Category: Flavors

China’s Revised E-Cigarette Standards Include Flavor Ban
Credit: Nikolay N. Antonov
More than three months ago, China’s Tobacco Monopoly Administration started to solicit opinions from the public on regulating e-cigarettes after the vaping industry was brought under tobacco’s supervision last November. On Friday, the Chinese government published a revised draft of standards for the vaping industry that has sent vaping stocks tumbling.
In the original proposal, it seemed China was set to allow flavors. However, the new draft underlines the importance of reducing the appeal of e-cigarettes to youth, stating: “Flavors other than tobacco taste shall not be offered in products.” To be specific, 21 additives, referring to tastes like plum, rose and orange, are removed from the list.
As the some U.S. state and European countries already have flavor bans in place, industry experts believe the new regulations may have a greater impact on domestic market rather than exports, according to Li Qian, writing for Shine.cn.
In an interview with Securities Times, an unnamed industry insider said sales volumes of tobacco-flavored e-cigarettes in the domestic market are dwarfed by other flavors. So it would be “subversive” for the domestic market, he said.
After the draft was published, shares of RLX Technology, China’s leading e-cigarette maker listed on the New York Stock Exchange, dropped more than 36 percent and closed at $1.49 on Friday.
The draft is now available on the administration’s website. The administration is asking for public feedback until March 17. If the current draft rule is passed, there will be an end to flavored vaping products in China.
March 12, 2022
Illinois Bill Would Ban Flavored Vapes, Including THC
The flavor ban bill introduced in Illinois would also ban flavored THC vaping devices. Senate Bill 3854, introduced in January, is currently in committee. Any flavored flavored vaping product, including heat-not-burn systems and tobacco chew, would be banned.
Credit: Kurgu 128
The bill provides “that (1) “tobacco product” includes products containing tetrahydrocannabinol and products containing a mixture of tetrahydrocannabinol and nicotine, and (2) “tobacco retailer” includes dispensing organizations and dispensing organization agents, as those terms are defined in the Cannabis Regulation and Tax Act. Creates a presumption that a tobacco product, related tobacco product, alternative nicotine product, or solution or substance intended for use with electronic cigarettes is a banned product, solution, or substance intended for use with electronic cigarettes if it has or produces a characterizing flavor.”
A consumer advocacy group says the measure could do more harm than good. Elizabeth Hicks, U.S. Affairs analyst with the Consumer Choice Center, said enacting a flavor ban for vaping products will push adult consumers to switch back to smoking combustible tobacco at a time when smoking cigarettes has been trending down in Illinois, according to KPVI.
“About 12% of adults in 2020 reported smoking, however, if this bill passes, we can certainly expect that number to increase,” Hicks said. “This ultimately will lead to increases in smoking-related healthcare costs, which are already costing Illinois taxpayers over $1.9 billion annually,” Hicks said.
The state of Illinois passed two laws last year aimed at making it harder for minors to access vaping products. The first law (Senate Bill 512) prohibits the use of cartoon characters, video game characters, and popular children’s media from advertisements for e-cigarettes. It also makes it harder to buy vaping products online. Buyers will now have to use a credit card or check in the buyer’s name.
The second law (Senate Bill 555) amends the Substance Use Disorder Act to include vape shops. Adding vape shops allows the Illinois Department of Human Services to do compliance checks on the sale of e-cigarettes according to the minimum purchasing age of 21.
March 8, 2022
Sweden Proposes Ban on Flavored Vaping Products
The Swedish government has proposed a ban on nontobacco-flavored vapes, including menthol, according to Vaping360.
Credit: Luzitanija
The proposed law includes nicotine and non-nicotine e-liquid and regulates all synthetic nicotine products, setting the purchase age to 18. If the law is passed, the sale of flavored vape products will be banned effective Jan. 1, 2023.
The bill is currently being reviewed by the Council on Legislation, which considers the legal validity of proposed bills before they are considered by legislators. Parliament will vote on the bill as early as March 22.
If the bill is passed, Sweden will be the eighth European country to prohibit flavors, following Estonia, Finland, Hungary, Ukraine, Denmark, Lithuania and the Netherlands.
March 4, 2022
Santa Ana, Calif. Bans Flavors for Vaping, Tobacco Products
Credit: Argus
The Santa Ana City Council on Tuesday voted in favor (7-0) of an ordinance that would ban the sale of flavored vaping and other tobacco products, including hookah. A second reading of the ordinance has not yet been scheduled.
