Tag: news

Colorado Flavor Ban Heads to Senate After House Win
Credit Renan
After months of debates and amending, Colorado’s House passed a ban on flavored vaping and other tobacco products this week. The bill passed 35-27 on Wednesday after the appropriations committee approved it earlier in the day on a 7-4 vote.
That ban will not apply to the sale of premium cigars after they were given an exemption during the debate process, as was pipe tobacco and hookah products.
The bill now goes to the state Senate. Even with the session end looming, one of its co-sponsors, state Sen. Rhonda Fields said she was optimistic, according to Colorado Public Radio.
“You know, it looks great. It’s on its way to the Senate, and then we’ll make sure it goes through all the appropriate committees and I’m looking forward to debating it,” said Fields.
Opponents say a ban would hurt convenience stores and vape shops and have argued the issue is one of personal choice.
For Fields, she said it’s about the toll tobacco consumption, driven by attractive flavors like menthol, has taken on the community.
“It started back in the ’60s, (the brand) Kool Cigarettes, all these menthol flavors,” she said. “The industry has now put flavors into vaping, into cigarettes to make it more attractive for young people to start smoking early.”
The measure, HB22-1064, bans retailers of cigarettes, tobacco or nicotine products from selling or marketing any flavored product. Those are defined as products “imparting a taste or smell other than the taste or smell of tobacco.”

May 6, 2022
First Illegal E-Cigarette Arrests Made By Hong Kong Police

Credit: Polack
Hong Kong police arrested two men, who are being held in custody under suspicion of selling and possessing a poison in Part 1 of the Pharmacy and Poisons Regulations as well as selling alternative smoking products, according to a report in the South China Morning Post. The arrests follow the implementation of a new e-cigarette ban.
The new law went into effect last weekend, banning the import, sale and manufacture of electronic cigarettes, heated-tobacco products and herbal cigarettes. Those caught breaking the law are subject to a maximum fine of HKD50,000 ($6,370) and six months’ imprisonment. Under the law, consumers are still allowed to use vaping products.
Police seized 94 boxes of suspected nicotine-containing electronic cigarette cartridges and 74 smoking devices from a mobile retail outlet in Mong Kok.
“The government appeals to smokers to quit smoking as early as possible for their own health and that of others,” said a Department of Health spokesperson.
May 6, 2022
ALD Group to Launch EBVS Biodegradable Vape Next Year

