Author: Staff Writer

  • Former Hong Kong Official Wants Export Ban Back

    Former Hong Kong Official Wants Export Ban Back

    Credit: Zapper

    A former health secretary in Hong Kong on Sunday said it is not ideal for the government to allow e-cigarettes to be re-exported via the Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China.

    A ban on alternative smoking products came into force in the SAR in April last year.

    But there was an exemption for re-export via air cargo and the authorities want to extend this to sea-to-air and land-to-air shipments, to support the logistics sector.

    Former Secretary Sophia Chan said such a move would be risky, especially with Hong Kong aiming to further reduce its smoking population from the current 9.5 percent to 7.8 percent.

    The Council on Smoking and Health said earlier that a relaxation regarding re-exports would inevitably increase the diversion of such products into the community and significantly weaken the effectiveness of the city’s ban on alternative smoking products, according to RTHK.

    “The process to fully ban e-cigarettes and heated tobacco products was difficult, but we did it. The main reason we did it was to reduce the risk,” said Chan.

    “On the one hand, we understand the government needs to boost the economy after the pandemic. But on the other hand, we should push ahead with tobacco control efforts for people’s health and to reach the 7.8 percent goal in 2025.”

  • UK Lawmakers Under Fire to Ban Disposable Vapes

    UK Lawmakers Under Fire to Ban Disposable Vapes

    Credit: Arie Studio

    Pressure is mounting against UK lawmakers to impose an outright ban on single-use vapes, amid concern about their rising popularity among youth and doubts over regulators’ ability to control the fast-moving sector.

    A government call for evidence on vaping and young people in England is due to end on 6 June, with action expected on measures to clamp down on illegal vape sales, as well as the marketing and placement of relatively cheap single-use vapes.

    One government official said the latter was a particular worry. They said: “Some of the marketing and branding is pretty appalling – it can look like a sweet shop.”

    Some health groups have wider concerns about the approach of the government, set out by the junior health minister Neil O’Brien in a speech last month, to encourage vape use as a substitute for traditional tobacco products, with a planned “swap to stop” scheme offering a million smokers in England a free vaping starter kit.

    They argue that the relatively short history of e-cigarettes means there is minimal knowledge about long-term health effects, and that evidence about their efficacy as methods to stop smoking is similarly limited, pointing to countries such as Australia, which permit them only on prescription, according to The Guardian.

    The most immediate battle is likely to be fought over single-use vapes, now the chosen product for more than half of young people who use e-cigarettes.

  • Cook County, Illinois Bans Flavored Vape Products

    Cook County, Illinois Bans Flavored Vape Products

    Credit: Kraken Images

    The Cook County Board has approved a ban on selling flavored tobacco products in suburban Cook County. Cook County is the largest county in Illinois and contains 134 municipalities in its region, the City of Chicago being the most well-known.

    Passed by a unanimous voice vote, the ban on the sale of flavored tobacco products applies to all vaping cartridges and includes menthol flavors, according to Audacy.

    Under the ordinance, any of the reported 42 licensed tobacco retailers in unincorporated Cook could face a $250 fine the first time they are caught selling flavored vapes.

    “Our statutory authority only applies to unincorporated Cook. Those businesses that are located in unincorporated Cook will be impacted,” Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle said. “When we make legislation of this sort, that’s where it applies. Local municipalities can enact their own legislation should they wish.”

  • Altria Set to Complete Purchase of NJOY Holdings

    Altria Set to Complete Purchase of NJOY Holdings

    Credit: JHVE Photo

    Altria Group today announced that the waiting period under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976 has expired in connection with the company’s previously announced pending acquisition of NJOY Holdings.

    This confirms that no further regulatory review by the federal antitrust authorities is required in connection with the transaction. Subject to the satisfaction of other customary closing conditions.

    Altria states that it expects to complete the acquisition in the second quarter of 2023.

