Tag: Featured

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RELX Wins Red Dot Award for Design

RELX Technology has been awarded the Red Dot Award: Product Design 2020 for its latest e-cigarette, RELX Infinity.
The Red Dot Award: Product Design is one of the world’s largest design competitions. In 2020, designers and manufacturers from more than 50 countries entered more than 6,500 products in the competition. An international jury comprising experts from different disciplines assessed the entries on criteria such as innovation, functionality, formal quality, longevity and ergonomics.
Unveiled in Shenzhen, China, in January, the RELX Infinity has been designed to deliver a full flavor and a smooth. The smoothness is achieved by RELX’s Active-steam Pro and Air Boost technologies. Active-steam Pro achieves a consistent vapor volume and quality by actively balancing and controlling both atomizing power and temperature; while the aerodynamic Air Boost creates negative pressure that pushes the vapor up from the atomizer.
Infinity also features enhanced battery performance and wireless charging. RELX also improved the product’s resistance to leakage.
RELX products have been recognized before. In 2019, the RELX i e-cigarette was awarded the 2019 Bronze Prize at the European Product Design Awards and the Bronze award at the 2018 International Design Awards.
March 27, 2020
Pyxus Reviews ‘Strategic Alternatives’

Pyxus International is evaluating strategic alternatives to maximize value. As part of the process, the board of directors established a special committee of independent directors, which will be chaired by Martin R. Wade III.
The special committee will consider and assess a range of strategic, operational and financial alternatives, which may include a sale, recapitalization or other transaction, and will make related recommendations thereon to the full board.
Pyxus has retained Lazard and RPA Advisors as its financial advisors to assist with the strategic review process and Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP as legal counsel.
Pyxus previously initiated an evaluation of plans for a potential partial monetization of interests in its nontobacco subsidiaries and launched a global operations efficiency program with the aim to position the company for long-term success.
The company has not set a timetable for completion of the review and does not intend to disclose developments related to the process unless and until the company executes a definitive agreement with respect thereto or the board otherwise determines that further disclosure is appropriate or required.
March 26, 2020
Malawi Delays Marketing Season

The Malawi tobacco marketing season will be delayed due to the spread of the coronavirus.
Traditionally, the tobacco market opens between March and April.
“The decision to postpone the opening to tobacco marketing season was made following an emergency meeting with industry stakeholders,” said Kayisi Sadala, the Tobacco Commission chief executive officer. The industry will reconsider opening the market after at least a month.
March 26, 2020
Cigar Industry Petitions for SE Delay

The Premium Cigar Association and the Cigar Rights of America filed a petition to extend the May 12 deadline for Substantial Equivalence reports with Alex Azar, secretary of Health and Human Services, and Stephen Hahn, the U.S. Food and Drug Association (FDA) commissioner.
Azar and Hahn both have the power to stay regulatory deadlines during a public health emergency.
“These Substantial Equivalence reports are required to continue to sell the thousands of premium cigars introduced to the market between Feb. 15, 2007, and Aug. 8, 2016, and each report requires time, considerable cost and effort,” said the Premium Cigar Association.
A Maryland judge declined to extend the Substantial Equivalence deadline to 2021 last July.
March 26, 2020
Chinese Hardware Makers Normalizing Operations

The hardware manufacturers in China that produce vapor products for the world market are back in business after a brief hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Based mostly in Shenzhen, the world’s electronics and e-cigarette capital, companies say that they are implementing new standards and processes to keep employees and customers safe.
Several companies have also intensified their data-collection efforts for premarket tobacco product authorizations (PMTA) in U.S. market. “The coronavirus is indeed having an impact on the PMTA process,” says Welford Ou, CEO for SmokTech, a major manufacturer. “For example, the behavioral investigations have been stopped, and it also taking more time for us to prepare all the products for the PMTA.” As of this writing, PMTA applications are due to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on May 12.
Smoore Technologies, the parent to Vaporesso and Feelm, says it “took strong and comprehensive measures” in advance of the virus’ outbreak. “We set up disease prevention and control teams in each of our facilities before the Chinese Spring Festival holiday. Dating back to Jan. 20, Feelm teams started to collect information, investigate employee’s conditions, prepare epidemic prevention supplies and disinfect public areas,” said Sofia Luo, marketing director for Feelm. “Before getting back on track, Feelm handed out a COVID-19 prevention and control booklet to each employee, providing scientific support to enhance health security.”
All Smoore facilities are now back up to at least 85 percent of pre-pandemic production, according to Luo. She says Feelm is already shipping goods to the U.S. and has been since the middle of February. “Smoore and its subsidiaries have enough key materials inventory and all of our supply chain has recovered and is back in production,” she said. When asked whether there was a supply shortage, Luo replied: “In general, the impact of supply shortage is under control.”
SmokTech is getting back to its normal operations and more workers are expected to be hired as the virus outbreak is brought under control, according to Ou, who added that the company is awaiting the return of some workers from Wuhan (located in the Hubei province and the epicenter of the pandemic) where residents were quarantined until March 25.
“The sales are doing well even with the Spring festival and a longtime staying at home for virus control,” says Ou. “Our challenge is to get more skilled workers in short amount of time to meet the growing demand. My concern for the world market is hopefully they will embrace vaping and see it is better and safer than smoking cigarettes.”–T.S.D.
Timothy Donahue is the assistant editor of Tobacco Reporter. Since joining our team in January 2013, he has become not only an expert on the traditional tobacco business but also a well-respected voice in the rapidly developing vapor industry. Tim spends much of his time on the road, attending conferences and interviewing industry representatives. His networking skills, work ethic and quick mind are valuable assets to our diverse audience.

