Category: News This Week

  • Altria Seeks PMTA Extension From U.S. FDA

    Altria Seeks PMTA Extension From U.S. FDA

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    Altria has sent a letter to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) requesting that the agency push back the May 12 authorization deadline by eight weeks due to the coronavirus outbreak.

    In order to keep certain tobacco and nicotine products on the market, companies must submit applications to the FDA by May 12, but many companies have been disrupted due to the virus outbreak; many companies have asked employees to work from home, factories have temporarily closed and Altria’s CEO contracted the virus.

    Altria has requested that the FDA seek an extension following the eight-week social distancing recommendation from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

    “Although we make this request and raise these issues given these unprecedented times, we remain committed to working with the agency on these important product submissions,” Paige Magness, Altria’s senior vice president, said in a letter. The company has asked that if an extension is not possible the FDA allow companies to submit data and product samples after the deadline if they are affected by the outbreak.

  • Cannabis Prices Surge in France

    Cannabis Prices Surge in France

    In France, where recreational drug use is illegal, the street price of cannabis has drastically risen due to the lockdown to stop the spread of coronavirus.

    Newly imposed tight border controls to stop the spread of the virus have disrupted the illegal flow of drugs. Illegal cannabis resin in France typically comes from Morocco through Spain, and marijuana comes from the Netherlands.

    “The price of a 100-gram bar of resin went from €280 ($309) to €500 in a week in Marseille,” said Yann Bastiere, a senior police union official who works with counter-narcotics investigators. He noted that similar trends were seen in other parts of the country as well.

    Experts are concerned that the lack of drug availability could lead to serious trouble—rivalries between drug gangs and public disorder in the “deprived zones.”

  • VApril 2020 to Happen Online

    VApril 2020 to Happen Online

    VApril, an annual campaign to help U.K. smokers transition to vaping, will launch on April 1 and is going digital following the coronavirus outbreak.

    Now in its third year, VApril is the world’s largest vaping consumer education campaign. This year, the campaign will harness digital platforms to reach out to U.K. smokers and vapers during the coronavirus lockdown and continue to provide specialist advice for those trying to quit smoking.

    VApril follows the latest Vaping Evidence Review published by Public Health England (PHE) in March, which indicated that misinformation has led to false fears about vaping, preventing more smokers from make the switch.

    “Normally during VApril, our members’ retail stores host expert classes across the country to educate smokers on everything to do with vaping, but this year, we’ve had to change tact to safeguard the welfare of smokers and vapers during the month, and therefore we will be engaging audiences through digital media,” said John Dunne, a director of the U.K. Vaping Industry Association (UKVIA), which organizes and coordinates VApril.

    “Our VApril campaign aims to address the misinformation out there and give smokers all the evidence-backed advice and information that they need to make informed decisions about vaping and to give them peace of mind.”

    An online hub is now live to support the campaign, where smokers can access information and expert advice covering vapor devices, flavors and nicotine levels.

    Smokers can download a special “Switch on to Vaping” guide and pose questions online to an industry expert panel. A number of vapers also share their positive life-changing experiences of making the switch from smoking to vaping, and there is a vaper’s guide to coronavirus.

    Vaping companies and associations in the U.K. and internationally can contact UKVIA to gain free access to all the campaign’s materials.

  • Study: E-cigarettes Cause Higher Cancer Risk

    Study: E-cigarettes Cause Higher Cancer Risk

    A recent study shows a connection to e-cigarette use and bladder cancer risk.

    Researchers at the University of North Carolina (UNC) Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center and New York University Langone Health looked at 22 different studies analyzing the urine of people who used e-cigarettes or other tobacco products to check for cancer-linked compounds or biomarkers. Six compounds or biomarkers with a link to bladder cancer were found.

    “Smoking is the No. 1 modifiable behavioral risk factor for bladder cancer,” said Marc Bjurlin, associate professor of urology in the UNC School of Medicine. “There is now evolving literature showing that people who vape may have similar carcinogens in their urine as combustible cigarette users.”

  • Vape Clouds Don’t Spread Covid-19

    Vape Clouds Don’t Spread Covid-19

    There is insufficient evidence to support the claim that Covid-19 can be spread through vape clouds, according to Neal Benowitz, a University of California San Francisco professor of medicine.

    “It is my understanding that exhaled e-cigarette vapor consists of very small particles of water, propylene glycol and glycerin and flavor chemicals, not droplets of saliva,” Benowitz said. “The vaping aerosol evaporates very quickly while particles that are emitted when coughing or sneezing are large particles that persist in the air for a relatively long period of time. Thus, I would not think that vapers present any risk of spreading Covid-19 unless they are coughing when they exhale the vapor.”

    Benowitz’s remarks follow comments by Tom McLean, a Scottish microbiologist, who claimed that “blowing vapor out is as good as someone spitting in your face.”

    “If anyone has the coronavirus and are vaping, they’d be spreading it to a lot of people at the same time,” McLean said.

    Doctors are considering vaping as a possible factor in the large rate of those hospitalized for severe Covid-19 symptoms.

  • VPZ to Close Stores

    VPZ to Close Stores

    VPZ, the U.K.’s largest vapor product retailer, is closing its 155 stores.

    The company originally expected the U.K. to follow the example of other European countries by allowing vapor stores to remain open to prevent ex-smokers from moving back to vaping. However, the U.K. has not clarified its stance on vape shops.

    VPZ staff will continue to receive their full pay during the three-week lockdown.

