Category: News This Week

Juul Labs has named a new chief financial officer and eliminated the position of chief marketing officer amid a management shakeup, reports CNBC.

Several top executives have left the company, including Chief Administrative Officer Ashley Gould and Chief Financial Officer Tim Danaher, two veteran employees at the start-up. Newcomers Craig Brommers, chief marketing officer, and David Foster, senior vice president of advanced technologies, have also left.

Juul appointed as its new CFO Guy Cartwright, who joined the company in July as an executive transformation and operations officer.

Co-founders James Monsees and Adam Bowen, who formerly held the positions of chief product officer and chief technology officer, respectively, will join a newly formed founders office, where they will advise CEO K.C. Crosthwaite.

The changes come as Juul prepares to cut about 500 jobs, or about 10 percent to 15 percent of its 4,100-strong headcount, by the end of the year.

“As the vapor category undergoes a necessary reset, this reorganization will help Juul Labs focus on reducing underage use, investing in scientific research, and creating new technologies while earning a license to operate in the U.S. and around the world,” said Altria Group veteran Crosthwaite, who became CEO at Juul Labs in September.

The tobacco giant invested $12.8 billion in Juul in December.

The US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) is expanding “National Prescription Drug Take Back Day” to include vaping products, thereby placing the electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS) in the same category as prescription drugs such as opioids.

The annual event lets people anonymously dispose of expired, unused, and unwanted prescription medications at collection sites across the U.S, according to an article on NPR.org. The DEA launched the semi-annual initiative in 2010 in the hopes of preventing pill abuse, misuse and theft.

The DEA claims concern about the health risks of vaping and electronic cigarettes as the reason it announced this week it will also accept electronic vaping devices and cartridges, provided any lithium ion batteries are removed. The cannot accept any device with a battery.

“In an effort to support a healthy lifestyle and energetic population, especially amongst America’s youth, DEA is committed to doing all it can to help safely dispose of vaping devices and substances,” agency officials stated in a press release. Saturday’s Take Back event will take place from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at collection sites across the nation.

If batteries can’t be removed from vaping devices, the DEA suggests contacting “large electronic chain stores” or hazardous materials management facilities to see if they will accept them.

Proper vape disposal involves more than just tossing the device in the recycling bin, waste disposal specialists say, since batteries can end up in landfills and contaminate the environment. TheWeedBlog advises people to resell or donate used vaping devices, or recycle them online or through companies such as Home Depot and Best Buy, which offer electronic waste recycling, according to the story.

A large-scale campaign by Innokin Technology will have London buses supporting the vaping industry this week. The vapor product manufacturer has partnered with leading international vaping associations to ask Londoners “how much do you know about vaping?”

The campaign marks the final week of “Stoptober”, when smokers around the UK are looking to leave cigarettes behind.

The UK is still home to more than 7 million smokers, despite the efforts of government and public health bodies. In October 2019, Public Health England confirmed that smoking continues to be the leading cause of early death in London.

Innokin Technology hopes this campaign will draw attention to the alternatives that exist. Vice president of Innokin Technology, George Xia, said:

‘By working closely with vaping associations around the world, to sponsor advocacy and education, we hope that more smokers will learn about the alternatives and find support to help them stop smoking.’

The UK Vaping Industry Association (UKVIA), the Vape Technology Association (VTA), the Canadian Vaping Association (CVA), The Electronic Cigarette Committee of China (ECCC), the Verband Des eZigarettenhandels (VdeH) are with this ‘Stoptober’ bus campaign.

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued a warning letter to Eonsmoke, LLC (ES) notifying the company that nearly 100 flavored e-cigarette products do not have the required marketing authorization.

The letter states that the products cannot be legally sold in the United States, among other violations of the Tobacco Control Act. The warning letter also cites “the company for engaging in labeling, advertising, and/or other activities directed to consumers that explicitly and/or implicitly presented ENDS products sold or distributed by ES as having a lower risk of tobacco-related disease or as less harmful than other commercially marketed tobacco products,” according to an FDA release.

FDA’s warning letter additionally cites the company for the advertising of its products on its website and social media account, including social media posts on behalf of ES by well-known influencers, that do not include the required nicotine warning statement and for failing to submit the required ingredient listing information for their products to the agency.

FDA has requested a written response from ES within 15 working days informing the FDA of the specific actions taken to address the agency’s concerns, according to the release. Failure to correct violations may result in further action, such as seizure or injunction.