    In 2022, the U.S. vapor category comprised nearly 14 million U.S. adult tobacco consumers, including 9.5 million exclusive adult vapers, according to Altria. The segment generated approximately $7 billion in U.S. retail sales and represented approximately 15 percent of total estimated equivalized U.S. tobacco volumes and more than 50 percent of total estimated equivalized smoke-free tobacco volumes.

    To date, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved the marketing of 23 vapor products and devices. In 2022, NJOY received marketing granted orders for the NJOY Ace device, along with several tobacco-flavored pods. The regulatory agency is still reviewing NJOY’s premarket tobacco product applications for several NJOY menthol-flavored e-vapor products.

    Altria said it had multiple sources of funding for the deal, including cash from a $2.7 billion agreement with Philip Morris International last year for the IQOS Tobacco Heating System.

    The NJOY deal followed an announcement by Altria that it would exchange its entire minority investment in embattled Juul Labs for a nonexclusive global license for certain of Juul’s heated tobacco intellectual property.

    In total, Njoy Holdings has received six of the 23 marketing orders granted by the FDA as of this writing for the entire vaping product category, including pods, disposables and open systems.

    A major factor in Altria purchasing Njoy is the Ace device didn’t come with the stigma tied to youth vaping, according to Altria CEO Billy Gifford.

    “We believe Njoy has taken a responsible approach to marketing its products. According to the 2022 National Youth Tobacco Survey, Njoy-branded products are not included among the top usual brands among middle school and high school e-cigarette users. Additionally, Njoy is developing access restriction technology for its devices to further address underage use,” explains Gifford. “Our consumer research indicates that once consumers try Njoy Ace, it is a competitive product for both smokers and vapers. After trying the authorized nonmenthol Ace variant, 19 percent of surveyed smokers and 27 percent of surveyed vapers indicated that they would definitely buy the product.”

  • Elf Bar Maker Wants U.S. FDA to Reverse Red List Addition

    Elf Bar Maker Wants U.S. FDA to Reverse Red List Addition

    Imiracle, the manufacturer of Elf Bar, Lost Mary and EB Design vaping products, is calling on the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to reverse the agency’s recent addition of Imiracle products to its import red list and “for coherent, clear and depoliticized regulation of the U.S. vaping market.

    IMiracle Shenzhen Technology Co. Ltd. issued a statement regarding the placement of its products on the FDA’s Import Alert # 98-06. The company said it is disappointed by the FDA’s decision to “abruptly and arbitrarily” add the company’s products to the FDA import red list.

    The company stated that it was given no notice regarding the decision and was provided no opportunity to address any FDA concerns before action was taken.

    “It is the job of the FDA to provide consistent and coherent regulatory clarity to the U.S. marketplace. This red list announcement fails to meet this responsibility and provides yet another example of FDA’s politicized decision-making,” a spokesperson for Imiracle stated. “The FDA is singling out IMiracle’s products, despite the fact that the company was working in good faith through the FDA’s PMTA process. At the same time, the FDA is failing to address the flood of products from manufacturers that have ignored and never attempted to comply with FDA regulations.

    “This decision also ignores the latest science on e-cigarette use and continues to prevent U.S. adults from accessing an entire category of nicotine products that FDA knows are significantly safer than cigarettes. Further, no IMiracle brands have ever been identified in the National Youth Tobacco Survey as top brands used by youth.

    “The FDA’s capricious action is not surprising given the agency’s history of regulating vaping products out of existence. It is appropriate for the industry and its more than 10 million adult consumers to demand a clear and thoughtful regulatory regime from the federal government, and they have done so. The FDA has failed to respond.

    “IMiracle calls on the FDA to reverse its decision to place IMiracle products on the import red list. We welcome the engagement and the conversation needed to create a proper and fair regulatory regime around the e-cigarette marketplace that works for all stakeholders.”

    The FDA last week issued “Import Alert 98-06” that states the regulatory agency will detain new tobacco products such as e-cigarettes without marketing authorization at the border.

    The companies impacted would include all importers, manufacturers and transporters of vaping product brands such as Elf Bar, EB Design, Eonsmoke, Esco Bars and Stik that are on the agency’s “Red List.”