    “We are disappointed with the lack of clarification from the government regarding where vaping retailers stand,” said Doug Mutter, director of compliance and manufacturing for VPZ. “Other European nations had recognized the work vaping specialists do in reducing the stress on health services and kept the local stores open. We had expected this to be the case and had begun investing in new processes in order to manage our business in such an environment. However, without sufficient clarification and in the interest of keeping our staff and customers safe, we have [made] the decision to close all 155 stores as of Tuesday for the next three weeks.”

  • Turning Point Brands to Deliver Free Sanitizer

    Turning Point Brands to Deliver Free Sanitizer

    Turning Point Brands (TPB) repurposed select manufacturing infrastructure to produce free hand sanitizer for communities in California, Kentucky and Tennessee.

    TBD division Nu-X distributed the first few thousand hand sanitizer bottles and bulk gallons this Tuesday in an emergency production run to the UCLA Ronald Reagan Medical Center. “We saw an opportunity to contribute and help. We hope other companies with the capacity to do so will do the same,” said Lorenzo De Plano, senior director of Nu-X.

    TPB will have two vans delivering Nu-X products around the Los Angeles area every day until all available inventory is depleted. The company is also looking for opportunities to provide needed materials to other organizations out of its Louisville, Kentucky, facility. Hospitals and elderly homes will have priority of hand sanitizer products. All hand sanitizer bottles produced will be under the brand Nu-X and will not be for resell purposes.

    “Our company takes very seriously our role in providing support to the communities where we operate. We hope that through this action we can both help those impacted by the Covid-19 situation and inspire others to act,” said Larry Wexler, president and CEO of TPB.

  • Ploom Tech Study Shows Reduced Harm

    Ploom Tech Study Shows Reduced Harm

    The biomarkers of potential harm in Ploom Tech users were closer to those of never-smokers than they were to those of combustible cigarette smokers, according to a recent study cited by Japan Tobacco.

    The study was conducted in consultation with Yuji Kumagai, professor at the Kitasato Clinical Research Center.

    “Although further research is required, this new clinical study again highlights that Ploom Tech has the potential of reducing the health risks associated with smoking,” said Ian Jones, vice president and R&D principal scientist at Japan Tobacco International.

  • Relx Wins Red Dot Award for Design With Its Infinity Vaping Device

    RELX Technology has been awarded the Red Dot Award: Product Design 2020 for its latest e-cigarette, RELX Infinity.

    The Red Dot Award: Product Design is one of the world’s largest design competitions. In 2020, designers and manufacturers from more than 50 countries entered more than 6,500 products in the competition. An international jury comprising experts from different disciplines assessed the entries on criteria such as innovation, functionality, formal quality, longevity and ergonomics.

    Unveiled in Shenzhen, China, in January, the RELX Infinity has been designed to deliver a full flavor and a smooth. The smoothness is achieved by RELX’s Active-steam Pro and Air Boost technologies. Active-steam Pro achieves a consistent vapor volume and quality by actively balancing and controlling both atomizing power and temperature; while the aerodynamic Air Boost creates negative pressure that pushes the vapor up from the atomizer.

    Infinity also features enhanced battery performance and wireless charging. RELX also improved the product’s resistance to leakage.

    RELX products have been recognized before. In 2019, the RELX i e-cigarette was awarded the 2019 Bronze Prize at the European Product Design Awards and the Bronze award at the 2018 International Design Awards.

  • Covid-19 Bill Clears U.S. Senate

    Covid-19 Bill Clears U.S. Senate

    The U.S. Senate voted unanimously (96-0) to pass a $2 trillion stimulus package. The deal is expected to clear the U.S. House of Representatives early Friday morning before being sent to President Donald Trump, who has said he will sign the bill into law immediately.

    The signing of the bill in the Senate came after intense negotiations. The bill is said to be one of the most expensive and far-reaching measures passed by Congress. House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer said Wednesday evening that the House plan is to pass the bill by voice vote, which would avoid forcing all representatives to return to Washington for a recorded roll call vote.

    “Members are further advised that due to the limited flight options, members participating in self-quarantine and several states mandating stay-at-home orders,” Hoyer announced in a statement Wednesday evening.

    The deal was heavily scrutinized by some Republican senators who argued that language incentivizing unemployment would keep some workers from returning to their jobs because unemployment benefits would pay them more money than they would make working. “This bill pays you more not to work than if you were working,” GOP Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina said. “You’re literally incentivizing taking people out of the workforce at a time when we need critical infrastructure supplied with workers.”

    The goal of the legislation is to flood the U.S. economy with funds during a period of time that has seen financial systems in chaos, including having several states on lockdown. Numerous businesses have closed and the numbers of infections and deaths from Covid-19 have risen rapidly across the U.S.

    Key components of the proposal are $500 billion in loans for distressed companies, $350 billion in small business loans, $250 billion set aside for direct payments to individuals and families, and $250 billion in unemployment insurance benefits. The plan would provide individuals who earn $75,000 in adjusted gross income or less direct payments of $1,200 each. Married couples earning up to $150,000 would receive $2,400. There would also be an additional $500 per child, according to news reports. Payments scale down by income, phasing out entirely at $99,000 for singles and $198,000 for couples without children.

    In a press release, Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said the bill also contained a provision that would prevent President Trump and his family, as well as other top government officials and members of Congress, from getting loans or investments from Treasury programs in the stimulus.

    The U.S. Senate is now expected to recess until April 20 unless they are asked to return for further legislative action. “Our nation obviously is going through a kind of crisis that is totally unprecedented in living memory,” said Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell just before the vote.