Category: News This Week

  • New Jersey Governor Signs Vapor Flavor Ban, Takes Effect on April 20

    New Jersey Governor Signs Vapor Flavor Ban, Takes Effect on April 20

    Flavored vaping products, which critics say attract teens and get them hooked on nicotine, will soon be banned in New Jersey, according to an article on nj.com.

    Gov. Phil Murphy on Tuesday signed a bill into law prohibiting flavors in e-cigarettes in the Garden State, just months after he called for state lawmakers to send him a measure barring the products as a national health crisis associated with vaping unfolded.

    The law is the nation’s first permanent flavor ban, according to the governor’s office. Several others issued emergency bans last year as the vaping crisis began, the story states.

    “As governor, I am first and foremost charged with protecting the health and safety of our people,” Murphy, a Democrat, said in a statement. “Research shows that flavored electronic smoking devices and products, such as mint, candy, fruit, and chocolate, are extremely appealing, especially to children.”

    The flavor ban will take effect in 90 days, or on April 20. The small vape shop owners say that leaves them with a short time to clear their shelves and pivot their business models, according to the article.

    Many have said the flavor will take away their main source of revenue and force them into bankruptcy, while the law will do nothing to address the black market. Some former cigarette smokers say switching to vaping helped them to quit and has improved their health.

    But others hope the ban will keep kids from picking up the habit after smoking significantly declined among young people, the article states.

    A former version of the bill included a ban on menthol cigarettes, but state Senate President Stephen Sweeney said lawmakers put that on hold, planning to bring it up again during budget discussions later this year.

  • Figr Continues to Expand Its Cannabis Footprint Across Canada

    Figr Continues to Expand Its Cannabis Footprint Across Canada

    Figr Brands has launched a line of THC vapor products in Canada. The line includes a vapor device and pods designed exclusively for the device.

    The launch of the product line follows the phase two implementation of Canada’s recreational cannabis legalization process, frequently referenced as Cannabis 2.0.

    “The Canadian government’s green light for derivative cannabis products, including vape, presents the opportunity for Figr to progress its product diversification in order to meet the growing demand for high-quality, adult-use cannabis products,” said Pieter Sikkel, president, CEO and chairman of Figr’s parent company, Pyxus International.

    “The launch of Figr’s new products is particularly timely as the company continues to expand its footprint across Canada.”

    The production of Figr’s vape pods is tracked from seed to sale by Sentri, Pyxus International’s proprietary track-and-trace platform. Data collected in the platform documents the product’s supply chain journey and can be shared with the consumer, helping to elevate transparency and ensure quality.

    Figr’s THC vapor products will be available for sale through e-commerce channels and select Canadian retail locations, initially launching in Ontario followed by additional provinces as regulation and distribution permits.

  • Bates: No Evidence of Vapor ’95 Percent’ Safer Claim Being Untrue

    Bates: No Evidence of Vapor ’95 Percent’ Safer Claim Being Untrue

    Contrary to its claim, a recent critique does not debunk the statements made by Public Health England (PHE) and the Royal College of Physicians (RCP) that vaping is at least 95 percent less risky than smoking, according to Clive Bates, director of Counterfactual Consulting.

    Writing on his blog, Bates examined the authors’ propositions and found them wanting.

    “Not a single word of their paper addresses the supposed foundation of their critique—that PHE/RCP are wrong, and the risks of vaping are likely to exceed 5 percent of those of smoking,” Bates wrote.

    While the paper contains several baseless assertions that are irrelevant to the “at least 95 percent lower” relative risk claim (gateway effects, smoking cessation efficacy and secondhand aerosol exposure), it says nothing about the relative magnitude of smoking and vaping risks, according to Bates.

    “No analysis, no data, no evidence—nothing that discusses relative risk and why PHE/RCP are supposedly wrong. Niente. Nada. Rien. Nichts. Nothing,” he wrote.

  • U.K.’s Largest Vapor Retailer Selects One of Its Own to Lead New Quit Campaign

    U.K.’s Largest Vapor Retailer Selects One of Its Own to Lead New Quit Campaign

    A new nationwide stop-smoking campaign launched by the UK’s largest vaping retailer has tabbed a Port Talbot man will be the face of the in-store campaign.

    Douglas Parsons’ stop-smoking journey will be featured across a range of collateral, including on each VPZ store’s in-house screens as he details his switch to vaping.

