Category: News This Week

Illinois Marijuana Sales on Record Pace This Year

Credit: Frederick Warren
Illinois has already hit the $300 million mark for marijuana sales this year. July had the most sales of any month, according to state figures.
July cannabis sales hit $61 million, which is up from $47.6 million in June and $44.3 million in May, according to the Illinois Department of Finance and Professional Regulation and New Frontier Data, according to the Associated Press..
One reason for the increase in sales could be the customers’ ability to order online, which many dispensaries started to keep lines down, the Chicago Tribune reported.
“We got a lot better at being able to get people in and out because of the online order reservations,” said Jonah Rapino, spokesman for NuEra, which has dispensaries in Chicago, East Peoria and Urbana and recently changed its name from NuMed.
The amount of money that customers spend at dispensaries has also increased. The average transaction was $126 in the first three months of the year but increased to $150 in April, May and June, according to Washington, D.C.-based New Frontier.
Greg Butler, chief commercial officer at Chicago-based marijuana company Cresco Labs, said the pandemic could be credited to the increase in demand, too.
More product availability could also be a contributing factor to the high demand. During the beginning of the year, there were some supply issues. The Tribune previously reported that dispensaries said they needed more marijuana and employees.
Butler noted that many facilities that grow marijuana expanded operation, and those products started hitting the shelves over the summer. Cresco expanded at some of its facilities and increased production at its Joliet location.
“With supply picking up, it has allowed customers to purchase that extra product or two that might not have been available,” said Michael Mandera, general manager of the Herbal Care Center dispensary.
August 17, 2020
Juul Labs Files Another Round of Lawsuits for Fake Pods

Credit: Eonsmoke
Juul Labs filed six trademark-infringement lawsuits in five states against shop owners it says are using the Juul name to sell products that are “fake, copied, and non-genuine versions of Juul Products and related packaging.”
The company said as many as 20 suits will be filed in the next 60 days in an effort to stop the “worst offenders” among retailers selling counterfeit e-cigarettes, part of an effort to shore up its bid with regulators to stay in the U.S. market, according to an article on Bloomberg.com.
The new legal round follow some four dozen lawsuits filed in July against companies Juul says are copying its patented designs for vaping cartridges. The U.S. International Trade Commission is considering a Juul request to block imports and sales of imported, unauthorized cartridges.
The trademark suits accuse companies of selling counterfeits and “gray market” products, meaning they were made for overseas markets but brought into the U.S. The lawsuits were filed in Alabama, New Hampshire, New York, Tennessee, and Texas, according to the article.
The suits are part of Juul’s “global enforcement program directed at disrupting the illicit trade of black-market vapor products to create a more responsible marketplace for current adult users while addressing under-age use,” the company said in a statement.
Juul is seeking orders that would halt sales, the profits from the unauthorized sales, and $2 million for each trademark violation.
August 16, 2020
Montana Officials End Bid to Ban Flavored Vaping Products

Credit: Smoking Vapor
The Montana health department has ended its quest to ban flavored vaping products in the state.
The decision came Friday after 13 state senators and seven representatives, all Republicans, signed letters last month opposing the rule and stating that the health department does not have the authority to implement such a ban, according to NBC Montana.
Montana law dictates that a poll of the entire Legislature is required when 20 or more legislators object to a proposed administrative rule.
Department of Public Health and Human Services Director Sheila Hogan said the decision to poll the Legislature revealed that additional education and collaboration is necessary to protect Montana’s young people, according to the story
August 15, 2020
New York Vape Shop Owners Seeing Sharp Declines

