Tag: International

  • Myblu performing well

    Myblu performing well

    Imperial Brands said today that its myblu vaping device was performing well, with increased investment driving brand awareness among smokers and vapers and significant year on year revenue growth.

    Under a Next Generation Products heading within a trading update posted on its website, Imperial said it had built strong retail share positions in Europe and in Japan. ‘In the USA, we have achieved good year-on-year revenue growth, despite some constraints due to market uncertainty following statements by the US Food & Drug Administration.’

    In its update issued ahead of its close period on April 1, Imperial confirmed it was on track to meet constant currency net revenue and earnings expectations for the full year, with group net revenue growth at, or above, the upper end of its 1-4 percent revenue growth range and EPS growth within its 4-8 percent guidance range.

    Imperial said it was on track to deliver modest revenue growth in tobacco, with growth weighted to the second half more than offsetting a slight decline in the first half. Price/mix continued to be strong, while volume trends were slightly behind those of the second half of last year, impacted by the phasing of trade inventories, including in the US following a recent Imperial price increase.

    ‘Operating profit in the first half reflects continued underlying growth in tobacco profits albeit more than offset by increased investment in blu of £100 million, as highlighted in November,’ Imperial said.

    ‘First half earnings per share will also be impacted by the reduction of our Logista stake and last year’s divestment of our Other Tobacco Products business.

    ‘We continue to expect to realise £50-100 million of other gains this year which will benefit the second half.

    ‘Translation FX at current rate of exchange is expected to benefit first half earnings by c. 2 percent and be flat for the full year.’

  • Impacting the illegal trade

    Impacting the illegal trade

    Philip Morris International said yesterday that 31 projects had been selected for funding in the second round of PMI IMPACT, a global initiative supporting third party programs dedicated to fighting illegal trade and related crimes. The PMI IMPACT Expert Council was said to have selected the projects from more than 157 proposals.

    PMI IMPACT has allocated $49 million for the implementation of more than 60 projects in 41 countries as part of its first and second funding rounds.

    ‘The successful applicants come from 23 countries in Europe, Eastern Europe, Middle East, Asia, North and South America, representing a broad range of sectors including think tanks, academic institutions, universities and law enforcement authorities,’ PMI said in a note posted on its website.

    ‘A total of $21 million has been allocated for the implementation of the selected projects.’

    Paul Makin, a member of the Council, was quoted as saying that the selected projects stood out for their innovative thinking and systematic approach to addressing the complexities of illegal trade and its links to a broader range of criminal activities.

    “We are looking forward to seeing these ideas come to fruition and thereby help advance the global efforts to strengthen security and prevent crime around the world.”

    The selected projects are aimed at addressing multiple aspects of illegal trade – ranging from tobacco, alcohol and pharmaceutical products to the trafficking of rare animal species. Beyond illegal trade, the projects are set to tackle a broad network of related crimes such as drug trafficking, money laundering and modern-day slavery.

    PMI announced the results of the second funding round during a meeting of the OECD [Organisation for Economic Co-operation] Task Force on Countering Illicit Trade.

    “Fighting illicit trade is in PMI’s DNA and I am delighted that PMI IMPACT is enabling organizations around the world to really make a difference against illegal trade, not only in tobacco but across a wide range of sectors,” said Alvise Giustiniani, PMI’s vice president illicit trade prevention.

    “It’s only through concerted efforts and broad public-private collaboration that we’ll be able to implement meaningful and long-term solutions against illegal trade.”

    The projects, which are expected to be completed during the next two years, include:

    • ‘Projects that seek to better understand the links and drivers around organized crime and illegal activities in high risk border areas and provide analysis and recommendations on how to tackle them;
    • ‘Actions to use innovative digital tools and solutions to create databases and platforms to allow for the capture and identification of key trends in illegal trade;
    • ‘Initiatives to raise awareness on the impact of illegal trade and develop dialogue between public and private sector actors in tackling the issue; and
    • ‘Programs to tackle specific areas of concern and the links between different forms of illicit trade as part of global criminal networks.’

