News analysis for professionals in the alternative tobacco sector

Council of Europe stamps tobacco product tax harmonisation 'Urgent'

Written by David Palacios Rubio | 3rd June 2020

The Council of the European Union considers it “urgent and necessary” to harmonise the definitions and tax treatment of novel tobacco products such as heated tobacco and vaping products ...

Price war in Japan as JT battles against IQOS dominance of the HnB market

Written by TobaccoIntelligence | 3rd June 2020

Japan Tobacco (JT) and Philip Morris International (PMI) are cutting the prices of their heat-not-burn (HnB) devices in Japan and planning new product launches amid the coronavirus pandemic ...

Bundestag debate brings Germany’s outdoor tobacco ads ban closer

Written by TobaccoIntelligence | 2nd June 2020

Germany has moved a step closer to a comprehensive ban on outdoor advertising of tobacco products, with a first debate in the Bundestag of a proposal put forward by the ruling coalition parties ...

World No Tobacco Day 2020: opposing views on tobacco alternatives

Written by David Palacios Rubio | 31st May 2020

World No Tobacco Day provides a good opportunity to consider the approach that public health authorities, policymakers, and advocates around the world have towards the role of tobacco-alternative products ...

Nations urge European Commission to include HnB in revised EU tax directive

Written by David Palacios Rubio | 28th May 2020

EU nations are to recommend to the European Commission that heat-not-burn products should be included in the forthcoming revised structure and rates of tax applied to manufactured tobacco products ...

Indian state of Uttar Pradesh partially lifts ban on nicotine-free pan masala

Written by David Palacios Rubio | 26th May 2020

India’s most populous state, Uttar Pradesh, has partially lifted its ban on the oral product pan masala following industry pressure and due to the state government’s need for cash ...

California quitline offers free nicotine patches during coronavirus crisis

Written by David Palacios Rubio | 20th May 2020

Smokers in the US state of California can get free nicotine patches by mail to help them quit, as part of a research project on public health during the COVID-19 crisis ...

Altria moves On! with PMTA in 10-year plan to lead on non-combustibles

Written by David Palacios Rubio | 18th May 2020

Altria has submitted premarket tobacco product applications (PMTAs) to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for 35 varieties of its On! nicotine pouches ...

Estonia establishes new packaging warnings and excise stamps for HnB

Written by TobaccoIntelligence | 14th May 2020

The Estonian Parliament has approved a bill that relaxes one of the toughest regulatory regimes for tobacco-alternative products such as e-cigarettes, and imposes a new health warning for heated tobacco packaging ...

Retailers face puzzle of what to stock as EU menthol cigarette ban looms

Written by TobaccoIntelligence | 12th May 2020

Retailers in Europe are playing a guessing game as they plan how to fill the gap on the shelves with new tobacco-alternative products in preparation for the fast-approaching ban on menthol cigarettes ...

US FDA requests four-month delay on graphic cigarette health warnings

Written by David Palacios Rubio | 11th May 2020

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has asked a judge to postpone the effective date of its new rule imposing graphic health warnings on cigarette packaging ...

Users in Finland strive to change law that stops them accessing snus

Written by TobaccoIntelligence | 6th May 2020

Finnish snus users have expressed concern that restrictions related to the current COVID-19 pandemic are limiting their access to snus, mainly because of the closure of borders between Finland and Sweden ...

Bid to raise funds for Italian health system by reducing HnB tax discount

Written by TobaccoIntelligence | 4th May 2020

A number of patients’ and doctors’ associations, as well as political parties, are proposing an increase in tax on heated tobacco products to help finance Italy’s hard-pressed public health system ...

Altria expects a hit from COVID-19, BAT set for heated tobacco decline

Written by David Palacios Rubio | 30th April 2020

Big Tobacco manufacturers are expecting the effects of COVID-19 to hit hard in the second half of the year, despite a strong performance in the first quarter ...

TobaccoIntelligence
COVID-19 news round-up

Written by TobaccoIntelligence | 30th April 2020

All TobaccoIntelligence's COVID-19-related news briefings can now be found in one place here ...

Swedish Match enjoys 35% smoke-free sales boom but predicts downturn

Written by TobaccoIntelligence | 29th April 2020

Swedish Match’s sales of smoke-free products boomed in the first quarter of 2020, with the segment recording a 35% year-on-year increase to SEK2.508bn (€234m) ...

