Tag: news

FDA Launches Vaping Education Resource Center
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s Center for Tobacco Products (CTP) announced Today the launch of its Vaping Prevention and Education Resource Center.
The online resource center provides science-based, standards-mapped materials that teachers can use to help their students understand the negative effects associated with vaping and nicotine addiction.
“The new resource center features numerous age-appropriate, cross-curricular resources for teachers to promote learning and begin having open conversations with youth about vaping,” the FDA states in a release. “This effort is an extension of FDA’s prior work with Scholastic, a collaboration that has recently ended. The materials previously developed through this collaboration can be found in the resource center.”
In addition to content designed for teachers, CTP also developed materials for parents and teens. All content on the resource center is free, easy to navigate, and optimized for each audience, according to the release.
Teachers will find lesson plans, interactive tools, infographics, and videos with tobacco facts and tips about how to teach teens about the dangers of vaping.
Parents will find fact sheets, videos, and resources to help them understand and recognize vapes, talk with their children, and keep the conversation going over time.
Students will find real-life stories and relatable content to help them understand vaping, nicotine addiction, common myths about vapes, and how to say no to vaping.
The launch of the resource center illustrates FDA’s continued commitment to youth vaping prevention. We will be continuously updating the resource center with new materials, so check back often for the latest resources.
September 22, 2022
Nicaragua Bans Imports of E-Cigarette Products

Credit: Adaptice
In Nicaragua, the General Directorate of Customs Services issued the technical circular identified as CT/116/2022, informing the officials of the General Directorate of Customs Services and the public of the prohibition on the importation of electronic cigarettes and the obligation of importers and exporters of tobacco to register before the National Sanitary Regulation Authority.
The ban on electronic cigarettes entering the country is absolute, prohibiting the import, export, storage, distribution, marketing, and use of electronic nicotine delivery systems, electronic cigarettes, vaporizers, or other similar devices with or without nicotine, according to JD Supra.
The regulation prohibits the entry into the country of these products, even for personal use, by empowering customs officials to seize such products from travelers for subsequent delivery to the National Sanitary Regulation Authority (ANRS).
The rule also establishes that companies engaged in the manufacture, import, and export of tobacco products, including vaping products, and their derivatives in Nicaragua must register with the Health Regulation Directorate of the ANRS to carry out customs clearance of this type of merchandise under any customs regime.
Before this provision entered into force, the e-cigarette and vaporizer industry was unregulated.
September 21, 2022
Vuse’s U.S. Market Share Hits Double Digits Over Juul

It just keeps growing. In the latest Nielsen analysis of convenience-store data, the market-share gap between Vuse and Juul vaping products has stretched to a double-digit lead for Vuse.
The analysis, released Tuesday, covers the four-week period ending Sept. 10.
Vuse’s market share rose from 39 percent in the previous report to 39.7 percent, compared with Juul declining from 29.4 percent to 28.1 percent.
Vuse also has also now edged ahead of Juul in the year-over-year comparison at 32.9 percent to 32.7 percent, respectively. It’s the first time Vuse has led the year-over-year comparison.
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, according to the Winston-Salem Journal.
The looming potential for an outright ban of Juul Labs’ e-cigarettes from U.S. retail shelves has accelerated the market-share gains of R.J. Reynolds Vapor Co.’s Vuse brand, according to reports.
Meanwhile, No. 3 NJoy dropped from 2.9 percent to 2.8 percent, while Fontem Ventures’ blu eCigs slipped from 1.6 percent to 1.4 percent.
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 17.7 percent decline in the latest report.
By comparison, Reynolds’ Vuse was up 41.4 percent in the latest report, while NJoy was down 5.6 percent and blu eCigs fell to 30.2 percent.
September 21, 2022
Juul Sues FDA for Failure to Disclose Documents

Credit: Insurance Journal
The battle between Juul Labs and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration continues to gain steam. The vapor manufacturer has now filed a lawsuit against the FDA over the agency’s refusal to disclose documents supporting its marekting denial order (MDO) that bans a company from selling e-cigarettes on the U.S. market.
In a complaint filed on Tuesday with a federal court in Washington, D.C., Juul Labs accused the FDA of invoking the “widely abused” deliberative process privilege to improperly withhold scientific materials that are “central” to understanding the basis for the June 23 issuance of the MDO, according to Reuters.
The company claims the materials would show whether the FDA conducted a legally required balancing of the public health benefits and risks of its products, including claims Juul e-cigarettes help smokers quit combustible cigarettes, and whether the agency’s reasoning was scientifically sound.
“The public deserves a complete picture of the scientific facts behind one of the agency’s most controversial and closely scrutinized decisions in recent years,” Juul Labs stated.
An FDA spokeswoman declined to comment, saying the agency does not discuss pending litigation.
Juul Labs accused the FDA of violating the federal Freedom of Information Act by withholding a majority of the “scientific disciplinary reviews” underlying the sales ban.
The company said it filed an administrative appeal of its MDO through the agency, but the FDA missed a Sept. 13 deadline to resolve it.
A federal appeals court temporarily stayed Juul’s MDO on June 24.
Earlier this month, Juul Labs settled youth marketing lawsuits with 33 states and Puerto Rico.
September 21, 2022
RLX Revenue Down as Firm Adjusts to New Rules