Photo: Timothy Donahue
ALD Group Limited (ALD) is set to launch the first biodegradable vaping product worldwide in mid-2023, the company announced at today’s In Focus event. The product will also be 90 percent recyclable (including the packaging, plastic shell, PCBA, mouthpiece and battery).
Currently named the Eco-friendly, Biodegradable Vape Solution (EBVS), the new device will take as little as three months to biodegrade, and was created in response to consumer and market demand.
Founded in 2009 and headquartered in Shenzhen, China, ALD is a high-tech enterprise specializing in electronic atomization technology research and applications. ALD′s business covers electronic nicotine delivery systems, inhaled medical vaporizer and heated tobacco products.
The plastic components in ALD’s eco-friendly vape solutions use innovative biodegradable raw materials like PBS, and the shell and structural parts do not come into contact with e-liquid; addressing the challenge of vaping producers whose single-use plastic pod products cannot be recycled due to the residues left over from e-liquids.
“The innovative factor is that our extensive research showed that in the e-cigarette sector there was currently no ready-made solution for the application of biodegradable materials,” said Eric Ding, founder and president of ALD Group.
“During development, we screened dozens of materials, repeatedly verified product performance and, finally, determined the seven best mixes of materials. Our processes included the verification of material strength, chemical resistance, extractability and degradability.”
The engineering validation and testing evaluation of its new device was completed in mid-2021, and the shelf life and biodegradability testing are expected to be completed in mid-2022.
Vapor Voice profiles ALD’s environmental efforts in its Issue 2, 2022 print edition (see “Combating Waste).
May 5, 2022
Hawaii to Ban Flavored Vapes if Governor Signs Bill
Credit: Timothy S. Donahue
Having survived a rollercoaster legislative session that saw the bill near death on multiple occasions, Hawaii’s ban on flavored e-cigarettes now land’s on the governor’s desk. Many industry experts say he may veto the controversial legislation.
The ban, which takes effect after the new year, outlaws the sale of nearly all flavored tobacco products in Hawaii stores, including menthol cigarettes and flavored cigars, according to Civil Beat. The primary target of the measure, however, are flavored e-cigarettes most popular with middle and high school students.
After a contentious debate Tuesday, House Bill 1570 passed its final reading in the state House of Representatives with 36 voting in favor and 15 in opposition, reflecting division among public health advocates and other supporters who turned their backs on the measure they helped write.
At issue was a Senate amendment that would exempt from the ban certain tobacco products that had received federal Food and Drug Administration approval.
It is a major loss for Hawaii’s legal vaping industry, which has campaigned vigorously against a prohibition on the products that form their livelihood.
“[About] 99.9 percent of everything that our industry sells to adult consumers, legally with age verification, is flavored products,” said Scott Rasak, chief operating officer of Volcano, a vape shop chain with 16 locations across the state. “We’re talking about hundreds of businesses, thousands of jobs.”
Vape shop owners argue that a tobacco ban will force kids onto the black market. Public health activists, however, have long advocated for cutting flavored vapes off at the source.
Hawaii’s vaping industry will challenge the ban’s legality in court, Volcano’s Rasak vowed.
The bill might also receive pushback from Gov. David Ige, who introduced a similar flavor ban to the Senate this year but has yet to reveal his stance on HB 1570 in its current form.
“I think that the governor might veto the bill,” Matayoshi said in an interview after the vote. “It really depends on the census of the (public health) community.”
May 4, 2022
FDA Issues First Warnings for Illegal CBD, Delta-8 Products
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today issued warning letters to five companies for selling products labeled as containing delta-8 tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). The regulatory agency claims that the companies violated the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic (FD&C) Act. It’s the first time the FDA has issued warning letters for products containing delta-8 THC.
“Delta-8 THC has psychoactive and intoxicating effects and may be dangerous to consumers. The FDA has received reports of adverse events experienced by patients who have consumed these products,” the agency stated in a release. “There are no FDA-approved drugs containing delta-8 THC. Any delta-8 THC product claiming to diagnose, cure, mitigate, treat, or prevent diseases is considered an unapproved new drug.”
The states that it has not evaluated whether “these unapproved drug products” are effective for the uses manufacturers claim, what an appropriate dose might be, how they could interact with FDA-approved drugs or other products, or whether they have dangerous side effects or other safety concerns, according to the statement.
“Delta-8 THC is one of over 100 cannabinoids produced in the Cannabis sativa L. plant but is not found naturally in significant amounts. Concentrated amounts of delta-8 THC are typically manufactured from hemp-derived cannabidiol (CBD) and have psychoactive and intoxicating effects,” the release states. “Products containing delta-8-THC are available in varying forms, including but not limited to candy, cookies, breakfast cereal, chocolate, gummies, vape cartridges (carts), dabs, shatter, smokable hemp sprayed with delta-8-THC extract, distillate, tinctures, and infused beverages.”
The warning letters address the illegal marketing of unapproved delta-8 THC products by companies as unapproved treatments for various medical conditions or for other therapeutic uses. The letters also cite violations related to drug misbranding (e.g., the products lack adequate directions for use) and the addition of delta-8 THC in foods, such as gummies, chocolate, caramels, chewing gum and peanut brittle.
“The FDA is very concerned about the growing popularity of delta-8 THC products being sold online and in stores nationwide. These products often include claims that they treat or alleviate the side effects related to a wide variety of diseases or medical disorders, such as cancer, multiple sclerosis, chronic pain, nausea and anxiety,” said FDA Principal Deputy Commissioner Janet Woodcock. “It is extremely troubling that some of the food products are packaged and labeled in ways that may appeal to children. We will continue to safeguard Americans’ health and safety by monitoring the marketplace and taking action when companies illegally sell products that pose a risk to public health.”
The FDA recently published a consumer update expressing concerns about the potential health effects of delta-8 THC products. The FDA has received adverse event reports involving products containing delta-8 THC from consumers, healthcare practitioners and law enforcement, some of which resulted in the need for hospitalization or emergency room treatment, according to the agency.
The FDA states that it is also aware of an increasing number of exposure cases involving products containing delta-8 THC received by national poison control centers and alerts issued by state poison control centers describing safety concerns and adverse events with products containing delta-8 THC.
In addition to the violations related to FDA-regulated products containing delta-8 THC, several of the warning letters outline additional violations of the FD&C Act, including marketing CBD products claiming to treat medical conditions in humans and animals, promoting CBD products as dietary supplements, and adding CBD to human and animal foods.
“CBD and delta-8 THC are unapproved food additives for use in any human or animal food product, as the FDA is not aware of any basis to conclude that the substances are generally recognized as safe (GRAS) or otherwise exempt from food additive requirements,” the release states. “One of the letters expresses concerns regarding CBD products marketed for food-producing animals, and the potential safety concerns related to human food products (e.g., meat, milk, eggs) from animals that consume CBD, as there is a lack of data on safe CBD residue levels.”
The FDA issued warning letters to:

ATLRx Inc.

BioMD Plus LLC

Delta 8 Hemp

Kingdom Harvest LLC

M Six Labs Inc.
The FDA has previously sent warning letters to other companies illegally selling unapproved CBD products that claimed to diagnose, cure, mitigate, treat or prevent various diseases, in violation of the FD&C Act. In some cases, there were further violations because CBD was added to food products. The FDA has not approved any CBD products other than one prescription human drug product to treat rare, severe forms of epilepsy, according to the agency.
The FDA has requested written responses from the companies within 15 working days stating how they will address these violations and prevent their recurrence. Failure to promptly address the violations may result in legal action, including product seizure and/or injunction.
May 4, 2022
VTA Meets With FDA for 2nd Time on Synthetic Nicotine
The Vapor Technology Association (VTA) has again met with the U.S. Food & Drug Administration’s Center for Tobacco Products (CTP) to help clarify any questions the regulatory agency may have surrounding synthetic nicotine.
VTA representatives met with dozens of CTP regulators from seven different offices inside CTP to confront any concerns about premarket tobacco product applications (PMTAs) for synthetic products that are due on May 14, according to a VTA email.
Credit: Opolja
During the meeting, several speakers joined the VTA in shedding light on how synthetic nicotine is manufactured, its purity, and its similarities and differences compared to tobacco-derived nicotine. Dr. Bill Jackson, PhD (Organic Chemistry), Dr. David Johnson, PhD (Physical Analytical Chemistry), Dr. Ray McCague, PhD (Organic Chemistry), and Dr. Willie McKinney, PhD (Inhalation Toxicology), all have experience in synthetic products and shared that expertise with the regulatory agency.
Johnson and McKinney also have extensive experience with the FDA having previously served on FDA’s Tobacco Products Scientific Advisory Council, according to the VTA.
“As with our first meeting, we are encouraged by the level of engagement by the CTP’s Office of Science on this issue,” the VTA stated in a release. “And, we greatly appreciate the participation of numerous FDA scientists from the various responsible divisions within the office with whom we were able to share our scientific knowledge and advanced thinking on the key issues.”
The VTA is hoping to continue to engage the FDA to help the agency better understand the nature of synthetic nicotine, according to Tony Abboud, executive director of the VTA.
“Our work is not done. These meetings, and the additional meetings that we are working on, are just part of VTA’s multi-pronged strategy to ensure the proper and full assessment of synthetic nicotine PMTAs,” said Abboud. “If your company is manufacturing products containing synthetic nicotine and is serious about regulatory compliance, or if your retail operation wants the ability to continue to diversify its retail offerings with synthetic nicotine products, or if you want to have continued access to innovative products containing synthetic nicotine, you should strongly consider being engaged in our strategic efforts.”
May 4, 2022
Utah Schools Join Juul Labs Class Action Suit
Credit: Steheap
Nearly every school district in the state of Utah joined a mass tort lawsuit against Juul Labs. Park City Schools is the only Utah school district not participating in the lawsuit.
The lawsuit claims Juul Labs was deliberately using youthful marketing strategies. The lawsuit also claims the company misrepresents and fails to mention that its e-cigarettes are “more potent or addictive” than cigarettes, according to KUTV.
Juul Labs removed all flavors other than tobacco, mint and menthol from their offerings in 2019 after federal regulators accused the vape maker of using the flavors to lure minors to vape. That same year, the company announced it was suspending its print, broadcast and online advertising in the United States.
The Frantz Law Group of California has filed the mass tort lawsuit on behalf of 700 school districts across the country. Salt Lake City law firm Kirton McConkie will head up the Utah portion of the lawsuit. Attorney Jim Frantz and William Shinoff say Juul Labs directly marketed to minors, “because we’re dealing directly with minors, and undermining them and addicting them and that’s really as low as you can go,” says Frantz.
May 3, 2022
Harm Reduction Groups to ‘Expose Anti-Vape Agenda’