France limits sale of nicotine patches as study hints at COVID-19 treatment

Written by David Palacios Rubio | 28th April 2020

The French government is temporarily restricting sales of nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) products following research suggesting nicotine patches could be used in treatment for COVID-19 ...

Indonesian president urged to clamp down on tobacco to fight coronavirus

Written by TobaccoIntelligence | 27th April 2020

A group of non-profit and health organisations has called on Indonesian president Joko Widodo to take a stricter stance against tobacco products in the battle against COVID-19 ...

BAT takes action over heated tobacco patent in bid to ‘win race’ with PMI

Written by David Palacios Rubio | 27th April 2020

British American Tobacco is suing Big Tobacco rival Philip Morris International in the US and in Europe for allegedly infringing its patents with its popular heated tobacco device IQOS ...

PMI lowers expectation of IQOS uptake by half as lockdown hits Heets sales

Written by David Palacios Rubio | 22nd April 2020

Philip Morris International is braced for a significant dip in sales and use of its heated-tobacco device IQOS over the rest of 2020, with retail and travel restrictions currently imposed in nearly every country ...

Altria appoints new CEO while facing US court challenge over IQOS

Written by TobaccoIntelligence | 20th April 2020

US tobacco giant Altria has appointed Billy Gifford as CEO. Gifford, previously vice-chairman and CFO, steps up to take over as CEO from Howard Willard, who is retiring after 28 years with the company ...

Kentucky senators reject proposed tax increase for snus and snuff

Written by David Palacios Rubio | 15th April 2020

Lawmakers in Kentucky have passed a new bill setting out taxes for tobacco products – but a proposal to increase tax on smokeless products was left out of the final wording ...

Tobacco giants go to law in bid to stop US FDA imposing graphic warnings

Written by Barnaby Page | 10th April 2020

The US tobacco industry is resisting another attempt by the FDA to impose graphic health warnings, claiming in a lawsuit that mandatory warnings would violate their rights under the First Amendment ...

Swiss canton adds snus and snuff to its youth sales testing programme

Written by TobaccoIntelligence | 8th April 2020

The Swiss canton of Valais is to include snus and other non-combustible products in its tobacco test-purchasing programme for the first time in a widened bid to halt the sale of tobacco products to minors...

PMTA deadline put back as US judge grants FDA the extra time it asked for

Written by TobaccoIntelligence | 7th April 2020

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has been granted a 120-day extension to the deadline for premarket tobacco product applications (PMTAs) ...

Pandemic causes US state legislatures to shut down or shut the doors

Written by Freddie Dawson | 1st April 2020

Legislative measures are on hold in half the states of the US due to the COVID-19 emergency, with most suspending activity until at least mid-April ...

Did heated tobacco give early humans a head start in the evolution race?

Written by TobaccoIntelligence | 1st April 2020

A distant precursor of today’s heated tobacco products could have provided early humans with a critical survival advantage over their Neanderthal cousins, scientists suggest in a paper published today (1st April) ...

US FDA prepares to extend PMTA deadline – if court agrees to it

Written by David Palacios Rubio | 31st March 2020

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has requested a 120-day extension to the deadline for premarket tobacco product applications (PMTAs) due to the challenges that the coronavirus outbreak is posing to companies ...

India’s most populous state bans oral tobacco mix amid coronavirus fear

Written by David Palacios Rubio | 26th March 2020

The Food Safety and Drug Administration in Uttar Pradesh, India’s largest state by population, has temporarily banned pan masala, a traditional oral product popular throughout India, to try to stem the spread of COVID-19 ...

Spain plans new measures to tighten regulations on innovative products

Written by TobaccoIntelligence | 24th March 2020

The Spanish government has announced plans to strengthen enforcement of existing tobacco regulations and to impose taxes on new products such as heated tobacco ...

US trade commission is called in to decide on nicotine pouch patent row

Written by David Palacios Rubio | 19th March 2020

The US International Trade Commission (USITC) is looking into a possible infringement of the patent for a nicotine pouch product, following a claim led by Swedish Match North America ...

Nicotine events still on the calendar while others fall victim to COVID-19

Written by TobaccoIntelligence | 16th March 2020

Organisers of two major conferences and exhibitions on nicotine delivery are hoping the events can still go ahead despite the global coronavirus outbreak and a number of other event cancellations and postponements ...

Dutch health secretary calls for a ban on public use of heated tobacco

Written by David Palacios Rubio | 16th March 2020

Dutch health secretary Paul Blokhuis has called for heated tobacco and any future new tobacco product to be banned from public use in order to help achieve the target of a “smoke-free generation” ...

