Tag: e-cigarettes

U.K. Black Market for E-Cigarettes Continues to Grow

Credit: Yehuda
If you start to look for something, you will usually find more than when you weren’t looking. Seizures of illegal e-cigarettes in the UK in the first four months of the year were seven times as high as all of 2021.
Research found the UK has been flooded with two million illicit e-cigarettes since the beginning of last year, reports The Mirror.
Local leaders have called for a more vigorous crackdown on counterfeit vapes, with usage is said to be surging among children and adults.
London, the South East and North West were the top three regions for counterfeit vape seizures, according to the analysis.
The findings, uncovered through freedom of information requests sent to 167 local authorities by VapeClub, raise concerns about a booming black market selling products that do not comply with UK regulations and have not been through appropriate safety testing.
“Illicit vaping products have the potential to be dangerous to the user’s health. What’s needed is a licensing scheme so proper age verification tests can be applied to every retailer,” Dan Marchant, director of vaping and e-liquids retailer Vape Club, said.
“There must also be higher fines applied to every breach for the rogue sellers. The UK Vaping Industry Association is calling for the fines to be raised to at least £10,000 ($12,800), which would be a real deterrent.”
July 8, 2023
Ninth Circuit Denies Lotus Vaping MDO Review

Entrance to United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit . Headquartered in San Francisco, California, the Ninth Circuit is by far the largest of the 13 courts of appeals. (Credit: Eric BVD)
A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit on Friday ruled 3-0 to deny Lotus Vaping Technologies’ petition for review of a marketing denial order (MDO) for its flavored e-liquid products. The company could now ask for an en banc rehearing with all Ninth Circuit judges
The FDA issued marketing denial orders for Lotus’ flavored products, finding that the petitioners’ applications lacked sufficient evidence showing that the flavored products would provide a benefit to adult users that outweighs the risks such products pose to youth.
The panel held that the text of the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act (TCA) authorizes the FDA to require that manufacturers submit comparative health risk data, which necessarily includes comparisons of flavored e-liquids to tobacco-flavored e-liquids, the judges wrote in the denial that is not considered an opinion.
The panel also held that the FDA did not arbitrarily or capriciously deny Lotuss’ applications and that “any error the agency committed by failing to comparisons of flavored e-liquids to tobacco-flavored e-liquids.” The panel also held that the FDA did not arbitrarily or capriciously deny Lotus’ applications and that any error the agency committed by failing to consider Lotus’ marketing plans was harmless
July 8, 2023
PMI Offering Australian Pharmacies Discount Vapes

Credit: Va Butenkov
Philip Morris International announced it has made a deal with some Australian pharmacies to supply its VEEV vaping products below cost, despite the company’s opposition to the government’s new prescription vaping model.
VEEV marketing materials seen by Guardian Australia offer pharmacists an “introductory offer” to supply nicotine pods and devices at a discount.
The offer is also on the condition pharmacies do not sell a packet of two VEEV nicotine pods for more than AUD14.90 ($9.98) or devices for more than AUD19.90 – cheaper than what wholesalers can offer.
The recommended retail price for comparable pod products is AUD24.99. The marketing material for the offer only mentions PMI in fine print at the bottom of the document.
A spokesperson for the Pharmaceutical Society of Australia said it “urges pharmacists to be skeptical of any commercial offer from big tobacco”.
“There are currently no nicotine vaping products registered on the Australian Register of Therapeutic Goods and no company should be advertising unregulated products to Australian healthcare professionals,” the spokesperson said.
In May, the federal health minister, Mark Butler, announced that the government will ban the importation of nonprescription vaping products – including those that do not contain nicotine. Minimum quality standards for vapes are also being introduced, including restricting flavors, colors and other ingredients.
Vape products will require pharmaceutical-like packaging, and the allowed nicotine concentrations and volumes will be reduced. All single-use, disposable vapes are being banned.
A Philip Morris International spokesman told Guardian Australia; “We have always been open and transparent about the fact we will work within whatever legal and regulatory framework exists for these products in Australia”.
“This is in stark contrast to dozens of other vaping companies who are providing their product via the black market,” he said.
July 7, 2023
New Virginia Hemp Law Forcing Some Shops to Close

