Tobacco Reporter, A Well-known Tobacco Industry Magazine With 150 Years Of History, Announced That It Would Cease Publication

Tobacco Reporter, a well-known tobacco industry magazine with 150 years of history, announced that it would cease publication

Due to the parent company's reluctance to continue investing, the 150-year-old tobacco industry magazine Tobacco Reporter announced that it would cease publication and turn into an online media. Another e-cigarette magazine media under the same group, Vapor Voice, also ceased operations at the same time. As its last cover said: the end of an era.

Recently, the world-renowned tobacco industry magazine "Tobacco Reporter" (translated as "Tobacco Communication" in Chinese), which has a history of 150 years, announced that it will no longer continue to publish from January 1, 2025. At the same time, its sister publication, "Vapor Voice", which is positioned as an e-cigarette industry media, also plans to end operations at the end of December.

150 years of development history, one of the best tobacco professional media

Tobacco Reporter was founded in 1874. According to the producer Elise Rasmussen, the magazine was originally called Western Tobacco Journal. It was originally a small weekly newspaper published in the Cincinnati area of ​​Ohio, providing information to farmers who grow tobacco along the Ohio River. Over time, manufacturers, processors, importers, exporters, and all kinds of readers interested in tobacco gradually joined the magazine's readership. Soon, it developed into a comprehensive monthly magazine and was shipped to more than 100 countries around the world. The magazine was officially renamed Tobacco Reporter in 1966 and was acquired by a small North Carolina publishing company called "Specialized Agricultural Communications" in 1982.

In January 2019, Tobacco Reporter's parent company was acquired by TMA (Tobacco Merchants Association). The decision to terminate the publication of Tobacco Reporter was also made by TMA.

Tobacco Reporter publisher Elise Rasmussen published an article in the last issue of the magazine, titled "The Last Issue". | Source: Tobacco Reporter

As one of the most historic and influential tobacco industry media in the world, Tobacco Reporter has made a lot of efforts in news reporting. Elise Rasmussen mentioned that the current editor-in-chief Taco Tuinstra took this position in 1996 and had hiked, canoed, and even sat in a jeep to track the footprints of illegal distribution networks. He has been to the tri-border areas of North Korea and Latin America, as well as the lawless areas at the border between Pakistan and Afghanistan. Locals mentioned that he was the first Western visitor to enter these areas without an armed escort since the 9/11 terrorist attacks in the United States.

Decision to terminate publication due to financial unsustainability

According to the article published by Tobacco Reporter editor-in-chief Taco Tuinstra in the last issue of the magazine, the main reason for the suspension of Tobacco Reporter's publication was financial problems, and the parent company TMA decided not to invest in Tobacco Reporter anymore. Taco Tuinstra used the term "tobacco endgame" to describe the current situation facing the tobacco industry.

Publisher Elise Rasmussen made a similar statement.

"After a difficult process examining the financial sustainability of a full-fledged trade magazine in the information age, the current TR stewards, the TMA (soon to be Nicotine Resource Consortium), made the very tough decision to convert tobaccoreporter.com to a news platform and wind down the magazine publishing part of TR."

"After examining the financial sustainability of a full-fledged trade magazine in the information age, the current managers of Tobacco Reporter, TMA (soon to be Nicotine Resource Consortium), made a very tough decision to convert tobaccoreporter.com to a news platform and wind down the magazine publishing part of TR."

The above information also revealed the fact that its parent company will change from TMA to Nicotine Resource Consortium.

Based on the above statement, it can be inferred that under the global background of the shrinking traditional tobacco market, the publication of Tobacco Reporter magazine cannot make enough profit and needs the financial support of its parent company TMA.

Staff laid off, online platform continues to operate

Taco Tuinstra said that many editors of Tobacco Reporter will start looking for new jobs, and he will also leave. He also emphasized that the closure of Tobacco Reporter is based on commercial factors, not the problem of the editorial team's ability.

Taco Tuinstra, editor-in-chief of Tobacco Reporter, published an article in the last issue of the magazine, titled "The End of an Era". ｜Photo source: Tobacco Reporter

Elise Rasmussen said that tobaccoporter.com will transform into a news platform and continue to operate. And she hopes that readers will continue to pay attention to how Tobacco Reporter transforms into a news service platform. In addition, she also mentioned that the ATNF and GTNF conferences will continue to operate, and these activities are also affiliated with TMA and are under the charge of Elise Rasmussen.

2Firsts once reported on GTNF on the spot and interviewed Brian King, the head of CTP at the US FDA. Source: 2Firsts