• “Disposable” products are not new – transnational tobacco companies have sold ‘cig-a-likes’ in the past and some still do
• Transnational companies have all launched new products to catch some of this rapidly growing market
• Company marketing material emphasises consumer convenience
• There are concerns around increasing youth use of e-cigarettes and how much single use products are responsible
• Products contain plastic and lithium batteries are often discarded and there is increasing evidence of environmental harm
• There have been calls to regulate or ban these products in several countries

Background

Since 2019, there has been a rapid growth in the market for ‘disposable’, or single use, e-cigarettes with independent brands dominating the market.¹² In October 2023, industry analysts ECigIntelligence estimated that these products made up nearly 40% of the global e-cigarette market.³⁴

Single use products have been controversial, with concerns around increasing youth use (see Box 1 below) and environmental impact leading to widespread media coverage,⁵⁶⁷⁸⁹ and warnings from health advocates and policy makers.^10111213 Some large UK retailers have announced that they will no longer sell single use products.¹⁴¹⁵

Despite their sustainability claims,¹⁶¹⁷¹⁸ three of the ‘big 4’ of transnational tobacco companies (TTCs) launched new single use e-cigarettes in 2022 to compete in this fast-growing market, saying that this was to meet consumer demand and a desire for convenience. However, single use products are not new, or even new to TTCs. Earlier products resembled cigarettes, referred to as ‘cig-a-likes’, or pens. As of early 2023 some of these products were still being marketed alongside the new bar-type products (see below).

Box 1: Increasing youth use of e-cigarettes in UK
Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) reported survey data showing that in 2023, 69% of young e-cigarette users were using “disposable” products, compared to 7% in 2020, and an increase from 52% the previous year.¹⁹²⁰ Over the same period youth use of all e-cigarettes more than doubled.¹⁹²⁰
ASH Scotland noted that, according to the 200-21 Scottish government census, use of e-cigarettes in Scotland had more than doubled in five years.²¹²²

Calls for bans and taxes

There have been calls to ban single use e-cigarettes in a number of countries, including the UK,^2324252627 Ireland,²⁸²⁹ Estonia,³⁰ Germany,³¹ France,³² and Switzerland.³³

Bans announced

After running a consultation on youth vaping,³⁴³⁵ the UK government, in January 2024, announced a proposal to ban single-use e-cigarettes – “a key driver behind the alarming rise in youth vaping” – alongside other measures to prevent the sale of e-cigarettes to children.³⁶³⁷ ASH had proposed a specific tax on single use products in preference to a ban. In March 2024, the UK government instead announced plans to increase taxes on all e-cigarettes not included in the ban, according to level of nicotine.⁹³⁸³⁹

• for details of the broader UK ‘Smoke free generation’ legislation see Tobacco Industry Interference with Endgame Policies

The Scottish Government announced in January 2023 that it intended to ban single use products,⁴⁰ and commissioned a review into their environmental impact.⁴¹ New regulations were announced in February 2024, under existing environmental protection legislation.^{42 4344}

Bans have also been announced in Belgium,⁴⁵ France,⁴⁶ Poland,⁴⁷ Australia,⁴⁸⁴⁹ and New Zealand.⁵⁰⁵¹

Challenges enforcing regulations

In the UK any e-cigarette product on sale must be notified to the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), which is responsible for checking the data submitted by manufacturers and importers.⁵²⁵³ If this information meets the required checks products are listed on the MHRA website and can be legally sold on the UK market.⁵⁴ While the MHRA can investigate reports of non-compliance, local Trading Standards officials (in multiple separate local authorities) are responsible for checking that products on sale match the information supplied to the MHRA.⁵²⁵⁵ This is increasingly challenging as huge numbers of new products are added to the database: on 30 March 2023, a search of the MHRA product database for ‘disposable’ e-cigarettes produced over 10, 000 entries for products listed since January 2021, with over 1000 new entries in two months, an average of around 200 per week.⁵⁴ By July this figure has risen to nearly 12,000.⁵⁴

In the US some companies  argued that the use of synthetic nicotine in single use e-cigarettes means that they are not ‘tobacco’ products and therefore fell outside the remit of the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA).⁵⁶ Proposals to tighten regulation were welcomed by US e-cigarette market leader JUUL Labs (which at the time was part-owned by Altria):

“illegally marketed and illicit products and products designed to evade federal and state oversight undermine harm reduction and a responsible e-vapor category.”⁵⁶⁵⁷

In April 2022 a law came into force specifying that the FDA could regulate products with nicotine from any source, closing this loophole.⁵⁸ In June 2023, at an investor conference, BAT CEO Taddeu Marroco described the enforcement of the regulations for synthetic nicotine as “very weak”.⁵⁹

Fast growing market

The value of the global market for single use products has been estimated to be between US$5 and $6billion in 2022.¹⁹ This figure has been projected to triple in the next 10 years, according to analysis published in the tobacco industry publication Tobacco Reporter.¹

Market size

In 2022, market research company Euromonitor International estimated the total value of the market for all e-cigarettes and related products to be nearly US$19 billion.⁶⁰

Single use products made up 6% of global e-cigarette sales in 2021, a share which more than doubled by 2022 to 15%.⁶⁰

Euromonitor has estimated that the US market more than halved from nearly US$1 billion in 2021 to less than half a billion in 2022.⁶⁰ The US and China, where regulatory restrictions have increased,⁶¹⁶² were the only markets in decline. The value of the UK market in 2022, compared to 2021, was more than 10 times greater and worth twice as much as the whole of the US market.⁶⁰

Of the single use markets that Euromonitor records, the UK market grew the most in monetary value. Other markets, all in Europe, had also grown markedly in proportion to their 2021 value:  France, Switzerland, Slovakia and Austria had grown around ten times; the German and Greek markets had grown over 60 times.⁶⁰ This made the German market the fourth largest globally after the UK, USA and Russia.⁶⁰ The Egyptian market was not recorded in 2021 but in 2022 was estimated to be worth over US$44 million.⁶⁰ The Egyptian market was also growing.⁶⁰

Company and brand shares

Globally in 2022, the two leading single use brands were manufactured by Shenzhen Imiracle Technology: Elf Bar and Lost Mary.⁶³ (ElfBar is now known as EBDesign in the US owing to a patent dispute with a US company.)⁶⁴

In terms of TTC global market share, in 2022, BAT’s Vuse and Imperial’s Blue held much smaller shares.  NJoy (purchased by Altria in 2023 after it withdrew investment from JUUL Labs) held a negligible share.⁶⁵⁶³

In the UK the two Shenzhen Imiracle Technology brands dominated. In the other fast-growing European markets BAT’s VUSE held larger shares than other brands.⁶³

Puff vs Bidi Stick

In 2021, two brands held a sizeable share of the global single use market: Kaival Brands’ Bidi Stick and EVO Brands’s Puff.⁶⁶ As of 2023, EVO’s products had not received market authorisation in the US and the company was facing enforcement action by the FDA.⁶⁶⁶⁷⁶⁸

In June 2022, Philip Morris International (PMI) reached an agreement with Kaival to manufacture, distribute and market bidi stick and forthcoming “disposable” products outside the US (see below for details).⁶⁹⁷⁰ No sales outside the US have as yet been recorded by Euromonitor but products have been reported on sale (see below).

Users switching devices?

An academic research study has suggested that users of reusable e-cigarettes may be switching to single use products.⁷⁷¹ A retailer magazine reported Nielsen data suggesting that disposables have negatively affected UK sales of rechargeable devices from JTI, Imperial and JUUL and BAT’s 10 Motives (although this brand also includes single use products).⁷²

Old products – new variations

Image 1: Disposable e-cigarettes (Source: US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) ⁷³

Cig-a-likes and pen shapes

The single use devices first marketed by TTCs were generally small cig-a-likes which resemble cigarettes, often with a white body and imitation filter. The nicotine containing liquid is held in a small container or cartridge which is not refillable, and the device contains a battery which is not rechargeable.⁷⁴

Pen-shaped e-cigarettes resemble a pen or laser pointer and are often larger than cig-a-likes, with more battery capacity.⁷⁵ Many of these devices are refillable, although TTCs have also sold single use versions (see image 1).⁷³

• Japan Tobacco International (JTI) has been selling pen-shaped “disposable” e-cigarettes in the US since acquiring the Logic brand in 2015.⁷⁶⁷⁷
• BAT sells a single use cig-a-like in the UK under its subsidiary brand Ten Motives.⁷⁸ Euromonitor began recording sales of this brand in 2021.⁶⁶ By February 2022 the Ten Motives website was also selling BAT’s new bar-type disposable product ⁷⁹
• Imperial Brands also had a single use e-cigarette shaped like a pen on sale in the US.⁸⁰ Most of Imperial’s rechargeable products, sold under the myblu brand, received a marketing denial order from the FDA in April 2022, meaning they cannot be legally sold in the US.⁸¹ As of February 2023 the FDA had not made a decision on Imperial’s disposables and cig-a-like rechargeables.
• Prior to 2020, PMI focussed on developing and promoting its heated tobacco product IQOS and displayed little interest in e-cigarettes. Its rechargeable VEEV ONE – previously IQOS VEEV, and originally launched in 2020 as Mesh – is now available in some markets.

See E-cigarettes: The Basics for information on other product types

New bar-type products

In mid-2022 BAT and PMI launched new single use products within two months of each other.

In 2022 BAT referred to Vuse Go as its “first disposable – modern disposable – product”.⁸² In February 2023 it reported that it was on sale in 24 countries.⁸³

• For more details see E-cigarettes: British American Tobacco

In July 2022, PMI launched VEEBA, initially in Canada. Kaival Brands stated that its subsidiary Bidi Vapor’s IP, patents and development methods were used for VEEBA as part of their agreement with Philip Morris.^1848586 VEEBA was officially launched in the UK in March 2023.⁸⁷ In mid-2023, PMI rebranded VEEBA as VEEV NOW.⁷⁰⁸⁸

• For more details see E-cigarettes: Philip Morris International

Imperial Brands followed, launching its single use Blu Bar in the UK in November 2022.⁸⁹

• For more details see E-cigarettes: Imperial Brands

These newer products are all bar-type rather than cig-a-likes or pen-shaped.