March 25, 2020
Physicians Urge Smoking Ban in Fight Against Virus

The New York State Academy of Family Physicians is urging Governor Andrew Cuomo to ban the sale of all tobacco products to help fight the spread of coronavirus.
The group cites a study connecting smoking to a higher risk of contracting the illness. “As our state and country struggle to respond to the rapidly evolving and escalating Covid-19 pandemic affecting our residents and straining our healthcare system, mounting evidence demonstrates the link between tobacco use and increased risk for progressive Covid-19,” said Barbara Keber, president of the New York State Academy of Family Physicians.
Prior to the coronavirus outbreak, Cuomo had banned flavored tobacco-based vapor products to fight against the rise in youth usage.
March 25, 2020
Karnataka Halts Tobacco Auctions

The tobacco auction in Karnataka, India, has been halted across all 10 platforms due to a statewide lockdown to prevent the spread of coronavirus.
The auction began in September 2019 and was scheduled to close by the end of March 2020.
The suspension comes amid rising tobacco prices due to unavailability of tobacco from China.
“Unfortunately, the farmers will not be able to delay the auction endlessly as it is a perishable commodity,” said Javare Gowda, president of the Federation of VFC Tobacco Growers’ Association of Karnataka. He requested that the auction be resumed as soon as the lockdown is lifted.
March 25, 2020
PMI Suspends Bologna Operations

Philip Morris (PM) is suspending operations at its Bologna, Italy, plant for a week.
About 50 percent of PM’s IQOS heatsticks are manufactured at the Bologna plant. The closure comes amid the outbreak of Covid-19 and aims to help prevent further spread of the virus.
There are adequate supplies of inventory to cover the closure of the plant, including more than two months of heated-tobacco units, more than three months of tobacco-heating devices and more than a month and a half of cigarettes, according to the company’s press release.
The company’s other heated-tobacco facilities remain open, and there is flexibility to shift production to other locations. PM operated 38 factories as of 2019, with seven producing heated-tobacco units and the largest facilities in Indonesia, Turkey, the Philippines, Russia, Poland, Lithuania and Italy.
March 25, 2020
Vapor Clouds Don’t Spread virus

There is insufficient evidence to support the claim that Covid-19 can be spread through vape clouds, according to Neal Benowitz, a University of California San Francisco professor of medicine.
“It is my understanding that exhaled e-cigarette vapor consists of very small particles of water, propylene glycol and glycerin and flavor chemicals, not droplets of saliva,” Benowitz said.
“The vaping aerosol evaporates very quickly while particles that are emitted when coughing or sneezing are large particles that persist in the air for a relatively long period of time.
“Thus, I would not think that vapers present any risk of spreading Covid-19 unless they are coughing when they exhale the vapor.”

Benowitz’s remarks follow comments by Tom McLean, a Scottish microbiologist, who claimed that “blowing vapor out is as good as someone spitting in your face.”
“If anyone has the coronavirus and are vaping, they’d be spreading it to a lot of people at the same time,” McLean said.
Doctors are considering vaping as a possible factor in the large rate of those hospitalized for severe Covid-19 symptoms.
March 24, 2020
USTC Closes Timberlake
The manufacturing division of U.S. Tobacco Cooperative (USTC), U.S. FlueCured Tobacco Growers of Timberlake, North Carolina, USA, is temporarily closing its manufacturing operations due to the coronavirus.
The Timberlake manufacturing facility will be closed from March 23 until April 6 to help combat the spread of the virus. Plans are to resume manufacturing on April 6 but could be amended based on the pandemic situation.
U.S. Flue-Cured Tobacco Growers will continue to ship orders from inventory to customers and to internal distributors and warehouses. Over the past few weeks, inventory levels have been increased to allow for this situation.
“This is a challenging time for everyone worldwide and we remain focused on protecting our employees, customers and vendors while we work our way through this pandemic,” said Oscar J. House, CEO and president of USTC.
March 24, 2020