Author: Staff Writer

  • Dubai WVS: Grand Slam

    Dubai WVS: Grand Slam

    QBM pulls off a remarkably successful vaping exhibition in an uncertain environment.

    Story and Photos by Norm Bour

    It’s not often that a rookie gets a chance to come up to the plate and hit a Grand Slam home run, but that is exactly what happened when the Dubai World Vape Expo hit the ground at full speed and never let up. Considering that this was Quartz Business Media’s (QBM) first vape expo and the fact that this was the first truly international show in a year and a half—and considering this show was held in a country where up until a year ago vaping was illegal—well, what you have is a trifecta.

    OK, enough sports analogies.

    The industry has been hungry—starving—for live events, and in this not-quite post-Covid period, this was a risky move in many ways.

    Vaping continues to be under attack in the U.S., with the Food and Drug Administration still looking for ways to make life difficult, and even in Europe and the rest of the world, many people still consider vaping to be as dangerous as smoking, regardless of what the Royal College and Public Health England say.

    Science be damned, media loves controversy, and vaping can be a lightning rod.

    This was my first visit to Dubai, and aside from Singapore, this is probably the cleanest, most polite and grandiose city I have visited. Considering that Dubai strives for many firsts, this first vape show falls in line.

    The Burj Khalifa, at 2,722 ft high, 160 floors, is the tallest building in the world, and holds many international records. The Dubai Mall, sitting at the foot of the Burj, is the largest mall in the world at almost six million square ft and could take days to see all the shops. Around the corner, launching the end of October, is Ain Dubai, the soon to be largest Ferris Wheel in the world, at 820 ft, twice the height of the London Eye.

    There was a definite British vibe here, and that makes sense since QBM is based in Surrey, U.K. Many of the exhibitors were U.K. companies, and the U.K. Vaping Industry Association (UKVIA), helmed by John Dunne, brought many of the speakers and guidance to the gathering.

    I asked Dunne if there was any connection between the Dubai event and the U.K. vaping industry, and he said there was a definite kinship.

    “The British vape companies are very keen on international expansion, and the Middle East is a brand new market. Until recently, vaping was illegal in Dubai, UAE and other countries nearby, but the government is now recognizing the benefits of vaping. There were several Chinese and American companies who were unable to attend, so that changed the composition of the attendees.”

    The event was intended to be even larger than what it was, which was about 200 exhibitors, and without travel restrictions it would have been even more diverse. Considering this was the first international show in almost two years, those are impressive numbers.

    And the eyes of the regulators were on the show floor. I was told that government people were checking the registration process all the way to the show floor and making sure that masks were used, vaping was done in the appropriate areas and no one was abusing the event.

    I asked Dunne if he was overall pleased with this show, and he responded, “Absolutely! I’ve seen vape shows develop over the years, and many of the early ones were embarrassing. They were more party and less business, but as the vaping world has matured, so has the event space. We had many conversations with the regulators and had to share with them that vaping is a harm-reduction product and not a smoking product. Since we have had years of experience in the U.K., and since Public Health England has been generally pro vape, we hope that can fast-track the acceptability over here.”

    Dunne appreciates that the U.K. keeps things simple from a regulatory perspective, especially compared to the U.S., and he hopes that the Middle East uses more common sense and less bureaucracy.

    There were several American companies there, including Charlie’s Chalk Dust, Coastal Clouds, Innevape and The Finest. I asked Jeff Connell, with Innevape, about this show: “This is much bigger than most [events], and we were able to form some strategic partnerships with Middle East distributors, which brings us a whole new market. We’ve seen more activity both in the number of people here, along with their interest in spending money and committing to doing business.”

    Salim Lallas with Bawadi Vape, based in Dubai, was ecstatic over the event. His company has been in business since 2016. “Back then our vape community was very small, very intimate, very social,” he recalls. “Now it is becoming more mainstream and less personal, but much larger, and hopefully, more professional. I think the government knew they really couldn’t control it and also that what we were doing was not really dangerous. So rather than fight a losing battle, they concluded that they should learn how to work with us.”

    Of the many dozen shows that I have attended worldwide, this one struck a critical balance between business and fun, and based on conversations with many of the attendees, business was definitely getting done!

    Alan Caddick helmed the speaking program and worked closely with John Dunne. Their goal was to develop speaking programs that would draw people in.

    I asked him if the recent Covid travel restrictions hampered speaker’s commitments. “Yes, absolutely,” he said. “The pandemic has affected our timing, and we had to reschedule twice. Everyone had to jump through hoops to get here, and we appreciated all those that came in person. Being a speaker involves work and preparation, and the extra Covid tests made it even more challenging.”

    The pandemic brought some positive changes to the world of events and meetings, and remote sessions have been the norm for the past 18 months. For speakers that were unable to attend, Zoom has filled in that gap.

    “No question, technology has made this show much easier than if we did not have it,” Caddick confessed. “We have speakers from Australia, South Africa, the U.S. and England joining us live, so once we account for time zones, it’s just a matter of plugging them in.”

    The beauty of the online sessions was the fantastic room-length screen, which afforded great video and accommodated panel sessions.

    I spoke with Jake Nixon, event sales manager, and asked, “Why Dubai?” and he replied, “Dubai is a gateway for the whole world. They have an amazing airport, lots of free zones, and we think Dubai will play a big part in the future of vaping. Dubai was always our No. 1 location when we started with this process a long time ago, and we are happy that we were able to pull this off.

    “The U.K. hasn’t had an event since before Covid, so that is why we planned our next one in London just a few months from now. We cut our teeth here, and we have learned a lot about the vaping world. This was our first time dealing in that space and found it much more fun than many other industries.”

    The organizers plan their next event for Dec. 10–11 in London at the ExCeL Center. They hope that, by that time, more people will be able to, and feel comfortable traveling, but they understand that many speakers will be joining them virtually once more.

    Norm Bour is the founder of VapeMentors and works with vape businesses worldwide. He can be reached at norm@VapeMentors.com or +1 949 495 6162.

  • Foundation for a Smoke-Free World Changes Leadership

    Foundation for a Smoke-Free World Changes Leadership

    From left to right, Derek Yach, David Janazzo and Heidi Goldstain

    Foundation for a Smoke-Free World today announced that Derek Yach will no longer serve as president and board director. Heidi Goldstein, general counsel, and David Janazzo, chief financial officer and executive vice president of operations and finance, will serve as interim co-presidents, effective immediately, while the board conducts a search for a new president to lead the foundation and its vital mission forward.

    “After careful consideration, the board has determined that now is the right time for a new leader to guide the essential efforts of the Foundation, its team and its work with partners around the world,” said Pamela Parizek, chair of the Foundation’s board of directors, in a statement. “As we continue to take urgent action to accelerate progress toward ending smoking in this generation, we look forward to this opportunity to take the Foundation to the next level of achievement.

    “The Foundation remains squarely focused on its mission to improve global health by reducing death and disease caused by smoking, and Heidi and David, together with the rest of our talented team, will continue advancing our global research grantmaking, range of innovative programs and powerful public health collaborations without interruption.”

    Parizek continued, “On behalf of the board, I want to thank Derek for helping to establish and build the Foundation. We deeply appreciate the contributions he has made to this team’s work and to communities around the world through decades of ground-breaking efforts in tobacco control and public health. We wish him all the best.”

    “The Foundation’s ongoing work to end the world’s largest single preventable cause of death could not be more needed today,” said Yach. “I leave the Foundation with deep satisfaction that we now have an emerging cadre of hundreds of researchers, advocates and industry scientists dedicating themselves to this goal. My future efforts aim to complement them.”

  • Singapore Seizes $2 Million in Illegal Vape Pens

    Singapore Seizes $2 Million in Illegal Vape Pens

    More than $2 million worth of vaporizers, components, e-liquids and other illegal tobacco products have been seized in Singapore. Authorities are calling the discovery the “largest haul” in the city-state to date.

    Credit: Richie Chan

    Acting on a tip-off, officers from the Health Sciences Authority (HSA) inspected an industrial storage facility located north, towards the border with Malaysia. They discovered 10,057 vapes, 48,822 vaporizer components, and large quantities of vape juice, according to a press release.

    “This is the largest seizure haul of tobacco products by HSA, in terms of the volume and street value of e-vaporizers,” officials said in a statement, adding that the products had an estimated street value of $2,260,825. No arrests have been made but HSA said that three people were currently “assisting in investigations.” The authority also revealed that more than 170 vape raids were carried out between 2018 and 2020.

  • Capitol Crisis

    Capitol Crisis

    Credit: Bbourdages

    A proposed tax bill in U.S. Congress would add $40 to the cost of a 120 mL bottle of e-liquid with 6 mg of nicotine.

    By VV staff

    The proposed U.S. Tobacco Tax Equity (TTE) Act would tax vaping products the same as combustible cigarettes. According to research from the Tax Foundation, an independent tax policy nonprofit, the proposal would double the rates on combustible cigarettes and increase the rates on all other tobacco and nicotine products—including electronic nicotine-delivery systems (ENDS)—to achieve parity with the traditional tobacco tax rate.

    The proposed rule aims for the tax per 1,000 cigarettes to be increased to $100.66. Vaping products would be taxed at this same rate, with 1,000 cigarettes being equal to 1,810 mg of nicotine.

    “In addition to the one-time increase, the rates would be indexed to inflation, which means they would automatically increase every year,” the report states. “According to Tax Foundation estimates, the tax increases would raise $112 billion over 10 years. The bulk of the revenue, $74.8 billion, is from the doubling of cigarette taxes. The tax on vapor products would raise roughly $15 billion over 10 years.”

    According to Alex Norcia of Filter, the proposal would benefit large corporations and traditional tobacco products while unfairly hurting people in lower socioeconomic classes as most smokers do not typically belong to the upper classes. Current cigarette smoking in the United States “is higher among people with low annual household income than those with higher annual household incomes,” according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

    “This means that a 30 mL bottle of e-liquid containing 3 mg of nicotine per milliliter would be subject a tax rate of $5 for the bottle. A 120 mL bottle of e-liquid that contains 6 mg of nicotine per milliliter would attract a tax rate of $40 for the bottle,” writes Norcia. “In comparison, critics and tax reformists have estimated that a four-pack of Juul pods would be taxed around $9—giving a clear advantage to a giant over the smaller player. More alarmingly, a pack of cigarettes would only be taxed around $2, creating an incentive for nicotine users to pick cigarettes over less risky vapor products.”

    In an interview with C-Span on Sept. 15, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki was asked if the White House believes that the proposed bill on taxing tobacco/vaping products would violate President Biden’s promise to not raise taxes on those making under $400,000 per year. She replied, “No, we don’t,” adding that it was “just one of the ideas out there.”

    Vape shops are saying that the proposed tax increase would “completely destroy” their businesses, saying it would be even worse than the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s failure to approve any ENDS products by the Sept. 9 deadline (see “Authorization Denied,” page?) and the issuing of hundreds of marketing denial orders (MDOs).

    “This is going to more than double, and in some cases triple or quadruple, the price of liquids that I sell,” Keith Gossett, the owner of Bucky’s Vape Shop in Columbus, Georgia, told Reason. “I’m going to sit there and try to tell a man with a $6 pack of cigarettes that my [$75] product is better. This tax will close my shop.”

    Rather than protecting public health, high excise taxes on lower risk tobacco products jeopardize public health by pushing consumers back to smoking combustible products, according to the Tax Foundation report. “If the policy goal of high taxes on cigarettes is to encourage cessation, taxation of other tobacco and nicotine products must be considered a part of that policy design,” the report states.

    The last time the federal excise tax on tobacco was increased was in 2009. While the federal tax has not changed for 12 years, the average tax paid by consumers has increased drastically. Including the last federal increase, the average combined state and federal excise tax rate on tobacco products has jumped more than 80 percent (the average state excise tax rate increased 65 percent between 2009 and 2021), according to the Tax Foundation.

  • ‘MDO Rescission Not Necessarily a Precedent’

    ‘MDO Rescission Not Necessarily a Precedent’

    Photo: tashatuvango

    Even as consumer activists, vapor manufacturers and tobacco harm reduction advocates have taken heart from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s decision to rescind the marketing denial order (MDO) it had issued to Turning Point Brands (TPB), it is unclear whether that move sets a precedent, writes Alex Norcia in Filter.

    The problem, according to Norcia, is that TPB’s premarket tobacco product application is not publicly available, so that other manufacturers are left to guess how the company managed to get the agency to backtrack.

    At least 27 manufacturers and distributors, including Avail Vapor, Triton Distribution, Gripum LLC and My Vape Order (MVO), have filed petitions asking federal circuit courts to review their MDOs. MVO and Gripum has had their motions to stay the MDO granted by courts. Avail is rumored to have had its MDO rescinded. 

    In his article, Norcia details the travails of MVO, which on Oct. 20 petitioned a federal court of appeals for “an emergency motion for a stay pending a review and for expedited consideration” on the company’s vapor products that have been removed from the market.

    Lawyers for MVO revealed that their client had shared studies and data with TPB and other companies, essentially arguing that the company did not receive the same treatment as TPB, even though the applications contain some of the same information.

  • Harm Reduction Activists to Broadcast During COP9

    Harm Reduction Activists to Broadcast During COP9

    Image: sCOPe
    Nancy Loucas

    A group of tobacco harm reduction experts will hold a round-the-clock broadcasting event Nov. 8-12, coinciding with the Ninth Session of the Conference of the Parties (COP9) to the World health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC).

    Dubbed “sCOPe,” or “streaming Consumers On Point everywhere,” the five-day livestream will be simulcast via YouTube and Facebook. Presenters and panelists will challenge and scrutinize COP9, questioning, for example, who is influencing and funding its efforts to demonize vaping.

    “Before the Covid-19 pandemic, consumers were planning to front up to COP in person and show media our increasing anger for being shut out, once again, from the proceedings,” said sCOPe organizer Nancy Loucas, executive coordinator of the Coalition of Asia Pacific Harm Reduction Advocates. “The FCTC’s decision to delay COP9 and host it exclusively online, with no discussions to be publicly released, meant consumers had to take alternative action. Hence, the development of sCOPe,”

    “sCOPe is our response to being excluded from the table, as the main stakeholders, of the discussion and decision-making process that directly impacts our health and our right to make informed decisions,” she said.

  • Hong Kong Bans E-cigs, Allows for Personal Use

    Hong Kong Bans E-cigs, Allows for Personal Use

    Hong Kong has banned the sale of e-cigarettes and other heated tobacco products but personal use is still allowed. The ban will come into effect as soon as mid-2022, Secretary for Food and Health Sophia Chan Siu-chee said. The maximum penalty for offenders will be a HK$50,000 fine and six-month imprisonment.

    Lawmakers passed the bill banning the import, sale and manufacture of electronic nicotine-delivery systems (ENDS) but some legislators say bill goes too far in targeting the business of vaping, will hurt the import sector and will deny a potential area for innovation.

    Credit: TS Donahue

    The long-delayed Smoking (Public Health) (Amendment) Bill 2019 passed Thursday, “delivering a major victory for health activists and educators who have blamed the devices for encouraging smoking among young people,” according to the South China Morning Post.

    While the new law targets only vape shops and the local business of vaping, consumers will still be free to use the devices, prompting some politicians to call for more aggressive measures to curb tobacco use, including banning smoking in all public places except for designated areas. Others, however, argued Hong Kong should allow reshipment of vaping products and warned the ban would hurt logistics companies.

    The bill was approved by a vote of 32 to three in the Legislative Council. Two lawmakers abstained.

  • Mi-One Brands Launches Mi-Pod 2.0 Nic-Salt Device

    Mi-One Brands Launches Mi-Pod 2.0 Nic-Salt Device

    Mi-One Brands has announced the launch of its Mi-Pod 2.0, a refillable liquid pod-based system. The new device offers a “thin, sleek form factor, a larger battery for maximum battery life, new laser-cut mesh coil pods with no leaking, longer coil life and incredible flavor production,” according to a press note. The device is one of the few sub-OHM pod systems on the market. The device is designed to be used with nicotine salt-based e-liquids.

    The Mi-Pod 2.0, Mi-One Brand’s Next Generation Salt Nic Vaporizer

    “We have always designed products with attention to detail of all the five senses to create the ultimate user experience,” said Geoff Habicht, co-founder of Mi-One Brands, ” With Mi-Pod 2.0, we not only incorporated the five sense and years of customer feedback into the design, but we also added sacred geometry designs to symbolize the ‘connection to self’ which we have found so vitally important on the journey to live a smoke-free life.”

    The Mi-Pod 2.0 is a new revolutionary design combining luxury materials and user-inspired ergonomics.

    • A slimmer profile, made for vaping by vapors.
    • A larger high-density 1250 mAh battery for increased battery life.
    • The new laser-cut mesh magnetic coil pods feature our patented OAS system (Oil and Air Separated) with no leaking, longer coil life and incredible flavor production.
    • Combined with the Mi-Pod 2.0’s ultra-sensitive airflow switch for both MTL and DTL vaping provides an entirely new and upgraded vaping experience that enhances the entire sensory experience.
    • New physical on /off Switch for ease of use and increased battery life.
    • Four Responsive LED Battery Indicator Lights placed on side for easy viewing while smoking.
    • Tighter Draw by design, means more flavorful hits.
    The Mi-One Brands US Team

    Headquartered in Phoenix, Mi-One Brands started in 2008 as Smoking Vapor. Mi-One Brands is the official home of Mi-Pod PRO, Wi-Pod, Mi-Salt, and VaporLax. Co-founders Amir Hakak and Habicht created Mi-One Brands “with the simple mission to eradicate the harm caused by smoking and improve the lives of adult smokers with simple, efficient designs and convenient, high-quality devices,” the release states.

  • Altria and Juul Support New Age-Verification System

    Altria and Juul Support New Age-Verification System

    Altria Group Distribution Co. and Juul Labs have announced their support of TruAge, a new digital solution that enhances current age-verification systems and protects user privacy.

    Developed by the National Association of Convenience Stores and Conexxus, TruAge makes it easier and more accurate to verify a customer’s age when purchasing age-restricted products. At the same time, the system makes identity theft difficult. One-time-use tokens are used to share only the most important elements to confirm the purchaser is of legal age, which also protects the user’s privacy.

    TruAge is free to retailers, consumers and POS providers, and its relevant intellectual property will be placed in the public domain—removing barriers to adoption.

    “We are excited to join this important initiative because TruAge deepens our trade partners’ support of underage prevention and helps establish retail as the most trusted place to responsibly sell tobacco products,” said Scott Myers, president and CEO of Altria Group Distribution Co., in a statement.

    “Over the past few years, we have worked closely with our retailer partners across the United States to implement enhanced access controls for the sale of Juul products, automatically requiring electronic ID scanning to verify the purchaser is at least 21 years of age and limiting the amount of product sold to reduce social sourcing,” said Parker Kasmer, vice president of regulatory engagement for Juul Labs.

    “We are eager to support TruAge and the extension of technologically based age-verification solutions across all vapor and other age-restricted products to combat underage use and support a more responsible marketplace.”

    TruAge is also supported by more than 130 retail companies that represent 22,000-plus convenience store locations in the United States, plus four industry point-of-sale providers.

  • USPS Vapor, CBD Mail Ban to Take Effect Tomorrow

    USPS Vapor, CBD Mail Ban to Take Effect Tomorrow

    Credit: blr60

    The ban on mailing vapor products through the United States Postal Service (USPS) takes effect tomorrow. After more than six months, the USPS has finally posted for public inspection its rules for mailing e-cigarettes with the Federal Register. The rules will publish tomorrow, Oct. 21, and go into effect immediately. 

    There is not an exemption for any vaping cannabis products, as many in the industry had hoped. The USPS is leaving it up to the U.S. Congress to carve out an exemption for hemp-based vaping products. The rules were originally set to go into effect in March and then April, however, the USPS held back publishing the rule while it went under agency review.

