Turning Point Brands (TPB) has declared a regular quarterly dividend of $0.05 per common share. The dividend is payable on Jan. 8, 2021, to shareholders of record on the close of business on Dec. 18, 2020, the company announced in a statement.
TPB manufactures, markets and distributes branded consumer products with active ingredients through its Zig-Zag and Stoker’s core brands and its emerging brands within the NewGen segment.
The company’s products are available in more than 210,000 retail outlets in North America and on various websites.
Altria Group has announced that it has elected to convert its non-voting shares in Juul Labs to voting shares, pursuant to its December 2018 investment in the e-cigarette manufacturer.
“Altria does not currently intend to exercise its additional governance rights obtained upon conversion, including the right to elect directors to Juul’s board, or to vote its Juul shares other than as a passive investor, pending the outcome of the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) litigation,” Altria stated in a press release.
In April 2020, the FTC filed an administrative complaint challenging Altria’s minority investment in JUUL. Altria believes it has a strong defense and intends to vigorously defend its investment.
“As previously disclosed, Altria expects to account for its investment in JUUL under the fair value option. Under this option, Altria’s consolidated statement of earnings will include any cash dividends received from its investment in Juul as well as any changes in the fair value of the investment, which will be calculated quarterly,” the release states. “Altria intends to treat quarterly changes in the fair value of the investment as a special item and exclude those changes from its adjusted diluted earnings per share.”
In December 2018, Altria made a minority investment in Juul Labs. In exchange for the investment, Altria received a 35 percent economic interest in Juul Labs through non-voting shares, with their conversion to voting shares contingent on antitrust clearance (as that term is defined in the Altria/Juul purchase agreement). Under revised agreement terms announced in January 2020, Altria can designate two representatives to Juul’s board of directors.
E-cigarettes showed considerable promise as a smoking-cessation aid during a study in the U.K. that was recently published by Reed Wellbeing.
The health and lifestyle service engaged in a one-year pilot from February 2019 to February 2020 to independently assess the impact of directly supplying e-cigarettes as a form of nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) to up to 200 participants though the One You Haringey stop-smoking service.
Participants were given a choice between NRT, e-cigarettes or Champix. Those selecting e-cigarettes were provided with a device and pods free of charge and were supported to quit in line with treatment guidelines from the U.K. National Centre for Smoking Cessation and Training.
E-cigarettes outperformed both NRT and Champix in first-attempt quits during the trial. The devices achieved a 93 quit rate when used alone and a 72 percent quit rate when combined with NRT. NRT use resulted in a 49 percent quit rate and Champix achieved a quit rate of 57 percent.
Twelve weeks after the trail, 100 percent of e-cigarette users were still refraining from smoking, compared with 96 percent of participants who used e-cigarettes and NRT, 84 percent of those who used NRT and 91 percent of Champix users.
The Juul System may deliver a sufficiently satisfying level nicotine to compete with combustible cigarettes for adult smokers, according to new research.
Published in the journal Drug and Alcohol Dependence, the clinical study compared the nicotine delivery profile of the Juul System with other nicotine-containing products, including cigarettes, to assess their pharmacokinetic profiles. The study found that while the initial nicotine delivery for the Juul System was similar to that of combustible cigarettes, the maximum and total amount of nicotine delivered was lower than that of combustible cigarettes, on par with another ENDS product, and higher than nicotine gum.
“When considering laws and regulations governing nicotine, policymakers should bear in mind that providing a similar nicotine effect and experience to combustible cigarettes is critical to facilitate an adult smoker’s transition away from smoking,” said Mark Rubinstein, vice president of science at Juul Labs in a statement. “E-cigarettes have the potential to displace combustible cigarettes, but only if they deliver nicotine at levels to satisfy smokers.”
Three e-cigarette advocacy groups are asking California State General Assembly to repeal the state’s ban on flavored vaping products. The group’s leaders say an estimated 900,000 former smokers in California could be forced to switch back to smoking if the bill (CA SB793) is not overturned by referendum or repealed.