“Santa Ana displayed courageous leadership to save Black lives and put the health of our kids ahead of the profits of Big Tobacco. Of special note is the inclusion of flavored cigars because the abundance of cheap flavored cigars is a big problem in our community,” stated African American Tobacco Control Leadership Council (AATCLC) co-chair Carol McGruder in an email. “We applaud Mayor Sarmiento, Mayor Pro Tem Bacerra, and Councilwoman Mendoza for their leadership in passing this bill.”
A trade group representing business owners in the hookah industry asked the council to reconsider its inclusion of hookah in the ordinance. They said that one way to balance the interests of lawmakers in protecting youth from flavored tobacco products, while preserving the hookah’s rich cultural tradition, would be actions similar to the California state bill SB 793, which bans flavored tobacco products but exempts hookah tobacco, loose leaf tobacco, and premium cigars.
The statewide measure also limits hookah tobacco sales to adults only and no minor can enter an establishment that sells it. The referendum is on the ballot in California on November 8, 2022.
March 2, 2022
E-LiquiTech Parent, TTI, Appoints New President

Credit: Gajus
Tobacco Technology has appointed David Johnson as president and chief scientific officer of the company and its wholly owned subsidiaries, E-LiquiTech and Emerald Green Technology. He will be replacing Richard Howell who retired earlier this month after 43 years of service.
Johnson joined Tobacco Technology as the director of regulatory affairs in 2021. He brings more than 30 years of scientific, regulatory and management experience, including over 20 years in the tobacco industry, to the Tobacco Technology family of companies.
He received his Ph.D. in chemistry from the University of Mississippi specializing in physical analytical chemistry. In addition, he earned postdoctoral training at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill in the mass spectrometry group of Maurice Bursey.
Johnson acquired much of his tobacco experience at Swedish Match North America, where he was the director of analytical, and at Turning Point Brands, where he was the senior director of scientific and regulatory affairs. Johnson also has a wealth of sales, marketing and Six Sigma experience from his years working with DuPont.
March 1, 2022
FDA Submits Menthol Ban to White House for Review
Credit: New Africa
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is a step closer to a complete ban on menthol-flavored cigarettes and cigars.
The ban is not expected to impact vaping products, although many experts predict a menthol combustible ban could possibly transition some menthol smokers to e-cigarettes. It is predicted to be similar to what happened in the U.K. when it banned menthol cigarettes in 2020.
Thursday the agency submitted its proposal to the White House’s Office of Management and Budget, according to news reports.
In 2020, the regulatory agency enacted a “flavor ban” on e-cigarettes because they targeted middle and high school students. Now, public health officials argue banning menthol, the last allowable flavor in cigarettes, will save lives.
In its proposal, the FDA provides evidence that menthol tobacco products are heavily marketed to racial minorities. The U.S Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports more than 85-percent of menthol smokers are black, taking a disproportionate toll on their health.
FDA officials say the proposed menthol ban will still need to be opened to public comment before a final review.
February 28, 2022
Trade Group: ‘Hasty’ Flavor Ban Study Has Major Flaw

Photo: kurgu128
A recent study that found flavor ban-induced sales declines also reduced youth vaping is flawed, according to the Canadian Vaping Association (CVA).
A recent CDC Foundation analysis examining the change in vape product sales in Massachusetts, New York, Rhode Island and Washington after flavor bans found that statewide restrictions on nontobacco-flavored sales were associated with reductions of 25.01 percent to 31.26 percent in total unit sales compared with total sales in states without restrictions.
However, the “hasty” conclusion that the reduction in total sales has also reduced youth vaping prevalence “does not hold up,” according to the CVA, because the authors were unable to assess the age of purchasers.
Darryl Tempest
According to the CVA, the most common way for youth to access vaping products is through social sourcing. “Even if the age of the purchasers could be verified, a reduction in youth vaping could only be determined through additional studies,” the CVA wrote in press note.
“The problem with taking a micro view to regulation and forming policy based on individual studies is [that] the bigger picture is neglected,” said Darryl Tempest, government relations council to the CVA Board. “If we take this study at face value and assume the conclusion is accurate and less youth are vaping, on the surface it seems like this type of regulation is logical. Yet, we know from reviewing the full scope of evidence that flavor restrictions result in smoking-related illness and death.”
Massachusetts’ ban of flavored tobacco products is not the success its proponents make it out to be, according to Ulrik Boesen of the Tax Foundation.
A study published in JAMA Internal Medicine found that while the sale of flavored tobacco in Massachusetts decreased more than sales in the 27 control states in the wake of the state ban, the authors failed to consider the impact of cross-border trade.