    The rule states that Congress’s use of “nicotine” in the term “electronic nicotine delivery systems,” makes clear that “nonmailable ENDS products include those containing or used with not only nicotine, but also ‘flavor[s]’ or any other substance … It goes without saying that marijuana, hemp, and their derivatives are substances,” the rule states. “Hence, to the extent that they may be delivered to an inhaling user through an aerosolized solution, they and the related delivery systems, parts, components, liquids, and accessories clearly fall within the [Preventing Online Sales of E-Cigarettes to Children Act’s] scope.

    “Conversely, THC-containing substances that are excluded from the [Controlled Substances Act] CSA—that is, hemp and hemp derivatives with no more than 0.3 percent THC by dry weight—are not subject to CSA-based mailability restrictions, and items used with such substances (and not with controlled substances) may fall outside the definition of drug paraphernalia … As such, those substances continue to be mailable generally, to the extent that they are not incorporated into an ENDS product or function as a component of one. To the extent that they do comprise or relate to an ENDS product, however, then that product is now nonmailable under the PACT Act and POSECCA, except pursuant to a PACT Act exception.”

    Credit: Wolterke

    UPS and FedEx already have bans in place for vaping products. Many in the industry have also moved on to new ways of mailing vaping products to customers through third-party shippers. Numerous other companies have since gone out of business since the U.S. Food and Drug Administration started sending out marketing denial orders (MDOs) last month.

    When a 5,000-plus page omnibus bill, the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021, was signed into law on Dec. 28, 2020, buried deep within the bill (page 5,136) was the Preventing Online Sales of E-cigarettes to Children (PACT) Act. It was a provision that effectively bans the USPS from shipping ENDS products.

    Retail customers will no longer be able to receive vaping products by way of USPS delivery, according to the USPS. However, the USPS rule states that the agency will mail vapor products under narrowly defined circumstances:

    • Noncontiguous states: intrastate shipments within Alaska or Hawaii;
    • Business/regulatory purposes: shipments transmitted between verified and authorized tobacco industry businesses for business purposes, or between such businesses and federal or state agencies for regulatory purposes;
    • Certain individuals: lightweight shipments mailed between adult individuals, limited to 10 per 30-day period;
    • Consumer testing: limited shipments of cigarettes sent by verified and authorized manufacturers to adult smokers for consumer testing purposes; and
    • Public health: limited shipments by federal agencies for public health purposes under similar rules applied to manufacturers conducting consumer testing.

    The USPS rules also state that the listed exceptions cannot feasibly be applied to inbound or outbound international mail, mail to or from the Freely Associated States, or mail presented at overseas Army Post Office, Fleet Post Office, or Diplomatic Post Office locations and destined to addresses in the United States. Because of this inability, all ENDS products “in such mail are nonmailable, without exception.”

    Excluded from the statutory definition are products approved by the FDA for sale as “tobacco cessation products or for other therapeutic purposes and marketed and sold solely for such purposes.” The USPS also proposes to treat ENDS as a standalone category, “albeit one generally subject to the same restrictions and exceptions as cigarettes, consistent with the statute.”

    According to the PACT Act legislation, anyone selling vaping products must:

    • Register with the U.S. Attorney General;
    • Verify age of customers using a commercially available database;
    • Use private shipping services that collect an adult signature at the point of delivery;
    • Register with the federal government and with the tobacco tax administrators of the states if selling in states that tax vaping products;
    • Collect all applicable local and state taxes, and affix any required tax stamps to the products sold;
    • Send each taxing state’s tax administrator a list of all transactions with customers in their state, including the names and addresses of each customer sold to and the quantities and type of each product sold; and
    • Maintain records for five years of any “delivery interrupted because the carrier or service determines or has reason to believe that the person ordering the delivery is in violation of the [PACT Act].”

    Retailers can be cited by states for not following their individual requirements for tax payments and filings, and they may have to purchase tobacco and other licenses or hire a registered agent in the state. The cost for being PACT Act compliant can range anywhere from $40 to $250 or more per year per state, according to previous news reports.

    This story will be updated as the published rules are reviewed