Market & legal data of the tobacco alternatives sector in Asia

Israel bans Juul with nicotine limit, prepares tighter e-cig regulation

Written by David Palacios Rubio | 23rd August 2018

Israel’s prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has signed an administrative order prohibiting the import and marketing of any e-cigarette product with a nicotine concentration higher than 20...

Chinese authorities arrest 30 suspects in two HnB smuggling cases

Written by TobaccoIntelligence | 10th August 2018

A total of 30 suspects have been arrested in a joint anti-smuggling operation by Chinese law enforcement. China Tobacco Ningbo, Ningbo municipal police department and Ningbo municipal anti-smuggling bureau joined forces ...

Japanese firm launches independent rival device to heat IQOS Heets

Written by Freddie Dawson | 4th July 2018

A new heated-tobacco device which uses PMI’s tobacco consumables Heets will be officially launched on the Japanese market later this month by Jouz, a new independent...

Hong Kong moves towards legal HnB, while keeping e-cigs tightly controlled

Written by Freddie Dawson | 20th June 2018

Hong Kong plans to regulate HnB products in the same way as conventional cigarettes, lifting a rarely-enforced ban. But the current heavy restrictions on nicotine-containing e-cigarettes will...

South Korea takes new graphic approach to e-cig and HnB warnings

Written by TobaccoIntelligence | 11th June 2018

The South Korean government is stepping up its efforts to discourage use of electronic cigarettes and heated tobacco products with new graphic health warning images that will appear on packages later this...

Israel to crack down on Juul before general e-cigarette regulation

Written by David Palacios Rubio | 11th June 2018

A few weeks after the launch of the Juul vaping device on the Israeli market, the Ministry of Health has announced restrictive measures against its sale, claiming it contains too much...

Rival HnB devices that use IQOS consumables available in Japan

Written by TobaccoIntelligence | 17th May 2018

Japan’s advanced heated tobacco market and its ban on nicotine e-liquid are between them leading e-cigarette manufacturers to launch their own HnB devices – many compatible with the Heets made for market leader...

Big in Japan – now JTI and BAT plan to make heated tobacco even bigger

Written by Freddie Dawson | 7th May 2018

British American Tobacco (BAT) and Japan Tobacco International (JTI) are both planning further investment in reduced-risk products following successful Japanese...

PMI and Altria report cigarettes down, HnB and vapour up

Written by David Palacios Rubio | 2nd May 2018

While sales of traditional cigarettes continue to decline worldwide, PMI is increasingly relying on its heated-tobacco device IQOS to buoy up its financial results, particularly through sales in Japan and Korea ...

Vape show reveals mixed feelings on Japan’s market future

Written by TobaccoIntelligence | 16th April 2018

Opinions on the future of the Japanese e-cigarette market at the country’s first vape sector tradeshow were mixed, with some optimism despite the continuing ban on nicotine e-liquid and the dramatic success of HnB...

Korean web of taxes brings HnB price in line with combustible cigarettes

Written by TobaccoIntelligence | 3rd April 2018

Regulators in South Korea have enacted new taxes on heat-not-burn (HnB) tobacco products, apparently building on previous government moves to bring prices closer in line with those of conventional cigarettes ...

JT set to take the biggest hit from Japan’s new HnB tax plans

Written by TobaccoIntelligence | 6th March 2018

The budget plan making its way through a host of Japanese parliamentary committees includes a staggered series of tax rises for heated tobacco products as well as combustible cigarettes – and Japan Tobacco could suffer...

As cigarette sales fall, PMI and JT plan further HnB investment

Written by David Palacios Rubio | 16th February 2018

As tobacco giants Philip Morris International (PMI) and Japan Tobacco (JT) have been hit by falling tobacco sales, revenues from their e-cigarette and heat-not-burn (HnB) portfolios have increased ...

Heat-not-burn products rise as cigarette sales fall in Japan

Written by Freddie Dawson | 9th February 2018

Reduced-risk products have severely impacted sales of conventional cigarettes in Japan, according to Japan Tobacco. The firm says the total value of cigarette sales fell by 12.5% in 2017 ...

IQOS flourishes across Southeast Asia – without PMI’s approval

Written by TobaccoIntelligence | 6th February 2018

The IQOS heated tobacco system is on sale across Southeast Asia, despite doubts over its legality in a number of countries, and the official disapproval of its maker, PMI ...