Nicotine salts

Like many other e-cigarettes, Vuse Go,⁹⁰ VEEBA⁹¹ and Blu Bar,⁹² all use nicotine salts. These are created when ‘freebase’ nicotine is dissolved in acid, which can make a higher dose of nicotine easier to inhale and less irritating to the throat.⁹³⁹⁴⁹⁵ This can also increase the speed and level of nicotine delivery to the user,⁹⁵ which  has been linked to increased initiation, dependence and frequency of use among youth.^94969798 A study in the Netherlands, published in 2022, found that single use products more often contained nicotine salts than refills.⁹⁵

Market motivation

In February 2023, BAT reported that the growth of the single use market had negatively impacted its e-cigarette market share in a number of countries.⁸³ It also stated that sales of single use products may, to some extent, replace other BAT products already on the market.⁸³

BAT’s Vuse Go launched first in the UK in May, which the company described as its “fastest concept to market delivery to date.”⁹⁹¹⁰⁰ This appears to be a response to a falling e-cigarette market share in France, Germany and the UK.  After launching Vuse Go In France and Germany BAT was able to maintain the highest markets share, and in the UK its market share stabilised.⁸³

In a presentation to investors in June 2022, finance and transformation director described BAT’s intention to launch new products every year:¹⁰¹

“We have just opened up a new hub in China to be closer with suppliers, so we are able to develop a stronger pipeline and making sure that, for every single of these categories, we have a rhythm of reaching at every single year with novelties in the market.”¹⁰¹

Imperial Brands, in a conference for investors and analysts, stated: “what we are observing is not that the market is switching from pod systems into disposables. The disposable growth goes on top of the pod-based systems”.¹⁰²

At that time Imperial said “we are clearly going to watch whether that is an opportunity that we see, long term, being part of the proposition”.¹⁰²

In February 2022, PMI stated that “profit per user” was  estimated to be similar for “disposable e-vapor” as for nicotine pouches.¹⁰³ Exactly one year later in another presentation to investors PMI noted that ”disposable e-vapor” was a “category where loyalty is low and things are moving very, very, very fast” and that a lack of consumer loyalty could “weaken the model to generate profit”.¹⁰⁴ PMI stated that it intended to develop disposable products in “the profitable manner with the highest standard of ethic [sic] and responsibility”.¹⁰⁴

In June 2023, after PMI rebranded its single use e-cigarette VEEBA as VEEV NOW,  PMI’s chief financial officer Emmanuel Babeau stated in a presentation to investors that:

“…with VEEV NOW and VEEV ONE, we have really 2 great products on disposable and closed system (…) let’s go for the market where vaping is a significant market; where there is the hope for minimum regulation today or coming soon.”¹⁰⁵

BAT acting against competitors

Lobbying against rivals in the US

BAT, as Reynolds American, used a ‘citizen’s petition’ to lobby the FDA to have its rival’s products removed from sale, citing use by young people.^106107108 US advocacy group the Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids (CTFK) called BAT’s actions “shameless hypocrisy”, pointing out that BAT/Reynold’s e-cigarette Vuse was the second most popular brand among youth after Puff Bar in the US.¹⁰⁹ CTFK also noted that BAT/Reynolds was “seeking to overturn the FDA’s decision denying marketing authorization for two menthol-flavored Vuse products – a decision the FDA made precisely because of the risk these products pose to youth.”¹⁰⁹

Testing products in the UK

According to the trade publication Better Retailing,  letters sent to wholesalers showed that from 2021 BAT had been commissioning its own lab tests on single use products produced its UK competitors.¹¹⁰ Better Retailing quoted BAT’s letter urging retailers stop selling any “non-compliant products”.¹¹⁰ It also wrote to the MHRA, and local authority Trading Standards teams throughout the UK.¹¹⁰¹¹¹

BAT said:

“Where we discover apparent compliance issues, we consider it can be constructive to share this independently certified evidence with our trade partners, regulators and enforcement agencies”.¹¹⁰

The Independent British Vape Trade Association (IBTVA) released a statement on 21 March, saying that, while it accepted that there were issues with compliance in some products, it was:

“becoming increasingly concerned that the tobacco industry and its affiliates are using this minority non-compliance to build a narrative that the independent vape industry cannot be trusted.”¹¹²¹¹³

The UK Vaping Industry Association (UKVIA), which at the time had tobacco company members, also put out a statement, but it did not refer to tobacco companies.¹¹⁴

In April 2023, the UK government announced that it would be launching a new “illicit vapes enforcement squad” to enforce regulations, led by Trading Standards with product tests conducted by an accredited independent laboratory.¹¹⁵¹¹⁶

In March 2024, BAT’s chief executive told the Financial Times that it welcomed the new tax on single-use products, saying “we love regulation”.¹¹⁷ Later that month, he told the BBC that a ban would not work and would result in an increase in illicit trade.¹¹⁸

Image 2: Slide for presentation at Consumer Analysts Group of New York conference, February 2023 (Source: imperialbrandsplc.com)¹¹⁹

Promoted for convenience

When talking about single use products on their websites, and in corporate presentations, tobacco companies all refer to convenience for the consumer.

On its website, BAT promotes the product as “designed for on the go moments”,¹²⁰ In material directed towards investors it has referred to “the modern disposable segment with its convenient and flexible format.”¹²¹ This fits with BAT’s promotion of its various products, including cigarettes, for different “moments” in the day.

In February 2022, at a consumer analysts conference in New York (CAGNY) PMI stated to potential investors that:

“Responsibly marketed disposables provide a convenient and simple entry point to adult smokers switching for the first time, and a hassle-free option for smoke-free poly-users.”¹⁰³

When PMI presented its financial results in July, it used the same statement, but the term “legal-age smokers” was used instead of “poly users”.¹²² See also the section on dual and poly use on the page about IQOS heated tobacco products.

In a presentation to potential investors in early 2023, Imperial Brands referred to the “new convenient format” of its disposable blu bar (see image 2).¹¹⁹

Fast moving consumer goods marketed for convenience or ‘On the go’ use are frequently littered, potentially increasing environmental harm.¹²³¹²⁴

Environmental impact

The manufacturing of single use e-cigarettes, like that of other newer products, involves a range of processes that are significantly more environmentally intensive compared to the process for producing combustible cigarettes. These can include the production of plastics, the extraction of metals like lithium for electronic components, and the chemical production of nicotine-containing liquids.¹²⁵ For more information see Tobacco and the Environment.

Single use e-cigarettes are classed as electronic waste and should be disposed of following the correct procedures to avoid fire hazard, and the release of toxic chemicals into the environment. ¹²⁶ However, most are improperly discarded in household waste or the environment.^9127128  This leads to e-liquid chemicals such as nicotine salts, microplastics from the plastic casing, and flammable lithium-ion batteries and associated chemicals (heavy metals, lead, mercury) in waterways and soil, and consumed by wildlife.¹²⁹¹³⁰

According to the not-for-profit Material Focus, each single use device battery contains on average 0.15g of lithium, making for an estimated 10 tonnes of this “critical” raw material being discarded  globally per year, equivalent to the batteries in around 1,200 electric vehicles.^9126127128 They also contained copper, roughly the equivalent needed for 1.6 million home electric vehicle chargers.⁹ If they were not discarded after a single use, the lithium-ion batteries could be recharged or recycled into new batteries.^126127128

Despite a legal obligation, in the UK and EU, for producers of any electronics to provide recycling schemes for these products,⁹ properly disposing of e-cigarettes is a difficult process, particularly for users without their own transport.¹³¹ TTCs have promoted their individual recycling schemes on their websites.^{92126127132133} However, an investigation by UK newspaper The Financial Times, found that supermarket staff in London were not aware of recycling schemes for these products.⁹

UK retailers face potential fines for not providing a ‘take back’ service for used e-cigarettes.¹³⁴ Retail magazine Better Retailing reported in April 2023 that the large tobacco companies did not appear to be supporting UK retailers with the recycling of their products.¹³⁵

Relevant Links

• The environmental impact of disposable vapes, research briefing to the UK Parliament, 28 November 2022

Product regulation 
The Policy Scan Project, by the Institute for Global Tobacco Control (at Johns Hopkins University) tracks and reports regulatory approaches to nicotine pouches around the world.  For information on tobacco regulation more broadly, see the Tobacco Control Laws website, published by the Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids (CTFK).

TobaccoTactics Resources

• E-cigarettes
• E-cigarettes: The Basics
• Newer Nicotine and Tobacco Products: Tobacco Company Brands
• Tobacco Industry Product Terminology
• Harm Reduction
• Tobacco and the Environment

TCRG Research

For a comprehensive list of all TCRG publications, including TCRG research that evaluates the impact of public health policy, go to the Bath TCRG’s list of publications.

References

The post E-cigarettes: Tobacco Company Interests in Single Use Products appeared first on TobaccoTactics.

• The EU menthol ban came into force in May 2020. Tobacco companies exploited weaknesses in the ban: the focus on characterising flavours rather than flavour ingredients; product exemptions; and a long phase-in period.
• Prior to the ban menthol use was highest in England and Poland. Menthol had an estimated 20% of the UK cigarette market, in which Imperial Brands and JTI dominate.
• Unlike other EU countries, menthol’s share of the market grew in Poland and the UK after the ban was announced in 2016.
• Tobacco companies, led by JTI and Imperial, were able to exploit the challenges of determining ‘characterising’ flavour, and the omission of cigarillos and accessories from the ban. There are early indications that this has prolonged menthol use post-ban.
• Menthol ban websites promoted newer products, mainly heated tobacco and e-cigarettes.
• In its submissions to the EU, the tobacco industry is minimising the harm caused by flavoured additives by focusing on toxicity rather than addiction.

Regulation of flavours that make smoking more palatable is recommended by the WHO Framework Convention of Tobacco Control (FCTC).¹³⁶¹³⁷ This page details regulation and interference in the EU in the pre and post the 2020 menthol ban.

For information on the global menthol market, and regulation and interference in other countries see Flavoured and Menthol Tobacco.

Background

Regulation and Interference on Flavour in the EU and UK

An EU-wide ban on the sale of flavoured cigarettes was introduced in May 2016, including menthol, under the 2014 revised European Tobacco Products Directive (TPD), with a May 2016 deadline for EU countries to transpose the TPD into national law.¹³⁸ While retailers were allowed a year to sell existing stocks of other flavours, the phase-out period for menthol was extended for a further three years, and came into force across the EU in May 2020.¹³⁹

Weaknesses of the EU menthol ban which could be exploited by industry included:^140141142

• not banning menthol as an ingredient
• exemption for most products (as the ban was only applicable to cigarettes – factory made and roll your own) and accessories
• and a four year phase-in period.

Menthol market share in Europe

Prior to the 2020 ban, Euromonitor analysis estimated the whole European menthol market to be worth around EU€9.7 billion (US$11 billion, nearly UK£8.5 billion).¹⁴³  The relative shares of menthol flavoured cigarettes versus those with capsules (menthol and other flavours) varied; while the market share for capsules exceeded the share for menthol flavoured tobacco in half of EU countries, in others the capsule share was very low or non-existent.¹⁴⁴ Menthol and capsule market share has tended to be higher for European countries outside the EU.¹⁴⁴

The International Tobacco Control (ITC) survey in 2016 (n=10,000 adult smokers, in 8 European countries) found that the countries with the highest menthol use were England (over 12% of smokers) and Poland (10%); the lowest levels were observed in Germany and Spain (Figure 1).¹⁴⁵

Figure 1: Prevalence of flavour of cigarettes smoked (usual brand of choice) in 2016 (%).(Source: EUREST-PLUS ITC Europe Surveys)¹⁴⁵

The ITC figures are supported by 2018 Euromonitor data, which show that the combined market share of menthol and capsules was generally higher in northern European countries, with the highest in Poland, at over 25%, followed by the UK, at over 20% .¹⁴⁶

The UK market

The UK was part of the EU until 31 January 2020.  The 2016 TPD, which included the menthol and flavours ban, was transposed into UK law and remains in place in the UK.  Any future amendments to UK legislation will be made by the UK government.

The UK cigarette market, is dominated by two tobacco companies, Imperial Tobacco (Imperial Brands) and Japan Tobacco International (JTI).¹⁴⁷ According to Euromonitor, in 2019, Imperial had a 44% share of the total cigarette market and JTI 37%, by retail volume. Although it is also based in the UK, British American Tobacco (BAT)’s share was much smaller, at just over 9%. Philip Morris International (PMI) had under 8%, mainly due to its Marlboro brand.¹⁴⁸

Prior to the ban, menthol cigarettes formed an estimated 21% of the UK market.¹⁴⁴ 2018 figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) indicate that there were 7.2 million smokers in the UK; based on the 2016 ITC survey data (detailed above) that would equate to nearly 900,000 smokers who usually smoke menthol cigarettes. According to market research survey based data, the figure was much higher in 2019, nearly 1.6 million in Great Britain,¹⁴⁹

Six billion menthol cigarettes were sold in the UK in 2018.¹⁵⁰ According to the ITC survey, 17.5% of UK smokers said that they intended to quit after the ban (an average of 16% of smokers in the EU said the same).¹⁴⁵ As this could reduce annual sales by around 1 billion sticks (3% of the total UK cigarette market), tobacco companies had a clear interest in circumventing the ban and maintaining market share, particularly Imperial and Japan Tobacco International (JTI) (having over 80% of the total cigarette market between them).

See below for a description of the range of tactics used by tobacco companies to exploit loopholes in the legislation and circumvent the EU menthol ban.

• For information on the global market for menthol cigarettes see Flavoured and Menthol Tobacco.

Tobacco Companies Activities to Circumvent and Undermine the Menthol Ban

Lobbying and delay: four year phase-out for menthol

After protests against the TPD from the tobacco industry, and an (ultimately unsuccessful) legal challenge by Poland at the European Court of Justice, supported by Romania, implementation of the ban on menthol cigarettes was postponed to 2020.¹⁵¹¹⁵² This was agreed as a four-year transitional “phase-out” period for all flavoured products with more than a 3% market share in the EU, such as menthol.¹⁵³ (There was a similar ‘sell-through period’, a period when soon to be non-compliant stock can be sold off, when plain, or standardised, packaging was introduced into the UK in 2016, although only for one year).¹⁵⁴  Romania asked for the ban to be repealed shortly after the TPD was agreed, using evidence from PMI as justification.  JTI officials in Romania were making the same arguments at the time.¹⁵⁵

The relevant wording of the EU TPD menthol ban is as follows:

“Member States shall prohibit the placing on the market of… cigarettes and roll your own tobacco… products with a characterising flavour… including… menthol [or those] containing flavourings in any of their components such as filters, papers, packages, capsules or any technical features allowing modification of the smell or taste of the tobacco products concerned…  However, products with characterising flavour with a higher sales volume should be phased out over an extended time period to allow consumers adequate time to switch to other products… In the case of tobacco products with a characterising flavour whose Union-wide sales volumes represent 3 % or more in a particular product category, the provisions of this Article shall apply from 20 May 2020… The Member States and the Commission may charge proportionate fees to manufacturers and importers of tobacco products for assessing [compliance].” ¹³⁸

Some member states, such as Germany and Finland, have gone beyond these requirements and prohibit menthol as an additive.¹⁴² Hungary has also announced it has plans to ban cigarettes that contain any amount of menthol.¹⁵⁶

In early May 2020, tobacco companies were reported to be lobbying for further postponement of the ban in the EU.¹⁵⁷¹⁵⁸ Tobacco industry front group Forest EU were also reported to be lobbying against the ban.¹⁵⁸ In January 2019 it had described the ban as “unwarranted attack on consumer choice that will do little to deter children from smoking”.¹⁵⁹ These attempts were not successful. Romania delayed implementing the ban for six weeks in 2020, without informing the EU.¹⁵⁵

Promotion of menthol products through the derogation period

Menthol/capsule cigarettes’ market share began to decline after the EU TPD legislation was announced in EU countries, whereas there was some growth in in countries in the WHO Europe Region which were not EU members. Two exceptions were the UK and Poland, two markets with high proportions of menthol sales.  In these countries there was marked growth in the market share of menthol/capsule cigarettes despite the incoming ban (figure 2).

Figure 2: Tobacco companies increased their sales of menthol in the run up to flavour bans in the UK and Poland (source: TCRG, June 2021)

During this period the tobacco industry promoted new menthol products to UK retailers through the retail trade press. It appears that the tobacco industry was prolonging sales in the ‘phase out’ period in these countries rather than using the period for a phase out of flavours, thus calling into question the necessity of a long derogation (delay to implementation).^160161162

Tobacco company buy-back schemes to maximise pre-ban sales

Despite being given four extra years by the EUTPD to get ready for the menthol ban, UK retailer group the Association of Convenience Stores stated, in advice to its members, that there was “no sell-through period”.¹⁶³¹⁶¹ Tobacco companies stated that they had, or were planning, ‘buy-back’ schemes, to encourage retailers to sell menthol cigarettes right up to the ban.¹⁶¹  However, tobacco companies were slow to inform UK retailers of their plans.

PMI’s UK affiliate Philip Morris Ltd (PML) supplied details of its scheme via a dedicated website, where it promoted PMI’s heated tobacco product (HTP) IQOS as an alternative product, and which required retailer registration (see below).¹⁶⁴¹⁶⁵ Further details were provided as late as the end of April 2020.^161165166 BAT said in November 2019 that it would swap small amounts of menthol stock after the ban came into force. However, when approached by trade publication Better Retailing in April, less than a month before the ban, BAT refused to give further details.¹⁶⁶

Imperial Tobacco also gave no indication whether or how it would take back excess menthol products, other than that it would “be dealt with on an individual basis”.¹⁶⁶ It was reported that some retailers had advised others to remove from their product lists those products supplied by companies which would not disclose their plans. Otherwise, they risked being left holding stock which they would not be able to legally sell after 20 May.¹⁶⁶

In August 2021, fourteen months after the ban, some retailers were still waiting for the buyback and complaining of a lack of response from attempts to contact tobacco companies. ¹⁶⁷¹⁶⁸

Tobacco companies issued warnings of the risks of the ban leading to illicit trade. JTI, which said it would be buying back excess menthol stock, warned retailers that there was a risk of illicit trade in menthol cigarettes, claiming that “counterfeit menthol products [had been] seized in the UK already”.¹⁶⁶¹⁶⁹ However, Better Retailing stated that this was contrary to information from other tobacco companies earlier in the year.¹⁶⁹ JTI’s anti illicit trade operations manager said that retailers should warn their customers not to buy fake products, using common tobacco industry arguments around product quality and safety.¹⁶⁹

For more information see Illicit Tobacco Trade.

Product innovation & promotion of newer products

While the ban applied to cigarettes and roll your own tobacco, other tobacco products were exempt. Menthol accessories were only included in the ban if they were sold within the packaging of cigarettes or roll your own tobacco.¹⁶⁰¹⁶³

Tobacco companies used product innovation as a way to circumvent the menthol ban and maintain a market for their menthol products, claiming that they were doing so to meet the needs of consumers.^143170171

Tobacco companies used several tactics, including launching product alternatives, in order to circumvent the ban:

• new menthol accessories
• new brands of cigarettes containing some menthol, exploiting the term ‘characterising flavour’
• new cigarette-like cigarillos, other tobacco products (pipe or shisha tobacco)
• menthol and flavour launches for newer products (heated tobacco products, e-cigarettes and nicotine pouches) promoted through ‘menthol ban’ websites

CNTC identified Germany, France, Belgium, Spain and the UK as offering the largest variety of these alternatives in the EU.¹⁴⁶ Methods varied by company: Imperial and JTI developed new products; PMI used it as an opportunity to promote its own alternatives. All created ‘menthol ban’ websites or web pages (see below).

