Author: Staff Writer

First Vapor Industry Trade Show of 2022 Opens in Vegas

The first industry trade show of the year opened its doors yesterday in Las Vegas. The Tobacco Plus Expo (TPE) runs from Jan. 26-28 and brings together representatives from several segments of the vapor, tobacco and alternative product industries. The number of exhibitors this year increased significantly compared to last year’s show, which was held in May after being postponed for four months, rising to 425 exhibitors compared to 350 in 2021.
Attendance for the first day of the show was an estimated 4,000 visitors, according to a TPE representative. That’s a nearly 30 percent increase from opening day for last year’s event which drew an estimated 2,500 to 3,000 visitors. The show didn’t “feel” like there were that many attendees, however, it’s such a large floorplan it would be impossible to guess an estimate.
There was a noticeable reduction in the number of nicotine vaping companies showing on the floor. The impact of premarket tobacco product applications (PMTAs) and PACT Act regulation was evident. There were only an estimated 12–14 e-liquid vendors, including Coastal Clouds, BLVK E-liquid, Bantam, Pacha Mama and Ripe Vapes. There were eight to 10 hardware manufacturers, including Mi-One Brands, Myle, First Union and Vaporesso, and most of the manufacturers produced their own brands.
There were also a few e-liquid brands selling products that have already received a marketing denial order (MDO) from the FDA. One company told Vapor Voice that there really isn’t much enforcement and getting warning letters is the only thing that has happened to them.
There were, however, a very large number of disposable synthetic nicotine brands. One new brand at the show, Hook’d – with its tagline “one puff and you’re Hook’d” – seemed to take taunting the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to another level according to Kim, a show attendee who asked not to use her last name. “Why would you put a brand out there like that,” she said. “It’s just disappointing.” A person working the Hook’d booth, when asked why the Hook’d name, told Vapor Voice the name was “just catchy.”
Next year’s TPE is scheduled to take place Feb. 22-24, 2023. While most likely not an issue for vapor and alternative industry representatives, the TPE’s cigar segment may find itself split in several directions. Not only is that week traditionally when Procigar, the Dominican Republic’s cigar festival, takes place, it also may be competing against the Festival del Habano—Cuba’s cigar festival— that typically takes place in late February (traditionally the week after Procigar).
In 2019, both festivals took place during the same week and were scheduled to take place the same week in 2022 before the Habanos festival was cancelled due to Covid concerns. Neither Procigar nor the Festival del Habano has announced dates for 2023.
January 27, 2022
Connecticut Governor Reiterates Need for Flavor Ban
When Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont pushed for Philip Morris to relocate its headquarters from New York City to Stamford last year, the move quickly drew rebuke from anti-tobacco activists. The activists said the move would be a test of the governor’s support for a ban on flavored vaping products in the state.
Now, just weeks away from the 2022 legislative session, Lamont said he’s committed to supporting a flavored vape ban but is not guaranteeing the proposal will be in his midterm budget plan, which is expected to be unveiled next month, according to CT Insider.
Credit: Andy Dean
“I’m ready to go on that,” Lamont said Tuesday, asked about his support for the ban after an unrelated event in Bloomfield. “I think it was the right thing to do last time. I think we proposed it once or twice. This time I’d like to work with the legislature to see if they’ll step up. I’ll sign it.”
Last year’s effort fell apart in the 11th hour after a diluted version of the ban was stripped from the massive budget implementer bill at the request of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids. The group said at the time that the proposal was “riddled with major loopholes” and could have made Connecticut more subject to lawsuits from the vaping industry.
January 26, 2022
China Probes Founder of its Largest Flavor House, Huaboa
Huabao International Holdings, China’s largest e-liquid, tobacco flavoring and fragrance company, fell by more than 65 percent after Chinese regulators announced an investigation into the company’s majority shareholder, Chu Lam Yiu. The investigation is reportedly part of President Xi Jinping’s crackdown on corruption.
Credit: Nikolay N. Antonov
Chu, one of China’s richest self-made woman billionaire, with a net worth valued at $5.5 billion, is being investigated by authorities for “unspecified suspected disciplinary violations,” according to a Hong Kong stock exchange filing. The company said in a statement it was informed of the investigation by its subsidiary Huabao Flavours & Fragrances. “Up to the date of this announcement, the company has not been provided with any details of the nature of the suspected violations of Ms. Chu that is currently being investigated. The business operation of the group remains normal,” the company stated.
It added that the subsidiary received a case filing notice from the Leiyang City Supervisory Committee, indicating that the probe was being carried out by the Chinese Communist party and the local government, according to the Financial Times.
No further details were provided. The company declined to answer further questions, according to the story. Huabao, which Chu launched in her mid-20s in 1996, produces flavors and fragrances used by tobacco manufacturers, including for the e-cigarette or vaping market, as well as food companies. The company’s growth has catapulted Chu to rank among China’s richest people.
Like many high-profile Chinese businesspeople, she has also served on various industry and government advisory committees. The probe into Chu comes as China’s long-running anti-corruption campaign gathers momentum as Xi seeks to secure a historic third term.
January 24, 2022
Sponsors of Colorado Flavored Vapor Ban Bill Confident
Credit Renan
Selling flavored tobacco and nicotine products could soon be illegal in Colorado if lawmakers approve — and the governor signs — a bill prohibiting their sale.
House Bill 22-1064 would ban, starting July 1, the sale of all flavored tobacco and nicotine products, including vapes, e-cigarettes, menthol cigarettes, Hookah, chewing tobacco and cigars, in Colorado.
Under the proposal, any retailer caught selling flavored tobacco or nicotine products would be subject to the same penalties as a retailer caught selling to minors.
The measure’s sponsors are confident it would reach the finish line.
State Sen. Kevin Priola, one of the sponsors, said he was inspired to take action after his son started vaping around the age of 14. Priola said he would constantly search his son’s room for vapes and would have to drive to far-away dumpsters to throw them away to prevent him from digging the vapes out of the trash.
“It’s everywhere. Our experience isn’t unique,” Priola said. “You look at the data and realize a lot of these manufacturers — they use the flavors to get young kids hooked on it.”
Brian Fojtik, a Denver resident and representative of the National Association of Tobacco Outlets, said the ban is unnecessary because youth tobacco use has been decreasing for years.
“It’s shortsighted approach,” Fojtik said. “Prohibition proponents aren’t protecting kids. They’re shamefully using kids as political props, attempting to use legitimate concern about youth vaping to ban hundreds of products to adults that youth are not using that have nothing to do with vaping.”
In December, Denver, Colorado’s City Council approved a controversial ordinance that outlaws the sale of flavored vaping and other tobacco products, including menthol, beginning in July 2023.
January 22, 2022
Mississippi State Senator Files Bill to Tax Vapor Products
Credit: Andrii Yalanskyi
Mississippi State Senator Davis Blount filed Senate Bill 2062, which would tax e-cigarettes and vaping products. The Northside Sun reported the bill calls for the same 15 percent excise tax as cigarettes.
“I continue to believe that electronic cigarettes and vaping products ought to be taxed at the same rate as regular cigarettes,” Blount told the Northside Sun. “There are different ways of taxing these products since some of them are in liquid form. I’m open to any way that works, but the simplest way is to just tax them like a pack of cigarettes based on their retail price.”
Two years ago, Blount authored a similar bill that was approved by the Finance Committee for a floor vote, where it missed the three-fifths majority for passage by one vote. A three-fifths majority is required on any tax-related issue, according to Senate rules.
Blount has gone for a more simplistic approach in this year’s bill. Instead of a 5 cent levy on every liquid milliliter of nicotine like in his previous bill, e-cigarettes would be taxed at the same 15 percent rate as conventional cigarettes.
