Blog - Articles, news and information around the nicotine sector

As US FDA moves towards a menthol ban, what might it mean for novel products?

Written by Barnaby Page | 5th May 2022

The long-mooted proposal to prohibit menthol is the most dramatic step the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has taken since the 2009 Tobacco Control Act exempted menthol from a general ban on flavoured tobacco...

Why we don't always get the science we need – and what can be done about it

Written by Barnaby Page | 20th April 2022

Is the present system of peer-reviewed journal publication of scientific papers the best way to get the best science – particularly in the controversial world of tobacco? There are those who think it may not...

Steady as she goes – nothing much is set to change at the CTP on Mital's watch

Written by Antonia Di Lorenzo | 13th April 2022

What will Michele Mital’s reign as acting director of the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Center for Tobacco Products (CTP) mean in terms of policy? ...

Change is afoot at the US CTP and CDC – but what will it mean for tobacco?

Written by Barnaby Page | 8th April 2022

Michele Mital’s appointment as acting head of the Center for Tobacco Products (CTP) is not bad news for the industry, even if it’s not quite good news. And there may be bigger change at the...

How a popular tax on nicotine products could turn out to be bad for the children

Written by Aidan Semmens | 6th April 2022

A no-doubt well-meaning ballot measure enthusiastically taken up by voters just 18 months ago now has General Assembly members in the US state of Colorado tied up in a knot of their own making ...

Harm reduction is a difficult but vital message to convey to the world's poorest

Written by Barnaby Page | 31st March 2022

Broadening the appeal of tobacco harm reduction (THR) products in low- and middle-income countries can be an uphill struggle, though it arguably matters more there than anywhere else ...

Plenty of food for thought as nicotine researchers get their heads together

Written by Barnaby Page | 24th March 2022

The Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco (SRNT) published a huge number of research abstracts to accompany its annual get-together – here are some of the highlights ...

'World leader' Britain fails at the first post-Brexit hurdle on novel tobacco

Written by Freddie Dawson | 16th March 2022

When it comes to taking advantage of Brexit's opportunities for tobacco reform, the UK appears to have balked worse than a horse at its final Olympics pentathlon ...

New study on nicotine pouches stresses importance of understanding products

Written by Barnaby Page | 10th March 2022

As the market for nicotine pouches swells, there is – just as with heated tobacco a few years ago – a risk that regulatory interest outpaces scientific research ...

What science should we be following on novel tobacco products – and how far?

Written by Barnaby Page | 2nd March 2022

“Following the science” is one of the most misleading, clichés of the pandemic, and both advocates and enemies of novel tobacco products need to be cautious of claiming to do the same thing ...

Do sin taxes achieve the desired effect, or do they add up to a temptation to sin?

Written by Aidan Semmens | 17th February 2022

Whatever the motives behind it, punitive or would-be persuasive taxation has many of the same drawbacks as prohibition ...

Changes to Norwegian rules unlikely to have much impact on the market

Written by Freddie Dawson | 9th February 2022

Recent changes to Norwegian regulations are unlikely to have a significant impact on the country’s tobacco alternatives market ...

How the success or failure of VLNCs could affect regulation of alternatives

Written by Barnaby Page | 3rd February 2022

Acceptance by the US FDA of very-low-nicotine cigarettes as a modified risk product may be controversial, even bizarre, but it will be worth seeing how they perform in the market – and how that may...

Are heated tobacco products a threat to vaping or a complementary product?

Written by Antonia Di Lorenzo | 20th January 2022

Some vapers appear to be switching to heated tobacco products, but should vaping and heated tobacco be viewed as complementary alternatives or competitors ...

Meta-analysis study emphasises the lack of high-quality research into HnB

Written by Barnaby Page | 13th January 2022

The heated tobacco sector has, compared with its cousin vapour, always suffered from a lack of scientific research and from the perception that most of what does exist is industry-funded ...

Why does Switzerland lag behind its neighbours on tobacco control issues?

Written by Freddie Dawson | 7th January 2022

Switzerland faces two referendum votes crucial to the future of tobacco product advertising in the country ...

New Zealand’s cunning birthdate-based scheme to wipe out smoking for good

Written by Aidan Semmens | 22nd December 2021

New Zealand has designated a cohort of young people – those who will be 14 or younger when the government’s proposed law comes into effect – who will never be old enough to smoke ...

