One of the largest vaping retailers in the U.K., VPZ, has announced that it has opened five new stores since the end of lockdown restrictions caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. The new stores are located in Helensburgh, Port Glasgow, Castlemilk, Glenrothes and Farnborough, bringing its total footprint to 159 stores and creating 15 new jobs.
Doug Mutter/Photo: VPZ
Since lockdowns ended in April, the company has seen a 165 percent increase in first-time vapers kit sales. The demand has been driven from smokers having no access to National Health Service (NHS) stop smoking services and vaping retailers being closed due to not being classed as essential during lockdown, according to a press release.
Doug Mutter, director of VPZ said, the company is spearheading the fight against the nation’s No. 1 killer: smoking.
“The Pandemic has triggered an increase in smoking rates and the public health problem has been compounded by funding cuts for NHS stop smoking services and local support groups,” said Mutter. “This latest investment in our offering and expansion of our store footprint underlines our commitment to playing our part in regaining this lost momentum and helping the UK achieve its ambitions to be a tobacco-free nation by 2030.”
Pyxus International announced results for its quarter and fiscal year ended March 31, 2021.
Combined sales and other operating revenues were $1.33 billion, down 12.8 percent from the prior fiscal year. Combined gross profit as a percent of sales was 12.1 percent, which decreased 2.6 percent from the prior fiscal year.
Combined selling, general and administrative expenses were $197.9 million, which decreased $1.1 million or 0.6 percent from the prior fiscal year.
Combined net loss attributable to Pyxus International was $117.7 million, which decreased $147 million, or 55.5 percent, from the prior fiscal year.
Combined adjusted EBITDA was $93.5 million. Total long-term debt was substantially reduced when compared to the prior fiscal year. Year-end uncommitted inventory was the lowest it has been since fiscal 2016.
“In what was an unprecedented and challenging year, our company adapted to constant change as we navigated the Covid-19 pandemic,” said Pieter Sikkel, Pyxus’ president and CEO, in a statement. “During fiscal 2021, we implemented a series of restructurings and process changes that allowed our business to continue to operate through the Covid-19 pandemic while also positioning us for success in fiscal 2022 and beyond. Through these actions, we substantially reduced our debt and costs throughout our supply chain. We also made the strategic decision to exit our cash flow negative Canadian cannabis businesses, which further supports our SG&A cost containment efforts.
Based on expected first quarter results, we are optimistic about fiscal 2022
“Although our production facilities continued to operate through the pandemic, certain facilities experienced lower production levels than planned due to smaller crop sizes in Africa and the implementation of social distancing requirements and safety practices to reduce the spread of Covid-19 and protect our employees. In addition, the Covid-19 pandemic-related shipping delays of leaf tobacco for certain customer orders resulted in a shift of between $170 million and $180 million of expected revenue and $30 million and $34 million of expected EBITDA from fiscal 2021 into fiscal 2022. However, the impact of Covid-19 on our business yielded innovative changes that will enable us to be more flexible in the future and accelerate certain activities in the crop cycle. Covid-19 has also pushed the tobacco industry to continue to look for ways to reduce supply chain complexity in a responsible manner.
“For the full year, we are expecting fiscal 2022 sales to be between $1.65 billion and $1.8 billion, SG&A expense to be between $140 million and $145 million (excluding nonrecurring items and potential changes in foreign currency exchange rates) and adjusted EBITDA to be between $150 million and $170 million. Based on expected first quarter results, we are optimistic about fiscal 2022. Lastly, we are also excited about sharing more information about our enhanced global environmental, social and governance strategy, which supports our ability to deliver on our expected results for fiscal 2022.”
Joel L. Thomas will be retiring from his position as executive vice president and chief financial officer at Pyxus International upon the appointment of his successor. Thereafter, Thomas will continue to serve as a strategic advisor to facilitate the transition of his responsibilities until he retires from that position on or before June 30, 2022. The company has initiated an executive search for Thomas’ successor.