Credit: RawF8
The U.S. state of Virginia recently enacted a law to curb kid-friendly packaging in cannabis products. That law is having hard effects on some local businesses.
Lawmakers have witnessed Delta-8 products sold in packaging that mimic foods that are enticing to kids, but those in the hemp industry say this new crackdown goes too far.
“Were one of hundreds that’s made the hard decision to just shut it down,” Reed Anderson said.
Anderson says he’s shutting down his Goochland hemp business, Kame Naturals, in the wake of a new state law cracking down on THC products like Delta-8.
It limits all hemp products to only two milligrams of THC per package. That’s far lower than most products in many smoke and vape shops. Hemp products must now have at least a 25-to-1 ratio of CBD to THC, according to media reports.
“25-to-1 ratio doesn’t do what we do justice right,” Anderson said. “We started our business as a solventless extraction company, and that over time kind of had to go to the wayside because of the different regulations coming through.”
Breaking the rules could mean fines of up to $10,000.
Anderson said it’s all too much and says lawmakers paid too much attention to the intoxicating effects of THC and very little to the health benefits THC may provide.
“Once you start getting into remediated product and trying to remediate THC out of a product, you lose a lot of the natural quality CBD products offer,” Anderson said.
However, Governor Glenn Youngkin and the law’s supporters said something needed to be done to stop the sale of Delta-8 products. Too many kids were getting sick.
A statement from Gov. Youngkin’s office said in part:
“SB 903 and HB 2294 took critical steps to strengthen consumer safety and regulations around edible and inhaled hemp-derived products as well as delta-8 THC products. Specifically, the amendment continued its efforts to crack down on dangerous THC intoxicants, including synthetic THC products. In addition to the ban on synthetic THC, the limited percentage of total THC allowed in hemp products, the packaging and labeling restrictions, the testing requirements, and the total per package limit for THC, the substitute also requires retailers to register with the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (VDACS) to sell any edible or inhaled hemp-derived product. Additionally, the General Assembly established the registration requirement and fees as a necessary operating cost and to create a database of all regulated hemp product retail stores.”
Anderson said while he’s no longer in the hemp business, he will become an advocate and plan to talk with politicians as often as he can to get these laws reformed.
July 6, 2023
Supreme Shares Soar After ElfBar Distro Agreement

Credit: 88Vape
UK vaping giant Supreme saw its shares rise shares five percent yesterday after the company announced it is now the “master distributor” for UK e-cigarette brands, although the company has reported weak annual profits.
The firm has been chosen as the master distributor for two leading UK vaping brands, ElfBar and Lost Mary, which it will supply to major UK retailers such as Tesco, Morrisons and WHSmith Travel.
The London-listed company expects the partnership to generate revenues of £25m to £30m ($38 million) over the next fiscal year ending March 2024, according to media reports.
This comes amid a political crackdown on vape products – especially for those under-age.
Sandy Chadha, CEO of Supreme, said the “sizeable” appointment will allow the group to “fully leverage its unique technical, regulatory, compliance and quality assurance capabilities within the vaping sector.”
“We have seen a hugely positive response from both established and new retailers who view Supreme as an ideal partner to supply these products across the UK,” Chadha added.
Supreme says their strong market presence, distribution network, and compliance capabilities provide ElfBar and Lost Mary with a “readymade blueprint” distribution strategy.
The company will report its sales performance separately from the existing vaping category, which includes their own 88Vape brand.
It comes as Supreme posted a record performance in their vaping division this morning, with nearly doubled revenues up to £76.1m from £43.6m last year, and an £8.6m increase in gross profit.
£76.1 million (FY22: £43.6 million) and increasing gross profit to £28.1 million (FY22: £19.5 million)
In 2023 they ramped up investment in M&A and capital expenditures by £7.5m to “support future growth”.
“As we look to the future, we remain committed to expanding our product set, both organically and via acquisition,” Chadha commented:
July 6, 2023
Maryland Starts Sales of Recreational Marijuana

