Tag: news

Infrastructure Act Includes Vaping Ban on Amtrak Trains
Tucked away in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act crafted by a bipartisan group of senators is a ban on the use of electronic cigarettes on the nation’s government-owned rail service — and President Joe Biden’s favorite method of transportation.
Credit: BT Renstrom
“Amtrak shall prohibit smoking, including the use of electronic cigarettes, onboard all Amtrak trains,” the bill says. “The term ‘electronic cigarette’ means a device that delivers nicotine or other substances to a user of the device in the form of a vapor that is inhaled to simulate the experience of smoking.”
Amtrak already has a policy prohibiting smoking and the use of electronic smoking on trains, but the bill would codify that regulation into law, according to the Washington Examiner.
Democratic Delaware Sen. Tom Carper and Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton, Washington’s nonvoting representative in Congress, previously spearheaded the effort to make Amtrak’s smoking ban law.
“In 2021, smoking has no place in enclosed public spaces like train cars. As a near-daily Amtrak rider, I have supported their policy prohibiting smoking and even introduced legislation with Congresswoman Norton to make that policy federal law,” Carper said in a statement in June. “I think we can all agree that it’s time to ban smoking on passenger rail.”
The bill, the text of which was unveiled Sunday night, includes $6.57 billion in grants to Amtrak for the railway’s northeast corridor, which connects Washington, D.C., to Boston, and $12.65 billion for Amtrak’s national network. Another $36 billion would go to federal-state partnership rail grants, with $24 billion of that targeting the northeast corridor.
August 4, 2021
Vermont to Receive $165,000 for Illegal Online Sales
The state of Vermont has reached settlements with three different online sellers of electronic nicotine-delivery systems (ENDS) for violations of Vermont’s Delivery Sales Ban and Consumer Protection Act. Attorney General T.J. Donovan announced that under the settlements the companies resolved claims that they sold vaping products, e-liquids, or other tobacco paraphernalia to individual consumers.
Credit: Belyay
As of July 1, 2019, it is illegal to sell electronic cigarettes and related vaping products over the internet to individual Vermont consumers. In total, Pure Laboratories, The Boiler Electronic Cigarette Company and VapinUSA-Wi together will pay $165,000 in civil penalties to the State of Vermont, according to vermontbiz.com. The three settlements come on the heels of announcements in December 2020 and May 2021 that the Attorney General’s Office reached settlements with 10 other online sellers of electronic cigarettes, totaling $307,500 in civil penalties.
“Online sales of vaping products are illegal,” said Donovan. “I am pleased that these websites will no longer be shipping products to Vermont.”
Since 2008, Vermont’s Delivery Sales Ban law has prohibited cigarettes, roll-your-own tobacco, little cigars, and snuff, ordered or purchased by telephone, mail order, or through the internet, to be shipped to anyone in Vermont other than a licensed wholesaler dealer or retailer. This law was expanded in 2019 to include tobacco substitutes (including electronic cigarettes), substances containing nicotine or otherwise intended for use with a tobacco substitute, and tobacco paraphernalia. The Vermont Department of Liquor and Lottery conducts compliance checks of online retailers to determine compliance with this law.
Under the terms of the settlement agreements, in addition to paying civil penalties, the companies are required to notify Vermont consumers that they do not ship to individual consumers in Vermont.
August 4, 2021
KT&G to Launch Lil Solid in Eastern Europe, Central Asia
KT&G launched its heated tobacco product (HTP), lil SOLID 2.0, in four countries – Armenia and Serbia in Eastern Europe and Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan in Central Asia in the second quarter of this year. KT&G is now exporting the lil SOLID series to seven countries and plans to ship them to more countries in the near future.
Credit: KT&G
The latest version of the lil SOLID series the tobacco firm introduced in 2017, the lil SOLID 2.0 has an upgraded design and performance. Lil SOLID is an HTP used to smoke Fiit tobacco sticks, according to the Korea Times. The new version was launched first in the Korean market in January and customers praised the products product for the battery life offered and its induction heater system.
“Our product, lil, is gaining popularity in the export markets thanks to our collaboration with Philip Morris International,” Lim Wang-seop, head of KT&G NGP Business Division, said during a conference call held in February. “We originally set a goal of entering a single-digit number of countries this year, but we have changed it to the double digits.”