Photo: RLX Technology
RLX Technology reported net revenues of RMB2.23 billion ($333.5 million) for the second quarter of its fiscal year 2022, compared with RMB2.54 billion in the same period of 2021. Gross profit was RMB977.9 million, compared with RMB1.15 billion in the comparable 2021 period.
The company attributed the decrease in net revenues primarily to the suspension of store expansions and new product launches to comply with regulatory requirements.
Chinese authorities have recently moved the vapor business under the regulatory framework for tobacco products. E-cigarette manufacturers now require operating licenses from the State Tobacco Monopoly Administration, while vapor products must satisfy various standards and technical requirements before entering the market.
On June 10, 2022, one RLX Technology subsidiary obtained an STMA license to manufacture e-liquids. On July 22, 2022, another subsidiary was licensed to own the RELX brand and manufacture RELX branded e-vapor rechargeable devices, cartridge products and products sold in combination with e-vapor rechargeable devices and cartridge products.
“Over the past several months, we have made meaningful strides in adapting our business and product development to the new regulatory framework,” said Ying (Kate) Wang, co-founder, chairperson of the board of directors and CEO of RLX Technology, in a statement. “Specifically, we have obtained the License for Manufacturing Enterprise and received regulatory approvals for some of our new products, demonstrating our operational excellence and industry-leading R&D capabilities.”
“In light of the regulatory changes, we are off to a slow start of the sales of our new products that are compliant with the National Standards in the new transaction system mandated by the regulators,” said Chao Lu, chief financial officer of RLX Technology. “Despite the macro headwinds, we will continue to steadily focus on cost optimization while reinforce our product competitiveness under the new regulatory regime to create sustainable, long-term growth for our shareholders.”
September 21, 2022
Proposed South Africa Vape Tax Would Double Prices

The proposed excise duty on vaping products in South Africa should be imposed on all “actors” equally to ensure fair competition and an equal playing field for all participants, according to BAT South Africa. However, prices would rise, the company warned.
Speaking at a standing committee on finance, the tobacco giant represented by Dane Mouyis said that according to its own data, electronic vaping products account for less than 0.5 percent of the entire nicotine product market of South Africa, according to Business Tech.
However, there is an over-proportioned number of retailers that are creating their own vaping liquid.
Mouyis said that many people are “doing it themselves” importing a few litres of nicotine liquid only to turn it into many more vials of vape liquid – an excisable product.
Under National Treasury’s proposal, the average excise rate for e-cigarettes is proposed at R2.91 ($0.17) per millilitre and apportioned in a ratio of 70:30 between nicotine and non-nicotine elements.
To ensure that tax is gathered from this trade, Mouyis said that in collaboration with Oxford Economics, it was found that a rate of R1.45/ml should be the absolute upper limit of the duty.
The representative said that considering South Africa’s affordability, a 70 cents duty is more appropriate.
Asanda Gcoyi from the Vapour Products Association of South Africa, which represent both manufacturers and retailers, warned that the tax would drive price increases onto the consumer, and one could see the average price of vape products increase by 138% and e-liquid consumption drop by 36%.
BAT stressed that an aggressive excise tax would rush consumers away to an illicit market that would subsequently grow. Gcoyi echoed this sentiment.
The tobacco company proposed the following changes for vaping products in the country:
A registration system must be introduced with the excise for manufacturers and retailers – to open the market up to the South African Revenue Service (SARS). Gcoyi added that the proposed tax was problematic as the rationale behind it was flawed.
She said that the scientific basis of the tax is inaccurate in that the National Treasury sees the vaping industry as attempting to undermine global tobacco efforts – while many international studies have actually pointed to vaping as being a harm reduction practice dissimilar to traditional smoking.
She added that the goal of the excise is unclear as the Treasury has provided little detail on how it would be beneficial to public health, and not enough research has been concluded on youth uptake.
The introduction of the excise will have significant unintended and irrational consequences, one being that the proposed duty would make vaping more expensive than smoking and create an illicit trade – thus going against the doctrine of harm reduction, said Gcoyi.
The Vapour Products Association has since called on businesses to oppose the excise duty and for the Treasury to conduct further market research on the implications of its proposal.
September 20, 2022
California’s E-Scrap Recycling Program Excludes ENDS
Credit: Sharaf Maksumov
The newly expanded e-scrap recycling program signed by California Governor Gavin Newsom will not include vaping products. AB 2440 and SB 1215 set up an extended producer responsibility program for loose batteries and added battery-embedded products to the Electronic Waste Recycling Act of 2003.
Newsom signed the bills Sept. 16 as part of a package of climate-related bills, according to Resource Recycling.
Under SB 1215, consumers will be required to pay an electronic waste recycling fee upon the purchase of certain new or refurbished products starting Jan. 1, 2026. However, a covered battery-embedded product is one containing a battery “that is not intended to be easily removed from the product by the consumer with no more than commonly used household tools,” the bill’s text states, excluding medical devices, energy storage systems and electronic nicotine delivery system (ENDS) products.
“This month has been a wake-up call for all of us that later is too late to act on climate change. California isn’t waiting any more,” Newsom said in the press release. “Together with the Legislature, California is taking the most aggressive action on climate our nation has ever seen.”
September 20, 2022
New British Standards for Vaping Quality and Safety

