Author: Staff Writer

  • Georgia Ready to Consider Raising Tobacco Taxes

    Georgia Ready to Consider Raising Tobacco Taxes

    Credit: Vepar5

    In the United States, Georgia House Speaker Jon Burns said he was open to another healthcare proposal that has gone nowhere in the past – raising the state’s tax on tobacco products.

    Georgia has the second lowest tobacco tax rate in the country.

    “That’s one of the areas we’ll look at,” he said, reports WABE.

    Burns has restructured the House committees in a way meant to encourage lawmakers to dig into complex healthcare issues, and he says a possible tobacco tax increase is an example of a healthcare policy that could bubble up from the committees.

  • Oregon Lawmakers Introduce Vape Flavor Ban Bill

    Oregon Lawmakers Introduce Vape Flavor Ban Bill

    Credit: David Kruger

    Lawmakers in Oregon introduced a new bill that would end the sale of flavored vaping and other tobacco products across the state.

    House Bill 3090 aims to end the sale of menthol cigarettes and all other flavored tobacco products. This includes hookah, e-cigarettes, cigars, and smokeless tobacco, reports KATU.

    “We have been setting ourselves up for success through the legislature for the last seven years, to get to the point now where we can finally have a huge impact on reducing the pipeline of new customers,” said Jamie Dunphy, the Oregon director of government relations for the American Cancer Society.

    Dunphy said the bill is the next step in reducing the number of people who vape.

    Washington County, Oregon’s flavored vaping and tobacco ban was struck down by a judge who stated that counties in Oregon do not have the authority to enact such measures and that they must come from the state legislature.

  • Juul Labs has Early Approval for Consumer Settlement

    Juul Labs has Early Approval for Consumer Settlement

    Credit: Insurance Journal
    • Judge says the settlement of lawsuits seems ‘fair, reasonable’
    • Specific settlement details were not made public at a court hearing

    A U.S. district judge handed Juul Labs Inc on Friday preliminary court approval of a $255 million settlement resolving claims by consumers that it deceptively marketed e-cigarettes, as the company seeks to resolve thousands of lawsuits.

    Judge William Orrick in San Francisco said the proposed class action settlement resolving claims by consumers who said they overpaid for Juul’s vaping products was “fair, reasonable, and adequate,” according to a court filing, as reported by Reuters.

    Lawyers in the case said they expect to return to the judge in July seeking final approval.

    The class action settlement resolves claims by people who say they would have paid less, or not bought the e-cigarettes at all, if Juul had not downplayed the products’ addictiveness and appeal to teenagers through social media campaigns and other means.

    The settlement is part of a larger, global agreement by Juul to resolve thousands of lawsuits by school districts, local governments and individuals accusing it of contributing to a youth vaping epidemic.

    The company last month said it had reached settlements with about 10,000 plaintiffs covering more than 5,000 cases. It has not said how much it will pay, though the Wall Street Journal reported the deal is valued at $1.7 billion.

    Altria Group Inc, Juul Labs’ largest stakeholder, has asked a federal judge to order the e-cigarette manufacturer to turn over details of the settlement claiming the details remain “shrouded in secrecy” even from other parties in the litigation.

  • New Chicago Vape Shops will Need Permit From City

    New Chicago Vape Shops will Need Permit From City

    Credit: Stephen VanHorn

    New businesses in the U.S. city of Chicago that get 20 percent of their income from the sale of vaping products will now be required to obtain a special city license. There is no moratorium clause.

    The ordinance from 41st Ward Ald. Anthony Napolitano, which passed by voice vote Wednesday, also restricts how closely such shops can operate from each other.

    “The devil is always in the details, but a model that permits new stores to open appears more consumer-friendly than the possibility of moratoriums,” said Gregory Conley, director of legislative and external affairs for the American Vapor Manufacturers Association.

    Napolitano’s original proposal would have given the City Council authority to place moratoriums in specified areas on future tobacco retail licenses, which are required in Chicago to sell cigarettes, vapes and other smoke products.

    The newest legislation, which exempts existing vape shops, comes as the city has moved to crack down on electronic cigarettes, which have lately been a target of a broad coalition of aldermen and Mayor Lori Lightfoot.

    But those working in vape shops have countered that their products have helped many adults quit traditional cigarettes, and existing constraints have failed to keep the electronic ones out of children’s hands. They worry the legislation would further hurt small businesses without making a dent in preventing youth addiction.

  • Scotland Officially Places Disposables Under Review

    Scotland Officially Places Disposables Under Review

    Credit: ArieStudio

    The Scottish government has officially commissioned an “urgent review of the environmental impacts and management of single-use vapes.”

    The review, which comes in response to emerging concerns around the negative consequences of disposable vaping devices, will inform potential policy responses, which could include a ban of the products.

    The disposable smoking devices have been linked to issues including litter, plastic waste and fire risk, according to Scotland’s government.

    Zero Waste Scotland will lead the review, which will consider international experience and action, including any key developments in the European Union.

    Other approaches could include increasing access to responsible disposal options, improved product design, or public communications campaigns.

    “Any form of littering is an unacceptable, anti-social behavior, that is damaging to the environment and the economy,” Iain Gulland, Chief Executive of Zero Waste Scotland, said. “Single-use items, like disposable vapes, are becoming an all-too-common eyesore in areas where we live, work, and socialize, and can last in our environment for years and years. Tackling our throwaway culture is a priority here at Zero Waste Scotland and we are happy to lead on this important review.”

  • AVM to Hold Public Forum With CTP Director King

    AVM to Hold Public Forum With CTP Director King

    Brian King / Credit: FDA

    The U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s Center for Tobacco Products Director Brian King will participate in an open discussion with the vaping industry in late February.