Just three months after the state of New York banned flavored vaping products, vape shop owners say there has been a steep drop in customers. The ban, aimed at reducing youth vaping, came after several cases of lung disease caused by illicit marijuana products.
The number of those illnesses surged in August and September 2019 and had killed 68 people by Feb. 18, when the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention stopped collecting state health data on the illnesses because of the decline in cases, according to an article on Newsday.com.
The CDC concluded that vitamin E acetate, which was sometimes added to vape products containing THC was “the primary cause” of the illnesses, Brain King, a deputy director in the CDC’s Office on Smoking and Health, told Newsday in an email.
New York’s ban, which went into effect May 18, allows the sale only of vape liquids that are flavorless or taste like tobacco. A ban on all online vape sales started July 1. Some vape shops have shut down since the flavor ban, and others “are just barely hanging on,” said Cheryl Richter, executive director of the New York State Vapor Association.
Tammy Mink, owner of Shore Vapes in Glen Cove, said the ban, and a Nassau County ban on all flavors except menthol and mint that went into effect Jan. 1, “killed our business.” About 90% of pre-ban sales of vape liquids were of flavored products, she said.
Mink said most of her customers started vaping to stop smoking — as she did — and some have now returned to smoking. Mink said she would have welcomed a crackdown on sales of vape products to people under 21. Instead, the ban “opened up a black market,” she said. “It will not stop the kids from getting it.”
Several stores on the Shinnecock reservation — which asserts it is exempt from the ban because of its legal sovereignty — still sell flavored vape products, said Taobi Silva, a former tribal trustee who co-owns a vape store and manages a smoke shop that sells vape products and traditional cigarettes.
Silva saw increased sales after the ban went into effect “but not as significant as we were expecting.” That’s largely because gas stations and bodegas outside the reservation, as well as people operating from their car trunks, illegally sell the flavored products, he said.
The current ban was passed by the State Legislature and signed by Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo. A state health council approved a ban in September, but a state appeals court blocked enforcement after a lawsuit filed by the Washington, D.C.-based Vapor Technology Association. Association president Tony Abboud said in a statement Thursday that the group “does not have any plans to litigate” the new flavor ban.
August 15, 2020
Non-nicotine Vapes in Germany Face New Regulations
CBD vaping manufacturers and retailers in Germany will now be regulated starting in January after recent changes to the country’s tobacco law.
Under legislation passed by the German Bundestag on July 2, non-nicotine e-cigarettes and refillable containers will be regulated the way that their nicotine counterparts are, and additional advertising restrictions will apply to all vaping products, regardless of nicotine content, according to hempindustrydaily.com.
photo: Jeremynathan | Dreamstime
THC products in Germany are considered narcotics and fall under different rules entirely. “Many of my clients offer CBD-containing liquids for e-cigarettes and are concerned about the changes,” said Julia Seestaedt, a Hamburg-based attorney for the cannabis industry. “At the moment, manufacturers and retailers are most concerned about the comprehensive advertising ban associated with the change.”
According to Peter Homberg, who heads the European cannabis practice for Dentons Europe LLP in Berlin, the new legislation is just one facet of an increasingly restrictive market for all CBD products in Germany. “German regulation is very strict on CBD products, and it is to be expected that this will not change in the future,” Homberg said.
The German CBD retail landscape, he said, is markedly different than in the U.S. “It’s not as free as in the U.S. It is a very wide-open liberal market in the U.S., but we don’t have that here in Germany, despite the fact that there are products available on the market.”
With Germany set to put non-nicotine vapes on equal footing with their nicotine counterparts, these rules will soon apply to CBD vape manufacturers as well. Subjecting nicotine-free vape products to the same requirements and restrictions as their nicotine counterparts was “necessary to protect consumers from damage to their health,” the draft text reads.
Lawmakers wrote that the new advertising bans for CBD and other non-nicotine vape products were created in part to shield children from their influence. The legislation’s new restriction on outdoor advertising dictates that ads can be displayed only in shop windows or on exterior walls at retail stores that sell the products in question.
This means that “manufacturers will no longer be able to advertise nicotine-free CBD vapes on sidewalk advertising columns or billboards,” Seestaedt noted.
The changes are set to take effect beginning on Jan. 1, 2021, though outdoor advertising restrictions don’t take effect until 2024.
Non-nicotine e-cigarettes or refillable containers that were manufactured or placed on the market and labelled before Jan. 1, 2021 and complied with earlier provisions may remain on the market until March 31, 2021, according to the legislation.
August 13, 2020
Montana Lawmakers to be Polled on Flavored Vaping Ban
Lawmakers in Montana legislature will be polled on a proposed ban of flavored vaping products. The decision comes after numerous Republican lawmakers opposed the rule advanced by the Montana Department of Health and Human Services.
Montana law dictates that a poll of the legislature is required when 20 or more legislators object to a proposed administrative rule, according to an article on flatheadbeacon.com.
Thirteen Montana senators and seven representatives, all Republicans, signed letters last month opposing the rule, stating that the health department does not have the authority to implement such a ban. If passed, the rule would prohibit all sales, distribution and marketing of electronic smoking devices in Montana. The health department proposed the rule on June 16, citing increased use of flavored vaping products by Montana youth.
Numerous health officials spoke Wednesday in favor of the proposed ban during a special meeting of the legislative Children, Families, Health and Human Services Committee.
The committee, which has jurisdiction over the health department, determined that Montana’s 50 senators and 100 house members will be polled on whether the rule is “consistent with the intent of the legislature.”
Supporters of the ban cited a study conducted by Stanford researchers and released earlier this week, which linked vaping with a substantially increased risk of COVID-19 in youth. The research found that those who used vaping products were five to seven times more likely to be infected with the respiratory virus than those who did not use e-cigarettes.
Sen. Jason Ellsworth, R-Hamilton, was one of the 20 legislators who opposed the rule. He spoke during the committee meeting Wednesday, stating the health department was “circumventing the legislative process by trying to create law within rule.”
“We have three branches in our government,” Ellsworth said. “We do not have a fourth branch, we do not have a branch called the Department of Health and Human Services, or any other department that can create law.”
Polling ballots will be sent to Montana legislators by next week, and must be postmarked by Sept. 8. Poll results will be provided to the Montana secretary of state for publication.
August 13, 2020
IECIE E-cigarette Expo Set for Virtual and On-site Programs