The return of sCOPe, a global livestream featuring leading tobacco harm reduction (THR) advocates, this year will broadcast again on both World Vape Day and World No Tobacco Day.
During the event, European, African, Indian, North and South American, and Asia-Pacific THR consumer organizations will discuss advocacy and issues in their countries and take questions from viewers.
The two-day sCOPe22 livestream will broadcast for World Vape Day 2022 on May 30 and broadcast for World No Tobacco Day 2022 on May 31. It will run for eight hours each day from 07:00 CDT/13:00 BST.
“This sCOPe livestream is so important. Too many smokers continue to die from the narrow-mindedness of an anti-vape agenda that has been funded by the likes of American billionaires,” says Nancy Loucas of the Coalition of Asia Pacific Tobacco Harm Reduction Advocates (CAPHRA).
“The global evidence is overwhelmingly in favor of vaping, yet hundreds of millions of smokers are blocked from accessing harm reduced alternatives. People’s health and human rights are denied in favor of greed and ego. sCOPe 2022 will discuss where the money is coming from and expose the motivation,” says Loucas.
The organizations set to feature include European Tobacco Harm Reduction Advocates, the Campaign for Safer Alternatives in Africa, Vaping Saved My Life South Africa, the Association of Vapers India, and the CAPHRA.
The Americas are represented by Latin American-based ARDT Iberoamerica, Rights for Vapers Canada, the Tobacco Harm Reduction Association of Canada, and United States-based Consumer Advocates for Smoke-Free Alternatives Association.
Last year, sCOPe livestreamed around the clock from Nov. 8 to Nov. 12 during COP9—the Ninth Conference of the Parties to the World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control. The unprecedented broadcast gave a global voice to leading consumer advocates who were shut out of COP9.
May 2, 2022
Digital Minister for Thailand Pushing for Legal Vapor Sales
Credit: Sharaf Maksumov
A growing number of government officials in Thailand are calling for vaping products to remain illegal. However, one politician is promoting legalization of less harmful nicotine products to help smokers quit combustibles.
The country’s Digital Economy and Society Minister, Chaiwut Thanakamanusorn, on Friday urged Thailand’s National Tobacco Products Control Committee to revise its ban on the import and sale of e-cigarettes in the country, according to the Bangkok Post..
Chaiwut said he has petitioned the committee to revise its decision to ban e-cigarettes on March 28 because a committee set up by the ministry found that people opted for e-cigarettes because they believed them to be less harmful to their health. Despite the ban, they are illegally imported and sold online.
If the government allows the lawful import and sale of e-cigarettes, it will be able to set standards for selling and gain benefits through a tobacco tax, he said. Chaiwut claimed that the National Tobacco Products Control Committee was unlikely to have conducted the most thorough of surveys or have interviewed a broad number of proponents of electronic cigarettes.
“E-cigarettes have been accepted in many countries as being less of a health hazard than ordinary cigarettes,” he said.
Many tobacco harm reduction advocates say Thailand will eventually legalize vaping.
May 2, 2022
Hong Kong Ban on Vaping Products to Begin Today
Credit: Timothy S. Donahue
Hong Kong’s ban on the importation and sale of alternative smoking products, including vaping and heat-not-burn products, will take effect on April 30.
In a statement, the government said that, under the Smoking (Public Health) (Amendment) Ordinance 2021, people will not be allowed to use or carry an activated vaping device in no-smoking areas. Offenders will be fined HK1,500 ($191).
The ban covers electronic smoking products, heated tobacco products, herbal cigarettes, and their accessories, the government said, reports The Standard.
The ordinance prohibits the importation of any novel tobacco product by way of parcels, cargoes or bringing in by incoming travelers. People bringing such products into the city must declare them to customs.
Starting Saturday, inspectors from the Department of Health’s Tobacco & Alcohol Control Office will conduct inspections, investigate complaints and carry out enforcement actions, the government said.
The ordinance also prohibits the promotion, manufacture, and possession for commercial purposes of novel tobacco products. Those convicted of violating the law will be fined HK50,000 and imprisoned for six months.
April 30, 2022