Tag: news

Los Angeles Could Soon Ban Flavors, Exempt Hookah
Vapers in Los Angeles, California may no longer purchase flavored vaping products. The L.A. city council unanimously voted to ask city attorneys Wednesday to start drafting a bill banning businesses from selling many flavored vaping and tobacco products. The council has said the move was meant to stop teens from getting hooked on nicotine.
Credit: Tierney
A coalition of youth and public health advocates backing the ban argued that flavored products have lured more teens to use tobacco, including by vaping with electronic cigarettes. The council decided against considering an exemption for menthol.
No one from the vaping industry argued against the proposed bill. Hookah lounges, however, may have been spared after arguing the law could destroy a cherished tradition among Armenians, Arabs and other communities in which hookah has been a centerpiece of gatherings and celebrations.
The last time the issue was heard at City Hall over a year ago, council members suggested allowing some sales of flavored tobacco for consumption on site at lounges, but hookah sellers said the plan was too restrictive and would not allow lounges to be passed down to future generations, according to the L.A. Times. Nor would it allow people to buy hookah tobacco to smoke at home.
June 16, 2021
Lil Moves into Southeastern Europe and Central Asia

Lil Solid 2.0 with Armenian health warnings
(Phot: KT&G)
KT&G’s Lil Solid 2.0 device and its Fiit heated-tobacco stick continues its global expansion with new launches in Central Asia and Southeastern Europe.
As part of a collaboration agreement between KT&G and Philip Morris International, Lil Solid 2.0 has been introduced into four Eurasian countries during the second quarter of 2021.
The device and its consumables debuted in Armenia on June 14. The products were also commercialized in Serbia and Kyrgyzstan on June 3 and 7, respectively. Lil Solid 2.0 and Fiit were previously introduced in Kazakhstan on May 13.
Lil Solid 2.0 is a second-generation model of KT&G’s heat-not-burn product with enhanced performance and design to improve consumer satisfaction. The product was first launched nationally in Korea in January this year. According to KT&G, it gained significant traction with its upgraded battery efficiency and induction heating technology.
The Lil Solid 2.0 device is available in two colors, Stone Grey and Cosmic Blue, in its new markets. The sticks come in seven types, including Fiit Regular, Fiit Viola And Fiit Crisp. Three or four types are sold in each country depending on the market situation.
Following the recent commercialization of Lil Solid 2.0 in four new markets, the Lil brand now is present in seven markets outside of South Korea. Previously, varieties of the brand were introduced in Russia, Ukraine and Japan.
“As Lil Solid 1.0 and Lil Hybrid 2.0 have been well received in their respective markets, we look forward for encouraging performance from Lil Solid 2.0 as well,” said Wang Seop Lim, chief of KT&G’s next-generation products business division, in a statement. “We will continue to provide broader choices to consumers outside Korea in the second half of this year through collaboration with PMI.”
June 16, 2021
Senators Pen Letter Urging USPS on PACT Act Rules
Two U.S. Senators have written a letter urging the United States Postal Service (USPS) to finalize rules for mailing vapor products. Senators Dianne Feinstein and John Cornyn asked Postmaster General Louis DeJoy to implement regulations required by the Preventing Online Sales of E-Cigarettes to Children (PACT) Act, which was signed into law on December 21, 2020.
Credit: blr60
The rule requires the USPS to apply the same mailing restrictions to e-cigarette products that are currently in place for traditional cigarettes. “As you know, the law requires the U.S. Postal Service to promulgate these new regulations by April 26, 2021, which is 120 days after enactment. We are now seven weeks past that deadline, and the regulations still have not been published,” the letter states. “We urge you to publish these new regulations as soon as possible in accordance with the requirements of the law.”
Tobacco and vapor companies may use private services to ship their products to consumers, but the PACT Act requires them to register with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the tobacco tax administrators of the states into which a shipment is made. Delivery sellers are further required to verify the age and identity of the customer at purchase and maintain records of delivery sales for a period of four years after the date of sale, creating substantial administrative burdens.
“As we begin to emerge from the pandemic, it is imperative that the U.S. Postal Service immediately implement these new regulations to ensure the harmful effects from the ongoing youth vaping crisis aren’t compounded by the lingering risks posed by the pandemic,” the letter states.
Critically for the vapor industry, the most popular carriers, Federal Express and United Parcel Service also ended all deliveries of vapor products. This has forced many online retailers to close or alternative shipping methods.
June 15, 2021
CAPHRA: World Vape Day 2021 Largest Event Ever

A vaping group announced World Vape Day 2021 was an unprecedented success with social media engagement about the annual global celebration up considerably. The Coalition of Asia Pacific Tobacco Harm Reduction Advocates (CAPHRA) estimates report a 125 percent increase in Twitter traffic about World Vape Day from 29 May to 2 June compared to the same period last year.
