Tag: e-cigarettes

California Lawmaker Brings Tobacco ‘Endgame’ Bill

Credit: Niro World
A California legislator has introduced a bill to ban vaping and other tobacco products from being purchased by anyone born after January 1, 2007. If enacted, it would mean that eventually no one in California would be legally allowed to buy any form of tobacco product, including cigars, snus and vapes.
Assembly Bill 935, a phased ban introduced on February 14 by assembly member Damon Connolly, would mean that anyone in California who is presently 16 years old or younger could never legally buy a tobacco product in that state. Penalties would be up to $6,000 for repeat offenders and include a tobacco license loss, reports Davis Savona of Cigar Aficionado.
Connolly, an attorney, has also served as Vice-Mayor of San Rafael, among other positions.
There is precedent for such legislation, but not in the United States. This move would mimic a New Zealand law that has banned tobacco sales to anyone born in or after 2009.
February 16, 2023
BAT Launches Glo Hyper X2 in South Korea Market

BAT Rothmans has released the Glo Hyper X2 heat-not-burn device to the South Korean market, reports The Korea Times.
“Glo Hyper X2 is a next-generation e-cigarette device that will lead the BAT Group’s smoke-free product business,” said Kim Eun-ji, BAT Rothmans’ country manager for South Korea. “We have not only increased the users’ convenience of the platform but also improved its design and portability.”
Glo Hyper X2 device adopts more slim design than its previous Glo series models, while allowing to smoke tobacco sticks that contain 30 percent more tobacco content.
It is the first platform to offer two separate “boost mode” and “standard mode” buttons. Users can choose the former to smoke quickly after 15 seconds of preheating or the latter to preheat 20 seconds and smoke non-stop for four minutes.
The new device also adopts a shutter system to protect from dust and foreign substances. There are LED indicators to show the remaining battery power and preheating status.
February 16, 2023
Alex Norcia Resigns From Filter, Moving to Altria

Tobacco harm reduction (THR) reporter Alex Norcia is leaving Filter magazine “and [departing] from journalism,” he wrote.
Norcia has written for Filter for the past two years, and he wrote for Vice before that. He is taking a role at Altria as a senior manager for regulatory advocacy, according to his Twitter post.
“I will remain involved in THR,” Norcia wrote. He broke the story about the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s “Fatal Flaw” standard as well as dug into synthetic nicotine before the topic caught fire.
“Reflecting on the events I’ve reported for the better part of four years leaves me with a sense of just how fast the news moves. But it can get, unfortunately, repetitive,” he wrote about his experiences. He cited cyclical news like flavor bans that have spread across states and the impacts of such laws.
He noted his favorite moments as well, detailing a well-rounded career in THR reporting.
“Now, like everybody else, I’ll be waiting to see if the FDA bans menthol combustibles or lowers the nicotine levels in cigarettes or ever authorizes a flavored nicotine vaping product (even menthol),” he wrote. “Or whether, on the world stage, more countries will follow pathways like the United Kingdom, Sweden or Japan—or, conversely, prohibition-oriented responses like India, Taiwan and Mexico.
“I don’t know the answers to these questions. Like other observers in this rapidly evolving field, I’ve never been able to predict the future. But I’ll still be doing what I can to address the present.”
February 15, 2023
South Carolina Considers Banning Local Vape Laws

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South Carolina lawmakers are considering several proposals banning local governments from passing more regulations on vaping and other tobacco products.
The measures grandfathers in any local ordinances enacted before Dec. 31, 2020. It would also ban cities from creating their own tobacco licensing rules.
Dozens of public health groups like the American Cancer Society oppose the bills, according to WLTX.
The State’s Tobacco Tax brought in Nearly $30 million in 2022, according to the Office of Revenue and Fiscal Affairs. Supporters like Moe Raed, manager of Day and Night vape shop, say regulations are bad for business and should be uniform across the state.
Day and Night opened in Columbia two months ago. “Yeah we’ve been having good business lately,” said Raed, adding that more than half the store’s revenue comes from vape and e-cigarette sales.
“People lately have been giving up tobacco since it’s more expensive,” said Raed. He believes his adult customers shouldn’t be restricted on what products they can buy. “I don’t let anyone under 21 through these doors,” he said. “A lot of smoke shops will close. And it will hurt a lot of business and a lot of people too.”
There are currently no cities in South Carolina looking to restrict tobacco sales. The bill does not affect local governments’ ability to regulate where tobacco businesses can locate.
An identical bill has been introduced over the past six years and has failed to pass.
South Carolina is one of 10 states that don’t license Tobacco sellers. A bill to do so last year got stuck in a subcommittee after facing opposition from convenience store owners.
February 14, 2023
DEA: Two Cannabinoids ‘Do not Occur Naturally’ in Hemp

