobacco fraud in particular leads to a rapid increase in poor health and costs revenue authorities millions of pounds in lost excise duty.”

  • FDA Likely to Delay PMTA Deadline to September

    FDA Likely to Delay PMTA Deadline to September

    Photo: Jhvephotos | Dreamstime.com

    While not yet official, the deadline for submitting premarket tobacco product authorizations (PMTA) to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is one step closer to being delayed from May 12, 2020 to Sept. 9, 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

    Judge Paul Grimm of the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland issued an “indicative ruling” granting the FDA’s request to delay the deadline by 120 days.

    The ruling is not yet final, however, due to procedural issues that are expected to be resolved expeditiously. Due to appeals filed by several organizations, including the Vapor Technology Association and the FDA itself, Grimm no longer has the authority to modify his original ruling which moved the deadline to May 2020. That power now lies with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit.

    For the ruling to become valid, the Fourth Circuit must remand the case back to Grimm’s court where Grimm says he would modify the order to allow the FDA to delay the change. The FDA will then need to update its regulations to move the PMTA date to Sept. 9, 2020.

  • Philter Labs Gets $1 Million in Vapor Filter Funding

    Philter Labs Gets $1 Million in Vapor Filter Funding

    Philter Labs, a San Diego-based technology company that produces micro-sized air filters to help reduce the impacts of secondhand smoke, announced it has received $1 million in new investments.

    The capital will be used for research and development, building out an extensive product roadmap, and launching what the company says will be first-of-its-kind personal filtration products, according to an article on Benzinga.com.

    This new round of funding brings Philter’s total to $3 million. Bravos Capital and Explorer Equity both participated in the effort.

    Philter Lab’s patented zero-5 technology utilizes a five step filtration process that manipulates smoke and vapor at the molecular level to dissipate up to 97 percent of emissions and dissolve harmful particulates and pollutants. Also unique to Philter is it’s pocket-sized design, allowing for ease of use and portability.

    For over 20 years, the team behind Philter has been working to solve major medical problems, and identify consumer-centric solutions for common issues. Philter also aims to help re-frame popular associations behind controversial human behaviors, according to the article.

    Philter’s technology encourages consumers to practice responsible vaping and empowers them to protect those they love, and the environment, by drastically reducing harmful emissions and airborne contaminants. The company’s overarching mission is to change the way people perceive vaping tobacco and cannabis.

    CEO Christos Nicolaidis told Benzinga the goal at Philter Labs is to eliminate the impacts of secondhand smoke and harmful emissions while empowering consumers to vape responsibly, according to the article.

    “This new series of funding builds on our momentum and will allow us to expand on our scientific research and launch new innovative, cutting-edge filtration products,” Nicolaidis said. “We want to lead the charge on a cultural shift for cleaner air and a better environment — and hopefully change the way people vape for the better.”

  • Multinationals Halt Cigarette Manufacturing in Russia

    Multinationals Halt Cigarette Manufacturing in Russia

    Several multinational cigarette makers including Philip Morris International (PMI), Japan Tobacco International (JTI) and British American Tobacco (BAT) have suspended their cigarette manufacturing operations in Russia pending clarification about coronavirus policies.

    The Russian government has listed tobacco products as “non-food” commodities and therefore prohibited them from operating during this stage of the pandemic.

    JTI, which announced a “Putin break” from March 30 to April 3, stated, “This decision was due to the ambiguity of how various regulatory measures taken in the past week, and the definition of continuous production and nonbusiness days, relate to each other, and also the fact that tobacco products were excluded from the list of non-food commodities.”

    The spokesperson noted that JTI has taken measures to ensure an uninterrupted supply of its products to consumers. BAT has closed its St. Petersburg production facility until April 5 for similar reasons. PMI has closed its St. Petersburg production facility until April 3.

    These production slowdowns could lead to a cigarette shortage unless the government clarifies its intent.

  • Uncertainty About Zimbabwe Sales Season

    Uncertainty About Zimbabwe Sales Season

    The Tobacco Sales Floor in Harare

    Zimbabwe’s tobacco marketing season will open on April 22, according to Patrick Davenish, chairman of the Tobacco Industry Marketing Board (TIMB).

    The dates may change depending on the coronavirus pandemic.

    “The position is that we have set the tobacco marketing season dates to the 22nd of April 2020 and what that means is that it gives us a month to monitor developments regarding the virus,” Davenish told reporters.

    “If it becomes worse we may come up with other options depending on the situation on the ground.”

    The TIMB is considering conducting sales with a small number of farmers while the Zimbabwe Tobacco Association was conducting awareness campaigns on farms.

    Patrick Dutiro, a member of Parliament’s agriculture committee, suggested the decongestion of auction floors during the selling season and payment of farmers in foreign currency to discourage them from going to banks to withdraw their money in local currency.

    Tobacco is one of Zimbabwe’s major sources of foreign currency and suspending the marketing season could translate to severe loss.

  • Malawi Hopes Lower Production Will Bring Higher Prices

    Malawi Hopes Lower Production Will Bring Higher Prices

    Malawi is expected to produce 154.7 million kg of all tobacco types this season, 6.62 percent less than last year, reports The Nyasa Times, citing a recent assessment by the Tobacco Commission (TC) of Malawi. The trade also anticipates a 4.4 percent decline in demand for this year.

    The TC attributes the decline to the low prices offered for Malawi tobacco during the 2019 marketing season and excessive rainfall during the growing season, which caused the leaching of crop nutrients.  

    The trade hopes the decline in production will result in attractive prices this year.

    “With 2020 trade demand at 161.4 million kg, the 2020 estimated production is expected to attract competitive pricing as companies will out-compete each other to satisfy their requirements,” the report states.

    “Regionally, the outlook shows expected reduction in production from neighboring Zambia, Tanzania, Mozambique and Zimbabwe arising from erratic rainfall followed by drought experienced at critical vegetative stage of the crop.”

    The TC has suspended the opening of the 2020 tobacco marketing season due to coronavirus, which was declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization.