Category: This Issue

In 2024, regulatory challenges and misinformation continued to test the vaping industry.

By VV staff

There is positivity surrounding the nicotine industry. With the Trump administration set to take power in January, many believe it will take a softer stance on flavored nicotine products than the Biden team. The vaping industry continues to survive despite setbacks experienced in 2024, and it continues to grow globally. However, divergent regulatory perspectives on vaping’s harm reduction potential continue to hinder its uptake by cigarette smokers.

The past 12 months could also be labeled “the year of the registry” as several product registry bills were enacted, the most interesting of which was in Florida. Florida’s governor, Ron DeSantis, signed legislation intended to crack down on the sale of unauthorized vapes that the state deems attractive to children. The new law (HB 1007), however, only targets disposable vaping products not authorized by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The rules will be enforced beginning Oct. 1.

Unlike other state registry lists, Florida is the first state in the U.S. to include a carve-out for refillable pod systems, open-system vaping products, and bottled e-liquids. Florida Smoke Free Association President and entrepreneur Nick Orlando was a driving force behind getting the open-system exemption. In its original form, the bill would have prohibited sales of any vape products that had not yet received FDA approval.

Orlando said that if any area of the vaping industry genuinely needs reform, it is at the federal level and within the FDA review and approval process. “The FDA’s Center for Tobacco Products [CTP] is supposed to comply with a statutory, 180-day deadline to review new tobacco product applications, many of which are potentially less harmful than combustible cigarettes,” said Orlando. “However, as Florida’s vape manufacturers have experienced, working through this process is often a painstaking, costly and onerous ordeal that has resulted in a backlog of thousands of applications that have sat with the CTP for years.”

Also this year, the FDA approved menthol vapes for the first time. The regulatory agency authorized four Njoy products through the premarket tobacco product application (PMTA) pathway. The FDA issued marketing granted orders to Njoy, an Altria subsidiary, for two pods for its Ace closed e-cigarette device, which was authorized in April of 2022, and two disposable e-cigarettes—Njoy Daily Menthol 4.5 percent and Njoy Daily Extra Menthol 2.4 percent.

The two authorized Ace pods are the Njoy Ace Pod Menthol 2.4 percent and the Njoy Ace Pod Menthol 5 percent. All four of the newly authorized products are prefilled and nonrefillable. The decision is significant because it is the first nontobacco-flavored vapor product to be authorized by the FDA. In his TPL review, Office of Science Director Matthew Farrelly said that Njoy had “demonstrated the potential for these new products to benefit adults who smoke [combustible cigarettes] as compared to those who continue to use [combustible cigarettes] exclusively” and that the company had “also proposed robust marketing plans that include restrictions beyond those required with PMTA authorization.” Farrelly also highlighted data from a longitudinal cohort study that Njoy submitted with its application, which pointed to “robust absolute switching rates” and a higher rate of complete switching than tobacco-flavored Njoy Daily.

Another pressing issue in 2023 is that critics continue to accuse the vaping industry of avoiding responsibility for the environmental damage caused by disposable vaping products. Federal regulators have failed to pass measures that would make vaping components easier to recycle or more eco-friendly. Some regulations have been proposed to lessen the products’ environmental impact. For example, standards could be put in place requiring them to be reusable or mandating that manufacturers fund collection and recycling programs.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, disposable e-cigarettes account for about 53 percent of the multibillion-dollar U.S. vaping market, which has more than doubled in size since 2020. Several states, including New York and California, have extended product responsibility laws for computers and other electronics, but those rules don’t apply to vaping products. At the federal level, there are no regulations specifically for the disposal of vaping products.

Some experts say that the devastating environmental impact could last centuries without action. Ultimately, 2024 witnessed significant milestones in combustible smokers making the switch to less risky nicotine-delivery systems. That trend is expected to continue into next year. Looking back on this year, below is a month-by-month recap of the vaping industry’s most prominent headlines of 2024.

January

A group of Juul Labs investors challenged a November 2022 financial bailout by directors Nick Pritzker and Riaz Valani, alleging that the deal benefited insiders at the expense of other investors. Jan. 1, 2024, marked the official launch of McKinney Specialty Labs, a scientific organization with expertise in testing nicotine and other aerosolized products.

On Jan. 3, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit ruled that the FDA acted “arbitrarily and capriciously” in rejecting the premarket tobacco product applications of Wages and White Lion Investments, doing business as Triton Distribution, and Vapetasia for approval to sell their products in the United States. The Supreme Court of the United States rejected R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co.’s bid to challenge a voter-approved ban on flavored vaping and other tobacco products in California, the most populous state in the U.S.