This year’s World Vape Day, on 30 May, highlighted smoke-free products as ‘the better choice’ to combustible cigarettes which are linked to more than eight million premature deaths each year. “The social media analytics for World Vape Day are impressive. It enjoyed huge growth in the number of postings, followers, and positive comments. Without doubt, #WVD21 gained much more traction than 2020’s event,” says Nancy Loucas, executive coordinator of CAPHRA.
CAPHRA executive coordinator Nancy Loucas
CAPHRA and consumer advocacy groups in the Asia Pacific region called on the World Health Organization (WHO) and governments to provide smokers with better access to innovative, safer nicotine products. Loucas says the #WVD21 hashtag achieved significant public use for a number of reasons.
“The WHO and many in the media seemed to have rebooted their campaign against vaping lately which only energizes the 68 million people globally who have switched from smoking to vaping, saving millions of lives every year. Their success and personal stories are the most powerful evidence we have, highlighting vaping as the world’s most effective smoking cessation tool,” she says.
Peter Paul Dator, President of the Philippines consumer group Vapers PH and CAPHRA member, says excitement is building ahead of the Senate’s approval given the country’s stubbornly high smoking rates.
Peter Paul Dator of Vapers PH
“If you judge it on information, views, and support exchanged across our social media platforms, World Vape Day this year was undoubtedly the biggest we’ve seen in the Philippines. It was boosted by the fact it’s a really positive time as we await the Senate’s formal support for vaping,” says Dator.
World Vape Day is a celebration of vapers making the choice to make the switch to a healthier, smoke-free lifestyle.
June 11, 2021
Germany Passes Bill to Raise Vapor, HnB Taxes
Vapers and cigarette smokers alike will be paying more for those products after the German Bundestag signed off on a bill to raise taxes on combustible cigarettes, e-cigarettes and heat-not-burn (HnB) tobacco products.
Credit: Craig
On Friday morning, the Bundestag waved through legislation to make vaping in Germany more expensive as of next year. Legislators are coming down hard on e-cigarettes HnB products which were previously only lightly taxed. That will change in the future, as the government moves to tax even nicotine-free varieties of e-cigarettes.
Currently, a 10-millilitre bottle of vape liquid costs around 5 euros in Germany. In 2022, an extra 1.60 euros will be added to this price in taxation, and this will rise to 3.20 euros by 2026. An additional tax is also to be introduced for HnB products so that those products will be treated similarly to cigarettes for tax purposes.
The new law has been met with dismay by the manufacturers of vaping products who argue that their products contain significantly fewer harmful substances than tobacco cigarettes and should therefore not be subject to the same levels of taxation. The Association of the E-Cigarette Trade (VdeH) warned that the move might prompt vapers to revert to smoking tobacco cigarettes.
The so-called “Alliance for Tobacco-Free Enjoyment” – a representative body for the e-cigarette industry – said that it intends to go to the Federal Constitutional Court to file a complaint against what it sees as a disproportionate tax increase.
Also, the combustible tobacco tax on a packet of 20 cigarettes will rise by an average of 10 cents in 2021. A year later, a further 10 cents will be added, and in both 2025 and 2026 another 15 cents per pack will be added.
Around one in four adults in Germany smokes regularly, meaning that the tobacco tax is a big source of revenue for the government. Last year, it swelled the government’s coffers to the tune of approximately 14.7 billion euros. The last time the tobacco tax was increased was in 2015.
June 11, 2021
Cross-Party Support for Vaping During Westminster Debate

Credit: IR Stone
MPs from the U.K.’s two main political parties agree that vaping holds the key to Britain achieving its ambitious target to be a “smoke free” nation by 2030, according to a report by the U.K. Vaping Industry Association (UKIVA).
The All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Smoking and Health presented its latest recommendations for a new Tobacco Control Plan (TCP) at Westminster yesterday.
Among its range of proposals to curb smoking prevalence in the U.K. were recommendations to expand the use of vaping based on the mounting “data and evidence” pointing to e-cigarettes’ efficacy in helping smokers to quit.
In a departure from most cross-party debates there was universal consensus that vaping should be a central part of any plan for the U.K. to meet its smoke free targets and save lives.
The first MP to bring vaping into the debate was Mary Glindon (Labour) who sits on the APPG on E-cigarettes.
She said “The forthcoming Tobacco Control Plan presents an enormous opportunity to cement the U.K. as the global leader in tobacco harm reduction.
“Having left the EU, the government must alongside the post implementation review of the Tobacco and Regulated Products Regulations (TRPR) set a clear direction for reducing smoking prevalence.
“To achieve its ambitions the forthcoming control plan must champion less harmful alternatives to smoking combustible tobacco, in particular the growing body of evidence showing vaping to be the most effective alternative for adult smokers looking to quit smoking.
“In its Blueprint for Better Regulation the U.K. Vaping Industry Association made recommendations to the Department for Health for consideration when reviewing TRPR, a process already under way.