Informa Markets Creative has rescheduled its in-person 2020 IECIE Shenzhen eCig expo to August 20-22, 2020, alongside a new virtual expo held at the same time. The virtual expo is estimated to attract 10,000 vape users across the world, bringing more than 2,500 exhibitors to engage businesses online through any device, according to a press release.
Visitors can login to the virtual expo until August 20 to review all the vapor industry brand profiles and product catalogs. Meanwhile, exhibiting product previews and business meeting arrangements between visitors and exhibitors are also available during this period. Private business meetings can be carried out inside the virtual expo all three days of the event.
IECIE is the largest e-cigarette exhibition in Asia, bringing together upstream industries, including battery and power management chips and solutions, battery and power management, heating system, e-juice flavors and related products.
This year, the IECIE Virtual Expo can be attended for free. It offers the ability to engage with more than 3,000 vapor industry brands online. IECIE offers free tickets to Vapor Voice readers with this registration link: https://iecie.ticketforevent.com/en/order/37623/?promocode=vape2020virtual&fee=0&total=0&numFreeTickets=1&numPaidTickets=0&tickets%5B631087%5D=1
August 12, 2020
U.S. Lawmakers Urge E-cigarette Ban During Pandemic

Credit: Tomkohhantsuk – Pixabay
Lawmakers have called on the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to take e-cigarettes temporarily off the market during the pandemic, citing a new study suggesting that vapers are significantly more likely to contract Covid-19.
“If we reduce the number of vapers in America, we will reduce the unnecessary stress we are putting on our testing system,” Representative Raja Krishnamoorthi wrote in a letter sent to the FDA by the House Committee on Oversight and Reform’s Subcommittee on Economic and Consumer Policy. “People should not have to wait weeks for Covid-19 test results—removing the risk posed by vaping will help.”
Researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine found that among young people who were tested for the coronavirus, those who vaped were five to seven times more likely to be infected than those who did not use e-cigarettes.
The study, which was published online Aug. 11 in the Journal of Adolescent Health, is the first to examine connections between youth vaping and Covid-19 using U.S. population-based data collected during the pandemic.
“Young people may believe their age protects them from contracting the virus or that they will not experience symptoms of Covid-19, but the data show this isn’t true among those who vape,” said the study’s lead author, Shivani Mathur Gaiha.
“This study tells us pretty clearly that youth who are using vapes or are dual-using are at elevated risk, and it’s not just a small increase in risk; it’s a big one,” Gaiha said.
Remarkably, the researchers did not find a connection between Covid-19 diagnosis and smoking conventional cigarettes alone, perhaps because the prevalent pattern among youth is to use both vaping devices and traditional cigarettes. Other research has shown that nearly all nicotine-using youth vape, and some also smoke cigarettes, but very few use cigarettes only.
In addition to warning teenagers and young adults about the dangers of vaping, the researchers said they hoped their findings will prompt the FDA to further tighten regulations governing how vaping products are sold to young people.
“Now is the time,” said senior author Halpern-Felsher. “We need the FDA to hurry up and regulate these products. And we need to tell everyone: If you are a vaper, you are putting yourself at risk for Covid-19 and other lung disease.”
Vaping advocates expressed concern about the study.
“While we welcome any research which can assist people in staying safe during the Covid-19 pandemic, the UKVIA is disappointed by the Stanford-led study, which appears to dismiss the vital harm-reduction role of vaping for smokers, and draws disproportionate conclusions,” said John Dunne, director at the U.K. Vaping Industry Association (UKVIA).
Insisting there is no scientific evidence linking smoking and vaping with Covid-19, Dunne said the UKVIA was looking forward to seeing the peer review of the Stanford study.
“It is also somewhat reckless in stating that vapers are putting themselves ‘at risk of Covid-19’ by vaping,” he said. “Vaping products are designed only for smokers and ex-smokers to help them quit conventional cigarettes, which is the most positive action someone can take to improve their health.”
August 12, 2020
Lawmakers Urge Ban on E-Cigs During Pandemic

Photo: Tobacco Reporter archive
Lawmakers have called on the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to take e-cigarettes temporarily off the market during the pandemic, citing a new study suggesting that vapers are significantly more likely to contract Covid-19.