February

Philip Morris International and BAT settled their ongoing intellectual property disputes relating to heated-tobacco and vapor products. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration continued its de facto flavor ban. It issued marketing denial orders to Fontem US for four Blu disposables and one Myblu brand e-cigarette product. The attorney general for North Carolina announced the launch of an online, searchable public depository containing nearly 4 million documents from the state’s lawsuit against e-cigarette manufacturer Juul Labs.

R Street Institute released a report that explores how flavors can influence behavior and why well-intentioned efforts to ban flavored tobacco and nicotine products can have unintended consequences. BAT’s Italian division was fined €6 million ($6.4 million) for “misleading advertising of a heated-tobacco product.” Amazon was fined €1 million for the same reason.

March

Belarus’ State Committee for Standardization banned 47 types of electronic cigarettes from sale because they contained unlawful levels of nicotine. The highest court in Massachusetts ignored objections from vape shop owners and tobacco retailers and upheld the legality of a novel bylaw in the town of Brookline that bars cigarette sales to anyone born after Jan. 1, 2000. The chairmen of five key Senate committees warned the chief executives of major convenience stores and wholesalers to stop selling illicit flavored vaping products.

A federal judge approved the final part of a class action settlement with Juul Labs and its parent company Altria, bringing the settlement total to just over $300 million. The Office of the Solicitor General filed a petition for certiorari in the case of the FDA v. Wages and White Lion Investments, asking the Supreme Court to review the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit’s en banc decision concluding that the FDA’s denial of some premarket tobacco product applications was arbitrary and capricious. The global vaping company Plxsur reached its goal of reaching $1 billion in consolidated revenues from its partners in just two years.

April

The governor of Vermont, Phil Scott, vetoed legislation banning the sale of flavored vaping and tobacco products in the state. New York City Mayor Eric Adams and New York City Corporation Counsel Sylvia O. Hinds-Radix announced that the city of New York filed a lawsuit against 11 wholesalers for their part in the illegal sale of flavored disposable e-cigarettes.

Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear signed House Bill 11 into law, making Kentucky the sixth state in the U.S. with a registry law. Lawmakers approved British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s plan to ban anyone aged 15 and under from ever buying cigarettes. Kazakhstan’s President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev signed a bill banning the sale and distribution of vaping products.

The U.S. Marshals Service seized more than 45,000 unauthorized e-cigarette products valued at more than $700,000 in California. Florida is the first state in the nation to include a carve-out in vape registry for refillable pod systems, open-system vaping products and bottled e-liquids. The board of directors for the Brazilian Health Surveillance Agency (Anvisa) voted unanimously to maintain a ban on the sale of e-cigarettes and other vaping products.

May

The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration asked the White House for permission to reclassify marijuana as a less dangerous drug. The Oregon Court of Appeals upheld a Washington County ban on flavored tobacco sales. The FDA uploaded the first update to its Searchable Tobacco Products Database, which provides an overview of tobacco and vapor products that may be legally marketed in the United States. Filtrona launched a series of new filters for heated-tobacco products, the Boreas range.

The FDA filed several modified-risk tobacco product renewal applications submitted by Philip Morris Products for several IQOS products for scientific review. A study published in Thorax found associations between the use of social media platforms and the risk of combustible cigarette smoking and vaping among youth. A judge in Ohio ruled that the state law that prohibits cities from banning flavored tobacco is unconstitutional. The Supreme Court of Justice in Panama ruled unanimously that Panama’s ban on the sale of all vaping products is unconstitutional. The FDA announced that it is seeking civil money penalties from nine brick-and-mortar retailers and one online retailer for selling Elf Bar products.

June

The FDA updated its import alert, which includes a “red list” of manufacturers, distributors and brands of vapor products that may be detained “without physical examination.” The FDA reversed a marketing denial order issued to Juul Labs for its vaping products. Governor DeSantis vetoed a bill that aimed to ban delta-8 and other cannabis products. U.S. Senators criticized top health and law enforcement officials for their failure to tame the rapidly growing illicit e-cigarette market.

The FDA authorized four menthol Njoy products through the PMTA pathway. This was the first time a flavored vaping product was authorized. Romania’s Chamber of Deputies adopted a bill banning advertising of electronic cigarettes and nicotine pouches. Philip Morris International halted sales of Zyn nicotine pouches on its U.S. website as Washington, D.C., officials investigate the company’s compliance with the district’s ban on the sale of flavored tobacco products.