Credit: Federico Magonio
Maryland began sales of recreational marijuana on Saturday, only eight months after the state’s voters approved a ballot measure to legalize cannabis for adults.
The first day of adult-use cannabis sales brought out lines of customers eager to shop at the state’s medical marijuana dispensaries, which were given the first crack at the newly legal market for recreational weed in Maryland by a bill to regulate adult-use cannabis passed in the spring.
In November, Maryland voters legalized recreational marijuana with the passage of Question 4, a state referendum that was approved with nearly two-thirds of the vote, reports Forbes.
In April, lawmakers passed legislation to regulate adult-use cannabis production and sales beginning on July 1, followed by the signing of the bill by Governor Wes Moore in early May.
Under the measure, all adults in Maryland age 21 and up with proper identification will be allowed to purchase regulated marijuana products including cannabis flower, vapes, gummies and others, with sales beginning at the state’s existing medical marijuana retailers.
The legislation also changed the Maryland Medical Cannabis Commission, which regulated the production and sale of medical marijuana, to the Maryland Cannabis Administration.
Will Tilburg, the acting director of the new agency, said that regulated sales of cannabis in Maryland are expected to triple over the next year with the launch of recreational marijuana sales.
July 4, 2023
FTC Drops Action Against Altria for Juul Purchase

Credit: Ascannio
The U.S. Federal Trade Commission dismissed a complaint against NJOY parent Altria Group and e-cigarette maker Juul Labs that was brought after Altria bought a 35 percent stake in Juul Labs.
The agency also said on Monday it would vacate an FTC administrative law judge’s decision in favor of the companies in February 2022. Since it has been vacated, it cannot be cited as precedent, the agency said in the statement announcing it was dropping the litigation.
The FTC said in 2020 that Altria’s $12.8 billion investment violated antitrust law because the company acquired the position rather than continuing to compete against Juul in the market for closed-system e-cigarettes, according to Reuters.
Altria had exited the stake earlier this year and had asked the FTC to drop the challenge. As of December, its share of Juul was valued at $250 million, down from $12.8 billion in 2018.
Altria said on Monday it was pleased by the FTC dropping its complaint.
Separate from the FTC action, Juul Labs has fought with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration over whether it could sell its Juul e-cigarettes in the United States.
Altria’s MarkTen was at one point the second most popular e-cigarette maker, according to the FTC.
In May, Altria said that it would pay $235 million to settle at least 6,000 lawsuit.
July 4, 2023
Vaporesso Launches Two New Products in Dubai

Vaporesso, the open system arm of the world’s largest atomization company, Smoore International, unveiled two groundbreaking products, the Vaporesso COSS and Vaporesso ECO, at the World Vape Show held at the Dubai World Trade Centre from June 21 to 23.
“We are thrilled to introduce Vaporesso COSS and Vaporesso ECO to more vapers at the show. These two revolutionary products are set to enhance the vaping experience, with their user-friendly features and eco-friendly design,” said Jimmy Hu, vice president of Vaporesso.
The COSS is being labeled as a “game-changer in the vaping industry,” according to a press release. The system addresses the pain points of existing products and offers an intuitive design that caters to the vaping habits of users.
“The product’s slogan, Convenient Operating, Smart Supplying, embodies its features. The Vaporesso COSS boasts the smallest size of vaping device and the longest battery life,” according to the release. “It also comes with an automatic liquid filling and charging feature. With Coil-oil Separation System, the Vaporesso COSS ensures a fresh taste without any leakage, and its consistent taste is a unique feature that sets it apart from other products.”
The ECO emphasizes the value of being eco-friendly, economical, and eco-self, according to the release. It is refillable and rechargeable. Along with its larger capacity, longer battery life, reduced heavy metal content, and leather paper packaging that can be reused and recycled, the ECO is more cost-saving, eco-friendly, and safer for both the environment and humans when compared to disposable products. The product’s daily usage costs are reduced by 60 percent, which makes it accessible to a wider audience.
“In addition to COSS and ECO, the company also has an IP counter featuring its highly popular XROS Series and LUXE X Series, along with a special display counter for its TARGET Series and GEN Series,” the release states.

