Shenzhen Inshare, a vaping device solution provider, will release an ultralight plastic and metal vape device series with revolutionary and advanced features at the Tobacco Plus Expo that will be held from Jan. 28–29 at the Las Vegas Convention Center in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA.
Shenzhen Inshare CEO Kiwi Lau says the company will continue developing vape kits with flexible and practical features.
Kure Vaporium & Lounge has opened in Gastonia, North Carolina, USA. The lounge has been under construction since October of last year. It features a custom-designed interior that creates a modern yet welcoming atmosphere for its customers.
“We wanted a feel that was modern, cool, but most importantly inviting,” says Stephanie Staffieri, chief marketing officer for Kure. “We set out to build something that would set us apart from all other vape shops in the country. Every aspect of Kure—beginning with our store design that includes a specialty coffee bar, numerous customer plug-in areas and really comfortable chairs, to our selection of premium e-cigarette products and juices—was thoughtfully chosen to elevate the customer experience.
“All of our cabinets, fixtures and furniture were designed to give our customers a unique ‘vaporium’ atmosphere. We knew it was crucial to our distinction from the typical ‘vape shop’ to openly display our large inventory of products and showcase our large selection of Kure, Juice On Tap branded juices at our juice bar. We are also proud to remark that the furniture was custom built in North Carolina, home of our corporate headquarters.”
Kure currently has three other stores in various stages of construction in the Charlotte, North Carolina, area and one in Boca Raton, Florida, USA. These stores are scheduled for completion sometime in early spring 2015 and would boast the same attention to detail in design and customer experience. Kure and its financial partner, Siskey Capital, plan to aggressively expand the presence of its Kure Vaporium & Lounges throughout the U.S. within the next 24 months. They also plan to open a European store.
“We are very pleased with the numbers coming from our first location,” says David Peterson, CEO of Kure. “It’s only been less than 30 days since the store has opened, and already we are seeing a significant development of customer loyalty and impressive sales growth each week.”
“This industry is facing explosive growth and consumer adoption, and we are excited to support Kure in becoming an industry leader in this space within a very short period of time,” says Martin Sumichrast, vice chairman and co-founder of Siskey Capital.
Researchers have found high levels of formaldehyde—a known human carcinogen in cigarette smoke—in the vaporized liquid of e-cigarettes.
According to a study in The New England Journal of Medicine, the exposure to formaldehyde from e-cigarettes, based on similar chronic use as tobacco, could be five to 15 times higher than that from smoking cigarettes.
“It’s way too early now, from an epidemiological point of view, to sayhow bad they are,” said co-author James F. Pankow, professor of chemistry and engineering at Portland State University in Oregon. “But the bottom line is, there are toxins, and some are more than in regular cigarettes. And if you are vaping, you probably shouldn’t be using it at a high-voltage setting.”
Pankow and his colleagues analyzed aerosolized e-liquid in “tank system” e-cigarettes to detect formaldehyde-releasing agents in “hidden” form at various voltages.
They found that vaping 3 mg of e-cigarette liquid at a high voltage can generate 14 mg of loosely-affiliated or “hidden” formaldehyde. Researchers estimated a tobacco smoker would get 0.15 mg of formaldehyde per cigarette, or 3 mg in a 20-pack.
California Senator Mark Leno has introduced a bill that would ban the use of e-cigarettes in public places.
“Whether you get people hooked on e-cigarettes or regular cigarettes, it’s nicotine addiction, and it kills,” said Leno, “We’re going to see hundreds of thousands of family members and friends die from e-cigarette use just like we did from traditional tobacco use.”
The bill would add e-cigarettes to the list of tobacco products regulated in the state, which already forbids smoking in workplaces, restaurants, bars and other places. It would also increase penalties for selling e-cigarettes to minors.
California would be the fourth U.S. state to treat e-cigarettes like regular cigarettes, and the 23rd to regulate e-cigarettes in some way.
S&M Brands is launching its LEX12 product at the Tobacco Plus Convenience Expo (TPC), Jan. 28–29, 2015, in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA.
S&M Brands offers Carnal Ecstasy in all of its LEX12 product categories, including cigars, e-liquids and vapor products.
The Carnal Ecstasy line adds eight new retail stock-keeping units (SKUs) to the 105 retail SKUs added in 2014. Steven Bailey, president of S&M Brands, explains, “We are treating the LEX12 brand line as a whole new growth category in the industry. Our LEX12 products have enjoyed accelerated traction at the wholesale and retail levels, showing growth in sales and profitability per unit.”
S&M Brands developed Carnal Ecstasy over a span of two years to perfect the velvety, sweet aroma of apricot blended with savory touches of a fine after-dinner drink.
Airline passengers should add electronic cigarettes to the list of items that may not be stored in their checked luggage, according to a story by Alan Levin for Bloomberg.
The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), which already bans flammables and explosives in checked baggage, is now warning airlines about the fire risk from electronic cigarettes.
And while the safety alert is voluntary, typically most airlines follow such guidance.
Levin said electronic cigarettes mainly used lithium cells to heat liquid nicotine into a vapor, and the FAA advisory was the latest to point out the dangers of such battery-powered devices.
‘It cited two recent fires started by e-cigarettes, including one in the cargo hold of a plane at Boston’s Logan Airport in August and a Jan. 4 incident where luggage sitting in the baggage area at Los Angeles International Airport burst into flames,’ he said.
