Gearing up for legal cannabis

Posted on by

Tobacco Journal International May 2024

Dried cannabis on gavel standThe legal recreational use of cannabis for smoking, eating and drinking has skyrocketed in  the United States in the more than 10 years since the state of Colorado became the first US jurisdiction to legalise the plant for adult recreational consumers in January 2014.1 As of 29 February 2024, some 38 states have legalised the use of marijuana for medicinal purposes and 24 of these (plus the federal District of Columbia) also allow recreational consumption. More states are expected to follow suit this year, with liberalisation proposals under consideration in Florida, Hawaii, South Dakota and New Hampshire.
As a result, analysts from Germany-based statistical analysis service Statista said annual American sales of legal, regulated cannabis products have already exceeded USD
30 billion. Continue reading →

North America market report: Weak demand and expanding regulations affect coatings industry

Posted on by

Polymers Paint Colour Journal April 30, 2024

Ed Zwirn, New York, Heba Hashem, Niagara Falls and Keith Nuthall report on how the North American coatings sector is struggling with weak demand and expanding regulations

The North American paint and coatings sector has been treading water as it struggles against flat demand and increasing regulatory burdens. In the USA, the paint and coatings industry has faced declining sales volumes prompted by tailwinds in the construction sector. At the same time, industry value increased slightly last year, propelled by solid margins and growth in OEM (original equipment manufacturer) purchases and special coatings sales.
Continue reading →

Focus on automotive: Automotive industry transforms towards sustainability model

Posted on by

Polymers Paint Colour Journal Feb. 6 2024

By Ed Zwirn, New York, Julian Ryall, Tokyo and Sara Lewis, Brussels, report for PPCJ on the latest trends and innovations in the automotiv
coatings industry

The automotive industry is undergoing transformational change as it moves toward low or zero emissions technology such as electric vehicles – so it is no surprise that significant innovation is being introduced to vehicle paints and coatings. Continue reading →

Millennials spend billions on Halloween for social media fame: survey

Posted on by

By Ed Zwirn

New York Post Oct. 26 2019

Welcome to a boo-tiful new world.

Halloween used to be an occasion to spook your neighbors in person, with costume and candy sales driven by trick-or-treaters and/or those looking to make the scene at parties and clubs.

But even as Halloween continues to generate strong retail revenue, not only is the shopping (and influencing) migrating online, but so are the venues at which costume purchasers intend to strut their stuff — with Instagram and Snapchat taking the place of face-to-face encounters.

Continue reading →