F1 moves on from tobacco promotion as PMI and Ferrari go their separate ways

Written by Aidan Semmens | 16th December 2021

It’s the end of an era as tobacco sponsorship of Formula One racing comes to an end – again. Or does it and is it? ...

How will TPD3 deal with newly emerged products? Our survey offers a few clues

Written by Barnaby Page | 2nd December 2021

Sooner or later the EU will have a new Tobacco Products Directive (TPD), and one of the big questions will be how it treats new product categories which barely existed at the time of TPD2...

What caused a scrap in the Philippines government over tobacco alternatives?

Written by Antonia Di Lorenzo | 24th November 2021

Conflict between public health and political-economic interests seems to be the main reason behind an internal dispute between the Philippine delegation to COP9 and officials at the country’s Department of Health ...

Califf may hit the ground running – but which way will he go on nicotine?

Written by Barnaby Page | 18th November 2021

Robert Califf's expected return to head the US FDA has excited plenty of attention in the world of e-cigarettes, but there’s been much less talk about the likely impact on heated tobacco, pouches and other...

Concern grows over influencers' social media promotion of tobacco products

Written by Antonia Di Lorenzo | 10th November 2021

The misleading advertising of tobacco alternatives on social media has become a critical concern of public health groups and some governments around the world ...

Three possible reasons for WHO decision to keep alternatives out of tobacco talks

Written by Barnaby Page | 4th November 2021

Why won’t the World Health Organization (WHO) talk about tobacco alternatives? It’s never been shy before about putting forward its extreme scepticism ...

Is plain packaging of snus working in Norway? Official body raises the question

Written by David Palacios Rubio | 27th October 2021

Researchers at the Norwegian Institute of Public Health (NIPH) found that plain packaging did not produce a decline in men’s snus use in Norway, with “inconclusive results” on both smoking and women’s snus use ...

Decision on e-cigs shines some light on US FDA's likely approach to alternatives

Written by Barnaby Page | 21st October 2021

While the decision to give marketing authorisation to some RJ Reynolds relates specifically to e-cigarette products, it’s highly likely that much the same priorities will govern official thinking on other alternative products ...

'Utopian' - but is a global consensus on smoke-free alternatives a realistic goal?

Written by Antonia Di Lorenzo | 14th October 2021

A global consensus between industry, scientists and regulators around the role of tobacco alternatives in smoking cessation could be reached in the long term, but experts believe achieving more cooperation is a major challenge ...

What e-cigarette process tells us about the US FDA's thinking on tobacco

Written by Barnaby Page | 7th October 2021

Some light is now dawning on some truths long since suspected about the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA)’s approach to tobacco-alternative products of all kinds through its cumbersome evaluation of e-cigarettes ...

Is Big Tobacco growing environmentally friendly – or is it merely greenwash?

Written by David Palacios Rubio | 29th September 2021

Tobacco corporations seem to be accelerating their commitment towards more sustainable businesses, investing in projects to reduce environmental harm caused by tobacco-alternative devices ...

False beliefs about tobacco alternatives are themselves a public health problem

Written by Barnaby Page | 23rd September 2021

“Misinformation poses a real threat to progress” in a major area of public health concern, we’re told – and this time it’s about the dangers of tobacco-alternative products ...

Swedish Match is ready to shake up the industry by getting out of combustibles

Written by David Palacios Rubio | 15th September 2021

Swedish Match has announced that the company is to become 100% smoke-free by next year with the separation of its cigar business in the US, a decision that is likely to have an impact in...

Time's up for the US FDA to make up its mind – now where do PMTAs stand?

Written by Barnaby Page | 9th September 2021

As the US Food and Drug Administration's deadline to pass or reject e-cigarette premarket tobacco product applications (PMTAs) arrives, where does it leave the market and what might it mean for tobacco alternatives? ...

US nicotine pouch sales have grown 300 times in five years: so what’s next?

Written by Antonia Di Lorenzo | 2nd September 2021

Sales of nicotine pouches in the US have risen 300 times higher over the five years since they entered the US market in 2016, according to figures released by the US Centers for Disease Control...

Knee-jerk response as US AGs leap aboard the anti-flavours bandwagon

Written by Barnaby Page | 26th August 2021

Are we really in the midst of a “pandemic” of oral nicotine use by young people, and if so is the answer a flavour ban? 31 US attorneys general have some answering of their own...

