Tag: news

UKVIA Partners With Stop-Smoking App ‘Smoke Free’

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The U.K. Vaping Industry Association (UKVIA) has joined forces with the stop-smoking app Smoke Free to encourage more smokers to give up their habit by using a range of evidence-based alternatives to conventional cigarettes.
As part of the collaboration, the UKVIA and Smoke Free have agreed to work on a number of joint campaigns and initiatives that both promote vaping as a successful method to quit smoking and increase access to the app among those smokers looking to kick their habit.
The joint initiatives include a campaign in January, when smokers will be making New Year’s resolutions to quit. Collaborations are also planned during VApril, the UKVIA’s annual vaping awareness month and on a specific initiative supporting hospital patients with smoking-related conditions and the healthcare professionals that care for them.

This is an exciting collaboration, which is focused on getting smokers to quit completely
John Dunne, director-general, UKVIA
“This is an exciting collaboration, which is focused on getting smokers to quit completely,” said John Dunne, director-general of the UKVIA, in a statement. “Some 2.4 million former smokers have successfully done this in the U.K. to date, but there are still 1.2 million dual vape/cigarette users and another 6.9 million smokers who have not quit to date.
“By coming together, we want to significantly ramp up support for smokers who are looking to quit.”
“Vapes make quitting easy because they’re a great replacement for cigarettes,” said David Crane, founder of the app. “But habits still need to be changed, which is where the support we provide comes in. We are proud to work with the UKVIA because they share our mission to create a smoke-free world. Together, we stand a great chance of helping people stop smoking for good.”
September 28, 2021
Geekvape Fast Charging Technology Passes TÜV Test

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Shenzhen Geekvape Technology Co.’s Safe Fast Charge technology has passed the rigorous Technischer Überwachungsverein (TÜV) test, the company announced in press note.
Products equipped with the technology guarantee safe rapid charging via USB-C in 15 minutes and an ultra-long battery life, according to Geekvape. Equipped with two connected batteries in series, Geekvape’s Safe Fast Charge technology achieved 96.43 percent charging current and battery capacity after more than 300 rounds of TÜV charging and discharging test—outperforming the international standard of 80 percent. The battery component adopts multi-electrode charging and discharging technology, which well balances the temperature and charging efficiency of the batteries and achieves safe fast charge.
“At Geekvape, we adhere only to the most stringent global safety standards. Our Safe Fast Charge technology has been strictly tested by leading independent parties, including the TÜV and FCC. As a result, we can confidently say we have achieved the world’s first fast-charging e-cigarette technology that is truly safe and durable,” said Siner Kong, the product manager of Geekvape.
With a number of different battery brands on the market, the safety, quality and price of each e-cigarette product can vary dramatically. When manufacturers purchase low-cost batteries that have not been vigorously checked and certified, this may lead to safety hazards, particularly when using high-current fast charging technologies.
To ensure the highest level of protection for its consumers, Geekvape only uses its own built-in batteries in its e-cigarette products. Each Geekvape battery cell undergoes tens of thousands of rounds of rigorous tests, including squeezing, short-circuiting, dropping, overshooting, exposure to high temperature, and vibration. The cell is then strictly checked from the manufacturer’s side, resulting in a truly safe and revolutionary fast charging experience.
In addition to TÜV tests, Geekvape’s Safe Fast Charge technology has passed IEC61960 and ICE62133 global battery safety regulation standards.
September 27, 2021
PUDO to Service West Coast Supply and E-Liquid Depot

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PUDO, a North American carrier-neutral parcel pick-up and drop-off counter network, signed client service agreements with online vaping industry retailers West Coast Vape Supply and ELiquid Depot.
According to PUDO, many major carrier services are unable to meet the age and identity verification (AIV) and other requirements of the new legislation, which governs the delivery of industry-specific branded consumer products, including alternative smoking accessories and consumables with active ingredients. With its carrier-agnostic parcel pick-up and drop-off counter locations throughout North America, PUDO says it offers a solution for AIV.
“We are excited to explore new delivery opportunities with PUDO and continue to bring harm reduction technologies to our customers,” said Mike Ibrahim, CEO of West Coast Vape Supply, in a statement. “This new agreement will help solve shipping challenges, and we hope new customers who would like to find another nicotine-delivery method can benefit.”
“We believe adult smokers and ex-smokers deserve access to a wide variety of smoke-free vaping products,” said American Vaping Association President Gregory Conley. “At the same time, we also understand the concerns that legislators and public officials have expressed about home delivery of these products occurring without crucial safeguards being in place to prevent youth access. We are excited to have PUDO as a solution for millions of American adult consumers.”
“Our PUDOpoint Counters operators are benefiting from increased parcel volumes and foot traffic; vape industry customers are benefiting by being able to pick up the parcels during extended hours and on weekends at locations near to where they live, work or play; and online retailers are enjoying frictionless, seamless compliance,” said PUDO Founder and CEO Frank Coccia. “A triple homerun.”
September 24, 2021
FDA Issues More Marketing Denial Orders for E-Liquids