The FAA stopped short of banning the items in carry-on luggage, saying that if a fire were to break out in the passenger cabin, it would be spotted and extinguished faster than if it were in the cargo hold.
The US Food and Drug Administration says that its second public workshop on electronic cigarettes is due to be held on March 9-10.
The first of a series of three planned workshops was held last year.
The agenda for the March 2015 workshop is said to focus on the impact of electronic cigarettes on a person’s ‘individual health’.
The specific topics to be discussed include:
(1) ‘exposure to nicotine, and toxicological considerations;
(2) ‘pharmacokinetics (the movement of drugs within the body) and pharmacodynamics (the effects of drugs) regarding nicotine exposure in users;
(3) ‘abuse and dependence;
(4) ‘short- and long-term health effects of using e-cigarettes;
(5) ‘considerations for high-risk or vulnerable populations; and
(6) ‘human factors.’
The FDA said the information obtained through this series of workshops would not impact its pending deeming regulations. However, if the deeming rule were finalized as proposed, then electronic cigarettes would be subject to FDA regulations and the agency could use the scientific information obtained from the series of workshops to propose additional regulations on electronic cigarettes.
Registration for in-person or by-webcast participation in the March workshop is open until February 20, register here.
Vapor products seem to have hit a rocky patch in the US and it is possible that only well thought out regulation will help smooth the way ahead.
Bonnie Herzog, the managing director of Beverage, Tobacco & Convenience Store Research at Wells Fargo Securities, says that a survey her group had conducted among about 20,000 tobacco retailer and wholesaler contacts had thrown up a few ‘calls to action’.
They wanted the Food and Drug Administration to take the lead in better informing the public about the relative risks of vaping and smoking. They wanted the industry to work together to push for vapor products to be granted modified risk status so that the public perception of these products did not deteriorate further. And they wanted vape shops to be regulated more closely so that they did not undermine the industry’s reputation.
The survey uncovered also that retailers have been ‘somewhat underwhelmed’ by the larger devices that are coming on to the market and that are meant to bridge the gap between traditional electronic cigarettes and VTMs. Retailers believe that about 75 percent of the sales of these products will cannibalize existing sales rather than generate incremental sales.
Nevertheless, Herzog said she remained cautiously optimistic by technological innovation in the vapour-products category.
And she remains bullish long term, believing that the consumption of vapor and other non-combustibles, such as heat-not-burn products, could surpass consumption of combustible cigarettes by 2023. ‘We continue to believe that technological innovation is crucial and that Big Tobacco will be pivotal in shaping the non-combustible nicotine industry,’ she wrote.
Her bullish stance is not altogether surprising. Herzog reported that vapor category growth in c-stores remained robust: at 17 percent in the fourth quarter of last year, though down on the 21 percent the third quarter. Repeat vapor product purchases are said to have accelerated to 60 percent in the fourth quarter from 57 percent in the third quarter.
Vapor products seem to have hit a rocky patch in the US and it is possible that only well thought out regulation will help smooth the way ahead.
Bonnie Herzog, the managing director of Beverage, Tobacco & Convenience Store Research at Wells Fargo Securities, says that a survey her group had conducted among about 20,000 tobacco retailer and wholesaler contacts had thrown up a few ‘calls to action’.
They wanted the Food and Drug Administration to take the lead in better informing the public about the relative risks of vaping and smoking. They wanted the industry to work together to push for vapor products to be granted modified risk status so that the public perception of these products did not deteriorate further. And they wanted vape shops to be regulated more closely so that they did not undermine the industry’s reputation.
The survey uncovered also that retailers have been ‘somewhat underwhelmed’ by the larger devices that are coming on to the market and that are meant to bridge the gap between traditional electronic cigarettes and VTMs. Retailers believe that about 75 percent of the sales of these products will cannibalize existing sales rather than generate incremental sales.
Nevertheless, Herzog said she remained cautiously optimistic by technological innovation in the vapour-products category.
And she remains bullish long term, believing that the consumption of vapor and other non-combustibles, such as heat-not-burn products, could surpass consumption of combustible cigarettes by 2023. ‘We continue to believe that technological innovation is crucial and that Big Tobacco will be pivotal in shaping the non-combustible nicotine industry,’ she wrote.
Her bullish stance is not altogether surprising. Herzog reported that vapor category growth in c-stores remained robust: at 17 percent in the fourth quarter of last year, though down on the 21 percent the third quarter. Repeat vapor product purchases are said to have accelerated to 60 percent in the fourth quarter from 57 percent in the third quarter.
The health minister of Canada’s Quebec province, Gaétan Barrette, has come out in favour of using electronic cigarettes as a way to quit smoking, according to a story by Geoffrey Vendeville for the Montreal Gazette.
“Electronic cigarettes are a means to quit smoking that is clearly extraordinarily efficient,” he told reporters after a legislative committee meeting on Tuesday, on the occasion of the Quebec Tobacco-free Week (January 18 to 24).
Quebec was expected soon to clear up the legislative “grey zone” covering e-cigarettes, he said, but a spokesperson for the minister assigned to public health, Lucie Charlebois, couldn’t say when a bill would be tabled.
Meanwhile, the borough of Montreal North and the Société de Transport de Montréal have gone their own way.
Those who vape in municipal buildings in Montreal North are liable to be fined $50 for a first offence and $100 the next time.
“I’m not against e-cigarettes as a way to quit smoking,” said borough mayor Gilles Deguire. “In that sense, I say go for it.
“But I don’t see why anyone has to puff in a municipal office building, library, community center or arena.”