Category: News This Week

The Rajasthan government in Northern India has banned the production, distribution, advertisement and sale of e-cigarette in the state.

According to the health department officials, both online or offline sale, storage, production, distribution and advertisement of e-cigarettes in the state has been banned. Earlier Health Minister Raghu Sharma had set up a committee of experts to look into the adverse impacts of e-cigarettes and it found that there were indeed many, according to a story in the Deccan Herald.

He told the media that the government had opposed the promotion of e-cigarettes as an alternative to tobacco cigarettes. “The committee found that e-cigarettes have ill-effect on mental health. So we decided to ban it,” said Sharma, the story states.

Two students – at the University of Alabama and Auburn University – have filed a class-action lawsuit against the makers of e-cigarettes, saying the products “prey on youth to recruit replacement smokers for financial gain,” according to a story on AL.com.

The suit, filed May 22 in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama West Division, lists Juul Labs Inc., Altria Group and Philip Morris USA as defendants, according to the story.

Elizabeth Ann Swearingen, 19, a Montgomery resident who attends Alabama, became addicted to Juul at 18, the suit claims, while Auburn student John Thomas Via Peavy, 19, became addicted at 17, the story states.

Avail Vapor has hired Ramesh Srinivasan as business development director for scientific services.

Srinivasan is tasked with engaging and supporting companies looking for help regarding the U.S. Food & Drug Administration’s rapidly approaching submission deadlines of their harmful and potentially harmful constituents (HPHC), and premarket tobacco applications (PMTA). In anticipation of these requirements, Avail’s team of experts has spent the past five years developing a comprehensive portfolio of scientific services to meet the needs of electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS) manufacturers across the industry.

“We continue to rapidly grow our portfolio of scientific services, and we are investing in more resources to help companies who will ultimately define the future compliance state of our industry working with the FDA and bringing Ramesh onto our team is part of that strategic investment,” said Russ Rogers, chief operating officer at Avail.

Srinivasan brings to the position more than 20 years of experience in scientific business development and will be responsible for providing companies a turnkey solution to meet their needs with a proven science-driven approach to testing for HPHCs, good manufacturing practices (GMP), as well as additional analytical lab testing and resources critical to the PMTA process.

“Several factors such as cost, timing, efficiency and turnkey solutions are all things manufacturers are considering in relation to all of these FDA required submissions including PMTA,” Rogers said.

“Cost is such a key consideration in all of this, and Avail has developed what we believe is a PMTA model that will efficiently deliver the necessary and sufficient information to the agency, while controlling costs that can otherwise quickly get into the tens of millions of dollars for companies.

“We truly hope to partner with more of the best-of-the-best, to help ensure that those who emerge from the PMTA process successfully will define a responsible and long-term sustainable industry.”

A VAT challenge on electronic cigarettes in the U.K. aims to break the mold of ever-increasing taxes on the sector by calling for a drop in Value Added Tax to 5 percent.

The challenge, led by U.K. accounting firm MHA MTaxco, has brought together both larger retail firms and smaller independents to raise funds for the challenge, with an initial meeting with the Revenue and Customs department (HMRC) scheduled to take place shortly. If negotiations are not successful, the case is likely to proceed to a tribunal in 2019.

In response, HMRC are likely to argue that e-cigarettes are not licensed for quitting, and are not held out for sale as a quitting aid. However, the case rests on the definition of the phrase “designed to help,” which states that products that are created to help consumers with medical issues such as quitting smoking can attract a reduced rate of VAT.

If successful, the case would also lead to re-payments of VAT for electronic cigarettes products sold since 2015.

James Dunworth is the co-founder of E-Cigarette Direct. You can find him blogging at the Ashtray Blog.

The US state of Illinois’ Senate is considering a bill that would expand the state’s general ban on smoking in public places to include e-cigarettes and other alternative nicotine products, but the vaping industry is resisting, saying their products do not produce “smoke” and don’t pose the same public health risks, according to a story on the dailyherald.com.

During a hearing Tuesday in the Senate Public Health Committee, supporters of the bill argued that the public health effects from exposure to secondhand fumes from those devices are still unknown, but that the state has an interest in regulating their use, according to the story.

