Tag: e-cigarettes

  • Malaysia Urged to Restrict E-Juice to Sealed Bottles

    Malaysia Urged to Restrict E-Juice to Sealed Bottles

    Photo: José Rubén

    The Malaysian Substance Abuse Council (Masac) has recommended that only locally made vape liquids in sealed glass bottles be allowed for sale in the country, reports The Star. Using glass bottles will minimize the risk of undesirable substances being added, according to Masac’s secretary-general Raja Azizan Suhaimi.

    A joint study by Masac, the Asian Center for Research on Drug Abuse and Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia found that teenage girls are increasingly using vape liquids laced with psilocybin, a psychoactive compound found in fungi such as “magic mushrooms.”

    Raja Azizan suggested that the age limit for vaping should be raised from 18 to 21 to minimize the abuse of vape liquids, which may contain drugs. So far, only 10 manufacturers producing liquid nicotine are registered with the Customs Department, despite the registration deadline ending on April 30, 2023.

    Masac also suspects that the three 13-year-old girls who were allegedly gang-raped by four teenagers in Kota Kinabalu on April 26, 2023, may have been given a vape liquid laced with psilocybin. The Malaysian government attempted to regulate the use of vapes among youth in October 2022 through the Tobacco and Smoking Control Bill, but it was referred to a Special Parliamentary Select Committee for refinement.

    Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim revealed during the revised Budget 2023 in February that vape liquids containing nicotine are still illegally sold in the country with estimated sales of MYR2 billion.

    Meanwhile, Health Minister Zaliha Mustafa has stated that the Generational Endgame Bill—a piece of legislation that aims to gradually raise the smoking age until it covers the entire population—will be expedited and retabled.

  • Vuse and Juul Both See Slight Dip in Market Share

    Vuse and Juul Both See Slight Dip in Market Share

    A slight dip in the market-share lead of R.J. Reynolds Vapor Co.’s Vuse vaping system was announced in the latest Nielsen convenience store report released last week.

    Vuse’s market share declined from 42.2 percent to 41.8 percent, compared with Juul declining from 26.1 percent to 26 percent.

    The latest Nielsen analysis covers the four-week period ending April 22.

    According to Barclays, Nielsen largely covers the big chains. For the smaller chains, the group extrapolates trends, which is why trend changes don’t appear immediately in Nielsen. Local vape shops are not included in the data.

    Consumer demand for tobacco products has ebbed and flowed over the past 12 months, mostly from the impact of inflation and recent upticks in traditional cigarette prices, according to media reports.

    No. 3 NJoy was unchanged at 2.7 percent, while Fontem Ventures’ blu eCigs was unchanged at 1.4 percent.

    Juul’s four-week dollar sales in the latest report have dropped from a 50.2 percent increase in the Aug. 10, 2019, report to a 22.6 percent decline in the latest report.

    By comparison, Reynolds’ Vuse was up 23.1 percent in the latest report, while NJoy was down 8.1 percent, blu eCigs down 35.1 percent and Japan Tobacco’s Logic up 4.9 percent.

    As recently as May 2019, Juul held a 74.6 percent U.S. e-cig market share.

    In March of this year, Altria Group announced it had entered into an agreement to acquire Njoy Holdings for approximately $2.75 billion in cash. Altria said it had multiple sources of funding for the deal, including cash from a $2.7 billion agreement with Philip Morris International last year for IQOS. 

    A day before the Njoy announcement, Altria Group announced it had exchanged its entire investment in Juul Labs for a non-exclusive, irrevocable global license to certain of Juul’s heated tobacco intellectual property.

  • Vietnam Urges Stricter Control of New Products

    Vietnam Urges Stricter Control of New Products

    Photo: efired

    The Ministry of Health in Vietnam has called for stricter control of e-cigarettes and heated tobacco products that are not licensed in the country, reports VnExpress International.

    In a recent document addressed to various government ministries and committees, the ministry asked for increased communication about the dangers of such products and for stronger measures to be taken against their purchase, sale, and trading.