Credit: piter2121
In an expected move yesterday, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) says that two cannabinoids with a growing market presence do not meet the federal definition of legal hemp and are therefore considered illegal controlled substances.
Attorney Rod Kight inquired about the legal status of delta-8 THC-O and delta-9 THC-O with the federal agency last year and followed up earlier this month.
DEA sent a response letter on Monday, saying the two cannabinoids “do not occur naturally in the cannabis plant and can only be obtained synthetically, and therefore do not fall under the definition of hemp,” according to Marijuana Moment.
“Delta-9-THCO and delta-8-THCO are tetrahydrocannabinols having similar chemical structures and pharmacological activities to those contained in the cannabis plant,” the letter from Terrence L. Boos, chief of DEA’s Drug & Chemical Evaluation Section, continued.
Kight responded to DEA’s letter in a blog post on Monday, writing that “although I do not always agree with the DEA’s view on cannabis matters, I agree with this opinion and, frankly, am not surprised. This is what I have been saying for a while.”
“I have been concerned about the proliferation of THC acetate ester (THCO) for a while. It has always been my view that THCO is a controlled substance under federal law,” he said. “Although it can be made from cannabinoids from hemp, THCO is not naturally expressed by the hemp plant. It is a laboratory creation that does not occur in nature, at least not from the hemp plant.”
February 14, 2023
Montana Moving to Separate Vaping From Tobacco

Ron Marshall / Credit: State of Montana
A bill that aims to exclude vapes or e-cigarettes from tobacco regulations passed Friday in the Montana House.
The bill’s sponsor Rep. Ron Marshall said marijuana and alcohol aren’t regulated the same way, and he doesn’t think cigarettes and vapes should be either. according to the Fairfield Sun Times.
“Each one is in its own lane,” said Marshall, who is married to the owner of Freedom Vapes in Hamilton.
On second reading, 57 representatives voted yes, and 42 voted no on House Bill 293. It needs to pass third reading next.
Some legislators who voted against the bill said they worry it’s going to put more dangerous products in the hands of children.
The Montana legislature in 2021 passed a bill that blocks local governments from banning the sale of flavored vaping products.
February 13, 2023
RJ Reynolds Wants Enforcement of Disposables
Credit: Casimiro
RAI Services Company submitted a citizen petition asking the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to adopt a new enforcement policy directed at “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.
RAI Services and R.J. Reynolds Vapor Company, the maker of Vuse e-cigarettes, are owned by BAT. Vuse is the most popular brand in the c-store segment, according to Neilsen data.
“As the Agency well knows, use of ENDS products in the United States has shifted to disposable products. And a new enforcement policy, one that is specifically directed at these disposables that are on the market illegally, is needed to better protect public health,” the petition states.
Reynolds requested that the FDA prioritize enforcement for:

Any flavored disposable ENDS (except for tobacco- or menthol-flavored products);

Any disposable ENDS containing nicotine derived from any source other than tobacco that lacks premarket authorization;

Any disposable ENDS containing nicotine derived from tobacco that was not on the market as of August 8, 2016, or for which the manufacturer either failed to submit an application by September 9, 2020, or submitted a PMTA to FDA by that deadline, but received a negative action that is not being challenged in court;

Any disposable ENDS for which the manufacturer has failed to take (or is failing to take) adequate measures to prevent minors’ access; and

