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  • Going to the Extreme

    Going to the Extreme

    The 2024 InterTabac and InterSupply trade shows continue to go to the next level.

    VV staff and Wingle Group

    It’s big. With nine halls, the 2024 trade fair duo InterTabac and InterSupply, held at Messe Dortmund Sept. 19–21, was the largest show since InterTabac began more than 45 years ago. Event organizers at the time wanted to create a platform that provided the nicotine industry with comprehensive information on new products and improved purchasing opportunities in one centralized location.

    Today, the dual trade show encompasses the nine trade show halls as well as the CB Expo Hall (cannabis products) and PouchXchange Hall PA4. PouchXchange is a new, exclusive event that focuses on high-quality communication, networking, meetings with experts and entertainment. It was billed as a networking event for the nicotine pouch and snus industry experts. This event brought together manufacturers, suppliers, retailers and scientists from the industry and offered a platform for intensive dialogue.

    There were more than 800 exhibitors and 14,000 visitors, according to the organizers. Products presented at InterTabac range from cigarillos, cigars, cigarettes, pipes, smoking accessories, fine-cut tobacco and pipe tobacco to equipment, press products, e-liquids, e-cigarettes, modern oral products, heated-tobacco systems and sticks and more, according to Wingle Group, a consulting company focused on the personal electronics, innovative wellness and electronic consumer businesses.

    Some of the major insights in the vaping industry at the show included:

    • Smiss Technology is entering the connected devices segment with its own design of a connected pod system and e-cigarette that changes display indication according to the level of sound/voice (Smoore introduced a similar e-cigarette prototype earlier). The company’s portfolio now also includes disposables with removable screen modules.
    • Barong Elixir has started trial sales of its open-pod system with a heart rate sensor in the U.K. Shenzhen Future Tech Co. manufactures the device. It connects to a phone and has two versions of pods: one for e-liquid and one for CBD oil. The company plans to make it a universal pod system with a future software update.
    • China-based Flonq introduced the Flonq Meta (see “Vaping Under Control,” page 16), a smart pod vaping system with Bluetooth connectivity to an app. The app will provide vape usage statistics while the device’s display shows the consumed dosage. The application is expected to launch in November.
    • CIRAK Electronics GmbH announced the HQD Glaze Plus 12000 disposable e-cigarette, aimed at the U.S. and Russian markets. The device allows users to adjust the cooling agent in the vapor across 10 levels. It features two internal tanks: one for nicotine-flavored e-liquid and the other for a nicotine-free cooling agent. The output of the second tank is adjustable, enabling consumers to customize the level of coolness in the vapor.
    • Tesclacigs added a new disposable device to its portfolio, the Tesla Bar XT-26000. The booth also displayed the Vabeen Polar Beast 35000 disposable. Both devices are equipped with a large 3D curved screen and cooling level adjustment. The device consists of a 4 mL chamber with menthol and a 20 mL chamber with flavored e-liquid. The company plans to launch nicotine level adjustment disposables with the same design and construction.
    • Shenzhen ALD Technology Co. promoted its Fresor models. Recent products are the Fresor Nova Bar CR4 and the Fresor Click Turbo open pod systems with the Fresor Nova Dual flat mesh coil and the Fresor King disposable (also with the Fresor Nova).
    • Vaporesso presented the Dojo Sphere X 40000 disposable featuring a Quad Mesh heater inside.
    • Kiwi presented the Kiwi Go Plus pod system featuring a FEELM Max heater inside from Smoore. The device has the same design as the Kiwi Go 750 disposable pod.
    • Shenzhen Innokin Technology Co. presented pod systems with a removable battery design: the Innokin Trine and the Innokin Trine Q and a charging hub.
    • RELX launched the RELX Essential CR pod system with a removable battery design in New Zealand.
    • Golisi presented its Golisi Medo Q pod system, which has a modular design (removable battery) and is manufactured by Shenzhen Deyuan Electronic Industry Co. The device has a magnet child lock, where the user must rotate the cartridge three times to lock/unlock it.
    • NoNic by Aroma King showcased disposables with 6-methyl nicotine as an active ingredient. It is a nicotine derivative with a similar effect currently considered premarket tobacco product application-exempt in the U.S. Negotiations are ongoing in the Polish and U.S. markets.
    • Fumatul Distribution (Elf Bar’s distributor) launched the new TPD-compliant disposable Elf Bar EB6000 (same as the Lost Mary BM6000) and the Elf Bar 4-in-1 3200 revolver-like pod system, which was launched in the U.K., Canada and Ukraine in September.
    • Dongguan Hongyi Manufacture Co. promoted the “Nose Knows” brand of nasally inhaled vapes. The Nose Knows AT5000 disposable was launched in the U.S. in July.
    • PeakBar introduced its PeakBar Prestige pod system with a programmable remaining e-liquid mode: Smart mode. Smart mode is like the e-liquid indicator. When the users put the pod in, they can turn on Smart mode by pressing the button on two sides. When the e-liquid is used up, the screen will show a zero e-liquid level.
    • Alchem Europe promoted its Ivlac VI closed pod system prefilled with T-Max e-liquid (1,3-propanediol gives nicotine a more basic environment, ensuring a high level of freebase nicotine form, and potentially increases throat hit), with the total formula optimized for a stronger nicotine hit than the actual nicotine content.
    • Lovesticks brand introduced its new Lovesticks Luvx open pod system (identical to Elf Bar Elfx).
    • VGOD launched the new open pod system VGOD Pod Pro S.
    • The ENVA brand showcased its ENVA Prime pod system (RELX-compatible). The cartridges go with tobacco flavors made from natural tobacco.
    • Kanger promoted its brand Olit. It also presented the NOR TPD circumvent pod system.

