Author: Staff Writer

New Mexico Lawmakers to Consider Flavor Ban

New Mexico State Capitol at dusk (Credit: Ball Studios)
A New Mexico lawmaker is proposing a ban on all flavored vaping and other tobacco products. The bill would stop the sale of any vaping or other tobacco product that has any flavoring added. The representative behind this bill says the main goal is to stop kids from getting hooked on nicotine.
“Most of my sales are all flavored stuff. There’s far few and in between that will come and be like ‘I just want nothing flavored,’” says Sabrina Garley, manager of Biroska SmokeShop, a vape vendor in New Mexico, according to KRQE.
Local smoke shops around Albuquerque say they fear a bill banning these flavored tobacco products like e-cigarettes and vapes will hurt their business. “I thought, ‘we’re going down.’ Definitely, definitely one of our biggest sellers. We’d have to figure out something else to replace that,” Garley says.
House Bill 94 is sponsored by Las Cruces State Representative Joanne Ferrary. “House Bill 94 will prohibit the sale of flavored tobacco products and it will define the terms and make sure that we aren’t losing a new generation of kids to nicotine,” Ferrary says, “By removing the flavored tobacco products from the market, it will keep kids from gravitating towards any of the flavors on the market.”
January 19, 2023
Calls for Scotland to Ban Disposable Vape Devices

A lawmaker in Scotland is calling for a ban on disposable vapes “after Scotland’s streets became a plastic dumping ground.”
Green MSP Gillian Mackay said city parks have become clogged up by disposable plastic vaping products, which experts say are a threat to children’s health and a menace to wildlife and she will urge the Government to introduce a ban on disposable plastic vapes.
Mackay warned the single-use devices were turning up more and more on streets and in beach clean-ups – and claimed they could become “the cotton bud of their time,” according to the Daily Record.
It comes after the Scottish Government last year banned most types of single-use plastics as part of efforts to shift to a “circular economy” with fewer items wasted. But disposable e-cigarettes weren’t affected, and they’ve exploded in popularity since 2021 with a 14-fold increase in their use among vapers over more eco-friendly rechargeable products.
Mackay recently also called for a ban on flavored vaping products and all advertising for vaping products.
Research last year found 1.3 million single-use vapes are being discarded every week in the UK, enough to cover 22 football pitches – an average of two thrown away every second.
Recycling the products is also tricky as inside the plastic are valuable lithium batteries. Campaigners say the number of batteries chucked away would be enough to power 1200 electric cars.
January 19, 2023
Luxury Cars Used to Smuggle Vapes Into Singapore

Credit: Andreykr
Criminals in Singapore are not using just trucks and trailers to smuggle vaping products. They are also using luxury cars in an attempt to evade detection and capture.
Based on seizures and captures carried out by the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) enforcement, many different types of luxury vehicles are being used for smuggling activities, namely Mercedes Benz, BMW, Audi and high-end Toyota Vellfire and Alphard MPVs (Multi Purpose Vehicles), according to media reports.
“Perhaps these syndicates feel that the ‘status’ of being perceived as being rich by driving luxury vehicles can evade detection by enforcement. This is why the syndicates choose all sorts of different luxury vehicles to carry out smuggling of e-cigarettes and vape liquid,” according to an unnamed source.
The ICA’s employs hi-tech X-Ray machines to detect smuggled items. Based on information received, the Singapore enforcement authorities recently confiscated 792 e-cigarettes that were smuggled from Malaysia using an Audi vehicle.
Also confiscated were 3,093 e-cigarette refill pods, apart from 4,000 e-cigarettes and 3,120 e-cigarette refill pods that were hidden in another luxury vehicle, a Mercedes Benz.
“On Nov 23 last year, the syndicate used an Audi vehicle to smuggle 2,700 pods filled with e-cigarette refills apart from 100 disposable e-cigarettes. The seizure also yielded 145 e-cigarette products that were concealed under the seats and floor of a Toyota Vellfire MPV,” the source said.
January 19, 2023
Bangladesh Vape Group Calls for Stakeholder Input