    A list of the selected projects is available on the PMI IMPACT website at:

    http://pmi-impact.com/updates/secondfundinground.

  • Innovative Innovation Lab

    Innovative Innovation Lab

    The TFWA (Tax-free World Association) said yesterday that it had launched a new concept called the TFWA Innovation Lab that would replace its Digital Village at the 2019 TFWA World Exhibition & Conference.

    ‘The TFWA Innovation Lab will provide exhibitors with the opportunity to showcase new ideas and fresh thinking to an audience of duty free and travel retail professionals,’ The Association said in a press note.

    ‘It will run from Tuesday 1st October until Friday 4th October 2019 alongside the TFWA World Exhibition & Conference.’

    The Innovation Lab is due to be held in a dedicated tented exhibition area facing the Majestic Beach at Cannes, France, a location different to that used previously for the Digital Village.

    ‘In another new development, the TFWA Innovation Lab will be curated into different categories,’ the note said. ‘Exhibitors will be grouped within the sectors of digital solutions and mobile technology; sustainability and CSR; services to travellers; instore design and research.’

    “One of TFWA’s primary goals is to inspire our business and help create an ‘engine of innovation’,” TFWA president Alain Maingreaud was quoted as saying. “The TFWA Innovation Lab will help our industry to shape the future of duty free and travel retail and better meet the changing needs of the international traveller.

    “With 32 exhibitors and 1,349 visiting delegates last year, the TFWA Digital Village was a significant first step, and we plan to build on this success with a fresh new concept in a new location. We look forward to providing visitors to TFWA World Exhibition & Conference with a new perspective on how our industry will develop in the coming years.”

    More information is available at: https://www.tfwa.com/tfwa-innovation-lab.

  • Focusing minds

    Focusing minds

    With the recent news that insect populations are being destroyed around the world at an alarming rate, many observers will be eager to read about how British American Tobacco is investing in sustainable agriculture.

    BAT on Friday published its 2018 Sustainability Report, which outlines its ‘work and progress across its three strategic focus areas of harm reduction, sustainable agriculture and farmer livelihoods, and corporate behaviour’.

    ‘Now in BAT’s 17th year of sustainability reporting, this report details how BAT is championing change in its business and industry and is transforming tobacco to create shared value for its consumers and stakeholders across the value chain,’ BAT said in a note on its website announcing publication of the report.

    One of the ‘highlights’ of the announcement said that the company was investing more than £60 million annually to promote sustainable agriculture and enhance farmer livelihoods.

    Another pointed to a ‘profile of BAT’s new digital farm monitoring system, and how it is improving sustainable agriculture and farmer livelihoods by helping to ensure that issues are identified and addressed in real time’.

    And yet another pointed to a ‘feature on child labour that outlines BAT’s commitment to combatting it within its business and supply chain, and its partnerships with stakeholders to drive industry-wide change’.

    Other environment-focused highlights are said to include ‘BAT’s research and initiatives to tackle the complex issue of cigarette filter littering’, and its ‘new carbon emissions reduction targets for 2030 as well as other targets to further reduce its environmental impact through reduced resource use, improved water stewardship and reduced waste’.

    The note’s first-mentioned highlights, however, concerned the company’s potentially reduced risk products.

    Jack Bowles, chief executive designate, was quoted as saying that BAT’s sustainability agenda would be key to its future success.

    “A culture of responsible behaviour is even more relevant in today’s world, and I firmly believe we all have a role to play in delivering with integrity,” he said.

    “It is also clear to me that our sustained investment in farming communities and our continued focus on issues such as responsible marketing, protecting human rights and excellence in environmental management means that we are in excellent shape for the future.”

  • Speakers named

    Speakers named

    The organizers of the 2019 Global Forum on Nicotine have announced the names of 16 of the speakers who are due to take part in the conference.

    The conference, whose theme is, It’s time to talk about nicotine, will be held at the Marriott Hotel, Warsaw, Poland, on June 13-15.

    It is due to include plenary sessions, symposia, panel discussions, poster presentations, and satellite sessions.

    In an earlier announcement, the organizers said the program committee would use selected abstracts to construct themed sessions.

