Category: Flavors

  • Quebec: Vaping Flavor Ban Goes Into Effect Today

    Quebec: Vaping Flavor Ban Goes Into Effect Today

    Credit: CL-Medien

    Vapers of scared about possibly having to return to combustible cigarettes in Quebec as the Canadian city’s flavor ban for vaping products takes effect today, Oct. 31.

    Quebec’s ban includes vaping products with flavors other than tobacco and will prohibit e-liquid sold in bottles with a capacity greater than 30 mL and prefilled devices with a capacity greater than 2 mL.

    The flavor ban was announced in a draft published in April. More than 30,000 citizens of Quebec commented on the proposed ban, according to the Quebec Vaping Rights Coalition, but the health ministry reportedly didn’t make any changes to the rules in response.   

    Quebec is the largest province in Canada to enact a flavor ban. Four other provinces and territories have flavor bans in place, and one has passed a ban but has not set an effective date yet. Three other provinces restrict flavored products to adult-only stores.

    The Canadian Vaping Association (CVA) has expressed concerns to the Quebec government, arguing that this regulation will not achieve its intended goal of curbing youth experimentation.

    According to the CVA, the consequences will include the closure of specialty vape shops within the province, the loss of over 1000 jobs, and a shift in consumer demand towards foreign suppliers and the illicit market.

    “It’s high time for provinces like Quebec, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and PEI to re-evaluate their stance and stop yielding to the influence of big tobacco companies. These regions must come to the realization that they are inadvertently supporting the very issues they claim to be combating,” said Darryl Tempest, government relations counsel to the CVA.

    The available data consistently finds that flavor bans fail to effectively protect youth and lead to increased tobacco sales among both young people and adults.

  • IEVA Urges Lithuania to Reconsider Vape Flavor Ban

    IEVA Urges Lithuania to Reconsider Vape Flavor Ban

    Photo: rh2010

    The Independent European Vape Alliance (IEVA) has called on Lithuania to reconsider a proposed ban on key e-liquid ingredients, including sweeteners.

    The country’s Draft Law No XIVP-2791(2) amending Article 9(2) of Law No I-1143 on the control of tobacco, tobacco products and related products proposes a “ban on placing on the market e-cigarettes and e-cigarette fillers with liquid adapted for filling electronic cigarettes if this liquid contains sugar and/or sweeteners.”

    In comments submitted under the EU Technical Regulations Information System, IEVA warns that the measure will encourage the illicit trade, boost smoking rates, jeopardize employment and lower government revenues due to reduced vape tax collections.

    According to the alliance,  the draft law shows a lack of understanding of the technical and chemical characteristics of e-cigarettes, as well as a disregard for the negative consequences for Lithuania’s public health and for the country’s vaping small and medium-sized enterprises.

    “Banning sugar and sweetener chemicals, which are necessary for the manufacturing of e-liquids, will lead to a quasi-ban of e-cigarettes,” the IEVA wrote in a statement. “It will lead to a boom in black market sales of dangerous products and to a surge of tobacco smoking by depriving smokers of a less harmful alternative. Finally, this measure, not justified by any scientific evidence, is bound to be ineffective in addressing its purported goal of limiting young people’s access to vaping.”

    The group encourages the Lithuanian government to adopt measures adapted to the pursued aim and based on thorough scientific evidence.

  • Czechia Bans Flavors for Heated Tobacco Products

    Czechia Bans Flavors for Heated Tobacco Products

    Photo: diy13

    The sale of flavored heated-tobacco products (HTPs) will be banned in the Czech Republic, effective today, reports Expats.cz. A European directive requires that EU member states incorporate the ban into their legal frameworks effective Oct. 23. The directive does not allow for a transitional period for sale of existing stock.

    Slightly more than half of HTP users prefer flavored tobacco, according to Jiri Sochor, spokesperson for JT International. Sochor noted that based on U.S. ban results, some people reverted to traditional combustible cigarettes.

    The ban will not take effect simultaneously in neighboring countries, Sochor said, noting that only Germany has introduced it. Due to this, people are likely to purchase flavored products abroad.

    Flavored heated-tobacco products generate about CZK2.9 billion ($125.16 million) in consumer taxes annually, according to Sochor.

    Companies are responding to HTP flavors ban by introducing new, tobacco-free products. British American Tobacco, for example, has begun selling heat sticks with nicotine-infused rooibos tea. Certain tobacco firms have also opposed the ban, and the legislation will be addressed by the EU Court of Justice due to complaints from Irish companies.  

  • Altria’s NJOY Sues 34 Disposable Vape Companies

    Altria’s NJOY Sues 34 Disposable Vape Companies

    Credit: Kristina Blokhin

    Altria Group today said that its e-cigarette subsidiary NJOY, LLC has filed lawsuits against 34 foreign and domestic manufacturers, distributors and online retailers of illicit disposable vaping products. If successful, the lawsuit could potentially decimate the flavored disposable vaping market.

    Altria joins its largest U.S. competitor, BAT-owned RJ Reynolds, in using the courts to remove unauthorized vaping products (and their competition) from the U.S. market.

