United States: Market data & legal analysis of the nicotine sector

5th September 2024: US - San Francisco: San Francisco city attorney David Chiu is bringing a lawsuit against four online tobacco retailers for selling flavoured nicotine pouches to consumers in San Francisco, alleging that violates city law. Chiu said: “These products are not welcome here, and we are taking decisive action against these online retailers.” Fahad Qurashi, chief programme officer of the Youth Leadership Institute, said: “Youth leaders across San Francisco are prepared to support any action against the aggressive and pervasive marketing of a new generation of tobacco products to youth.”
2nd September 2024: US - Federal: The US Food and Drug Adminstration (FDA) has issued a final rule increasing the minimum age for certain restrictions on tobacco sales. From 30th September, retailers must ask any purchasers of tobacco products under the age of 30 for photo identification (currently, this requirement is for customers under 27). In addition, vending machines with tobacco products will not be permitted unless under-21s have their access restricted to these facilities (currently, this requirement is for under-18s). “Today’s rule is another key step toward protecting our nation’s youth from the health risks of tobacco products,” said Brian King, director of the FDA’s Center for Tobacco Products. He added: “Decades of science have shown that keeping tobacco products away from youth is critical to reducing the number of people who ultimately become addicted to these products and suffer from tobacco-related disease and death.”
2nd September 2024: US - Minnesota: Attorney general Keith Ellison has sent a letter to more than 5,000 tobacco distributors and retailers asking them to confirm they will comply with Minnesota law and stop distributing, marketing and selling unauthorised and illegal flavoured tobacco products in the state. These products include flavoured e-cigarettes and flavoured nicotine pouch products that have not been authorised for sale by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). In the letter, Ellison notes that many unauthorised and illegal tobacco products on the market today include e-cigarette and oral nicotine pouch products that feature candy, fruit or dessert flavours that particularly appeal to minors.
22nd August 2024: US - General: Japan Tobacco (JT) has announced that the JT Group has reached an agreement with Vector Group, the fourth largest tobacco company in the US, to acquire Vector in a deal worth $2.4bn. Eddy Pirard, president and CEO of JT International, said: “This transaction will significantly increase our US presence, boosting our market share from 2.3% to approximately 8.0% and giving us full ownership of two of the top ten US cigarette brands. The transaction will enable us to also strengthen our distribution network, and create mid- to long-term strategic opportunities to boost our competitiveness in this major tobacco market.” See our news analysis for more on this subject.
13th August 2024: US - Massachusetts: The Attorney General’s Office (AGO) has reached a $600m settlement with major tobacco manufacturers. According to a statement by attorney general Andrea Joy Campbell, certain manufacturers withheld funds due as part of the 1988 Master Settlement Agreement (MSA) in which they agreed to pay states billions of dollars each year to offset medical expenses caused by smoking. With this latest settlement, seven of these disputes have now been resolved. “The country’s major tobacco manufacturers have pushed smoking products to young people for decades – and this settlement is evidence of our ongoing commitment to hold these companies accountable for their actions that caused irreparable harm to public health and safety,” said the attorney general. Governor Maura Healey praised the “historic” settlement and said “Big Tobacco used harmful and misleading marketing practices for decades and undermined public health”.
30th July 2024: US - General: Philip Morris International (PMI) has announced a collaboration with KT&G, a South Korean manufacturer of tobacco and nicotine products. The companies have formalised a non-binding memorandum to collaborate on regulatory submissions to commercialise KT&G’s heated tobacco products (HTPs) in the US. This means both companies will work together on premarket tobacco product applications (PMTAs) to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for these products.
16th July 2024: US - General: Philip Morris International (PMI) has announced it will invest $600m to open a manufacturing facility in Aurora, Colorado. Regular production is expected to start in 2026. “PMI and its US affiliates are accelerating their mission to move adults who smoke away from cigarettes in the US,” said Stacey Kennedy, president of Americas Region and CEO of PMI US, “by investing in new US manufacturing capacity to meet the increasing demand for nicotine options that are scientifically substantiated as better alternatives.”
8th July 2024: US - Minnesota: Attorney general (AG) Keith Ellison has announced that he has filed a motion moving to enforce the 1998 settlement agreement with tobacco manufacturers, which detailed that tobacco companies’ marketing would be restricted and manufacturers would have to pay the state annually. The motion asks the court to order the manufacturers to pay $58m, which includes underpayments due from each annual payment since 2008 as well as interest.
1st July 2024: US - Federal: The US Supreme Court has overruled the 1984 Chevron decision. One of the key principles of the Chevron doctrine is that an agency’s interpretation (provided it is reasonable) would not be overruled by a court. In the decision that overturned Chevron, chief justice John Roberts said: “Courts must exercise their independent judgment in deciding whether an agency has acted within its statutory authority, as the APA (Administrative Procedure Act) requires.” This may have an impact on the tobacco and nicotine industry as it may open the door for the courts to potentially overrule Food and Drug Administration decisions.
1st July 2024: US - Maryland: Effective today, the sales and use tax for electronic smoking devices, including vaping liquid in a container of more than 5 ml, rises from 12% to 20%. The sales and use tax for vaping liquid in a container of 5 ml or less remains unchanged at 60%, while the cigarette tax changes as follows: from $3.75 per package to $5 per package for packs of 20; and for packs of more than 20, from $0.175 per cigarette in the package to $0.25. Finally, the Other Tobacco Products tax (excluding pipe tobacco and cigars) rises from 53% of the wholesale price of the tobacco products to 60%.
1st July 2024: US - California: A new tax rate on tobacco products comes into force today. The tax will change from 56.32% of the wholesale cost to 52.92%, and runs until 30th June 2025.
27th June 2024: US - Federal: Altria Group has announced the submission of premarket tobacco product applications (PMTAs) to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for its On! Plus oral nicotine pouch products. The PMTAs were submitted by Altria’s wholly owned subsidiary Helix Innovations. “We believe that these PMTAs demonstrate that responsibly marketed On! Plus pouches can provide a compelling alternative in the marketplace,” said Paige Magness, senior vice-president of regulatory affairs at Altria Client Services. In the first quarter of 2024, On! reported shipment volume grew 32% versus the prior year and the brand achieved a 7.1% retail share of the total US oral tobacco category. Further details on the subject can be found in our news report.

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