Author: Staff Writer

Health Expert Condemns Kazakhstan’s Vape Ban

Delon Human (Photo: Taco Tuinstra)
Leading international public health experts have expressed serious concern about Kazakhstan’s imminent ban on vapes as a “backward step” that contradicts the unprecedented success of more progressive countries that are dramatically reducing tobacco’s toll through the use of alternative nicotine products.
The Kazakh government’s intention to enact the prohibition by Jan. 1, 2024, endangers the lives of the country’s 3.2 million smokers who will be deprived of their best chance to quit their deadly habit, according to the Smoke Free Sweden, a movement highlighting Sweden’s progress in becoming smoke-free.
“We note with great concern this retrogressive move by the Kazakhstan Ministry of Health, which defies the extraordinary achievements of some countries that have adopted a progressive approach to modern products such as vapes and oral pouches,” said Delon Human, a global health advocate and founder of Smoke Free Sweden, in a statement.
“Around the world, alternative nicotine products are helping to save millions of lives by giving smokers an escape from combustible cigarettes. They are proven to be at least 95 percent less harmful than cigarettes and the most effective way for smokers to quit.
“To ban these reduced-risk products will simply condemn many smokers to stick with cigarettes and sentence them to an unnecessarily premature death.”
Human urged Kazakh authorities to emulate the approach of Sweden, which is on course to drop below a 5 percent tobacco smoking prevalence in the next few months. This is the level at which a country is considered officially smoke-free.
Sweden is the first EU country to achieve this milestone—17 years ahead of schedule—through its policy of making vapes and pouches available, acceptable and affordable to adult smokers.
“Quitting smoking like Sweden saves lives,” says Human. “Compared to the rest of Europe, Sweden has 44 percent fewer tobacco-related deaths, a cancer rate that is 41 percent lower, and 38 percent fewer deaths attributable to any cancer.
“Sweden is leading the way for other nations, such as the United Kingdom where the health service is giving free vape kits to smokers to help them quit. The government is funding the ‘swap to stop’ scheme with the aim of turning the country smoke-free by 2030.
“Meanwhile, only last month, the largest study of its kind in the United States confirmed the immense value of vapes as cessation aids. Researchers at Hollings Cancer Center in South Carolina found that vapes nudged people towards quitting smoking – even those who had entered their trial saying they had no intention of quitting.
“Such evidence is compelling and should be ignored no longer. If Kazakh authorities are serious about saving lives, they should be following the science and offering affordable access to vapes, instead of blocking this proven ‘fire escape’ for smokers,” concluded Human.
September 14, 2023
Bill Morachnick to Serve as CEO at Charlotte’s Web

Image: Tobacco Reporter archive
Charlotte’s Web Holdings appointed William (Bill) Morachnick as CEO. Morachnick has also been appointed to the company’s board of directors as a nonindependent director. He replaces CEO Jacques Tortoroli, who has elected to resign from his roles at Charlotte’s Web.
Morachnick has a record of building premium, differentiated products and brands across multiple channels throughout the world and across a broad range of product categories.
Prior to joining Charlotte’s Web, Morachnick was president at Santa Fe Reynolds Tobacco International Zurich (SFRTI) from 2006 to 2016. He took SFRTI from a startup to a highly profitable organization, managing several hundred employees and a network of importers/distributors operating in Europe, Asia and the Middle East. SFRTI was acquired by Japan Tobacco Group in 2016 for $5 billion. Morachnick led the subsequent integration of the combined companies as CEO and chairman based in Tokyo, Japan, for two years before returning to the U.S. in 2018.
Since returning to the U.S., he has served as an executive advisor or board member for several companies seeking to launch and/or expand their businesses in the U.S. and overseas markets.
“Bill has an accomplished career building businesses in multiple categories,” said John Held, chairman of Charlotte’s Web. “With his proven operational expertise, Bill is well suited to take the reins to lead the Charlotte’s Web team through the next phase of the company’s growth opportunities.”
The company expressed its gratitude to Tortoroli for his contributions. ‎“Jacques served on the company’s board since November of 2019 and as CEO since late 2021 in a difficult environment devoid of regulatory oversight and clarity,” said Held. “Under his leadership as CEO, Jacques streamlined the organization, reduced the cash burn and recapitalized the company through a strategic $57 million investment from BAT via a convertible loan.”
In November 2022, BAT announced a £48.2 million ($57.4 million) investment in Charlotte’s Web.
September 13, 2023
U.K. Lawmakers Consider Ban on Single-Use Vapes
The United Kingdom will likely announce a public consultation next week on a plan to ban single-use vapes, reports The Guardian. While the government has accepted the benefits of e-cigarettes in helping smokers quit, it is increasingly concerned about the environmental impact and youth appeal of disposable products.
Research conducted by Material Focus suggested vapers in the U.K. throw out 5 million single-use e-cigarettes every week, a fourfold increase on 2022. This amounts to eight vapes a second being discarded, with the lithium in the products enough to create 5,000 electric car batteries a year, according to the organization.
Smokers’ rights group Forest said that if the U.K. government’s aim is to reduce smoking rates, banning disposable vapes would be “a significant own goal.”
“Vaping has been a huge success story, with millions of smokers choosing to switch to a product that is far less risky to their health. Part of that success is due to disposable vapes which are convenient and easy to use,” said Forest Director Simon Clark.
“The answer to the problem of children vaping is not to ban a product many adults use to help them quit smoking, but to crack down on retailers who are breaking the law and selling e-cigarettes to anyone under 18.”

The answer to the problem of children vaping is not to ban a product many adults use to help them quit smoking, but to crack down on retailers who are breaking the law and selling e-cigarettes to anyone under 18.”
Simon Clark, director, Forest
While stressing that the plans to ban single-use vapes were only at the consultation stage and no decisions had been made yet, the U.K. Vaping Industry Association (UKVIA) said it too opposed the idea.
“We welcome the idea of a consultation on disposables as it’s key that the industry gets the opportunity to highlight the benefits, and therefore continued need, for single-use vapes as a smoking cessation method,” said UKVIA Director General John Dunne in a statement.
A ban, however, is not the answer, he cautioned. “Some 220 people die from smoking every day, 365 days a year,” said Dunne. “Disposables have proved to be highly effective in helping smokers quit their habits due to their ease of use, accessibility and low entry price points. They are one of the main reasons as to why the number of adult smokers in Great Britain has hit record lows for the last two years according to the Office for National Statistics.”

We welcome the idea of a consultation on disposables as it’s key that the industry gets the opportunity to highlight the benefits, and therefore continued need, for single-use vapes as a smoking cessation method.
John Dunne, Director General, UKVIA
Dunne suggested that the issues of youth vaping and environmental damage are due in part to lax enforcement of rules designed to prevent such problems. He pointed to recent research by Arcus Compliance showing that fines handed out to retailers for underage and illicit product sales amounted to just over £2,000 ($2,494) in 11 major provincial U.K. cities between 2021-2023.
Dunne also warned of unintended consequences of banning disposable vapes. According to him, the black market already represents over 50 percent of the single use market in the U.K. “This would only accelerate with a ban, he cautioned.
Dunne further highlighted industry efforts to tackle electronic waste, citing research by Waste Experts showing that disposable cigarettes are highly recyclable. “However, the biggest challenge is getting consumers to recycle their vapes and providing the waste disposal facilities in public places and at points of use that will enable higher recycling rates,” he said.
In a note to investors, TD Cowen said a ban on disposable vapes could benefit global tobacco companies with vapor exposure. While multinationals such as British American Tobacco and Philip Morris International have exposure to the disposable vape market in the U.K., category economics are more favorable for pod-based systems, according to the investment bank.
September 12, 2023
Vaporesso Licensed to Sell Open Systems in UAE
The United Arab Emirates Ministry of Industry and Advanced Technology (MoIAT) has licensed Vaporesso to sell in the country, the company announced in a press release.
After nearly a year of strategic planning and application, Vaporesso received MoIAT certification for over 10 models of its products, including the Luxe XR, XROS 3 Mini, XROS 2, XROS 3, XROS Mini, XROS Nano, Zero S, Luxe X, Luxe QS, OSMALL 2, and GEN PT 60.
“As the first open-system vaping device brand licensed by the MoIAT, we will continue our commitment to providing market-leading vaping products with unmatched quality and functionality,” said Jimmy Hu, vice president of Vaporesso.
The first batch of MoIAT-certified products with compliant packaging has now arrived in the UAE and gone through taxation. This allows distributors, retailers and consumers to legally sell, stock and buy Vaporesso products with assured quality. Meanwhile, all future Vaporesso products will undergo MoIAT registration, ensuring quality and innovation for partners and consumers.
The UAE government has enforced strict regulations to govern all nicotine-containing components used in e-cigarettes, refill packages, e-liquids and tobacco products sold in the country. The regulations demand that manufacturers and companies of vaping devices must meet Emirates Authority for Standardization and Metrology standards, which set out strict quality and safety requirements for e-cigarettes and related products before placing them on the market.
September 12, 2023
Indonesia Legalizes Vaping to Help Smokers Quit