    On Oct.13, Reynolds filed a U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) complaint charging multiple manufacturers, distributors, and retailers of several popular disposable vaping devices with unfair importation. It is one of several recent actions Reynolds has made to remove its competitor’s vaping products from store shelves. Several legal scholars have told Vapor Voice that if the ITC agrees with Reynolds, all flavored disposable vaping devices without an FDA marketing authorization could be stopped at the border and prevented from entering the U.S. market.

    The NJOY suit alleges that the disposable products are unlawfully marketed and sold in the State of California and other U.S. states in violation of California’s flavor ban law and federal marketing rules.

    The products are illegal under federal law and subject to action by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and illegally compete against companies that comply with state and federal laws, according to an Altria press release.

    The suit seeks a nationwide injunction against the import, marketing and sale of these illicit products and significant compensatory and punitive damages. If successful the lawsuit could lead to the removal of all disposable flavored vaping products without an FDA marketing order from the market.

    “These companies knowingly violate federal and state laws and need to be held accountable,” said Murray Garnick, Altria’s Executive Vice President and General Counsel. “Today there are two markets – one for those who play by the rules and one for those who flagrantly ignore them. We are taking this action because the current state of the illicit e-vapor market is intolerable, and we must see more action from FDA and others.”

    The litigation, filed in the United States District Court for the Central District of California, is brought under four claims: unfair competition, false advertising, false advertising in violation of the Lanham Act and violation of the Prevent All Cigarette Trafficking Act of 2009.

    Named Defendants in the suit manufacture and distribute illicit disposable e-vapor products which include, but are not limited to, brands including Breeze, Elf Bar, EB, EB Create, Esco Bar, Flum, Juice Box, Lava Plus, Loon, Lost Mary, Mr. Fog and Puff Bar (many of these companies were also named in the Reynolds suit). Domestic Defendants include companies doing business in Arizona, California, Delaware, Florida, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York and Texas. Foreign Defendants are all based in China.

    None of the Defendants has received premarket tobacco product authorization (PMTA) approval from the FDA. In many instances, Defendants also have not filed PMTA applications. Several of these Defendants have already received warning letters from the FDA stating that their products are adulterated and misbranded and cannot be sold without marketing authorization.

    Additionally, some of these Defendants are subject to an FDA-ordered import alert authorizing U.S. Customs and Border agents to seize their products. NJOY may add additional manufacturers, distributors and retailers to this complaint and will consider further litigation activity, the release states.

    Despite a ban on the sale of flavored tobacco products that went into effect in December 2022, flavored vapor products make up more than 97 percent of the California market according to a recent study commissioned by Altria. Conducted by an independent research firm WSPM Group, “the study collected 15,000 empty discarded cigarette packs and 4,529 e-vapor product packages” from May 1st through June 28th in 10 California cities.

  • Researchers Identify Vape Flavors Used to Quit Smoking

    Researchers Identify Vape Flavors Used to Quit Smoking

    The most interesting data is that when a smoker decides to quit smoking using modified-risk electronic tools, they gravitate toward flavors different from tobacco.

    Konstantinos Farsalinos, co-author

    A recent survey revealed that the most utilized flavors to quit smoking in the U.S. are those of fruit, baked goods and chocolate.

    A team of European researchers affiliated with the Center of Excellence for the Acceleration of Harm Reduction (CoEHAR), the University of West Attica and the University of Patras conducted an online survey on a sample of about 70,000 adult vapers in the U.S. The study focused on comparing flavor use between current-smoking vapers (dual use) and former-smoking vapers and on specifically examining patterns of flavor use among former-smoking vapers at the time of quitting smoking.

    Graph: CoEHAR

    “This is the largest survey ever conducted on the use of electronic cigarettes in terms of sample size,” said study author Konstantinos Farsalinos in a statement. “The most interesting data is that when a smoker decides to quit smoking using modified-risk electronic tools, they gravitate toward flavors different from tobacco, with a clear preference for fruit, dessert and chocolate flavors. We can deduce, therefore, that these specific flavors are more useful for those who want to quit or avoid relapses.”

    When it comes to regulating vape flavors, Riccardo Polosa, founder of the CoEHAR, urged lawmakers to strike a balance between the need to protect young people and the desire to help adult smokers quit.

  • Cyprus Government to Ban Flavored HTPs

    Cyprus Government to Ban Flavored HTPs

    The Cyprus government is moving to ban the sale of flavored heated-tobacco products (HTPs) following the Ministerial Council’s decision to adopt the relevant European legislation, according to In-Cyprus.

    HTPs still allowed on the market will have to apply special warning labels and images to packaging, which will align the packaging with that of conventional cigarettes.

    The aim of these changes is to “harmonize national legislation with European directives, as today’s Ministerial Council approved an amendment to regulations regarding the withdrawal of certain exemptions for heated-tobacco products.”

    The council decided on the “extension of the ban on the sale of tobacco products with characteristic aroma/flavor or containing aromatic substances in any of their ingredients and on heated-tobacco products.”