  • U.S. FDA Warns Vape Makers Esco Bars, Breeze Smoke

    U.S. FDA Warns Vape Makers Esco Bars, Breeze Smoke

    Credit: Pastel Cartel

    Two warning letters to firms that manufacture popular flavored, disposable e-cigarette products have received warning letters from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

    Shenzen Innokin Technology Co. Ltd., the producer of Esco Bars products, and Breeze Smoke, LLC who import and distribute Breeze products for manufacturing, distributing, and/or importing unauthorized tobacco products in the United States, according to the FDA.

    Esco Bars and Breeze are presently among the most commonly sold brands of disposable products in the United States.

    “Today’s actions underscore FDA’s commitment to protecting youth against illegal flavored, disposable e-cigarette products. On May 12, FDA also issued an import alert for Esco Bars products,” according to an FDA statement. “The import alert places these tobacco products on the red list, which allows FDA to refuse or detain the product at the time of entry and to prevent illegal products from being distributed in the U.S.”

    Credit: Breeze

    Brian King, the director of the FDA’s Center for Tobacco Products, said the science clearly shows that a majority of youth who use e-cigarettes report that the products they are using are disposable and flavored products. “Given their appeal to youth, these products are a priority for FDA compliance and enforcement action,” King said.

    FDA generally sends warning letters the first time an investigation or inspection reveals a violation. A majority of recipients of warning letters correct the stated violation.

    However, failure to promptly correct the violations can result in additional FDA actions such as an injunction, seizure and/or civil money penalties.

  • Latvian Vapers Petition to Keep Flavored Vapes

    Latvian Vapers Petition to Keep Flavored Vapes

    Credit: Butenkov

    More than 10,000 citizens have signed a petition to keep e-cigarette flavors legal in Latvia, reports the Baltic News Network. Because the initiative has received the legally required number of signatures, it is entitled to a review by Latvia’s parliament, the Saeima.

    Rather than banning flavors, the petition urges Latvia’s government to crack down on illegal vape sales and educate society about healthy choices.

    According to the Tobacco-Free Products Association, the vaping industry targets smokers aiming to quit cigarettes, which are believed to be far more harmful than e-cigarettes.

    According to Toms Lusis, the author of the initiative, Latvian legislators’ attitudes toward vapor products are based on outdated beliefs and studies.

    “The latest scientific data shows that e-cigarettes are up to 95 percent less dangerous for human health than regular cigarettes,” he said. “The use of e-cigarettes [is] supported as a way out of sorts for residents to stop using tobacco products as well as radically combat the widely spread smoking-related diseases like lung cancer.”

    Lusis cautioned that by denying adults the freedom of choice when it comes to e-cigarette flavors, the state could also lose considerable revenue from excise tax on flavored e-cigarette liquids.

  • Misconceptions About E-Cigarettes Persist: Study

    Misconceptions About E-Cigarettes Persist: Study

    Photo: pavelkant

    About half of cigarette smokers and young adult nonsmokers think that nicotine-based electronic cigarettes have the same amount or even more harmful chemicals than regular tobacco-based cigarettes, according to a Rutgers study.

    Published in Addiction, the study measured perceived levels of harmful chemicals in e-cigarettes compared with cigarettes using national samples of more than 1,000 adults ages 18 and older who smoke cigarettes and 1,000-plus adults ages 18 to 29 who are nonsmokers. The study also measured associations with e-cigarette/cigarette relative harm perceptions, e-cigarette use and interest. About 20 percent of all participants believed e-cigarettes contain fewer harmful chemicals than cigarettes while about 30 percent responded that they did not know how the levels compared.

    “Our results were interesting to see given that previous review reports suggest e-cigarettes expose users to fewer types and lower levels of harmful and potentially harmful chemicals than cigarettes,” said Olivia Wackowski of Rutgers Center for Tobacco Studies, an associate professor at the Rutgers School of Public Health and lead researcher of the study, in a statement. “It was also interesting to find that only about half of adult smokers who thought e-cigarettes have fewer harmful chemicals also thought e-cigarettes are less harmful to health.”