According to the state Department of Revenue, Mississippi’s tobacco tax generated $145 million in revenue in fiscal 2021, which ended June 30.
January 21, 2022
Aussie Retailers Want to Change ‘Misguided’ Vape Rules
Credit: Alexey Novikov
Australian retail representative groups say an overhaul of vaping rules and regulations, alongside a crackdown on the supply of such products to minors, is necessary. The Australian Association of Convenience Stores (AACS), the Master Grocers Association (MGA), and the Australian Lottery and Newsagents Association (ALNA), released a joint statement criticizing the Commonwealth Government’s policy on vapes, claiming it is misguided, poorly designed, and failing the community.
Theo Foukkare, CEO AACS, said although the representative groups disagree with the current prescription model, they do not condone outlets disregarding the law and selling nicotine vaping products to anyone, especially children, according to a story in Convenience and Impulse Retailing.
“We are urging the federal government to consider an overhaul of vaping regulations as a matter of urgency, bringing us into line with the UK and New Zealand where adults – and only adults – can access vapes to help them quit smoking. But in the meantime, urgent enforcement action is needed against those supplying vapes to children,” he said.
The call for a crackdown on the supply of vapes to children comes following widespread reports of use of vapes in Queensland schools. “We would welcome a crackdown on those that are supplying vaping products to children, whether that’s online platforms like Facebook Marketplace or rogue bricks and mortar traders.
“It is clear that not enough is being done to prevent unscrupulous store owners and dodgy online retailers from selling all kinds of vaping products containing mysterious cocktails of ingredients to teens,” he said. The associations also noted an influx of ‘pop-up shops’ selling illicit tobacco products across south east Queensland over the last 18 months, with the majority also selling nicotine vapes. “These are clearly irresponsible retailers who should not be permitted to sell any tobacco of vaping products.”
A proposed solution could be the introduction of a low-cost licensing scheme in Queensland allowing only responsible retailers to deal in tobacco products and would provide a mechanism to shut down and punish those operating outside the law.
January 21, 2022
Hawaiian Legislators Want to Ban Flavored Vapes in 2022
Credit: Timothy S. Donahue
The 2022 legislative session kicked off Wednesday, starting a nearly five-month process that will shape Hawaiʻi’s future. On Tuesday, legislators and advocates with the Keiki Caucus unveiled their priorities for the upcoming session.
The caucus will be introducing nearly 30 bills covering issues such as sex trafficking, after-school programs, and sex education. The group will also attempt to ban all flavored vaping products. State Rep. Scot Matayoshi said the bill will also make it harder for kids to purchase these products.
“95 percent of smokers start before the age of 21 and 81 percent of youth have tried a flavored nicotine product as their first tobacco product,” he said in an Hawai’i Public Radio report. “So these products really are a gateway into nicotine addiction.”
“What really hit home for me is that 31 percent of middle schoolers have tried vaping — and that’s the age of student that I used to teach when I was a DOE teacher. So that really struck a chord in me that a third of my students would have been vaping right now or would have tried a flavored vaping product,” he told Hawaiʻi Public Radio. “It’s really targeting kids. That’s what makes it very insidious. And it’s disguising nicotine, which is a highly addictive drug as a candy-flavored product.”
Matayoshi acknowledged past efforts to ban flavored tobacco products have fallen short but says he is hopeful for this year.
January 21, 2022
Vape Bill Survives Philippine Bicameral Conference
Credit: Vitalii Vodolazskyi
The bicameral conference committee of the Congress of the Philippines on Wednesday approved a measure that would regulate the importation, manufacture, sale, packaging, distribution, use, and communication of e-cigarettes and heated tobacco products (HTPs).
The panel, composed of the House of Representatives and the Senate contingents led by Deputy Speaker Wes Gatchalian and Senate President Pro Tempore Senator Ralph Recto, respectively, approved the report reconciling the disagreeing provisions of House Bill 9007 and Senate Bill 2239.
