Category: News This Week

Soter Technologies Brings Suit for Vape Detector

Several companies were sued for their alleged infringement of a vape sensor patent. Soter Technologies, LLC claims its patent protects an invention, often used by schools, that detects vapor from e-cigarettes. IP Video Corporation, A+ Technology and Solutions, Inc., and Halo Smart Solutions Inc. are some of the named defendants, according to a story lawstreetmedia.com.
The case is being held in the Eastern District of New York.
The patent-in-suit is U.S. Patent No. 10,699,549 (the ‘549 patent), which protects the FlySense vapor detecting sensor device. According to the complaint, the FlySense is the first of its kind and protects “children by helping authorities control the vaping and bullying crisis facing today’s youth,” according to the story. The invention includes “a sensor system for detecting vaping and bullying including an air quality sensor configured to detect air quality, a sound detector configured to detect sounds and a network interface configured to transmit a signal indicating abnormality matching signature of vaping.”
Soter claimed that its patent was infringed upon by the HALO device designed by Halo Smart Solutions. According to a claims chart included in the complaint, the product similarly senses changes in air quality, includes a “controller configured to identify vaping based on the detected air quality,” and transmits “a signal indicating abnormality matching signature of vaping.” Soter also alleges that IP Video Corporation and A+ Technology and Solutions advertised the infringing HALO device on their websites.
July 14, 2020
Puff Bar Suspends U.S. Sales

Photo: Puff Bar
Puff Bar has “ceased all online sales and distribution in the U.S. until further notice,” according to its website. International sales will continue for now.
The California-based e-cigarette company has come under scrutiny lately for replacing Juul as the vape of choice among young people as Juul Labs discontinued some of its flavored products.
Puff Bar comes in more than 20 flavors, including pina colada and pink lemonade. Although the Trump administration banned fruit, mint and dessert flavors in refillable cartridge-based e-cigarettes like Juul earlier this year, it exempted brands that are used once and thrown away.
Launched last year, Puff Bar has been the key beneficiary of the decision to exempt disposables form the flavor ban. Juul’s business, by contrast, has shriveled since it restricted sales in the United States to tobacco and menthol varieties last fall.
When the FDA started regulating e-cigarettes, it permitted the continued sale of products that were on the market as of Aug. 8, 2016, pending agency review. Because Puff Bar was introduced after that date, the agency should have the authority to remove it even though the product is disposable and even if the FDA cannot prove the company is targeting youths.
The exception would be if Puff Bar had already been on the market before the 2016 deadline, under a different name or sold by another company.
Much remains unknown about Puff Bar. For example, it is unclear who owns the company, according to FairWarning. A document filed with the California Secretary of State lists Patrick Beltran as the chief financial officer and Nick Minas as the CEO, but both men have stated that despite their titles, they are in charge only of running the company’s website.
While online U.S. sales have been suspended for now, Puff Bar products are still available on other ecommerce sites, such as Eliquidstop, which is owned by Minas and Beltran. Puff Bars can also still be found at numerous convenience stores throughout the U.S.
July 14, 2020
Outdoor Smoking Ban Condemned

Simon Clark (Photo: Taco Tuinstra)
The smoker advocacy group Forest has condemned a plan to ban outdoor smoking at U.K. pubs and cafes amid the Covid-19 pandemic.
A group of lawmakers wants the government to require smoking to be banned if the businesses want licenses to serve pavement drinks.
“This is gross opportunism by a small group of anti-smoking peers who have spotted a chance to advance their extreme anti-smoking agenda,” said Simon Clark, director of Forest.
“There is no evidence that smoking in the open air is a threat to public health, so this is a matter for individual businesses not government or local authorities. In the wake of lockdown, pubs, restaurants and cafes already face huge challenges. This is the worst possible time to add to their burden by imposing further regulations that could discourage a lot of smokers from returning.”
Forest is urging the hospitality industry to fight the ban.
“The smoking ban had a huge impact on the pub sector and was a significant factor in thousands of pubs closing after it was introduced in 2007,” Clark said.

