Tag: e-cigarettes

Smoore Subsidiary FEELM Recognized at UKVIA Event

Smoore’s atomization technology platform, FEELM, won an award for innovation and was commended for its sustainability initiatives during the U.K. Vaping Industry Association’s (UKVIA) industry forum on Nov. 18.
The Best Innovation in the Vaping Industry award recognizes FEELM’s breakthrough technologies, including its ceramic coil disposable pod solution, FEELM Max.
Among other improvements, FEELM Max offers more puffs than other coil technologies with the same e-liquid volume. Its constant output control and flavor lock technologies ensure a high degree of flavor consistency while preventing dry burning. FEELM also established multiple laboratories to help clients comply with stringent industry regulations, including those issued by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
The UKVIA Sustainable Vaping commendation recognized FEELM’s accomplishments in sustainable advanced technologies, responsible marketing and environmental stewardship. In 2019, FEELM created a groundbreaking environmentally friendly disposable electronic atomization device, for example. This year, FEELM developed an environmentally friendly zero nicotine e-atomization device.
Recently, the company committed to achieving carbon neutrality by 2050, and its automated factory has adopted an energy management system to decrease carbon emissions while increasing energy efficiency.
“We are delighted to have won the innovation award and been commended in the sustainability category, and we are honored by the recognition the UKVIA has given us,” said FEELM Europe Division Director Echo Liu.
“A number of leading vaping brands are driven by FEELM, and our vaping devices loaded with our atomizer technology are now being exported to over 50 countries and regions.
“FEELM can only realize its corporate vision—’atomization makes life better’—by being sustainable and creating value for society. Every day we move a step closer to this goal by creating sustainable advanced technologies and products, using responsible marketing, and embracing a greener future.”
November 21, 2022
EU Poll Finds Support for Smoke-Free Technologies

Photo: trodler1
Smoke-free technologies should complement the EU’s existing tobacco control measures, according to participants in a survey commissioned by Philip Morris International, according to Eureporter.
Carried out Nov. 10-15 by Povaddo and presented in Brussels on Nov. 17, the poll surveyed 13,000 adults spread over 13 European countries.
Among the participants, 73 percent said that industries should be incentivized to develop innovative products that are better for consumers and the environment. Sixty-nine percent said interested adult smokers should be encouraged to switch to scientifically substantiated, smoke-free alternatives by taxing these products at rates that are lower than cigarettes but high enough to deter youth and nonsmokers. Additionally, six in ten respondents agreed that government endorsement of innovative tobacco products would have a positive impact on smokers.
“We know the potential to do better for adult smokers exists, as several member states have carried out similar policy approaches in, among others, energy, cars and alcohol,” said PMI Senior Vice President for External Affairs Grégoire Verdeaux during the presentation of the survey results.
“Pragmatic policies have the power to improve people’s lives, incentivizing companies to innovate for the better and provide equitable access to technological advances, especially in a time of economic instability.”
Povaddo Research President William Stewart said he hoped the results would encourage EU and national authorities to assess the results of current policies and consider other approaches, including “sensible regulation and taxation, while creating an environment that fosters innovations.”
November 21, 2022
Calls for Australia to Adopt Plain Package for Vapes

Credit: Von ifeelstock
Anti-vape advocates are calling for e-cigarette packaging to be under the same rules as tobacco packing, including warnings that include the dangers involved with using the product.
In December 2012, Australia became the first country to require tobacco companies to sell their products in drab olive-brown boxes stripped of branding but featuring large pictures of smoking-related diseases.
Tobacco companies challenged the move in various courts, saying it not only breached trademark laws and intellectual property rights but would also boost black market sales. Libertarians characterized plain packaging as a “nanny state” measure.
Now, 20 countries, including the U.K., Turkey, France, Sweden, Belgium, the Netherlands and Ukraine, have brought in their own versions of plain packaging legislation.
Mal Washer, told 6PR Mornings that what worked best in the past was by making smoking anti-social.
“You looked like a half wit if you smoked, and that did more than any medical advice as people tend to ignore that but vaping has now become a big problem,”
“The biggest thing in my opinion is making vaping anti-social and to make people realize this product is dangerous.”
November 21, 2022
Vape Battery Catches Fire on Air France Flight
Credit: Luke Wunderlich
A passenger was seriously injured on an Air France flight when an e-cigarette caught fire mid-flight, authorities said.
France’s aviation authority, the Bureau of Enquiry and Analysis for Civil Aviation Safety, said on Thursday it had opened an investigation into an incident on board a November 2 Air France flight from Malaga, Spain to Paris, France, according to Insider.
The bureau said one person had been seriously injured after an e-cigarette caused a lithium battery fire as the plane was coming in to land. Cabin crew was able to extinguish the fire using a “dedicated kit.”
Authorities are investigating the incident.
E-cigarettes are allowed on flights by both European and U.S. authorities as long as they are kept in carry-on luggage.
November 19, 2022
Latest Cochrane Review: Vaping Helps to Quit Smoking
Credit: Martin Budenbender
The latest Cochrane Review on e-cigarettes provides compelling evidence that quitting combustibles is easier with e-cigarettes. An update to the international independent think tank’s ongoing review, the latest research includes 17 additional studies that conclude that smoking cessation works significantly better with e-cigarettes than with other nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) products.
“Electronic cigarettes have generated a lot of misunderstanding in both the public health community and the popular press since their introduction over a decade ago,” lead author Jamie Hartmann-Boyce said. “For the first time, this has given us high-certainty evidence that e-cigarettes are even more effective at helping people to quit smoking than traditional nicotine replacement therapies, like patches or gums.”
The total Cochrane analysis of e-cigarettes now includes 78 studies with over 22,000 participants. The body of evidence overwhelmingly supports the current updates findings.
The just-released Cochrane review also indicates that e-cigarettes containing nicotine are more effective than e-cigarettes without nicotine or smoking cessation without aids containing nicotine. However, there is less data for these comparisons, which is why the authors rate the reliability of the evidence as only moderate.
Co-author Nicola Lindson, from the University of Oxford and managing editor of the Cochrane Tobacco Addiction Group, said that while not risk-free, e-cigarettes containing nicotine only pose a fraction of the risk of smoking.
“However, due to the lack of data on possible harmful effects from long-term use of nicotine-containing electronic cigarettes, i.e. over a period of more than two years, questions remain about the long-term effects,” Lindson said.
According to the authors, the study’s key messages include:

Nicotine e-cigarettes can help people to stop smoking for at least six months. Evidence shows they work better than nicotine replacement therapy, and probably better than e-cigarettes without nicotine.

E-cigarettes may work better than no support, or behavioral support alone, and they may not be associated with serious unwanted effects.

However, more evidence is needed, particularly about the effects of newer types of e-cigarettes that have better nicotine delivery than older types of e-cigarettes, as better nicotine delivery might help more people quit smoking.
As far back as 2016, the Cochrane Review has found e-cigarettes were more likely to help smokers quit than nicotine patches or gum, but the available body of evidence at that time was slimmer.
“This comprehensive evidence review confirms, once again, that nicotine e-cigarettes help smokers to quit smoking; and that these products are more effective than medically licensed nicotine replacement therapies,” said John Britton, emeritus professor of Epidemiology, University of Nottingham, commenting on the study. “All smokers should therefore try vaping as a means to end their dependency on smoking tobacco.”
November 18, 2022
Video: TGA Boss Admits Issues With Australian Rule
The head of the Australia’s Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) has acknowledged shortcomings in the country’s vaping regulations, according to tobacco harm reduction activist Colin Mendelsohn.
Writing on his website, Mendelsohn says TGA boss John Skerrit “has finally admitted the disastrous and predictable failure of Australia’s vaping regulations,” which among other things require vapers to obtain a doctor’s prescription to buy nicotine-containing e-cigarettes
During questioning in Australia’s Senate, Skerrit acknowledged not only that there has been a dramatic increase in youth vaping, but also that large numbers of low-quality products are entering the country and are being sold on the black market, according to Mendelsohn.
In addition, Skerrit noted that only 1,353 out of 130,000 registered doctors have applied to be authorized e-cigarette prescribers and less than 10 percent of adult vapers have a prescription for nicotine.
According to Mendelsohn, Skerritt had previously promised a review of the regulations, which were introduced on Oct. 1, 2021, at three, six and 12 months. Instead, he wrote, the TGA and government had a secret meeting of unnamed vaping experts.
Mendelsohn said it is likely that further restrictions and enforcement will be recommended by “the experts” to double down on their de facto prohibition. “This will only lead to greatly reduced legal vaping and more deaths from smoking,” he wrote.
November 18, 2022
Minimum Market Prices Set for Vapes in Philippines
The Philippine Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) has set a floor price for heated, vapor and other electronic nicotine-delivery systems (ENDS), reports ABS-CBN News.
The floor price for a 0.7 ml pod of nicotine is PHP131.04 ($2.29). For 1.8 ml and 1.9 ml nicotine salts, the minimum prices are PHP306.88 and PHP318.08, respectively.
Meanwhile, the floor price for a 15-ml bottle of conventional freebase nicotine is PHP207.2. A bottle that contains 30 ml of classic nicotine has a PHP352.8 minimum price.
According to BIR East NCR director Edgar Tolentino, the new guidelines will help the economy and protect the health of minors.
“BIR will have exclusive jurisdiction over taxpayer registration, setting the products’ floor price, drafting and publication of revenue regulations covering vape items,” Tolentino said.
He also said the newly appointed BIR Commissioner Romeo Lumagui Jr. has a mandate to crack down on illicit vape traders.
“We need to support the plans of the commissioner; one thing is to focus on illegal vape sellers because if smuggling persists we will be losing huge revenues from vape products,” he said.
Since 2019, the government has collected about PHP15.3 billion in vape taxes.
November 18, 2022
Marijuana Research Bill Heads to U.S. President’s Desk

