Tag: e-cigarettes

  • Reynold’s Vuse Holds Steady With 41% Market Share

    Reynold’s Vuse Holds Steady With 41% Market Share

    Credit: Jet City Image

    According to the latest Nielsen convenience store report, R.J. Reynolds Vapor Co.’s Vuse still holds a comfortable lead in e-cigarette market share for the four weeks ending Oct. 7.

    The company saw its lead increase slightly from 41.7 percent to 41.8 percent, while Juul’s share decreased from 24.7 percent to 24.4 percent, according to media reports.

    This comes after Juul Labs Inc.’s regulatory concessions earlier this year caused their share to drop from 74.6 percent.

    Meanwhile, Altria Group Inc.’s complete acquisition of NJOY on June 1 has yet to translate into any considerable increase in market share, as the companies only dipped about 0.1 percent from 2.6 percent to 2.5 percent.

    Fontem Ventures’ blu eCigs, an affiliate of Imperial Brands Plc, rose from 1.2 percent to 1.3 percent.

    Reynolds last week filed a U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) complaint charging multiple manufacturers, distributors, and retailers of several popular disposable vaping devices with unfair importation.

    It is one of several recent actions Reynolds has made to remove its competitor’s vaping products from store shelves.

    Altria Group’s e-cigarette subsidiary NJOY, LLC has filed lawsuits against 34 foreign and domestic manufacturers, distributors and online retailers of illicit disposable vaping products.

  • Vaping Banned in Half of Southeast Asian Countries

    Vaping Banned in Half of Southeast Asian Countries

    Photo: Aliaksandr Barouski

    Of the 10 countries in the Southeast Asian region, five have banned e-cigarettes and vaping products, reports Malaya Business Insight, citing an the assessment by the Southeast Asia Tobacco Control Alliance (SEATCA).

    The sale and use of vapes and e-cigarettes are already banned in Brunei, Cambodia, Laos, Singapore and Thailand, according to the SEATCA.

    There are no bans in Myanmar and Vietnam while Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines regulate vapes and e-cigarettes. The SEATCA has urged the countries to strictly regulate the products.

  • Brian King Speaks About CTP Priorities and Progress

    Brian King Speaks About CTP Priorities and Progress

    Brian King (Photo: FDA)

    Throughout his first year as director of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s Center for Tobacco Products (CTP), the agency has maintained a steadfast commitment to its core principles of sound science, strategic partnerships, health equity and transparency, CTP Director Brian King said in a recent interview.

    King underscored the enduring importance of these principles. He emphasized that the center’s recent decisions and enforcement efforts have been grounded in comprehensive scientific analysis. This approach, he noted, ensures that product marketing and regulatory actions are well-informed and evidence-based.

    Furthermore, the director highlighted the importance of teamwork, a skill honed through his background as a scientist. Scientific thinking, rooted in objective evidence evaluation, plays a pivotal role in CTP’s work. This scientific approach is instrumental in addressing the complexities of tobacco product regulation effectively, according to King, who also emphasized the importance of effective communication in conveying scientific findings and messages.

    A significant focus of CTP’s work is promoting health equity in tobacco product regulation. King discussed efforts to address disparities in tobacco use, especially among youth and young adults. Notably, the CTP is working on product standards that would prohibit menthol as a characterizing flavor in cigarettes and all characterizing flavors in cigars. King views these standards as a major step toward reducing the appeal of these products, particularly among communities disproportionately affected, such as people of color, low-income populations and LGBTQ+ individuals.

    To further advance health equity, the CTP has undertaken initiatives like the “Next Legends” campaign to educate American Indian and Alaska Native youth about the harms of e-cigarettes and providing Spanish-language adult cessation education resources.

    During his tenure, the center welcomed Charlene Le Fauve as its first senior advisor for health equity, a crucial role in integrating health equity into the center’s programmatic plans and priorities, according to King.

    Looking ahead to the next three to five years, the director stressed the importance of having a clear vision. The CTP is in the process of creating a new strategic plan with the involvement of internal staff and external stakeholders to ensure the center’s continued growth and adaptation in a dynamic regulatory landscape. The plan, to be released by December 2023, will provide a roadmap for CTP’s future, aligning its actions with changing times and the goal of reducing tobacco-related diseases and deaths in the United States.

