Tag: news

New Managing Director at German E-Cig Association

Michal Dobrajc (left) and Oliver Pohland (Photo: VdeH)
Oliver Pohland has been named managing director of the German e-cigarette association Verband des e-Zigarettenhandels (VdeH). He succeeds Michal Dobrajc, who has served in the position since Dec. 21, 2018.
Pohland has years of experience in the private sector and political association management. He also has an extensive network at the state, federal and EU levels. Most recently, Pohland served as the federal manager of the THW Federal Association.
Pohland, who successfully quit smoking through vaping, plans to advocate for reasonable regulation of vapor products at all levels. In his view, the beleaguered vaping sector should be given an opportunity to grow and assist smokers in switching to less harmful nicotine products.
Earlier this year, the VdeH campaigned vigorously against government plans to significantly raise taxes of vapor products.
“I am really looking forward to my new job,” said Pohland in a statement. “As managing director, I will use all my expertise and experience to create a legal framework that benefits all member companies. My goal is to give the members of VdeH a strong voice at all levels of politics.”
Dobrajc, who will continue chairing the VdeH for the time being, said he looked forward to working with Pohland.
“In Oliver we have gained an experienced expert on the German and European political landscape,” he said. “I am confident that the VdeH will benefit from his pragmatic and honest way of working.”
September 1, 2021
Imperial Launches Tobacco-Heating Products in Czechia

Photo: Imperial Brands
Imperial Brands has launched its heated-tobacco products in the Czech Republic.
The launch is the first of two planned European pilot trials for the company’s Pulze device and iD heat sticks.
Imperial is investing in heated-tobacco opportunities in a focused number of markets in Europe as part of its new strategy to build a targeted and sustainable next-generation product (NGP) business.
The Czech pilot is the first step in Imperial’s approach of entering markets where the category is already established and where the business is able to leverage an existing strong route to market.
“Heated-tobacco offers significant growth opportunities in Europe where, in many territories, it is the biggest NGP category and the fastest growing,” said Joerg Biebernick, Imperial Brands’ president of the European region, in a statement. “Detailed market testing will allow us to quickly expand our consumer insights and inform the potential to launch validated heated-tobacco products in further European markets.”
Heated-tobacco currently accounts for around 10 percent of the total nicotine sector in the Czech Republic, with further strong growth anticipated.
The Pulze device heats rather than burns iD heat sticks to provide nicotine and tobacco aromas containing fewer and substantially lower levels of the harmful chemicals found in 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 heat sticks are being made available in five flavors: Rich Bronze with rich tobacco flavor and triple flow filter technology, Balanced Blue, Mint Polar Green, Mint Ice and Capsule Polar.
September 1, 2021
WHO Moves FCTC Conference of the Parties to Online Forum

Photo: Olrat
The Ninth Session of the Conference of the Parties (COP9) to the World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) and the Second Session of the Meeting of the Parties (MOP2) to the Protocol to Eliminate Illicit Trade in Tobacco Products will take place virtually, with COP9 running Nov. 8-13, 2021, and MOP2 running Nov. 15-18, 2021.
The meetings were originally scheduled to take place in The Hague. In view of the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic and related travel restrictions, the WHO has decided to move the events online.
The virtual format means participants will consider abridged agendas, the WHO wrote on its website. Several issues, including ones relating to tobacco harm reduction, will be deferred for discussion until the next regular meeting of the governing body, COP10, in 2023.
September 1, 2021
Firms Embrace Synthetic Nicotine After FDA Rejections