    The 26-year-old previously smoked a cigarette every hour before being encouraged to kick the habit by his partner.

    Parsons had tried a range of over-the-counter smoking cessation products but admits he continually went back to cigarettes as he struggled to kick the habit once and for all, according to a press release.

    He eventually turned to vaping as an alternative and has never looked back after taking advantage of VPZ’s 28-day support program and money back guarantee on Innokin brand starter packs.

    “The VPZ staff in-store have been brilliant and having the opportunity to be able to track how my body is reacting really puts everything into perspective. It is genuinely crazy the difference vaping has made to my body,” Parsons said.

    Latest consumer research from VPZ shows that 89 percent of customers stated that vaping helped them quit smoking altogether. Among the success stories, 97 per cent stated that vaping helped them most throughout the journey towards kicking the habit. And of those, 79 percent confirmed that they had been smoking for six years or more.

  • Avail Vapor Divides Into 3 Separate Entities to Better Serve Its Clients

    Avail Vapor Divides Into 3 Separate Entities to Better Serve Its Clients

    Avail Vapor has announced that as of January 1, 2020 the company has divided its operations into three separate businesses. Each entity has its own dedicated management team that will all be headquartered in Richmond, Virginia.

    “Evolving our corporate structure supports our continuing growth across the multiple segments of our portfolio from vaping, manufacturing, distribution, regulatory services to future markets,” said James Xu, former CEO of AVAIL who now serves as chairman of the three entities. “Due to the increasing importance of our regulatory consulting division at a time when U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) compliance is paramount, we want to drive even greater focus to that area, and also support the individual needs of our customers and clients.”

    The three companies are: Avail Vapor (the retail arm with stores in 12 states and online; Blackbriar Regulatory Services, a contract manufacturing, FDA compliance consulting and laboratory services; Blackship Technologies, a research and development services company.

    Blackbriar Regulatory Services (BRS) has also announced it has entered into agreements with Charlie’s Chalk Dust, a major international e-liquid brand and a subsidiary of Charlies Holdings, to manufacture a range of its nicotine products and take the lead in submitting a number of those products for the FDA’s premarket tobacco product application (PMTA) process by the agency’s May 2020 deadline.

    “We are honored that Charlie’s Chalk Dust has added its name to the growing list of companies that trust us to help them move forward in a maturing industry,” said Russ Rogers, CEO of BRS. “Under Avail, we partnered with Charlie’s for several years to help the company deliver the highest quality products to this market, and we are very happy to see that they remain so strongly committed to continuing their success working with Blackbriar as vape-industry leaders start to add regulatory compliance to their list of critical strategies.”

    All e-liquid and device manufacturers have until May 2020 to submit PMTAs for electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS) under section 910 of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act. This includes liquids, devices and any affiliated products related to ENDS products. The FDA than has 12 months to review applications.

    “The PMTA process is rigorous and complex,” said Ryan Stump, COO of Charlie’s Holdings. “We are fortunate to have a strong relationship with the leadership team at Blackbriar, a result of prior manufacturing agreements with Avail Vapor, the sister company. We are confident that guidance from BRS will further ensure Charlie’s continued compliance with the regulations put forth by FDA, further supporting Charlie’s leadership in the nicotine e-liquid vape space.”

  • Heat-not-Burn Products Rapidly Rising in Japan According to Survey

    Heat-not-Burn Products Rapidly Rising in Japan According to Survey

    Heated-tobacco product use is rising in Japan, according to the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare’s 2018 National Health and Nutrition Survey.

    The survey asked smokers what tobacco products they used, and 30.6 percent of men and 23.6 percent of women responded that they use heated-tobacco products. These products were popular with those between the ages of 20 to 40. The 2018 survey was the first to ask about heated-tobacco products.

    The largest number of responding smokers said they smoke only paper-rolled cigarettes—68.1 percent of men and 76.1 percent of women—but more than 50 percent of men in their 20s and 30s said they use heated-tobacco products.

    The proportion of men who smoke was down to 29 percent, the survey showed. This is the lowest rate since 1986 when the survey began. Only 8.1 percent of women said they smoke.

    The rate of nonsmokers encountering secondhand smoke at home, work or restaurants has declined since questions about secondhand smoke first appeared on the survey in 2003.

