Tag: e-cigarettes

Vuse Continues to Expand U.S. Market Share Over Juul
Credit: Syda Productions
The Vuse e-cigarette brand has expanded its U.S. market share to two full percentage points over Juul.
Vuse, a product of of R.J. Reynolds Vapor Co., held 35.1 percent of the market share, compared with Juul at 33.1 percent, according to the latest Nielsen analysis of convenience store data that covers the four-week period ending May 21.
For the latest report, NJoy dropped from 3.1 percent to 3 percent, while Fontem Ventures’ blu eCigs slipped from 2.1 percent to 1.9 percent, according to the Winston-Salem Journal.
By comparison, Vuse was ahead 34.8 percent to Juul’s 34.4 percent for the four-week period ending April 23. That was the first time Vuse held the top market share in the Nielsen report since November 2017.
However, for the past 52 weeks, Juul remains ahead 35.9 percent to 30.8 percent.
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.
As recently as May 2019, Juul held a 74.6 percent U.S. e-cig market share. That’s which is when a series of regulatory actions led to product-reduction concessions by Juul Labs Inc.
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 9.2 percent decline in the latest report.
June 2, 2022
Los Angeles Bans Flavored Vaping, Tobacco Products
Flavored vaping products will be banned in Los Angeles effective Jan. 1, 2023, though it could happen by December 2022.
The Los Angeles City Council voted 12-0 in favor of the ban, which bans the sale of all flavored tobacco products except flavored shisha tobacco. The exemption is quit specific and will allow flavored shisha tobacco to be sold in hookah lounges that have their own ventilation system.
There is no exemption for flavored cigars of any kind. While the law bans the sale of flavored tobacco products, there’s no ban on the possession of these products by consumers, according to Charlie Minato at Halfwheel.
Credit: Sean Pavone Photo
Los Angeles’ ban will go into effect Jan. 1 barring any legal setbacks, though there’s a chance that state law could change as early as Dec. 8.
In 2020, a bill was signed into law that banned flavored tobacco products in the entire state of California, though due to California’s unique direct government process, that law must survive a ballot referendum this November. If a majority of voters support the flavored vape/tobacco ban—technically, the ballot referendum will ask if they want to rollback the law—then flavored tobacco sales could be outlawed as early as Dec. 8, 2022.
The legislation will now move to Mayor Eric Garcetti, who is expected to sign it, according to Filter.
California’s state law includes an exemption for both shisha tobacco as well as large flavored cigars. However, in order to be exempt, the cigars would need to have a wholesale price of at least $12, meaning they would retail for around $37 given California’s high tax rate on cigars.
The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors—a separate government that can govern the non-chartered areas of Los Angeles County—passed a ban on flavored tobacco products in 2019. That law has been subject to legal challenges, some of which have been dependent on the outcome of the state law.
In April, the U.S. Food & Drug Administration announced it was moving forward with plans to ban flavored cigars throughout the U.S.
June 2, 2022
Singapore Seizes Nearly $1 Million in Illegal Vapes
Singapore authorities destroyed an some 6,500 seized vape products with an estimated value of more than SGD1 million ($726,639) on May 31, reports Channel News Asia.
Among the seized items incinerated on World No Tobacco Day were 6,500 e-vaporizers, 83,500 pods and 8,000 e-liquids. Together, they weighed more than a ton.
In Singapore, it is an offence to sell, possess for sale, import or distribute e-vaporizers and related components. Violators risk fines of up to SGD10,000 and jail up to six months.
Credit: Sharaf Maksumov

The penalty for possessing and using a vape is a fine of up to SGC2,000.
Between 2017 and 2021, the Health Sciences Authority (HSA) caught 383 illegal e-vaporizer sellers. HSA, which works with the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority to enforce against vaping, noted that some illegal importers have started to change tactics to avoid detection, by concealing products in lighting fixtures, for example.

The agency says it has stepped up vigilance and enforcement actions.
Last year, authorities destroyed almost 12,300 e-vaporizers, about 4,500 e-liquids and nearly 175,000 pods and components, with an estimated street value of almost SGD2 million.
June 2, 2022
Mexico Bans All Vaping and E-Cigarette Products

Credit: Niro World
Mexico has banned all vaping and heated tobacco products. A decree signed Tuesday by Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador that outlaws the sale of e-cigarettes is in line with continuing the government’s ongoing anti-vaping policy. Heated tobacco products are not exempt from the ban as previously reported they would.
The decision also follows a maximum health alert issued by the country’s federal health risks commission, which declared that all alternative tobacco smoking products can cause major illness, according to El Pais. Federal and local authorities have launched several campaigns to locate and seize these devices in at least a dozen states.
Mexico had already prohibited imports of the devices since at least October. And even before that, consumer protection and other laws had been used to discourage sales, according to the Associated Press.
Despite Tuesday’s decree, many Mexicans import or buy vaping cartridges or fluid under the table or online domestically. Assistant Health Secretary Hugo López Gatell lashed out at industry claims that vaping is safer than smoking, calling it “a big lie.”
The health alerts and legal measures have prompted a debate about vaping devices that are being smuggled into the country, according to El Pais. During the Senate debate about the tax law, Senator Luis Ortiz proposed regulating the market, saying that distribution is being left to the black market in the absence of companies being able to import the products and pay taxes and salaries.
Credit: 5m3 Photos
The government’s own figures estimate that at least 5 million Mexicans have tried vaping at least once.
Although the legal market for vaping products has grown in the country, it still represents a tiny fraction compared to that of conventional cigarettes. Philip Morris International, one of the marketers of these alternatives, went from having 35,000 to nearly 42,000 users of tobacco heaters. According to official government estimates, in the last five years the tobacco industry increased its sales from about 846 to 1.2 billion pesos (about $64 million) a year.
At the same time, according to a study carried out by the Mexican federation of business chambers, illegal tobacco represents 19 percent of the total market. Between 2019 and 2020, although there was an increase in tobacco taxes due to the Special Tax on Products and Services (IEPS), payment of the taxes contracted due to the trade in counterfeit tobacco products.
One of the arguments used to ban all types of vaporizer devices, whether with or without nicotine, is that various flavorings are used to “hook children and adolescents who will later be consumers of other drugs,” Senator Lilia Valdez said before the bill’s approval, according to El Pais.
Andrea Constantini, head of Regional Scientific Engagement for Latin America and Canada at Philip Morris International, says that the ban creates more channels for minors to access unregulated products. Prohibitions, she says, simply lead to a further “lack of control” over the market, with minors acquiring products of varying quality through illicit channels.

June 1, 2022
Vaporesso Launches Two Corex Devices at UK Event
Vaporesso released two new vaping kits featuring its state-of-the-art COREX heating technology during the Vaper Expo UK event held in Birmingham from May 27-29.
The COREX heating technology took two years to develop and uses a patented Morph-Mesh Structure that offers more heating and a stronger flavor boost, according to a press release. A key component of COREX is cumulus cotton. Formed by a complex microfibre structure, the cotton is fluffier and provides a higher liquid delivery, ensuring a more consistent and longer vape experience.
The GEN PT60 | 80 S and LUXE X use the COREX technology as well as the AXON Chip and SSS leak-resistant technology.
“Vape user satisfaction is at the heart of the VAPORESSO brand and the continuous innovation in design and technology ensures that the products remain of top quality and reliable,” the release staes.
May 31, 2022
RELX Stops Offering Flavored Vapes in Philippines

Photo: Aliaksandr Barouski
RELX International is no longer selling flavored vape products in its outlets throughout the Philippines, according to the Manilla Standard.
Republic Act No. 11467 and Joint Memorandum Circular No. 003-2020 prohibit the manufacture, importation, sale, and distribution of vapor products with flavoring other than tobacco or menthol in the country.
Signed by President Rodrigo Duterte on Jan. 22, 2020, the act increases the excise tax rates on alcohol, heated tobacco, and vape products to generate funds for the government to deliver quality and affordable health care services.
RELX said the move reflects its commitment to support important reforms that will benefit the collection of tax revenues while catering to legal-age adult smokers, preventing access of e-cigarette among minors, and ensuring responsible and standard-compliant e-cigarettes in retail points across the country.
May 30, 2022
Macau Mulls More E-Cig Restrictions, Considers Ban