    In addition, RELX released a TPD-compliant (2 mL tank + 10 mL bottle) disposable in the U.K. The user needs to press the bottom of the bottle to transfer e-liquid into the 2 mL tank. The RELX Essential Pro and the RELX Essential Plus are marketed in the U.K., and the RELX Diamond is marketed in Croatia.

    Reaching out globally, the RELX Essential 2 closed pod system debuted in Italy while an updated version of the RELX Essential CR launched in New Zealand, and the RELX Alpha-1 open pod system was introduced in Canada. Additionally, the RELX Creator 15000 disposable kit debuted in Malaysia, the RELX Novo 14000 disposable was launched in Thailand, and the RELX Prime open pod system was unveiled in Indonesia. Mongolia saw the launch of the RELX 12000 disposable.

    Two products showcased during InterTabac received additional coverage in this issue of Vapor Voice. Dekang Biotech Co. introduced its new DKiss 21 vaporless convection nicotine inhaler (see “Back to Basics,” page 38). A Nico capsule containing solid nicotine beads is clicked onto the device’s body to use the inhaler.

    The unique hot airflow system in the device separates the heating coil and ingredients, so no vaporization or chemical reaction occurs during use. The Nico capsule may deploy synthetic or tobacco-derived nicotine, meaning more market potential and better regulation compliance for this product format. A more compact version apart from the Dkiss Pen—the Dkiss 21 disposable—has a slightly different construction of its nicotine-containing chamber.

    Greentank (see “Heated Breakthrough,” Issue 3, 2024) is offering oil disposables and 510 cartridges with Quantum Vape heating technology—a unique flat atomizer design with the Quantum Vape Heating Chip. This technology can also be applied to e-liquid for vaping products. The claimed benefits include up to 52 percent cooler vapor compared to market-leading vapes, improved flavor consistency and prolonged lifespan. The materials are 100 percent biocompatible and free from heavy metals.