Photo: Martinmark – Dreamstime.com
Vapor Salon will be switching to synthetic nicotine, the company wrote in a public Facebook post dated Aug. 26.
The post was published on the same day that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration denied some 55,000 marketing applications by Vapor Salon and two other companies on the ground that they “lacked sufficient evidence that they have a benefit to adult smokers sufficient to overcome the public health threat posed by well-documented, alarming levels of youth use of such products,” according to an FDA press release.
“VaporSalon is switching to TOBACCO FREE NICOTINE on Friday, 8/27/2021,” the Facebook post reads. “The main purpose of this is to be outside of the FDA’s regulations with their hefty PMTA requirement which takes full effect on Sept 9th 2021 with needing an approved PMTA, or your product can no longer be sold. There has been 0 approved PMTA’s for anything ENDS related to-date.”
According to Filter, more manufacturers have begun looking at the possibility of synthetic nicotine as a way to avoid having to comply with FDA regulations.
The FDA defines a “tobacco product” as anything “made or derived from tobacco that is intended for human consumption, including any component, part or accessory of a tobacco product.”
Eric Lindblom, a senior scholar at Georgetown’s O’Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law and a former director of the FDA’s Center for Tobacco Products Office of Policy, said that, in response to such moves by vapor companies, the FDA could either assert jurisdiction over synthetic nicotine as tobacco product or push for synthetic nicotine to be regulated like any other drug.
Because synthetic nicotine is more expensive than the natural variety, a switch would likely result in higher prices for consumers. Vapor Salon indicated that many of its redesigned products will now have “an upcharge,” according to Filter.
August 31, 2021
Taiwan Police Arrest 5 for Illegal Cannabis Vape Products
Credit: NTCDH
In a stern reminder to its citizens that vaping and cannabis products are illegal, Taiwan law enforcement and health officials arrested five people in the city of Taipei last week. Taipei police stated that they had broken up a criminal organization, whose members have been accused of selling vaping products containing cannabis extracts, according to the Taipei Times.
“After surveilling the premises for several days, police officers carried out a raid at a motel in Taipei’s Wanhua District last week, in which 94 vaping cartridges and 23 pouches of unknown powdered material were seized,” the story states. “Preliminary lab testing revealed that the cartridges contained cannabidiol (CBD) and tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the main active ingredients in cannabis. The pouches contained ketamine, which is a controlled substance.”
A 25-year-old woman allegedly led the criminal ring. One modified handgun, 11 bullets and an undisclosed amount of cash were also seized. Investigators said that Liu’s group had been selling the vaping cartridge oil for the past year and has profited an estimated NT$10 million ($359,544) in illegal proceeds.
The suspects face charges of contravening the Narcotics Hazard Prevention Act and for possession of illegal firearms in contravention of the Controlling Guns, Ammunition and Knives Act. Ring members allegedly promoted their products to youth via social media and online platforms.
The CBD and THC oil were branded as “Cookies,” “Sherbet,” “Dream,” “Skywalker” and other names. Officials at the Ministry of Health and Welfare yesterday said that e-cigarette and related vaping devices have not been approved in Taiwan, and their use therefore is illegal, regardless of their contents.
CBD in pharmaceutical products has received approval for medicinal use in Taiwan, when prescribed by a physician and the request is approved by authorities. However, general sale of CBD is not permitted. Such products can contain THC at less than 10 parts per million, but would otherwise be scheduled as a Class 2 illegal drug, officials said.
August 31, 2021
RELX Launches Infinity, Nano2 Vapes in Saudi Arabia
RELX International announced it has launched two e-cigarette products in Saudi Arabia. The move expands the vaping manufacturer’s Middle East presence where products are already available in the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait. The company also announced it plans to expand into the wider Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region this year.
Saudi Arabia recently announced new regulations, similar to Europe’s TPD, following the EU standard for e-cigarette packaging and labeling which was introduced in Sept. 2020.
“The MENA region is one of our category’s fastest growing markets, growing at a rate just short of 10 percent until 2024,” said Fouad Barakat, KSA general manager at RELX International. “Saudi Arabia is one of the region’s largest and most prosperous markets, hence the need for any brand to launch there if it wants to thrive and grow bigger.”
The company introduced two products into the Saudi Arabian market. Both the RELX Infinity and Nano2 devices are available. The Infinity, RELX’s flagship product, comes with wireless charging and clicks into place with a built-in pogo pin. The charging case delivers up to three full charges with its dual system in just 45 minutes, according to RELX.
The Nano2 is a disposable device which features a user-friendly design. “The RELX Nano2 offers RELX’s quality and technology standards at the lowest price point,” a release states. “This device is perfect if you’re a first-time e-cigarette user or if you’re looking for a compact and discreet vape pen.”
August 30, 2021
Geekvape to Build in Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area

Geekvape officials at the signing ceremony for an intelligent manufacturing industrial park in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. (Photo: PRNewsfoto/Geekvape)
Geekvape will invest CNY10 billion ($1.55 billion) in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA) with the support of the Shenzhen Municipal Government.
Over the next two years, the Chinese e-cigarette company plans to build a modern industrial park for intelligent manufacturing that will help customers address their needs for increased production capacity.
Geekvape says it will be the first vapor company to build modular intelligent manufacturing facilities. By leveraging a connected intelligent manufacturing platform, the Internet of Things technology and big data, Geekvape says it will further improve product quality and services.
“Geekvape has always been committed to helping improve human wellbeing and community development,” said Geekvape CEO Allen Yang in a statement.
“Benefiting from the ideal economic, geographical and business conditions in the GBA, in tandem with the momentum in the intelligent manufacturing sector, we will build on our presence in the area to expand globally. Geekvape will provide our customers across over 70 countries and regions with better products and services enhanced by intelligent manufacturing and innovative technologies.”