Altria Group submitted PMTAs to the FDA for its “On! Plus” oral nicotine pouch products. New York state received $112.7 million from a multistate settlement with Juul Labs Inc. due to the vaping company’s involvement in the youth vaping epidemic. The Supreme Court of the United States ruled 6-3 to overturn the “Chevron deference,” a backbone principle for how the federal government keeps corporations in check.

July

R.J. Reynolds Vapor Co., an operating company of Reynolds American Inc., the BAT Group’s U.S. subsidiary, announced that it is expanding its vapor portfolio with SENSA, a zero-nicotine vapor product. Australia became the first country to restrict the sale of vapes to pharmacies when its laws surrounding vaping products went into effect. The U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear the FDA’s defense of the agency’s rejection of Triton Distributing’s PMTAs.

North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper signed into law a vape registry bill. The U.K.’s Labour government will propose a bill to gradually raise the legal age for purchasing cigarettes and impose restrictions on the sales and promotion of vaping products, as confirmed by King Charles III in a speech. Philip Morris International said that it will invest $600 million in a factory in Aurora, Colorado, to help meet U.S. consumers’ growing appetite for the company’s Zyn nicotine pouches.

The Italian government placed CBD on the country’s list of narcotic drugs in defiance of a regional administrative court ruling and in contravention of European Union law. The Philippine government halted the sale, advertising and distribution of vape products online. The Cook Islands banned the manufacture, importation, sale, distribution and advertising of cigarette alternatives such as e-cigarettes. PMI postponed the test launch of its IQOS heated-tobacco device in the U.S. to the fourth quarter.

August

Costa Rica banned vaping in public places such as restaurants, offices and educational institutions. The Haypp Group, the world’s largest online retailer of nicotine pouches, reported net sales of SEK942.8 million ($89.66 million) for the second quarter of 2024, up 23 percent over the comparable 2023 period. RLX Technology reported net revenues of RMB627.2 million ($86.3 million) in the second quarter of 2024, up 66 percent from the comparable 2023 quarter.

The FDA and the Department of the Treasury announced a proposed rule that would require an importer to submit the FDA-issued Submission Tracking Number ENDS products into the electronic imports system operated by U.S. Customs and Border Protection. New data from Action on Smoking and Health U.K. found that more than half of ex-smokers in Great Britain who quit in the past five years—amounting to 2.7 million adults—used a vape in their last quit attempt. VPR Brands reported revenues of $1.77 million for the second quarter of 2024, down from $1.9 million in the comparable 2023 quarter. Gross profit was $451,469 compared with $1.1 million in the second quarter of 2023.

Illinois lawmakers decisively passed a law that forbids vaping companies from targeting teens with their advertising, particularly by promoting electronic cigarettes that resemble school supplies such as highlighters, markers or erasers. Smoore International Holdings reported revenue of RMB5.04 billion ($705.4 million) for the six months that ended June 30, down 1.7 percent from the comparable 2023 period.

An administrative law judge of the International Trade Commission recommended a ban on importing Njoy Ace products into the United States following a patent infringement claim filed by Juul Labs. Philip Morris International’s Swedish Match affiliate announced an investment of $232 million to expand the production capacity of its manufacturing facility in Owensboro, Kentucky. The Kurdistan Regional Government intensified efforts to crack down on the use of e-cigarettes, with both the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Interior enforcing a decision to ban their import and sale.

September

Illinois Senator Dick Durbin condemned top health and law enforcement officials for their, in his eyes, inadequate efforts in combating the surge of illegal disposable e-cigarettes among young people in the U.S. Representatives from PMI began pitching the benefits of its IQOS heated-tobacco device to Nevada state lawmakers. Police in Allen, Texas, secured evidence and marched out business owners in handcuffs for selling what attorneys for the vape shops say were legal cannabis products.

The FDA announced a final rule raising the minimum age for certain restrictions on tobacco product sales. A review of evidence by a team of scientists found that e-cigarettes are among the top 3 most effective tools to stop smoking. Accorto Regulatory Solutions joined the Global Institute for Novel Nicotine, an organization dedicated to advancing tobacco harm reduction through supporting the research and development of nonvaporized tobacco alternatives for adult smokers. The Great Smoky Cannabis Dispensary opened in North Carolina for its first recreational marijuana sales for anyone over the age of 21.

Irish Health Minister Stephen Donnelly proposed bans on nontobacco vape flavors and advertising in nonspecialized shops. The FDA issued six warning letters to manufacturers and retailers for selling or distributing unauthorized e-cigarette products promoted at an industry trade show. PMI recorded a record loss of about £220 million ($198 million) on the sale of its inhaled-therapeutics Vectura Group unit to Molex Asia Holdings in the third quarter.

