Tag: flavor ban

Vietnam Government Set to Restrict E-Cigarette Use

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The Vietnamese government has approved a new national program to restrict the use of e-cigarettes, shisha and other new tobacco products.
According to media reports, it is part of a comprehensive program proposed by the Ministry of Health to prevent the harmful impacts of cigarettes.
It aims to reduce the percentage of smoking males above 15 years of age to below 39 percent and that of women to below 1.4 percent.
It also hopes to prevent passive smoking at workplaces, restaurants, hotels, coffee shops, and other public places.
Research will be conducted into the negative impacts of tobacco, especially new products, the reports suggest.
The government is also working on increasing taxes on vaping and other tobacco products and determining minimum prices for them.
May 29, 2023
Cook County, Illinois Bans Flavored Vape Products

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The Cook County Board has approved a ban on selling flavored tobacco products in suburban Cook County. Cook County is the largest county in Illinois and contains 134 municipalities in its region, the City of Chicago being the most well-known.
Passed by a unanimous voice vote, the ban on the sale of flavored tobacco products applies to all vaping cartridges and includes menthol flavors, according to Audacy.
Under the ordinance, any of the reported 42 licensed tobacco retailers in unincorporated Cook could face a $250 fine the first time they are caught selling flavored vapes.
“Our statutory authority only applies to unincorporated Cook. Those businesses that are located in unincorporated Cook will be impacted,” Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle said. “When we make legislation of this sort, that’s where it applies. Local municipalities can enact their own legislation should they wish.”
May 26, 2023
Latvian Vapers Petition to Keep Flavored Vapes

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More than 10,000 citizens have signed a petition to keep e-cigarette flavors legal in Latvia, reports the Baltic News Network. Because the initiative has received the legally required number of signatures, it is entitled to a review by Latvia’s parliament, the Saeima.
Rather than banning flavors, the petition urges Latvia’s government to crack down on illegal vape sales and educate society about healthy choices.
According to the Tobacco-Free Products Association, the vaping industry targets smokers aiming to quit cigarettes, which are believed to be far more harmful than e-cigarettes.
According to Toms Lusis, the author of the initiative, Latvian legislators’ attitudes toward vapor products are based on outdated beliefs and studies.
“The latest scientific data shows that e-cigarettes are up to 95 percent less dangerous for human health than regular cigarettes,” he said. “The use of e-cigarettes [is] supported as a way out of sorts for residents to stop using tobacco products as well as radically combat the widely spread smoking-related diseases like lung cancer.”
Lusis cautioned that by denying adults the freedom of choice when it comes to e-cigarette flavors, the state could also lose considerable revenue from excise tax on flavored e-cigarette liquids.
May 24, 2023
Flavor Ban Bill Dies in Vermont General Assembly

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A bill that would have banned the sale of flavored tobacco products and flavored e-liquid products has died after the Vermont General Assembly adjourned for the year.
S.B. 18 would have banned the sale of vaping products such as e-liquids and other tobacco products that have a characterizing flavor other than tobacco.
Like bills recently introduced in other states, the bill contained a provision that said if a company claims that the product has “a distinguishable taste or aroma other than the taste or aroma of tobacco, ” it would be considered flavored, according to Halfwheel.
The Vermont Senate passed S.B. 18 in late March, but it failed to get out of the Vermont House Committee on Human Services.
Several states in the Northeast have or are considering flavor bans. Connecticut also introduced a bill that would ban flavored e-cigarettes. New York, New Jersey and Rhode Island have barred the sale of flavored vaping products. Massachusetts banned all flavored tobacco items, including flavored cigars, cigarettes and vaping goods.
Vermont’s ban was originally proposed in early 2020 as a way to prevent youth use, but was sidelined after the Covid-19 pandemic began to impact the country.
May 21, 2023
Bill Threatens to Derail FDA Menthol and Nicotine Plans