    Finally, this year’s shows featured a massive increase in the number of modern oral product (MOP) manufacturers exhibiting. Highlights include:

    • Nicotobacco, a Poland-based company, presented Cuba and Baron nicotine pouches. The can is child-resistant and is intended for the Swedish market only. For other countries, child-resistant packaging will be launched shortly.
    • House of Pouches manufactures a wide variety of products, in particular, nicotine pouches under the POKE and BLOW brands, energy pouches AMNESIA and CBD pouches SPIRIT OF NATURE.
    • The well-known vape brand Elux, known for its disposable pods, presented Elux slim nicotine pouches. The products have already been launched in the U.K. in 10, 17 mg/g strength varieties.
    • ALD Group promoted FLYTO nicotine pouches.
    • Philip Morris International showcased its Zyn nicotine pouches. PMI owns one of the most popular and recognizable players in the MOP market. In the first quarter, they were officially launched in Ukraine.
    • Shenzhen Zinwi Bio-Tech Co., a major e-liquid producer, introduced its ZNT nicotine pouches and lozenges.
    • The Tangshan Hancheng Technology Co. exhibited the equipment for filling nicotine pouches and the pouches used for filling: dry, wet, semi-dry and granular.

    One company that stood out was Chubby Gorilla. The California-based company is an established player in the consumer goods packaging solutions arena, serving clients in numerous industries, including the vaping and cannabis products industry. It is now also offering child-resistant packaging for MOPs—the Chubby Gorilla Pouch Container.

    Chubby Gorilla creates original (black, white, transparent and combinations of the aforementioned) and custom pouch cans. The can’s design can be transparent, translucent or opaque. To open the can, consumers turn the lid to align the arrows on the side point, then pull and turn slightly to the side.

    The 2025 edition of InterTabac and InterSupply will be held Sept. 18–20 at Messe Dortmund in Germany.

  • Ecological Impact

    Ecological Impact

    Credit: Mann888

    Finding solutions to hazardous waste from vaping products is a growing concern.

    By Timothy S. Donahue

    Disposing of vape waste is becoming an increasing environmental concern. The CDC Foundation, a nonprofit that supports the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, estimates that each month in the U.S., consumers purchase 11.9 million disposable e-cigarettes.

    Based on that figure, a report from the U.S. PIRG Education Fund, a nonpartisan consumer-interest group, estimates that the disposable vapes sold annually would stretch longer than 7,000 miles if lined up, more than twice the width of the continental U.S.

    In addition to creating plenty of plastic waste, discarded e-cigarettes can be considered both e-waste (because of their circuitry and lithium-ion batteries) and hazardous waste (because they contain nicotine). E-cigarettes are also difficult to recycle, and many people don’t even try; garbology research has found evidence of plenty of vape litter. A 2022 survey found that just 8 percent of teen or young adult vapers sent their used disposable devices to recycling facilities.

    Within the e-cigarette category, disposables “pose the highest potential environmental costs,” according to a 2018 paper in the American Journal of Public Health, because they aren’t used as long as refillable models. A 2022 letter in the Lancet Respiratory Medicine called for tighter regulations on single-use vapes to prevent “environmental disaster.”

    In the meantime, the new report suggests that people who vape can make a simple switch to benefit the environment: choose reusable devices instead of those that go straight into the trash. “Nothing used for a day or two,” the report says, “should pollute our environment for hundreds of years.”

    Emma Shalaway, marketing director at Sauce Essentials, a California-based cannabis company, said that one of the biggest challenges brands like Sauce faces in implementing recycling programs, particularly across state lines, is the lack of specific legislation regarding the recycling of products.

    “For example, in California, there is really only legislation around the recycling of vape batteries, leaving a gray area for the complete recycling of all-in-one (AIO) vape products. This uncertainty makes it difficult for brands and retailers to navigate compliance when it comes to recycling programs even though we try to support by providing recycling bins in markets where initiatives like this are allowed,” explains Shalaway. “To push for better recycling infrastructure, we need specific legislation tailored to AIO cannabis vapes across state lines. Given the number of regulatory hurdles already present in bringing AIO cannabis vapes to market, it only makes sense to create clear guidelines for their proper recycling.”