“On behalf of Pyxus and the board of directors, I would like to thank Joel for his dedication and contributions to the company,” said Pieter Sikkel, president and CEO of Pyxus International, in a statement.
“Throughout his time with the company, Joel has provided financial leadership and implemented innovative financing structures to meet our evolving global requirements. His leadership and dedication were critical over the past year as we navigated the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and implemented significant restructuring efforts that have positioned our business for long-term success. Joel’s passion for the business, our shareholders, our employees and our customers is evident to anyone who interacts with him, and I wish him all the best in the next chapter of his journey.”
Thomas has spent the past 16 years of his career with the Pyxus International, including serving the last seven years as CFO.
“It has been a privilege to work and serve alongside our talented global team,” said Thomas. “I’m proud of the steps we have taken to create a solid foundation for the company that will enable it to achieve long-term success.”
New Zealand’s largest licensed medicinal cannabis company, Helius Therapeutics, has appointed Joanna Perry to its Board of Directors. The appointment comes as the New Zealand-based company prepares to enter both the domestic and international markets. Perry will serve as chairperson on the board’s Audit Finance Committee.
Joanna Perry, Credit: Helius
“Joanna’s significant governance experience, combined with her well-known inquisitive probing, will be a real asset. Her nature to challenge and always seek continuous improvement strongly aligns with Helius’ internal cultural value of staying curious,” says Carmen Doran, CEO of Helius Therapeutics.
Having raised $48m in capital since 2018, Helius has invested significantly in both its facility and talent, according to a press release. Perry’s arrival to the board of Helius is timely, with its state-of-the-art, integrated medicines manufacturing facility in Auckland’s East Tamaki set to begin production.
“Our world-class executive leadership team is complete, and our board is equally excited to bring high quality, highly efficacious medicinal cannabis products to market with an exciting R&D pipeline to follow,” says Doran.
Perry says it is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to be involved with such an innovative biotechnology company, leading the infancy of New Zealand’s medicinal cannabis sector. “I’m delighted to add my governance and financial experience to the vast pharmaceutical and cannabinoid medicine experience of the Helius team. It’s an incredible journey not only for Helius, but for the country,” says Perry.
The City Council for the District of Columbia (D.C.) voted Tuesday to ban the sale of flavored vaping and other tobacco products in the District, including menthol cigarettes. It was the council’s second vote in favor of the legislation and it now heads to the desk of Mayor Muriel E. Bowser, who supports the ban for health reasons. She has stated that she would sign it into law.
Credit: JHVE Photo
The 8-to-5 vote came after a lengthy debate in which legislators who opposed the ban — and even some who favored it — raised concerns that the law could create opportunities for Black smokers to be harrassed by police, and that the city would be unfairly targeting a smoking choice preferred by Black residents, according to the Washington Post. The Council voted 9-3-1 during the first reading at the June 15 legislative session.
In an attempt to avoid police interactions based on the use of flavored vapor products, the council approved a change to the bill Tuesday saying that the law does not give the city’s police authority to act on their own to enforce the vaping ban. The Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs, which can inspect D.C. stores to make sure they are not selling illegal products, could still call in police for assistance.
The council carved out one exception — any hookah bars in the city which already have an exemption from the city’s ban on indoor smoking in restaurants will be grandfathered in, and can continue offering flavored hookah for use on their own premises.
The Biden administration has vowed to eventually outlaw such flavored tobacco products, including menthol, nationwide. The council originally considered banning only e-cigarette products before expanding the bill to include menthol, a step that several legislators opposed.
“If the question is, ‘Is menthol bad for us?’ the answer certainly is yes. But if the question is, ‘Is smoking bad for us?’ the answer also is yes,” said Councilmember Robert White, who voted against the ban. “In the original bill, we were trying to get at things that were targeted toward youth, flavored items. Menthol to me seems like a different category…. I’m seeing this as paternalistic.”
