Tag: news

CTP Office of Management Gets Brandt as Director
Credit: Otseira
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s Center For Tobacco Products (CTP) is pleased to announce that Erin Brandt will serve as director of CTP’s Office of Management.
Brandt currently holds the position of deputy director in CTP’s Office of Management.
“Brandt has more than a decade of experience working in leadership positions in administrative management,” the CTP stated in a release. “She has extensive experience overseeing a wide range of administrative services, including human capital, information technology, financial management, administrative management, acquisitions and grants, ethics, facilities, and risk management and analysis.”
Brandt joined CTP in 2013 as the Office of Management’s Management analysis officer, and became the deputy director in 2014, a position she held until assuming her current role as acting director.
Before joining FDA, Brandt was a management analyst at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and worked for several non-profit organizations, including Global Philanthropy Alliance, World Resources Institute, and Habitat for Humanity as an AmeriCorps VISTA.
She earned a master’s of Public Policy from the University of Minnesota Humphrey School of Public Affairs and holds a bachelor’s of Science in Political Science from the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire.
Brandt was selected after an extensive nationwide search, multiple interview panels that evaluated a substantial and well-qualified applicant pool, and clearance through important FDA ethics and security processes. CTP is excited for Ms. Brandt to continue her service with CTP, with an effective date of June 16th.
June 5, 2024
Vietnam Trade Ministry Wants to Ban Vape Products

Photo: Holger
Vietnam’s Ministry of Industry and Trade supports a ban on e-cigarettes, reports The VN Express
The ministry has requested the government to halt the review of its proposed bill on regulating e-cigarettes after the health ministry officially published a report highlighting their negative effects.
“The Ministry of Industry and Trade supports making changes in the law to ban e-cigarettes as the Ministry of Health has affirmed that they are harmful,” Trader Minister Nguyen Hong Dien told lawmakers on June 5.
No business have been licensed to trade e-cigarettes in Vietnam.
The share of Vietnamese aged 13-15 using e-cigarettes has increased from 3.5 percent in 2022 to 8 percent in 2023, official data shows.
June 5, 2024
BAT Asks Investors to Expect Lower First-Half Profit

Photo: BAT
Declining sales of cigarettes and growing competition from illegal vapes in the U.S. will likely dent British American Tobacco’s 2024 earnings, the tobacco manufacturer said in a pre-close trading update on June 4.
Analysts estimate BAT will make £27.60 billion ($35.35 billion) in total organic revenue and adjusted operating profit of £12.48 billion for the year, according to The Wall Street Journal.
BAT noted that while the U.S. was showing some early signs of recovery, traditional cigarette volumes were down around 9 percent so far this year across the industry.
Chris Beckett, head of equity research at Quilter Cheviot, told Reuters BAT’s anticipated decline in first-half revenue and profit was “more pronounced” than expected.
The company expects half-year revenue and adjusted profit from operations to fall by low single digits, but says it is on track to deliver its guidance for the full year.
“We expect our performance to be second-half weighted, mainly driven by wholesaler inventory movements related to continued investment in our U.S. commercial actions, as well as the phasing of new launches,” said BAT CEO Tadeu Marroco.
“Our guidance also reflects ongoing macro-economic pressures, particularly in the U.S. market and continued lack of effective enforcement against the growing illicit vapor segment. As a result, we expect our H1 revenue and adjusted profit from operations to be down by low-single digits on an organic, constant currency basis.”
June 5, 2024
South Dakota to Vote on Legal Weed for 3rd Time
Credit: J Doms
South Dakota voters will once again decide whether to legalize recreational marijuana. This is the third time they have weighed in on the question.
On Monday, Secretary of State Monae Johnson’s office validated a measure for the November general election ballot. In 2020, voters passed a measure that was ultimately struck down in court, according to media reports. In 2022, voters defeated another attempt.
Twenty-four states have legalized recreational marijuana. Ohio voters most recently did so in November 2023. Florida voters will also vote on the issue this fall. Other efforts are ongoing in additional states, including North Dakota.
The South Dakota measure would legalize recreational marijuana for people 21 and older. The proposal has possession limits of 2 ounces of marijuana in a form other than concentrated cannabis or cannabis products. The measure also allows the cultivation of plants with restrictions.
If successful, measure backers plan to work with the Legislature to implement business licensing, tax, and other regulations.
June 5, 2024
Provinces in Canada Seek Generational Ban Comments
Newfoundland and Labrador flag against the sunset sky. (Credit: Ecrow)
Newfoundland and Labrador is considering following along with recent announcements in the U.K.
The provincial government in Canda will ask residents this month for public feedback on a number of increased nicotine regulations, including the possibility of a total ban on the sale of cigarettes and other tobacco products to people born after a specific date, according to media reports.
The legislation would eventually phase out the sale of cigarettes permanently in Newfoundland and Labrador. It follows a similar move in Prince Edward Island (PEI), where a “Tobacco-Free Generation” proposal was suggested in a consultation paper earlier this year.
A similar concept was tried – and swiftly repealed – in New Zealand, and the issue is expected to return to the United Kingdom’s House of Commons after the country’s July election.
June 5, 2024
Distributors Want New York Flavor Suit Tossed
Credit: HTGanzo
Two groups of e-cigarette distributors are urging a New York state court to dismiss claims from New York City alleging they’re violating city laws by selling flavored e-cigarettes. The defendants say the law in question only applies to retail sales, not distributor-to-distributor sales.
In April, the City of New York filed a lawsuit against 11 wholesalers for their part in the illegal sale of flavored disposable e-cigarettes, according to media reports.
The 11 defendants – located in Brooklyn, Queens, Long Island, and upstate New York – are alleged to have distributed, and continue to distribute, flavored disposable e-cigarettes – such as Strawberry Colada, Mellow Mint, Blueberry Energize, and Frozen Creamsicle – to retail vape and smoke shops, convenience stores, and directly to consumers over the internet, in violation of federal, New York state, and New York City law.
The lawsuit seeks to block the defendants from further selling the items and seeks damages and penalties under state and city statutes. It is a companion to the city’s pending 2023 federal lawsuit, in which two defendants are already subject to court orders barring their sales and shipments of flavored e-cigarettes into the city.
June 4, 2024
New York Advances Bill to Ban Some Vape Products
Credit: Gary L Hider
The New York Senate passed a bill last week that would ban the sale of vape products that resemble school supplies, children’s toys, or that use packaging and advertising with the intent of targeting children.
If enacted, violators of Senate Bill S7882 could face a civil penalty of up to $1,500 for a first violation and $2,500 for each subsequent violation, according to media reports.
Under the bill, businesses selling tobacco and related products would be prohibited from offering items that may include pictures, logos, symbols, mottos, selling messages or colors that specifically appeal to minors, as well as representations of cartoon, movie, or video game characters, toys, electronic devices and school supplies, including markers, highlighters, ballpoint pens and thumb drives.
The bipartisan legislation must still be approved by the Assembly and signed by the governor before going into effect. A companion version of the proposal sponsored by is pending in that chamber.
June 4, 2024
Investor Plans Liquid Nicotine Facility in Zimbabwe