July 14, 2020
Juul Files Action Against Infringing and Illicit Products

Photo: Juul
Juul Labs has filed its third action with the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC), directed at all importers of unauthorized “Juul-compatible pods” that copy Juul Labs’ patented product designs without authorization.
The action seeks a general exclusion order barring the importation of any infringing, unauthorized pod-based product designed to be used with the Juul System, including compatible flavored pods and refillable pods, effectively eliminating a sector of illicit products that seek to circumvent federal policy, can present additional health and safety risks to adult consumers, and undercut underage-prevention measures.
Additionally, Juul Labs is asking the ITC to issue orders stopping the distribution, marketing, and sale of all such products already in the country.
This patent enforcement action builds off previous actions Juul Labs pursued at the ITC, targeting a broad range of importers of unauthorized Juul-compatible products, including Eonsmoke and Ziip Labs. According to Juul, past actions have successfully resulted in stopping the ongoing importation of more than 40 brands of illicit and unauthorized Juul-compatible pods and products.
With this new action, Juul Labs says it seeks an even larger impact with a remedy that will not only bar the pod products named in the complaint but will also bar all other infringing pod products that copy Juul Labs’ patented designs.
July 13, 2020
Boston: $25 Million of THC Vape Products Await Testing

Credit: Martijn Baudoin
Worth a collective $25 million, roughly 620,000 vaping products are gathering dust. The products have been awaiting testing since September.
The devices have been quarantined under Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker’s ban on the sale of vaping products, according to an article in the Boston Globe. Massachusetts Cannabis Control Commision (CCC) is under pressure to do something.
″(Businesses) have reached out to us … and we’ve talked to them,” CCC Chairman Steven Hoffman explained. “We’re trying to find a position that works for everybody, but at the end of the day, we won’t compromise on public health and public safety.”
Baker instituted a ban on the sale of vaping products in September amid an outbreak of severe lung ailments associated with e-cigarettes and vaping products containing marijuana.
The ban was lifted in December for shops that met certain requirements — including posting signs warning of the dangers of severe lung disease and other health risks; keeping all vaping products behind the counter; and prohibiting the sale of unpackaged tobacco or vaping cartridge refills — and the CCC began allowing marijuana retailers to sell newly manufactured marijuana vaping products that were tested for contaminants such as vitamin E acetate, which was suspected to have caused the illnesses, according the article.
It also further regulated the requirements for testing of vaping products.
But that meant that a large amount of inventory — nearly 620,000 units, according to CCC Executive Director Shawn Collins — had been removed from circulation, according to the article.
Moreover, the testing of that product has been “a mixed bag of results,” Collins said.
July 12, 2020
Smoore Stock Soars Nearly 150 Percent on Opening Day

Smoore International stock (HK: 6969) grew by nearly 150 percent on its opening day of trading on the Hong Kong Exchange. After an initial public offering (IPO) of HK12.40, the stock closed at HK31.00 ($4) on Friday.
“As the global leader in offering vaping technology solutions, Smoore’s mission is to build the world’s leading vaping technology platform to bolster the innovation and development of vaping technology with a wide range of applications,” Cloris Li, a Smoore spokesperson, told Vapor Voice. “In the next three to four years, Smoore plans to invest more in improving production capacity and upgrading equipment, including setting up new manufacturing facilities and research institute of group level as well as installing automated production lines and IT equipment.”
According to Frost & Sullivan, a business consulting firm, Smoore is the world’s largest vaping device manufacturer in terms of revenue, accounting for 16.5 percent of the total market share in 2019. “In the past 14 years, we have been firmly grounded to focus on advanced R&D technology, strong manufacturing capacity, wide-spectrum product portfolio and diverse customer base. We are glad about what we have achieved and will take this as a new start,” said Li.
The Shenzhen-based company offered 574 million shares, according to the company’s prospectus, and had indicated the stock would be priced between HK$9.60 and HK$12.40 per share. According to an article by Reuters, Smoore had locked in 10 cornerstone investors which accounted for $340 million of the total raising, the prospectus showed. The largest of those investors were Huaneng Trust which took $80 million worth of stock, and Prime Capital which took $50 million, according to its prospectus.
“After being listed on the Hong Kong stock market, Smoore is probably going to be able to invest more in the R&D and application of heating technology, for instance, in the medical atomization arena,” said Li. “Meanwhile, we are able to better serve our clients and provide a better life for our employees. As a leader in this field, Smoore is also able to play a more important role in shaping the industry and the whole of society.”
July 10, 2020
South Korea: Sales of Heated Products Likely to Edge Up

