Tobacco Asia

Volume 19, Number 2

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24 tobaccoasia PRODUCT NEWS 产品新闻 US Induction Vaporizer Demo Loto Labs, a Silicon Valley startup focused on designing and producing the world's first induction-powered vapor- izer financed through a crowd-funding campaign on Indiegogo, recently announced that the prototype of their flagship product, Evoke, will be available for public testing. Marketed as an ergonomically designed, patent-pending, "smart" portable vaporizer, Evoke is a first-of-its-kind in the industry. It uses induction heating, premium components and a microprocessor control to vaporize e-liquids, concentrates, or dry herb from a single, aesthetically-pleasing device. Evoke will be available to vaping enthusiasts for pre-order at a price of only US$299. Traditional vaporizers use a wick and coil system and have drawbacks including inconvenient parts replace- ment and unwanted combustion during vaporization. The Evoke vaporizer was developed to address these problems by using induction technology, a robust next generation heating system that heats quickly and evenly. Evoke's vaporization core is the result of extensive scientific research and development and features a proprietary, induction-based heating system that vaporizes material using electro-magnet- ic fields. The Evoke has three different swappable induction cores: one designed for concentrates, one for dry herb, and one for eliquids, making it appealing to a broad range of vaping aficionados. US/Sweden No Break for Snus A bid by Swedish Match to be the first company in the US to display milder warnings on its tobacco product suffered a legal blow when a panel of experts convened by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) concluded that the proposed label did not fully convey the product's health risks. The company argues that its product, snus, is far less harmful than cigarettes and that any warning label should reflect that. The company argued that the existing rules, which treat all tobacco products as equally dangerous, are misleading and actually endanger consumers. But the panel of outside experts repeatedly said more studies were needed before they could be sure such a change was justified for a tobacco product. They said that the research the company presented did not rule out certain health risks, such as adverse effects in pregnancy, and that the proposed label did not reflect that. The panel's recommendations are not binding, but opponents of smoking said the FDA is unlikely to approve the company's application after the meeting gave it the cold shoulder. "FDA will have no choice but to reject Swedish Match's application," said Eric Piras Launches Cigraal One of the most well known personalities in the cigar industry, Eric Piras, is making a new strategic move. With large players in his arms, he announces the launch of a new company, Cigraal, set up to provide global distribution (outside the US), advertising, marketing, and promotion services of cigars and tobacco products. From the best factories on the planet to worldwide distribution circuits, Cigraal presents a pioneering concept. The new company will be a unique actor able to globally address all markets with a range of products going from machine-made to the top hand-made cigars. Piras is one of the happy few having a thorough knowledge of the cigar universe, from Cuba to the Dominican Republic and throughout Central American cigar productions, all the way through to the global distribution markets. Cigraal's extended network covers the American continent as well as Europe, Middle East, Africa, and Asia. Cigraal also has a very specific expertise in the greater China landscape, the market that all companies are currently eying. Maya Selva, one of Cigraal's strategic partners says, "We're very excited to start working on our worldwide presence with Cigraal, it's an ideal solution for marketing our cigars globally." While Roberto Pelayo Duran says, "I have known Eric for a very long time and I am convinced that our association with Cigraal will result in impressive results for our brands." Gustavo Velayos from La Aurora shares this enthusiasm: "We are looking forward to witnessing the strong development of Principes in Africa and Middle-East!". Cigraal is a play on the words "cigar" and "grail" which means the Holy Grail in French. Cigraal will be managing the international distribution of Maya Selva cigars (outside of France, Germany, and US), Azan Tobacco (outside of US) and Principes (in Africa and Middle East). Piras has significant management experience in the tobacco trade and a strong global expertise in sales and marketing for premium and machine-made cigars. Based in Hong Kong, Piras has almost 20 years experience in the cigar industry in Asia- Pacific. His network is diverse, especially strong in Asia where he has built close relationships with various actors of the cigar and food and beverage business.

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