News&ViewsPodcast | Tobacco Asia - InterTabac

Host Thomas Schmid interviews Paul Varakas, Director-General of ECMA, the Brussels-based trade association representing over 30 European cigar and cigarillo manufacturers, most of them family-owned MSEs. Paul argues that cigars are artisanal, occasionally consumed products — primarily by adults over 35 — and should not face the same regulations as cigarettes. He pushes back against one-size-fits-all tobacco policies, citing Eurobarometer data showing negligible youth consumption. He welcomes the European Parliament's recent rejection of a Commission proposal to raise cigar taxes by up to 1,000%, and encourages listeners to submit evidence to the EU's ongoing tobacco regulation consultation at ecma.eu.

Tobacco Asia’s Thomas Schmid interviews Hugo Azinheira, Executive Director for Global Research and Innovation at Filtrona, discussing the company's ESG and SBTi commitments. Hugo marks 2025 as a turning point, with Filtrona transitioning from setting sustainability goals to executing them at scale. Key achievements include a 51% reduction in Scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas emissions, zero waste to landfill, 37% renewable electricity use, and EcoVadis Gold status. Hugo stresses that sustainability is embedded in daily operations across the company’s nine global manufacturing sites — not just annual reporting. Looking ahead, Filtrona plans to expand renewable energy, grow its plastic-free...

Thomas Schmid interviews Mark McQuillan, the managing director of Nicobrand, one of the world's largest pharmaceutical-grade nicotine suppliers. McQuillan explains what truly qualifies nicotine as "pharmaceutical grade." For instance, beyond basic monographs, it requires regulatory audits, drug master files, and strict impurity controls. McQuillan argues that all next-generation products like pouches and e-liquids should use pharma-grade nicotine to ensure consumer safety. The global nicotine market is roughly 1,000–1,500 metric tons annually, with nicotine pouches growing fastest. McQuillan also stresses the importance of supply chain transparency and correcting the widespread misconception that nicotine itself causes cancer.

In this episode, Thomas Schmid speaks with developmental neurobiologist Dr. Charles A. Gardner about the demonization of nicotine. Gardner explains that nicotine has been wrongly conflated with tobacco and smoking, leading to widespread misinformation — including 80% of US physicians falsely believing nicotine causes cancer.

Gardner argues that safer alternatives like vapes, pouches, and snus are vital harm reduction tools, yet prohibitionist policies often ban them while leaving deadly cigarettes legal. Prohibition, he notes, drives products underground and worsens outcomes.

Gardner also highlights nicotine's potential health benefits: helping prevent Parkinson's and Alzheimer's, reducing symptoms of ADHD, Tourette’s syndrome, BPD, and...