Any disposable ENDS targeted to, or whose marketing is likely to promote use by, minors.
Reynolds does not sell disposable vapes or vaping products in flavors other than tobacco or menthol. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit granted an administrative stay of an FDA marketing denial order (MDO) for two R.J. Reynolds Vapor Co. menthol flavored refill pods.
“Such a policy,” writes Reynolds regarding its desired enforcement priorities, “will close an existing loophole in FDA’s current tobacco enforcement efforts, especially when it comes to youth.”
February 13, 2023
New Mexico Lawmakers Want Total Ban on Vaping

Credit: pabrady63
Elected officials in New Mexico are hoping a new batch of bills that aim to make it harder to buy and use vaping and other tobacco products lay the groundwork for a statewide ban.
State Sen. Martin Hickey, told KOB4 news that he knows there’s not much lawmakers can do to keep lifelong smokers away from cigarettes – but he believes they have a duty to protect younger generations from the threat of addiction.
Hickey is also a physician, and he believes the state is losing the battle against teen vaping.
“The trends are, they’re going up, we were waiting to get another survey and I bet we’re probably moving close to 50 percent of high school students,” he said.
Hickey also said those trends are skewing younger.
“Apparently nine out of 10 middle school students have tried vaping,” he said.
Hickey offered no evidence to support his claims.
Since 2019, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the number of high school students who have tried vaping (1 time in the last 30 days) has dropped by 50 percent, and the number of middle school students has plummeted by 70 percent. During that same time period, the number of high-school students who “frequently” vape dropped by 37 percent and the number of middle school students dropped by 65 percent.
A recent CDC report titled “E-cigarette Use Among Middle and High School Students — United States, 2022” found that 9.4 percent of middle and high schoolers surveyed reported currently vaping. In 2019 this figure was at 20 percent, and in 2020, 13.1 percent.
Looking at just middle school students, the CDC reports that 3.3 percent use vaping products.
Hickey admits there are likely too many barriers to enact a statewide vaping ban, but that’s why he and other state lawmakers are putting forth a menu of bills working to chip away at the problem.
Some of the ideas include raising tobacco taxes, banning flavored products, and allowing local governments to enact tougher restrictions against smoking. There are also proposals to prohibit smoking in racinos (a combined race track and casino) and fund prevention programs.
“Whatever doesn’t make it, we’re coming back, because this is so critical and fundamental to youth health,” Hickey said. “I mean, it’s, again, think of it as a chain reaction, it starts here with vaping.”
February 13, 2023
New York City Cracks Down on Illegal Cannabis Shops

Credit: Rob
The illicit marijuana market in New York City is thriving. In a renewed push to snuff out the city’s growing illegal cannabis market, Mayor Eric Adams and Manhattan’s top prosecutor announced last week that they would go after landlords who allow hundreds of illicit shops to operate.
During a news conference with the mayor, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said his office has sent notices to more than 400 smoke shops that illegally sell cannabis, warning them of potential eviction proceedings. If shop owners do not cease operation, his office would seek to force property owners to evict the shops, reports the Associated Press.
It was the latest effort by authorities to force the closure of illegal dispensaries that could undermine the state’s nascent legal cannabis market, which began rolling out in recent months and is expected to quickly grow as more state-sanctioned shops open.
When the state legalized recreational marijuana two years ago, “many people took it that you can just open up a location any way you want,” Adams said.
Unauthorized pot shops have cropped up in droves, operating out in the open — and offering cheaper prices than the legal stores, where the products are highly taxed. The number of illegal shops across New York’s five boroughs could exceed 1,200, according to some estimates.
February 13, 2023
Key West, Florida Bans Vaping at Beaches, Parks
Credit: lazyllama
Officials in Key West, Florida banned smoking and vaping at Key West’s parks and beaches when they met on Feb. 7. But, not entirely.
Cigar smoking is still allowed. The state won’t let local governments restrict it. The city commission also can’t restrict the use of prescription medications, which for millions of Americans now includes marijuana, according to Keys Weekly.
So, while the goal is eliminating cigarette butts from beaches and parks, it’ll be interesting to see how enforcement of the new ban goes.
Any person who violates the rule commits a noncriminal violation, punishable by a fine of not more than $100 for the first violation and not more than $500 for each subsequent violation.
February 12, 2023