Weekly Report on Global Vaping Industry (December 12.5-12.11)

Global E-cigarette Industry Weekly (Dec. 5-11)

1. The ban on vape in Macao entered into force today (December 5). The new law prohibits all activities related to the production, sale, distribution, import and export of vape.

2.Taiyuan Municipal Postal Administration will limit the amount of express delivery of vape products, holders, nicotine used for vapes on December 5. From now on, each person will send one piece per day, with no more than one allowed.

3. The "Seminar on Green and Low-carbon Development of E-cigarette Industry" kicked off in Shenzhen on December 7. The seminar was sponsored by Shenzhen Yueche Network Technology Co., Ltd., co-organized by South China Branch of China Electronics Standardization Institute, and supported by the Electronic Cigarette Professional Committee of China Electronics Chamber of Commerce (ECCC), aiming to provide support for the green and low-carbon development of the vaping industry.

4. A total of 340 tobacco-related cases were investigated from January to November this year announced by Tobacco Monopoly Bureau in Xinyu City on December 9. Among which 70 are major cases worth more than RMB 50,000, with a year-on-year increase of 22 cases and an increase of 45%. Besides, 9.17 million illegal cigarettes were seized, with a year-on-year increase of 28%.

Global E-cigarette Industry Weekly (Dec. 5-11)

# Americas #

 CuraleafHoldings, U.S. cannabis multinational operator, is negotiating with the Nasdaq and Toronto Stock Exchange to obtain more investment and financing opportunities through the listing of the Canadian Securities Exchange.

 New Mexico has sued a dozen tobacco companies for conspiracy to obtain undue benefits and default. These companies are required to withhold annual payments due under the litigation settlement agreement.

 Nextleaf partnered with NOYA cannabis to launch THC vapes in Canada. The product will be first on sale in Ontario, Canada's largest adult cannabis market.

#Europe#

 The vaping industry grew by 23.4% from 2017 to 2021, an increase of £251m to £1.325 billion (approximately RMB 11.4 billion) in 2021 according to the Center for Economics and Business Research.

#Asia#

 Stock market rose for the fifth consecutive trading day in Sri Lanka, buoyed by expectations of a rebound in the country's tourism sector amid slowing inflation. Two tobacco companies, CeylonTobaccoCompanyPLC and LOLCHoldingsPLC, rose 6.5% and 3.6% respectively.

 Indonesia's excise tax on tobacco will rise by 10 percent over the next two years. The average growth rate of the vape is expected to be 15% over five years.

# North America #

 The Canadian government of Newfoundland and Labrador all lifted the ban launched in late 2019 on the sale of cannabis vape products.

 Mexican regulators announced that they will enhance regulation of vape and step up efforts to crack down on the sale of vape ads on social networks.

 President Biden has officially signed the cannabis reform bill, the Cannabis and Cannabidiol Research Law, which will provide a guarantee mechanism for scientific research of medical cannabis.

 Contra Costa County will allow the sale and delivery of odorless cannabis vape products. Meanwhile, the sale of tobacco vape products, flavored tobacco products, menthol cigarettes and flavored cannabis products in the independent territories is also prohibited.

 The U.S. Oregon Liquor and Cannabis Board has issued mandatory recalls for cannabis products that contained pesticides. These calls exerted impacts on 13,600 products sold and 9,800 products sold in pharmacies.

 The survey task force of the United States Department of Homeland Security together with the Hall County Sheriff's Office seized two packages containing 900 THC vapes worth approximately $30,000 at a local distribution center (approximately RMB 210,000).

#Europe#

 The Dutch Ministry of Public Health said the tobacco excise tax would increase by 1.22 euros this year and next. Cigarettes and tobaccos can't be sold in supermarkets from 2024. Dutch vape products will only be sold in specialty stores from 2025. Besides, tobacco products will only be allowed to be sold in specialty stores from 2032.

 Flavor ban in Dutch will come into effect on October 1, 2023. The ban is for vapes contained nicotine and nicotine-free, or the pod system vapes and disposables.

 Russia's Ministry of Industry and Trade announced it would launch the mandatory labeling of vape on December 15.

 The General Administration of Customs of the Russian Federation seized more than 19 tons of drugs and more than 78 million packets of cigarettes from illicit circulation.

 The Norwegian government plans to halve the tax-free tobacco allowance for foreign tourists by January 1, 2023. The new duty-free quota for tobacco is 100 cigarettes or 125 grams of other tobacco products and 100 sheets of cigarette papers.

 The Charted Trading Standards Institute has seized more than 5,000 illegal vapes in a South Yorkshire campaign against illegal products, involving more than £50,000 (about RMB 430,000).

 The UK’s E-Cigarette Summit 2022 kicked off at 9:00 a.m. (UK time) on December 9 at the Royal College of Physicians, London. The summit will focus on harm reduction issues concerned by the vape business community, academia and the public, with discussion and exchange through speeches and discussions. 2FIRSTS covered the important agenda of the summit.

 The EU will propose a vape tax as part of an amendment to the tobacco tax that would double the excise duty in member states with low cigarette taxes.

 The Belarusian legislature is considering revising the draft amendment to the tax law that would double the price of cigarettes from 43.56 roubles (about RMB 4.8) per thousand to 55.6 roubles (about RMB 6.2) in 2023.

 Sweden is opposed to the raising of the excise duty on vape proposed by EU. The EU also issued a tax proposal to increase the minimum excise tax from 1.8 euros to 3.6 euros per packet of 20 cigarettes.

#Oceania#

 Australia has passed a new smoking bill that will ban menthol and other flavored cigarettes, with health warnings and "ugly" colors marked on these products.

 More than 300 vape products have been removed and 1,800 are under review in New Zealand.

#Asia#

 Chatchart, mayor of Bangkok, Thailand, plans to propose amendments to the law that would impose "tobacco and hotel taxes" and establish a local tax information system to boost Bangkok's revenues.

 905 pieces of vape parts and 6,400 pieces of vape pieces worth TRY 810,000 (about RMB 300,000) were seized during the operation of the Turkish Customs Enforcement Force.

SMOORE

 FEELM is the flagship atomization of SMOORE, the world's largest vapor maker, and it announced the launch of a new sustainable product line called FUTURE. The product is designed to be easily disassembled and recycled, encouraging consumers to keep environmental awareness.

Four International Tobacco Companies

 At the same time, the shares of the three tobacco companies, Philip Morris International, British American Tobacco, and Imperial Tobacco Ltd, soared in November and then continued to rise; The shares of Japanese tobacco fell from highs on November 24.

British American Tobacco (BAT)

 British American Tobacco expects that the revenue of new-type tobacco business will grow by 2%-4% in 2022. Its new-type tobacco business aims to generate £5 billion (about RMB42.6 billion) in revenue by 2025.

 British American Tobacco is recognized as the top exporter in Nigeria, and the Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC) regards BAT as the largest contributor to the export of non-oil products to African markets.

JUUL

 The vape maker JUUL was in a dilemma and announced that a settlement had been reached with more than 10,000 plaintiffs in more than 5,000 cases on the evening of December 6.

Swisher

 Swisher, a well-known American cigarette company, appointed Jeffrey Brown as executive vice president of sales. Brown has more than 37 years of industry experience in multiple CPG categories including cigars, vape, and cannabidiol (CBD).

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