Tag: news

PMI Earns Wins Over Reynolds in HnB Patents Lawsuit
A Philip Morris International Inc. affiliate has earned two federal patent victories involving its heat-not-burn (HnB) technology dispute with Reynolds American Inc (RAI). A three-judge panel of the federal Patent Trial and Appeal Board said Wednesday it had determined as unpatentable all RAI Strategic Holdings Inc. claims for the “915” patent and claims 1 through 12 and 18 through 30 for the “542” patent.
Credit: Bill Oxford
The “915” patent “relates to smoking articles that employ an electrical heating element and an electrical power source to provide an inhalable substance in a vapor or aerosol form, without substantially burning or completely burning tobacco or other substances,” according to JournalNow.
Meanwhile, the “542” patent “is directed to articles wherein tobacco, a tobacco derived material or other material is heated, preferably without significant combustion, to provide an inhalable substance … in a vapor or aerosol form.” The “542” patent is designed to create improvements and alternatives to “provide the sensations associated with cigarette, cigar, or pipe smoking, without delivering considerable quantities of incomplete combustion and pyrolysis products.”
In both cases, the decisions are the final word from the board. However, those decisions can be appealed for review to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, which RAI has indicated it will pursue. According to federal law, a claim is unpatentable if “the differences between the subject matter sought to be patented and the prior art are such that the subject matter as a whole would have been obvious at the time the invention was made to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which said subject matter pertains.”
January 17, 2022
Philippine Sin Tax Coalition Urges Duterte to Veto Vape Bill
A group of 60 civil society organizations calling themselves the Sin Tax Coalition in the Philippines have called on President Rodrigo Duterte to veto an “anti-youth” and “anti-health” legislation legalizing the sale of electronic vaporizers and heated tobacco products.
Credit: Craitza
The measure, which merges Senate Bill 2239 and House Bill 9007, would lower the age limit of access to e-cigarettes and vapes from 21 years old to 18, transfer regulatory jurisdiction from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), and allow multiple flavors to vape products, according to the Manilla Times.
The coalition said that the bill “contradicts the supposed intention of protecting the Filipino youth from addiction [to cigarettes].” Citing a 2019 Global Youth Tobacco Survey that showed that one in seven Filipino students aged 13-15 are electronic cigarette users, the expansion of access to these devices will endanger young Filipinos, thus stricter regulation is needed to prevent the epidemic of vaping-related lung injuries in the country, according to the group.
The group called on Duterte to fulfill his campaign promise and leave a legacy of protecting public health by vetoing the bill, noting that he issued an executive order banning the manufacture, distribution, sale and marketing of unregistered e-cigarette products and expanding the smoking ban in enclosed public areas. “Passing this bill is an utter disservice to the health, welfare and well-being of your constituents. It is anti-youth, anti-health, and pro-addiction,” the group stated.

January 17, 2022
New Coil-Free Vaporizer Uses Ultrasonic Technology
Typical vaping devices use a coil made of resistance wire. Instead, the new Surge vaping device uses an ultrasonic vaping chip that vibrates 3 million times per second. The ultrasonic vibrations split the e-liquid into a cloud of vapor, without the use of a traditional heating wire.
Credit: Surge
“Ultrasonic heating creates smaller vapor particles, delivering nicotine content more efficiently for increased satisfaction. Since no wires are heated to produce vapor, dry hits and burnt flavors are eliminated from the vaping experience,” according to a press release. “Additionally, the lower working temperature of the ultrasonic process reduces potential toxin emission and maintains the chemical stability of the e-liquid.”
Surge Vapor hopes that its new approach to vaping technology can maximize harm reduction while increasing satisfaction for vapers.
Surge Vapors initial offering is developed for new vapers trying to quit combustibles. Its lightweight design, automatic draw activation and pre-filled ultrasonic pods currently come in six flavors, which have been specifically developed to pair with ultrasonic technology.
“Our mission was to create new vaping technology, which advances tobacco harm reduction and maximizes satisfaction,” according to the release. “After years of research and development, this is now a reality. We are excited for vapers around the world to experience the next generation of vaping with Surge.”
January 17, 2022
Vapor Industry Overregulation Bad for Public Health
A new report from the American Consumer Institute (ACI) highlights the dangers of overregulating e-cigarettes and vaping products. Co-authored by Steve Pociask and Liam Sigaud entitled “How Regulations Endanger the Public Health: A Review of the Evidence on E-Cigarette Risks and Benefits, and Policy Missteps”, the report investigates the empirical evidence surrounding the consumer risks and benefits of using e-cigarettes and vaping products compared to using combustible tobacco products.
Credit: iQoncept
The report finds that::