Tucker Carlson announced plans to introduce a nicotine pouch brand called ALP in November. U.S. President-elect Donald Trump said he will save flavored e-cigarettes. The European Commission approved France’s bid to ban disposable vapes. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services updated its regulations to reflect the required annual inflation-related increases to civil money penalties, consistent with the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act Improvements Act of 2015.

October

The FDA cleared an Investigational New Drug application for Qnovia’s RespiRx nicotine inhaler (QN-01). According to Qnovia, the RespiRx is the first truly inhalable nicotine-replacement therapy to assist smokers attempting to quit smoking. PMI pulled its IQOS tobacco-heating device from New Zealand store shelves after a new law took effect requiring vaping devices to have removable batteries. French consumer vaping organization SOVAPE announced that it will dissolve. The group had been active since 2016.

The JT Group completed the acquisition of Vector Group on Oct. 7, following a tender offer. Ispire Technology, a company that develops and commercializes vaping technology products, announced a five-year master distributor agreement with ANDS, a Dubai-based distributor in the Middle East, North Africa region specializing in combustion-free nicotine-delivery solutions. Amazon agreed to pay Vermont $400,000 and improve its vetting practices to settle claims that it failed to stop online vendors from selling e-cigarettes. Jamaica supported an updated strategy to accelerate action to meet tobacco control targets in the Americas region.

The minister of mental health and addictions says the federal government will ban most vape flavors across Canada. Guam’s governor, Lou Leon Guerrero, vetoed a bill that seeks a 10 percent tax on vaping and electronic nicotine products. Elf Bar and Lost Mary created a board in the U.K. to provide strategic advice for the brands. The Oregon Court of Appeals struck down a law restricting the packaging of vape and cannabis products on the grounds that the legislation unconstitutionally restricts free speech.

The FDA issued warning letters to nine online retailers and one manufacturer for selling or distributing unauthorized disposable e-cigarettes designed to resemble smart technology, including smartphones and gaming devices. French Health Minister Genevieve Darrieussecq said in an interview with the newspaper Le Parisien that nicotine pouches “are dangerous products because they contain high doses of nicotine” and added that a ban will be announced.

November

The U.K. government introduced its Tobacco and Vapes Bill, which involves some of the world’s strictest anti-smoking rules. A jury trial commenced for a lawsuit filed by the state of Alaska against Juul Labs and Altria Group that alleges that the companies played a significant role in the rising use of e-cigarettes among young people. A survey found that one year after Quebec banned nontobacco-flavored vapes, most vapers are buying such products illegal in the province.

Altria Group beat market expectations for third-quarter revenue and profit as robust demand for its nicotine pouches and vaping products helped soften the blow to its combustible cigarettes category. After a scientific review, the FDA issued a renewal of modified-risk granted orders to Swedish Match for eight General Snus products. A court in The Hague ruled that the Netherlands was allowed to introduce a ban on flavors in e-cigarettes to protect public health. Tobacco stocks rose in the wake of Trump’s victory in the U.S. presidential election.

Ispire Technology reported revenue of $39.3 million for the first quarter of 2025, down from $42.9 million in the comparable 2024 quarter. Mayor Adams and New York City Acting Corporation Counsel Muriel Goode-Trufant announced that the city of New York filed a federal lawsuit against a major distributor of disposable flavored e-cigarettes. Mexico’s top court ruled that a ban on imports of e-cigarettes and related products was unconstitutional. Tucker Carlson launched his own nicotine pouch brand, ALP, which the conservative American commentator touted as “the first nicotine pouch brand made by and for adults who unapologetically love nicotine.”

Trump nominated Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. to serve as the new secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services. The Swedish government released data showing that Swedes made history by officially becoming the first country to be “smoke-free.” President Sadyr Japarov signed a law prohibiting the import, circulation and use of electronic cigarettes.

A report from the CDC Foundation and Truth Initiative showed that from 2019 to 2023, there was a 47 percent increase in e-cigarette unit sales at U.S. retail outlets. The Surgeon General of the United States released a report on health disparities related to tobacco use. Imperial Brands reported a dip in revenue despite double-digit growth in its electronic cigarettes division and growth in its traditional tobacco division. Spain began a public consultation on new rules for vaping devices. A landmark bill in the United Kingdom to ban its younger generation from smoking cleared its first hurdle in the House of Commons.