  • Czechia Bans Flavors for Heated Tobacco Products

    Czechia Bans Flavors for Heated Tobacco Products

    Photo: diy13

    The sale of flavored heated-tobacco products (HTPs) will be banned in the Czech Republic, effective today, reports Expats.cz. A European directive requires that EU member states incorporate the ban into their legal frameworks effective Oct. 23. The directive does not allow for a transitional period for sale of existing stock.

    Slightly more than half of HTP users prefer flavored tobacco, according to Jiri Sochor, spokesperson for JT International. Sochor noted that based on U.S. ban results, some people reverted to traditional combustible cigarettes.

    The ban will not take effect simultaneously in neighboring countries, Sochor said, noting that only Germany has introduced it. Due to this, people are likely to purchase flavored products abroad.

    Flavored heated-tobacco products generate about CZK2.9 billion ($125.16 million) in consumer taxes annually, according to Sochor.

    Companies are responding to HTP flavors ban by introducing new, tobacco-free products. British American Tobacco, for example, has begun selling heat sticks with nicotine-infused rooibos tea. Certain tobacco firms have also opposed the ban, and the legislation will be addressed by the EU Court of Justice due to complaints from Irish companies.  

  • Morocco to Raise Duties on Disposable Vapes

    Morocco to Raise Duties on Disposable Vapes

    Photo: alexlmx

    Morocco will increase customs duties on e-cigarettes under the 2024 budget, reports Morocco World News.  

    The import duties would hike the levies on disposable electronic cigarettes from 2.5 percent to 40 percent. The goal of the increase is to apply the same import duty rate to disposable electronic cigarettes as that applied to other electronic cigarettes for the 2023 fiscal year, according to the Ministry of Economy and Finance.

    The 2024 draft budget also proposes an increase in import duty from 2.5 percent to 30 percent for certain consumer products and equipment. This increase would “strengthen the protection of local production of these products and equipment and promote the establishment of production units in Morocco.”

  • PMI Applies to Sell IQOS Iluma in the U.S. Market

    PMI Applies to Sell IQOS Iluma in the U.S. Market

    Photo: vfhnb12

    Philip Morris International Oct. 20 submitted premarket tobacco product applications (PMTAs) and modified risk tobacco product applications (MRTPAs) for IQOS Iluma heated tobacco products with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

    IQOS Iluma products are PMI’s most-innovative heated tobacco products. They deliver substantially similar reductions in the formation of harmful and potentially harmful constituents as earlier versions of IQOS products authorized by FDA

    According to PMI, IQOS Iluma has demonstrated higher rates of full switching by adults who smoke and improved consumer satisfaction in many countries.

    IQOS Iluma products rely on a fundamentally different heating technology from previous versions of IQOS products and contain numerous technological advancements including improved device and battery longevity.

    IQOS Iluma products are currently available in 27 markets internationally

    PMI’s applications are supported by a thorough scientific assessment, including aerosol chemistry, in vitro toxicology, a pharmacokinetic study, and consumer perception and behavior studies, as well as the comprehensive scientific dataset generated with previous versions of the IQOS system

    The IQOS Iluma devices operate on the Smartcore Induction System that heats tobacco from within Terea Smartcore Sticks—heated tobacco sticks designed to be used only with IQOS Iluma devices

    PMI has submitted applications for three Iluma devices and five variants of the tobacco sticks: Terea Blue, Terea Green, Terea Sienna, Terea Bronze, Terea Amber

    Internationally, IQOS Iluma products have demonstrated how ground-breaking consumer-centric innovation can lead more adults to stop smoking. We believe that same success can be replicated in the U.S.

    Stacey Kennedy, president Americas and CEO of PMI’s U.S. business

    “Tens of millions of American adults today smoke cigarettes and will likely continue to do so. They should have a range of scientifically substantiated better alternative nicotine products to choose from, and PMI is committed to providing them with new choices,” said Stacey Kennedy, president Americas and CEO of PMI’s U.S. business, in a statement.