August 30, 2021
RELX Warns Consumers of Growing Counterfeit Sales
Example of a fake RELX website selling unofficial RELX products
RELX International has warned consumers against purchasing its products through unofficial or unlicensed websites. “It has recently come to the attention of RELX International that a number of unlicensed persons or companies are attempting to profit off of the good and responsible reputation of the RELX brand in a number of markets, including Australia and Philippines,” the company stated in a press release.
“In addition to selling unlicensed and potentially fake products, these websites and social media channels have been disseminating a variety of unfounded claims about our products or e-cigarette products in general. RELX International only provides science-based information about our products and only sells products to adult smokers or vapers. Furthermore, RELX International never uses any cartoons or ‘kid-friendly’ images or videos in our branding.
“RELX International established the Golden Shield Program in 2019 to help prevent the production and sale of illicit e-cigarette goods such as those mentioned above. With the goal of safeguarding adult e-cigarette users’ right to access quality products, members of RELX International’s Golden Shield Program utilize large amounts of data and other technologies to track down illicit e-cigarette products sold online and offline. The Golden Shield team actively works with online social media platforms, online e-commerce platforms as well as Customs authorities to eliminate illicit vaping products from the market.
“The Golden Shield team has already helped authorities launch 28 criminal cases related to the illegal production and sale of illicit or copyright-infringing e-cigarette products. Over 77,000 websites and over 6,000 social media accounts have been taken down due to the Golden Shield team’s efforts, and 550,000 illicit products have been removed from the market.
“Moving forward we are committed to getting even more counterfeit products off the market.”
The release lists all the official RELX websites as well as provides an email address to confirm third-party websites that are selling authentic RELX products.
August 30, 2021
FDA Not Expected to Include ENDS in Menthol Ban

Photo: makcoud
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is unlikely to incorporate electronic nicotine-delivery devices (ENDS) into its proposed rulemaking to ban menthol cigarettes and flavored cigars, according to Azim Chowdhury and Neelam Gill.
Azim Chowdhury
Writing on the Food and Drug Law Institute’s website, the Keller and Heckman attorneys say that doing so would only further complicate a rulemaking that is already poised to receive hundreds of thousands of comments and will likely be litigated once final.
On April 29, 2021, the FDA announced that it will initiate a notice and comment rulemaking process to ban menthol-flavored cigarettes and all characterizing flavors in cigars and cigarillos within the next year.
In its announcement, the FDA did not mention ENDs, which come in a wide variety of nontobacco flavors and have been the subject of much debate.
Chowdhury and Gill believe Congress is more likely to defer to the premarket tobacco product application (PMTA) process rather than intervene and legislate a flavored ENDS ban. All ENDS products require FDA marketing authorization through that process.
But while a federal ban on flavored ENDS seems unlikely while FDA reviews the science and the manufacturers’ arguments, these products continue to face the threat of prohibition at the local level, according to the attorneys.
Many state and local authorities and attorneys general are pushing for bans or have requested the FDA to deny PMTAs for flavored ENDS. New York, New Jersey, Rhode Island and Massachusetts have already banned the sale of flavored ENDS while Maryland, California and Connecticut are considering similar measures.
August 27, 2021
CTFK Urges FDA to Deny All PMTAs for Flavored Vapes

Photo: Brian Jackson
The Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids (CTFK) reiterated its call for banning all flavored vapor products following the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s denial of marketing applications for about 55,000 flavored e-cigarette products.
While welcoming the FDA decision, the CTFK noted the denial involved only a small percentage of the flavor products under review by the FDA. “
“The FDA’s action covers just a fraction of the more than 6.5 million tobacco products for which the FDA has received marketing applications, and it does not include any e-cigarette brands with a significant market share or that are most popular with kids, such as Juul, the number one youth brand,” CTFK President Matthew L. Myers wrote in a statement.
“Today’s action will be effective in reversing the youth e-cigarette epidemic only if FDA also denies the applications for all flavored e-cigarettes (those with flavors other than tobacco), as well as high-nicotine products like Juul that put kids at risk of addiction.”
According to the 2020 National Youth Tobacco Survey, 3.6 million kids use e-cigarettes, including nearly one in five high school students. The CTFK blames flavored e-cigarettes for this situation. Eighty-three percent of youth e-cigarette users report using flavored products, and 70 percent of youth users say they use e-cigarettes because of the flavors, according to the organization.
“To protect our kids and end the youth e-cigarette epidemic, the FDA should not authorize the sale of any flavored or high-nicotine e-cigarettes,” wrote Myers.
The FDA must decide whether to grant marketing applications for e-cigarettes by Sept. 9.
August 27, 2021