Tag: Reynolds American Inc.

  • Reynold American’s WaterHub Recognized

    Reynold American’s WaterHub Recognized

    Reynolds American Inc. (RAI) has been recognized with a 2024 SEAL Business Sustainability Award in the environmental initiative award category for its WaterHub project under construction at the Reynolds Operations Center in Tobaccoville, North Carolina, USA.

    The SEAL Business Sustainability Awards honor leadership, innovation and commitment to sustainable business practices.

    The Environmental Initiative Award evaluated applicants on impact metrics, innovation and uniqueness of the initiative, sharing of insights and best practices along with investment of organizational leadership capital.

    Reynolds’ award-winning initiative, the WaterHub, is an advanced water recycling facility and product of a subsidiary of NextEra Energy Resources, and one of few water recycling projects of its scale. Once construction is complete, the WaterHub is expected to reclaim more than 60 million gallons of water per year, equivalent to the annual water supply of approximately 550 average U.S. households.

    “We are proud of all the efforts being made across the Reynolds American organization to preserve and make efficient use of the precious natural resources we rely on to run our business,” said RAI Executive Vice President of Operations Bernd Meyer in a statement. “This SEAL recognition is a testament to our sustainability progress and the expected positive impact of the WaterHub, our advanced water recycling facility at our largest manufacturing facility, in collaboration with NextEra Energy Resources.”

  • Senior Appointments at RAI

    Senior Appointments at RAI

    Christy Canary-Garner (left) and Valerie Mras. (Photos: RAI)

    Reynolds American Inc. (RAI), has appointed two senior leaders within its operating companies, effective Feb. 1, 2024.

    Christy Canary-Garner, currently vice president, marketing, will be promoted to senior vice president, marketing. in this role, Canary-Garner will lead R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co.’s combustible portfolio. Canary-Garner began her career with the organization in 1992 as a territory manager with Brown & Williamson. Throughout her career, she has held leadership roles in brand marketing, consumer experience, human resources, and regulatory engagement. Canary-Garner’s industry knowledge and extensive experience spans the combustibles brand portfolio and transformative new categories with Vuse and Velo.

    Valerie Mras, currently vice president, vapor marketing commercialization, will be promoted to senior vice president, vapor. Mras joined the organization in 2008 as a territory manager in trade marketing and during her 16-year tenure has held a number of leadership roles, building teams and driving business delivery. In 2012, she joined the consumer marketing division, working across several brand marketing roles, including Camel, VUSE, Grizzly, Newport and Pall Mall.

    In 2020, she was promoted and began an international assignment at BAT’s headquarters in London as the head of new categories platform development, where she was instrumental in developing and executing the global product and pipeline strategy. In 2023, Mras returned to Winston-Salem, North Carolina, USA, to lead R.J. Reynolds Vapor Co.’s commercial business.

  • Reynolds American Named Top Employer

    Reynolds American Named Top Employer

    Image: MP Studio

    Reynolds American Inc. has been named a Top Employer for 2024 in the United States by the Top Employers Institute for the second consecutive year. Being certified as a Top Employer showcases an organization’s dedication to a better world of work and exhibits this through excellent human resources (HR) policies and people practices.

    Reynolds is one of 44 organizations nationwide to receive this recognition. The Top Employers Institute program certifies organizations based on the participation and results of their HR Best Practices Survey. This survey covers six HR domains consisting of 20 topics, including people strategy, work environment, talent acquisition, learning, diversity, equity and inclusion, well-being and more.

    “Our employees are leading the transformation of an entire industry and supporting them professionally and personally throughout their career with us is critical to our organization’s success,” said Borgia Walker, senior vice president of human resources and inclusion, in a statement. “With a unique workforce that represents many professions from manufacturing to scientists and corporate roles to a nationwide salesforce, our employees have different needs to excel, and this Top Employer certification underscores the efforts we make to help our employees thrive.”

    Some of Reynolds’ highest marks in the Top Employer assessment were in the areas of career growth and development, learning opportunities available for employees, rewards and recognition and employee well-being.