    The names of other speakers and the draft program are due to be posted on line shortly.

    Meanwhile, the organizers said that abstracts for poster presentation could be submitted until March 31.

    Abstracts should be submitted on-line, via the conference registration system at: https://gfn.net.co/programme/submit.

    Registration for the conference is open.

  • CORESTA reporting

    CORESTA reporting

    The CORESTA (Co-operation Centre for Scientific Research Relative to Tobacco) Secretariat has given details of the publications it has recently published and the projects it has launched.

    The following documents have been published and can be downloaded from the Documents section of the CORESTA website at www.coresta.org.

    • Guide No. 5 “Technical Guideline for Pesticide Residues Analysis on Tobacco & Tobacco Products (includes Technical Notes)” updated
      (2018-10-17) (AA-099-CTG-05)
    • Technical Note #001 “Maleic Hydrazide” updated
      (2018-10-17) (AA-185-CTN0001)
    • Report “Inter-Laboratory Comparison Test Measuring Total NNAL in Human Urine”
      (2018-11-13) (BMK-092-CTR)
    • Report “Study of the Short-Term Variability of Commercial Cigarettes through Select Cigarette Constituent Testing”
    • (2018-09-19) (CVAR-081-CTR)
    • Report “Study of the Medium-Term Variability of Commercial Cigarettes through Select Cigarette Constituent Testing”
      (2019-01-09) (CVAR-082-CTR)
    • Report “4th Round Robin Test for Air Permeability Calibration Standards”
      (2018-10-08) (PTM-022-CTR)
    • Report “13th Round Robin Test for Multi-Capillary Pressure Drop Calibration Standards (2017/2018)”
      (2019-01-25) (PTM-159-CTR)
    • Report “11th Collaborative Study (2018) for Physical Parameters of Cigarettes and Filters”
      (2018-12-05) (PTM-167-CTR)
    • Guide No. 4 “A User Guideline for the Measurement of Pressure Drop of Cigarettes and Cigarette Filter Rods” updated
      (2019-01-11) (PTM-192-CTG-04)
    • Method No. 53 “Determination of Paper Wrapper Burn Speed” updated
      (2019-01-29) (PTM-201-CRM-53)
    • Method No. 78 “Determination of Selected Phenolic Compounds in Mainstream Cigarette Smoke by HPLC-FLD” updated
      (2018-12-05) (SMA-194-CRM-78)
    • Report “Collaborative Study on the Suitability of Certain Substrates for the Ignition Propensity Test According to ISO12863:2010”
      (2019-01-10) (RAC-106-CTR)
    • Report “2018 Collaborative Study of CORESTA Monitor 8 (CM8) and 9 (CM9) for the Determination of Test Piece Weight, TPM, Water, Nicotine, NFDPM, Carbon Monoxide and Puff Count Obtained under Mainstream ‘ISO’ and ‘Intense’ Smoking Regimes”
      (2019-02-05) (RAC-187-CTR)
    • Method No. 63 “Determination of Tobacco Specific Nitrosamines in Cigarette Mainstream Smoke – GC-TEA Method” updated
      (2019-01-10) (SMA-163-CRM-63)
    • Guide No. 23 “Placement of Data Loggers in Air-cured Barns and Data Logger Maintenance”
      (2019-02-05) (TSNA-034-CTG-23)
    • Report “2018 Collaborative Study for the Determination of Water Activity of Tobacco and Tobacco Products”
      (2019-01-07) (TTPA-172-2-CTR)
    • Method No. 88 “Determination of Nicotine in Tobacco Products by GC/MS”
      (2019-01-07) (TTPA-172-3-CTR)

    NEW PROJECTS
    A full list of active projects is available on the CORESTA website under the
    Study Groups/Active Projects section:

    • Project 190: Consumer Reported Outcome Measures (CROM) Consortium Task Force (approved)
    • Project 196: AA SG – Statement by AA SG related to ISO Resolution No. 94: ISO 4876 – MH analysis (completed)
    • Project 197: PTM SG – 14th Round Robin Test on Pressure Drop Calibration Standards
    • Project 198: SMA SG – 2018 Cigar Collaborative Study: Smoke BaP and TSNAs
    • Project 200: COR – Sustainability Goals and Scientific Methodologies for Impact Assessment
    • Project 201: PTM SG – Editorial revision of CRM 53 (Determination of Paper Wrapper Burn Speed) (completed)
    • Project 202:  COR – Presentation at Next Generation Nicotine Delivery 2018 Conference in London, November 2018 (completed)
    • Project 203: EVAP SG – Presentation at the Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems Conference (ENDS 2019) in London, UK, June 2019
    • Project 204: PTM SG – 12th Collaborative Study on Physical Parameters
    • Project 205: AA SG – 15th FAPAS CPA Analysis Proficiency Test – 2019
    • Project 206: SMA SG – Systematic Review of CRM 83
    • Project 207: RFT SG – Residue Field Trials – 3rd 3-year cycle
    • Project 208: GMO SG – 6th Proficiency Test for Detection of Transgenic Tobacco

    OTHER PUBLICATIONS

    Reference Products: CM9 Use and Conditions
    (2019-02-05)

  • BAT volume increased

    BAT volume increased

    British American Tobacco’s cigarette and tobacco-heating product (THP) volume during the 12 months to the end of December, at 708 billion sticks, was increased by about 3.3 percent on that of the 12 months to the end of December 2017, 686 billion.

    On a representative basis – as if BAT had owned Reynolds American Inc and other acquisitions completed during 2017 from January 1, 2017 – volumes fell by about 3.5 percent. BAT said that in its key markets volume was down by 2.7 percent, outperforming industry volume, which was estimated to be down by about 3.4 percent, leading to an increase in market share of 0.4 of a percentage point.

    Meanwhile, other tobacco volumes included that of oral pouches, up 93 percent (representative 10.5 percent) to 3.9 billion; that of other oral products, up 119 percent (-4.0 percent representative) to 14.6 million kg; that of vapor products, up 100 percent (35.5 percent representative) to 189 million pods; and that of other tobacco products (including roll-your-own and make-your-own tobaccos), down 6.6 percent (-7.5 percent representative) to 22 billion stick-equivalents.

    BAT’s revenue during the year to the end of December, at £24,492 million, was said to have increased by 25.2 percent on that of 2017.

    Profit from operations, at £9,313, was increased by 45.2 percent.

    Earnings per share (EPS), at 264.0p, and diluted earnings per share, at 263.2p, were down each down by 85.6 percent.

    The dividend per share was up by 4.0 percent to 203.0p.

    “BAT performed well in 2018, exceeding our target of high single figure adjusted constant currency EPS growth, whilst continuing to invest in long-term sustainable returns,” chief executive Nicandro Durante (pictured) was quoted as saying as part of the company’s preliminary announcement. “The full year effect of the RAI acquisition and a translational foreign exchange headwind of approximately six percent (on revenue and profit from operations) and seven percent (on EPS) distorted the Group’s results…”

    Durante said he recognised that “proposed potential regulatory changes” in the US had created some investor uncertainty. “We have a long experience of managing regulatory developments, a track record of delivering strong growth while investing for the future and an established multi-category approach,” he said. “I am confident that my successor, Jack Bowles, will continue to deliver a similar level of sustainable long-term returns as we accelerate our Transforming Tobacco agenda.

    “Looking into 2019 we are confident of another year of high single figure adjusted constant currency earnings growth and this confidence is reflected in our Board’s proposal to increase the dividend by four percent.”

  • Concerns over environment

    Concerns over environment

    From the moment its seeds go into the ground to the moment its dried and shredded leaves are set alight by the world’s 1.1 billion smokers, tobacco leaves a trail of untold destruction, according to a story at dw.com.

    Researchers from Imperial College London are said to have found that the industry’s annual carbon footprint is almost twice that of Wales.

    “If we continue to grow tobacco crops to meet the demand, we’ll have huge environmental degradation,” Vinayak Prasad, head of the World Health Organization’s tobacco control program in Geneva was said to have told DW.