Greg Conley, AVA
“Unless California lawmakers want to force hundreds of thousands of vapers back to smoking, they need to reconsider this flavor ban,” said Gregory Conley, president of the American Vaping Association (AVA). “While voting for bans may make legislators feel righteous, the reality is that prohibition is failed public policy and never works for adult consumer products.”
The World Vapers’ Alliance (WVA), Consumer Choice Center (CCC) and the AVA, which combined represent hundreds of thousands of consumers, sent a letter today to members of the California State Assembly members urging them to repeal the flavored tobacco ban bill in California to avoid pushing vapers back to combustible cigarettes.
“Instead of improving public health by reducing the number of smokers, this law will have the opposite effect: more people smoking again,” said Yaël Ossowski, deputy director at the Consumer Choice Center. “Moreover, these measures will push people into the illegal market and will also have a disproportionate impact on people of color, who overwhelmingly prefer flavored products and would suffer the most from criminalization and over-policing in our local communities.”
California joins Massachusetts as the two states having flavored vaping bans, though each have unique exemptions to the laws. In Massachusetts, businesses defined as “smoking bars” are still able to sell flavored vaping and tobacco products.The ban goes into effect on Jan. 1, 2021.
“Gavin Newsom’s plan will have disastrous consequences and he is celebrating a victory for public health,” said Michael Landl, director of the World Vapers’ Alliance. “More than 900,000 vapers in California could switch back to smoking due to the ban. Either Governor Newsom is poorly informed about the unintended consequences prohibition always generates or he is just an anti-vaping crusader.”
The bill prohibits a vape shop owner or tobacco retailer, or any of those entities retailer’s agents or employees, from selling, offering for sale, or possessing with the intent to sell or offer for sale, a flavored tobacco product or a tobacco product flavor enhancer, subjecting them to a fine of $250 for each violation. It also allows local governments to impose greater restrictions on the access to tobacco products than the bill imposes.
Vaping in workplaces, around schools and childcare centers and on public transport is now illegal for Kiwis. New Zealand passed the Smokefree Environments and Regulated Products (Vaping) Amendment Act in August, with restrictions to be phased in over a 15-month period.
The first raft of measures, which began on Wednesday, Nov. 11, prohibit the use of e-cigarettes in workplaces, schools, early childhood education and care centers, according to an article in The Daily Mail.
Nancy Loucas, Director of Aotearoa Vapers Community Advocacy (AVCA), encouraged New Zealand’s 200,000 vapers “to think a little more” before they vape.
“The general rule is if you wouldn’t smoke there, you shouldn’t vape there,” she said. “The likes of shopping malls, and around schools and childcare centres are a no no. At the same time, many councils have made their outdoor city centre areas and council parks vape-free as well.”
New Zealand’s new act also prohibits advertising and sponsorship related to vaping products. But the AVCA is concerned treating vaping like smoking will lead to further stigmatisation.
“Employers will still be able to permit vaping in a company vehicle, with some very workable provisions in place,” Loucas said. “Patients in hospital care or rest home residents can vape within a dedicated room for vaping, provided there is the likes of adequate ventilation. At the same time, a good employer would dedicate an outside area to vaping, where employees feel comfortable taking a vape break. Vaping is now effectively banned where smoking is, but it’s by no means banned outright. Instead, it’s finally a totally legalised activity for New Zealand adults, albeit now more tightly regulated.”
In Western Australia, owners and managers of venues may choose to implement a policy applying to their premises which prohibits the use of e-cigarettes wherever smoking is prohibited.
An expanded Nebraska Clean Indoor Air Act will go into effect on Saturday, Nov. 14 which will prohibit the use of electronic cigarettes in most indoor workplaces.
According to the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services, the act includes office buildings, manufacturing facilities, retail stores, restaurants, bars, etc. It does not include electronic smoking device retail outlets or vape shops from the indoor e-cigarette restriction.
