The development of flavoured capsule cigarettes, an indicator of the tobacco industry's intentions

Despite the declarations of some tobacco multinationals to do away with smoked tobacco, their development, innovation and marketing strategies for flavoured capsule cigarettes suggest on the contrary a desire to perpetuate this market. Circumventions of legislation banning characteristic flavours are evidence of this trend.

Launched in the early 2000s, the market for flavoured capsule cigarettes has been booming since 2007. The filter of these cigarettes contains one or more capsules which, under pressure from the fingers and lips, can release a liquid, gel or powder containing one or more flavours with a very strong taste.

These products, developed to counter the erosion of tobacco sales and sold at a higher price than other cigarettes, have been very successful in certain regions of the world, particularly in Latin America, as well as in Russia and neighbouring countries. Among the ten countries with the highest consumption of capsule cigarettes, there are no fewer than four Latin American countries (Chile, Peru, Guatemala, Mexico), where sales of these products have increased by 50 % since 2015.

The pace of innovation in these capsule cigarettes indicates that they are a highly valued segment for the tobacco industry, which, despite solemn declarations about reducing the risks associated with smoking, does not seem to be giving up on smoked tobacco products. A study bringing together researchers from Scotland, Guatemala, Peru, Mexico and the United States takes stock of this flourishing market[1].

Aromas, a hook to trap young people and women

Like most flavored tobacco products, capsule cigarettes are primarily vehicles for experimentation and initiation into smoking.[2]. Aggressively marketed to young people, highly prized by women, these products hide the harsh taste of tobacco and allow deeper puffs, which facilitates the development of nicotine addiction. Mainly centered on mint and menthol, the capsule flavors are also available in many references. 80 varieties of flavors have been counted in China, while this type of cigarette has only existed there since 2014.

To circumvent the legislation of countries that have banned advertising, marketing efforts have relied primarily on packaging design and point-of-sale displays. Brand-specific signage indicates on the pack that cigarette filters contain a capsule. The presence of this capsule may also be visible on the filter, outside the packaging, when cigarettes are given away, as is common among adolescents, or sold individually, particularly in low- and middle-income countries.

Circumvention of legislation on flavours and plain packaging

Although characteristic flavours have already been banned in at least 35 countries, tobacco manufacturers have implemented various countermeasures to ensure that the capsule cigarette market maintains that of cigarettes. In Europe, Japan Tobacco International (JTI) has acknowledged adding menthol to its Silk Cut Choice Green but believes that it is not violating the law on characteristic flavours because these cigarettes have a tobacco taste and smell. Some capsule cigarette brands have changed, but the products have been kept on the market, sometimes in new variations. In Brazil, the ban on flavours only came into effect in 2020, after eight years of legal proceedings by the tobacco industry.

Tobacco manufacturers are competing in ingenuity to exploit all regulatory loopholes. In Canada, cigarillos Capsules were thus marketed because they escaped the laws on cigarettes. Separate capsules were also put on sale, intended for rolling tobacco or to be inserted into a cigarette filter adapted for the occasion.[3]. Countries that have implemented standardised plain packaging benefit from a relative protective effect with regard to communication through packaging, but the legislation is circumvented by the renaming of capsule cigarette brands. In 2019, two years after the introduction of plain packaging in Wales, 42% of regular adolescent smokers aged 11 to 16 consumed capsule cigarettes.

Tobacco industry's harm reduction narrative called into question

This review of the tobacco industry's actions regarding capsule cigarettes allows the authors to doubt its real intentions to put an end to sales of smoked tobacco.

Despite the harm reduction rhetoric of the Smoke-Free World Foundation (funded exclusively by Philip Morris International) or British American Tobacco's "A Better Tomorrow" campaign, the facts show that tobacco multinationals have been steadily strengthening and renewing the capsule cigarette segment in recent years. The marketing of these products, clearly geared towards young people, testifies that manufacturers continue to seek "replacement" smokers to perpetuate the market for smoked cigarettes, which still accounts for at least 70% of their turnover. Legal maneuvers aimed at preventing or delaying the establishment of legislations against tobacco flavors are all indicators of their lack of interest in a world without smoked tobacco.

To counter this industrial strategy, the authors of the study call for a halt to the development and marketing of all innovations intended for combustible tobacco products. They recommend approaches aimed at making cigarettes "deterrent", for example by implementing health warnings on cigarette paper.

Keywords: capsule cigarettes, JTI, PMI, BAT, Latin America©Tobacco Free Generation

M.F.

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[1] Moodie C, Thrasher J, Barnoya J, Mejia R, Barrientos-Gutierrez I, Zavaleta A, Chaloupka F, Tobacco industry claims about transformation are inconsistent with combustible cigarette innovations: The case of flavor capsule cigarettes, Nicotine & Tobacco Research, 2022; ntac224. https://doi.org/10.1093/ntr/ntac224[2] Villanti AC, Collins LK, Niaura RS, Gagosian SY, Abrams DB. Menthol cigarettes and the public health standard: a systematic review. BMC Pub Health 2017;17(1):983.[3] van der Eijk Y, Teo KW, Tan GPP, Chua WM. Tobacco industry strategies for capsule flavor cigarettes: analysis of patents and internal industry documents. Tob Control, Epub ahead of print: 09/27/2022. doi:10.1136/tobaccocontrol-2021-056792National Committee Against Smoking |