E-cigarettes and vaping devices (EVC) have dominated the public and academic debate on tobacco control since its introduction into the market. Now, Malaysia is looking to introduce stricter regulations on the sale and use of EVC, placing it together with tobacco products under a single law that would prohibit promotions and advertising, usage in public areas and use by minors. 

E-cigarettes and vapes are different. An e-cigarette is usually shaped like a pen and filled with nicotine, while vapes are handheld devices that may not have nicotine in its e-juice or oil. In Malaysia, a ban on vaporiser liquids containing nicotine has been in place since November 2015, according to a story on the aseanpost.com. 

There is a rising uptake of EVC among Malaysia’s youth. Due to this, the Health Ministry there is not discounting a total ban on the products. “Everything is currently in the planning stage. We are examining whether to fully implement the ban on vape use, like some other countries,” said Deputy Health Minister, Dr Lee Boon Chye.

Research in the Journal of Community Health by Li Ping Wong et al. in 2016 revealed that 39 percent of e-cigarette smokers are youths in universities while 36 percent are young professionals. Their main reason for using EVC is to quit the smoking of tobacco, according to the story.

The research identified other reasons students have for smoking e-cigarettes and vaping such as their perception that e-cigarettes are not as intrusive as tobacco cigarettes and can be used in public places and the notion that e-cigarettes are safer than smoking tobacco.

However, based on 2018 research by Sharifa Ezat Wan Puteh et. al. on ‘‘The use of e-cigarettes among university students in Malaysia,’’ in the Tobacco Induced Diseases Journal, the number of youths who use e-cigarettes as a tool to quit is 14.1 percent, which is lower than current EVC smokers who have never smoked a cigarette (20.4 percent). There is also a high percentage of youths who are dual users (smoking both, tobacco products and EVC) at 40.3 percent, according to the story.

Vaping products are now being sold on pharmacy shelves throughout New Zealand. Vaping company Vapix, which is branded as a health product, is now being sold in Unichem and Life Pharmacy stores around the country. The product is only available to those older than 18 and is marketed at smokers, encouraging them to “make the switch”.

Vapix is a sub-brand of Kiwi vaping company Alt New Zealand, co-founded by Ben Pryor and Jonathan Devery, according to a story on nzherald.co.nz.

The pair of entrepreneurs say that the arrival of the Vapix brand in pharmacies is only the start of an ongoing investigation into how vaping can be used to administer a range of natural medicines.

Last year, the pair registered the company Myriad Pharmaceuticals specifically with the goal of looking into medicinal applications for vaping, according to the story.

Marie Bennett, the owner of Unichem All Seasons Pharmacy in West Auckland, said the decision to stock vaping products came about from customers requesting the products as a means to quit smoking.

“As the Ministry of Health makes clear, vaping is an effective tool to support smokers to quit tobacco and it is less harmful than smoking,” Bennett said, according to the story.

Bennett added she is pleased to be able to offer smokers an option to help them quit.

The decision by pharmacies to start stocking vaping products comes off the back of comments by Associate Health Minister Jenny Salesa that regulations of the vaping industry are imminent.

Among those proposed regulations are limits on nicotine levels and a ban on flavors. There have also been further suggestions that the advertising of vaping products may be prohibited, according to the story.

This has led to the vaping industry setting aside their differences to form the Vaping Trade Association of New Zealand (VTANZ) to lobby against the possibility of over-regulation.

While vaping is viewed as a safer alternative to smoking, there are growing concerns about the impact e-cigarettes could have on users.

There have been numerous reports out of the US recently, which have linked THC vaping to a deadly lung disease.

The concerns around this have led the US Centre for Disease Control and Prevention to recommend people don’t vape at all.

India has gone a step further by banning vaping entirely, according to the story.

There is, however, still international support for the vaping industry in the United Kingdom, where Public Health England has stood by its position that vaping carries a small fraction of the risk of smoking.

The question now is which way New Zealand will lean once local regulations are passed, according to the story.

The Vapor Technology Association (VTA) formally called on voters to voice their opposition to the proposed national ban on flavored vapor products and commenced an aggressive multimedia campaign to raise awareness of the significant adverse public health and economic impacts of such a ban.

As part of this effort, VTA launched vapersdovote.com, a platform through which adults who rely on flavored vapor products to quit or reduce smoking can urge the federal government to preserve their access to this critical tool.