December

(Editor’s Note: This magazine went live in December, so the month may be incomplete.) Tobacco Reporter, after 150 years of nicotine industry news, ended the publishing of its magazine. Vietnam’s National Assembly approved a measure to prohibit the production, sale, import, storage, transportation and use of e-cigarettes starting in 2025. The United States Supreme Court heard oral arguments in FDA v. Wages and White Lion Investments LLC, a pivotal case concerning the FDA’s rejection of applications to market flavored nicotine vaping devices. The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration began sharing details about its long-anticipated hearings on its cannabis rescheduling publicly.

A survey by online retailer Nicokick finds more than 86 percent of current U.S. nicotine pouch users say they are likely to switch to Tucker Carlson’s recently launched Alp brand. Smoking rates in Spain dropped to a record low. The FDA issues warning letters to 115 brick-and-mortar retailers for selling unauthorized e-cigarette products. The warning letters cite the sale of disposable e-cigarette products owned by Chinese manufacturers and marketed under popular brand names, including Geek Bar Pulse, Geek Bar Skyview, Geek Bar Platinum, and Elf Bar.

Looking ahead

Predicting what the vaping industry will look like by the end of 2025 is impossible. Industry insiders expect regulators to crack down on disposable vaping products, and misinformation will likely continue to run wild. Many in the industry believe Trump will change how the FDA regulates vaping products. The sale and use of single-use disposable vapes will be banned in England from June next year, and many other countries are expected to follow suit.

From Feb. 2, 2020, to June 16, 2024, U.S. disposable e-cigarette sales increased by 201.3 percent (4.1 million units to 12.3 million units); their unit share increased from 26 percent to 58.1 percent of total e-cigarette sales, according to the CDC Foundation. France began the process of banning disposable vapes in December 2023. The National Assembly and Senate approved the ban in February 2024, and the European Commission approved it in September 2024.

Additionally, the U.S. will probably see a decline in product variety because the FDA is unlikely to approve many devices. However, the industry should continue to thrive and expand globally, especially in the EU and the U.K. More importantly, innovation should continue to thrive outside the U.S. That could all change, however, as a new president takes office in January in the U.S.

In September, Tony Abboud, executive director of the Vapor Technology Association (VTA) said he had the opportunity to meet with Trump, where Abboud had a wide-ranging conversation, including praising the then President for taking “two bold and decisive actions” in 2019: preventing a ban on flavored vapes for adults and protecting youth by raising the age to purchase nicotine products to 21.

“Since then, youth vaping has dropped to an all-time low, and many adults have used flavored vaping to quit smoking. VTA’s meeting with President Trump represents a great day for small businesses across America who fear the Biden-Harris administration’s efforts to shut down small businesses and deprive adults who smoke of their flavored vaping products,” said Abboud. “We are pleased that [Trump] is continuing to fight for vapers.”

Trump’s nomination of Kennedy to head the Department of Health and Human Services, which oversees the FDA, which regulates vaping, nicotine pouches, and all other nicotine and tobacco products through its Center for Tobacco Products, is also a wild card for the nicotine industry. Kennedy’s position on vaping, nicotine, and tobacco harm reduction remains unknown, making anything a possibility in 2025.

The 2024 UKVIA forum focused on the UK’s proposed Tobacco and Vapes Bill.

By George Gay

As many people have noted, it seems odd that after decades of handwringing over the negative health consequences of tobacco smoking, the health community has been at best lukewarm and at worse fundamentally opposed to the introduction of new-generation nicotine products. After all, these products are significantly less risky than combustible cigarettes, and they have been more effective at helping smokers quit their habit than any of the products or strategies previously used. The health community seems to have been intent, and largely successful, on reviving the tobacco wars as the nicotine wars—this time, with it comprising the bad guys.

The health community has obstructed the introduction of these new products, which it generally recognizes as being less risky than cigarettes, partly on the grounds that, since they are relatively new, it is not known what negative health effects they might cause in the future, after prolonged use. This, of course, is to misapply the precautionary principle given that the new products are being used to replace combustible cigarettes, which the health community likes to describe as comprising a consumer product that will kill you when used in the way it is designed to be used. Since humans are unable to predict the future with certainty, such an approach comprises an ideology that rules out change, including progress, of any kind.

The health community has resisted the introduction of less risky products also on the grounds that they are used by those too young to buy them legally. Consumption by those underage is often described as comprising an epidemic, but this is hyperbole, often used, apparently unashamedly, by people who put themselves forward as scientists. It has also been used by U.K. politicians who, while saying that nobody wants children to come to harm, vote against providing meals to young people from financially impoverished families.

It seems that many in the health community and many politicians prefer to stick their heads in the sand when it comes to the rising level of child poverty in the U.K. and prefer to remain in that rather uncomfortable—not to say undignified—position rather than admit that many underage vapers are the risk-takers who, if they had not been vaping, would have been smoking.