According to Boesen, increased sales in neighboring New Hampshire and Rhode Island almost completely made up for the decrease in Massachusetts.
February 17, 2022
Irish Vape Group Defends Flavor Preferences of Adults
Ireland’s Oireachtas Health Committee yesterday heard testimony from three members of the Irish Vape Vendors Association (IVVA) as politicians continued scrutiny of the general scheme of the Public Health (Tobacco and Nicotine Inhaling Products) Bill. The three members of the IVVA, who all have ties to the vaping industry, argued that flavors should be retained as people seeking to give up smoking using vapor products “want to move away from the flavor of tobacco.”
Credit: Юлия Кравченко
Social Democrats TD Róisín Shortall asked the IVVA about a number of vape flavors that she said would be “particularly attractive to under 18s.” Addressing the committee, Shortall named a number of the flavors listed on their websites including Dr Frost Lemonade Fizz, Apple Berry Crumble and Purple Slush. “Surely there isn’t a demand for adults from those for those flavors, they very much sound like flavors that are designed to appeal to children,” she said. Shortall also said that some products are sold with “cartoon-like packaging” such as “Vampire Vape”.
In response, Joanna O’Connell of Vapourpal said their website “only stocks flavors that our adult customers request,” according to The Journal. “They’re not attracted by the packaging, they are attracted by the flavor. That specific flavor that you’re speaking of that’s on our website is one of the most popular fruit flavored e-liquids among adults,” she said.
O’Connell agreed that the packaging was “cartoon-like” and added that they have “been onto the manufacturer regarding that.” Shortall also sought clarity from the IVVA on online age verification for buying e-cigarette products online. One IVVA member said that there are no “foolproof” age verification systems for online e-cigarettes websites.
February 16, 2022
Irish Vape Group to Urge Health Officials Against Flavor Ban
Members of the Irish Vape Vendors Association (IVVA) will argue today that flavored nicotine vaping products should not be restricted in newly proposed tobacco control legislation.
The Joint Committee on Health is meeting with representatives from the IVVA for pre-legislative scrutiny of the general proposals included in the Public Health (Tobacco and Nicotine Inhaling Products) Bill.
The proposed legislation would prohibit the sale of vaping and tobacco and heat-not-burn (HnB) products to persons under the age of 18. It will also make it illegal for under-18s to sell such products, according to The Journal.
Credit: a4stockphotos
The committee previously heard concerns from the Irish Heart Foundation that teen smoking rates are increasing for the first time in ten years due to an “explosion” of vaping among this age group.
“Research from the Health Research Board has found that teenagers who vape are up to five times more likely to take up smoking citing the gateway effect. We welcome the opportunity to discuss these and other related matters with representatives,” a committee member said.
A spokesperson for the IVVA argues that e-liquid flavors are of vital importance to adult vapers. The IVVA says it is “deeply concerned” by the negative effects a flavor ban could have on tobacco harm reduction and consumer choice.
“The main argument in favor of banning flavored e-liquids is the potential risk of making vaping products more attractive to minors with child-friendly flavorings & packaging. The association between vaping flavors and subsequent smoking initiation is not substantiated. Banning flavored e-liquids would also run counter to vape consumers’ interest. IVVA members observe daily that the choice of e-liquid flavors is one of the reasons that encourages an adult smoker make the switch to vaping.” the IVVA will tell the committee.
Ireland hopes to be tobacco-free by 2025.
February 15, 2022
Hawaii Bill to Ban Flavors, Synthetics Moves Forward
Credit: 5m3photos
A bill in Hawaii’s House of Representatives (HB 1570) proposes to prohibit the sale of flavored tobacco and synthetic nicotine products. HB 1570 would also prohibit companies from mislabeling e-liquid products as nicotine-free and marketing electronic smoking devices to appeal to anyone under the age of 21.
Retailers who violate the proposed rule would face a $500 fine for a first offense and between $500 and $2,000 for a second violation, according to KITV.
Anyone under the age of 21 in possession of a synthetic nicotine product or electronic smoking device would be fined $10 for a first offense. Any repeats would cost $50 or between 48 and 72 hours of community service.
After Thursday’s hearing, lawmakers advanced and amended the bill to include quarterly meetings between the Department of Health and students across all schools on the matter. Establishing a vape and e-cigarette take-back program at high school and intermediate campuses statewide was also added to the measure.
HB 1570 faces several other hearings and readings in the house.
February 11, 2022