The District joins the state of Massachusetts and some other cities across the country in banning menthol cigarettes, which are popular with Black smokers of all ages, alongside other flavored tobacco products such as the candy- and fruit-flavored e-cigarettes that advocates say are targeted toward inducing teenagers to smoke.
A new study being conducted in the U.K. will offer homeless people free e-cigarette starter packs. The trial is aimed at helping them quit smoking. An estimated 70 percent of homeless people smoke combustible cigarettes, according to research from University of East Anglia (UEA).
Credit: Mat Hayward
Homeless centers in five parts of the UK including London, Scotland and Wales will provide 480 contributors with starter kits or care group sessions, according to the BBC. The study will assess if e-cigarettes help participants quit smoking and whether it offers them value for money.
Half of the contributors will be offered the e-cigarettes, while the other 240 people will be allocated to a care group. The project is being led by London South Bank University (LSBU) and University College London. Lynne Dawkins, a professor with LSBU, said that in an earlier trial the kits “worked well” and staff at homeless centers were able to support the study.
The £1.7m project has been funded by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) and is in collaboration with UEA, Kings College London, Queen Mary University of London, the University of York, Cardiff University, the University of Stirling and the University of Edinburgh. Caitlin Notley, a professor with UEA, said studies suggested e-cigarettes were “more helpful” than nicotine gum or patches when people tried to stop smoking.
“If we find that providing free e-cigarette starter kits helps people to quit, homeless centers could decide to adopt this approach in future, to help reduce the impact of smoking-related diseases on the homeless,” she said.
Next Generation Labs has received a European Patent (No. 3209653), for its proprietary technology related to the preparation of R-S isomer nicotine.
“This patent grant by the European Patent Office is a significant milestone for Next Generation Labs, as it solidifies our tobacco-free synthetic nicotine intellectual property portfolio across a number of European countries, allowing the company to better enforce its rights against violators and counterfeiters of its industry leading TFN branded synthetic nicotine,” Next Generation Labs wrote in a statement.
“Alongside our announcement of patent grants in China, Australia, and Canada, and the enforcement efforts of our strategic partner NextEra in South Korea, we are now even better positioned to take direct action against companies violating our patented nicotine production process in an additional 38 countries.”
Next Generation Labs says it was the first company to successfully scale the bulk manufacture of non-tobacco synthetic nicotine for use in novel non-tobacco products, such as vape liquids and pens, in heat-not-burn devices and in many modern oral nicotine products, as well as in innovative pharmaceutical nicotine cessation products.
“Our company believes that consumers have a right to access non-tobacco derived nicotine as a matter of choice,” Next Generation Labs wrote.
“There are many adult consumers who wish to enjoy nicotine, but want to do so without the lingering and potentially detrimental effects of long-term tobacco use. The introduction of TFN branded synthetic nicotine has created a liberating opportunity for consumers, who as a result of Next Generation Labs nicotine technology, are now able to achieve a complete break from tobacco as they enjoy many of the leading brands available on the market today that use TFN.”
The District of Columbia’s City Council will have the the second reading on its bill to ban flavored vaping products tomorrow. If the resolution passes, it will be sent to Mayor Muriel Bowser’s desk to be signed into law. The mayor has indicated that she intends to sign the bill.
Credit: Makcoud
This ban would apply across the full spectrum of tobacco products, including combustible, non-combustible and electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS). Notably, the Council skipped holding a public hearing on the bill, which is a departure from governing body’s standard processes.
The bill includes a provision that allows the Attorney General to investigate and prosecute suspected violations of the ban as well as fines associated with the sale of flavored products. The Council Office on Racial Equity reviewed the bill and determined that while it “has the potential to advance racial equity by improving health outcomes, enforcement of the bill has the potential to exacerbate racial inequity in economic and social justice outcomes.”
A recent study showed that after San Francisco banned all flavored tobacco products there was a significant increase in youth use of combustible cigarettes compared to cities without flavor bans. The Council voted 9-3-1 during the bill’s first reading during its June 15 legislative session. Bars and restaurants that offer hookah will be exempt.
