In 2024, global tobacco companies showed growing differences as the market kept shifting. PMI widened its lead, BAT’s results fell with only nicotine pouches growing, JTI’s sales passed BAT, Altria faced pressure from illegal disposable e-cigarettes, and KT&G led in heated devices at home but relied on PMI to expand abroad.

KT&G’s supplier, ITM Semiconductor, posted $20 million in heated tobacco sales in the first quarter of 2025, up 5.6% from a year earlier and accounting for one-fifth of total revenue. Buoyed by rising demand for the Lil Hybrid 3.0 device, the firm plans to expand production capacity at its plants in South Korea and Vietnam.

The Korea Health Promotion Institute has called for stronger regulation of e-cigarettes and other novel tobacco products, emphasizing the need to protect minors from the influence of tobacco advertising.

Poland’s new excise tax on tobacco products is set to take effect in July 2025, imposing a levy of 40 zloty (around $10) per disposable e-cigarette containing e-liquid. Although the law has yet to be implemented, the market is already seeing a decline, with disposable vape sales in Q1 2025 down 22% yoy. Once the tax is enforced, prices are expected to rise from around $5 to nearly $13 per unit.

RELX Technology reported net revenue of RMB 810 million (US $110 million) for Q1 2025, down 0.6% quarter-over-quarter but up 46.5% year-over-year. On a non-GAAP basis, adjusted net profit for the quarter was RMB 250 million (US $34.6 million), a 0.2% decrease from the previous quarter and a 21.0% increase from a year earlier.