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The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has issued additional marketing denial orders (MDOs) for electronic nicotine-delivery system (ENDS) products.
As of Sept. 23, the agency has issued 323 MDOs accounting for more than 1,167,000 flavored ENDS.
The list of MDOs is available here.
The FDA issued the first MDOs in August.
Products subject to an MDO for a premarket application may not be introduced or delivered for introduction into interstate commerce. If the product is already on the market, the product must be removed from the market or risk enforcement.
Companies receiving these MDOs may have submitted premarket applications for other products (such as ENDS devices, tobacco-flavored ENDS or menthol-flavored ENDS), and those products, if still pending, remain under review at FDA.
September 23, 2021
RELX Announces Distribution Partnership in Saudi Arabia

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RELX International has announced a partnership with SAF Trading Agencies for the exclusive distribution of RELX products throughout the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
“This is an incredibly important partnership for RELX International, and we’re thrilled to be working with SAF Trading Agencies who will leverage their extensive KSA distribution network to make the brand widely available nationwide for our adult consumers,” said Fouad Barakat, general manager, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait & Algeria at RELX in a statement.
“Our aim is to drive awareness and sales, as well as our corporate messaging to our target audience, adult smokers who would otherwise continue smoking, across the region.”
Since its establishment in the late 1980s, SAF Trading Agencies has grown into an extensive group of companies covering a diversified range of activities and markets including pharmaceuticals, e-cigarettes and food production.
According to RELX, the Middle East and North Africa region is one of the vapor business’ fastest growing markets, expanding at a rate just short of 10 percent until 2024.
September 23, 2021
Commission Urges New Ideas to Fight Smoking

New technologies that deliver nicotine without combustion present a substantial opportunity to end the death and disease associated with tobacco use, especially in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs), according to the International Commission to Reignite the Fight Against Smoking.
In a new report, the commission offers facts, analysis and recommendations aimed at reinvigorating an effort that has stalled, “mired in an outdated paradigm that has been superseded by new technology, new ideas and new concerns for neglected communities.” The fact that there are still more than 1.1 billion tobacco users worldwide proves that the fight against smoking requires new ideas and ambition, its members note.
Among other recommendations, the commission calls for risk-proportionate tobacco policies and better access to harm reduction in LMICs (where most smokers are located). It also encourages medical bodies to reestablish the leadership role of doctors in ending smoking and urges tobacco companies to have a clear plan to phase out high-risk combustible products.
Tobacco harm reduction advocates welcomed the report. “This report thoroughly documents the global health toll of smoking, now and in a likely future,” said Donald Kenkel, Andrew Dickson White professor in the Cornell Jeb E. Brooks School of Public Policy and the Department of Economics at Cornell University.
“But the report also shows that through continuing technological innovation, tobacco harm reduction is an immediate, achievable goal. Evidence-based economic policies and regulations that support tobacco harm reduction offer real hope to help people quit smoking and improve their health.”
The report was prepared by James K. Glassman, former U.S. undersecretary of state for public diplomacy and public affairs; Rosemary Leonard, general practitioner; Kgosi Letlape, president of Africa Medical Association and president of Medical Councils of Africa; Vivan Sharan, Koan Advisory; and Tikki Pangestu, former director of research policy and cooperation at the World Health Organization.
September 22, 2021
ICCPP Launches New Ceramic Core

