Tobacco Asia

64 tobaccoasia CLOSING NEWS 卷尾新闻 Canadian Calls to Combat Illicit Tobacco The Convenience Retailers Alliance 4 Safe Communities, an advocacy group calling for action against contraband tobacco in British Columbia, (BC), Canada, is calling for the govern- ment to pay more attention to the effects illicit trade has on government revenue and businesses. The Alliance pointed out illicit trade robs British Columbians of millions of dollars in provincial tax revenue that could go directly to supporting health and social programs. The organization expressed its disappointment more invest- ments were not made to improve community safety by preventing contraband tobacco in BC. According to the Alliance, there was an annual tax loss of approximately CA*$275 million for the BC government and a loss of approximately CA$126 million in tax revenue for the federal government in 2022 due to the illegal tobacco market. There is also a significant decline when it comes to tobacco tax projections in 2023-24 for BC. The tobacco tax revenue forecast has seen a steep decline from CA$644 million to CA$510 million., representing a decline of 21%. In a statement, the Alliance said, "It's time for the government to recognize that these losses in provincial tax revenue due to contraband tobacco add up. It's time for the government to address the lack of enforcement when it comes to illicit trade that makes our communities unsafe and fuels organized crime. It's time BC has a comprehensive plan to address the serious illicit tobacco trafficking problem." BC retailers are also asking the provincial government to address the growing problem of contraband tobacco in BC. • Loss of sales: Every year, lawful and licensed conve- nience store owners lose out on millions in revenue due to the prevalence of illegal tobacco sales. • Loss of tax revenue: Illicit trade robs British Columbi- ans of millions of dollars in provincial tax revenue that supports BC social programs. • Harming small businesses: Convenience store retailers in BC are suffering due to the inability to compete with organized crime groups. • Stronger enforcement and policies needed: Better policies are required to stop contraband tobacco from further devastating convenience retailers and BC communities. • BC.s inaction: Other provinces have acted to address the issue of contraband tobacco. It is time the BC government act to protect consumers, stores owners, and the safety of communities. Ex-CTP Director Joins Pharma Company Former director of the US Food and Drug Administration's Center for Tobacco Products (CTP), Mitch Zeller, joined the advisory board of pharma company Qnovia Inc. The company is developing a first-of-its-kind smoking cessation inhalation product, RespiRX, which looks similar to a pod-based vape that disperses an inhalable nicotine mist in metered doses. Zeller will provide regulatory and policy advice to Qnovia, formerly Respira Technologies. RespiRX is currently up for FDA Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER) certification. According to vape360.com, Respira Technologies ran a defamation campaign against e-cigarettes, spreading false information about Juul Labs and other manu- facturers of nicotine vaping devices, which Respira claimed may have contributed to some of the lung ailments reported in the 2019 "EVALI" study. In addition, Respira spread inaccurate information about British academics hired by Public Health England, claiming that one or more of them had financial ties to the tobacco industry. Mario Danek, the former c.e.o. and founder of the company, shared and possibly even wrote the unfounded claims. Last September, Brian Quigley, a former Altria Group executive, succeeded Danek as c.e.o. The accusations against Public Health England or Juul Labs are no longer on the corporate website. In a Bloomberg Law article, Zeller said RespiRX could benefit people who currently smoke but will no longer have access to standard cigarettes once FDA imposes its planned very low nicotine standard. ""The last thing that we want smokers to do if any of those policies go into effect is to simply switch to another tobacco product," Zeller said. New President and C.E.O. at Imperial Tobacco Canada Imperial Tobacco Canada (ITCAN) appointed Frank Silva as president and c.e.o. This appointment took effect April 1, 2023. Silva has a long history with ITCAN and its parent company BAT that includes roles at local, regional, and global levels. He has served as regional marketing director for BAT's Asia Pacific and Middle East region (APME), vice-president of marketing and sales at ITCAN, and marketing director for BAT UK & Ireland. At the global level, he was instrumental in developing BAT's harm reduction strategy, which is core to the company's expansion into new categories, currently focused on less harmful alternatives to smoking. Most recently, Silva worked with Reynolds American, BAT's division in the US. During that time he was senior vice president of digital and consumer experiential marketing, president of Reynolds sales & trade marketing services as well as senior vice president of Reynolds premium brand portfolio – Newport, Camel, and Natural American Spirit. His extensive experience and proven track record will be valuable assets to drive ITCAN's journey towards A Better Tomorrow. "I am thrilled to return home to ITCAN as president and c.e.o," said Silva. "I would like to extend my gratitude to my predecessor, Ralf Wittenberg, for his hard work and leadership over the past three years. He has left me a solid business with incredible people, and I believe we are well positioned to continue demonstrate leadership in the tobacco harm reduc- tion space.'' Wittenberg will return to BAT's global headquarters in London as commercial director, nicotine reduced risk products (RRP). Confidenciaal Launches in Japan Confidenciaal's Eric Piras and Antoine Riberet completed a Japan "road trip" to launch the brand in Tokyo, Osaka, Hiroshima, and Sapporo in March. Kicking off with a big bang in Tokyo, famous retro bar Havana1950 was filled with retailers, VIPs, aficionados, and a nice number of aficionadas who all discovered Confidenciaal while enjoying the tunes of a six-piece band. The other events in the other cities were a little more intimate but definitely as *US$1.00 = CA$1.36

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