The Indonesian Parliament recently passed Health Law No. 17 of 2023, which categorizes e-cigarettes as addictive substances, according to 2Firsts.
Teguh Basuki A Wibowo, chairman of the Indonesian Electronic Nicotine Industry Alliance, stated that including e-cigarettes in the legal framework for solid and liquid tobacco products legalizes industry participants and allows smokers to find alternative products.
The law puts Indonesia on equal footing with countries like the Philippines and the U.K., which have similar legislative frameworks for e-cigarettes, he said.
September 6, 2023
Bangladesh Considering Ban on All Vaping Products

Bangladesh is set to ban vapes and nicotine pouches, according to Filter.
The government has been considering a vape ban since 2019 when the U.S. e-cigarette or vaping product use-associated lung injury outbreak occurred—later determined to be caused by adulterated illicit products.
The health ministry has now drafted an amendment to Bangladesh’s Smoking and Using of Tobacco Products (Control) Act, which has been reviewed by the cabinet and must now be approved by parliament.
If the proposed ban is approved, anyone caught vaping, regardless of nicotine content, will be subject to a fine of BDT5,000 ($46). Sales, production, import, export, storage and transportation of vapes would also be banned, with penalties starting at a higher fine, three months’ incarceration or both. Larger scale activity or repeat offenses would face longer sentences.
The amendment would also ban flavors in tobacco products, increase the fine for smoking in public places and include further penalties for unlicensed tobacco sales.
Organizations like the Bangladesh Medical Association support the proposed ban, equating vaping with smoking cigarettes.
“A ban on vaping devices will have disastrous consequences for people trying to quit smoking cigarettes,” said Nafis Farhan, a member of Voice of Vapers Bangladesh. He attributed continued high smoking rates in the country to “limited availability of cessation tools, such as vapes.”
The proposed ban represents “a missed opportunity for harm reduction and a setback for public health,” according to Michael Landl, director of the World Vapers’ Alliance.
September 6, 2023
Attorneys General Want FDA to do More to Protect Youth

State of Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel
The attorneys general for 33 states sent a letter to request the U.S. Food and Drug Administration do more to protect young people from e-cigarettes.
Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel announced she signed a bi-partisan letter calling on the FDA to limit the e-cigarette flavors that draw kids in and protect them from marketing, according to media reports.
She also suggested that the FDA should require a limit on nicotine levels in e-cigarette cartridges and disposables, according to a press release.
“Nicotine use by our young people has reached epidemic levels,” Nessel said in the release. “We need impactful tobacco regulations that protect our youth from the dangers of e-cigarettes and marketing tactics that target them with products flavored to taste like fruit and candy.
“We must act to regulate young people’s exposure to these products and take robust enforcement actions against manufacturers, distributors and retailers who ignore the law.”
The letter is becoming a yearly occurrence. Last year, a bipartisan coalition of 31 attorneys general are calling on the FDA to reject marketing authorization for all non-tobacco nicotine products, which are currently being sold without regulation of their contents, manufacturing, health effects, required warning labels or marketing claims.
In the 2022 letter, the coalition argues that vaping products don’t meet the FDA’s public health standard, and the regulatory agency should not gamble on the unknown effects of the products, despite the FDA having authorized 23 vaping products.
The other attorneys general signing onto the 2023 letter are from the states of Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Mississippi, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Northern Mariana Islands, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, Washington, and Wisconsin.
September 1, 2023
Innokin Creates Partnership With Bahrain Duty Free