Nevertheless, it cannot be denied that if some of those who are too young to buy vapes legally are vaping regularly, then somewhere along the line, the law has probably been broken, and this law-breaking should not be allowed to continue to happen with impunity. Indeed, this is something the U.K. Vaping Industry Association (UKVIA) has recognized for a long time. For years, it has called for the introduction of a retail licensing scheme that would allow sanctions to be imposed on retailers who sold vapes to the underaged and indulged in other illegal activities.

And from this point of view, one provision of the U.K. government’s much-trailed Tobacco and Vapes Bill (T&V) 2024, which was published 10 days before the UKVIA held its annual forum in London on Nov. 15, drew a cautious welcome from participants. In part, the bill provides for the introduction of a licensing scheme* for the retail sale of vapes and nicotine products as well as tobacco products, herbal smoking products and, somewhat bizarrely, cigarette papers (but not cigarette lighters). The welcome was cautious because a few flies could drop into the ointment, one of which could be a lack of enforcement, a problem that was given a new-to-me angle during the forum.

In the past, it has been said that government austerity measures had left Trading Standards (TS) with inadequate resources to fully carry out its responsibilities, which, among many others, include enforcing compliance with retail laws as they apply to tobacco and nicotine products. But a forum presentation by Kate Price, the lead officer for vaping at the Chartered Trading Standards Institute, seemed to cast doubt on whether this lack of TS funding was the most significant issue and, therefore, on whether an increase in funding would make a great deal of difference.

The forum was told that TS teams worked for local authorities that also had seen their funding slashed, leaving them needing to control their budgets tightly. The implication seemed to be that these authorities, with responsibilities that include the protection of vulnerable children and older people, might not see retail offenses as a high priority for prosecution through the courts, which anyway were suffering from backlogs caused by their own funding issues.

Neither, it seemed, would it make much difference if, as some have suggested, the revenue from licensing fees were to be ringfenced for use by TS because, presumably, this would do nothing to relieve the bottlenecks further down the line that lead to court appearances. One other provision in the T&V bill might be more positive in that, if enacted, it would give TS powers to issue on-the-spot fines, but the industry seems to believe, not without justification, that the level of fines being discussed would not present much of a deterrent given the profits that can be made by retailers who sell illicit products and/or licit and illicit products to those underage.

I shouldn’t give the impression that Price is against further funding for TS; she isn’t. In fact, she made the point that it was difficult for TS to cover the 60,000 premises from which vapes are sold, and, because of this, she asked industry players to report whenever they came across rogue retailers. This was all well and good and in line with the industry’s desire to work closely with TS, but later in the forum, retail representatives seemed to suggest that many reports were made, but few seemed to be acted upon. It was said that there were few prosecutions, and those prosecutions attracted low penalties.

It was said too that the system of enforcement needed to move from reactive to proactive, using, among other things, a system of regular test purchases, and I got the impression that there was a need for a complete rethink because the whole system of retail oversight and enforcement seemed far too cumbersome to produce timely prosecutions. The industry is aware that this is the most important issue that it needs to address because the retail sale of illicit products and the sale of all products to the underaged are two big sticks with which its opponents can keep beating it. On the positive side, the government says that it intends to strengthen enforcement activity to support the implementation of the measures outlined in the T&V, but, with government coffers hardly overflowing, the industry would be unwise to hold its breath on this one.

Price’s presentation, informative and useful as it was, rather put me in mind of some of the wise words of the late JJ Cale on his Grasshopper album, where he laments that “Prop up the front, the back falls down.” In fact, come to think of it, those words might comprise a suitable theme for the 2025 UKVIA forum.

This year’s forum, which was held under the theme “The Changing Vaping Environment— Succeeding in a New Policy Landscape,” comprised a packed program of practical presentations and panel discussions that, along with a modest exhibition space, embraced nicotine pouches as well as vapes.

In opening remarks, forum participants were told that the vaping industry faced an unprecedented period of change but that it could succeed and even thrive in the new policy landscape. The industry, the government, regulators and the public health community could work together to ensure that vaping could achieve its full potential—a smoke-free U.K. and the health benefits that would flow from such an outcome.

John Dunne, the director of the UKVIA, said, however, that the industry had to deal with the issue of youth uptake and, in this regard, he expressed delight that the government had reintroduced its T&V bill and added a provision to include a vaping licensing scheme. The industry supported evidence-based and well-balanced regulation aimed at addressing the issues of packaging, product design and flavor descriptions that young people might find overly appealing, he added. But he issued a word of warning in asking the government to oppose any measures that could equate vaping with smoking because far too many people still believed that vaping was as harmful or more harmful than smoking.