Credit: Jose
For the first time, a standalone piece of marijuana reform legislation has been sent to the U.S. president’s desk. The “Medical Marijuana and Cannabidiol Research Expansion Act” is just one signature away from historic enactment.
Just weeks after President Joe Biden issued a mass marijuana pardon and directed a review of the drug’s scheduling status, the U.S. Senate approved a House-passed bipartisan cannabis research bill on Wednesday.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said he is continuing to have “productive talks” about a broader package of cannabis reforms. He hopes to pass them before the end of Congress’ lame duck session, according to Marijuana Moments.
The bill “would eliminate the red tape that hinders cannabis research, opening the door for new innovative treatments derived from cannabis,” Schumer said ahead of the vote. “If you’re one of the millions of Americans who deals with conditions like Parkinson’s or epilepsy or post-traumatic stress, or any number of other conditions, cannabis might hold promising new options for managing these diseases.”
“We need to do the research first,” he said. “And the federal government, sadly, has been woefully behind the times on this front. This bill will help fix that.”
Numerous marijuana measures have been filed and advanced in each chamber in recent sessions, however, reform has consistently stalled before reaching the president.
The bill was filed in July and quickly moved through the House before being taken up by the Senate, which approved the legislation under unanimous consent.
November 17, 2022
Vuse Market Share Over 40%, Juul Drops Below 28%

Credit: RJR Vapor Co.
The Vuse e-cigarette continues to widen its market share lead over Juul in both monthly and yearly comparisons.
The latest Nielsen analysis of convenience-store data, released Tuesday, covers the four-week period ending Nov. 5.
Owned by R.J. Reynolds Vapor Co., Vuse’s market share rose from 40 percent in the previous report to 40.4 percent, compared with Juul declining from 28 percent to 27.6 percent, according to the Winston-Salem Journal.
Vuse expanded its year-over year advantage to 34.4 percent to 31.5 percent compared with 33.6 percent to 32 percent in the previous report.
As recently as May 2019, Juul held a 74.6 percent U.S. e-cig market share.
According to Barclays, Nielsen largely covers the big chains. For the smaller chains, such as vape shops, the group extrapolates trends, which is why trend changes don’t appear immediately in Nielsen.
No. 3 NJoy was unchanged at 2.8 percent and 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 20.1 percent decline in the latest report.
By comparison, Reynolds’ Vuse was up 35 percent in the latest report, while NJoy was up 7.6 percent and blu eCigs down 35.4 percent.
On Nov. 11, Juul confirmed it is eliminating up to 400 jobs and obtaining financing from its earliest investors.
Multiple media outlets, first by the Wall Street Journal and cable business channel CNBC, reported the downsizing initiative also includes slashing its operating budget by between 30 percent and 40 percent.
November 17, 2022
FDA Warns 5 Vapor Businesses for Illegal Marketing

The U.S Food and Drug Administration issued warning letters to five firms on Wednesday for the illegal marketing of 15 different e-cigarette products.
The letters were issued to Wizman Limited doing business as Wizvapor, Shenzhen Fumot Technology Co., doing business as R and M Vapes, Shenzhen Quawins Technology Co., Ruthless Vapor and Moti Global.
According to the FDA, all 15 products are packaged to resemble toys, food or cartoon characters.
“The designs of these products are an utterly flagrant attempt to target kids,” said Brian King, director of the FDA’s Center for Tobacco Products. “It’s a hard sell to suggest that adults using e-cigarettes with the goal of quitting smoking need a cartoon character emblazoned across the front of the product in order to do so successfully.”
None of the manufactures have submitted a premarket tobacco product application (PMTA) for the unauthorized products. The items described in the warning letter include e-cigarettes that are designed to look glow sticks, walkie talkies and Nintendo Game Boy game systems.
“The FDA is committed to keeping tobacco products out of the hands of our nation’s youth,” said King. “The agency will continue to hold companies accountable for illegally selling e-cigarettes, particularly those that shamelessly target youth.”
Additionally, the products feature characters from cartoons and media that are aimed at a youth and/or teen demographic including The Simpsons, Family Guy, Squid Game, Rick and Morty, Minions and Baby Bus, as well as imitate youth appealing foods such as popsicles.
Last month, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) filed complaints for permanent injunctions in federal district courts against six e-cigarette manufacturers on behalf of the FDA. The cases represent the first time the FDA has initiated injunction proceedings to enforce the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic (FD&C) Act’s premarket review requirements for new tobacco products.
The FDA states that each of the defendants failed to submit PMTAs for their e-cigarettes and have continued to illegally manufacture, sell, and distribute their products, despite previous warning from the FDA that they were in violation of the law.
November 17, 2022