Raja Krishnamoorthi
“If we reduce the number of vapers in America, we will reduce the unnecessary stress we are putting on our testing system,” Representative Raja Krishnamoorthi wrote in a letter sent to the FDA by the House Committee on Oversight and Reform’s Subcommittee on Economic and Consumer Policy. “People should not have to wait weeks for Covid-19 test results—removing the risk posed by vaping will help.”

Researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine found that among young people who were tested for the coronavirus, those who vaped were five times to seven times more likely to be infected than those who did not use e-cigarettes.

The study, which was published online Aug. 11 in the Journal of Adolescent Health, is the first to examine connections between youth vaping and Covid-19 using U.S. population-based data collected during the pandemic.

“Young people may believe their age protects them from contracting the virus or that they will not experience symptoms of Covid-19, but the data show this isn’t true among those who vape,” said the study’s lead author, Shivani Mathur Gaiha.

“This study tells us pretty clearly that youth who are using vapes or are dual-using are at elevated risk, and it’s not just a small increase in risk; it’s a big one,” Gaiha said.

Remarkably, the researchers did not find a connection between Covid-19 diagnosis and smoking conventional cigarettes alone, perhaps because the prevalent pattern among youth is to use both vapor devices and traditional cigarettes. Other research has shown that nearly all nicotine-using youth vape, and some also smoke cigarettes, but very few use cigarettes only.

In addition to warning teenagers and young adults about the dangers of vaping, the researchers said they hoped their findings will prompt the FDA to further tighten regulations governing how vapor products are sold to young people.

“Now is the time,” said senior author Halpern-Felsher. “We need the FDA to hurry up and regulate these products. And we need to tell everyone: If you are a vaper, you are putting yourself at risk for Covid-19 and other lung disease.”

John Dunne
Vaping advocates expressed concern about the study.

“While we welcome any research which can assist people in staying safe during the Covid-19 pandemic, the UKVIA [U.K. Vaping Industry Association] is disappointed by the Stanford-led study, which appears to dismiss the vital harm reduction role of vaping for smokers and draws disproportionate conclusions,” said John Dunne, director at the UKVIA.

Insisting there is no scientific evidence linking smoking and vaping with Covid-19, Dunne said the UKVIA was looking forward to seeing the peer review of the Stanford study.

“It is also somewhat reckless in stating that vapers are putting themselves ‘at risk of Covid-19’ by vaping,” he said. “Vaping products are designed only for smokers and ex-smokers to help them quit conventional cigarettes, which is the most positive action someone can take to improve their health.”
August 12, 2020
Avail Earns PMTA Acceptance Letter From FDA for E-liquids

Credit: Avail
Avail Vapor announced today that it has received its first premarket tobacco product application (PMTA) acceptance letter from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for its e-liquid nicotine products. While the company would not say what flavors or how many flavors, it was confirmed that the mixed-berry flavored Mardi Gras was a submitted flavor.
Blackbriar Regulatory Services led the regulatory process for Avail’s submission. The application now moves to the substantive scientific review where the FDA will determine if Avail has scientifically proven that its nicotine vaping products are appropriate for the protection of public health.
This is one of numerous applications that Avail plans to file prior to the September 9, 2020 deadline which will provide a wide-ranging flavor portfolio to meet the needs of adults seeking alternative choices to combustible tobacco products, according to James Xu, chairman of Avail.
James Xu
“We started mapping out our regulatory framework and PMTAs in 2015, before nicotine vaping products became subject to the FDA’s tobacco authority,” said Xu. “We couldn’t be more pleased that the years of hard work, investment and dedication have gotten us to this point. Our end goal is to seek an FDA marketing order which would allow us to continue to keep our products on the market for those adult smokers looking for alternatives to traditional tobacco products.”
In order for nicotine vaping products to remain on the market after the FDA’s September 9, 2020 PMTA submission deadline, companies must submit a viable PMTA with the intent of seeking an FDA marketing order. A PMTA must provide scientific data that demonstrates a product is appropriate for the protection of public health.
August 11, 2020