Photo: Lezinav
The British Standards Institution has developed a fast-track informal standard, PAS 8855, to address quality, performance and safety issues related to vaping products, reports ECigIntelligence.
The new PAS (publicly available specification), sponsored by Juul Labs, recognizes the progress made in the construction and use of e-cigarettes since PAS 54115 was issued in 2015.
September 19, 2022
Several Studies Refute Link Between Vaping, Smoking

An anti-smoking group announced that several studies have found no evidence that the use of e-cigarettes and heated tobacco products (HTPs) are leading non-smokers and youth towards cobustible cigarette smoking in countries such as the U.S., the UK, Australia, Japan, France and Switzerland.
Action on Smoking and Health (ASH)-UK cited the results of five large surveys of 11 to 16-year-olds in the UK between 2015 and 2017 showing that “most young people who experiment with e-cigarettes did not become regular users,” according to media reports.
“Overall, there is no evidence that e-cigarettes have driven up smoking prevalence in this age group. In fact, smoking prevalence among young people has declined since e-cigarettes came onto the market,” ASH-UK stated.
A time-series analysis conducted by researchers led by Emma Beard between 2007 and 2018 in the UK showed that the increase in the prevalence of e-cigarette use in England among the entire sample does not appear to have been associated with an increase in the uptake of smoking among young adults aged 16 to 24.
A 2022 study by University of Bristol researchers found that, based on the “current balance of evidence, using triangulated data from recent population-level cross-contextual comparisons, individual-level genetic analyses and modeling, we do believe, however, that causal claims about a strong gateway effect from e-cigarettes to smoking are unlikely to hold, while it remains too early to preclude other smaller or opposing effects.”
A 2020 study by Dr. Colin Mendelsohn and Wayne Hall concluded that claims of vaping serving as a gateway to smoking are unconvincing. “Smoking more often precedes vaping than vice versa, regular vaping by never-smokers is rare and the association is more plausibly explained by a common liability model,” they stated.
Another comprehensive analysis of whether vaping causes smoking uptake was published by the University of Queensland in Australia. That study concluded also that there was little evidence of a gateway effect. If a gateway effect does exist, it is likely to be small, the study said.
A 2021 study by Wayne Hall and Gary Chan on the “gateway” effect of e-cigarettes found that “e-cigarette use has not been accompanied by increased cigarette smoking among young people in the United States, as would be the case if e-cigarette use were a major gateway to cigarette smoking.”
September 17, 2022
Supreme’s Growth Driven by Vapor Product Sales

Credit: 88Vape
The UK-based wholesale vaping product distributor and manufacturer Supreme stated in a press release Thursday that trading in the current financial year remained in line with the company’s market expectations.
The AIM-traded firm, which was holding its annual general meeting, stated that it delivered a strong performance for the year ended March 31, underpinned by organic growth across its leading divisions, as well as acquiring complementary businesses.
Paul McDonald, chairman of Supreme, stated the company had continued to develop an “extensive network” of customers across the retail space, and was “delighted” with the progress made in increasing its retail penetration, alongside the positive impact of recent brand and product launches.
“Trading for the current financial year remains in line with market expectations, with the business well-placed to deliver on our strategic aspirations, supported by the recent acquisitions of vaping business Liberty Flights and the purchase of trade and assets of Cuts Ice and Flavour Core,” McDonald stated.
“Our fast-growing vaping category continues to underpin the group’s growth.”
Alongside the strong performance of Supreme’s 88vape brand, including new customer wins across grocery and convenience retail, McDonald stated that the company is committed to evolving its vaping segment as evidenced with the recent acquisitions of Liberty Flights in June, and Cuts Ice and Flavour Core in August.
McDonald said the two transactions were “highly complementary and immediately earnings enhancing,” and would deliver scale to the group, adding that the company was “well-placed” to help mitigate the impact of inflation on consumers.
“Looking ahead, we continue to explore additional merger and acquisition opportunities to complement the group’s organic growth, and the board remains confident in Supreme’s strategic ambitions, underpinned by the exciting prospects within vaping,” he stated.
September 17, 2022