I’m afraid this is a plea destined to fall on deaf ears. In fact, if the T&V bill goes through in anything close to its present form, which seems likely, I think the equating horse will have already bolted. You only have to look at the name of the bill to see that smoking and vaping are being lumped together, and many of the bill’s provisions, as they stand, give the idea that cigarettes and vapes need to be dealt with in lockstep. Unfortunately, smokers are likely to interpret this as meaning that there is no point in switching.

The only way in which it would be possible to view this bill as having been put together by people who intended to engage the full potential of vaping to reduce the incidence of smoking would be to assume they were suffering from a nasty case of cognitive dissonance. I think the bill indicates that the U.K. is on the cusp of throwing away its previous positive approach to tobacco harm reduction.

How else is it possible to explain how a country that has stated officially that vaping is 95 percent less risky than smoking and that has been operating a “swap (vapes for cigarettes) to stop” scheme is now proposing that the advertising and sponsorship of nicotine products be banned, putting them into the same basket as cigarettes? In a bill factsheet, the government states unequivocally that its intention is to equate nicotine products with tobacco products in this respect. “The bill will ban the advertising and sponsorship of all vapes and other nicotine products (such as nicotine pouches), mirroring impactful restrictions on tobacco [my emphasis],” it says. This seems to me to be the exact opposite of what is needed, which is the vigorous promotion of the advantages of smokers switching to vapes and other nicotine products.

There is much more that is of concern too. “The bill also provides powers to make places vape-free and heated-tobacco-free, insofar as they are smoke-free places,” the factsheet states. “Vape usage is already prohibited in many places, and, as with smoke-free places, proposals for any restrictions will be subject to full public consultation.” Once again, the government is implying that there is no difference between smoking and vaping, without having rescinded its 95 percent less risky stance. This is cognitive dissonance on stilts.

Although it is not necessarily relevant here, it is worthwhile examining the government’s thinking on tobacco smoke in outdoor settings. “Secondhand smoking poses a risk to your health even outdoors,” it states in the “Rationale for Intervention” section of its factsheet. “It is particularly dangerous for vulnerable people like children, pregnant women and those with preexisting but usually invisible health conditions such as asthma and heart disease.

In some public settings, exposure can be high—if you can smell smoke, you are inhaling it.” Of course, it could have added: If you can smell e-cigarette vapor, you are inhaling it. And it could have further added for those who enjoy being frightfully continental and sitting at pavement cafes with diesel traffic chugging by that the opposite is not true, so you can inhale a busload of toxic fumes that your olfactory system has not warned you about. The truth is that you can get up and move away from tobacco smoke, which, like e-cigarette vapor, is also visible, but even if you detected it, you would have to move to the Outer Hebrides to get away from vehicle pollution. But then who is interested in the truth when half-truths and hypocrisy will win the argument?

The bill will also provide ministers with powers to regulate the flavors, packaging and display of all vapes and other nicotine products, which, as Dunne indicated, are not issues that would necessarily concern the industry. But the sweeping powers are surely of concern, if for no other reason than that they leave the industry at the mercy of the whims of ministers, who come and go. This is a difficult position in which to leave an industry that runs on costly innovation and therefore needs stability.

As was said often during the forum, the devil is in the detail, which is currently out for “consultation.” The trouble here is that there are consultations and consultations, and if the tobacco industry’s experience is anything to go by, this consultation will be between the government and those who support the government’s position or want its interventions to be more draconian than those proposed.

This is not to suggest that the industry and its supporters should not interact with the consultation, especially if they are the sorts of people who find comfort in whistling Dixie. But my guess would be that many of the most popular flavors among adult consumers will be junked. And in further measures that will emphasize in the minds of consumers the idea that smoking and vaping are the same, packaging will be tightly regulated, possibly with the inclusion of unfounded health warnings, and vapes will be regulated out of sight in retail outlets.

What is probably the standout provision of the T&V will make it an offense to sell tobacco products, herbal smoking products and cigarette papers—what has the government got against small pieces of paper?—to anyone born on or after Jan. 1, 2009. This provision seems to be supported by the vaping industry, but for the life of me, I cannot see why. In the unlikely event that this measure is made to work, and the industry sticks to its position that vapes should be used only by cigarette smokers to quit their habit, all the generational tobacco sales ban will do is ensure that the industry runs out of potential customers faster than it would do otherwise.

