Tag: hookah

  • Geek Bar Launches Shisha Vapes for U.K. Market

    Geek Bar Launches Shisha Vapes for U.K. Market

    Photo: Geek Bar

    Geek Bar is launching its first range of shisha vapes, which will be widely available across the U.K.

    The Geek Bar shisha vape includes 575 puffs and uses the same battery technology as previous Geek Bar products. The range, which comes with 2 ml e-liquid capacity and contains 20 mg/ml nicotine to comply with U.K. regulations, is available in a number of flavors, including Watermelon Berries Shisha, Hawaii Sunshine Shisha and Pineapple Guava Shisha.

    The fruit flavored range is designed to help adult smokers quit conventional cigarettes. A study conducted by Nicotine & Tobacco Research last year highlighted that vaping sweet flavors associated with fruits were more likely to help an adult smoker give up their habit than use of tobacco flavored e-liquid, according to Geek Bar.

    “Shisha pipes have become increasingly popular in the U.K., and we wanted to give those who smoke them a safer option just like we do for conventional cigarette users with a range of disposable vape products which have been a phenomenal success in the U.K.,” said Geek Bar CEO Allen Yang.

    “Due to the popularity of Geek Bar in the U.K., we’re delighted to add this new shisha range to our product offering. We are plugging an important gap in the market which will support improved public health in the U.K.”

    The new shisha range will use Geek Bar’s new packaging which will allow both retailers and consumers to check the authenticity of the product from a compliance perspective as well as make it clear that the product is for sale to only over 18-year-olds.

  • Washington D.C. Flavor Ban Passes First Reading

    Washington D.C. Flavor Ban Passes First Reading

    Flavor ban bills have been a hot topic. The day before the Los Angeles City Council voted to draft a flavor ban bill, the District of Columbia Council voted to ban the sale of flavored vaping and tobacco products including menthol cigarettes.

    Credit: JHVE Photo

    The Council voted 9-3-1 during the Tuesday, June 15, legislative session. L.A. voted Wednesday. Bars and restaurants that offer hookah will be exempt from the ban in both cities. The bill still has to go through second reading and get the Mayor’s signature, and it is moving forward with many pieces of discussion left with the Council, according to localdvm.com.

    The National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA), representing more than 200 African-American owned community newspapers from around the United States, have joined together with a group of Black and Hispanic law enforcement executives to oppose the Washington, DC City Council proposed ban on menthol cigarettes, calling the law racially discriminatory.

    “Banning menthol is not going to make the demand for menthol products go away. We know this because illegal drugs are used by people in every community in every state across this country,” said Anthony Miranda, national chairperson, National Latino Officers Association, in an email. “When there is a high demand, an illegal market will fill the void, if a legal, regulated market does not. Bans and prohibitions don’t work. They actually create crime.”

    Originally, the bill focused on e-cigarettes and vapes, and was created in an effort to keep teenagers and kids from becoming addicted to smoking. Councilmembers who proposed the bill said that is still the focus. Business owners who sell the flavored products are concerned over the impact the ban will have on their businesses.

    The District’s Chief Financial Officer estimates the ban will cost the city $13.9 million over the next four years, but McCauley thinks it will be much more than that. McCauley noted the high tax already in place on menthol cigarettes has led to a drop in revenue, as neighboring states Maryland and Virginia have much cheaper prices. He also noted that many people buy and sell cigarettes on the street, which is unregulated.

    Council Chair Phil Mendelson was one of the no votes for the bill. He said, “This is not the right approach, for us to be prohibiting, creating other problems, collateral problems by taking this approach, and I think there are other approaches that can promote public health.”

  • Los Angeles Could Soon Ban Flavors, Exempt Hookah

    Los Angeles Could Soon Ban Flavors, Exempt Hookah

    Vapers in Los Angeles, California may no longer purchase flavored vaping products. The L.A. city council unanimously voted to ask city attorneys Wednesday to start drafting a bill banning businesses from selling many flavored vaping and tobacco products. The council has said the move was meant to stop teens from getting hooked on nicotine.

    Credit: Tierney

    A coalition of youth and public health advocates backing the ban argued that flavored products have lured more teens to use tobacco, including by vaping with electronic cigarettes. The council decided against considering an exemption for menthol.

    No one from the vaping industry argued against the proposed bill. Hookah lounges, however, may have been spared after arguing the law could destroy a cherished tradition among Armenians, Arabs and other communities in which hookah has been a centerpiece of gatherings and celebrations.

    The last time the issue was heard at City Hall over a year ago, council members suggested allowing some sales of flavored tobacco for consumption on site at lounges, but hookah sellers said the plan was too restrictive and would not allow lounges to be passed down to future generations, according to the L.A. Times. Nor would it allow people to buy hookah tobacco to smoke at home.

  • California Becomes Second State to Ban Flavored Vapor

    California Becomes Second State to Ban Flavored Vapor

    Finding a flavored vapor product in California is now an illegal act. The Golden State’s governor, Gavin Newsom, signed SB793 into law on Friday. His signed the bill after California’s Senate unanimously approved (34-0) an amended version of the bill returned by the Assembly. The law does not apply to online sales.

    The bill prohibits a Vape shop owner or tobacco retailer, or any of those entities retailer’s agents or employees, from selling, offering for sale, or possessing with the intent to sell or offer for sale, a flavored tobacco product or a tobacco product flavor enhancer, subjecting them to a fine of $250 for each violation. It also allows local governments to impose greater restrictions on the access to tobacco products than the bill imposes.

    California joins Massachusetts as the two states having flavored vaping bans, though each have unique exemptions to the laws. In Massachusetts, businesses defined as “smoking bars” are still able to sell flavored vaping and tobacco products.

    In California, premium cigars and shisha/hookah products are exempt. The law also does not include the possession or use of flavored tobacco products.

    The ban goes into effect on Jan. 1, 2021.