    “It was also decided to include verbal warnings/notifications about the harmful effects of smoking on the packaging of heated-tobacco products. These warnings will be accompanied by deterrent images.”

    “In the legislation for smoking control, established in 2017, these products were exempted, and the sale of conventional cigarettes and rolling tobacco that contained aromatic substances in their ingredients was prohibited,” said Health Minister Popi Kanari. “With these regulatory amendments, the sale of heated-tobacco products containing aromatic substances in any of their ingredients is prohibited beyond conventional cigarettes and rolling tobacco.”

    “The amendment does not apply to vaping products that contain liquid but only to the category involving heated-tobacco products in which cigarettes with aromatic substances are placed,” said Kanari.

  • Romania Bans Flavors for Heated Tobacco Products

    Romania Bans Flavors for Heated Tobacco Products

    Credit: Zero Photo

    Last month, the Romanian Government enacted Governmental Ordinance No. 23/20.07.2023 amending and supplementing the Romanian Tobacco Law (GO 23). The move bans all flavored heated tobacco products.

    The law takes effect on Oct. 23, 2023.

    Prior to enacting GO 23 under the framework of Romanian Tobacco Law, only cigarettes and roll-your-own tobacco were subject to the prohibition of having a characterizing flavors and containing flavorings in any of their components such as filters, papers, packages, capsules or any technical features.

    The aim of GO 23 is to extend this prohibition to heated tobacco products and to impose more restrictive requirements on packaging and labelling of such heated tobacco products, according to media reports.

    For the first time, GO 23 enacts a legal definition of “heated tobacco products” which refers to “a novel tobacco product that is heated to produce an emission containing nicotine and other chemicals, which is then inhaled by user(s), and that, depending on its characteristics, is a smokeless tobacco product or a tobacco product for smoking.”

    This definition will include any type of vaping devices that entail heating of tobacco in view of obtaining an inhalable emission containing nicotine and other chemicals.

    Heated tobacco products with any type “characterizing flavor”, such as menthol, fruits, etc., will no longer be allowed in the Romanian market.

    Additionally, each unit of and any outside packaging of heated tobacco products must carry the mandatory information message: “Tobacco smoke contains over 70 substances known to cause cancer.”

    GO 23 also states that each unit packet and any outside packaging of heated tobacco products for smoking must carry combined health warnings that observe all the requirement set out in Art.

    All producers and importers of heated tobacco products in Romania must notify the Romanian Health Ministry within 90 days after the enactment of GO 23.

  • Industry Group Lobbies Against Vape Flavor Ban

    Industry Group Lobbies Against Vape Flavor Ban

    Photo: fotofabrika

    The Russian Union of Nicotine Industry Enterprises (Spini) has called on the government to exclude food flavorings and nicotine salts from the list of active ingredients and additives that are expected to be banned by the Ministry of Health for issues of nicotine dependence, reports ECigIntelligence.

    Representatives of Spini, which has more than 50 members, have sent a corresponding letter to the minister of finance asking for the exception to the ban.

  • California Cops Seize $189,000 in Illegal Vaping Products

    California Cops Seize $189,000 in Illegal Vaping Products

    Credit: Sundry Photography

    In the California city of San Mateo law enforcement officials seized a large number of flavored vape cartridges from a smoke shop following an unscheduled compliance check.

    Officers visited the store on Tuesday afternoon, August 15th to carry out the inspection after a person was observed purchasing a flavored vaping product, according to Hoodline.

    Officers with the San Mateo Police Department Youth Services Unit witnessed a store employee sell flavored tobacco to a customer, police said.

    California voters passed SB793 last November, banning the sale of flavored tobacco products, including e-cigarettes, e-liquids, pods, and any other vape device.

    An investigation of the store revealed 6,298 flavored vape cartridges, valued at around $189,000, according to police. The cartridges were seized, but the investigation remains ongoing.

    The San Mateo Police Department is coordinating with the San Mateo County District Attorney’s Office in filing charges.

  • Study Finds Flavors Helps Smokers Quit Smoking

    Study Finds Flavors Helps Smokers Quit Smoking

    Credit: Юлия Кравченко

    Recent research suggests that people are more likely to quit smoking combustible cigarettes by vaping if they receive help choosing the right flavor, plus supportive messages.

    The Addiction journal recently published a study conducted by London South Bank University (LSBU) that involved 1,214 eligible participants who were heavy smokers and expressed interest in quitting by using vapes. The researchers recruited these participants through social media.

    They then tested five remote interventions aimed at helping people switch—mostly online surveys that produced recommendations based on individual responses, reports Filter. The interventions were: “tailored device selection advice; tailored e-liquid nicotine strength advice; tailored e-liquid flavor advice; brief information on relative harms; and text message (SMS) support.”

    “Simple tailored advice on selecting a flavor along with supportive text messages could increase quit rates by 55 percent.”

    By offering different groups of participants different interventions (including all, or none of them), the study sought to determine which combination was most effective.

    “In the adjusted model,” the researchers concluded, “the only significant interaction was a two-way interaction, advice on flavor combined with text message support, which increased the odds of abstinence [from cigarettes].”