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The U.S. House Committee on Appropriations may spoil the Food and Drug Administration’s plans to ban flavored cigars, ban menthol cigarettes and limit nicotine levels in cigarettes, reports Halfwheel.
On May 17, the committee, which is responsible for allocating funds to various government entities, including the FDA and the Department of Agriculture, unveiled the draft of the Agriculture, Rural Development, Food And Drug Administration, And Related Agencies Bill.
The proposed language says that FDA cannot use any of the money Congress allocates for it to ban menthol or set nicotine levels, effectively preventing the agency from carrying out the regulations.
The relevant passages are:
SEC 768. None of the funds provided by this Act or provided from any accounts in the Treasury of the United States derived by the collection of fees available to the agencies funded by this Act, may be used by the Secretary of Health and Human Services to finalize, issue, implement, administer, or enforce any rule, regulation, or order setting a tobacco product standard that mandates a maximum nicotine level for cigarettes.
And:
SEC 769. None of the funds provided by this Act, or provided from any accounts in the Treasury of the United States derived by the collection of fees available to the agencies funded by this Act, may be used by the Secretary of Health and Human Services to finalize, issue, or implement any rule, regulation, notice of proposed rule- making, or order setting any tobacco product standard that would prohibit menthol as a characterizing flavor in cigarettes or prohibit characterizing flavors in all cigars and their components and parts.
Anti-tobacco activists were aghast. “This bill is a special interest gift to the tobacco industry that would result in more kids addicted to tobacco and more lives lost, especially Black lives,” wrote Matthew L. Myers, president of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, in a statement. “These shameful provisions give the tobacco industry everything it wants from Congress in exchange for its campaign contributions.”
The bill is in its early stages and is likely to undergo many modifications.
May 18, 2023
Matt Meyers Steps Down From Tobacco-Free Kids

Yolonda C. Richardson | Photo: CTFK
Matthew L. Myers is stepping down as the president of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids (CTFK) effective July 1. The board of directors has appointed Yolonda C. Richardson, currently the organization’s executive vice president for global programs, as the new president and CEO.
“I want to thank Matt for the extraordinary leadership he has provided to the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids and throughout his long career fighting the tobacco industry,” said Bill Novelli, chair of Tobacco-Free Kids’ board of directors and president of the organization from 1996 to 1999, in a statement. “Matt and his team at Tobacco-Free Kids have contributed enormously to driving down smoking rates to record lows among both youth and adults in the U.S. and to reversing the tide of the global tobacco epidemic.
“It has been the privilege of a lifetime to serve as president of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, and I am incredibly proud of what our team and our many partners have accomplished,” said Myers. “Through smart, tenacious advocacy and a commitment to health and social justice, we have helped bring about transformative change in the U.S. and around the world. No one is more qualified than Yolonda Richardson to take this organization to new heights and achieve even greater progress in saving lives not only from tobacco, but also from other critical public health issues.”

No one is more qualified than Yolonda Richardson to take this organization to new heights and achieve even greater progress in saving lives.”
Matthew L. Myers, president, Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids
“I am deeply honored to be named president of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids and to continue the work started by Matt Myers and Bill Novelli 27 years ago. There is much to do, but there is also immense opportunity to make large-scale impact,” Richardson said.
The CTFK was created in 1996 with primary funding from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Since 2006, it has been a partner in the Bloomberg Initiative to Reduce Tobacco Use.
May 16, 2023
France Considers Ban on Disposable Vape Products

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The ban may form part of a new anti-smoking plan the health ministry is working on for the coming five years.
The French government may ban disposable electronic cigarettes by the end of this year, Health Minister Francois Braun said Wednesday.
“I’m in favor of a ban,” Braun told broadcaster France Inter, adding that the devices “lead some of our young people towards using tobacco,” as reported by Agence France Presse, according to Barron’s.
“Smoking is a scourge, it kills 75,000 people per year” in France, he said.
Although President Emmanuel Macron’s government has no majority in parliament, ministers would “work with lawmakers” to reach a deal on a ban, Braun said.
It could be enacted “before the end of this year,” he added.
The ban may form part of a new anti-smoking plan the health ministry is working on for the coming five years.
Sweet and fruit-flavored one-use electronic cigarettes – known as “puffs” in France – are sold in brightly colored packaging costing an estimated €8 ($8.83) to €12 for 500 puffs (inhalations).
May 3, 2023
Reynolds Warns Vape Shops to Stop Selling Flavored Vapes

