Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/724263
16 tobaccoasia FRONT PAGE NEWS 卷首新闻 which provisions affecting retailers are going into effect. As of that date, retailers: - must not sell e-cigarettes, hookah or pipe tobacco, or cigars to people under 18 years of age; - must check photo ID of everyone under age 27 who is attempting to purchase such products; - must not sell tobacco products covered under the rule in a vending machine (except in a facility where people under age 18 are not allowed on the premises); and - must not give away free samples of any newly regulated tobacco products (this provision also applies to manufac- turers, importers, and distributors). Also, as of Aug. 8, manufacturers are prohibited from marketing "modified- risk tobacco products" without an FDA order in place. Among other interlocking compliance requirements for tobacco products and several provisions related to limiting youth access to covered products that we are not describing, as of that date: - e-cigarette manufacturers and distributors will be required to register their manufacturing establishments with FDA and list their products; - manufacturers will be required to submit ingredient lists to FDA and report harmful and potentially harmful constituents; and - new warning label statements about tobacco-addictiveness will be required on packaging and in advertisements. Those warning statements apply only to "covered tobacco products," which excludes any component or part that is not made or derived from tobacco. In addition, August 8 is a critical date for all newly deemed tobacco products, because they are now subject to premar- ket authorization from FDA. The agency has implemented that market authorization requirements as follows: - Tobacco products that were on the market prior to Feb. 15, 2007 are grandfathered in and do not require any sort of premarket authorization. - Tobacco products that were on the market before the effective date (Aug. 8, 2016) but were not on the market as of February 15, 2007 are required to obtain premarket authorization. For these products, FDA has provided two compliance periods – the first is a deadline for an application to be submitted and the second is a deadline for receiving authorization. FDA has no plans to take enforcement action against any products that remain on the market during these compliance periods provided that applications are submitted; the agency also has stated its intention to review all these incoming applications expeditiously. - Tobacco products that were not on the market as of the effective date cannot be introduced without marketing authorization from FDA and will be subject to enforcement if distributed and sold without authorization after August 8. FDA said modified-risk tobacco products using descriptors such as "low," "light," or "mild" will be provided additional time to comply. Aug. 8 also marks the deadline for manufacturers of newly deemed products to introduce new products without first obtaining FDA approval. Products on the market as of Aug. 8 will be provided additional time to comply with certain submission requirements, such as ingredient listing, health document submission, and premarket tobacco applications. The press release acknowledged that additional requirements for retailers and manufacturers will become effective at the end of the month, the end of 2016 and in the years that follow. US JTI's Forecast Misses Estimate Japan Tobacco Inc. (JTI), Asia's largest listed cigarette maker, raised its full-year forecast by less than most analysts expected as a stronger yen eroded the value of overseas sales and price increases undermined domestic demand for cigarettes. Net income will probably be ¥409 billion (US$4 billion) for 2016, the company said in a statement Monday. That compares with the ¥419 billion average of 17 analyst estimates compiled by Bloomberg. The cigarette maker forecast annual profit at ¥399 billion in May, when it also set a sales target of ¥2.2 trillion. It lowered the sales outlook to ¥2.12 trillion on Monday. JTI, which has raised revenue from outside the country to about 60% of the total last year, compared with about 48% in 2011, said exchange rate fluctuations would probably pare adjusted operating profit by ¥111 billion this year. Still, the cigarette maker is "seeking further geographical expansion outside Japan," Japan Tobacco executive deputy president Hideki Miyazaki said. A shrinking population and rising concern about the health risks of smoking in Japan are sapping demand, prompting the company to pursue expansion in faster growing markets. Japan Tobacco agreed to pay $510 million for a 40% stake in Ethiopia's National Tobacco Enterprise last month, after completing a deal in January to buy the international rights to Reynolds American Inc.'s Natural American Spirit brand. Demand is "strong" in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia, Miyazaki said. The company left its annual dividend forecast at ¥128 per share for this year. Singapore POS Ban Planned The point-of-sale display ban on tobacco products – approved in Singapore's parliament in March – takes effect on August 1, 2017. Retailers have a one-year grace period before the ban goes into effect, a joint statement by the Ministry of Health (MOH) and the Health Sciences Authority (HSA) said recently. MOH has beefed up tobacco control measures in a bid to protect public health and reduce tobacco consumption, particularly among younger Singapor- eans. These include previously an- nounced amendments to the tobacco (control of advertisements and sale) act, such as bans on emerging tobacco products and shisha. General tobacco retailers will be required to use plain, undecorated storage devices to keep tobacco prod- ucts within their premises out of the direct line of sight of the public and