New menthol accessories

Tobacco accessories sold separately are not covered by the current TPD regulations, although they can still impart a menthol flavour. The tobacco industry has launched various new accessories since the TPD implementation in 2016, many relating to filters.¹⁶⁰¹⁷² Imperial launched menthol roll your own (RYO) filter tips in mid-2017.¹⁷³ In January 2019, it launched a filter tip with a capsule, called “Polar Blast”.¹⁷⁴

It originally appeared that new filter tips might be an attempt to encourage menthol cigarette smokers to switch to RYO rather than quit. However, IMB introduced a product which enabled it to circumvent the EU ban on pre-inserted flavour capsules in factory made cigarettes. In January 2019, Imperial launched the L&B Blue Bright Air Filter with a recess in the filter and a firm filter structure.¹⁷⁵ Although the launch announcement did not mention it, this filter structure allows a menthol filter tip – designed for RYO – to be inserted.¹⁷⁶

Independent company Republic Technologies, which specialises in RYO accessories, also introduced a new menthol filter tip under its Swan brand.¹⁷⁷ (Republic Technologies bought Swedish Match UK in 2008, but does not sell tobacco).¹⁷⁸ These have been advertised with Imperial’s L&B Blue Bright Air Filter cigarettes.¹⁷⁶

Packets of flavour capsules are now being advertised to buy separately to be poked into the cigarette filter before combustion in websites targeted at Poland.¹⁷⁹

Figure 3: Imperial’s Rizla menthol “infusion” cards (source: conveniencestore.co.uk)¹⁸⁰

Strips of cardboard, known as flavour cards, add flavour to cigarettes when they are added to a pack.  A Finnish firm ‘Frizc’ sells menthol, lime, liquorice and raspberry flavoured cards in Estonia.¹⁸¹  The company website states that the packs (which appeared on the market in May 2020) can be used to flavour tea, coffee and oatflakes but do not mention tobacco. However, they are sized exactly for a cigarette pack and retailers can recommend them to smokers.¹⁸¹

In January 2020, the launch of Imperial’s “Flavour Infusion cards” in two flavours: “menthol chill” and “fresh mint” was announced (Figure 3).¹⁸² These cards impart a menthol flavour into factory made cigarettes or RYO tobacco if inserted into product packs.¹⁸³  Imperial stated it was selling 900,000 packs of flavour cards a week by mid-2021.¹⁸⁴

The point of sale display ban exempts tobacco accessories (including branding) in England and Wales but in Scotland accessories must be hidden like other tobacco products.¹⁸⁵ Imperial have made use of the exemption in England and Wales to recommend that flavour infusion cards are promoted in point of sale displays.¹⁸³¹⁸⁶ Imperial reported selling 900,000 a week in July 2021.¹⁸⁷ Swan, an accessories manufacturer had also launched flavour cards by mid-2021.¹⁸⁷ In July 2021, the UK tobacco accessories market was reported to be worth UK£314 million.¹⁸⁷

Menthol and other flavour sprays, stones and drops have been developed for soaking filters or cards, and are on sale in the EU,¹⁴⁶¹⁸⁸ and the UK ¹⁸⁹¹⁹⁰

Exploiting the term ‘characterising flavours’

The TPD regulations state that:¹³⁸

“characterising flavour” means a smell or taste other than one of tobacco which—
(a) is clearly noticeable before or during consumption of the product; and
(b) results from an additive or a combination of additives, including, but not limited to, fruit, spice, herbs, alcohol, candy, menthol or vanilla”

In November 2020, The Bureau of Investigative Journalism, working with the Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) reported uncertainty and confusion in multiple European countries as to the level of menthol flavouring present in cigarettes that could be considered to be characterising.¹⁵⁶¹⁹¹ They presented evidence that the term ‘characterising’ was used after lobbying from the tobacco industry.¹⁵⁶ Public health NGO Comité National Contre le Tabagisme (CNTC) accuses tobacco companies of exploiting the ambiguity around the definition of the term ‘characterising’.¹⁴⁶

Determining whether a product has a characterising flavour is difficult. The EU took nearly five years to put a methodology in place; a combination of sensory panels and chemical analyses.¹⁴²¹⁹¹ Slow development of testing, and a lack of firm action, has left a regulatory vacuum for the tobacco industry to exploit. JTI launched products which, when challenged, it claimed did not have a characterising flavour.¹⁹¹ The company later changed direction, saying it was able to sell these products because there was no way at the time to test for a characterising flavour.¹⁹¹ Other tobacco companies and health campaigners have claimed that these new products do have flavours that would be characterising.¹⁹² The Direction Générale de la Santé (DGS, the French ministry of health) was reported to be investigating over 300 products suspected of containing prohibited flavours.¹⁴⁶ Sweden referred 21 JTI cigarette varieties to the European Commission to test for characterising flavour in June 2020.  In late 2021, the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities (the successor to Public Health England) was reported to be testing products from several manufacturers.¹⁹¹

UK

In the UK products began to be released at an early stage. In late March 2020, JTI promoted new ‘dual’ cigarette products with new blends, filters and two sections of 10 cigarettes, to appeal to menthol smokers looking for new products.¹⁹³¹⁹⁴ However it was unclear what these new ‘blends’ entailed.

JTI also developed a range of “Green” and “Blue” product variations under the same brand names as their menthol cigarettes.¹⁹⁵ The Sun newspaper reported that these products tasted and smelled like menthol, without containing the substance.¹⁹⁵ Scottish Local Retailer published a dedicated  publication for UK retailers in conjunction in conjunction with JTI, called “Making A Mint”, which detailed alternative products including cigarettes made with “distinctive blends” of tobacco but did not mention helping smokers quit; it did recommend selling cigarettes at low prices.(Figure 4 )¹⁹⁶ These new cigarettes were promoted under the logo “menthol reimagined”, alongside  JTI’s newer nicotine and tobacco products (so called “Next Generation Products”).¹⁹⁶ (Imperial Tobacco promoted its e-cigarette blu in this publication.¹⁹⁶ See below for more on tobacco companies promoting newer products as menthol alternatives). JTI also ran an online training course for retailers, which featured their new cigarettes as direct replacements for existing menthol brands.¹⁹⁵

Figure 4: Page from retail publication showing JTI’s alternative cigarettes post-ban.(Source: Scottish Local Retailer/Japan Tobacco International, Making a Mint 2020, PDF supplied by Action on Smoking and Health)

A week before the May ban, Imperial Tobacco announced the launch of new “smooth” variants of their non-menthol brands, called “Bright” and “Green Filter”. The company said this was to “help retailers cater for their menthol and crushball customers when the ban comes into effect, by offering them new innovations from their brands of choice”.¹⁹⁷ Imperial also said its research showed that 82% of menthol and crushball smokers would continue to smoke their usual cigarette brand despite reduced levels of menthol, and 70% percent were “expected to switch to a smooth or full flavour variant”.¹⁹⁷

Better Retailing reported that, according to information from UK wholesalers, tobacco companies had between them created 29 new product lines to replace menthol products due to be banned, which was confusing for customers.¹⁹⁸ While colour and branding can be used to promote products to retailers, cigarettes can only be sold in plain packs, and so the only noticeable difference for the customer with these new products would be a slight change of brand variant name.

Ireland

The Irish Times reported that JTI were selling a “green” version of their Silk Cut cigarette brand. JTI argued that this product complied with the ban, even though the company admitted that it used menthol flavouring in its manufacture.¹⁹⁹ According to the newspaper, JTI stated that they: “conduct robust internal testing processes to determine that the use of flavourings in our products does not produce a clearly noticeable smell or taste other than one of tobacco.”¹⁹⁹ BAT accused JTI of using the same tactic in France, with new versions of its Camel and Winston brands, to which JTI issued a similar denial.²⁰⁰

The Irish Times also reported that PML was advertising a new cigarette in the retail press. Called “Marlboro Bright“, it was described by PMI as a “the Marlboro menthol blend – without methylation”.¹⁹⁹²⁰¹ PMI later said that this advertisement was a “mistake” and it should have used the phrase “without menthol” rather than “methylation”.²⁰¹ The company insisted that it had “delisted all menthol cigarettes in the UK and Ireland – all of our cigarettes remaining on the market, including our latest variant Marlboro Bright, do not have any menthol in them and are in full compliance with the law”.²⁰²

BAT also developed new variations under its Pall Mall, Vogue and Rothmans brands which included new blends and changes to filters “providing meaningful differentiation for adult smokers who previously preferred menthol.”^203204205 A representative of BAT (P.J.Carroll) in Ireland said that it was “not launching any cigarette brands or accessories with menthol-type properties”.¹⁹⁹

These attempts to adapt products were criticised by the Irish government with a spokesperson stating that the Health Minister believed the issue “should be dealt with at EU level”.¹⁹⁹

Similar tactics from BAT, PMI and JTI have been noted in the following EU member states: France, Germany, Belgium, Spain, Denmark and Ireland ¹⁴⁶, Austria, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary,  Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden ¹⁹²

In 2020, JTI’s brands in France,¹⁴⁶ and Ireland ²⁰⁶ had high sales, suggesting this has been a successful strategy for the tobacco industry.

New ‘cig-alike’ cigarillos

The only part of standardised packs legislation applicable to cigars and cigarillos was a larger health warning; legislation on branding, minimum pack size, and flavourings does not apply. Tobacco companies developed new product variations and promoted these products in the retail press.¹⁶⁰ From 2020, JTI and/or Landwyck cigarette-like cigarillos were launched in France, Germany, Belgium, Spain, Denmark, Ireland, Romania, Netherlands, Poland and the UK.¹⁴⁶

Figure 5: JTI’s Sterling Dual menthol cigarillo (Source: talkingretail.com)²⁰⁷

Japan Tobacco International 

Stirling Dual Capsules are cigarette-like cigarillos with mentholated tobacco launched in the UK by JTI in early 2020 (figure 5).²⁰⁷ The product contains  a capsule filter which releases a peppermint flavour on crushing.²⁰⁸ Stirling is one of JTI’s most popular cigarette brands, which already included capsule options.  The cigarillos were legally allowed to be sold in 10 packs making them  approximately half the price of the cheapest cigarette packs on the UK market. Marketing to retailers framed them as an option to circumvent the menthol ban.¹⁵⁴¹⁷⁰ Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) described this as a “cynical” move on the part of JTI, saying that its new cigarillo was essentially “a cigarette wrapped in tobacco leaf”.¹⁷¹ JTI, quoted in retail magazine The Scottish Grocer, said that it was “committed to providing retailers with as much choice as possible by launching innovative new products that respond to current trends”.²⁰⁹

These cigarillos won retail industry awards and were described as having “a strong performance” and JTI released a 20 stick version in early 2021.²⁰⁸ In the second half of 2020, over 45% of cigar sales recorded by the Retail Data Partnership were Sterling Dual Capsule cigarillos.¹⁹¹

Scandinavian Tobacco Group

The Scandinavian Tobacco Group, a cigar specialist, launched Signature Dual in February 2020.¹⁷⁷²¹⁰ This is a menthol capsule cigarillo, similar to JTI’s Sterling Dual Capsule.

Imperial Brands

In August 2020, Imperial Brands (previously Imperial Tobacco) added a 10-pack of menthol crushball cigarillos to its JPS Players range, with a price comparable to JTI’s product. Imperial’s UK market manager said that this product would: “help bridge the gap left by the ban”.²¹¹²¹²

Impact of new cigarillo variants

According to Euromonitor data, the UK cigarillo market was in decline until the TPD came into force in 2016, but it is now growing. Euromonitor forecasts sales of cigarillos will carry on rising, whereas cigar sales will remain in long term decline.²¹³²¹⁴

Promoted newer products through menthol ban websites

Tobacco companies used harm reduction as a strategy to achieve their business objectives. In advance of the menthol ban in the UK, they promoted their newer nicotine and tobacco products (heated tobacco products, e-cigarettes and nicotine pouches).