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A STAT news report claims R.J. Reynolds has sent letters to several small vape shops threatening to sue if the shops do not stop selling flavored vaping products.
The STAT news story claims to have obtained two letters, both of which were sent in March, giving the vape shops just a few days to confirm they will no longer sell flavored tobacco products.
Failure to comply could result in “legal action, and the costs, attorneys’ fees, and adverse publicity to which a lawsuit would subject [the vape shop],” the letters warn, according to STAT.
The letters, which were sent to stores in New Jersey and Alabama, also warn that the shops are violating local laws regulating the sale of flavored tobacco.
The New Jersey letter also copies the county prosecutor where the vape shop is located, in an apparent attempt to notify the local authorities of the violation.
he letters are the latest example — and a marked escalation — of Reynolds’ campaign to force a crackdown on illegal vaping products.
In the article, Clive Bates, a tobacco harm reduction advocate, criticized Reynolds.
“I do not think Reynolds should be hounding vape shops for selling life-saving products to their regular customers,” Bates wrote in an email to STAT. “It should not be picking on little guys, but pressing federal bureaucracies to do their job, and do it better.”
In February, RAI Services Company, a Reynolds company, submitted a citizen petition asking the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to adopt a new enforcement policy directed at flavored “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.
May 3, 2023
Hawaii Sends 70 Percent Vape Tax Bill to Governor

Credit: Timothy S. Donahue
Lawmakers in Hawaii last week passed a “tax parity” law that applies the tax rate for traditional tobacco products to vaping products. If signed into law by Governor Josh Green, vaping products would be subject to a 70 percent wholesale tax—one of the highest rates in the country.
The bill, SB975 SD2 HD3, defines vaping products as “tobacco products,” and was negotiated in a marathon conference session between the State House and Senate just before the deadline for this year’s legislative session. The legislative session adjourns on May 4.
It isn’t certain the exact date the bill will be sent to Green, or if he intends to sign it into law. If signed, the tax will take effect Jan. 1, 2024. Currently, Hawaii has no tax on vaping products.
Right now, e-cigarettes only have the general excise tax (GET) of between 4.1 percent and 4.7 percent attached to them. Combustible cigarettes sold in Hawaii carry other taxes.
Last year, having survived a rollercoaster legislative session that saw the bill near death on multiple occasions, Hawaii’s ban on flavored e-cigarettes was signed by its governor.
May 2, 2023
Louisiana Lawmakers Take Flavor Out of Vaping

Baton Rouge, capital of Louisiana (Credit: Fang)
In the U.S. state of Louisiana, the House Judiciary Committee voted 7-3 Thursday to advance a bill prohibiting flavored nicotine-based e-liquid products.
House Bill 179, was authored by Rep. William Wheat who is concerned with the rising use of vapor and tobacco products by younger people. He described it as being “in epidemic proportions.” Brian King, the head of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s tobacco center, recently said that there is currently no vaping “epidemic.“
Witnesses testified about the dangers of vaping. One witness was the mother of a Baton Rouge boy who died after using vapor and nicotine products, according to media reports.
According to Wheat, 52 percent of high school students have tried e-cigarettes — three times as many as in a study done in 2015.
The most recent data available from the Louisiana Department of Health’s 2019 youth tobacco survey found that 15 percent of middle school students and 32 percent of high school students currently vape. The trend of youth vaping has declined dramatically since 2019. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that in 2022 only 14 percent of high schoolers vape nationally, according to the AP.
Wheat said a bill was passed in a prior session making it illegal for someone under 21 years old to buy tobacco and nicotine products. However, that has not stopped younger people from obtaining them.
He went on to say he was trying to “make sense of that and get things headed in a different direction.”
“HB 179 is not a perfect answer,” Wheat said. He added: “But it is our job to make the first step.”
April 28, 2023