KT&G previously entered the overseas markets in August 2020, with Russia as the first export country for its very first lil SOLID product. One month later, the tobacco firm started selling the e-cigarette in Ukraine as well.
In the following month, KT&G also advanced into the Japanese market with lil HYBRID 2.0 and MIXX. The product was only available in Fukuoka and Miyagi first, but after the had gained popularity in just four months, KT&G decided to expand across the country.
Japan is globally the largest consumer of e-cigarettes and is a market where various products are vying for market share. Industry sources say that KT&G’s hybrid e-cigarette successfully differentiates itself from the existing products and has received positive feedback.
August 4, 2021
Sheridan, Wyoming Vapor Ordinance Fails First Reading
During its first meeting of August Monday night, the Sheridan City Council in Wyoming voted against an ordinance that would have increased the fine amount and penalties for any minor possessing or using electronic cigarettes or other vaping products on first reading by a 4 to 3 vote.
Credit: NiroWorld
The penalty would have increased as much as 2,900 percent from the current fee of $25 to a maximum of $750, according to city attorney Brendon Kerns. Violators would not have been required to appear in court or perform community service or serve probation and would have been guaranteed full expungement of the incident from their criminal records within six months — regardless of whether it is their first or subsequent offense.
Councilor Kristen Jennings was one of the four councilors who voted against the ordinance, stating that the council should not rush to pass a law without understanding its implications on the community.
“I realize that the school district has asked for help, but at the same time pushing forward something that could potentially be full of holes may not be helping anybody to the best of the ability that we’re trying to do,” said Jennings. “So it could be shooting ourselves in the foot, and in a way, I think the premise is great and I do see we have an issue, but at the same time giving ourselves a self-imposed deadline to not be able to work through some of these questions and concerns. It seems like some of the citizens have too. I don’t know how well that benefits anybody.”
August 3, 2021
Ukraine Uses WHO Report to Justify Flavor Ban, Vape Rules
Ukrainian lawmakers passed a new law today prohibiting the use of electronic nicotine-delivery systems (ENDS) in public places as well as advertising, sponsorship, and promotion of e-cigarettes. The law also bans the sale of flavored e-liquids other than tobacco flavors.
Credit: Da Boost
The parliamentarians said that justification for the regulations is based on the World Health Organization’s new report that suggests e-cigarettes are a gateway to smoking, and that they are as harmful as conventional cigarettes, according to the Independent Women’s Forum. Lawmakers also claimed the flavor ban would reduce underage vaping in Ukraine, while data from the U.S. concerning flavor bans has showed banning flavors actually increases youth use of combustible products.
In its report on vaping, published on Tuesday, the WHO speaks approvingly of the 32 countries where the sale and use of vaping devices is banned. In those 32 countries, people are still free to use combustible tobacco products, which data shows is responsible for more than 7 million deaths each year globally, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
“Eighty-four countries still have no bans or regulations to address ENDS, leaving them particularly vulnerable to the activities of the tobacco and related industries,” says the report, which was funded by Bloomberg Philanthropies, the foundation started by American billionaire and former New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg.
Not coincidentally, Bloomberg has been appointed the “WHO Global Ambassador for Noncommunicable Diseases and Injuries”—a largely honorary title granted in recognition of the money he spends on tobacco control and other health policy efforts, according to the WHO.
Tobacco harm reduction advocates and vaping industry representatives denounced the WHO report as “nonsensical and dangerous.”
“The WHO has a long-standing anti-vaping stance and this latest attack on a sector that is literally saving millions of lives worldwide flies in the face of scientific evidence, common sense and harm reduction,” said John Dunne, director general of the U.K. Vaping Industry Association (UKVIA) in a statement.
“This report demonstrates that, sadly, the WHO still doesn’t understand the fundamental difference between addiction to tobacco smoking, which kills millions of people every year, and addiction to nicotine, which doesn’t,” said John Britton, professor of epidemiology at University of Nottingham.
July 31, 2021
IQOS Pauses Expansion After Patent Ruling

Photo: Kuznietsov Dmitriy
Philip Morris USA has paused U.S. expansion of its IQOS heat-not-burn (HnB) cigarettes following an unfavorable U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) ruling, reports The Winston-Salem Journal, citing the company’s second-quarter report.