    Credit: Benn Photo

    Douglas Dunlap, chief commercial officer at Greentank, a Canada-based atomization company, told Vapor Voice that recycling programs in the vaping industry are challenging due to the need for collaboration between hardware manufacturers, distributors, retailers and recycling services. Many brands lack control over the retail environment, which makes consumer education efforts on product recyclability difficult.

    “Establishing a consistent, user-friendly recycling initiative often requires buy-in from retail partners, including their willingness to promote and facilitate collection efforts at the point of sale. At Greentank, we’re constantly innovating to make our products cleaner and more environmentally friendly by sourcing sustainable materials and minimizing waste,” said Dunlap. “However, broader systemic changes are needed. State and local regulations often make recycling programs costly due to concerns about handling controlled substances. Reviewing these policies or specific recycling guidelines for vape products would significantly benefit brands, manufacturers and consumers, making it easier to create eco-friendly solutions.”

    According to the CDC Foundation, after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s February 2020 crackdown on flavored nicotine e-liquid cartridges for reusable vapes, sales of disposable brands increased 196.2 percent by March 2023. The FDA’s decision prohibited the sale of flavored prefilled nicotine vape cartridges exemplified by popular brand Juul but didn’t mention disposable vapes. This omission created a gray market, and by March, sales of disposable products increased to 11.9 million units a month and had overtaken the cartridges market share at 53 percent of vape sales. At this rate, consumers throw out 4.5 disposable vapes per second.

    This vape waste is becoming more common while cigarette butts become less common as the trash that litters our beaches and waterways. It seems we’ve gone from bad to worse. While cigarette pollution takes up to 10 years to degrade, disposable vapes are nonbiodegradable and “endanger ocean creatures that inadvertently consume the plastics.”

    Electronics often contain hazardous materials, such as the heavy metals lead and mercury. According to the U.N., “recycling activities are not keeping pace with the global growth of e-waste.” The agency’s report found that just 9.4 percent of e-waste is recycled in the Americas. It’s not just a capacity problem. We don’t have the technology to magically melt complex products such as disposable vapes back into their component parts.

    Disposable vapes are encased in plastic shells that never fully degrade. They follow in the footsteps of other environmentally harmful single-use pod products, such as coffee pods or even pod-using hair dye.

    Due to the nicotine e-liquid used in these products, vape waste can’t be recycled with other plastics because the Environmental Protection Agency defines the substance as an acute hazardous waste.

    Disposable vapes cannot be reused, recycled properly, or legally thrown in the trash. The lithium used in the batteries in disposable vapes sold yearly weighs 23.6 tons, equivalent to the lithium needed to create batteries for 2,600 electric vehicles.

    According to Dunlap, brands can play a key role by partnering with reputable hardware providers that prioritize safety and sustainability, like Greentank. When selecting hardware components, it’s important to consider eco-friendly materials such as wood, metal, ceramic, glass and PLA.

    “We encourage brands to think beyond the immediate product and consider the life cycle, including its environmental impact and long-term consumer experience,” he said. “[Marijuana] dispensaries have a unique opportunity to drive change by collaborating with recycling services and offering incentives for recyclable products.

    “Vape consumers often have strong loyalty to their local dispensaries and budtenders, making these locations ideal for education and promotion. With dispensaries empowering consumers to recycle, we could see a growing demand for sustainable products and more forward-thinking regulations.”

    Credit: Benn Photo

    While many states and cities have banned flavored vapes, few have wholly banned vapes, and none have explicitly targeted disposable products. Flavor bans, which replicate the same omission perpetrated by the FDA, have allowed the disposable gray market to thrive. More states and cities should follow their mandates to protect health and the environment by definitively banning disposables.

    Shalaway said that brands should take responsibility for the products they introduce to the market and advocate for local legislation that enables manufacturers to be accountable for this part of the supply chain.