    The virtual event will be moderated by American Vapor Manufacturers Association (AVM) legislative director Gregory Conley and newly-named AVM vice president Allison Boughner.

    “The Future of Vaping in the US: A Conversation with FDA’s Dr. Brian King” will be held on Feb. 24 at 1:00 p.m. EST, and is open to the public. Participants must register in advance, and AVM has provided an opportunity to submit questions for King.

    King has been quiet since memos recently submitted to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit show that he reversed a recommended marketing approval of Logic Technology’s menthol vaping products, ignoring the advice of FDA scientists, according to Logic’s lawyers. 

  • Philippines: Group Wants Crackdown on Illegal Vapes

    Philippines: Group Wants Crackdown on Illegal Vapes

    Credit: Tupungato

    The Philippine Tobacco Industry (PTI) has called on the Philippines’ Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) to crack down on illicit vapor products, reports The Manilla Times.

    In a letter sent recently to BIR Commissioner Romeo Lumagui Jr., the group emphasized that the full implementation of the Vaporized Nicotine and Non-Nicotine Products Regulation Act “will ensure that the public is protected against the dangers of using illicit products as well as the collection of appropriate taxes aimed at helping our economy.”

    The Act, which became law in July 2022, regulates the importation, manufacture, sale, packaging, distribution, use and communication of vaping products such as e-cigarettes and heated tobacco products.

    Under the laws implementing rules and regulations (IRR), e-commerce platforms, e-marketplaces and other similar online platforms are mandated to allow only Department of Trade and Industry and BIR-registered distributors, merchants or retailers of vape products, devices and novel tobacco products to sell on their website or platform.

    To ensure vape products are made inaccessible to minors, the IRR also requires vapor product refill receptacles to be tamper- and child-resistant. Products packaged or labeled with flavor descriptors appealing to minors are prohibited.

    “We are also hoping that the BIR will closely work with enforcement agencies such as the Philippine National Police, The Armed Forces of the Philippines as well as relevant anti-illicit trade groups from the Bureau of Customs to make sure the law and its IRR are effectively implemented,” the PTI said.

    The PTI members include Japan Tobacco International Philippines, Associated Anglo-American Tobacco Corp. and Philip Morris Fortune Tobacco Co.

  • Fifth Circuit Grants Triton Rehearing Before Full Court

    Fifth Circuit Grants Triton Rehearing Before Full Court

    Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals

    The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit granted Wages and White Lion Investments LLC, doing business as Triton Distribution, and Vapetasia LLC’s, request for the full court to re-hear Triton’s appeal of its marketing denial order (MDO), according to a court order handed down today.

    Triton lost before a three-judge panel in July, but attorneys for Triton then filed a petition for a rehearing en banc by the entirety of the Fifth Circuit.

    Most circuit court appeals are decided by a three-judge panel, however, the special circumstances surrounding the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s denial of Triton’s premarket tobacco product applications (PMTAs) motivated the court to allow a majority of the active judges (an estimated 17 judges) to vote to rehear the case “en banc.”

    The FDA rejected applications to market 55,000 flavored e-cigarettes in August 2021, including Triton’s, and said applicants would likely need to conduct long-term studies establishing their products’ benefits to win approval.

    A Fifth Circuit panel in October then agreed with Triton’s claim that the new requirement for long-term studies differed from earlier FDA guidance and called the action a “surprise switcheroo” and the panel allowed Triton to keep selling its e-cigarettes until another panel could hear its appeal.

    The court then denied Triton’s request for review of the agency’s MDOs in a 2-1 decision.

    The Fifth Circuit will hear the en banc argument in Wages and White Lion Investments v. U.S. Food & Drug Administration in May.

  • Italy Announces Rules for Ban on Indoor Vaping

    Italy Announces Rules for Ban on Indoor Vaping

    New measures against nicotine products will be introduced in Italy to address the prevention and fight against vaping and smoking.

    Italy’s health minister, Orazio Schillaci, announced new measures against vaping and other tobacco products to achieve a “tobacco-free generation,” reports Euractiv.

    “Measures will have to be taken to guarantee all citizens maximum protection of their health, a fundamental right of the individual and an interest of the community,” said Schillaci.

    Smoking rooms indoors will be banned, and the ban on smoking in open-air places in the presence of minors and pregnant women will be extended.

    E-cigarettes and heated-tobacco products will also be included in the ban, taking into account “the constantly increasing diffusion of new products on the market and the growing evidence on their possible harmful effects on health.” Plans to extend the cigarette advertising ban to new nicotine-containing products are also in place.

    “This process aims to allow the different multiple interests related to tobacco products, involving economic ministries, not to override health protection,” Schillaci said.

  • UK Trading Standards: Fake Vapes a Major Threat

    UK Trading Standards: Fake Vapes a Major Threat

    Credit: Innovated Captures

    According to UK Trading Standards officials, shops selling illegal vapes and the sale of vaping products to children are the top threats on the country’s High Streets.

    Hundreds of thousands of vapes that flout current laws have been seized, according to BBC.

    UK laws limit how much nicotine and e-liquid is contained in vapes, and which health warnings are required on packaging.

    But some shops are selling vapes containing 12,000 puffs of e-liquid, when the law permits only about 600. Others contain illegally high levels of nicotine.

    In the north-east of England alone, more than 1.4 tonnes of illegal vapes were seized from shops in the second half of last year, while in Kent there was a dramatic rise in counterfeit vaping products seized at Channel ports in December, with more than 300,000 removed.