    Top Employers Institute CEO David Plink says, “Exceptional times bring out the best in people and organizations. And we have witnessed this in our Top Employers Certification Program this year: exceptional performance from the certified Top Employers 2024. These employers have always shown that they care for the development and well-being of their people. By doing so, they collectively enrich the world of work. We are proud to announce and celebrate this year’s group of leading people-oriented employers: the Top Employers 2024.”

  • RAI Names VP Strategy and Transformation

    RAI Names VP Strategy and Transformation

    Photo: RAI

    Reynolds American Inc. appointed Wade Huckabee to the role of senior vice president of strategy and transformation, the company announced on its website. In this role, Huckabee will be responsible for the development and realization of the U.S. strategy and serve on the Reynolds American Leadership Team, effective Jan. 1, 2024.

    Huckabee joined the Reynolds organization in April 2016 as vice president of strategy and planning, where he oversaw development of the function, including building stronger analytical capabilities and retail insights. He was named senior vice president of combustibles in December 2018 and in 2019 assumed the role of general manager of the Reynolds organization’s traditional categories.

    Huckabee was appointed global head of revenue growth in 2022, where he was responsible for accelerating the BAT Group’s sales and category objectives in priority markets around the world. In 2023, he became group head of customer and commercial, adding the development of global trade marketing to his accountabilities.

    Prior to joining the Reynolds organization, his extensive experience in other consumer goods categories included roles in strategy and investor relations at Hanesbrands and progressive leadership roles in finance, revenue and margin management, and strategic accounts at Keurig Dr Pepper.

    In his new role, Huckabee will lead and oversee Reynolds’ strategy, encompassing key pillars related to commercial, organizational and regulatory strategies. A native Texan, Huckabee has Bachelor of Arts degrees in history and English from the University of Texas at Austin and a Master of Business Administration degree in finance from Pepperdine University in Malibu, California.

  • Borgia Walker to Direct HR at Reynolds

    Borgia Walker to Direct HR at Reynolds

    Photo: RAI

    Reynolds American Inc. (RAI) has appointed Borgia Walker to the role of senior vice president, human resources and inclusion. In this role, Walker will oversee RAI’s human resources strategy and operations and serve on the RAI leadership team, as well as BAT’s global human resources leadership team.

    “Our employees are key to driving our transformation, and no one is better fit to lead our people strategy than Borgia,” said RAI President and CEO David Waterfield in a statement. “She is a respected leader within Reynolds because of the tremendous impact she has made on our organization’s transformation towards building ‘A Better Tomorrow,’ and she also embodies the spirit of giving back to the community, which is core to who we are as an organization.”

    Walker joined Brown and Williamson (which merged its U.S. tobacco assets into RAI in 2004) in 1995 and held roles in finance, internal audit, and regulatory oversight before joining the HR function in 2015 as a business partner.

    Her career in HR includes serving as senior director – health and wellness, where she implemented a new health plan; vice president – organizational effectiveness and services, where she was responsible for the HR service team and payroll; and vice president – HR services and integration, where she expanded her responsibilities to lead the global integration of the U.S. HR framework.

    In her new role, she will lead and oversee talent acquisition, leadership development, diversity and inclusion, organizational design, and cultural development, as well as employee education and development, compensation and benefits.

  • Nearly Half of Alto Users Quit Smoking: Study

    Nearly Half of Alto Users Quit Smoking: Study

    Nearly 45 percent of participants who use Vuse Alto in a study completely switched away from cigarettes, according to the interim results of research conducted by Reynolds American Inc. (RAI).

    The proportion of Vuse users who reported completely switching was higher for young adults aged 21–29 versus those who were 30 years or older; the proportion of Vuse users who reported completely switching was higher among minority demographics versus those who identified as non-Hispanic white; and the proportion of Vuse users who reported completely switching was higher among those who use menthol-flavored Vuse products versus those who use tobacco-flavored Vuse products.

    For adults who smoke and had yet to switch completely, there was a greater reduction in cigarettes smoked per day for participants who used menthol-flavored Vuse products than those who used tobacco-flavored Vuse products.

    The findings are part of a 24-month study, termed the Longitudinal Tobacco Use and Transitions Survey (LTTS), in support of RAI’s premarket tobacco product application for Vuse Alto.