    “We actively seek opportunities to engage with our communities through environmental initiatives like beach cleanups,” she said. “We are eager to collaborate with industry-focused organizations to help grow this side of the industry.

    “Recycling programs can often fail because consumers lack the motivation to participate—even with the convenience of a blue bin. To address this, our goal in the future is to reduce barriers by displaying recycling bins at retail locations and offer incentives, such as discounts on future purchases when consumers recycle a certain number of AIO vapes.

    “By making recycling more accessible and rewarding, we hope to encourage greater participation and accountability.”

  • Catania Set to Host Conference On Harm Reduction

    Catania Set to Host Conference On Harm Reduction

    Image: CoEHAR

    The Center of Excellence for the Acceleration of Harm Reduction (CoEHAR) will host its national conference on Oct. 30 at the University of Catania, Italy.

    The 2024 edition will host 25 speakers from prestigious research centers and international universities, including the Moffitt Cancer Center, Dartmouth College, George Washington University and the Milken Institute School of Public Health.

    “Scientific research on harm reduction strategies has reached a critical turning point, where information about new frontiers represented by modified-risk devices can no longer be ignored,” said CoEHAR founder Riccardo Polosa in a statement.

    “This year’s gathering with our colleagues from the harm reduction scientific community will allow us to capture the current state of research, providing even more important answers on the health benefits that modified-risk devices can bring to dental health, vision, and diabetes management. There will also be a focus on new technologies and the application of artificial intelligence systems in smoking cessation therapies.”

    The full program can be downloaded here.

  • Taiwan Regulators Concerned About ‘Zombie Vapes’

    Taiwan Regulators Concerned About ‘Zombie Vapes’

    Image: Pavelkant

    Taiwan authorities are concerned about the growing popularity of “zombie vapes,” e-cigarettes containing etomidate, reports The Taipei Times.

    According to health experts, etomidate is a type of central nervous system depressant that can induce anesthesia. Abusing etomidate could lead to irritability, disorganized behavior, tremors, twitching or even death, explained Lin Yi-ching, a pediatrician at Kaohsiung Medical University Chung-Ho Memorial Hospital.

    From July to October, authorities seized 14,128 zombie vape cartridges, along with e-liquid and powders that could be made into more than 1.83 million cartridges worth about NTD4.6 billion ($143.33 million).

    While etomidate is listed as a Category 3 narcotic, a review committee will consider whether to upgrade the drug to Category 2, Ministry of Justice Department of Prosecutorial Affairs Director-General Kuo Yung-fa said.

    Overall e-cigarette use among junior high school students in Taiwan increased from 1.9 percent in 2017 to 3.9 percent in 2021, a HPA survey reported by Taiwan News showed. Among senior high school students, the rate rose from 3.4 percent to 8.8 percent during the same period.

    Taiwan outlawed vapes in 2023, with violators risking fines of up to NTD10,000.

  • Peabody Rejects Generational Tobacco Ban Proposal

    Peabody Rejects Generational Tobacco Ban Proposal

    rejected
    Credit: Seventyfour

    The Peabody Board of Health in Peabody, Massachusetts, suspended efforts to enact a so-called “generational smoking ban” in favor of greater collaborative efforts with tobacco retailers to curb youth use of nicotine products following a nearly three-hour public hearing on Thursday.

    The proposed ban would have permanently restricted the sales of tobacco products to all residents born on or after Jan. 1, 2004 — essentially creating a ban on all tobacco sales in the city over a long period of time.

    Those in favor of the ban — based on the first-of-its-kind Brookline ban that survived efforts to overturn it at the state Supreme Judicial Court — argued that tobacco use is a public health danger with this step necessary to eliminate it over time in a way that delivers the least negative impact to local business as possible.

    Those against the ban — which include four City Councilors who spoke, they said, on behalf of their constituents on Thursday — said tobacco use is a personal choice after age 21 and that the city should not act as an “island” outside of the state in enacting the ban that could harm local businesses and infringe on individual rights.

