Antonia Di Lorenzo, Author at TobaccoIntelligence

UK tobacco prices to rise as chancellor hikes excise duty to accompany vape tax

Written by Antonia Di Lorenzo || 7th March 2024 || News analysis |

UK tobacco prices will go up as a result of an increase in excise duties announced yesterday, 6th March, by the government during its spring budget ...

Zyn user vs PMI: US tobacco giant faces first big challenge to nicotine pouches

Written by Antonia Di Lorenzo || 6th March 2024 || News analysis |

A consumer has sued Philip Morris International (PMI) over its nicotine pouch brand, Zyn, claiming that the product is harmful and addictive to young people ...

Oral products boosted Big Tobacco’s momentum in 2023, and HTPs still in play

Written by Antonia Di Lorenzo || 27th February 2024 || News analysis |

Nicotine pouches seemed to be the universal positive for Big Tobacco in 2023, with oral tobacco categories making increasingly important contributions to all the companies involved in that area ...

KT&G reports double-digit growth in sales of heated tobacco sticks for 2023

Written by Antonia Di Lorenzo || 21st February 2024 || News analysis |

South Korean tobacco company KT&G reported a positive performance in its next-generation product (NGP) business over the course of 2023, despite what it called “intensified competition” ...

Will there be an upcoming ‘Zynsurrection’ in the US, or is it much ado about nothing?

Written by Antonia Di Lorenzo || 15th February 2024 || Blog , News analysis |

With calls for a whole “Zynsurrection” in support of Zyn nicotine pouches, opposition to the rise of Zyn could end up being nothing more than a lot of noise ...

Strong Iqos momentum and Zyn’s success in the US drove PMI’s numbers in 2023

Written by Antonia Di Lorenzo || 12th February 2024 || News analysis |

Philip Morris International (PMI) delivered a positive performance last year, with smoke-free products reaching almost 40% of the company’s total net revenues as well as gross profit ...

BAT’s new categories perform well, with its Velo nicotine pouches growing rapidly

Written by Antonia Di Lorenzo || 9th February 2024 || News analysis |

British American Tobacco (BAT) saw its new category products achieve profitability two years ahead of schedule supported by rapid growth in its Velo nicotine pouch ...

PMI could re-introduce Iqos into US market after dispute resolution with BAT

Written by Antonia Di Lorenzo || 6th February 2024 || News analysis |

British American Tobacco (BAT) has agreed to allow Philip Morris International (PMI) to re-introduce PMI’s Iqos heated tobacco device into the US marketplace ...

On! pouches in line with Altria’s vision, as oral segment grows in revenue share

Written by Antonia Di Lorenzo || 2nd February 2024 || News analysis |

Oral tobacco continues to make an increasingly important contribution to Altria’s numbers – a trend the firm expects to continue, it said as it reported its fourth-quarter and full-year results for 2023 ...

Schumer’s war on Zyn pouches in US and ‘demagogic rhetoric’ draw broad criticism

Written by Antonia Di Lorenzo || 1st February 2024 || News analysis |

Bipartisan congressional representatives, scientists, and industry stakeholders have all expressed concerns about criticism of Zyn pouches by New York Democratic senator Chuck Schumer ...

UK govt plans tobacco age-of-sale law and ban on sale of nicotine pouches to minors

Written by Antonia Di Lorenzo || 29th January 2024 || News analysis |

British prime minister Rishi Sunak has announced plans to ban sales of previously unregulated nicotine pouches to minors and of tobacco products to anyone born on or after 1st January 2009 ...

US menthol ban expected to be delayed not halted by tobacco industry lawsuits

Written by Antonia Di Lorenzo || 23rd January 2024 || News analysis |

Tobacco industry legal challenges to the proposed US ban on menthol-flavoured conventional cigarettes are expected but will only likely delay rather than reverse the ban, according to a legal expert ...