In addition, you have to wonder whether the industry really believes that, having been successful with its generational tobacco sales ban, a future government won’t turn its sights on a generational nicotine ban. The signs are there for those who look, not the least of which is the fact that heat-not-burn products are to be included in the tobacco sales ban. The best way to encourage smokers to quit their habit is to offer them a range of alternative low-risk products, and heat-not-burn systems have proved that they should be part of the range. The government should take cognizance of the fact that while you can kick logic out the door, it will come back at you through the window.

Surely, a better industry approach would be for it to oppose the generational tobacco sales ban on the grounds that, since so-called smoking-related diseases take decades to manifest themselves, such an ungainly policy will take far too long to show any significant effects. It could argue, rightly, that a much faster route to a healthier population is available and is one that will not involve the government in spending huge sums on enforcement, that will not require it possibly getting bogged down in issues of identity cards and that will not involve it getting into a fight with libertarians and others concerned with individual rights.

All the government has to do is bring in an effective vaping product registration scheme, which anyway is one of the provisions of the T&V, stop equating vaping with smoking and start promoting the health benefits of smokers switching to vaping. What is a highly innovative industry will do the rest.

Innovation was to the fore during the forum, and one session looked at “How vape technologies are evolving as we approach a post-disposables future and a new era of responsible vaping.” Although what was an interesting but shortened session ranged much wider than the title suggests, it is to be welcomed, I think, that the title, with its “new era of responsible vaping,” seemed to suggest that the industry has come to terms with the ban on disposables that will come into effect at the beginning of April next year. There are some fights worth engaging in, but they don’t include those that are difficult to win because they are ethically suspect at a time of environmental breakdown.

Of course, some will say that the ban won’t work. The phrase “bans have never worked and never will work,” rang out often at the forum. But this simply isn’t true. There are a huge number of bans that work under any reasonable definition of the word “work” in this context, car speed limits comprising one. Only if you apply to the word “work” the unreasonable definition that brooks no or few contraventions can it be claimed that bans don’t work. This is not to say that all bans are a good idea, of course.

In fact, there is widespread tacit approval of bans within the vaping industry, though these industry-friendly bans are supported because they operate under the cover of being positive developments, as well they might be, rather than negative ones. Look at the title of this session: “From licensing to product and regulatory compliance—killing the black market, not the consumers.”

The licensing scheme referred to here will ban all those who cannot obtain a license for selling vapes while the regulatory compliance scheme will ban any product that doesn’t conform. And, of course, it goes without saying that the black market is banned. Those who don’t believe in bans should come out against the licensing proposal, they should come out against the regulatory compliance proposal, and, in fact, they should agitate to make everything legal. Such a position, if enacted, would at least save a fortune on enforcement.

And such a position would save another fortune on lawyers. But for the time being, at least they are involved, as was made obvious by an informative presentation on“A case for vaping —What legal recourse does the industry have against misinformation, infringement, bad regulation and the illicit market?”This was an interesting presentation in line with the UKVIA forum’s emphasis on the practical, including as it did a look at patent infringements and anti-competitive practices, among other topics.

Meanwhile, there were presentations on “Politics in the spotlight—Working with a new government and understanding the vaping products duty.” The latter presentation was interesting, not least because it highlighted a measure brought in by the new government that clearly is another way in which smokers might be persuaded that the consumption of vapes is as harmful as smoking. Looked at in a more positive light, however, Price mentioned in her piece that the application of duty would drag into the vapes enforcement arena bodies with more powers than TS has—HMRC (revenue and customs) and Border Force.

It is worth mentioning that the duty issue comprised a positive example of the industry’s being able to use the consultation process. It wasn’t able to dissuade the government from applying a duty, but it was able to persuade it to bring in a flat rate rather than the tiered system that had been proposed. In fact, the forum was told that the Labour government had proved more approachable and receptive than the previous Conservative government had proved more approachable and receptive. The industry had been able to have a good level of engagement with the government, TS and HMRC.

The forum included a couple of sessions focused on the truth, or lack of it, within the vaping sphere: “Closing the trust gap—How public education campaigns can be critical to correcting the vape narrative” and “Taste of truth—Understanding the key role of flavors in harm reduction.” One session looked at “The balancing act—What is the best route to further unlock vaping’s potential to improve harm reduction while also protecting young people?,” and the final session gave the floor to consumers by “Adding consumers to the conversation—A live focus group with the industry’s biggest stakeholders.”

*Health issues are generally the responsibility of the U.K.’s devolved governments and administrations in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales, but, in this instance, the licensing scheme will apply in England, Wales and Northern Ireland while the bill will expand the scope of Scotland’s existing retail register to include herbal smoking products and nicotine products.