Photo: KT&G
Sales of heated tobacco products in South Korea will likely edge up this year, even as the overall tobacco market is expected to decline, reports The Korea Herald, citing figures from Euromonitor International.
According to the market intelligence company, the Korean tobacco market reached KRW17.19 trillion ($16 billion) in 2019. Of that figure, KRW1.89 trillion was spent on heat-not-burn cigarettes, making South Korea the second-largest market for such products after Japan.
Euromonitor forecast Korea’s heating tobacco product market to reach KRW2 trillion in 2020.
Sales of e-cigarettes are expected to drop by 80 percent to KRW16.8 billion this year in the wake of new government restrictions on the category.
Flavored tobacco products, meanwhile, are gaining popularity in Korea. Last year, flavored products accounted for about 20 percent of South Korea’s conventional cigarette market, which is higher than in Japan (7 percent) and China (1.7 percent).
July 10, 2020
Iowa Raises Age to Purchase Vaping Products to 21

Credit: Erik Brolin
The governor of Iowa has signed a bill into law that raises the legal age to purchase vaping and other tobacco products to 21. The bill was passed by the Iowa Senate in March, but due to Covid-19, the Iowa House was delayed from taking up the bill until June.
“This law brings Iowa into alignment with the federal Tobacco 21 bill, which was signed into law in December 2019,” said Iowa Department of Public Health Tobacco Use Prevention and Control Division Director Jerilyn Oshel, in a story with wowt.com.
The release states that there are no exemptions or grandfather clauses to the Iowa or federal law. Under the law, it is illegal to supply or sell covered tobacco products to someone under the age of 21. It is also illegal for someone under the age of 21 to attempt to purchase or purchases the products.
July 9, 2020
Colorado Voters to Decide on Nicotine Tax in November

Photo: Yekophotostudio | Dreamstime.com
Voters in Colorado will make the decision on whether to raise taxes on nicotine products in November. The Centennial State’s governor, Jared Polis, signed legislation on Wednesday referring a question to the statewide ballot.
“Colorado voters will have a really important opportunity this November to say it’s time that Colorado no longer be the top state for teen vaping,” Polis said, according to an article thecentersquare.com. “It’s time that we help make sure that less kids get hooked on nicotine, a habit that is hard to kick and often stays for life and will shorten their lives.”
Polis added the measure would be “an extra boost for smoking cessation programs.” Voters must approve the measure under the state’s Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights (TABOR) because it includes a proposed tax increase, according to the article.
A fiscal note for the legislation says the measure, if approved, would bring in $82.7 million in fiscal year 2020-21, and $167.6 million in fiscal year 2021-22.
Revenue from the tax increases would go toward the State Education Fund, Rural Schools Fund, a preschool program, tobacco education programs, and a health care fund.
Last year, a measure to increase taxes on tobacco and nicotine products that had Polis’ backing didn’t make it through the legislature.
July 9, 2020
FDA Gives EAS Acceptance and Filing Letters for PMTA

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued Acceptance and Filing letters for E-Alternative Solutions (EAS), an independent, family-owned innovator of consumer-centric brands for its Leap and Leap Go vapor products. This notification moves the EAS products to the Substantive Review phase of the Premarket Tobacco Product Application (PMTA) process.
“This milestone represents an important step forward for EAS as we support our mission of producing high-quality vapor products that serve as an alternative to combustible cigarettes with our Leap and Leap Go vapor products,” said Jacopo D’Alessandris, president and CEO of EAS. “FDA Acceptance and Filing Letters are a testament to the strength and thoroughness of our applications, which we believe will meet FDA’s requirements. We want to thank FDA for the prompt turnaround on these materials given the challenging circumstances, and we look forward to partnering with the Agency as we move forward in the process.”
Jacopo D’Alessandris
The Acceptance letters follow the administrative review of EAS’s filings to ensure that the submissions met the baseline criteria for review. The Filing Letters are the result of a preliminary scientific review that ensures that the applications include the necessary ingredients and health analyses. FDA will now conduct a Substantive Review to assess whether the Leap and Leap Go products are appropriate for the protection of public health. If successful, this phase will result in Marketing Orders from FDA authorizing the continued marketing and sale of these products.
“The Substantive Review is where our months of hard work assembling more than 100,000 pages of evidence will pay off in supporting our proposition that the Leap and Leap Go products are appropriate for the protection of public health,” said Chris Howard, Vice President, General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer at EAS. “We are looking forward to continued collaboration with FDA in the weeks and months to come and remain optimistic that the PMTA process will result in Marketing Orders.”
July 8, 2020