E-cigarettes and vaping products, while not totally safe, are significantly safer than smoking – 95% safer by some estimates;

Studies also show these products are twice as effective in getting smokers to quit than other nicotine-based smoking cessation treatments;

Excessive regulation of e-cigarettes and vapes not only ignores the prevailing scientific consensus on health risks, but they deter cigarette smokers from switching to safer alternatives and push vapers back to the pack; and

Therefore, overregulating these proven harm reduction products will have serious health consequences for millions of American consumers who smoke.
“The overwhelming empirical research is clear and shows that federal, state, and local governments are in a misguided pursuit that eliminates a safer choice for smokers,” a release states. “This report provides much-needed clarity on an issue of profound importance for public health. As the authors note ‘informed by rigorous research, the U.S. can better chart a responsible course that encourages smokers to seek safer substitutes and quit, while protecting our youth from the dangers of tobacco products.’”
January 14, 2022
Thai Minister Reaffirms Goal to Legalize Vaping
Thailand’s digital economy and society minister, Chaiwut Thanakamanusorn on Jan. 14 stated he would continue efforts to legalize e-cigarettes, according to the Bangkok Post.
Thanakamanusorn believes vapor products are safer than combustible cigarettes. He said legalization of e-cigarettes would enable the country to tax sales and would provide people who found themselves unable to quit smoking with a safer option.
The minister intends to create a working group to study legalization and invite people to sign in support of a request next month that the Constitutional Court rule if the ban on imports of e-cigarettes violates people’s rights, especially the right to have access to less dangerous products.
The minister insisted he had no vested interest in legalizing vaping. Tobacco harm reduction advocates have been pushing for legalization in Thailand.
January 14, 2022
Campaigners Attack ‘Absurd’ Claim About Cost of Smoking

Simon Clark (Photo: Forest)
Smokers’ rights campaigners have rejected a claim that smokers cost society £17 billion ($23.3 billion) a year in the U.K.—£5 billion more than previously estimated.
On Jan. 14, Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) published an economic analysis of U.K. data suggesting that the cost of smoking is significantly higher than previous estimates have shown.
The higher estimate is a result of a new assessment of the impact of smoking on productivity. According to ASH, smokers are more likely than nonsmokers to become ill while of working age, increasing the likelihood being out of work and reducing the average wages of smokers. Smokers are also more likely to die while they are still of working age, creating a further loss to the economy.
The report also cites smoking-related fires as a major cost to society, in the form of fire-related deaths, injuries and property damage.
“The suggestion that smokers are a significant economic burden on society is absurd,” countered Simon Clark, director of the smokers’ lobby group Forest.
“More than 80 percent of the cost of tobacco in the UK is tax and the revenue from the sale of legal tobacco is almost £10 billion a year. That’s a fact.
“In contrast, the contrived claim that smoking costs society £17 billion is based on nothing more than estimates and calculations.
“As well as making a huge contribution to the public purse, smokers make a significant contribution to the local economy because without the money they spend on tobacco many village shops and convenience stores would lose a regular source of income.
“The health risks of smoking are well known. If adults choose to smoke that’s a matter for them not government. Ministers must remember that and not be swayed by exaggerated claims about the cost of smoking to society.”
January 14, 2022
Poda’s Patent Approved for Innovative Closed-Bottom Pod

Photo: Poda Holdings
Poda Holdings has received a U.S. patent for its closed bottom vaporizer pod. The patent was granted on Dec. 28, 2021.
“Receiving this Notice of Issuance is the culmination of a substantial amount of work by Poda and our intellectual property team,” said Ryan Selby, CEO of Poda, in a statement. “The application for this invention was initially filed on March 17, 2017. After almost five years of dedicated work and substantial financial investments, I am extremely proud to have this valuable patent granted by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
“With the granting of this U.S. patent, Poda will effectively be the only company that can market a closed-ended heat-not-burn cigarette in the United States. We have already received a granted Canadian patent for this invention, and we now look forward to receiving granted patents for this application in the over 60 additional countries where this application has been filed. We believe this patent has incredible applicability in the global heat-not-burn market, and we look forward to marketing our patented products on a global scale.”
January 13, 2022
Scholar: Study Shows ‘No Link’ Between Vapor, Eye Damage
The new study by the University of California found that vaping could cause some eyesight impairments. The study included 1,173,646 adults in the US aged between 18 and 50, according to the The Telegraph. At least one researcher, however, says the study doesn’t correlate vaping and eyesight damage.
Current vapers were 34 percent more likely to suffer from visual impairments compared to those who had never tried it, and former vapers 14 percent more likely to suffer impairments, according to the study.
Credit: Stasique
Participants were asked if they ever have smoked or vaped and asked if they had suffered visual impairment. The findings, published in the American Journal of Ophthalmology, found that vaping may also promote oxidative stress, a key factor in the development of chronic diseases as well as cataracts and glaucoma.
Simon Capewell, a professor and clinical epidemiologist at the University of Liverpool, said the latest California study did not prove a link between vaping and eye damage. But he said there are “many nasty toxins” in e-cigarette vapor.
“But it is important to note that at this point, it’s unclear whether those risks are connected to vaping or something else,” the story states.
The eyesight study follows a recent study that found that vaping caused erectile disfunction. That study was also found to be flawed.
A major issue with the ED study is that participants were classified as current someday (“i.e., not every day or occasional”) or daily vapers, or smokers if they consumed cigarettes “every day or some days.” Beyond this self-reported information, the researchers didn’t know how much or which e-liquids the vapers in their study used, nor did they know how many cigarettes each smoker consumed.