    Despite not being allowed in Vietnam, these products are becoming increasingly popular and are widely available on the internet. According to statistics from the World Health Organization, a growing number of Vietnamese students are using e-cigarettes, with 2.6 percent of those aged 15-17 vaping in 2019, and a 2022 survey revealing that 3.5 percent of those aged 13-15 use e-cigarettes.

    There have been reports of students being poisoned by nicotine and liquids used in these products. The ministry also highlighted the risk of these products leading to social problems and addiction-related crime.

  • Isreal Considers Ban on All E-Cigarette Marketing

    Isreal Considers Ban on All E-Cigarette Marketing

    Credit: Hamara

    Israel’s health ministry discussed the possibility of banning the marketing of electronic cigarettes, according to i24 News.

    The ministry said, “options are being examined due to two difficult cases and the widespread phenomenon,” referring to the increase of youth using e-cigarettes.

    The ministry is considering the possibilities of banning the marketing of electronic cigarettes altogether, banning only those flavored or requiring dissuasive images on packaging.

  • Sunsoil CEO Sets Sights on Price Cuts for Cannabis

    Sunsoil CEO Sets Sights on Price Cuts for Cannabis

    Credit: Sunsoil

    Sunsoil, the largest CBD and hemp company in Vermont and the fifth largest in the United States, is the only U.S. CBD company to do everything on-site — from farming to production, to manufacturing and distribution.

    The company is also the only FDA-certified organic hemp company to do everything by hand. Sunsoil’s new CEO, Bharat Ayyar, said he believes doing the process this way lends itself to better products and cheaper prices.

    Ayyar has only been CEO for a few weeks, and in his new role, he has continued to prioritize the same intentions that got the company to where it is now, according to MYNBC5.

    “If you’re using it [CBD] every day and buying from other brands, it could cost you over $100 a month, which is wild,” Ayyar said. “A lot of people can’t afford that, and so our goal is really to cut the price of CBD.”

    He continued on to share that the company has taken on a goal to cut down its prices by 80 percent over the next five years. Ayyar said the company is “well on our way to doing that” and has already cut down their prices by 40 percent since January.

    Ayyar also wants to clear up any misconceptions people might have about CBD and raise awareness about the wide range of people it can help. He said it’s something he had already witnessed in his own life, after converting his parents to using Sunsoil’s products.

  • Oklahoma Reinstates Fines for Youth Buying Vapes

    Oklahoma Reinstates Fines for Youth Buying Vapes

    Credit: Ball Studios

    The governor of Oklahoma signed a bill last year that removed fines for those under the age of 21 years old caught illegally purchasing or possessing vaping and other products. Earlier this week, Stitt signed a new law reinstating those fines.

    On Monday, Stitt signed H.B. 2165 into law, which reintroduces fines for those under 21 years old caught possessing, purchasing, trying to purchase or using fraudulent identification to try to buy vaping and other tobacco products, reports Charlie Minato of Halfwheel.

    Anyone caught violating the law must attend a tobacco cessation program and could be required to complete community service. If they do not, they could be fined up to $50 for the first offense and $100 for any subsequent offense.

    In addition to restoring fines as a form of punishment, H.B. 2165 would also restore the ability of local cities and municipalities to issue their own penalties, something that was removed last year.

    In 2020, Stitt signed a bill to raise the minimum age to purchase vapor, e-cigarettes and other tobacco products to 21 years old.

    The new law goes into effect on Nov. 1, 2023.

  • U.S. FDA on Track to Complete PMTAs by End of Year

    U.S. FDA on Track to Complete PMTAs by End of Year

    The U.S. Food and Drug Administration says it is on track to finish reviewing premarket tobacco product applications (PMTAs) for the most prevalent e-cigarettes by the end of the year, reports CSP.

    The FDA has reviewed 52 percent of covered applications as of March 31. Covered applications are for new tobacco products on the market as of Aug. 8, 2016, with a PMTA filed by Sept. 9, 2020, and sold under the brands Juul, Vuse, Njoy, Logic, Blu, Smok, Suorin or Puff Bar and reach 2 percent or more of total retail sales volume per NielsenIQ reports, according to CSP. 

    Based on the latest status report, the FDA plans to have 53 percent of covered applications acted on by June 30, 55 percent of covered applications acted on by Sept. 30 and 100 percent of covered applications acted on by Dec. 31.  