Credit: Ser
The Bangladesh Electronic Nicotine Delivery System Traders Association (BENDSTA) called on authorities to consult with all stakeholders before making any policy decisions on vaping at a press conference held in the capital city of Dhaka on Tuesday.
The organization also called for excluding vaping and other electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS) products from the proposed amendment of the Smoking and Tobacco Products Control Act 2005 (amended in 2013), according to a press release.
BENDSTA fears that if a decision to ban vapes is taken after ignoring credible scientific evidence, it will jeopardize the Prime Minister’s vision of making the country tobacco-free by 2040.
Many former smokers who successfully quit smoking cigarettes using vaping devices might resort back to smoking traditional cigarettes again if vaping gets banned in the country.
Not only will this increase the number of smokers in the country, but the government will also lose the opportunity to balance its health and revenue agenda from an emerging sector, BENDSTA speakers said.
BENDSTA President Masud Uz Zaman criticized the country’s health authorities for not including the association as relevant stakeholders in the process of developing such a crucial policy framework.
“If any amendment is proposed regarding vaping, we are definitely an important stakeholder. It is unreasonable to not take our opinion and completely exclude us from the law-making process. Despite sending letters to the Ministry of Health repeatedly, they have refrained to sit with us to discuss the issue,” Zaman said.
Zaman stressed that these tobacco harm reduction products should be made legal and regulated sensibly to achieve the Prime Minister’s vision of a tobacco-free nation.
The proposed amendments called for a total ban on vaping products.
January 18, 2023
UK to Consider New Regulations for Vape Disposal

Disposing of used vaping devices, especially disposable devices, has become a major issue. So much so that the UK is set to consider changes to ensure the vaping sector “plays its part” in financing the collection and treatment of vaping products as part of the upcoming review of the waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) regulations.
Fourteen million single-use vapes are bought each month and 1.3 million are thrown away every week, according to research from Material Focus, the not-for-profit organization funded by the WEEE compliance fee.
Last week, the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) published its response to its consultation on commonly littered single-use plastic items, which ran from November 2021 to February 2022, according to Let’s Recycle. Within its response, Defra noted it had not explored the issues around waste generated from disposable vapes.
Defra says it is reviewing the current producer responsibility systems for WEEE and batteries and plans to publish the much-delayed consultations on both areas “this year”, and in doing so will look at vaping products.
The UK Vaping Industry Association (UKVIA), the trade body representing the UK’s vaping industry’s interests, says it is in discussions along with its member with several waste companies to create a recycling solution that is “fit for purpose for the vaping sector.”
January 18, 2023
PMI Inaugurates HEETS Factory in Indonesia

Photo: Arkadiusz Fajer
Philip Morris International’s Indonesian subsidiary, Sampoerna, inaugurated a factory for the production of IQOS HEETS consumables in Karawang, West Java, on Jan. 12, reports The Jakarta Post.
The facility, which started operations in the fourth quarter of 2022, represents an investment of more than $186 million.
The new HEETS factory, which will serve customers in Indonesia and the Asia Pacific region, fits with the government’s policy to encourage investment and increase the export of finished products. Speaking at the inauguration, Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Airlangga Hartarto said the investment will encourage innovation and create value in other sectors, such as retail, agriculture and R&D.
According to PMI, the Indonesian plant is the company’s seventh factory for innovative smoke-free products worldwide and its first in Southeast Asia.
During the inauguration, Sampoerna President Director Vassilis Gkatzelis conveyed his appreciation to the Indonesian government for the conducive investment climate, as well as the government’s commitment to maintaining national economic stability.
“As a company that has been operating for almost 110 years, we aim to continue to contribute to the national economy through continuous investment as well as the economic impact on the national tobacco industry supply chain and ecosystem,” he said.
Vassilis also noted PMI’s considerable investment in smoking alternatives. The company, he said, has invested more than $9 billion to develop, scientifically substantiate and commercialize innovative smoke-free tobacco products.
IQOS debuted in Indonesia through limited market testing since 2019 and is available in Jakarta, Surabaya, Denpasar and Bandung, among other cities.
January 18, 2023
Ukraine Repurposing Vape Batteries as Power Banks

Credit: Lucitanija
A group of cyber specialists is repurposing batteries from used e-cigarettes into power banks for frontline soldiers in places like forests and trenches with no access to electricity.
Working in a generator-powered office just outside Ukraine’s capital of Kyiv, the volunteers work day and night to make the products that are in scarce supply, according to Channel News Asia.
“We collected electronic cigarettes (and) inside turned out to be a completely normal rechargeable lithium battery, which has its own cycle and even has a capacity higher than it says on the case,” said IT specialist Ivan Volynets, who founded Power Kit, the company producing the power banks.
“We were very surprised and decided that if we could keep collecting them, we could then make power banks and provide soldiers with these devices.”
Volunteers have so far collected more than five tons of used e-cigarettes for repurposing.
They are assisted by Ukrainian delivery service Nova Poshta, which ships discarded vaping devices to Power Kit for free.
IT specialist Dmytro said each power bank stores enough energy to fully charge a typical phone up to five times. “It also works for other equipment such as drones and radios,” he added.
January 16, 2023
Mexico Bans Public Smoking, Vape Rules to Tighten