This is a change after LB 840 was passed earlier this year, according to nebraskatv.com.
“This change is about protecting Nebraskans from exposure to secondhand aerosol from e-cigarettes. It is also a great time to try, or retry, quitting e-cigarettes or tobacco,” said Program Manager for Tobacco Free Nebraska Amanda Mortensen. “Call 1-800-QUIT-NOW to talk to a quit coach and get a little extra help with a free two-week supply of the patch, gum or lozenge.”
The Singapore Health Sciences Authority (HSA) has prosecuted 14 people for selling e-cigarettes and related accessories online. According to a release from the HSA, the individuals were convicted in court between June and August 2020, with the total fines amounting to $255,500.
Authorities say the offenders were aged between 20 and 43, and had purchased the vaping products from overseas suppliers and then sold them illegally on various local social media and e-commerce platforms.
“These cases were detected through HSA’s cyber-surveillance and enforcement activities, which are targeted at deterring the illegal import and sale of e-vaporisers and related accessories in Singapore. More than $50,000 worth of e-vaporisers and related accessories were seized from the peddlers,” the release states. “The youngest offender, aged 20, was sentenced to a 15-month supervised probation, while the rest were fined between $5,500 – $47,500.
From 2018 to date, HSA has prosecuted 35 persons for selling e-cigarettes and related accessories. The stiffest penalty meted out so far was $99,000 in 2019, the release states.
Tobacco harm reduction advocates have urged Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte to revoke the foreign funding received by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), reports The Manila Times. The groups are concerned that the funds will unduly influence the drafting of the guidelines for the regulation of heated tobacco products (HTPs).
“We appeal to President Duterte to rescind the foreign grants received by the Philippine Food and Drug Administration, which cast a dark cloud on the agency’s role as an independent regulator and protector of public health,” said Anton Israel, president of the Nicotine Consumers Union of the Philippines.
The FDA has admitted that it received grants from foreign anti-tobacco groups The Union and Bloomberg, which advocate prohibition for all tobacco products, including e-cigarettes and heated tobacco products (HTPs)
Israel said the FDA receiving money from the said groups was a violation of the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees.
Clarisse Virgino, the Philippines’ representative to the Coalition of Asia Pacific Tobacco Harm Reduction Advocates, said the funds received from anti-vaping groups would jeopardize FDA’s treatment of tobacco harm reduction products such as e-cigarettes and HTPs.
“E-cigarettes and heated tobacco products are not pharmaceutical products and should not be regulated as such. What we need is a fair and risk-proportionate regulation that will encourage smokers to reduce their exposure to smoke which is the one that causes all these diseases,” she continued.
The groups called for impartial and reasonable regulations based on scientific evidence.
E-liquid manufacturer Purilum has entered into an exclusive, long-term supply agreement with E-Alternative Solutions (EAS), the manufacturer and supplier of Leap Vapor products.The Leap products containing e-liquids provided by Purilum have been on the market since prior to August 8, 2016, and are currently under review by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
“We look forward to working with EAS while leveraging our decades of experience, technical knowledge and expansive flavor library,” said Bianca Iodice, president of Purilum. “At Purilum, we set the standard for excellence in flavor formulation and e-liquid production through rigorous product testing and quality verification. This agreement is a recognition of our investment in a scientific, data-driven approach to flavor delivery, and we are excited for the opportunity to support EAS in its efforts to elevate the consumer experience.”
The contract “extends and enhances Purilum and EAS’s close and long-standing relationship, as well as offers the option for renewal of the exclusive supply agreement on a rolling basis,” according to a press release. Purilum’s e-liquids have been tested through a rigorous research and development process to meet EAS’s exact criteria for compliance adherence, product quality and consumer experience.
“At EAS, we have always held ourselves to the highest standards when supplying adult consumers with products they can trust,” said Jacopo D’Alessandris, President and Chief Executive Officer at EAS. “The quality and consistency of Purilum’s products are exemplary, and we are excited to continue working with them over the decades to come.”