January 12, 2022
Greenlane Granted USPS Exemption to Mail ENDS
Greenlane Holdings has announced its approval from the United States Postal Service (USPS) for a business and regulatory exception to the Prevent All Cigarette Trafficking (PACT) Act, allowing the company to ship electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS) products to other compliant businesses.
Credit: MYDAYcontent
With the approval, over 97 percent of total annual sales will be eligible for shipment by freight, USPS, or major carriers, and the PACT Act’s impact will be reduced to less than 3 percent of annual sales, according to a press release. The approval also enables Greenlane to offer its logistics capabilities to distribute other businesses’ ENDS products.
“We are thrilled to secure this approval from USPS to ship ENDS products business to business,” said Nick Kovacevich, CEO of Greenlane. “We continue to believe that in a highly regulated industry-which is only going to be subject to stricter regulation over time-that companies with significant size, scale, resources, and robust compliance programs will be able to successfully comply with regulatory requirements. As evidenced by the approval, Greenlane is well-positioned as a Nasdaq-listed market leader with a demonstrated history of compliance to navigate this ever-changing regulatory landscape and continue accelerating our business.”
Kovacevich said the company will continue to focus on selling its own proprietary in-house brands, and remain a strategic purveyor and distributor of third-party brands that are complementary to its business and provide value for its customers. “In fact, many companies have already begun to reach out with the hopes of leveraging our structure, processes, network, and compliance position,” he said. “Our message to businesses is that ‘if you are having issues shipping via the PACT Act and would like to explore engaging Greenlane as a distribution partner, please reach out.’ We welcome inquiries from all customers whose supply chains have been disrupted due to the PACT Act.”
January 12, 2022
Poda and Landewyck Explore Partnership

Photo: DragonImages
Poda Holdings and Landewyck Tobacco are exploring the potential of a partnership.
The companies intend to enter into a cooperation agreement based on both parties’ intellectual property, branding, manufacturing facilities and distribution channels to develop one or more products for commercialization.
Before further developing the cooperation project, the parties intend to assess the relevance of their cooperation by implementing a trial period for blend development, which could be used for the potential cooperation products.
By bringing together Landewyck’s tobacco manufacturing and distribution expertise and Poda’s patented heat-not-burn technology, the aim is to develop a consumer-centric product offering both convenience and optimal flavor in the reduced-risk sphere.
“We’re very excited to further strengthen our collaboration with Ryan and the Poda team,” said Georges Krombach, general manager of export and new-generation products for Landewyck, in a statement. “The technology and intellectual property behind Poda are disruptive and deliver a strong customer experience. By adding our tobacco and our European regulatory and distribution expertise, we expect to have great success in the European marketplace.
“We manufacture tobacco and cigarettes at our own facilities exclusively in Western Europe and attach great importance to maintaining the highest manufacturing, working and product standards that are socially acceptable to our consumers, partners and importers worldwide. Our master tobacco blenders travel to the farthest reaches of the globe to hand select the best leaves, hence ensuring the unique flavor of our tobacco products—and all so our customers can enjoy the ultimate in tobacco pleasure.
“From product and manufacturing standards to employees and retailers, we always ensure that our business decisions and the products we supply are in keeping with our family spirit and upholding our tradition of delivering 100 percent quality, flavor and customer satisfaction.”
“This marks another milestone in Poda’s commercialization efforts in Europe and abroad,” said Ryan Selby, Poda’s CEO. “Landewyck has been working in the tobacco space for over 170 years and brings a tremendous amount of manufacturing and distribution experience and expertise. We intend to get moving immediately on the blend development trial and hope to move quickly into large-scale commercialization of the cooperation products.”
January 12, 2022