Philip Morris International has launched IQOS Iluma in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Bahrain, with a goal of creating a smoke-free future in the Gulf Cooperation Council region, according to the Saudi Gazette.
“Adult smokers may be unaware of the choices they are making, largely due to the lack of information and knowledge on products that bring them harm, versus scientifically backed products that reduce the likelihood of smoking-related disease,” said Tarkan Demirbas, area vice president of the Middle East at Philip Morris Management Services (Middle East) Limited. “At PMI, we are invested in providing existing adult smokers with better alternatives through harm reduction innovations, which can help them take a step back from cigarettes toward better alternatives.”
“Smoking-related diseases today call for a pragmatic solution that places consumers at the forefront while moving away from cigarettes,” said Saim Yasin, director of marketing and digital at PMMS. “IQOS Iluma is our latest innovation in tobacco-heating systems that will accelerate our goal toward a smoke-free future. Through a growing portfolio of smoke-free alternatives, we are reaffirming our commitment to create realistic, society-wide change that can reimagine the world we are living in—without cigarettes.”
The IQOS Iluma series offers three devices: IQOS Iluma Prime, IQOS Iluma and IQOS Iluma One. All the devices use new induction heating technology but offer different designs.
Milo Vapes Global (MVG) has announced its plan for its Fall 2022 product launch. The range of flavored nicotine vaping products will be released under two brands, Milo Vapour and Sahara Mist, which will be distributed exclusively in the Middle East market.
“Influenced by history and culture, we carefully selected and drafted new and innovative tobacco products that are tailored to the consumers’ tastes and cravings,” says Mike Khalil, president, and founder of MVG. “The company is committed to its mission of delivering solutions to the smoking epidemic by delivering new tobacco products that aim to better smokers’ quality of life.”
The e-cigarettes market is estimated to grow at a rate of 9.7 percent annually and is estimated to reach $485 million by 2025, up from $267.9 million in 2018. MVG aims to contribute to the growth of the e-cigarette market through innovations and brand recognition in conjunction with our harm reduction initiative, according to a press release.
“Governments could play an essential role in changing the population’s behavior toward smoking. The government must regulate and oversee the vape industry in each country, and the health departments should safeguard the vape industry and protect consumers in each country by ensuring the safety and integrity of e-cigarettes,” said Khalil. “Furthermore, healthcare providers should advise smoking patients to transition to less harmful alternatives such as e-cigarettes through healthcare strategies and disease prevention programs.”
Many countries continue to limit access or have outright banned vaping and e-cigarette products.
By Norm Bour
As much as we would like to think that vaping and the sale of vape products is universally accepted, that is not the case. The world has changed a lot over the past 10 years, and the medical community’s support has carried some weight, but old customs and rituals die hard. Here is an overview of where the status of vape remains iffy.
Turkey
You can use vape products where tobacco is permitted, but the Turkish government is vehemently anti-vape—regardless of the medical documentation that shows the advantages of vaping over combustible cigarettes. Since 2009, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has led the campaign against all tobacco products, including cigarettes, regardless of their popularity.
Turkey banned the import of e-cigarettes and related products on Feb. 25, 2020. The ban covers e-cigarettes, accessories, spare parts and solutions (e-liquids) as well as e-cigarette products that use heating or incineration, like electronic hookahs. The country had already banned the sale of electronic cigarettes.
Erdogan’s aggressive posture has resulted in the seizure of almost 18 million packs of cigarettes in 2020 and 140,000 e-cigarettes. The government offers a hotline for people to call and blow the whistle on illegal products, and 1,500 teams scour the country doing random inspections. For vapers, the online channel remains open, and there are many foreigners who vape in the street without concern.
India
With a population of 1.38 billion, India has banned vaping products since 2019. With an estimated 120 million people lighting up, India has the dubious honor of having 12 percent of the world’s cigarette smokers. The country loses about 1 million people per year to tobacco-related illnesses.
India’s aggressive anti-smoking posture has proven successful as the number of smokers has dropped significantly over the past 20 years. In 2000, it was estimated that one-third of the male population smoked, with 5.7 percent of the female population smoking. A decade later, those numbers had dropped to 23 percent for men and 2.5 percent for women. Currently, an estimated 14 percent of the country’s population smokes.
With a 28 percent luxury tax on tobacco, there are huge incentives to quitting smoking in India. The bad news is that vaping products are lumped into the tobacco pile, but evidence for the relative safety of e-cigarettes is gaining ground. The anti-vape campaign was geared toward the young smokers, but there may be light at the end of this tunnel.
Under the guise of preventing potential health risks to the country’s youth, India banned the “import, manufacture, sale, advertisement, storage and distribution” of e-cigarettes in September 2019. However, according to Research and Markets, the Indian e-cigarette market reached a value of $7.8 million in 2018, and it is further predicted to witness a CAGR of 26.4 percent during the forecast period (2019-2024) even with the ban in place.