Photo: Tobacco Reporter archive
A Chinese investor plans to build a multi-billion dollar nicotine-extraction factory in Zimbabwe, reports The Herald. The plans are at an advanced stage, according to the country’s former ambassador to China, Christopher Mutsvangwa.
The facility will extract nicotine from tobacco stalks, leaves and flowers for the cigarette alternatives, such as e-cigarettes. Once established the factory is expected to also process tobacco from neighboring countries including Malawi, Mozambique and Zambia.
“There is going to be a very big industry to extract nicotine from the by-products after selecting the premium tobacco leaves,” Mutsvangwa told participants in meeting of the ruling Zanu PF’s party’s Mashonaland West provincial coordinating committee meeting in Chinhoyi.
“The Chinese firms have an interest in setting up the factories here in Zimbabwe because of our production levels,” he said.
The investor’s board of directors reportedly met on May 31, 2024, to finalize the modalities of setting up the factory, which will likely be built in Karoi, in one of Zimbabwe’s largest tobacco producing districts.
Zimbabwe is also expected to be a major producer of cannabis seeds following plans to establish a US$400 million factory. “We now have capacity to produce cannabis seed in the country. After an initial investment of $30 million, the company now wants to set up a seed production factory,” said Mutsvangwa.
The investments in nicotine extraction and cannabis production will boost Zimbabwe’s attempts to extract more value from its tobacco industry, as detailed in the government’s Tobacco Value Chain Transformation Plan.
June 4, 2024
US FDA Updates ‘Red List’ for Illegal Vaping Products
Credit: Eduardo Barraza
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration updated its import alert on May 23, which includes a “red list” of manufacturers, distributors, and brands of vapor products that may be detained “without physical examination,” the agency announced.
The alert authorizes U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to detain new tobacco products that do not have the required marketing authorization under the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act, which gives the FDA the authority to regulate all tobacco products.
The full list of products now includes Chinese manufacturers and distributors as well as U.S. importers and distributors.
The FDA announced last week that it is taking stronger enforcement actions against unauthorized e-cigarettes. The agency is seeking civil money penalties (CMP) against nine brick-and-mortar retailers and one online retailer for selling unauthorized Elf Bar brand vaping products. The FDA is seeking a penalty of more than $20,000 from each retailer.
“In order to remove a firm’s product from the Red List, information should be provided to the agency to adequately demonstrate that the firm has resolved the conditions that gave rise to the appearance of the violation,” the FDA states. “The purpose of this is so that the Agency will have confidence that future shipments/entries will be in compliance with the Federal Food Drug and Cosmetic Act (FD&C Act).”
June 3, 2024
Namibia Readies to Regulate Vaping Products

Image: sezerozger
Namibia plans to regulate vapor products and water pipes, reports the Windhoek Observer.
The country’s Ministry of Health and Social Services wants to amend the Tobacco Act to include those products.
The goal is to curb the growing use of electronic cigarettes and water pipes across the country. The amendment will also facilitate the development of a comprehensive tobacco strategic plan scheduled for launch later this month.
Deputy Minister of Health and Social Services Ester Muinjangue stressed the urgency of regulating vaping products, despite existing legal frameworks to combat tobacco use in Namibia. “There is no safe form of tobacco smoke,” she said, rejecting suggestions that vaping and hookah smoking are safer alternatives to traditional cigarette smoking.
Muinjangue encouraged smokers seeking to quit their habit to utilize existing resources and seek support from health professionals.
June 3, 2024