Credit: Sezerozger
After banning the sale of all vaping products, Mexico has implemented one of the world’s strictest anti-tobacco laws by enacting a complete ban on smoking in public places.
The move also includes a total ban on the advertising, promotion and sponsorship of tobacco products, which means that cigarettes cannot be displayed inside shops. The step was first approved in 2021.
E-cigarettes and heated tobacco products are also facing tighter new restrictions, particularly indoors, as per BBC. Last year, Mexico banned the import, sale and distribution of vaping and heated-tobacco products.
The existing 2008 law in Mexico is responsible for smoke-free spaces in bars, restaurants and workplaces. The same law extended to a total ban in all public spaces including parks, beaches, hotels, offices and restaurants.
Several other Latin American countries have also passed legislation to create smoke-free public spaces. Last year for example, Panamanian President Laurentino Cortizo also signed legislation banning the sale of vapor products in his country.
However, Mexico’s legislation is considered to be the most robust and wide-ranging in the Americas.
However, some smokers are dismayed at the draconian nature of the new law. In essence, it means that many will only be allowed to smoke in their homes or other private residences.
Others have raised questions about the practicalities of enforcing the law.
With police corruption so rampant in Mexico, many fear that rather than issuing real fines or punishments for smoking in public, some officers will use it as a pretext for taking bribes.
January 16, 2023
UKVIA Calls for Innovation to Facilitate Recycling

Image: alexlmx
The U.K. Vaping Industry Association (UKVIA) is calling upon its members and the wider industry to innovate products that make them easier to recycle for the waste management sector.
The move comes as pressure mounts to ban single-use disposable devices.
On Jan. 3. upmarket supermarket chain Waitrose announced a complete withdrawal from the single use vapes market. “Selling single use vapes is not something we could justify given the impact on both the environment and the health of young people,” said Commercial Director Charlotte Di Cello.
While environmental campaigners applauded the move, vaping advocates said Waitrose could do more to protect both public health and the planet by instead refusing to sell combustible cigarettes, which are the world’s most littered item.
Just five days later, Scottish PhD student Laura Young made national headlines in the U.K. when a video she posted on Twitter of her collecting 55 discarded disposable vapes while out walking her dog went viral.
Young, who goes by the Twitter handle @LessWasteLaura, gained public support when she posted two more follow-up posts and called for single-use vapes to be banned.
Following the publicity surrounding her anti-disposable campaign, the Scottish Government said it was “considering the emerging issues around single-use disposable vapes’ and urged consumers to dispose of them responsibly.”

We are working to find a waste management solution that minimizes the impact of vapes on the environment so they are seen for what they do best—helping adult smokers kick their habits.
John Dunne, director-general, UKVIA
According to the UKVIA, as campaigns like this gain traction, it may be only a matter of time before regulators decide to look closer at the disposable sector of the vape market.
UKVIA Director General John Dunne said that while the vaping industry recognizes its responsibilities to the environment, the recycling of vapes requires collaboration between adult vapers, retailers, manufacturers, the regulators and companies in the waste management sector, which are involved in the current producer compliance schemes under the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) regulations.
“Up to now there has been genuine confusion amongst the vaping sector about their responsibilities under the WEEE directive,” said Dunne in a statement. “Earlier this year the Institute of Environmental Management and Assessment alluded to uncertainty around whether regulations covered the type of batteries found in vapes and also questioned the recycling infrastructure in place to support the sector to be more sustainable.
“This is why we are working hard as an industry to find a waste management solution that minimizes the impact of vapes on the environment, particularly when it comes to single use disposables, so they are seen for what they do best—helping adult smokers kick their habits and save the lives of millions as well as millions of pounds for the health service.”
January 16, 2023
RJR Vapor Denied New Trial in $95 Million Altria Verdict

Credit: Kristina Blokhin
RJ Reynolds Vapor Co. was denied a new trial on its September loss that awarded $95 million to Altria Group for its Vuse Alto e-cigarette’s infringement of three vape pod patents.
“That the jury did not agree with” Reynolds “does not mean the trial was unfair,” Judge N. Carlton Tilley Jr. wrote in an opinion issued Thursday in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina, according to Bloomberg Law.
Tilley denied BAT subsidiary Reynolds’ motion for a new trial or to reduce the damages jurors awarded to Altria Client Services in their Sept. 7 verdict.
In its retrial request, Reynolds Vaper stated that “Altria’s improper injection of inflammatory evidence regarding patent infringement allegations against Reynolds in other cases denied Reynolds a fair trial. Erroneous evidentiary rulings also prejudiced Reynolds’ ability to present its defense. Those errors independently, and under the cumulative error doctrine, affected the verdict such that a complete new trial is required.”
Altria said in a statement that “this was a fair trial. There is no basis for another trial, and we are pleased that the jury correctly found that Reynolds Vapor has infringed a number of our patents.”
January 14, 2023