There is very little regulatory enforcement for vaping products in India. Vaping products are even being displayed on some store shelves. A few of the biggest paanwalas in the cosmopolitan cities reportedly sell Juul and other high-end hardware. It’s not plainly obvious everywhere, and the specialist “vape only” vendors are all clandestine, according to several sources. Most of the specialists are discerning and do not entertain new customers without a reference from a known customer.
Australia and New Zealand
Australia has been a teeter-totter in terms of vapor regulations. In October of 2021, it declared all nicotine products illegal without a doctor’s prescription. The prescription is intended only for the patient and may not be shared or sold. The sole light at the end of this this tunnel is that nicotine- free products are excluded from this heavy-handed ban.
Devices and liquids can be sold in all eight territories, though advertising and promotion is legal in some but illegal in others. Spotty monitoring and enforcement have resulted in a lively online trade in vapor products.
Compared to many countries, the perceived “problems” of youth smoking are modest with percentages of vapers and smokers under 20 percent among different age groups. According to 2021 research from the Australian National University, about 16 percent of current e-cigarette users in Australia are non-smokers who have never inhaled tobacco, while the remaining third are ex-smokers. There are about 400,000 e-cigarette users in Australia.
While often lumped in with Australia by outsiders, New Zealand has followed its own, more reasonable, path in vapor regulation. The small island country of just 5 million people estimates that 11.6 percent of its population smokes. Its priority is on reducing underage vaping and smoking.
The Middle East
Excluding the North African countries sometimes included in the Middle East, this part of the world is home to almost 0.5 billion people and encompasses about 20 percent of the Muslim world. While Islam frowns on tobacco use, many Muslim countries have high smoking rates. While tobacco use has been grudgingly tolerated, vaping was initially disdained, with some countries banning the practice. That is changing, as was evidenced in September 2021 when the World Vape Show was held in Dubai, which has now legalized vaping.
Tim Phillips, managing director of ECigIntelligence, says the United Arab Emirates is leading the Middle East in vape product sales and access, but considering it started from scratch, the numbers are still small. As tobacco-oriented as this part of the world is, buyers prefer flavored liquids with three out of four sales being sweeter fruit flavors followed by menthol flavors.
Across the Middle East, the rules are in constant flux. Currently, Kuwait, Jordan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain offer legalized vape, but Qatar and Oman do not. Market intelligence company Mordor Intelligence projects a growth rate of almost 10 percent through 2025 in the regional vapor market.
In late 2020, a Euromonitor International study found only a very small minority of smokers used e-cigarettes to quit smoking in the Middle East region. Analysts found just 1.8 percent of smokers in the region took up alternatives to conventional cigarettes in 2020. The figure is up from 1.4 percent in 2017 but it remains significantly low when compared to other parts of the world.
South America/Latin America
On the other side of the globe, South America’s 433 million people also face an ever-changing landscape of vaping laws. The largest country, Brazil, allows vaping, with some restrictions in enclosed areas. Sales are highly regulated by the Health Surveillance Agency, which closely monitors underage sales, though enforcement of sales and production is weak.
No. 2 by population, Argentina has banned vaping for a decade and shows no sign of changing its policy. The ban extends to nicotine-free products, and there are virtually no sales, production or importation of e-cigarettes. Ironically, Argentina reportedly accounts for as much as 15 percent of total tobacco consumption in South America.
Contrary to some of its neighbors, Peru has been open-minded about vaping—to the point where the government appears to turn a blind eye to the practice. With an estimated 2.3 million smokers—just under 10 percent of the population—Peru has no official numbers on the vapers and vape products. It seems the country has higher priorities and has decided to leave vapers alone.
According to Mordor Intelligence, as enforcement of e-cigarette laws are often open to local authorities, vape shops are often found in places where they are technically illegal in the region. In the entire region only five countries allow the legal sale of e-cigarettes: Chile, Ecuador, Honduras, Paraguay, and Costa Rica.
Following the recent enactment of smoke-free laws in Paraguay, every South American country has now banned vaping and smoking in most public places. Under Decree No. 4624, approved by Paraguay’s presidency on Dec. 29, consuming lit, heated, or electronic tobacco products is permitted only in uncrowded open air public spaces that are not transit areas for nonsmokers.
Norm Bour is the founder of VapeMentors and works with vape businesses worldwide. He can be reached at norm@VapeMentors.com
RELX International announced it has launched two e-cigarette products in Saudi Arabia. The move expands the vaping manufacturer’s Middle East presence where products are already available in the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait. The company also announced it plans to expand into the wider Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region this year.