July 3, 2023
Juul Labs Accuses NJOY Maker of Patent Violations

Juul Labs has asked the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) to block sales and imports of the NJOY Ace vapor device, claiming that the product infringes several Juul patents. It has also filed a complaint against NJOY with the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona.
“Our technology, designed internally and in the U.S. and protected by our robust patent portfolio, has been the most effective product development to transition adult smokers from combustible cigarettes—switching over 2 million adult smokers in this country. Innovation is critical in this space to advance tobacco harm reduction,” said Juul Labs Chief Legal Officer Tyler Mace in a statement.
“When others infringe on our technology, we have no choice but to protect our intellectual property rights.”
This ITC complaint follows three prior successful actions from Juul Labs at the Commission, which all resulted in barring the importation and sale of infringing products, according to Juul Labs.
“Just like we have in three prior successful ITC actions that vindicated our company’s IP rights, we intend to reach the same result here,” said Mace.
The Juul Labs complaint also targets Altria Group, which agreed to acquire the NJOY in March after exchanging its minority investment in Juul for a heated tobacco product intellectual property license.
The NJOY Ace device received marketing authorization from the Food and Drug Administration in April 2022.
July 3, 2023
CTP Touts Progress Addressing Reagan-Udall Goals

Brian King, director of U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s Center for Tobacco Products (CTP), published a statement summarizing the CTP’s progress in addressing the recommendations from the Reagan-Udall evaluation.
At the request of FDA Commissioner Robert Califf, the Reagan-Udall Foundation evaluated the CTP’s operations. In December, the foundation submitted its report, which identified several problems hindering the agency’s ability to regulate the industry and reduce tobacco-related disease. Among other recommendations, the foundation urged the CTP to make process improvements and increase transparency.
According to King, the CTP has made significant strides in putting its plans for improvement into action. The agency, he said, is on track to issue proposed goals this summer, and to release the final plan by December 2023. The CTP intends to hold a public meeting in the summer of 2023 to seek stakeholder feedback about the strategic plan.
Meanwhile, said King, the CTP Ombuds Office is leading the creation of an operational strategy to improve transparency and information sharing across all programmatic areas, including establishing transparency liaisons. Externally, the center is planning for upcoming public meetings to gather stakeholder input. CTP also published a webpage of all the tobacco products-related citizen petitions received by the center to provide the public with information about such citizen petitions that is easy to access and user-friendly.
According to King, the center has reviewed 99 percent of tobacco product applications submitted over the past three years, authorizing 23 tobacco-flavored e-cigarette products and devices. The CTP is planning a public meeting in fall 2023 regarding the application review process.
Meanwhile, the center is in the process of finalizing rules related to menthol cigarettes and flavored cigars and continues to work toward publishing a proposed rule that would establish a maximum nicotine level to reduce the addictiveness of cigarettes and certain other combusted tobacco products.
CTP also recently proposed new requirements for tobacco product manufacturers regarding the manufacture, design, packing and storage of their products.
King also highlighted the CTP Office of Science leadership’s participation in conferences and external meetings. For example, representatives from the Office of Science recently presented at the Food and Drug Law Institute’s Nicotine Product Regulatory Science Symposium, the E-Cigarette Summit and the TMA annual meeting (see Todd Cecil’s TMA presentation here).
“I am proud of the significant progress the center has made to date in addressing the external evaluation recommendations, and I am confident that we’ll continue to make important strides in continuing to build and strengthen FDA’s tobacco program in the future,” said King.
A comprehensive list of CTP status updates for each Reagan-Udall Foundation recommendation is available here.
June 29, 2023