Author: Staff Writer

New Zealand Passes Combustible Tobacco Endgame

Credit: ViDi Studio
The New Zealand Parliament today adopted the Smokefree Environments and Regulated Products (Smoked Tobacco) Amendment Bill, which is expected to phase out combustible tobacco product use in the country.
“Today, history was made for public health and for the generations of families who have lost loved ones to the preventable diseases caused by ordinary tobacco use,” said Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) Executive Director Laurent Huber. “New Zealand has single-handedly changed the course of what is possible in tobacco regulations and we stand ready to help other jurisdictions follow their groundbreaking lead.”
The concept, called “Smoke-Free Generation” (SFG), can also be characterized as a sales ban with a grandfather clause for existing adults who smoke, according to a press release.
New Zealand will be only the third government to pass such a law, following Balanga City in the Philippines – which has been unable to implement the law due to litigation – and Brookline, Massachusetts, which implemented a similar law (tobacco-free generation) in January 2021 and successfully defended an industry lawsuit in October 2022.
Unlike New Zealand, Balanga City and Brookline banned sales to anyone born this century, and included all tobacco products (including e-cigarettes and snus), rather than a focus on combustibles.
“It’s important to stress that the Smoke-Free Generation law applies only to sales of combustible tobacco,” stressed Huber from ASH, which has endorsed SFG for years. “The law does not outlaw individual purchase, possession or use – or the act of smoking. The problem here is the tobacco industry, not their victims.”
The second leg of the law is a drastic reduction in the number of retailers – researchers estimate that the final reduction may be as much as 95 percent. Finally, the new law includes reducing nicotine content in cigarettes to below-addictive levels, according to the release.
Hong Kong Health Minister Lo Chung-mau confirmed that banning tobacco sales for future generations will be on the table as a tool to further reduce youth smoking, according to the South China Morning Post. The Malaysian government is also pushing forward a bill that seeks to ban vaping and smoking for those born from 2007, after making amendments following resistance from some lawmakers.
December 13, 2022
Officials Urged to Fight Vaping Misinformation

Photo: Yeti Studio
A group of public health experts along with the attorney general of Iowa have asked the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the U.S. Surgeon General to correct misinformation overstating the dangers of e-cigarettes.
In an editorial published Dec. 12 in Addiction, the authors cite the 2019 outbreak of EVALI and the Surgeon General’s 2016 youth vaping report, which claims that nicotine vaping is a gateway to smoking.
The authors take issue with the CDC’s failure to amend the name EVALI (e-cigarette or vaping product use-associated lung injury) even after it became clear that the health problems were brought about by vitamin E acetate (mixed with cannabis oil by black market sellers) rather than nicotine vapes.
“Smokers are still twice as likely to incorrectly identify e-cigarettes as the cause of a serious lung disease outbreak in 2019 than to correctly identify marijuana vape products contaminated by vitamin E acetate as the cause,” said lead author Michael Pesko of Georgia State University in a press note. “Because many smokers then falsely believe e-cigarettes to be as or more dangerous than cigarettes, the misinformation reduces smoking cessation that would otherwise occur. Population health suffers as a result.”
The Surgeon General’s gateway claim, meanwhile, is simply untrue, according to the authors. “Significant evidence now exists that this association between vaping and smoking is not causal, which is a source of confusion for the lay public and healthcare professionals,” wrote Georgia State University health economist Pesko.
“The lack of causation is underlined by real-life data collected since the SG report’s publication. Even as youth vaping hit its peak in 2019, youth smoking was sinking rapidly, and that decline has continued.”
December 13, 2022
Columbus, Ohio Bans Flavored Vaping Products
Credit: Spirit of America
The Columbus City Council in the U.S. state of Ohio on Monday unanimously approved the second reading of an ordinance that will ban the sale of flavored tobacco and vaping products in the state’s most populated city.
The ban is scheduled to go into effect on Jan. 1, 2024, giving retailers just over a year to clear out existing inventory. The ban covers nearly all flavored tobacco and vaping products, including those with menthol, mint and wintergreen flavors. The ban does not apply to the sale of flavored shisha tobacco, however.
While the ordinance makes it illegal to sell flavored tobacco products, it does not make it illegal to use such products. The legislation does not include criminal penalties on users, but does impose civil penalties on sellers.
On Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court decided not to stop California from enforcing its ban on the sale of most flavored tobacco products, including menthol cigarettes.
Columbus is home to approximately 906,000 people.
December 13, 2022
Appeals Court Denies Avail Vapor’s MDO Petition