Saudi Arabia recently announced new regulations, similar to Europe’s TPD, following the EU standard for e-cigarette packaging and labeling which was introduced in Sept. 2020.
“The MENA region is one of our category’s fastest growing markets, growing at a rate just short of 10 percent until 2024,” said Fouad Barakat, KSA general manager at RELX International. “Saudi Arabia is one of the region’s largest and most prosperous markets, hence the need for any brand to launch there if it wants to thrive and grow bigger.”
The company introduced two products into the Saudi Arabian market. Both the RELX Infinity and Nano2 devices are available. The Infinity, RELX’s flagship product, comes with wireless charging and clicks into place with a built-in pogo pin. The charging case delivers up to three full charges with its dual system in just 45 minutes, according to RELX.
The Nano2 is a disposable device which features a user-friendly design. “The RELX Nano2 offers RELX’s quality and technology standards at the lowest price point,” a release states. “This device is perfect if you’re a first-time e-cigarette user or if you’re looking for a compact and discreet vape pen.”
The Middle East is a fast-growing market for vapor products. According to Mordor Intelligence, a market research firm, the Middle East and Africa vapor market is forecast to reach $485 million by 2025 with a growth rate of 9.74 percent during the forecast period (2021-2026). In a press release, vapor manufacturer Snowplus announced it is taking its first steps towards expanding into the Middle East market by attending the World Vape Show 2021 (WVS) in Dubai from Sept.19-21.
Snowplus Alien X
“Snowplus has seen a remarkable growth increase of 350 percent since late 2019 despite being faced with numerous challenges during the Covid-19 [pandemic] and is now looking towards more growth opportunities in the Middle East,” the release states. “The vaping company has secured lucrative partnerships with leading companies in their local market of China as well as regional offices around the world. These partnerships were made possible thanks to Snowplus’ quality products, the reliable support the company offers their partners, and strategic long-term investments.”
The WVS is the first international vaping industry trade show to be held in the United Arab Emirate’s (UAE). Organizers say the show promises to attract some of the world’s most prominent vaping brands. Snowplus will be unveiling its latest device line: the Alien Series (Alien Air and Alien X). “The Alien lineup sits at the intersection of cutting-edge technology and unique, sophisticated design,” the release states. “Visitors will be able to catch a glimpse of the future of vaping through the Alien devices displayed at the Snowplus booth.”
Snowplus also produces the Snowplus Pro, Snowplus Lite and Snowplus Go, as well as a series of flavored pods. Snowplus co-founder and head of overseas markets, Derek Li, said the company is excited for Middle East vapers to experience Snowplus’ products first hand. “We believe the Middle East market will be important for us and we’re ready to invest in creating partnerships to make it happen,” Li said.
Smokers in the Middle East are largely shunning e-cigarettes and other alternatives in favour of traditional tobacco, new figures show.
Euromonitor International found only a very small minority of smokers used e-cigarettes to quit smoking. Previous trials have shown such devices have helped people who were addicted – though medical opinion remains divided over the benefits of e-cigarettes and vapes, according to an article on alkhaleejtoday.co.
Analysts found just 1.8 percent of smokers in the region took up alternatives to conventional cigarettes in 2020. The figure is up from 1.4 percent in 2017 but it remains significantly low when compared to other parts of the world.
Cigarettes contain a huge amount of chemicals, but these alternatives also contain toxic substances and there is not enough science available to support their use according to Dr. Mohammed Rafique, Prime Hospital.
Low adoption rates were largely dependent on factors such as government attitudes towards tobacco harm reduction, consumer awareness and product affordability. “We believe a few factors explain why less than two per cent of smokers may have switched to less harmful tobacco products in the region,” said David Janazzo, chief financial officer at the Foundation for a Smoke-Free World. “In several of the countries in this region, the tobacco industry is owned fully or in part by the local government, creating financial incentives to continue the sale of cigarettes. There are also bans or curbs on tobacco harm reduction products and pressure coming from organizations such as the World Health Organization and The Union to block the use of these products.”
Excluding the North African countries sometimes included in the Middle East, this part of the world is home to almost 0.5 billion people and encompasses about 20 percent of the Muslim world. While Islam frowns on tobacco use, many Muslim countries have high smoking rates. While tobacco use has been grudgingly tolerated, vaping was initially disdained, with some countries banning the practice. That is changing, as was evidenced in September 2021 when the World Vape Show was held in Dubai, which has now legalized vaping.
On the other side of the globe, South America’s 433 million people also face an ever-changing landscape of vaping laws. The largest country, Brazil, allows vaping, with some restrictions in enclosed areas. Sales are highly regulated by the Health Surveillance Agency, which closely monitors underage sales, though enforcement of sales and production is weak.