In April 2020, British American Tobacco subsidiaries R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co., RAI Strategic Holdings and R.J. Reynolds Vapor Co. filed a patent infringement lawsuit against Philip Morris USA.
The complaint focuses on three HnB technology patents held by the company. An additional two patents are involved in a separate legal proceeding before the patent and trademark office.
In May, an ITC administrative law judge found that the IQOS system infringes two of the plaintiff’s patents and recommended imposition of a ban on the importation of the IQOS system.
On July 27, the ITC accepted review of the administrative law judge’s findings and recommendations on certain issues, including issues relating to the patent infringement claims and potential remedies, including a ban on the importation of the IQOS electronic device, Marlboro HeatSticks and component parts into the United States and on the sale of any such products previously imported into the United States.
The ITC’s ultimate order is subject to review by the U.S. Trade Representative and federal court. Due to this uncertainty, PM USA has delayed further expansion of IQOS and Marlboro HeatSticks.
IQOS is the only HnB product authorized for sale in the U.S., where it is sold by Altria. Last year, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration allowed the company to market IQOS as reducing consumers’ exposure to harmful chemicals found in cigarettes.
The IQOS products debuted in test markets in Atlanta, Georgia, in October 2019 and Richmond, Virginia, in November 2019.
During the second quarter, PM USA expanded retail distribution of Marlboro HeatSticks into the Triad and other metro areas of North Carolina as well as northern Virginia and Georgia.
The expansion contributed to Marlboro HeatSticks’ retail sales volume jumping by nearly 40 percent, including reaching a 0.8 percent market share for overall cigarettes in Atlanta as well as 0.5 percent in Charlotte.
July 30, 2021
Firm With 15 Million Products Registered With FDA Warned
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has issued a warning letter to Visible Vapors. The regulatory agency advised the company that marketing its electronic nicotine-delivery system (ENDS) products, which lack a premarket tobacco product authorization (PMTA), is illegal, and therefore they cannot be sold or distributed in the U.S. The FDA states that the company did not submit PMTAs by the Sept. 9, 2020 deadline.
While the warning letter issued cites specific products as examples, including Visible Vapors Irish Potato 100mL and Visible Vapors Peanut Butter Banana Bacon Maple (The King) 100mL, the company has more than 15 million products listed with FDA, and must ensure all of its products comply with federal rules and regulations, which include the premarket review requirement, according to the letter. Visible Vapors has the largest number of products registered with the FDA to have received a warning letter to date.
From January through July 2021, the FDA has issued more than 135 warning letters to firms selling or distributing more than 1,470,000 unauthorized ENDS and that did not submit premarket applications by the Sept. 9 deadline. On FDA’s Warning Letters page, you can find these warning letters by searching “Center for Tobacco Products” under “Issuing Office.”
The FDA often only lists a few products that a company is selling as illegal in the letter. It then states that there may be more, but it is impossible to know if the warnings encompass all the company’s registered products. The agency states that it is the responsibility of the company to only sell products with a submitted PMTA. Companies have until Sept. 9, 2021 to sell product unless the agency makes a decision on the PMTA approval or grants an extension.
Companies that receive warning letters from the FDA have to submit a written response to the letter within 15 working days from the date of receipt describing the company’s corrective actions, including the dates on which it discontinued the violative sale, and/or distribution of the products. They also require the company’s plan for maintaining compliance with the FD&C Act in the future.
July 29, 2021
FBI, DEA Raid Las Vegas CHAMPS Show for Delta-8
In Nevada, Delta-8 THC is illegal. During the cannabis culture and accessories trade show, CHAMPS, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) allegedly raided the show because a vendor participating in the event unwittingly gave the Las Vegas district attorney an unauthorized Delta-8 THC product sample. Several social media posts by vendors at the show said they were detained and products were confiscated.
Credit: CHAMPS
Providing samples to the show’s attendees is against the rules. As a result, some vendors were asked to vacate the premises. CHAMPS vendors received notice last week that samples of Delta-8, Delta-10 THC and similar products were illegal in Nevada and vendors should refrain from offering samples.