As the UK does not allow open promotion and display of tobacco products, tobacco companies created websites and pages specifically to provide information about the ban to retailers and consumers, in addition to articles in the retail press.^164165214215 Although they are apparently set up to provide information, these websites also help companies to capitalise on the upcoming ban by promoting their newer products.¹⁹⁴ These include heated tobacco products (HTPs) such as PMI’s IQOS and its HEETS tobacco sticks, to which the ban did not  apply.¹⁷⁷¹⁶⁶

• For details, see: Promotion of Newer Products Around The UK Menthol Ban

What Next for Menthol in Europe?

Despite industry efforts to boost menthol sales, the upcoming ban appeared to be having an impact on UK smokers’ buying habits, as sales of menthol cigarettes fell in the months before it came into effect. For details see Flavoured and Menthol Tobacco – Do Bans Work.

UK: arguments for retrenchment

Since the EU 2016 TPD came into force, the UK has left the EU (known as Brexit).  Twitter activity and some media reports suggested Brexit could be an opportunity to repeal the menthol ban. ²¹⁶²¹⁷ It is not clear whether the tobacco industry intends to lobby to roll back this legislation after the transition period. However, traditionally the UK has gone beyond EU requirements regarding tobacco control, so repealing would require a change in political consensus.²¹⁸ In July 2020, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care confirmed that “As the ban is part of United Kingdom legislation, it will remain in place when the UK exits the transition period with the European Union”.²¹⁹

The UK did not replicate the 2023 EU ban on flavoured heated tobacco products (see below).

Finland: going beyond the TPD

Finland aims to end the use of tobacco and other nicotine products by 2030.  Policy makers have interpreted the 2016 TPD flavour ban as also applying to e-cigarette liquids.²²⁰ There have been court cases in Finland as shops have been selling flavourings labelled for food use, but which have not been tested for possible toxicity when heated and inhaled.  These flavourings are labelled for use with e-cigarettes (vaping) in other countries.  Finnish researchers have called for the EU to reconsider regulation, product notification and prohibition of e-cigarette flavours.²²⁰

Revision of the 2014 TPD

The TPD is under revision, in both the EU and the UK, as scheduled in the legislation. Tobacco industry activity implies that current regulation should be tightened to:²²¹

• remove the loopholes around characterising flavour by banning menthol as an ingredient;
• extend the ban to all tobacco products, especially cigarillos and other products that are mimicking or replacing cigarettes; and
• consider whether to broaden regulations to include heated tobacco sticks, e-liquids and other new products

As essentially a cigarette wrapped in brown leaf rather than white paper, cigarillos are likely to be very attractive to the tobacco industry; not only are they currently exempt from EU and UK standardised packs legislation, but they are also subject to lower taxes.¹⁶⁰¹⁵⁴ It has also been recommended that the ban is extended to waterpipe where flavours are a key attraction and young people, and some European populations have a particularly high level of use.²²²

Extending the ban to accessories could be more difficult given their variety, but there are already a bans on  their display at point of sale in Denmark and Scotland.²²³²²⁴ Some accessories such as cigarette filters, where the tobacco industry has made false health claims, could themselves be banned completely.¹⁷²

Tobacco industry strategies during revision development

Reinskje Talhoot from the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment, (Rijksinstituut voor Volksgezondheid en Milieu, RIVM) in the Netherlands stated that the tobacco industry has been focussing on the toxicity of tobacco additives like menthol. There is little evidence of toxicity and this helps draws attention away from studies that show that menthol encourages young smokers to continue smoking.¹⁴¹

From May 2020, manufacturers were required to disclose additives in tobacco products and additional information about the harmful and addictive effects of 15 priority additives including menthol.  The EU Commission asked an independent group of experts, called WP9 and led by RIVM, to assess the research reports.¹⁴¹ WP9 concluded that there was strong independent evidence that low amounts of menthol (which would be insufficient to make a characterising flavour) still facilitates smoke inhalation making smoking easier for novice (new) smokers.¹⁴¹ WP9 noted that tobacco industry reports did not come to the same conclusion because they left out some independent studies. There were also limitations in the research methods and statistical analyses.¹⁴¹ WP9 therefore concluded that the industry reports were unreliable and should not be used to guide EU member states’ policies. WP9 instead advises that menthol in cigarettes should be banned completely.¹⁴¹

EU ban on flavoured heated tobacco products

Heated tobacco products (HTPs) were exempted from the flavour ban. However, the Commission published a report in June 2022 which found that the sales of HTPs had increased by more than 10% (by volume) in 10 member countries, and were making up over 3% of total tobacco product sales.²²⁵

This was classified as a “substantial change of circumstances” enabling the Commission to propose a ban on flavoured HTPs, as part of Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan.^{226227 228} The Commissioner for Health and Food Safety, Stella Kyriakides, said:

“With nine out of ten lung cancers caused by tobacco, we want to make smoking as unattractive as possible to protect the health of our citizens and save lives. Stronger actions to reduce tobacco consumption, stricter enforcement and keeping pace with new developments to address the endless flow of new products entering the market – particularly important to protect younger people – is key for this. Prevention will always be better than cure.”²²⁶

After a period of scrutiny, a Delegated Directive was published in November 2022 and entered into force the same month, which banned HTPs with a characterising flavour in any of their components (referring to components closes a potential loophole for flavoured accessories).²²⁹²³⁰ EU member countries were required to adopt national laws by 23 July 2023, and enact the ban 3 months later, by 23 October.²²⁷ Germany was the first country to pass the ban into law,²³¹

Extended transition period in Italy

The directive included a 3 month transitional period.²²⁹ Market analysts Tobacco Intelligence reported that Italy allowed an extended transition period to sell existing stocks of flavoured products: ²³⁰

“…manufacturers can supply these to tax warehouses until 31st December 2023, tax warehouses can provide them to retailers until 1st March 2024, and retailers can sell existing stocks.”²³⁰

Tobacco industry response

Legal challenges

In January 2023, BAT was granted permission to challenge the ban in the Irish high court (as the Republic of Ireland is part of the EU).²³²²³³ BAT stated that the ban would undermine its investment in “products with a reduced-risk profile” and have implications for public health policy.²³² In March, Philip Morris Group was given permission to join the legal challenge. Philip Morris did not market HTPs in Ireland at the time, but said it intended to do so.²³⁴  In October 2023, media reported that the case had been referred to the European Court of Justice, with the tobacco companies accusing the EU of regulatory ‘overreach’.^235236237

Promoted purchases in countries where flavoured HTP sticks continued to be legal

On its website PMI stated that Northern Ireland was affected by the ban, but not the rest of the UK.²³⁸ It noted that as the ban was on sales, not use,  “[a]dult users may still be able to buy heated tobacco products with a characterising flavour abroad and use them in the EU.”²³⁹

Tobacco industry journal Tobacco Journal International also highlighted the potential for cross-border purchasing of flavoured products from neighbouring countries without a ban in place.²⁴⁰

Launched new nicotine sticks

In the months before the ban came into force, PMI and BAT launched flavoured sticks for using in HTP devices that do not contain tobacco. Instead, the sticks contain nicotine infused leaves (including rooibos tea) apparently developed in order to circumvent the HTP flavour ban.²⁴¹²⁴²

For details see:

• Newer Nicotine and Tobacco Products: Philip Morris International
• Newer Nicotine and Tobacco Products: British American Tobacco.

TobaccoTactics Resources

• Flavoured and Menthol Tobacco
• Promotion of Newer Products Around The UK Menthol Ban
• EU Tobacco Products Directive Revision
• Flavoured and Menthol Tobacco in LMICs
• Product Innovation
• Newer Nicotine and Tobacco Products

Relevant Links

• STOP statement on the delayed US menthol ban and NGO-instigated legal action
• Menthol tobacco companies are exploiting loopholes in the  UK’s characterising flavours ban, S. Dance & K. Evans-Reeve, Tobacco Control blog, May 2021

TCRG Research

• Effects of and challenges to bans on menthol and other flavors in tobacco products, K. Przewoźniak, C. Kyriakos, R. Hiscock et al,  Tobacco Prevention & Cessation, 2021; 7 (November): 68, doi: 10.18332/tpc/143072
• Tobacco industry tactics to circumvent and undermine the menthol cigarette ban in the UK, R. Hiscock, K. Silver, M. Zatonski, A. Gilmore, Tobacco Control, 18 May 2020, doi:10.1136/tobaccocontrol-2020-055769
• Cigarette-like cigarillo introduced to bypass taxation, standardised packaging, minimum pack sizes, and menthol ban in the UK, J. Branston J, R. Hiscock, K. Silver, D. Arnott, A. Gilmore, Tobacco Control, Online First, 26 August 2020, doi: 10.1136/tobaccocontrol-2020-055700
• A prospective longitudinal study of tobacco company adaptation to standardised packaging in the UK: identifying circumventions and closing loopholes, K. Evans-Reeves, R. Hiscock, K. Lauber K, J. Branston, A. Gilmore, BMJ Open, 2019;9:e028506, doi:10.1136/bmjopen-2018-028506
• Standardised packaging, Minimum Excise Tax, and RYO focussed tax rise implications for UK tobacco pricing, R. Hiscock, N. Augustin, J. Branston, A. Gilmore, PloS one, February 2020, doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0228069

For a comprehensive list of all TCRG publications, including research that evaluates the impact of public health policy, go to the Bath TCRG’s list of publications.

References

The post Menthol Cigarettes: Industry Interference in the EU and UK appeared first on TobaccoTactics.

• For more background, and other types of interference in the run up to the ban, see Menthol Cigarettes: Industry Interference in the EU and UK.