Israel set to tackle e-cig regulation with a clampdown on advertising

Written by David Palacios Rubio | 15th January 2018

Israel is in the process of taking a new approach to the advertising of new tobacco-related products, with a likely ban on all advertising of e-cigarettes and heated tobacco products anywhere but in print and...

Regulation, creativity and variety – that was the e-cig year that was

Written by TobaccoIntelligence | 27th December 2017

ECigIntelligence’s review of the year gone by reflects the big stories of the e-cigarette world in 2017, the trends in regulation, the developing and diverging markets, the science and innovation, and peers into the crystal...

South Korea tax rise threatens to make HnB more expensive than smoking

Written by TobaccoIntelligence | 13th November 2017

Heat-not-burn products will become more expensive than combustible cigarettes in South Korea unless manufacturers decide to absorb part of a new tax rise ...

Web traffic shows global interest in HnB since Big Tobacco product launches

Written by David Palacios Rubio | 10th November 2017

A new market report from ECigIntelligence reveals the growth in global internet traffic to heated tobacco websites since the launch of heat-not-burn products by some Big Tobacco...

KT&G launches HnB Lil in South Korea, challenging IQOS and Glo on price

Written by Freddie Dawson | 8th November 2017

The biggest tobacco company in South Korea, KT&G, has launched its own heat-not-burn (HnB) device into the rapidly expanding tobacco alternatives market in the country, where it will compete with PMI’s IQOS and BAT’s...

Turkish government’s ‘secret attempt’ to legalise HnB exposed and shot down

Written by TobaccoIntelligence | 1st November 2017

Heated tobacco products remain banned in Turkey after opposition politicians uncovered a “hidden” bid by the government to legalise them while retaining the prohibition on...

Boom in IQOS figures reveals HnB’s rising share of world tobacco market

Written by Freddie Dawson | 26th October 2017

Heated tobacco continues to take up a greater and greater share of the total world tobacco market, according to new figures from Philip Morris International (PMI) outlining the success of its IQOS...

South Korea proposes HnB tax almost equal to tobacco

Written by Freddie Dawson | 23rd October 2017

A new tax proposal for heat-not-burn (HnB) products in South Korea could leave them more expensive than their traditional cigarette...

Japan’s online searches for HnB outstrip American interest in vaping

Written by Barnaby Page | 16th October 2017

The number of Google searches in Japan for topics related to heat-not-burn has rocketed, illustrating how rapidly the new nicotine technology has gained ground in that...

Japanese regulation favours HnB products over e-cigarettes

Written by TobaccoIntelligence | 18th September 2017

The market for heated tobacco products in Japan is very favourable due to comparatively light regulation – as opposed to e-cigarettes, which are subject to more...

BAT launches Glo and Dunhill Neostiks on the South Korean HnB market

Written by Freddie Dawson | 17th August 2017

British American Tobacco (BAT) has launched its Glo device in South Korea, joining Philip Morris International (PMI)'s iQOS in what could be a lively market for heated tobacco...

Korean tobacco giant prepares to enter competitive HnB market

Written by David Palacios Rubio | 5th July 2017

South Korea’s largest tobacco manufacturer, KT&G, is to start selling a new heat-not-burn (HnB) product, in direct competition with PMI’s iQOS and BAT’s Glo...

New studies examine HnB’s nicotine delivery and consumer reactions

Written by Marc Beishon | 21st June 2017

New research shines a little light on how Japanese consumers are reacting to iQOS, and how HnB products compare with both combustibles and e-cigarettes on the crucial question of nicotine...

Asia Pacific warms to heat-not-burn, but it’s not an easy road

Written by Freddie Dawson | 20th February 2017

Japan Tobacco and Philip Morris International are attempting to widen their distribution of heat-not-burn (HnB) products throughout Pacific Asia, but there have been problems along the...

JTI prepares Japan-wide Ploom Tech launch, but iQOS gains ground

Written by Freddie Dawson | 29th September 2016

Japan Tobacco (JTI) has ramped up production of its Ploom Tech e-cigarette in preparation for a nationwide launch across Japan, following successful trials in the city of Fukuoka ...

Ploom and JTI agree to split up, divide heat-not-burn brands

Written by Barnaby Page | 17th February 2015

U.S. startup Ploom and its investor Japan Tobacco International (JTI) are to end their relationship and divide Ploom’s products between...

PMI prepares for heat-not-burn rollout, plans e-cig for 2016

Written by Barnaby Page | 2nd July 2014

Philip Morris International (PMI) will no longer be conspicuous in the tobacco alternatives market by its absence ...

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