Is Mexico’s thaw on heated tobacco influenced by attitudes of the US FDA?

Written by David Palacios Rubio | 18th August 2021

A recent step forward on HnB taken by the FDA could be behind the shift of the Mexican government toward allowing the sale of these smoke-free devices ...

Hardly any US teens use heated tobacco, but that doesn’t stop the fearmongering

Written by Barnaby Page | 12th August 2021

Despite heated tobacco products being barely available in the US, it is now officially the next monstrous threat facing America’s youth ...

Will the UK government end up blocking PMI-Vectura deal in the public interest?

Written by Antonia Di Lorenzo | 5th August 2021

The proposal of Philip Morris International (PMI) to acquire inhaled drug delivery company Ventura for $1.2bn has alerted the UK government, which can block the deal if it sees any major public interest reason to...

Why is the boss of Marlboro maker PMI talking up the end of smoking days?

Written by Barnaby Page | 29th July 2021

Jacek Olczak, CEO of Philip Morris International (PMI), says the company could stop selling combustible cigarettes in the UK within a decade ...

Is plain packaging all it's cracked up to be when it comes to stubbing out smoking?

Written by Aidan Semmens | 22nd July 2021

A new study by researchers from the Luiss Business School in Rome and Deloitte comes to an unexpected and counterintuitive conclusion ...

PMI is busy reinventing itself as Big Tobacco prepares for life after smoking

Written by Barnaby Page | 15th July 2021

Philip Morris International (PMI) has always been one of the frankest tobacco companies when it comes to speaking of the smoke-free future – now it is taking positive steps in a bold new direction ...

BAT pulls Velo out of German market due to uncertainty over legality of pouches

Written by David Palacios Rubio | 8th July 2021

British American Tobacco (BAT) is removing its Velo nicotine pouches from the German market because of a lack of clarity over their regulation both nationally and in the country's regional states ...

The Japanese innovation that could help normalise heated tobacco everywhere

Written by Barnaby Page | 1st July 2021

A new development in Japan sets an example which proponents of harm reduction could do well to advocate elsewhere – the increasing trend toward heated-tobacco-only areas in public spaces ...

Did Philippines FDA break the law hiring tobacco staff with Bloomberg cash?

Written by David Palacios Rubio | 23rd June 2021

The Philippines Food and Drug Administration is under public scrutiny after being accused of acting unlawfully in accepting foreign donations from a non-government organisation funded by the anti-tobacco Bloomberg Initiative ...

Could legalising snus tap into a huge potential for smoking cessation?

Written by Barnaby Page | 18th June 2021

Two startling statistics emerge from a recent survey of smokers in Europe: nearly one in three (31%) of current smokers would be interested in trying snus if it became legal, but less than 3% are...

BAT faces a fine of up to €5m over alleged covert heated tobacco advertising in Italy

Written by David Palacios Rubio | 11th June 2021

Italy’s antitrust regulator has opened formal procedures against British American Tobacco (BAT) for using influencers to promote an advertising campaign for Glo Hyper, and it could cost the manufacturer millions ...

The WHO, the where and the why

Written by Barnaby Page | 4th June 2021

Advocates for novel tobacco products often get infuriated with the oppositional stance taken by the World Health Organization – but might there be some fair reason behind the WHO’s less-than-enthusiastic view? ...

British government review of tobacco rules won't be coming any time soon

Written by David Palacios Rubio | 26th May 2021

The UK government’s post-implementation review of the 2016 Tobacco and Related Products Regulations (TRPR) won’t be ready before the end of the year ...

Politicians and regulators just can't stop thinking of the children

Written by Barnaby Page | 21st May 2021

News that Florida is planning to increase the purchase age for tobacco products to 21 is another clear indication of just how much the issues of youth smoking and youth vaping dominate the minds of...

Pakistan: prime minister’s withdrawal from webinar reveals tensions over tobacco products

Written by David Palacios Rubio | 13th May 2021

Pakistan’s prime minister Imran Khan cancelled a few days ago the country’s attendance at an event sponsored by Philip Morris Japan, after health advocates protested violation of the World Health Organization’s Framework Convention on Tobacco...

Will nicotine be the next menthol?

Written by Barnaby Page | 7th May 2021

The big news from the US Food and Drug Administration last week was a ban on menthol in combustible cigarettes, closing off a loophole that had allowed this one flavour to be marketed even after all others...

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