Philip Morris

A leaked Philip Morris International (PMI) document from 2014 indicated that it opposed flavour bans and identified the European menthol ban as a threat to its business.²⁴³ However, in a presentation in February 2020, it stated that the ban was “not expected to have [a] significant impact”.²⁴³²⁴⁴ CEO Andre Calantzopoulos said that, while menthol accounted for 10% of consumption in the region, this was in fact an “opportunity” for PMI’s heated tobacco product IQOS, as its tobacco sticks (HEETs) were not covered by the ban.²⁴⁵ In early 2020, Philip Morris actively promoted IQOS as an alternative to menthol cigarettes, to retailers and to consumers.^177246247248 IQOS is more profitable for PMI than its cigarettes.²⁴⁹

Philip Morris has only a small market share of the UK cigarette market. Nevertheless, Philip Morris Ltd (PML) set up two websites: menthol-ban-retail.co.uk (aimed at retailers) and menthol-ban.co.uk (aimed at consumers). The consumer-facing website advocated three options for current menthol smokers: to “quit”, “heat” or “vape”.²⁵⁰ It also contained market research data, commissioned by PML, stating that, while 15% of smokers would try to quit in response to the ban, over 50% would consider switching to HTPs “once made aware of this option”. While this site mentioned the NHS stop smoking service, and provided a web link, this appeared as a small “disclaimer” at the bottom of the page.²⁵⁰ From Philip Morris’ communications with retailers, it appears that the HTPs it referred to were PMI’s own product IQOS, and that its survey participants were shown the device.²⁴⁸²⁵¹

Market research conducted in the UK in 2020 found very different figures from PML. A survey by HIM & MCA, reported in retail publication Convenience Store in May 2020, found that only 6% of menthol smokers said they would switch to menthol HTPs, with 16% likely to opt for e-cigarettes.²⁵² Another survey by e-cigarette retailer Vape Club produced similar results to HIM/MCA; 39% of UK menthol smokers intended to stop using tobacco products, with 18% planning to switch to e-cigarettes, and 15% saying they would quit use Nicotine Replacement Therapy (NRT) or no product. Assuming no other products, this would mean that only 6% intended switch to HTPs, the same figure arrived at in the HIM & MCA survey.²⁵²²⁵³ Both organisations surveyed 1,000 UK menthol smokers, but as of May 2020 no public health survey data was available to confirm these figures. The 2016 ITC survey found that just over 15% of menthol smokers in the UK intended to quit in response to the ban, close to the EU average of 16%.¹⁴⁵

Figure 1: Screenshot of UK IQOS website, February 2020.²⁵⁴

Philip Morris also set up a page on its UK IQOS website, containing information about the ban, including a link to an EU trade factsheet.²⁵⁴²⁵⁵ The page features a “Menthol Ban Countdown” clock; tells customers that “small retailers like corner shops and news agents will likely be running their stock down in time for the ban, so it may become harder to find menthol cigarettes”; and provides links to buy two HEETS menthol products directly from its website.²⁵⁴ In February 2019, a pop-up offered a trial of IQOS (see figure 1).²⁵⁴ Retailers were also given material on IQOS to hand out to customers.²⁵²

In PML’s communications with retailers, it appears that the HTPs it referred to were its own product, IQOS, and that survey participants were shown the device.²⁴⁸²⁵⁶

In an article published in the trade magazine Talking Retail in mid-March 2020, representatives of PML warned shop owners that they would lose customers and money due to the ban, pointing to a “financial impact calculator” on their menthol ban retail website. An average figure of £13,500 per year was quoted, representing loss of cigarettes sales plus the value of other “basket” items bought at the same time. No evidence was provided in this article to explain how PML had reached this estimate. At the same time the company promoted IQOS starter kits, saying that this was “a massive opportunity for retailers to say to smokers there’s still a product that’s closer in experience to cigarettes”.²⁴⁸ PML suggested that retailers could register on its website to access these kits, and that this was where they would be able to find information about the company’s buy-back scheme for unsold menthol cigarettes.²⁴⁸¹⁶⁶

Retailers were also offered a series of financial incentives to stock IQOS, through its “Heetwave Open” programme. An e-mail sent from PML to retailers in early May 2020, encourage them to “Sign up and earn £170+”.²⁵⁷ In addition to free HEETs products and money for registering sales of IQOS kits, they were offered money for completing quizzes, watching promotional videos, and uploading images of point of sale material.²⁵⁷ According to the Bureau of Investigative Journalism, PML also hired sales representatives to promote IQOS directly to convenience stores, as part of its efforts to reach a target of a 400% increase in sales of IQOS and HEETS in 2020.²⁵⁸ PML continued to promote IQOS as an alternative to menthol cigarettes after the ban.²⁰² In 2021, it combined menthol with other flavourings in its Mauve HEETS variant, which PML described as “a crisp menthol blend with a taste of dark forest fruits”.²⁵⁹

Since the menthol ban PMI have withdrawn their Nicocigs and IQOS Mesh e-cigarettes from sale in the UK, along with Veev liquids. For more on PMI’s newer IQOS VEEV e-cigarette, yet to be launched in the UK as of November 2021, see E-cigarettes: Philip Morris International

Japan Tobacco International

Japan Tobacco International (JTI) set up a menthol ban section on its retailers’ website (jtiadvance.co.uk), which was promoted in the retail press.^194198260

This trade website also contained information for consumers, recommending JTI’s newer nicotine products, with links to websites selling its Logic e-cigarettes and Nordic Spirit nicotine pouches.¹⁹⁴²⁶⁰ It also warned consumers against turning to illicit tobacco.²⁶⁰

Imperial Brands

Imperial Brands, while not setting up specific web pages, offered advice to retailers in the UK trade press.²⁶¹ Imperial’s Corporate Affairs Director, Duncan Cunningham, in Talking Retail, linked the ban to potential sales of roll-your-own (RYO) products:²⁶¹¹⁹⁶

“As a result of the forthcoming changes, we may see some menthol smokers shift into buying RYO products, especially given the arrival of recent product innovations, such as Rizla Polar Blast crushball tips, that will help them continue with their flavour of choice.”

Cunningham also suggested that retailers should increase their stock of the company’s blu  e-cigarette, including its nicotine salt e-liquids to “help heavy smokers switch”.²⁶¹¹⁹⁶

British American Tobacco

British American Tobacco (BAT) promoted its e-cigarette Vype in the retail press before the ban, and launched new mint e-liquid flavours.^203204205

European websites

Similar dedicated menthol web pages appeared in France for IQOS from PMI, Vuse from BAT and Logic from JTI. CNTC suggests these were marketing sites rather than information sites.¹⁴⁶

TobaccoTactics Resources

• Menthol Cigarettes: Industry Interference in the EU and UK
• Flavoured and Menthol Tobacco
• Product Innovation
• Newer Nicotine and Tobacco Products

Relevant Links

• Menthol tobacco companies are exploiting loopholes in the  UK’s characterising flavours ban, S. Dance & K. Evans-Reeve, Tobacco Control blog, May 2021

TCRG Research

• Tobacco industry tactics to circumvent and undermine the menthol cigarette ban in the UK, R. Hiscock, K. Silver, M. Zatonski, A. Gilmore, Tobacco Control, 18 May 2020, doi:10.1136/tobaccocontrol-2020-055769

For a comprehensive list of all TCRG publications, including research that evaluates the impact of public health policy, go to the Bath TCRG’s list of publications.

References

The post Promotion of Newer Products Around The UK Menthol Ban appeared first on TobaccoTactics.

• Despite decades of denial, the tobacco industry has long known about the addictiveness of cigarettes.
• Tobacco companies manipulated the addictiveness of cigarettes via changes in content and design to attract and retain smokers. As a consequence, smokers today are at a greater risk of disease than smokers in the 1960’s, despite smoking fewer cigarettes.
• Greater implementation of FCTC guidelines around product innovation is needed to protect smokers from changes to cigarettes that increase addiction and harm.

Industry knowledge

Cigarettes have been called “dangerous by design”²⁶². Industry documents reveal that tobacco companies have known for decades about the addictiveness of compounds in cigarettes, including nicotine. They knew how to design cigarettes to affect smokers’ perceptions and behaviours²⁶³, and knowingly altered the content and design of cigarettes to maintain addiction in their customers²⁶⁴. Yet up until the 1990’s, they continued to claim publicly that cigarettes were not addictive²⁶⁵ (see Image 1), despite overwhelming evidence at the time showing the opposite to be true²⁶⁶²⁶⁷. Tobacco companies’ own internal documents show that they even admitted that they knew all along how addictive their products were²⁶⁴.

Image 1. Tobacco company executives claimed that nicotine is not addictive in 1994 (Source: AP Photo/John Duricka). See this video (source: University of California San Francisco)

Public knowledge

In contrast to tobacco companies’ knowledge of the addictive compounds in cigarettes, the public is unaware of the majority of chemicals in cigarettes, with little awareness of the existence of additives in cigarettes. Yet, consumers do want more information about the ingredients in cigarettes²⁶⁸.

Cigarette additives

Tobacco companies increased the addictiveness of cigarettes by manipulating the effects of additives in cigarettes²⁶⁹. They increased the amount of nicotine delivered to smokers; and added other chemicals (eg: flavours, sugars, ammonia) to reduce the harshness and improve the taste of cigarette smoke, and to increase the absorption of nicotine.

Nicotine

Nicotine is the primary addictive component in cigarettes, reaching the brain seven seconds after being inhaled²⁷⁰. The amount of nicotine delivered to smokers via tobacco smoke has increased overtime ²⁷¹²⁷². Between 1999 and 2011, it increased by 14.5%; which was due to changes made by manufacturers, rather than natural variation²⁷¹. This trend has been seen in all major market categories of cigarettes²⁷² .

See the page on newer nicotine and tobacco products for information about nicotine in various consumer tobacco and nicotine products, and the page on harm reduction for information on the debate about the role of these products in tobacco control.

Flavours

Flavourings (eg: cocoa, liquorice, menthol) improve the taste and decrease the harshness of cigarette smoke²⁷³²⁷⁴. The ingredients in cocoa and liquorice can ease inhalation of tobacco smoke and nicotine²⁷⁵.

Menthol cigarettes (see Image 2) became popular in the 1950s. Menthol masks the harshness of tobacco and alleviates irritation from nicotine, which makes cigarettes easier to smoke²⁷⁶, promotes smoking initiation, and facilitates inhalation of tobacco smoke²⁷⁷. The cool sensation of menthol causes smokers to hold their breath, enabling greater exposure to the harmful substances in tobacco smoke. This results in increased addiction and tobacco-related diseases²⁷⁸.

See the page on Flavoured and Menthol Tobacco for information on how the industry circumvents menthol bans.

Image 2. Newport and Marlboro menthol cigarettes (source: DailyRecord.co.uk).