    The Board of Health voted 2-1 to table the proposal for a year or longer after Director of Public Health Sharon Cameron proposed her plan to create an enforceable regulation agreement with the city’s tobacco retailers that includes increased enforcement of laws that prevent those under 21 from buying products and bans the use of flavored tobacco products, as well as enhanced training, education and monitoring of retailers.

  • University of Louisville to Host THR Course

    University of Louisville to Host THR Course

    Image: 4kclips

    The University of Louisville School of Medicine will host a continuing education course on tobacco harm reduction (THR).

    The program educates healthcare professionals about less-hazardous alternatives to cigarettes that still satisfy a smoker’s desire for nicotine/tobacco satisfaction. Rather than promoting medical intervention, the course equips health professionals to offer lifestyle options, especially to smokers who are unable or unwilling to quit nicotine/tobacco entirely.

    This program covers the following in five one-hour recorded PowerPoint presentations. Dozens of links to primary source materials demonstrating the critical public health value of THR are included.

    • Nicotine: Correcting misperceptions
    • Smoking and vaping in the U.S.
    • Risks of smokeless tobacco use and cigar smoking explained
    • Risks of e-cigarettes and heat-not-burn tobacco explained
    • Tobacco harm reduction can work: Evidence from around the world

     For more information, visit: https://louisville.edu/medicine/cme/credits/tobacco-harm-reduction.

  • Scotland Pauses Disposable Ban to Join UK Date

    Scotland Pauses Disposable Ban to Join UK Date

    VV Archives

    A ban on selling single-use vapes in Scotland has been postponed by two months to fall in line with the rest of the UK.

    New legislation at Westminster will ban the devices from June 1 next year.

    The Scottish Parliament passed regulations bringing the ban into force on April 1.

    However, Scottish Health Secretary Neil Gray announced that Holyrood would now amend the date.

    Each UK nation had previously introduced separate legislation banning the sale and supply of single-use vapes.

    “The Scottish government was the first in the UK to commit to taking action on single-use vapes,” Gray said, the BBC reports.

    “We have worked closely across the four nations to ensure a consistent approach to a ban on the sale and supply of single-use vapes so we can provide certainty to businesses and consumers.”

  • UKVIA Urges Balance in New Vape Legislation

    UKVIA Urges Balance in New Vape Legislation

    VV Archive

    The U.K. Vaping Industry Association (UKVIA) has warned policymakers ahead of the Tobacco & Vapes Bill that it has to strike the right balance between introducing new vaping legislation and ensuring that it does not deter smokers from giving up by switching to considerably less harmful vapes.

    On Oct. 24, the U.K. government announced that disposable vapes will be banned from June next year,

    In a statement, the UKVIA reminded policymakers that vaping and disposable vapes have made a huge contribution to bringing down smoking rates amongst adults to the lowest levels on record in recent years.

    “We recognize that disposable vapes have divided opinion, but their accessibility and convenience, particularly amongst low income groups who are the most prevalent smokers, should not be forgotten and highlights the careful balancing act required in future legislation so that it does not penalize those adult smokers that want to give up by using vapes, which have been evidenced to be the most effective method in quitting cigarettes,” said John Dunne, director general of the UKVIA.

    “We have not shied away from the fact that the environmental impact and youth vaping challenges associated with disposables need to be addressed head on. Also, this announcement does nothing to stop the import of disposable vapes, which means there is a ready supply entering the country which will make their way onto the black market.

    “Bans are not the answer as we’ve seen in other parts of the world, such as Australia, as they will only boost the black market which will pose significant risks to young people and the environment.

    This announcement does nothing to stop the import of disposable vapes, which means there is a ready supply entering the country which will make their way onto the black market.

    John Dunne, director general, UKVIA

    “What’s needed is greater enforcement of current laws in place which make it a legal requirement for vape traders not to sell to children under the age of 18 and to comply with environmental legislation such as the WEEE regulations. However, recent Freedom of Information requests sent to Trading Standards nationally, the Environmental Agency and Office for Product Safety and Standards shows extremely low levels of enforcement in terms of the penalties and prosecutions that would make rogue traders think twice about breaking the law.”