A unanimous panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit on Monday denied Avail Vapor’s petition to have its marketing denial order (MDO) issued by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for its e-liquid products invalidated.
Circuit Judge J. Harvie Wilkinson wrote Monday that Avail “encourages us to neglect the forest for the trees” by focusing on procedural objections rather than the FDA’s mandate to protect public health. Wilkinson was joined by Circuit Judges Diana Gribbon Motz and Albert Diaz.
The court rejected all of Avail’s arguments, including that the FDA’s review of its premarket tobacco product applications (PMTAs) was arbitrary and capricious, according to a copy of the ruling obtained by Vapor Voice.
“We see no merit in Avail’s remaining arguments that FDA acted arbitrarily and capriciously in reviewing petitioners’ PMTAs,” the decision states. “FDA could not allow young adults to perceive e-cigarettes as another Baby Ruth or Milky Way, only to find themselves in the grip of a surreptitious nicotine addiction. This was hardly arbitrary.”
Avail’s chief complaint is that the FDA arbitrarily imposed a new “comparative efficacy” standard, which asked applicants to demonstrate through certain long-term studies that their fruit and dessert-flavored products better promote smoking cessation than tobacco-flavored products.
This standard, Avail complains, was adopted with no explanation to applicants and without consideration of their reliance interests. Avail also raises a substantive objection, arguing that FDA’s imposition of this comparative efficacy standard exceeded its statutory authority under the TCA.
“First, Avail attempts to tie the hands of the FDA to certain forms of evidence and kinds of studies in what is a rapidly evolving field. Second, in focusing upon procedural points, Avail encourages us to neglect the forest for the trees,” the decision states. “Avail essentially argues that “the FDA’s willingness to consider some forms of evidence, explicitly phrased as such, required the FDA to accept that evidence as meeting a statutory requirement even where the FDA found the evidence unsatisfactory.”
According to the decision, Avail also filed its marketing plan with its PMTAs, which outlined measures designed to prevent underage use. Such measures consisted of naming its flavored e-liquids with “non-descriptive and non-characterizing names” that do not identify the product flavor to prevent appealing to youth.
“The agency denied Avail’s application for its flavored electronic cigarettes, chiefly on the grounds that its products posed a serious risk to youth without enough offsetting benefits to adults,” the decision states. “We now uphold that decision and deny Avail’s petition for review.”
The judge also specifically stated that he did not agree with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit’s decision to stay the MDO issued by the FDA to Bidi Vapor. Persons with knowledge of the Avail suit said that it was a good case to petition for certiorari, a review of the lower court’s decision, to the United States Supreme Court.
December 13, 2022
Juul Labs Agrees to Pay Pennsylvania $38.8 Million
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Juul Labs Inc. has agreed to pay $38.8 million to Pennsylvania’s Department of Health as part of a settlement in a lawsuit over its marketing practices, brought by the state Attorney General’s office.
Attorney General Josh Shapiro, who is also Pennsylvania’s governor-elect, said in a statement that the company had “knowingly targeted young people with tactics similar to the tobacco companies’ playbook,” according to the Philadelphia Enquirer.
Pennsylvania is one of many states that have sued Juul over its marketing practices. The company will pay an estimated $1.7 billion to settle more than 5,000 lawsuits by school districts, local governments, and individuals, primarily in California.
In September, Juul paid $438 million to settle a lawsuit brought by 32 states, including New Jersey and Delaware.
December 13, 2022
Supreme Court Paves Path for California Flavor Ban
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The Supreme Court of the United States on Monday rejected a last-minute plea from the tobacco industry and cleared the way for California to enforce a statewide ban on the sale of most flavored tobacco products, including menthol cigarettes.
The court’s action has the effect of upholding a measure passed by the Legislature in 2020, which in turn was approved by 63 percent of voters in November. It is due to take effect next week, according to the Los Angeles Times.
Washington attorney Noel Francisco, who served as U.S. solicitor general under then-President Trump, filed an emergency appeal with Justice Elena Kagan on Nov. 29, asking her and the high court to stop California’s statewide ban from taking effect.
Kagan referred the appeal led by R.J. Reynolds to the full court, which issued a brief order denying it without comment and with no dissents.
The outcome is a victory for anti-tobacco advocates who called for cracking down on e-cigarettes and eliminating youth-friendly flavors such as bubble gum, cotton candy and cherry.
California joins Massachusetts and New York in prohibiting the sale of flavored tobacco.
December 12, 2022
First Vapor Manufacturers Handed DOJ Injunctions
Credit: MQ Illustrations
The United States filed complaints in December against six companies and related individuals to stop the illegal manufacture and sale of unauthorized vaping products. The charges were brought on behalf of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
E-cigarette manufacturers Seditious Vapours LLC and Vapor Craft LLC, two of those six companies, must stop distributing and selling their products under two separate court orders granting the FDA-requested injunctions, according to Bloomberglaw.
Judge Douglas L. Rayes of the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona sided with the FDA’s argument that Seditious Vapours failed to submit premarket applications for the products, and subsequently manufactured, sold, and distributed the e-cigarettes illegally, according to a court order filed Friday.
Two days earlier, Judge Clay D. Land of the US District Court for the Middle District of Georgia granted a permanent injunction against Vapor Craft.
The FDA states that the defendants continued to manufacture, sell, and distribute unauthorized e-cigarettes to consumers after receiving warning letters from the agency. The FDA’s prior warnings noted that further violations could lead to enforcement action, including injunction.
“These cases are an important step in stopping the illegal sale of unauthorized electronic nicotine delivery system products,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brian M. Boynton, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “The Department of Justice will continue to work closely with FDA to stop the distribution of illegal, unauthorized tobacco products.”
When companies are manufacturing and distributing unauthorized tobacco products, the FDA will typically first issue a warning letter in an attempt to achieve voluntary compliance with the law. If continuing violations are documented by the FDA, the agency may request that DOJ pursue a judicial enforcement action, such as an injunction or seizure.
The six companies originally having injunctions filed were:

Morin Enterprises Inc. doing business as E-Cig Crib in the District of Minnesota

Soul Vapor LLC in the Southern District of West Virginia

Super Vape’z LLC in the Western District of Washington

Vapor Craft LLC in the Middle District of Georgia

Lucky’s Convenience & Tobacco LLC d/b/a Lucky’s Vape & Smoke Shop in the District of Kansas

Seditious Vapours LLC d/b/a Butt Out in the District of Arizona
The FDA also has administrative civil money penalty authority for violations of the FD&C Act relating to tobacco products.
December 12, 2022
FDA Accepts Several Streamline Synthetic PMTAs
Streamline, parent to Juice Herad and several other e-liquid brands, announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration had accepted the company’s premarket tobacco product applications (PMTAs) for several of its synthetic products under the Juice Head brand.
In an email, Streamline co-founder and CEO Patrick Mulcahy said that his staff and Accorto Regulatory Solutions were instrumental in preparing the PMTAs for submission.
“With ample investment and focus on ensuring the quality and compliance of all Juice Head products, we are thrilled to be making progress and look forward to a positive response from the FDA.
“Currently, our PMTAs for Juice Head 5Ks, Juice Head Bars, and Juice Head Pouches are still under review; however, we are confident that we will receive a positive response from the FDA soon,” Mulcahy said. “As always, we will maintain our commitment to transparency and communication throughout the process ahead.”
December 12, 2022
Canada Drops Findings From First Vape Legislation Review
The results of Canada’s first legislative review of the Tobacco and Vaping Products Act (TVPA) has been submitted to its Parliament. The review focuses primarily on the vaping-related provisions of the TVPA, which includes an obligation for a legislative review three years after coming into force, followed by subsequent reviews every two years, according to a government press release.
Brought forth by the Honorable Carolyn Bennett, Minister of Mental Health and Addictions and Associate Minister of Health, the review is informed by public consultations and available evidence, which included peer-reviewed scientific journal publications, population-level surveys, and public opinion research.
“Vaping products offer the 3.8 million Canadians who smoke a less harmful source of nicotine than tobacco products, and do help people to stop smoking. These products, however, are not without risk — particularly to youth and people who do not smoke cigarettes,” Bennett said. “This first legislative review of the Tobacco and Vaping Products Act is a valuable opportunity to take stock of the progress we’ve made to address youth vaping – but there is more to do. Our government will continue to work to put the right safeguards in place to protect young people from the harms of vaping and nicotine addiction.”
The review’s findings suggest that the TVPA is making progress towards meeting the objectives it set out in relation to vaping. Notably, youth vaping rates, which were rising at a rapid pace, have leveled off over the past two years yet remain relatively high with more work to be done to protect youth.
The TVPA was implemented in 2018 to respond to the increasing availability of vaping products in Canada and to help ensure that Canadians would be informed about and protected from the health hazards associated with vaping. It regulates the manufacture, sale, labelling and promotion of vaping products sold in Canada.
The TVPA includes a requirement for a legislative review three years after coming-into-force, and every two years thereafter. Periodic reviews provide a means to examine and respond to tobacco and/or vaping related issues that may emerge over time.
The review was informed by a public consultation that ran from March 16, 2022 to April 27, 2022. Canadians were encouraged to provide feedback on a TVPA Legislative Review Discussion Paper. Health Canada received 3,092 submissions as part of the public consultation.
Information to help Canadians to quit smoking is available at Canada.ca/quitsmoking.
Health Canada provided financial support to the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health to develop Lower-Risk Nicotine Use Guidelines. The Guidelines recommend that people who smoke cigarettes should try to quit using approved smoking cessation treatments first. If they are unable or unwilling to quit, vaping or e-cigarettes can be considered.