    E-cigarette harm perception relative to typical cigarettes is a common question included on major national health and tobacco surveys in the United States. However, surveys of e-cigarettes typically haven’t included a question about the perceived exposure to or level of harmful chemicals in e-cigarettes relative to cigarettes.

    According to the study researchers, measuring perceptions of e-cigarette and cigarette chemical exposure is important because e-cigarette communications often directly refer to chemicals in some way, which may impact perceptions about chemicals and harms from using e-cigarettes compared to cigarettes.

  • Innovator to Harness Artificial Intelligence for Tobacco

    Innovator to Harness Artificial Intelligence for Tobacco

    Ryan Selby | Photo: Poda Holdings

    Generative AI Solutions Corp. intends to build a large language model (LLM) dedicated to harnessing the power of artificial intelligence for the tobacco industry. For this purpose, it has incorporated a new subsidiary called GenAI Tobacco. The company intends to launch the LLM tobacco product under the brand name Tobacco Titan.

    Tobacco Titan aims to provide AI-powered information about products, marketing and regulations, along with health and safety insights. The product could also make customized recommendations, such as new flavors, brands or smoking accessories that align with the adult user’s tastes and preferences.

    “I have seen the need for innovation and data collection firsthand in the tobacco industry,” said GenAI Chairman and CEO Ryan Selby, who previously was co-founder and CEO of Poda Holdings, in a statement.

    “Through my various contacts at some of the largest tobacco companies in the world, along with various other industry leaders, I believe we can build Tobacco Titan into an extremely valuable global enterprise system, providing utility to individuals and businesses alike.

    “Our goal is to partner with certain companies in the tobacco industry that have access to various proprietary datasets which will give Tobacco Titan a competitive advantage based on the uniqueness of the data that is not generally available on the internet. We plan on working with our partners Metachain Technologies. to facilitate the development of Tobacco Titan and will finalize our arrangement with them in the coming weeks.”

  • India Health Ministry Wants Crack Down on Vape Sales

    India Health Ministry Wants Crack Down on Vape Sales

    Credit: Dovidovich Mikhail

    The Union Health Ministry in New Delhi, India on Monday issued a public notice for stricter implementation of ‘The Prohibition of Electronic Cigarettes Act, 2019’, which prohibits the production, manufacturing, import, export, transport, sale, distribution, storage and advertisement of e-cigarettes.

    “The Prohibition of Electronic Cigarettes (Production, Manufacture, Import, Export, Transport, Sale, Distribution, Storage and Advertisement) Act, 2019 on December 5, 2019, prohibits the production, manufacture, import, export, transport, sale, distribution, storage and advertisement of electronic cigarettes and the like devices in the interest of public health,” the Ministry’s public notice said, according to The Print.

    The Ministry’s public notice comes after finding that the norms allegedly being flouted by the producers, manufacturers, importers, sellers and distributors in selling and advertising electronic cigarettes.

    “It is hereby informed to all Producers, Manufacturers, Importers, Exporters, Distributors, Advertisers, Transporters including Couriers, Social Media Websites, e-Commerce Websites, Online shopping websites, Shopkeepers/ retailers etc. not to directly or indirectly, produce or manufacture or import or export or transport or sell or distribute or store electronic cigarettes, whether as a complete product or any part thereof; and if advertise electronic cigarettes or take part in any advertisement (in print, electronic media, internet or website or social media etc.) that directly or indirectly promotes the use of electronic cigarettes.”

    A 2022 survey showed that 94 percent of Indian vapers have given up e-cigarettes and other electronic nicotine-delivery systems (ENDS) following their ban in 2019.

    The survey, designed by the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids and conducted in collaboration with the National Law School of India University, Bengaluru, was disseminated online and targeted those aged 18 to 34. Most respondents were from Karnataka.

    The survey also showed that over 56 percent of respondents believed there was a health risk in using ENDS products while 24 percent were unaware of any risks.