    The court-ordered deadline for FDA review of PMTAs was Sept. 9, 2021, but the agency did not meet that deadline and now has to file regular status reports on progress. The next status report is due by July 24.

  • France Considers Ban on Disposable Vape Products

    France Considers Ban on Disposable Vape Products

    Credit: Adobe Stock

    The ban may form part of a new anti-smoking plan the health ministry is working on for the coming five years.

    The French government may ban disposable electronic cigarettes by the end of this year, Health Minister Francois Braun said Wednesday.

    “I’m in favor of a ban,” Braun told broadcaster France Inter, adding that the devices “lead some of our young people towards using tobacco,” as reported by Agence France Presse, according to Barron’s.

    “Smoking is a scourge, it kills 75,000 people per year” in France, he said.

    Although President Emmanuel Macron’s government has no majority in parliament, ministers would “work with lawmakers” to reach a deal on a ban, Braun said.

    It could be enacted “before the end of this year,” he added.

    The ban may form part of a new anti-smoking plan the health ministry is working on for the coming five years.

    Sweet and fruit-flavored one-use electronic cigarettes – known as “puffs” in France – are sold in brightly colored packaging costing an estimated €8 ($8.83) to €12 for 500 puffs (inhalations).

  • Reynolds Warns Vape Shops to Stop Selling Flavored Vapes

    Reynolds Warns Vape Shops to Stop Selling Flavored Vapes

    Credit: Lovely Day 12

    A STAT news report claims R.J. Reynolds has sent letters to several small vape shops threatening to sue if the shops do not stop selling flavored vaping products.

    The STAT news story claims to have obtained two letters, both of which were sent in March, giving the vape shops just a few days to confirm they will no longer sell flavored tobacco products.

    Failure to comply could result in “legal action, and the costs, attorneys’ fees, and adverse publicity to which a lawsuit would subject [the vape shop],” the letters warn, according to STAT.

    The letters, which were sent to stores in New Jersey and Alabama, also warn that the shops are violating local laws regulating the sale of flavored tobacco.

    The New Jersey letter also copies the county prosecutor where the vape shop is located, in an apparent attempt to notify the local authorities of the violation.

    he letters are the latest example — and a marked escalation — of Reynolds’ campaign to force a crackdown on illegal vaping products.

    In the article, Clive Bates, a tobacco harm reduction advocate, criticized Reynolds.

    “I do not think Reynolds should be hounding vape shops for selling life-saving products to their regular customers,” Bates wrote in an email to STAT. “It should not be picking on little guys, but pressing federal bureaucracies to do their job, and do it better.”

    In February, RAI Services Company, a Reynolds company, submitted a citizen petition asking the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to adopt a new enforcement policy directed at flavored “illegally marketed disposable electronic nicotine delivery system” (ENDS) products.

    The petition was filed on Feb. 6 and posted by the FDA to Regulations.gov for public comment on Feb. 8.

  • Hawaii Sends 70 Percent Vape Tax Bill to Governor

    Hawaii Sends 70 Percent Vape Tax Bill to Governor

    Credit: Timothy S. Donahue

    Lawmakers in Hawaii last week passed a “tax parity” law that applies the tax rate for traditional tobacco products to vaping products. If signed into law by Governor Josh Green, vaping products would be subject to a 70 percent wholesale tax—one of the highest rates in the country.

    The bill, SB975 SD2 HD3, defines vaping products as “tobacco products,” and was negotiated in a marathon conference session between the State House and Senate just before the deadline for this year’s legislative session. The legislative session adjourns on May 4.

    It isn’t certain the exact date the bill will be sent to Green, or if he intends to sign it into law. If signed, the tax will take effect Jan. 1, 2024. Currently, Hawaii has no tax on vaping products.

    Right now, e-cigarettes only have the general excise tax (GET) of between 4.1 percent and 4.7 percent attached to them. Combustible cigarettes sold in Hawaii carry other taxes.

    Last year, having survived a rollercoaster legislative session that saw the bill near death on multiple occasions, Hawaii’s ban on flavored e-cigarettes was signed by its governor.