    Reynolds presented a summary of the interim results through the first year of the LTTS at the Food and Drug Law Institute Tobacco and Nicotine Regulatory Product Science Symposium on March 30, 2023, to an audience that included senior officials from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s Center for Tobacco Products as well as several prominent public health researchers.

    James Murphy, global director of research and science, and Chris Junker, vice president of science and regulatory affairs, provided an overview of the study’s importance and interim results in a video.

    In early October, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued marketing denial orders (MDO) for six flavored Vuse Alto-branded products. At the request of Reynolds, an appeals court stayed the order, allowing Reynolds to continue offering Vuse Alto menthol products pending review of the company’s formal challenge of the order.

  • World Vape Day:

    World Vape Day:

    Photo: BAT

    A new scientific study on Vuse underscores the contribution vapor products can make toward tobacco harm reduction.

    By James Murphy

    Almost 20 years ago, I joined BAT as a scientist motivated by the positive change that tobacco harm reduction (THR) can achieve. We have made great strides since then, and on days like World Vape Day, it is encouraging to see continued innovation in this area. This ambition to support THR is embodied by BAT’s release today of one of the largest vapor product studies ever conducted, further supporting the role that Vuse, BAT’s flagship vapor brand, can play in tobacco harm reduction.

    Science and research have been fundamental to the progress that I have witnessed over almost two decades at BAT. Together, they form the cornerstone of consumer and regulatory confidence in our brands. This confidence is essential for our new-category products to be able to both support THR and provide reduced-risk*† alternatives for consumers who would otherwise smoke.

    Early in my career, I had the opportunity to lead product development for BAT’s first vapor product, which would subsequently turn into Vuse: a billion-pound brand and the No. 1 global vaping brand by market share.1 Now, in 2023, there is wide acceptance that vaping continues to grow in importance as adult smokers seek reduced-risk alternatives to continued smoking.

    As director of research and science at BAT, my priority is to develop and publish science-based information needed to better understand the real-world impacts of our products. 

    Our latest study, published today in the peer-reviewed journal Internal and Emergency Medicine, is intended to do just that. By comparing clinical measurements from exclusive Vuse consumers with current smokers, the results of the study show that adult consumers using BAT’s vapor brand Vuse2 had significantly better results for biomarkers relevant to smoking-related diseases than smokers.

    For priority cigarette smoke toxicants identified by the World Health Organization, levels of exposure were significantly lower in the Vuse consumers compared to the smokers. Additionally, favorable differences between the Vuse consumers and smokers were found across all seven measured biomarkers of potential harm relevant to smoking-related diseases.

    We believe these results underscore the contribution that vapor products can make toward tobacco harm reduction and how, by using a robust evidence base to substantiate the role of reduced-risk* products, we can give adult smokers who would otherwise continue to smoke access to satisfactory reduced-risk* alternatives.

    While World Vape Day brings together a global community to converse and learn about tobacco harm reduction, there are significant barriers and challenges facing companies involved in the vaping industry. I believe a core component to overcoming these barriers is evidence-led and science-backed regulation and leadership. These two areas are key to ensuring that reduced-risk* products are only made available to adult consumers and that consumers feel confident about the quality and safety standards governing the development of alternatives like vapor products.

    In countries where the concept of tobacco harm reduction has been embraced, we have seen accelerated declines in smoking rates as smokers migrate to noncombustible products. Sweden, for instance, is on the cusp of becoming the first European country to become officially smoke-free—with smoking rates at just 5.6 percent—a 51 percent drop in a decade. Low smoking rates have also had direct benefits for Swedish public health, with cancer rates that are 41 percent lower than the rest of Europe. However, many countries are yet to offer consumers legal access to reduced-risk* products as alternatives to widely available conventional cigarettes.

    I am more convinced than ever that tobacco harm reduction has the potential to be transformative for our consumers and significantly lower currently projected smoking rates worldwide.

    There is a clear opportunity to use the scientific evidence we now have available to substantiate the benefits of reduced-risk* products for those who would otherwise smoke. Looking ahead, I am increasingly confident that the quality of ongoing research from us, other manufacturers, academics and public health authorities—combined with open and honest debate with a diverse range of political, regulatory and public health stakeholders—will accelerate tobacco harm reduction.

    James Murphy is the director of research and science at BAT.