During the conference meeting, House Deputy Speaker Rufus Rodriguez said the measure aims to offer an alternative for Filipinos who want to quit smoking, according to a press release. Recto, however, noted that while congress intends to push for the shift from smoking to vaping, the bill does not back its promotion “as a lifestyle.”
With the enactment of the bill into law, posts, messages, or images by manufacturers, importers, distributors, and retailers that encourage the purchase and use of vape products would be prohibited. The bill mandates the Department of Health to prescribe guidelines on the implementation of smoking and vaping restriction awareness campaigns.
The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), meanwhile, would consult with the Food and Drug Administration in setting technical standards for the safety, consistency, and quality of vape products. Manufacturers, distributors, importers, and sellers would then be given an 18-month transitory period from the issuance of the implementing rules and regulations to comply with the requirements of the measure.
This would include the registration of the vape products with the DTI. The report is up for ratification by both the House and the Senate. If successful, it would then head to President Rodrigo Duterte’s desk for a signature.
January 21, 2022
Phillips & King Rebrands Itself, Reveals E-Commerce Launch
Phillips & King International has announced its new brand identity and a forthcoming new wholesale e-commerce platform. Part of the rebranding effort includes a contemporary refinement of the company’s “shield and knight” badge. The new Phillips & King logo “signifies its mission to modernize the business, while paying homage to the equity earned over their 116-year heritage,” according to a press release.
The distribution company was founded in 1906 and has a long, successful history serving independent and small chain convenience, tobacco, and liquor retailers across the United States. The announcement details the company’s move towards a complete digital transformation of its business to “better serve the evolving needs of its retail customers and brand partners.” Throughout 2022, the company will be launching a host of enhancements to its business, including a the web platform expected to launch in early Q2.
The new platform is expected to make it easier for stores to discover and stock the products that consumers struggle to find elsewhere on the market. Phillips & King will also be expanding its product and category assortment to give emerging brands the ability to reach more buyers— and give stores access to new products coming to market, according to the release.
“The future of B2B wholesale commerce is both digital and highly-personalized,” says Jason Carignan, president of Phillips & King. “Our new web platform will enable us to more easily connect buyers and sellers across the industry and offer a more expansive array of products and categories- all while improving the personal connection our sales teams have with customers. We believe that retailers should be able to manage their entire business with ease from their mobile device and have access to business intelligence— and expert guidance— that helps drive inventory-buying decisions. This new platform is the first step in our quest to helping stores thrive in the new retail reality.”
Phillips & King, a subsidiary of Kretek International.
January 20, 2022
German Scientists Propose Cocaine E-cigs to Curb Abuse
In order to help cocaine addicts curb their addiction, a pair of German researchers have proposed a solution that surely has every nicotine vaping advocate rolling their eyes. The duo has designed a device that allows problematic crack users to administer the drug in a safer manner that, for instance, reduces lung damage and lowers the risk of overdose. It’s essentially a vape for crack.
Credit: Nomad Soul
According to ZME Science, Fabian Steinmetz and Heino Stöver, both members of Schildower Kreis — a network of German experts on drug policy reform — have not proposed drug decriminalization in their most recent study. Instead, writing in the journal Drug Science, Policy and Law, they presented a device that assists in inhaling crack cocaine in a manner that is safer to users.
The design of the device is nothing revolutionary. Like conventional e-cigarettes, it consists of a liquid container, an atomizer with a heater, and a battery. Except that instead of nicotine, you put a solution made of crack cocaine and propylene glycol, which the user inhales as vapor free of the fine particles and toxic combustion products that result from smoking.
“There are some risks that a vape pen for crack could pose, though. It is very likely that crack vape pens, if they are ever manufactured, will end up on the illicit market and could potentially encourage people to start using crack or use more of it if they are already a user,” the story states. “The only way to answer these concerns is to run well-designed randomized trials. For now, a cocaine e-cig seems like a very distant prospect but its harm reduction potential shouldn’t be overlooked.”
January 19, 2022