US Senate Democrats call on Biden administration to finalise menthol ban

Written by Antonia Di Lorenzo || 16th January 2024 || News analysis |

A group of US Senate Democrats is trying to push the Biden administration to take action on banning menthol-flavoured cigarettes and all flavoured cigars as soon as possible ...

Herbal sticks are growing in popularity, but regulators might change their future

Written by Antonia Di Lorenzo || 10th January 2024 || Blog , News analysis |

Herbal heated sticks are spreading worldwide as a replacement for conventional smoking as well as an alternative to heated tobacco products ...

Delay of US menthol cigarette ban by White House frustrates health groups

Written by Antonia Di Lorenzo || 15th December 2023 || News analysis |

The Biden administration will take more time to review the US FDA's proposed rule to ban menthol cigarettes, which is now to be delayed until at least 2024, raising concerns among public health groups and others ...

Nicotine pouch rules single out Redmuule in Italy, but ADM says others may be next

Written by Antonia Di Lorenzo || 6th December 2023 || News analysis |

Packaging restrictions introduced by an Italian health ministry decree are intended to apply only to Redmuule nicotine pouches, but similar measures may be implemented for other brands too, say the ADM ...

Italy allows sales of nicotine pouches by a specific brand, but with new restrictions

Written by Antonia Di Lorenzo || 22nd November 2023 || News analysis |

The introduction of new packaging requirements for nicotine pouches in a decree allowing sales of one pouch brand shows authorities intended for the decree to legalise the sale of all brands, says the pouch distributor ...

Imperial on track with five-year plan, thanks to NGP growth and new launches

Written by Antonia Di Lorenzo || 15th November 2023 || News analysis |

Imperial Brands reported a performance in line with its five-year-plan expectations in the year ended 30th September 2023, with new product and market launches boosting its next-generation product (NGP) revenue ...

No tax increase on Italian HTPs in the next two years, but the rise comes in 2026

Written by Antonia Di Lorenzo || 13th November 2023 || News analysis |

There would be no increase in Italian excise duties on heated tobacco products for the next two years under the new 2024 Budget Bill, but the proposal does set a rate rise in 2026 ...

BAT banks on growing Canadian cannabis company with $90m boost

Written by Antonia Di Lorenzo || 10th November 2023 || News analysis |

A British American Tobacco (BAT) subsidiary is investing a further CAD124.6m (USD90.2m) in its strategic partnership with Canadian licensed cannabis producer Organigram ...

US FDA warns manufacturer for selling unauthorised flavoured ‘nicotine mints’

Written by Antonia Di Lorenzo || 9th November 2023 || News analysis |

The US FDA has issued a warning letter to manufacturer Nic Nac Naturals for selling unauthorised nicotine lozenges, described as “nicotine mints”, in both 3 mg and 6 mg strengths of nicotine and several flavours ...

22nd Century sees lower revenues despite continued VLN expansion

Written by Antonia Di Lorenzo || 7th November 2023 || News analysis |

US company 22nd Century has reported decreased revenues and modest sales of its VLN brand very-low-nicotine cigarette products in the third quarter of 2023, despite the continued expansion of its VLN rollout strategy ...

Ploom X international expansion has helped to boost JTI’s Q3 performance

Written by Antonia Di Lorenzo || 31st October 2023 || News analysis |

Japan Tobacco International (JTI) enjoyed a solid performance in the third quarter of the year, partially related to its Ploom X heated tobacco product geographic expansion ...

Altria reports year-to-date ‘resilient’ performance and progress with On!

Written by Antonia Di Lorenzo || 27th October 2023 || News analysis |

Altria saw a “resilient” performance over the course of the first nine months of 2023, the company said as it reported its results for the third quarter of the year ...

PMI urges FDA to prioritise review of Iqos Iluma modified risk tobacco products

Written by Antonia Di Lorenzo || 23rd October 2023 || News analysis |

Philip Morris International (PMI) has submitted premarket tobacco product applications (PMTAs) and modified risk tobacco product applications (MRTPAs) to the US FDA for its Iqos Iluma heated tobacco products (HTPs) ...