Credit: Innokin
Innokin, a leading vape brand since 2011, has announced its strategic partnership with Bahrain Duty Free, a prestigious retailer in the Middle East.
The collaboration will see the introduction of Innokin’s popular INNOBAR vaping products to Bahrain Duty Free’s premium stores, catering to the increasing demand for e-cigarettes in the region, according to a press release.
The new partnership began with a pilot project launched in April 2023. Within two weeks, the entirety of the trial stock had sold out.
“Building on this remarkable success, the collaboration has now expanded to provide customers with greater access to Innokin’s award-winning vaping solutions,” the release states. “Innokin’s INNOBAR devices, in particular, have garnered significant interest for their exceptional performance and flavors which are tailored to suit the preferences of the Bahrain market.”
Currently INNOBAR 3500, 6000 and V7000 models are available at Bahrain Duty Free locations. A key element of the partnership has been the knowledge-sharing and training provided by Innokin’s experts to the management of Bahrain Duty Free.
“We are thrilled about our partnership with Bahrain Duty Free. This collaboration signifies not only our dedication to the growing Middle East market but also our commitment to fostering responsible practices in the industry,” said George Xia, co-founder of Innokin. “With our decade-plus experience and the shared values of both organizations, we are confident that this partnership will set new standards of excellence for vaping.”
August 31, 2023
FDA Posts New Warning Letter Webinar for Retailers
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has posted a new webinar to help online retailers respond to warning letters from regulatory agency’s Center for Tobacco Products (CTP).
The webinar provides an overview of warning letters and outlines the process for responding to a warning letter, such as corrective action taken by the firm to address any violations and its plan for maintaining compliance, according to an FDA release.
In the webinar, you will learn about:

FDA’s internet and publication surveillance of tobacco products
Examples of violations cited in warning letters sent to online tobacco product retailers
Actions to take after receiving a warning letter
Regulators in the United States began cracking down on online retailers selling vaping products that are attractive to youth. The Food and Drug Administration last week issued warning letters to 16 (the agency reported 15, but lists 16) online retailers for selling and/or distributing unauthorized e-cigarette products packaged to look like cartoon characters, school supplies, toys, and drinks.
August 30, 2023
Another Appeals Court Accuses FDA of ‘Switcheroo’

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit yesterday found that the Food & Drug Administration failed to conduct the proper analyses before rejecting some vaping product applications.
The court’s unanimous decision in Fontem US v. FDA upheld the regulatory agency’s denial of Fontem’s application to market flavored vaping products, in line with prior D.C. Circuit precedent, but rejected the FDA’s denial of Fontem’s applications for unflavored products.
This is the second circuit court of appeals to accuse the FDA of a “surprise switcheroo” when reviewing vaping product applications.
Fontem, the company behind the Blu and myBlu vaping brands, argued that the FDA had not conducted the proper analysis prior to rejecting their applications. The D.C. Circuit Court agreed with Fontem in regards to their unflavored products, ruling that the FDA had “neglected to conduct the overall public health review specified by law.”
Judge Rao’s opinion for the court (joined by Judge Walker and Senior Judge Ginsburg), stated that with respect to Fontem’s unflavored products, the FDA also denied Fontem’s applications on the public health ground.
“While the FDA identified multiple ‘deficiencies,’ it failed to analyze the tradeoffs necessary to make a public health finding. Nor did the agency explain how the specific deficiencies relate to its overall conclusion that Fontem failed to demonstrate its unflavored products were appropriate for the protection of public health,” the opinion states. “The agency’s denial therefore failed to comport with the requirements of the Tobacco Control Act.”
In denying Fontem’s unflavored products, the FDA relies solely on the public health ground. The FDA could have promulgated regulations imposing consistent requirements on the composition and manufacturing of tobacco products, according to the order.
“Had the agency done so, Fontem’s failure to meet those standards would be an independent and sufficient ground for denying the applications, regardless of the overall public health consequences of Fontem’s products,” the order states. “But the agency has not exercised its regulatory authority. Because the FDA has chosen to proceed application by application under the public health ground, it must undertake the holistic inquiry required by the statute.”
Instead of making an overall assessment that Fontem had not shown its products were beneficial to the public, the agency identified five highly technical deficiencies, according to the order. But nothing in the denial order explains how the deficiencies relate to the overall public health consequences of Fontem’s unflavored products.
The FDA’s failure to correctly apply the public health inquiry to Fontem’s unflavored products led it to make another serious error, according to the order. In its initial deficiency letter, the FDA requested certain information from Fontem, thereby indicating such information would be sufficient for the agency to approve Fontem’s products.
“Cf. 21 U.S.C. § 387j(c)(3) (providing an application denial “be accompanied by a statement informing the applicant of the measures required to remove such application from deniable form”),” the order states. “But in several instances, the FDA changed its tune in the denial order, reproaching Fontem for failing to provide information the agency had never explicitly sought.
“Shifting the regulatory goalposts without explanation is arbitrary and capricious. By indicating in its deficiency letter that Fontem could resolve issues with its applications by providing specific information, the FDA represented such information would be sufficient to secure approval.”
August 30, 2023