“Electronic cigarettes are completely unregulated tobacco products that have been sold in the United States for a little over a decade,” said Kathy Drea, vice president of the American Lung Association of the Upper Midwest. “Because there has been no (Food and Drug Administration) review of the products on the market, we do not know what is in each individual product.”

The bill being considered is Senate Bill 1864, which passed out of the committee on March 5 but was sent back recently for a technical amendment to make the language consistent with the state’s new “Tobacco 21” law, which prohibits selling tobacco products to people under age 21, according to the story.

A bill that proposes a 30 percent wholesale tax on vapor products is making its way through the U.S. state of Nevada’s legislature, according to a story on elkodaily.com.

Democratic Sen. Julia Ratti presented SB263 to the joint Assembly Taxation and Senate Revenue committees, framing the bill more as an effort to raise the price of e-cigarettes and curb a rising trend of youth use than to raise coveted tax revenue, according to the story.

The measure, which would impose a 30 percent wholesale tax on vaping products, is projected to raise about $8 million a year — a significant portion of which would flow back to vaping prevention activities.

“Vapor products are harmful, period,” said Michael Hackett, president of the Nevada Tobacco Prevention Coalition. “Hopefully past lessons we’ve learned about tobacco aren’t lost as we confront its future.”

The market share of heat-not-burn (HNB) cigarettes in South Korea has increased more than five-fold over the past two years, according to Yonhap News.

Sales of HNB cigarettes stood at 92 million packs in the first quarter of this year, up 34 percent from a year earlier. The market share of those cigarettes, including Phillip Morris’ IQOS and KT&G Corp.’s  Lil, soared to 11.8 percent as of the end of March, up from 2.2 percent two years ago.

The Health Ministry attributed the soaring market share of HNB cigarettes to aggressive marketing and publicity activities, which claim they are less harmful than traditional tobacco. In a bid to curb their rising sales, the ministry said it will move to revise a related law next year, which would require e-cigarette packs and devices carry warning images and texts.

Nebraskans would have to be at least 19 years old to smoke cigarettes or vape nicotine legally under LB 149, introduced by Grand Island Sen. Dan Quick and passed on a 45-0 vote on May 24. If signed into law by the governor, the restrictions would take effect Jan. 1, according to a story posted on sandhillexpress.com.

Lawmakers amended the bill to include traditional tobacco products. Current state law allows people to buy and use tobacco and electronic cigarettes at age 18. The higher age limit would not apply to electronic cigarettes sold with non-nicotine products, according to the story.

Only Gov. Greg Abbott’s signature is required for Texas to join more than a dozen states in requiring purchasers of cigarettes, e-cigarettes and other tobacco products to be 21 years old.

On Tuesday, the Senate agreed to House changes and sent Abbott a bill that would raise the legal sales age for such products from 18. The vote was 27-4.

Voting against were Republican Sens. Brian Birdwell of Granbury, Dawn Buckingham of Lakeway, Pat Fallon of Frisco and Angela Paxton of McKinney. Eight senators who voted against the bill on initial passage last month, including Republicans Bob Hall of Edgewood and Kelly Hancock of North Richland Hills, voted for it on Tuesday.

If Abbott signs Senate Bill 21, Texas would be the most populous Southern state to embrace so-called Tobacco 21 or “T21” legislation.

Rep. John Zerwas, R-Richmond, and Sen. Joan Huffman, R-Houston, the respective House and Senate authors of age bump measures, were cheered on by health advocates including the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids as well as a new ally — the nation’s largest tobacco manufacturer, Altria Client Services, Inc., makers of Marlboro cigarettes and other products.

Two years ago, a similar proposal — then opposed by Altria — failed.

E-cigarettes are almost three times more effective than nicotine replacement aids at helping smokers quit, research suggests, according to an article published by the dailymail.co.uk.

A study published by University College London scientists found vapers were 95 percent more likely to be successful than those not using the gadgets in their attempts to kick the habit.

In comparison, smokers prescribed nicotine replacement therapy, such as gums, patches and lozenges, were 34 percent more likely to succeed.

The research of almost 20,000 smokers also found e-cigarettes were more successful than prescription drugs that reduce nicotine cravings.