Duterte hands down new regulations on heated tobacco in the Philippines

Written by TobaccoIntelligence | 13th March 2020

Philippines president Rodrigo Duterte has issued an executive order placing a range of restrictions on heated tobacco and “other novel tobacco products” ...

US state of Georgia could tax snus at half the rate of traditional tobacco

Written by TobaccoIntelligence | 12th March 2020

Republican lawmakers in the US state of Georgia are proposing that modified risk tobacco products could be taxed at a half portion of the rate traditional tobacco is charged ...

South African budget introduces new tax on heated tobacco products

Written by TobaccoIntelligence | 11th March 2020

The South African government has introduced a new tax on heated tobacco products with immediate effect ...

PMI appoints a CEO for its US wing to push on with ‘smoke-free future’

Written by TobaccoIntelligence | 9th March 2020

Philip Morris International (PMI)’s chief financial officer, Martin King, has been promoted to the newly created role of CEO for PMI America in a bid to further develop the company’s smoke-free segment ...

Studies find reduced nicotine strength doesn’t lead to increased smoking

Written by Barnaby Page | 9th March 2020

Further evidence that reducing the amount of nicotine in combustibles does not lead to heavier smoking may provide encouragement for those who want to see reductions legally mandated ...

New Zealand puts forward new regulations for smokeless products

Written by TobaccoIntelligence | 4th March 2020

A new amendment put before the New Zealand Parliament aims to tighten current regulations on heated tobacco and other smokeless tobacco products – but the country’s attorney general has distanced himself from the proposals ...

Swedish Match to boost ZYN pouch production to meet US demand

Written by TobaccoIntelligence | 3rd March 2020

Swedish Match is to increase production of its tobacco-free nicotine pouch ZYN to 200m cans a year after a steep rise in demand in the US ...

BAT reports 273% revenue increase in a year for its modern oral portfolio

Written by David Palacios Rubio | 28th February 2020

British American Tobacco (BAT)'s "modern oral" portfolio has been one of the main drivers helping the company achieve good results in 2019 for its next-generation products category, which overall increased globally by 36.9% ...

PMI ‘never approached PHE’ with its £1bn plan to promote switching

Written by TobaccoIntelligence | 26th February 2020

Public Health England (PHE) has told TobaccoIntelligence it was never directly approached by Philip Morris International (PMI) over plans for a campaign to promote heat-not-burn and vaping products ...

US FDA opens up nicotine toothpick question with health claim warning

Written by Barnaby Page | 21st February 2020

Recent action by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) against a maker of nicotine-infused toothpicks highlights an obscure corner of the tobacco-alternatives business – consisting of products which are not vapour, heated tobacco or...

Norway and Denmark give up the smoking habit, turn to snus instead

Written by David Palacios Rubio | 20th February 2020

Snus is booming in popularity in Norway and Denmark – especially among the young – while cigarette-smoking appears to be losing its appeal fast ...

Is Australia ready to rethink its approach to reduced-risk products?

Written by TobaccoIntelligence | 19th February 2020

For several decades, Australia’s political and medical establishments have taken a hard line against smoking; but do developments like heated tobacco call for a different approach? ... ...

Could menthol cigarette ban boost uptake of heated tobacco products?

Written by TobaccoIntelligence | 18th February 2020

The upcoming ban on menthol cigarettes across Europe may create opportunities for increased adoption of alternative tobacco products, such as heated tobacco ...

PMI is cleared of misleading investors over Japanese prospects for Iqos

Written by Barnaby Page | 17th February 2020

Philip Morris International (PMI) did not deliberately mislead investors about clinical trials for its Iqos heated tobacco system or about the product’s prospects in Japan, a US federal court has ruled ...

Trump administration plans to take tobacco regulation out of FDA hands

Written by TobaccoIntelligence | 13th February 2020

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is to lose its power to regulate tobacco products if Congress passes president Donald Trump’s budget proposal for fiscal year 2021 ...

EU states give a big thumbs up to tax harmony on heated tobacco and e-cigs

Written by Barnaby Page | 12th February 2020

The European Union’s member states overwhelmingly want harmonised tax policies across the EU for both heated tobacco products and e-cigarettes ...

44% rise in HnB shipments drives a year of smoke-free growth for PMI

Written by TobaccoIntelligence | 6th February 2020

PMI saw its market share of heated tobacco units in IQOS markets, excluding the US, rise by 1.4 percentage points to 5% last year, with a 44.2% increase in HnB shipments ...

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