PMI accelerates smoke-free growth in Q3, fuelled by Zyn nicotine pouch sales in US

Written by Antonia Di Lorenzo || 20th October 2023 || News analysis |

Strong sales momentum behind PMI’s Zyn nicotine pouches in the US helped drive the company’s growth in the third quarter, with US sales volume up nearly 66% on the same quarter in 2022 ...

Who benefits and who loses out in case of an EU-wide ban on nicotine pouches?

Written by Antonia Di Lorenzo || 12th October 2023 || Blog |

A ban on nicotine pouches in the EU does not seem far from becoming reality, as a “leaked” report from the European Commission’s bureaucrats shows they apparently want to extend the EU-wide ban on snus to tobacco-free nicotine...

UK generational smoking ban could lead to unintended results, harm experts say

Written by Antonia Di Lorenzo || 10th October 2023 || News analysis |

The UK’s plan to introduce a progressive age ban for tobacco products has been welcomed by many in the public health world, but others warn that it and other government-proposed measures might have unintended results ...

Possible EU ban on nicotine pouches may jeopardise smoke-free goal, say critics

Written by Antonia Di Lorenzo || 5th October 2023 || News analysis |

The European Commission (EC) reportedly wants to extend the EU-wide ban on snus to tobacco-free nicotine pouches. An EC report revealed on social media by an MEP says the oral tobacco ban has been successful ...

Launch of PMI’s first non-tobacco stick raises regulatory questions

Written by Antonia Di Lorenzo || 2nd October 2023 || News analysis |

Philip Morris International (PMI) has launched a zero-tobacco stick called Levia for use with its heated tobacco device, Iqos. PMI is the first Big Tobacco to introduce these sticks, though others have marketed similar products ...

Reading between the fault lines in the FDA’s approach to tobacco regulation

Written by Antonia Di Lorenzo || 21st September 2023 || Blog |

The difficulties the US FDA faces regulating novel nicotine are most obvious with e-cigs, rather than other categories, partly due to the sheer number of companies and products involved, and the issue of youth usage ...

Education on smoking alternatives justified but not top priority, says US FDA

Written by Antonia Di Lorenzo || 25th August 2023 || News analysis |

Educating consumers about reduced-risk alternatives to smoking is worthwhile – but encouraging them to use smoking-cessation methods should still take priority, according to the US Food and Drug Administration ...

Israel proposes tough measures and tax hikes to curb youth nicotine use

Written by Antonia Di Lorenzo || 24th August 2023 || News analysis |

The Israeli Ministry of Health has published plans for stricter measures that would apply to all smoking and tobacco products, in advance of a public consultation aimed at amending the Tobacco Law ...

Altria reports solid oral tobacco segment performance despite lower revenues

Written by Antonia Di Lorenzo || 2nd August 2023 || News analysis |

Altria reported a solid performance in the first half of 2023 despite lower net revenues, partially offset by higher revenue in the oral tobacco segment ...

‘Must do better’ – BAT boss gives Hyper 2 a less than Glo-ing half-term report

Written by Antonia Di Lorenzo || 27th July 2023 || News analysis |

British American Tobacco (BAT) has reported a continued positive performance of its vapour and modern oral segment but said it needs to do more work on its heated tobacco products ...

Iluma to the fore as PMI builds up a head of steam towards its smoke-free future

Written by Antonia Di Lorenzo || 25th July 2023 || News analysis |

Philip Morris International (PMI) reported strong momentum over the first half of the year, driven by Iqos growth and the good performance of Swedish Match, accelerating the company’s transition to a smokeless future ...

At your convenience – now smokers in California are offered the low-nic option

Written by Antonia Di Lorenzo || 18th July 2023 || News analysis |

22nd Century Group has confirmed the launch of its VLN reduced nicotine cigarettes in California, where sales have begun in hundreds of convenience stores across the state ...

