JTI’s Nordic Spirit has become the Official Nicotine Pouch Partner of Co-op Live, the 23,500-capacity indoor entertainment arena in Manchester, England. Opened in 2024, Co-op Live is the U.K.’s largest indoor live entertainment venue and hosts concerts, sporting events, and comedy shows. Under the long-term partnership, Nordic Spirit will conduct in-venue activations for adult nicotine consumers and sell its nicotine pouches at selected bars throughout the arena. JTI said the partnership was agreed before the introduction of new sponsorship restrictions covering nicotine products.
Tag: JTI
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Japan Tobacco to Receive $1.6B Dividend from Subsidiary
Japan Tobacco Inc. (JT) announced that it will receive a $1.55 billion (¥252 billion) dividend from its consolidated subsidiary JT International Holding B.V. following a decision by the subsidiary’s board Aug. 24. The dividend was scheduled for receipt Aug. 26 and will be recorded as non-operating income in JT’s nonconsolidated financial statements for fiscal 2026. Because the payment comes from a consolidated subsidiary, JT said it will have no material impact on its consolidated financial results.
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JT Earns Platinum Kurumin Plus Certification
Japan Tobacco Inc. received Japan’s “Platinum Kurumin Plus” certification for workplace initiatives supporting employees who are balancing infertility treatment with work. The certification is awarded by the Ministry of Health, Labor, and Welfare to companies recognized for advanced childcare support and efforts to accommodate infertility treatment.
JT has supported work-family balance through childcare and nursing care programs and workplace improvements. The company received its first Kurumin certification in 2008 and was recognized as a Platinum Kurumin company in 2018.
JT said it has expanded its employee health initiatives to address issues including menstrual symptoms, menopause, fertility, and gender-specific cancers. The latest certification recognizes its efforts to create a workplace where employees can pursue infertility treatment while continuing their careers.
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JTI Calls for ASEAN Action on Illicit Tobacco Trade
Japan Tobacco International’s Philippine unit is calling on ASEAN governments to harmonize export controls and destination-market requirements after illicit tobacco trade was estimated to have cost the region $13.1 billion in revenue over the past two years. JTI Philippines Fiscal and Regulatory Affairs Director Mario Zinampan said illicit trade has become a regional issue requiring coordinated action rather than country-by-country measures.
JTI is proposing an ASEAN declaration on harmonizing rules for high-risk and sensitive goods, covering export integrity, customs cooperation, interoperable track-and-trace systems and intelligence sharing. The company also wants ASEAN countries to strengthen proof-of-export and verification requirements and apply destination-country regulations consistently to reduce smuggling, misdeclaration, undervaluation, counterfeiting and diversion.
Zinampan said inconsistent export requirements across ASEAN create regulatory gaps that illicit traders can exploit. He called for a common “destination principle” requiring products exported within the region to comply with the laws of their destination market, arguing that stronger coordination would help close loopholes and improve cross-border enforcement.
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JTI Backs Philippines’ Market Stabilization Strategy
Japan Tobacco International (JTI) endorsed the NTA’s Strategic Tobacco Production Information Campaign (STRATPIC), which aims to align tobacco production with global demand and discourage oversupply ahead of the 2026-2027 planting season. JTI said the initiative will support the industry’s long-term sustainability by helping farmers avoid market disruptions, while emphasizing that data-driven planning, stakeholder collaboration, and a stable policy environment are essential to protecting farmer livelihoods and encouraging continued investment in the Philippine tobacco sector.
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Annual Tobacco Trade Golf Day Set for Sept. 10
JTI and British American Tobacco will co-host the 2026 Tobacco Trade Golf Association (TTGA) Golf Day on Sept. 10 at The Berkshire Golf Club in Ascot, England, to raise funds for GroceryAid, the charity supporting workers across the UK grocery industry. Following a sold-out event in 2025, organizers are encouraging early registration for this year’s 18-hole tournament, which will include a charity raffle and sponsorship opportunities to maximize fundraising for GroceryAid’s emotional, practical and financial support services.