    * Based on the weight of evidence and assuming a complete switch from cigarette smoking. These products are not risk-free and are addictive.

    † Our products as sold in the U.S., including Vuse, Velo, Grizzly, Kodiak and Camel Snus, are subject to FDA regulation, and no reduced-risk claims will be made as to these products without agency clearance.

    1 Based on Vype/Vuse estimated value share from recommended retail price in measured retail for vapor (i.e., total vapor category value in retail sales) in the U.S., Canada, France, the U.K. and Germany. These five markets cover an estimated 77 percent of global vapor closed-system net turnover, calculated in June-July 2021.

    2 The study focused on self-reported exclusive users of commercially available Vuse ePod or Vuse ePen3. Thus, references to “Vuse” in the context of the study means either Vuse ePod or Vuse ePen3.

  • Tobaccoville Announces Water Recycling Facility

    Tobaccoville Announces Water Recycling Facility

    Reynolds American Inc. will build a water reclamation plant at the Reynolds Operations Center in Tobaccoville, North Carolina, USA.

    To be constructed by NextEra Energy Resources, the WaterHub facility is projected to reclaim more than 60 million gallons of water a year, equivalent to the annual water supply of approximately 550 average U.S. households.

    “We are so proud to embark on the WaterHub project with NextEra Energy Resources at our flagship operations center in the U.S.,” said Bernd Meyer, executive vice president of operations at Reynolds, in a statement. “This project is not only a first for Reynolds but for the entire global BAT Group and is an important step toward reaching Reynolds’ water stewardship targets for 2025. Through the WaterHub, Reynolds is playing its part in the BAT Group’s progress against its goal of 35 percent less water withdrawn across global operations.”

    NextEra Energy Resources’ WaterHub installation includes plans to break ground on the project in Tobaccoville in the fall of 2023. The project is forecasted to be finalized and fully operational by the end of 2024.

  • California Officials Sued Over ‘Flavored’ Smokes

    California Officials Sued Over ‘Flavored’ Smokes

    Photo: RAI

    R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. (RJRT) has filed a lawsuit against California state officials, including Attorney General Robert Bonta, in response to the Attorney General’s issuance of several Notices of Determination that allege certain Camel and Newport cigarettes styles are “presumptively” flavored based on their promotional materials. The lawsuit, filed in California state court, seeks declaratory and injunctive relief, including that the notices be rescinded.

    In a press note, RJRT said it stands by its new products and believes that they comply with California state law and therefore can continue to be sold. Before introducing the products for sale, RJRT followed all applicable pre-market regulatory requirements.

    According to RJRT, the new Camel and Newport styles do not impart a distinguishable taste or aroma other than tobacco and are marketed to clearly indicate that they are non-menthol. The California Attorney General’s Notices do not acknowledge the fact that RJRT’s new product introductions are prominently labeled and marketed as non-menthol.

    “Reynolds has repeatedly called on enforcement officials in California to take action to combat the flood of illegal, unregulated, disposable vapes in kid-friendly flavors like Watermelon Bubble Gum and Rainbow Candy that are being shipped into the state’s ports from unknown origins,” RJRT wrote. Prioritizing enforcement of these illicit vapor products, rather than focusing on compliant products, would better serve Californians.”

  • Reynolds Releases Harm Reduction Paper

    Reynolds Releases Harm Reduction Paper

    Image: New Africa | Adobe Stock

    Reynolds American Inc., the BAT Group’s U.S. subsidiary, released its inaugural white paper, “Tobacco Harm Reduction: Creating A Better Tomorrow for Public Health in America,” reports PR Newswire. This is the first in a series of white papers aimed at raising awareness on tobacco harm reduction (THR) as a public health strategy that encourages adult smokers who are uninterested in quitting tobacco altogether to migrate to noncombustible product alternatives.

    The goal of the Reynolds’ white paper series is to highlight the progress of THR, address the challenges and have dialogue on the path forward.

    “THR has the potential to bring about one of the greatest public health achievements of our time,” said Priscilla Samuel, executive vice president of scientific research and development. “We hope the information presented in this white paper will spark renewed conversation on THR among all stakeholders, including regulators and policymakers, which could lead to effective regulation and access to noncombustible product alternatives for adult smokers who are uninterested in quitting.”