Several social media posts began to report of the feds raiding the venue started cropping up late Wednesday evening. By Thursday, various vendors began posting that the officers ordered the attendees to wait outside while they inspected the scene, according to CannaTech Today. As a result of yesterday’s occurrence, plainclothes police officers are walking the show floor today while its vendor booths are currently being searched for any Delta-8 THC and similarly prohibited products.
Through the last year, several states, including states where Delta-9 THC is legal, such as Oregon, California and Arizona, passed laws specifically banning Delta-8 THC. Nevada went a step further in early July to specifically include Delta-8 in its definition of cannabis. The Nevada Cannabis Compliance Board recently stated, “products exceeding 0.3 percent THC, including Delta-8 and Delta-9 THC, would be considered cannabis. As such, a license from the Cannabis Compliance Board would be required to make it or sell it.”
The Champs trade show is one of the largest cannabis industry trade shows in the U.S. The 2021 sow is being held from Jul 27 to Sat, July 31 at the Las Vegas Convection Center. Smoke shops, vape shops, dispensaries, 420 counter-culture, adult novelty shops, C-Stores, online marketers and branders, entrepreneurs, glassblowers, and counter-culture industry professionals who are seeking to grow in their market sectors and gain current knowledge and product opportunities to better leverage their business in a thriving marketplace attend CHAMPS, according to the show’s website.
July 29, 2021
VPZ Launches AEQ Pod Device Kit in U.K. Stores
A new pod device has been launched by the largest vapor retailer in the U.K. VPZ’s AEQ Pod Device Kit has been designed and developed in VPZ’s purpose-built facility in Edinburgh to support smokers looking to make the switch to vaping, according to a press release.
Credit: VPZ
“The device is an easy-to-use new to vaping product which offers smokers the freedom to choose a range of flavors and e-liquid strength,” the release states. “The AEQ is already outselling other packages in the new to vaping category and has been introduced as VPZ launches its first ever Vape Clinic.”
Doug Mutter, director of VPZ, said VPZ is spearheading the fight against the U.K.’s No. 1 killer: smoking. “The Pandemic has triggered an increase in smoking rates and the public health problem has been compounded by funding cuts for NHS stop smoking services and local support groups,” he said. “The launch of our new AEQ device has been developed by us in response to helping smokers take the first steps in their stop-smoking journey. The development of this dedicated new to vaping product, as well as the launch of our pilot Vape Clinic truly underlines our commitment to helping the UK achieve its ambitions to be a tobacco-free nation by 2030.”
VPZ is the UK’s largest vaping retailer with over 150 stores. A new report from Royal College of Physicians Tobacco Advisory Group backs vaping as an effective treatment for tobacco dependency and recommends that it should be included and encouraged in all treatment pathways. The report also found that the long-term impact of vaping is 95 per cent less harmful than smoking cigarettes.
July 28, 2021
Significant Growth in New Category Sales for BAT

Photo: BAT
BAT reported revenue of £12.18 billion ($16.89 billion) for the six months that ended June 30, down 0.8 percent (up 8.1 percent on an adjusted basis) from the comparable 2020 period. Revenue from new categories increased by more than 50 percent to £883 million. Profit from operations totaled £4.91 billion, down 3.7 percent (up 5.4 percent on an adjusted basis) from the comparable six months a year earlier.
“This has been an exciting period of growth in New Categories, with New Category constant currency revenue up by 50 percent in the first half,” said BAT CEO Jack Bowles in a statement. “We added 2.6 million consumers—our highest ever increase—to our noncombustible product consumer base, to reach 16.1 million. This demonstrates our accelerating transformation driven by our multi-category portfolio, with continued key market share gains in all three New Categories.
“We are building strong, global brands of the future with Vuse, Velo and Glo. These are underpinned by industry leading multi-category consumer insights and science, with increasing digitalization. We have invested a further incremental £346 million in the first half, funded by continued value growth from combustibles and expect to reach our £1 billion Quantum savings target 12 months early. We have now increased our savings target to £1.5 billion by 2022.
“Our rapid growth in New Categories is driving significant scale benefits and 2021 is shaping up to be a pivotal year in our journey towards ‘A Better Tomorrow.’”
July 28, 2021