Photo: ICCPP
ICCPP, the parent company of Voopoo, has launched its first ceramic core technology brand, Gene Tree.
According to ICCPP, the new core addresses shortcomings of existing ceramic core products, which tend to suffer from light taste, sticking powder and burning coils. Such issues, says the company, affect not only the user experience but also pose a threat to consumers’ health.
Developing the new generation of ceramic core products involved more than 1,000 days of technical explorations and scientific experiments. In addition, it took tens of thousands of hours to choose the best solution from more than 2,000 sets of ceramic core material formulations.
ICCPP’s research and development team comprises more than 300 people, including more than 40 holding either doctoral or master’s degrees. In addition solving the problem of ceramic coils’ powder sticking and dropping, ICCPP managed to turn its R&D results into a solution fit for mass production.
In a blind test among more than 3,000+ vapers, participants indicated they favored the taste of Gene Tree over that of competing products.
According to ICCP, ceramic cores on the market generally have poor “taste reduction.” To compensate, companies traditionally have increased the amount of nicotine—but this isn’t an option for disposable vapor product sold in countries that limit nicotine concentrations.
According to ICCPP, 20 mg of nicotine salt in liquid vaporized with Gene Tree can achieve the same result as 30 mg of nicotine salt used in a competing product. Weighing about 0.07 g, Gene Tree’s volume is also 50 percent smaller than existing ceramic cores.
ICCP says the Gene Tree ceramic core is made of environmentally friendly mineral materials.
September 21, 2021
New Campaign Links Nicotine to Youth Mental Health Crisis
The Truth Initiative has revealed a new anti-vaping campaign titled “It’s Messing with Our Heads.”
The group says its campaign exposes “nicotine’s role as a contributor to the worsening youth mental health crisis and the tobacco industry’s ongoing attempts to distort public perception about the health effects of vaping products.”
As part of the campaign, the makers created a fake vape company called Depression Stick! to raise awareness of the fact that nicotine can worsen symptoms of anxiety and depression and underscore the mental health impact of real e-cigarette products.
According to the Truth Initiative, the Depression Stick! campaign follows the playbook of its e-cigarette competitors “complete with kid-friendly flavors, aiming to reach and engage young people through influencer unboxings.”
“Vaping has become so normalized in pop culture and many young people don’t even see it as an issue,” explained Mo Said, founder and chief creative officer of Mojo Supermarket, the independent agency that created the effort, in a statement.
“With everything happening in the world young people’s number one concern is their mental health. We believe that if we could show the connection between vaping nicotine and anxiety and depression, they’d never look at a vape the same way again.”
September 21, 2021
Kim Hesse to Lead Enthalpy’s Business Development

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Enthalpy Analytical has hired Kim Hesse as director of business development with a focus on the testing of nicotine containing products.
Hesse’s strong business development experience will help expand Enthalpy’s market leadership in tobacco and vape testing. “I am excited to join Enthalpy Analytical,” said Hesse. “This opportunity will give me exposure to new markets, customers and geographies with expanded capabilities, including toxicology services. I look forward to continuing to contribute value to the tobacco industry and supporting clients with the best solutions.”
Hesse holds advanced degrees from Kent State University and attended Arizona State University’s School of International Business Management.
Her laboratory testing career began January 2008 in Hamburg, Germany, where she trained in laboratory instrumentation and its application in the analysis of crop protection agents. Over the years, Hesse has expanded her expertise and now works closely with both the pharmaceutical and tobacco laboratory industries.
Hesse is a recognized expert in laboratory testing and the regulatory requirements of the tobacco testing trade. Due to her extensive knowledge, Hesse is a sought-after orator and has spoken at numerous industry events around the world.
September 20, 2021
Imperial to Test its Heated Tobacco Product in Greece

Photo: Imperial Brands
Imperial Brands has stepped up market testing of its heated tobacco products through a national rollout in Greece.
Insights from Greek consumers on the Pulze device and iD heat sticks will help inform the potential for further launches in a focused number of European markets. Earlier this month, Imperial Brands launched a pilot trial for its tobacco heating products in the Czech Republic.
Building a targeted and sustainable next generation product (NGP) business is a key part of Imperial’s new strategy and its commitment to make a meaningful contribution to harm reduction.
According to the company, heated tobacco is an established NGP category in a number of European territories, including where Imperial already has a strong route to market for its traditional tobacco products.
“Heated tobacco continues to gain traction among adult smokers in Greece, and we see significant growth opportunities for our promising products in this category,” said Imperial Brands’ chief consumer officer, Anindya Dasgupta, in a statement.
“The valuable consumer insights we gain from the pilot initiatives in Greece and the Czech Republic will inform the scale and pace of further market rollouts.”
Heated tobacco currently accounts for more than 10 per cent of the total tobacco sector in Greece, with further strong growth anticipated.
The Pulze device heats but doesn’t burn ‘iD heat sticks’ to provide nicotine and tobacco aromas containing fewer and substantially lower levels of the harmful chemicals found in combustible cigarette smoke.
Unlike other heated tobacco products, the Pulze device does not require a charging case, offering up to 20 consecutive uses. It is available in copper and silver colors.
ID tobacco consumables are being made available in Greece in four flavors: Rich Bronze, Balanced Blue, Capsule Polar, and Ice.
September 20, 2021