VTA also unveiled “Promises,” an advertisement airing on national television this week, which demonstrates the significant and negative impact that a ban on flavored vapor products would have.

Ten to 13 million American adults rely on e-cigarettes to quit or reduce smoking. A flavor ban would drive these men and women to either revert to combustible cigarettes, which take the lives of nearly half a million Americans each year, or turn to a new and larger black market. Additionally, the licensed, FDA-registered and FDA-regulated American vapor product distribution chain would shutter, resulting in the closure of 14,000 small businesses and the loss of upwards of 166,000 jobs. Notably, more than 31,000 of the jobs at risk are in Florida, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin.

Fortunately, there exist many alternatives to a flavor ban that would effectively limit youth access and appeal without adversely affecting public health and the economy. VTA last month announced “21 & DONE!” a comprehensive plan to address the serious issue of underage use, including: raising the age to 21; implementing 21 serious marketing restrictions, including bans on all television advertising and bans on product names with references that are likely to appeal to minors such as candy, cartoon characters, and video games, among other things; a strong “three strikes and you’re out” enforcement regime; and increased taxes to fund education and enforcement, among other key policies.

Tony Abboud, executive director of the VTA said, “Bans don’t work; they never have. As we have said from the start, we stand ready to work with the administration, regulators and lawmakers on the many real solutions that should be implemented to achieve the twin goals of restricting youth vaping, which is already illegal, and preserving flavored alternatives for adults desperately trying to quit smoking.”

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Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan has ordered his trade minister “never” to allow e-cigarettes.

“They asked us for a place and permission to produce these [e-cigarettes.] We didn’t give it to them and we will not,” he said, without saying which firm or firms he was referring to. “They want to invest in Turkey …. Go and make your investment elsewhere.”

Erdogan said that tobacco companies were “getting rich by poisoning” people.

Around 27 percent of Turkey’s population aged over 15 years smoked cigarettes in 2016, according to World Health Organization data, down from around 31 percent in 2010.

While vaping is not illegal in Turkey, purchasing or distributing e-cigarettes is. Despite this, many people procure e-cigarettes through online distributors, which also provide the liquid to put in the machines.

Juul Labs Inc announced Thursday it will completely end U.S. sales of all flavors except tobacco, mint and menthol, as the company faces heightened scrutiny from regulators, lawmakers and state attorneys general over the appeal of its nicotine products to teenagers, according to a report by Reuters.

Thursday’s move, which ends online sales, means Juul’s mango, fruit, creme and cucumber nicotine pod flavors will no longer be available for sale anywhere in the United States. The company last year pulled those flavors from retail stores but continued to sell them on its website with what the company said were “strict age-verification controls.”

Juul’s new chief executive, K.C. Crosthwaite, a veteran of Marlboro maker Altria Group Inc, announced the move Thursday as the company attempts to repair its relationship with regulators, according to the story.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration last month warned Juul that it was misleading consumers by marketing its products as safer than cigarettes, and requested additional information on its nicotine blend. Soon after, the Trump administration announced plans to ban all flavored e-cigarette products, citing alarming growth in teenage use of the products.

Soon after, Juul’s former CEO, Kevin Burns, stepped down, according to the story.

Crosthwaite said in a statement Thursday that the company needs to “reset the vapor category” by “earning the trust of society,” working “cooperatively” with regulators and policymakers.

A Michigan judge on Tuesday blocked the state’s weeks-old ban on flavored e-cigarettes, citing evidence that adults could return to smoking more harmful tobacco products, according to a story on AP.com.

Court of Claims Judge Cynthia Stephens also said Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s administration’s delay in implementing the prohibition undercut its position that emergency rules were justified.

The lawsuit was filed by vaping businesses that said the ban, which took effect Oct. 2, will force them to close. The judge issued a preliminary injunction to stop the state from enforcing the rules, according to the story.

Michigan, New York and Rhode Island have recently banned flavored vaping products in response to an explosion in teen vaping in recent years. President Donald Trump said last month that the federal government would act to prohibit thousands of flavors used in e-cigarettes because they appeal to underage users.

Whitmer, a Democrat, has accused companies of using candy flavors and deceptive advertising to “hook children on nicotine.”

The rules prohibit the sale of flavored nicotine vaping products, including to adults, and the misleading marketing of e-cigarettes, according to the story.