    “Internationally, IQOS Iluma products have demonstrated how ground-breaking consumer-centric innovation can lead more adults to stop smoking. We believe that same success can be replicated in the U.S. and drive a rapid decrease in smoking rates among adults. These are strong applications, and we urge the FDA to prioritize them for review.

    “Since 2008 PMI has invested more than $10.5 billion to scientifically research, develop, and commercialize smoke-free products, an investment that was further bolstered last year through our acquisition of Swedish Match. We are focused on providing adults who smoke with alternatives that can reduce their risks compared with smoking and help make America cigarette-free.”

    PMI will have the full rights to commercialize all IQOS products in the U.S. as of April 30, 2024, per the terms of an agreement with Altria Group, Inc. ending the companies’ commercial relationship covering IQOS in the U.S.

  • FDA Defeats Logic in Menthol Marketing Order Suit

    FDA Defeats Logic in Menthol Marketing Order Suit

    The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has defeated Logic Technology Development after the e-cigarette manufacturer asked the courts to block the regulatory agency’s market ban on Logic’s menthol-flavored e-cigarette products, according to media reports.

    Logic filed a petition for review in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, alleging the FDA violated the Administrative Procedure Act when it denied Logic’s premarket tobacco product application to market its menthol-flavored vaping products. The court denied that petition Thursday after concluding the FDA “based decisions on scientific judgments.”

    Logic alleged it was arbitrary and capricious for the FDA to apply the same regulatory framework to menthol that it used to remove fruit- and dessert-flavored e-cigarettes from commerce. The Third Circuit Court entered a stay on the FDA’s marketing denial orders (MDOs) in December 2022. The MDOs were the FDA’s first-ever MDOs directed at menthol e-cigarette products.

  • HEXA Disposable Vapes Growing in European Market

    HEXA Disposable Vapes Growing in European Market

    The No. 1 vaping brand in Belgium is HEXA, according to media reports. The company recently presented a number of its products at the InterTabac 2023 trade show in September. The company highlighted both its pod and disposable vaping systems.

    “Since securing the No.1 position in the Belgian market in both major categories of pod-system and disposable products, HEXA has been rapidly rolling out its products to the wider European market,” a press release states. “With the trend of disposable products gaining popularity in the European market, HEXA has created HEXA Go, which is now available in Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands and Estonia.

    FEELM, a leader in closed vape system solutions, is the technology supplier of HEXA’s pod and disposable products. Its new disposable products quickly passed the EU TPD directive along with its launch. It is one of the reasons why the product has been able to seize the opportunity to promote rapidly in the European market, according to the release.

    “In the U.S. market, FEELM’s parent company, SMOORE, has become the manufacturer that has helped the highest number of clients to [survive] the [U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s premarket tobacco product application (PMTA)] process, while in the European market, several FEELM customers, such as HEXA Go, have also quickly passed the TPD to complete their speedy rollout.”

    As of now, HEXA Go has reached more than 50 percent share in the disposable segment in Belgium. The product is equipped with the FEELM Max 800+ disposable solution, which can increase the number of TPD-compliant disposable product puffs from the common 600 puffs to more than 800 puffs, for the first time in the industry, according to the release.

    Since the FEELM Max solution adopts ceramic coil, it avoids the wastage of vaporized e-liquid, a common problem in traditional cotton coils. Previously, HEXA pod-system products used FEELM ceramic core solution, and with this differentiated technology HEXA quickly became the No.1 brand of pod-system vapes in Belgium.

    HEXA’s pod vapes have captured a share of more than 70 percent of the category’s market. The success of HEXA’s pod-system products is a testament that FEELM is a differentiated technology with significant market competitiveness, according to the release.

  • Altria’s NJOY Sues 34 Disposable Vape Companies

    Altria’s NJOY Sues 34 Disposable Vape Companies

    Credit: Kristina Blokhin

    Altria Group today said that its e-cigarette subsidiary NJOY, LLC has filed lawsuits against 34 foreign and domestic manufacturers, distributors and online retailers of illicit disposable vaping products. If successful, the lawsuit could potentially decimate the flavored disposable vaping market.

    Altria joins its largest U.S. competitor, BAT-owned RJ Reynolds, in using the courts to remove unauthorized vaping products (and their competition) from the U.S. market.