North Carolina has settled its lawsuit with Juul Labs for $40 million. The lawsuit is the first decision of numerous lawsuits that have been brought by states claiming the e-cigarette maker’s marketing practices was the catalyst to what the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has called an “epidemic” of youth use. The money will fund programs to help people quit e-cigarettes, prevent e-cigarette addiction, and research e-cigarettes.
Credit: Zimmytws
“This settlement is consistent with our ongoing effort to reset our company and its relationship with our stakeholders as we continue to combat underage usage and advance the opportunity for harm reduction for adult smokers,” said Joshua Raffel, a Juul spokesperson, in a statement. “We seek to continue to earn trust through action. Over the past two years, for example, we ceased the distribution of our non-tobacco, non-menthol flavored products in advance of FDA guidance and halted all mass market product advertising. This settlement is another step in that direction.”
The settlement was announced on Monday by Josh Stein, the North Carolina attorney general, who said that Juul agreed to avoid marketing that appeals to those under the age of 21. The company will curtail its use of “most social media advertising, influencer advertising, outdoor advertising near schools, and sponsoring sporting events and concerts,” Stein said.
North Carolina sued the company in May of 2019, the first state in the country to file suit against the e-cigarette manufacturer. In the agreement, the company denies any wrongdoing or liability. Juul Labs will ensure its products are sold behind counters, the attorney general said. Juul Labs will also use third-party age verification systems for online sales. The order also commits Juul to sending teenage “mystery shoppers” to 1,000 stores each year, to check whether they are selling to minors.
It also bars the company from using models under age 35 in advertisements and states that no advertisements should be posted near schools. “For years Juul targeted young people, including teens, with highly addictive e-cigarettes,” said Stein in a statement. “It lit the spark and fanned the flames of a vaping epidemic among our children — one that you can see in any high school in North Carolina.”
Thirteen states, including California, Massachusetts and New York, as well as the District of Columbia, have filed similar lawsuits. The central claim in each case is that Juul knew, or should have known, that it was it was hooking teenagers on pods that contained high levels of nicotine.
“This win will go a long way in keeping Juul products out of kids’ hands, keeping its chemical vapor out of their lungs, and keeping its nicotine from poisoning and addicting their brains. I’m incredibly proud of my team for their hard work on behalf of North Carolina families,” Stein said. “We’re not done – we still have to turn the tide on a teen vaping epidemic that was borne of Juul’s greed. As your attorney general, I’ll keep fighting to prevent another generation of young people from becoming addicted to nicotine.”
New draft guidance from the U.K.’s National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) states that healthcare professionals can recommend e-cigarettes, or vaping devices, as a means to help patients stop smoking. The guidance states that evidence suggests that e-cigarettes have a similar effectiveness to short- and long-acting nicotine replacement therapies (NRT) in helping people to stop smoking.
Credit: Balint Radu
E-cigarettes or vaping devices are not licensed as medicines, but they are regulated by the Tobacco and Related Products Regulations. Unlike NRT they are not available on prescription, however NICE said that people should be able to use them to help stop smoking if they wanted to do so, according to gponline. It added that combining behavioral support with either NRT or e-cigarettes was more likely to help people successfully stop smoking than vaping or NRT alone.
Patients who do choose to use e-cigarettes to help them quit should be warned that the long-term health impacts of their use is still unknown, NICE said. Patients should also be told where to find advice on how to use them and told to stop smoking completely if they decide to use e-cigarettes.
NICE recommended that further research should be undertaken in this area, including on whether vaping devices could be used in pregnancy.
However, the guidance highlighted that the MHRA was monitoring possible short- and long-term harms of e-cigarette use and, as at March 2020, ‘no major concerns had been identified’. It recommended that healthcare professionals providing stop smoking advice should report any adverse events as a result of e-cigarette use.
The guidance also makes a series of new recommendations to identify and support pregnant women who smoke, including that all pregnant women have routine carbon monoxide testing at antenatal appointments to assess their exposure to tobacco smoke.