    “It’s why we have campaigned for a vape retailer and distributor licensing scheme. To qualify for a license, retailers will need to show they have put measures in place to prevent the sale of vapes to minors. Distributors will also need to ensure they are meeting environmental obligations, as well as ensuring they only stock and sell compliant goods. As part of this scheme we are also calling for up to £10,000 [$12,976)] and £100,000 fines for retailers and distributors respectively who break the law, and together with the money that the licensing scheme will raise—estimated to be £50 million—this will be used to fund the level of enforcement that is required.”

  • Customers ‘Shocked’ by Juul Labs Lawsuit Payouts

    Customers ‘Shocked’ by Juul Labs Lawsuit Payouts

    VV Archive

    Howard Feinstein wasn’t expecting much when he submitted his information to a lawsuit against Juul Labs, which accused the vaping company of misleading customers about the addictiveness and safety of its products.

    Then, more than $3,000 hit his bank account.

    “I thought it was fake at first,” said the 55-year-old real estate agent, who lives in Washington state. “I was absolutely shocked.”

    According to media reports, the payment to Feinstein this week was one of more than 800,000 dollars that the company is making to former customers due to a more than $300 million court settlement that was finally approved earlier this year.

    Dena Sharp, the lead attorney on the case of the San Francisco law firm Girard & Sharp, said the payouts range from $15 to more than $10,000, with an average of about $240.

    Administrators of the settlement, which involved Juul and tobacco giant Altria, which previously held a sizable stake in the company, started mailing checks late last week. Electronic payments began on Monday.

    Sharp said more payments would be sent out over the next few days.

    “Please continue to be patient and give us a little bit of time to process these claims,” she said.

    More than 14 million people submitted claims to the court, of which only about 842,000 were officially validated.

    Sharp said the court followed a careful process to winnow the claims, looking for duplicates, signs of fraud, and proof of purchase.

    She said about a quarter of the recipients purchased directly from the company, making their eligibility easier to verify.

    The lawsuit alleged two things: that Juul customers paid more for the product than they would have had they been provided with accurate information about its addictiveness and safety and that the products were unlawfully marketed to minors.

    The court did not decide whether either firm violated any laws.

    In a statement, Juul Labs said it is “pleased to have resolved the vast majority of the company’s past legal issues and is focused on advancing our mission”, which it added included reducing the use of its products by underage users.

    Many people receiving payouts, like Feinstein, have been pleasantly surprised by the sums and have taken to social media to celebrate their haul.

    “The money couldn’t have come at a better time, so I’m really grateful that they’re following through,” Feinstein said, adding that he might use some of the money to pay down his credit card debt.

  • 2025: UK Ban on Disposable Vapes Starts in June

    2025: UK Ban on Disposable Vapes Starts in June

    VV Archive

    The sale of disposable vapes will be banned in England and Wales beginning in June of next year, the government has confirmed.

    Ministers in England said the move, first announced in January by the previous government but not enacted before the general election, is intended to protect children’s health and prevent environmental damage.

    The government said it had worked closely with the devolved nations and that they would “align coming into force dates” on bans. According to media reports, Wales has already confirmed it will follow suit.

    Vaping industry leaders have warned the move could fuel a rise in illegal sales of the products.

    The Department for Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs (Defra) said vape usage in England had grown by more than 400 percent between 2012 and 2023, with 9 percent of the British public now buying and using the products.

    It is illegal to sell any vape to anyone under 18, but disposable vapes – often sold in smaller, more colorful packaging than refillable ones – are a “key driver behind the alarming rise in youth vaping”, the previous government said when it first set out its plan.

    Public health minister Andrew Gwynne said banning disposables would “reduce the appeal of vapes to children and keep them out of the hands of vulnerable young people”.