Latest innovations in the world of tobacco

The Tobacco Plus Expo 2018 may still be weeks away, but it is already shaping up to be one of the premier events in the quickly evolving tobacco industry, a category that is in the midst of change as new products become available. TPE is the largest business-to-business tobacco trade show highlighting tobacco, vapor, alternatives and general merchandise products available in the ever-evolving market.

The part trade show, part conference, TPE attracts many the top vendors and retailers across a broad spectrum of retail channels, all looking to get a first glimpse at the latest trends. TPE 2018 will be held Jan. 30 to Feb. 1 at the Las Vegas Convention Center and feature a range of industry speakers, idea exchanges, social events and plenty of networking opportunities. While there are many returning vendors, expo officials said more than one-third of the exhibitors this year are new merchants — a key sign, they noted, of a growing industry.

Also, new this year, the National Association of Tobacco Outlets is aligning with TPE 2018 to bring its industry outlook to attendees. The association will present the NATO Industry Outlook on Jan. 30.

“For this expo, our goal is to provide retailers with the right tools and information to put their best foot forward this year,” said Ben Stimpson, managing director of the Tobacco Media Group, the parent company of TPE. “From a show floor full of in-demand, on-trend products and exclusive show specials, to conference tracks offering new tricks of the trade and networking spaces that allow everyone to relax and blow off some steam, this conference offers something for everyone in the industry.”

One look at all the new products launching this year at TPE and elsewhere, and it is clear that retailers that offer choices that appeal to a wide spectrum of consumer interests will be among those that grow sales in the category this year.

Heeding this advice, Sandy Hook, Conn.-based Smokey Mountain Chew is introducing Airio. Company officials described Airio as a pressurized filter that has the ability to remove over half of the tar and other chemicals from a cigarette.

Dave Savoca, president of Smokey Mountain, said the product was created to address the consumers’ desire for alternatives within the tobacco category. Measuring at just half an inch, Airio may be small in size, but what it lacks in stature it makes up for with features. For instance, in addition to removing chemicals from cigarettes, Airio also can be used to help adult consumers looking to manage their cigarette intake or quit. Made in the United States, a 20-filter pack has a suggested retail price of $1.99. Smokey Mountain is offering retailers a buy 10 packs and get two packs free promotion.

While a good number of consumers are attracted to high-tech vaping options, Savoca pointed out that a similar number of consumers are looking for more choices within the tobacco category itself. “A significant amount of time and energy went into creating this product,” said Savoca. “Airio is positioned to bring incremental sales to the category at a time when many consumers are demonstrating that they are open to alternatives.”

Come to the end of February, consumers will be seeing some changes to blu product packaging. Company officials for the Charlotte, N.C. -based company noted that the move is being done to remain in compliance with new FDA packaging requirements.

In addition to adding warning verbiage to packaging and advertising, blu’s PLUS+ Xpress Kit will come in a paper box similar to the company’s current disposables packaging. The company also is changing the way it categorizes its e-liquid nicotine strengths. Previously, blue classified products using HIGH, MED and NON. The new version will include percentage amounts that reflect the amount of nicotine in the e-liquid: 2.4%, 1.2% and 0%.

The company’s website offers retailers and consumers detailed information about the different nicotine strengths in e-liquid under the “Explore Vaping” section. Officials noted that during this transitional period, some shipments may contain a mix of past and updated packaging or labels.

Matt Kessler, global brand public relations and entertainment marketing director for blu, pointed out that while the company is working on these compliance changes, they took the liberty of making some additional updates of their own.  One of the changes the company is making is to its blu disposables box. The box will soon feature a new eye-catching design, and its look will be more consistent with existing packaging.

According to some experts, heat-not-burn — a new type of tobacco product that’s trending overseas — could potentially overtake e-cigarettes in popularity within the United States, assuming the Food and Drug Administration approves it.

Heat-not-burn tobacco products contain electronic devices capable of heating tobacco. As the tobacco becomes warm, it produces an inhalable aerosol. Whereas e-cigarettes contain a flavored liquid nicotine, heat-not-burn products use real tobacco.

The idea behind heat-not-burn is to offer users an experience that looks and feels like smoking a regular cigarette without having to inhale combusted tobacco. Tobacco companies claim that heat-not-burn products are less harmful than cigarettes.

Currently, heat-not-burn products aren’t for sale in the United States, but that may be changing soon. Philip Morris is seeking approval from the FDA to sell IQOS (I-Quit-Ordinary-Smoking), under its Marlboro brand. According to the Richmond, Va.-based company’s research, smoking IQOS offers reduced toxicity, lower levels of harmful and potentially harmful chemicals, and has minimal impact on lung or heart health (in animal studies) when compared with regular cigarettes.

However, given that the product is being brought to market as a modified risk tobacco product, a designation given by the FDA that refers to “tobacco products that are sold or distributed for use to reduce harm or the risk of tobacco-related disease associated with commercially marketed tobacco products,” it must first pass an arduous review.

Industry officials expected the FDA to make its decision in the next few months. If approved, the IQOS would be the first device to carry a modified risk tobacco product designation. IQOS already is available in over 25 countries worldwide.

Industry observers are bullish on the device and predict that, should it be approved for use in the United States, heat-not-burn products will quickly become popular, especially with e-cigarette users. “This is an innovative new form of nicotine consumption that offers a distinct ‘throat-hit’ — a physical feeling of smoking cigarettes, which is an experience that is often missing from vaporizers or e-cigarette devices,” noted one observer. “Based on what we are seeing in terms of its use in other countries, combined with a more informal measurement of what is trending online, all signs point to heat-not-burn devices becoming the next big trend in the tobacco category for 2018, even overtaking e-cigarettes.”