    The story said that growing and curing tobacco accounted for more than 75 percent of tobacco’s carbon footprint.

    But it required plenty of land, water and energy; as well as pesticides and fertilizers that polluted nearby rivers and groundwater, and degraded the soil.

    The story conceded that the tobacco industry was a minor offender compared to the big names of global deforestation, such as the palm oil and soybean industries, but it went on to quote Sonja von Eichborn, director of the anti-tobacco non-governmental organization Unfairtobacco, as saying it “has a great impact at the local level, for instance in Tanzania”.

    There, she said, tobacco was responsible for up to six percent of annual deforestation, a figure that looked set to increase.

    In Pakistan, meanwhile, the WHO says plantations [presumably tobacco plantations] already account for almost 27 percent of yearly deforestation.

  • JT reducing emissions

    JT reducing emissions

    Japan Tobacco Inc.’s long-term greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reduction target has been approved as a Science Based Target (SBT) by the Science Based Target initiative (SBTi), according to a note posted on the company’s website today.

    SBTi is an international partnership between CDP (formerly the Carbon Disclosure Project), the UN Global Compact (UNGC), the World Resources Institute (WRI) and the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) that mobilizes companies to set SBTs in the transition to a low-carbon economy.

    ‘Our approved target, developed in line with the Paris agreement on climate change, is to reduce absolute Scope 1 and Scope 2 GHG emissions by 32 percent and absolute Scope 3 Category 1 GHG emissions by 23 percent by 2030,’ the note said. ‘This journey towards a zero-carbon future will be achieved by reducing our energy usage, as well as increasing the proportion of electricity sourced from renewable sources, while constantly looking at innovative ways to achieve and exceed our target.’

    “We are proud that SBTi has approved our target.” Chigusa Ogawa, senior vice president, sustainability management, was quoted as saying. “As a group, we strive to foster a sustainable environment for our business and for future generations. Climate change remains a key environmental challenge for us, as it can have a direct impact on our value chain and the society at large. As a global business, we recognize the opportunity – and the importance – to be part of the solution,” Ogawa added.

    The JTI note said that the company had been strengthening its approach to reducing its environmental impact under the JT Group Long-Term Environment Plan 2020, which had been established in 2014.

    ‘In 2017, the initial target to reduce GHG emission by 20 percent was already achieved and exceeded – three years ahead of schedule,’ the note said. ‘Our new target approved as an SBT demonstrates our ongoing commitment to tackle climate-related issues.

    ‘We are now establishing the JT Group Environment Plan 2030, in which our SBT fits as one of the key targets.

    ‘Further details will be published in the JT Group Sustainability Report FY2018 which will be issued in May 2019.’

  • Studies have basic errors

    Studies have basic errors

    A cardiologist and tobacco-harm-reduction researcher has said that widely-reported studies claiming to show that electronic-cigarette use is associated with an increased risk of heart disease are misleading, according to a story by Diane Caruana at vapingpost.com.

    “They do not prove an increased risk and of course they do not prove that no such risk exists,” Dr. Konstantinos Farsalinos (pictured) was quoted as saying. “They simply cannot address the question of whether e-cigarettes increase the risk for heart disease or not.”

    Caruana’s story said that a recently-published study and conference abstract released earlier this month had concluded that daily e-cigarette use, adjusted for smoking conventional cigarettes as well as other risk factors, was associated with an increased risk of myocardial infarction.

    Media coverage of the conference abstract had stated that E-cigarettes linked to higher risk of stroke, heart attack, diseased arteries.

    But Farsalinos responded to these claims by saying that both conclusions were wrong and constituted epidemiological malpractice and misinformation.

    Farsalinos said the claims were based on cross-sectional studies, which provided information about whether participants had heart disease and if they used e-cigarettes, but no information about whether the participants initiated e-cigarette use before or after the development of the disease, or for how long. So the participants could have started vaping following a heart disease diagnosis in order to quit smoking and improve their health.

    Farsalinos said he was confident that both the authors of the published study and the American Heart Association, which released the press statement for the conference abstract, must be aware that statements about “increased risk” were wrong.