  • Vape Shop Owners Fighting Back Against New Hampshire Flavor Ban

    Vape Shop Owners Fighting Back Against New Hampshire Flavor Ban

    Vape shop owners in New Hampshire came out in force Wednesday in opposition to a proposed flavor ban on vapor products. They argue the ban would shutter shops and force former smokers back to deadly combustible cigarettes.

    Rep. Jerry Knirk, Freedom, wants New Hampshire to ban the sale of all flavored vaping products, except tobacco flavors. A recent Trump administration ban removed all but tobacco flavors from closed systems.

    “We need to place children’s health and public health over the profits of the vaping industry,” he told the House Commerce Committee, an article on ap.com states.

    After several speakers who support the ban, vape shop owners who followed rebutted those arguments stating that adult vapers like flavors too.

    “I’m 34 years old. Cap’n Crunchberries and pineapple grapefruit, these two things are keeping me off cigarettes,” said Steve Kaltsis, who said he smoked a pack of cigarettes a day for 10 years before taking up vaping five years ago. He opened a vape shop in Pelham in November after sales dropped from $1,800 to $150 per day at his store in Dracut, Massachusetts, where the governor announced a four-month moratorium on the sale of vaping products in September, according to the article.

    “Anything that is opposing adults getting their hands on these flavors that help them quit would be a tragedy for the state of New Hampshire,” he said. “Just look what it did to Massachusetts. Look what it did to me.”

  • Suit: Juul Founders Sold $500 Million in Stock, Denied Minority Stakeholders

    Suit: Juul Founders Sold $500 Million in Stock, Denied Minority Stakeholders

    Juul Labs’ founders used a $12.8 billion investment from Altria Group to enrich themselves, according to a minority shareholder.

    In a lawsuit filed in California state court last week, Daniel Grove says Juul founders Adam Bowen and James Monsees each sold $500 million in stock after the deal with Altria while denying similar opportunities to minority stakeholders.

    The suit seeks to block Juul Labs’ board from approving further transactions involving its members and to make the company hold annual meetings. It also seeks to represent others as a class of plaintiffs.

    Describing the suit as “without merit and filled with factual inaccuracies,” Juul Labs countersued  stop Grove from gaining access to its books and record.

    Grove’s lawyer, Francis Bottini, said his client is seeking information about payments to Juul Labs’ board members related to the Altria deal and that under California law he didn’t sign away those rights as Juul contends.

    Bottini said Juul Labs’ lawsuit against Grove is “without merit.”

  • Bill to Ban Flavors in Vapor Products in New Jersey Sitting on Governor’s Desk

    Bill to Ban Flavors in Vapor Products in New Jersey Sitting on Governor’s Desk

    New Jersey lawmakers voted on Monday to ban flavored vapor products in an effort to reduce youth tobacco use. The bill now awaits approval from Governor Phil Murray.

    The legislation also prohibits the use of coupons or discounts to purchase tobacco or vapor products, and it would bar menthol-flavored products, as well as fruit and candy flavors, but would allow tobacco flavors.

    If approved, New Jersey would follow Massachusetts as the only other state with a statewide ban on flavors, though other states have enacted emergency regulations on the sales of flavored products.

    Murray has not indicated whether he will sign the legislation into law.

  • China-Based Relx Technology to Open 10,000 Stores Worldwide in Next 3 Years

    Relx Technology, a Chinese vapor company, plans to invest RMB500 million ($72.53 million) in establishing 10,000 stores worldwide over the next three years. Relx opened its first retail store in January 2019. Today, it operates more than 1,400 stores across 300 cities in China.

    “Relx is investing heavily in breakthrough technologies to enhance franchisees’ profit margins and increase consumer loyalty during the course of its brick-and-mortar expansion,” said Jiang Long, co-founder and head of sales. “As always, our focus will remain on preventing minors from using e-cigarette products and leading the path of innovation for the entire industry by developing advanced retail technology.”

    Relx announced its plans during the opening of a flagship store in Shanghai. Located in Shanghai’s central business district, the store occupies 140 square meters and functions as a space to educate existing adult smokers and vapers on Relx vapor products.

    All visitors are subject to strict age verification processes when entering the store or making a purchase. Relx’s Project Sunflower facial recognition technology also ensures that minors attempting to enter the store are identified automatically and denied service.

    “The flagship store demonstrates Project Sunflower’s central role in Relx’s retail division,” said Jiang. “As a visionary company, Relx is prepared to shoulder the responsibility of blazing the trail in tech-enabled social responsibility.”