Credit: Jakarta Travel
Macau’s executive council wants to ban the production, sale, distribution, import, export and transport of vapor products in the special administrative region (SAR), reports Macau Business.
Under changes proposed to the tobacco control law, violators would risk fines of MOP4,000 ($500).
The current law defines an e-cigarette as any product, or component thereof, that can be used to inhale vapor, with or without nicotine, by means of a mouthpiece, including a cartridge, a reservoir, as well as the device without a cartridge or reservoir.
The sale of electronic cigarettes in the city has been restricted since 2017; the recently proposed amendment expands the scope of the restrictions.
Still, Health Bureau Director Alvis Lo said the measure was intended to protect public health. “The use of electronic cigarettes is harmful to health, namely, it causes harmful effects to pregnant women, children and adolescents, and also exposing non-smokers to nicotine and other harmful chemicals,” Lo said.
Following years of antismoking campaigns, consumption of traditional cigarettes among people over the age of 15 in Macau dropped to 10.7 percent in 2019.
May 30, 2022
So Soul Vape Brand Debuts at Vape Expo U.K.
So Soul Disposable vape X7000
So Soul, a fast-growing disposable vape brand showcased its new vaping products: X7000, XS600 and Y650, as well as a wide range of other vaping products during Europe’s biggest vaping event. The Vape Expo U.K. was held at the Birmingham-NEC from May 27 to 29.
The X7000, So Soul’s premium series of 2022 disposable devices, uses an ergonomic design that creates a comfortable grip and a pure asthenic visual impact.
XS600 and Y650 provide 600 puffs and 650 puffs and flavors including Blue Sour Raspberry, Kiwi Passionfruit Guava, Apple Peach, Cherry Ice, Strawberry Ice, Watermelon Ice, Raspberry Sherbet and Grape, according to a release.
“Established in 2021, So Soul has rapidly risen through disposable e-cigarette products, which have been widely acclaimed globally in a short period of time,” the release states. “As a high-tech enterprise integrating product R&D, production as well as brand operation, So Soul envisions a world where people have easy access to affordable, safe, and effective alternatives to traditional cigarettes.”
May 29, 2022
Aspire Group to Launch ANYX Vape Brand in June
ANYX, a new vape brand powered by the Aspire Group, has announced it will release its first pod system e-cigarette globally on June 16, 2022.
“Despite being a new brand in the market, ANYX is backed by years of experience and industry expertise. In addition to well-known technical experts in the e-cigarette industry, ANYX has built up a team of talents who previously worked for top companies in the sectors of internet, consumer electronics, and fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) , allowing it to secure tens of millions of dollars in funding at its inception,” a press release states.
ANYX has accrued more than 1,500 industry patents and established 120 production lines covering three dedicated production bases. It also boasts a strong R&D team of over 120 engineers, advanced production, sales and digital marketing capabilities, according to the release.
As vaping technology grows in popularity, more people are looking for products that offer enjoyment and sensory pleasure. In line with its mission to create products with social features and build a user-driven brand, ANYX hopes to use its products to strengthen the bonds amongst global vaping enthusiasts and promote communication for a more diverse, pleasant, on-trend and energizing experience.
May 29, 2022
VooPoo Launches Latest Argus Pod and Drag Q Devices
After launching the Argus GT 2 in April, VooPoo released two new kits this month. The popular Argus POD was released on May 23rd and Drag Q was released on May 26th.
The Drag Q boasts a 25W max output that intelligently adjusts based on the pod used and a long, narrow drip tip. With its 1250mAh internal battery the device can last all day on a single charge, according to a press release.
For those looking for a more compact vape, the new Argus Pod combines the more traditional pod mod shape with the power and versatility of the Argus range. The Argus Pod features GENE AI 1.2 technology, which automatically adjusts power between 5W and 20W. A built-in 800mAh battery guarantees a lengthy charge, which you’ll always be on top of, thanks to the 0.69-inch OLED screen display.
“We’re excited to release not one but two new products to our iconic VooPoo ranges,” a VooPoo spokesperson stated in the release. “It was our goal to give MTL vapers more variety, so with the pocket-friendly Argus Pod and pod-style Drag Q, vapers can choose the right vape for them.”
May 29, 2022