Other chemicals

Filter design

Tobacco companies deceitfully added filters to cigarettes in the 1950’s in an attempt to imply reduced harm, and entice smokers with health concerns, including women and young smokers. However, this design feature reduces smokers perceptions about the harms of smoking, yet in reality may increase the risk of harm²⁸⁹²⁹⁰. The ventilation holes in filters increased the amount of nicotine delivered to smokers²⁹¹. Smokers of filtered cigarettes (see Image 3) take puffs deeper and more frequently (this is known as compensatory smoking)²⁹², whilst blocking ventilation holes with their fingers²⁹³²⁹⁴, which means that carcinogens that are inhaled more deeply into the lungs²⁹⁵.

See the page on Cigarette Filters for information on marketing and the health and environmental harms.

Image 3. Cigarette filters (source: TheNewYorkTimesMagazine.com).

The U.S. Surgeon General’s report of 2014 concluded that, despite a decline in smoking prevalence, the risk of tobacco-related mortality has increased over the last 50 years due to changes in product composition and design. Specifically, it concluded that adding filters to cigarettes has caused an increase in lung adenocarcinomas (cancers in peripheral areas of the lungs)²⁹⁶.

See the page on Product Innovation for information on concerns around changes to products.

Global regulation

The World Health Organization (WHO) Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) recognises that “cigarettes and some other products containing tobacco are highly engineered so as to create and maintain dependence”²⁹⁷. Articles 9 and 10 of the WHO FCTC require Parties to regulate the contents of tobacco products and disclose tobacco products ²⁹⁸. The FCTC recommends that attractiveness and its impact on dependence should be taken into consideration for regulation. It recommends that countries:

• Ban misleading and deceptive tobacco advertising, eg: descriptors such as “light” (see Image 4);
• Ban or restrict ingredients used to increase palatability of tobacco products, eg: sugars and sweeteners, and flavourings;
• Ban ingredients associated with energy and vitality in tobacco products;
• Require manufacturers to disclose information on the ingredients in tobacco products to governments, for each product type and each brand²⁹⁷.

See the page on Advertising Strategy for information on the industry’s use of advertising.

Image 4. Packets of Marlboro lights cigarettes (source: NewYorkTimes.com).

Up to date information on tobacco control legislation around the world can be found on the Tobacco Control Laws website (published by the Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids). You can search litigation by country, tobacco control measure, or type of legal action. The website also contains analysis and assessment of FCTC compliance, and policy factsheets. Parties to the WHO FCTC submit regular FCTC COP reports detailing their progress in implementing the treaty, which are presented in the FCTC Implementation database. Further information on countries’ progress in implementing the WHO recommended MPOWER measures can be found in the WHO reports on the global tobacco epidemic, a serious of biennial reports detailing status and compliance.

The tobacco industry has deliberately manipulated the content and design of cigarettes to maintain addiction in its customers. Given the greater harm experienced by smokers as a result²⁹⁶, greater implementation of FCTC guidelines around product innovation is required to protect smokers from changes to cigarettes that increase addiction and harm.

TobaccoTactics Resources

Product Innovation

Flavoured and Menthol Tobacco

Cigarette Filters

TCRG Research

For a comprehensive list of all TCRG publications, including TCRG research that evaluates the impact of public health policy, go to the Bath TCRG’s list of publications.

R. Hiscock, K. Silver, M. Zatonski, A. Gilmore, Tobacco industry tactics to circumvent and undermine the menthol cigarette ban in the UK, Tobacco Control, 18 May 2020, doi:10.1136/tobaccocontrol-2020-055769

J. R. Branston, R. Hiscock, K. Silver, D. Arnott, A. Gilmore, Cigarette-like cigarillo introduced to bypass taxation, standardised packaging, minimum pack sizes, and menthol ban in the UK, Tobacco Control, Online First, 26 August 2020, doi: 10.1136/tobaccocontrol-2020-055700

K. Evans-Reeves, K. Lauber, R. Hiscock, The ‘filter fraud’ persists: the tobacco industry is still using filters to suggest lower health risks while destroying the environment, Tobacco Control, 26 April 2021, doi:10.1136/tobaccocontrol-2020-056245

S. Dance, K. Evans-Reeves. Menthol: Tobacco Companies are exploiting loopholes in the UK’s characterising flavours ban. Tobacco Control.

References

The post Addiction Manipulation appeared first on TobaccoTactics.

• Historic interests in Nicotine Replacement Therapy – lozenges and gums, early inhalers
• Addition of Swedish snus-style nicotine pouches in to product ranges – “modern oral”
• Acquisitions of pharmaceutical and biotech companies developing “inhaled therapeutics” e.g. inhalers for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)
• Investments in cannabis industry with focus on inhalers, CBD and (potentially) drug delivery – “botanical therapeutics”
• Investments are part of a trend in tobacco industry “Pharmaceuticalisation”: shifting business practices to mirror those of pharmaceutical companies either by acquiring pharma companies or presenting a pharma-like public image, despite tobacco sales.

Background

Research conducted using tobacco industry documents,  published in 2017, explores the history of tobacco industry interests in Nicotine Replacement Therapy (NRT) type products.²⁹⁹ Tobacco companies first developed nicotine replacement products in the 1950s, but the threat of regulation by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) meant that they stopped. After that medical NRT was produced by pharmaceutical companies, initially available on prescription, and later increasingly available over-the-counter.²⁹⁹ In the 1980s, the tobacco industry actively opposed NRT but, once the threat of FDA regulation had passed (with the regulation of tobacco products beginning in the US in 2009) tobacco companies re-entered the nicotine market.²⁹⁹ The authors note that:

Although the tobacco industry initially viewed NRT as a threat, it found that smokers often combined NRT with smoking rather than using it as a replacement and began marketing their own NRT products.²⁹⁹

The UK’s Royal College of Physicians (RCP) states that: “Nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) is most effective in helping people to stop smoking when used together with health professional input and support, but much less so when used on its own.”³⁰⁰

Alongside interests in NRT, a 2005 review of historic tobacco industry documents found that the tobacco industry was investigating nicotine analogues: molecules structurally similar to nicotine that that could be used “to create more ‘desirable’ products and to circumvent anticipated nicotine regulation”. There were also “potential pharmaceutical applications for analogues such as treatments for neurological disorders”.³⁰¹

Research from the US shows how tobacco companies continue to develop and market oral nicotine products such as gums and lozenges, which may not support cessation long term, and risk take-up by non-smokers.³⁰²

More recently, transnational tobacco companies have invested in products such as non-electronic inhalers for nicotine and cannabis and, most controversially, for the delivery of medicines to treat lung disease (see PMI’s acquisition of Vectura). These interests are detailed below, by tobacco company.

For information on tobacco company investments in e-cigarettes (also known as electronic nicotine delivery systems, or ENDS), heated tobacco products (HTPs) and oral tobacco products such as snus and nicotine pouches, see Newer Nicotine and Tobacco Products.

British American Tobacco

Image 1: Slide from BAT presentation to investors (Source: British American Tobacco, Deutsche Bank Global Consumer Conference, 9 June 2021)

BAT had an interest in a nicotine inhaler, before it was abandoned in favour of its e-cigarettes, HTPs and, more recently, oral nicotine products. In a presentation to investors in June 2021, BAT said that it was “building an ecosystem beyond nicotine” and its target areas included “health and wellness” and developing products to help consumers “focus, energize and relax”.³⁰³ BAT subsequently launched a dedicated website for its Btomorrow Ventures investment arm.³⁰⁴ In July 2021, the website listed investments in cannabis and CBD products, meditation drinks, and other “wellness” products, including technology marketed at healthcare professionals.³⁰⁵

BAT investment in inhalers

Voke Inhaler

In 2010, British American Tobacco (BAT) acquired the licence to commercialise a nicotine inhaler called Voke, developed by a UK company called Kind Consumer.  This product was approved for medical use in 2014, making it potentially available as a cessation product on prescription in the UK. However, BAT decided instead to invest in e-cigarettes, and handed the license back in 2017. Kind Consumer did not successfully re-launch the product and at the end of 2020 the company closed down.

• For details see Kind Consumer

BAT investments in oral nicotine products

Zonnic gum & Revel lozenge

BAT own a nicotine gum called Zonnic, which it gained from its acquisition of US company Reynolds in 2017.  Reynolds had acquired this product with the Swedish company Niconovum in 2008, and marketed it from 2014, suggesting it could be used alongside cigarettes. ²⁹⁹ In Sweden, BAT’s nicotine pouches (see below) are also sold under the Zonnic brand.³⁰⁶³⁰⁷

BAT also gained Reynold’s Revel nicotine lozenge. In 2020, Revel was rebranded as Velo, the same name as BAT’s  nicotine pouches.^308309302 In August 2020 BAT/Reynolds filed an application to the FDA for pre-market approval for Velo lozenges in the US.³¹⁰³¹¹

In 2021, the UK Velo website did not mention Revel or Velo lozenges.³¹²

The Niconovum website states that it also “manufactures a private lable NRT product for a major retailer in the UK”, but does not give further details.³¹³

Lyft & Velo nicotine pouches

BAT has marketed its most recently developed products, snus-type nicotine pouches, in multiple countries, including Pakistan and Kenya, mostly under the Lyft and Velo brands. In 2020, BAT acquired US nicotine pouch Dryft via its US subsidiary Reynolds (RAI), which was subsequently rebranded as Velo.