    On Oct.13, Reynolds filed a U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) complaint charging multiple manufacturers, distributors, and retailers of several popular disposable vaping devices with unfair importation. It is one of several recent actions Reynolds has made to remove its competitor’s vaping products from store shelves. Several legal scholars have told Vapor Voice that if the ITC agrees with Reynolds, all flavored disposable vaping devices without an FDA marketing authorization could be stopped at the border and prevented from entering the U.S. market.

    The NJOY suit alleges that the disposable products are unlawfully marketed and sold in the State of California and other U.S. states in violation of California’s flavor ban law and federal marketing rules.

    The products are illegal under federal law and subject to action by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and illegally compete against companies that comply with state and federal laws, according to an Altria press release.

    The suit seeks a nationwide injunction against the import, marketing and sale of these illicit products and significant compensatory and punitive damages. If successful the lawsuit could lead to the removal of all disposable flavored vaping products without an FDA marketing order from the market.

    “These companies knowingly violate federal and state laws and need to be held accountable,” said Murray Garnick, Altria’s Executive Vice President and General Counsel. “Today there are two markets – one for those who play by the rules and one for those who flagrantly ignore them. We are taking this action because the current state of the illicit e-vapor market is intolerable, and we must see more action from FDA and others.”

    The litigation, filed in the United States District Court for the Central District of California, is brought under four claims: unfair competition, false advertising, false advertising in violation of the Lanham Act and violation of the Prevent All Cigarette Trafficking Act of 2009.

    Named Defendants in the suit manufacture and distribute illicit disposable e-vapor products which include, but are not limited to, brands including Breeze, Elf Bar, EB, EB Create, Esco Bar, Flum, Juice Box, Lava Plus, Loon, Lost Mary, Mr. Fog and Puff Bar (many of these companies were also named in the Reynolds suit). Domestic Defendants include companies doing business in Arizona, California, Delaware, Florida, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York and Texas. Foreign Defendants are all based in China.

    None of the Defendants has received premarket tobacco product authorization (PMTA) approval from the FDA. In many instances, Defendants also have not filed PMTA applications. Several of these Defendants have already received warning letters from the FDA stating that their products are adulterated and misbranded and cannot be sold without marketing authorization.

    Additionally, some of these Defendants are subject to an FDA-ordered import alert authorizing U.S. Customs and Border agents to seize their products. NJOY may add additional manufacturers, distributors and retailers to this complaint and will consider further litigation activity, the release states.

    Despite a ban on the sale of flavored tobacco products that went into effect in December 2022, flavored vapor products make up more than 97 percent of the California market according to a recent study commissioned by Altria. Conducted by an independent research firm WSPM Group, “the study collected 15,000 empty discarded cigarette packs and 4,529 e-vapor product packages” from May 1st through June 28th in 10 California cities.

  • Researchers Identify Vape Flavors Used to Quit Smoking

    Researchers Identify Vape Flavors Used to Quit Smoking

    The most interesting data is that when a smoker decides to quit smoking using modified-risk electronic tools, they gravitate toward flavors different from tobacco.

    Konstantinos Farsalinos, co-author

    A recent survey revealed that the most utilized flavors to quit smoking in the U.S. are those of fruit, baked goods and chocolate.

    A team of European researchers affiliated with the Center of Excellence for the Acceleration of Harm Reduction (CoEHAR), the University of West Attica and the University of Patras conducted an online survey on a sample of about 70,000 adult vapers in the U.S. The study focused on comparing flavor use between current-smoking vapers (dual use) and former-smoking vapers and on specifically examining patterns of flavor use among former-smoking vapers at the time of quitting smoking.

    Graph: CoEHAR

    “This is the largest survey ever conducted on the use of electronic cigarettes in terms of sample size,” said study author Konstantinos Farsalinos in a statement. “The most interesting data is that when a smoker decides to quit smoking using modified-risk electronic tools, they gravitate toward flavors different from tobacco, with a clear preference for fruit, dessert and chocolate flavors. We can deduce, therefore, that these specific flavors are more useful for those who want to quit or avoid relapses.”

    When it comes to regulating vape flavors, Riccardo Polosa, founder of the CoEHAR, urged lawmakers to strike a balance between the need to protect young people and the desire to help adult smokers quit.