The review also identified areas for potential action, including examining access to vaping products by youth, communicating the potential benefits of vaping as a less harmful source of nicotine for people who smoke.
The report suggest smokers completely switch to vaping and addresses the health hazards, strengthening compliance and enforcement, and the scientific and product uncertainty in order to better understand the vaping product market and the health impacts of vaping.
December 12, 2022
Global Hemp Market May Reach $18.6 Billion by 2027
Photo: Kaylen Settles
The global hemp market could reach $18.6 billion by 2027 if nations around the world take action to clarify the crop’s legal status and address other key issues, according to an extensive report on the industry from the United Nations Conference on Trade & Development (UNCTAD).
Citing figures from researcher Krungsri Research Intelligence, a part of Bangkok-based Bank of Ayudhya, the report suggests the next five years could see the market value of hemp quadruple from the estimated $4.7 billion recorded in 2020, as reported by Hemp Today.
The UNCTAD report addresses:
Information: More transparency is needed for the hemp industry, including public data about production of hemp across all outputs, country-specific data, and pricing, the report’s authors advise.
“At the international level, there is a clear need to improve availability and accessibility of information. Efforts should be devoted to improving the current state of information about all aspects of this commodity.
“Additional categories need to be included to cover, for instance, hemp seeds, hemp seed oil, hemp seed products, hemp oleoresins and essential oils,” according to the report.
Sustainability: The report also suggests that environmental and social considerations are “core to the success of any hemp-related policy” and therefore should be taken into account in broader legal and regulatory frameworks.
“In order to ensure a sustainable hemp sector globally hemp farming can offer environmental benefits that can be considered in policies aimed at mitigating the effects of climate change and restoring healthy ecosystems,” the report observes.
As hemp cultivation can help to maximize the use of land, it may also contribute to increasing the incomes of farmers and rural communities, especially in developing countries, the report notes.
Industrial strategy: A whole-plant strategy for hemp should be considered in most parts of the world, UNCTAD recommends, noting “this is all the more desirable because of the still relatively small size of hemp markets and the economic constraints inherent in such markets.”
A whole-plant approach can mean business in both primary and secondary markets, and hemp farming could be further monetized by integrating carbon credit schemes on a voluntary basis, the paper also observes.
The 84-page report defines the steps that governments can take to capitalize on hemp for its economic and social potential, gives an overview of industrial hemp by output categories, and shows how those hemp subsector derivatives are reflected in trade statistics.
“Hemp value chains can boost growth in rural areas and contribute to both manufacturing and food-processing industries. However, to fully exploit such potentialities, countries may have to take specific actions,” according to the report, which marks the first time an international intergovernmental body has issued a paper promoting the use of industrial hemp.
The report also addresses the legal issues surrounding hemp. Clarifying the legal status of hemp as a non-intoxicant is the first step governments need to take in order to minimize legal and financial risks for producers, the report observes.
“Cultivation of non-intoxicant C. Sativa L. cultivars should be permitted in all countries even though it may require strict governmental control. Moreover, an approach favoring THC threshold in final products, rather than in the field, should be adopted to incentivize a whole-plant approach and uses,” the report says.
Alternatively, increased THC thresholds for crops “on the field” up to levels scientifically recognized as non-intoxicant could be put in place by lawmakers. “This would allow increasing the pool of varieties useable in hemp production chains, thus de facto increasing the possibility to cultivate cultivars best adapted to specific environmental conditions and characteristics,” according to the report.
Other production constraints imposed by regulatory frameworks also must be identified, and strategies should be developed for regional cooperation to establish viable and sustainable value chains, the report also suggests.
December 11, 2022