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JTI, Authorities Trying to Dent Malaysia’s Illicit Market
Japan Tobacco International said the illicit cigarette trade remains a major challenge in Malaysia, with counterfeit tax stamps and increasingly sophisticated cross-border smuggling operations complicating enforcement efforts. According to JTI Malaysia, the share of illicit cigarettes carrying counterfeit Malaysian tax stamps rose from 8.7% in 2023 to 16% in January 2026, the highest level recorded. The company cited a recent enforcement operation in the Philippines that uncovered counterfeit Malaysian tax stamps allegedly intended for the Malaysian market.
JTIM estimated the country’s illicit cigarette incidence rate at 56.7%, representing roughly RM4 billion ($1 billion) in lost government revenue. Company executives said affordability remains a key driver of illicit trade, warning that rising logistics costs, raw material inflation, and potential excise tax increases could widen the price gap between legal and illicit products. The company also pointed to growing consumer migration toward alternative nicotine products such as vapes, which currently face lower taxation levels than cigarettes.
JTIM said policymakers are evaluating stronger deterrence measures, including digital tax stamps designed to improve supply-chain tracking and real-time product authentication. The company also called for a more balanced tax framework across nicotine categories, advocating for vape taxation to align more closely with heated tobacco products rather than combustible cigarettes.
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Bosnia, Industry Cracking Down on €500M Tobacco Black Market
Authorities and industry representatives in Bosnia and Herzegovina say the illegal tobacco trade is costing the country more than €500 million annually, as cigarettes without excise stamps and cross-border smuggling continue to undermine the legal market and public revenues. Officials from the Indirect Taxation Administration of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Finance Ministry stressed that coordinated enforcement, stable excise policy, and cooperation with manufacturers such as British American Tobacco and Japan Tobacco International helped reverse a sharp market collapse seen around 2019–2020, when legal cigarette volumes fell from 12 billion to 3.5 billion sticks annually.
Authorities say improved policy alignment and citizen reporting through the “Stop Smuggling” campaign have since supported revenue recovery, while warning that the shadow market still distorts competition, drains budgets that fund public services, and complicates efforts to align with European regulatory standards.
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Malaysia’s Illicit Cigarette Market at ‘Critical Stage’
Malaysia’s illicit cigarette market is approaching a “critical stage,” with illegal products now accounting for roughly 50% of total consumption, according to industry representatives. Philip Morris International and Japan Tobacco International executives said the country’s illicit rate is among the highest in the region, far exceeding levels in markets such as Singapore and Thailand, and warned that widespread availability has normalized illegal purchasing among consumers.
Industry speakers linked the surge to a sharp excise tax increase in 2015, which widened the price gap between legal and illicit products and drove illegal market share to as high as 63% at its peak. Officials and stakeholders emphasized that addressing the issue will require a coordinated approach combining stronger enforcement, policy adjustments and greater public cooperation, as smuggling networks continue to adapt and exploit regulatory gaps.
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JTI Reports Revenue Up 15%
Japan Tobacco Inc. reported first-quarter 2026 revenue of JPY 924 billion ($5.9 billion), up 15.2% year-over-year, with operating profit rising 24.7% to JPY 304.6 billion ($1.9 billion), supported by pricing, foreign exchange benefits, and strong growth in reduced-risk products (RRP). RRP revenue increased 63.8% to JPY 43.5 billion ($278 million), with shipment volumes up 44.2% to 4.3 billion units, driven largely by continued expansion of its Ploom heated tobacco platform across 25 markets.
Combustible volumes remained broadly stable at 131.3 billion units, with growth in global flagship brands offsetting declines in some regions, while JT reported market share gains in more than 45 countries. The company maintained its full-year outlook, forecasting revenue of JPY 3.697 trillion ($23.7 billion) and operating profit of JPY 921 billion ($5.9 billion), as it continues to balance stable cigarette performance with accelerated investment in next-generation products.