Big in Japan, unfashionable in France – how attitudes to heated tobacco vary

Written by Antonia Di Lorenzo || 29th June 2023 || News analysis |

Attitudes towards heated tobacco vary, even between neighbouring countries, with a range of social factors affecting market conditions – as shown by differences between France and Switzerland, Japan and South Korea ...

22nd Century banks on big plans for its VLN cigarettes in the US and beyond

Written by Antonia Di Lorenzo || 12th May 2023 || News analysis |

US company 22nd Century will look to expand its international interests by launching trials in Switzerland and Japan as well as relaunching its low-nicotine conventional cigarette product in South Korea ...

Sweden and alternatives show the way to cut down on smoking, says Italian MEP

Written by Antonia Di Lorenzo || 10th May 2023 || News analysis |

The best way to reduce smoking rates is by encouraging smokers to switch to new, reduced-risk categories, according to Italian MEP Aldo Patriciello, who recommends the Swedish approach ...

JTI plans further launches for Ploom X after UK, Italy and Lithuania successes

Written by Antonia Di Lorenzo || 9th May 2023 || News analysis |

Japan Tobacco International (JTI) enjoyed a solid performance in the first three months of the year, boosted by a successful launch of its Ploom X heat-not-burn (HnB) device in Italy and Lithuania ...

Heated tobacco and modern oral flavours make up for Imperial’s US vaping blow

Written by Antonia Di Lorenzo || 19th April 2023 || News analysis |

Expanding sales of next generation products into new markets has more than compensated Imperial Brands for the enforced loss of its Myblu e-cigarette from the US market ...

VLN maker ready to hand out the Cookies in tie-up with US cannabis company

Written by Antonia Di Lorenzo || 6th April 2023 || News analysis |

22nd Century Group, maker of the very low nicotine VLN brand cigarette, has announced a new three-year exclusive licence and distribution agreement with the US cannabis company Cookies ...

Altria unveils new products and new goals for its US smoke-free portfolio

Written by Antonia Di Lorenzo || 3rd April 2023 || News analysis |

Altria will launch two new smoke-free products, a heated tobacco capsule called Swic and a new addition to its existing nicotine pouch brand, On! Plus, in a move to address a broader range of consumers and is actively...

UK tax increases raise prices of tobacco, including heat-not-burn consumables

Written by Antonia Di Lorenzo || 21st March 2023 || News analysis |

UK consumers are facing a considerable hike in the price of all tobacco products following the Spring Budget outlined last week by chancellor (finance minister) Jeremy Hunt ...

FDA’s proposed product standards ‘will help the big boys by hurting small ones’

Written by Antonia Di Lorenzo || 15th March 2023 || News analysis |

Fears have been raised that new product standards proposed by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) may be costly to implement and overly burdensome for smaller companies ...

Altria swaps its Juul stake for rights to a theoretical heated tobacco system

Written by Antonia Di Lorenzo || 6th March 2023 || News analysis |

Altria has swapped its 35% stake in Juul Labs for heated tobacco intellectual property rights, ending an investment which plummeted in value from $12.8bn to only $250m in just over four years ...

Big Tobacco remains in love with novelty as it heads towards a smokeless future

Written by Antonia Di Lorenzo || 3rd March 2023 || News analysis |

The significance Big Tobacco companies are placing on novel tobacco products is demonstrated by the continued international expansion many are undertaking ...

Altria ‘in $2.75bn bid to buy e-cigarette maker Njoy’ while dropping Juul

Written by Antonia Di Lorenzo || 28th February 2023 || News analysis |

Altria is reported to be in advanced talks to buy e-cigarette company Njoy for around $2.75bn.No deal has been finalised, but an official announcement is possible by the end of the week ...

Tobacco control expert Farrelly faces a big job as science director at US CTP

Written by Antonia Di Lorenzo || 22nd February 2023 || News analysis |

The appointment of Matthew Farrelly as director of the Office of Science at the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA)’s Center for Tobacco Products (CTP) comes at a potentially critical time for tobacco alternatives ...

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