BAT positions its nicotine pouches, alongside the nicotine gum and lozenge, as “modern oral” products.³¹⁴ and has submitted PMPTAs in the US for velo pouches.³¹⁰

BAT (Reynolds) stated that:

“Velo is an award-winning brand bringing consistently innovative products to adult tobacco users, and a potential marketing order for PMTA submission would help to ensure adult tobacco consumers have access to FDA-regulated, consumer-acceptable product alternatives to combustible tobacco”.³¹⁰

In 2023, the Canadian government authorized the marketing of BAT’s Zonnic nicotine pouch as a natural health product.³¹⁵

• For details see Nicotine Pouches

BAT pharmaceuticals

Reynold’s American Inc. (RAI) acquired Kentucky Bioprocessing (KBP), a biotech company developing anti-ebola drugs, in 2014.³¹⁶ BAT acquired Reynolds American Inc. (RAI), and KBP, in 2017. According to the biotech company, its business approach:

“uniquely positions KBP – and ultimately the RAI Group and BAT – to capitalize on enormous markets and create value and new revenue streams with strong, global growth potentials.”³¹⁶

In 2020 KBP began developing a COVID-19 vaccine produced using tobacco plants, a move that BAT has used to promote its tobacco business. BAT director of Scientific Research David O’Reilly said that the vaccine “reflects our efforts to accelerate the development of our emerging biologicals portfolio.”³¹⁷

In January 2022, BAT announced the creation of biotech investment company KBio Holdings Limited (KBio) to “leverage the existing and extensive plant-based technology capabilities of BAT and Kentucky BioProcessing Inc”.³¹⁸ David O’Reilly is listed as a KBio director at Companies House.³¹⁹

Philip Morris International

Image 2: Slide from PMI presentation to investors, 10 February 2021. (Source PMI website)

In a presentation to investors in February 2021, Philip Morris International (PMI) stated that it planned to go “beyond nicotine” into “botanicals” and “respiratory drug delivery” (image 2).³²⁰

Image 3 Slide from PMI presentation to investors, 10 February 2021. (Source PMI website)

The company said that this was part of its “long term evolution into a broader lifestyle & consumer wellness company” (image 3).³²⁰ However the short-term goal was “additional growth”.³²⁰

PMI investments in inhaler devices

Syqe Medical

In 2016, PMI bought an Israeli company, Syqe Medical, which was developing a cannabis inhaler.³²¹ PMI did not publicise this acquisition.

• For more information see Cannabis

Vectura

In July 2021, PMI announced its intended acquisition of Vectura, a UK company specialising in inhaler products to deliver medicines .^{322 323}

The acquisition was especially controversial because this type of inhaler is used to treat lung conditions often caused, or made worse by, smoking.³²⁴³²⁵ There was strong criticism of the deal, in particular from health charities and the World Health Organization (WHO).^326327328

Vectura, along with Fertin Pharma (see below), is now a subsidiary of Vectura Fertin Pharma, a company established by PMI in 2022 to oversee the commercial development of its pharmaceutical acquisitions.³²⁹ PMI’s Chief Life Science’s Officer, Jorge Insuasty, was appointed President of Vectura Fertin Pharma in December 2022.³³⁰ According to its website, Vectura Fertin Pharma brings together “Vectura’s expertise in inhalation and Fertin Pharma’s leadership in oral and intra-oral delivery systems”.³²⁹

• For more on Vectura, PMI’s acquisition and subsequent events, see Vectura

Oti-Topic

In August 2021, PMI announced its intended acquisition of another pharmaceutical company Oti-Topic, which is based in the US and produces respiratory inhalers.³³¹³³² Notably, it was in the final stages of developing an inhalable treatment for acute myocardial infarction (heart attack). Branded ASPRIHALE, FDA approval for the product was expected in 2022.³³²

PMI stated that:

“This acquisition is part of PMI’s strategic plan to leverage its expertise, scientific know-how, and capabilities in inhalation to grow a pipeline of inhaled therapeutics and respiratory drug delivery Beyond Nicotine.”³³²

One market analyst estimated that the market for inhalation delivery could be worth US$18 billion by 2027.³³³

PMI investments in oral nicotine products

In 2021 PMI acquired manufacturers of  snus type nicotine pouches, and other oral nicotine products.

Fertin Pharma

In July 2021, PMI announced that it was acquiring Fertin Pharma for around US$820 million.  PMI described the company as “a leading developer and manufacturer of innovative pharmaceutical and well-being products based on oral and intra-oral delivery systems”.^334335336 In a press release PMI CEO Jacek Olczak listed products made by Fertin, including: “gums, pouches, liquefiable tablets, and other solid oral systems for the delivery of active ingredients, including nicotine” stating  that the company was a “leading producer of Nicotine Replacement Therapy (NRT) solutions”.³³⁴

Fertin Pharma describes itself on its website as a global developer and manufacturer of “oral  and intra oral delivery systems”,³³⁷ these include gum, tablets, lozenges and pouch powders.³³⁸ Fertin’s website states that it sells 3 billion units annually.³³⁷ It supplies these generic delivery systems to a range of global nicotine brands including products traditionally thought of as pharmaceutical nicotine replacement therapies (NRT) such as Nicotinell.³³⁹³⁴⁰ Fertin’s tablet and gum products are also used for the delivery of non-nicotine products including cannabinoids (CBD), pain and allergy medication, sleep aids such as melatonin and vitamins.³³⁸

According to market research company Euromonitor, Nicotinell products held a little over 10% of the market share for all NRT products in 2022.³⁴¹ PMI’s acquisition therefore gives it a foothold in the global supply of NRT products.

PMI said that acquiring Fertin would enable them to develop various “botanicals and other selfcare wellness products”.³³⁴  On 15 September 2021, PMI announced that it had closed the deal.³⁴²

In 2022, the company became part of Vectura Fertin Pharma (see Vectura above).³²⁹

As of June 2023, PMI/Fertin’s ryze nicotine gum was being marketed in India,³⁴³ with trademarks registered or pending in multiple countries, including the Philippines, Indonesia, Cambodia, Lao PDR and Bhutan.³⁴⁴

AG Snus & nicotine pouches

In May 2021, PMI acquired Danish snus manufacturer AG Snus, which produces both tobacco leaf products and nicotine pouches.³⁴⁵³⁴⁶

Swedish Match

In 2021, PMI acquired Swedish Match, manufacturers of snus and nicotine pouches, with a large market share in Northern Europe and the US.³⁴⁷³⁴⁸

In 2021, PMI began referring to gums and nicotine pouches as “modern oral” products, as does BAT.³³⁴

• For more information see Newer Nicotine and Tobacco Products: Philip Morris International

PMI investment in a COVID-19 vaccine

Medicago

In May 2019, PMI invested CAD$15,975,000 for a 48% stake in Medicago, a Canadian biopharmaceutical company.³⁴⁹ In March 2020, Medicago began developing a COVID-19 vaccine that would be manufactured using tobacco plants.³⁵⁰ GlaxoSmithKline partnered with Medicago to assist in manufacture of the vaccine in July 2020,³⁵¹ and in October 2020, the Canadian government invested CA$173 million in Medicago’s vaccine.³⁵²

This government investment in a tobacco industry sponsored vaccine was widely criticised for demonstrating a “complete disregard for [Canada’s] treaty obligations under the Framework Convention for Tobacco Control,” according to Tobacco Control experts Joanna Cohen and Simon Chapman.³⁵³ PMI’s CEO at the time, André Calantzopoulos, welcomed the Canadian Government’s collaboration with the tobacco industry, saying “Better outcomes can be achieved when governments and companies join efforts to promote shared objectives for the greater good”.³⁵⁴

In February 2022, Health Canada approved Medicago’s Covifenz for distribution.³⁵⁵ At this point PMI held a 25% stake in the company.³⁵⁶ However, the WHO rejected Medicago’s request for emergency global use of its Covifenz vaccine in March 2022, due to Medicago’s ties to PMI.³⁵⁷

Medicago’s majority shareholder, Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma Corporation, removed PMI as a shareholder in December 2022, following an advocacy campaign led by Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) Canada and Corporate Accountability.³⁵⁸

In February 2023, Mitsubishi shut down Medicago, citing a lack of commercial viability for its Covifenz vaccine.³⁵⁹

• For more information see the COVID-19 monitoring database

Altria

Altria investments in oral nicotine products

Verve

Philip Morris US (an Altria company) had a nicotine lozenge called Verve, which they developed in 2012.²⁹⁹³⁶⁰ According to US researchers, Philip Morris believed it could avoid the use of warning labels, because Verve was made with nicotine extract, not tobacco.

• For more information on TobaccoTactics see Altria: Funding Scientists

From 2016 the Verve lozenge only appeared to be on sale in Virginia.²⁹⁹ and by 2019 it was discontinued.³⁶¹ In October 2021, the FDA gave approval to Altria to market new mint flavoured ‘discs’ and ‘chews’ in the US under the Verve brand.^361362363

However it is not clear if Altria intends to sell these gum and lozenge type products. The company stated that it had: “applied learnings from this successful application to our On submissions, which remain under review by FDA.”³⁶¹ (see below)

On! nicotine pouch

In 2019, Altria acquired On! nicotine pouches from a Swiss tobacco company. In 2020, it submitted 35 applications to the FDA for authorisation to market these products in the US.

• For details see Nicotine Pouches

On its website, Altria positions nicotine pouches alongside smokeless tobacco, heated tobacco products, and e-cigarettes, all of which it describes as “smoke-free”.³⁶⁴

Altria & BAT Interests in Lexaria Bioscience

Altria and BAT have connections with Canadian company Lexaria Bioscience, relating to its drug delivery technology ‘DehydraTECH’.³⁶⁵

It was reported that DehydraTECH allows oils, including cannabidiol (CBD), to be dehydrated, mixed with other ingredients and added to food, drinks and creams, enabling faster delivery into the bloodstream.³⁶⁶³⁶⁷ Altria acquired a nearly 17% share of Lexaria Bioscience subsidiary Lexaria Nicotine, gaining a seat on its board, and funded its research and development (R&D) programme in 2019 “to evaluate oral nicotine delivery performance”. ³⁶⁸ Altria also acquired non-exclusive licence rights to use DehydraTech.³⁶⁸ In 2020, BAT signed an R&D agreement with Lexaria Bioscience, which excluded the US (where Altria operates)).³⁶⁸

This appears to relate to the production of nicotine pouches and cannabis or CBD products.

Japan Tobacco

Japan Tobacco international (JTI) owns the Nordic Spirit brand of oral nicotine pouches.

Japan Tobacco has a pharmaceutical division, which has developed drugs designed to treat medical conditions, including heart disease and lung cancer.^369370371

In July 2021,  JT’s clinical trial list included a new drug (a PDHK inhibitor) to treat heart failure and “improve cardiac function”.³⁷²

Imperial Brands

Imperial owns nicotine pouch brands Skruf and zoneX.

• For details see Nicotine Pouches

Tobacco Tactics Resources

Newer Nicotine and Tobacco Products
Nicotine Pouches
Cannabis
Harm Reduction
Vectura

TCRG Research

• Tobacco industry messaging around harm: Narrative framing in PMI and BAT press releases and annual reports 2011 to 2021, I. Fitzpatrick, S. Dance, K. Silver, M. Violini, T.R. Hird, Frontiers in Public Health, 18 October 2022, doi:10.3389/fpubh.2022.958354

For a comprehensive list of all TCRG publications, including TCRG research that evaluates the impact of public health policy, go to the Bath TCRG’s list of publications.

References