“Those recommendations, many of which I support, could also be applied to the government’s TCP.
“One of those recommendations is effectively tackling increasing levels of misinformation and misperceptions about the relative harm of e-cigarettes versus tobacco.
“ASH data suggests millions of smokers could be dissuaded from switching to e-cigarettes because of incorrect views or confusion about vaping.
“To combat this the UKVIA recommends that the Department of Health launch an effective communications strategy including the introduction of approved health claims and switch messages displayed on vape devices and e-liquid packaging.
“It also recommends that medical professionals at local Stop Smoking services are supported with clinicians signposted to the latest clinical guidance and evidence about e-cigarettes.
“An evidence-based approach to smoking cessation must be adopted consistently by local services to support patients and their harm reduction journey—this is critical, considering the trials in NHS A&E departments.
“There should also be a review of regulations of nicotine in e-cigarettes to better understand the role nicotine plays in allowing e-cigarettes to be a satisfying alternative for adult smokers.
“For vaping to compete with combustible cigarettes and provide and alternative it must provide a comparably satisfying nicotine experience.
“It is the toxic by-products, not the nicotine, that are responsible for smoking-related deaths and diseases.
“Understanding alternatives and making clear distinctions between smoking and vaping are critical to our smoke free ambitions.
“The APPG on Vaping made several recommendations on vaping in the workplace and in public places, these are endorsed by the UKVIA and if implemented would support adult smokers in their transition to less harmful alternatives and give those who already made the switch the best chance of sticking with it.”
To achieve its ambitions the forthcoming control plan must champion less harmful alternatives to smoking combustible tobacco, in particular the growing body of evidence showing vaping to be the most effective alternative for adult smokers looking to quit smoking.
Mary Glindon (Labour)
David Jones (Conservative), Honorary Life Governor at Cancer Research UK, said, “The key issue with smoking is, of course, the smoke. Any evidence-based policy to assist the U.K.’s 7 million smokers must put forward alternative products to combustible tobacco.
“Continuing to raise awareness of those products is also key. E-cigarettes and the use of other alternatives saves lives, and we should make sure that message reaches every smoker in Britain.
“E-cigarettes are hugely important in the fight against smoking, and I commend NHS England for promoting them to smokers. It’s based on evidence and has a proven positive effect on the health of the nation.”
Jones pointed out that, in 2017, more than 50,000 smokers who would have carried on stopped with the aid of a vaping product.
“The TCP should embrace new products and allow for more measures for companies to promote them,” he said. “And the plan should contemplate legislation for a robust regulatory framework for all the products we have on the market.”
Next to speak was Adam Afriyie (Conservative), also Chair of the Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology who sits on the APPG on Vaping.
“We’re in an era where we must be driven by data and evidence,” he said. “And it can’t be any clearer that, when it comes to vaping devices, electronic nicotine delivery devices and other technologies and ways nicotine can be used to help smokers to cease, that the data is only one way.
“It is so much safer to vape or use an electronic device than it is to smoke. Smoke is the killer. Tobacco is the killer.”
Afriyie urged the government to “not do what the EU has done and not do what the WHO seems to be doing by mangling the two issues (smoking and vaping) together.”
“Smoking is one thing,” he continued. “Smoking cessation devices that contain nicotine is a complete different thing. A completely different scale of harm and completely different scale of risk.
“Nobody really wants to smoke. It’s a good idea to remind people on an annual basis that there are alternatives, and not just nicotine patches but certainly to be looking at vaping devices.
“There is still ambiguity about whether or not vaping is a smoking cessation device or just another way of inhaling nicotine. The truth is, and this is clear from the evidence, it’s a smoking cessation device that woks and is twice as effective—if not higher than that—at helping smokers to cease smoking relative to the other treatments available.”
He concluded: “We are the first in the world at genomics, first in the world for the vaccine rollout, first in the world for fintech and financial services—let’s make this another one: let’s be the first in the world to implement a TCP that clearly takes on board the wonderful innovations of vaping, e-cigarettes and all the other technologies and not mangle it together in a smoking directive.”
We are the first in the world at genomics, first in the world for the vaccine rollout, first in the world for fintech and financial services—let’s make this another one: let’s be the first in the world to implement a TCP that clearly takes on board the wonderful innovations of vaping, e-cigarettes and all the other technologies and not mangle it together in a smoking directive.”
Adam Afriyie (Conservative)
Labour MP Virendra Sharma told the committee that he came from “a family of nonsmokers” and that he himself does not smoke.
“I cannot see the appeal,” he said. “But clearly, people are addicted, and addiction needs treatment not moralizing. There are 3 million people who vape in Britain and nearly all are former smokers. That’s 3 million who choose a less harmful option. This is good news, but BAME communities and those with manual jobs and without university degrees are 2.5 times more likely to smoke than white, office working university educated colleagues. This has to be addressed.
“In the Asian community we need to offer alternatives to tobacco. There are terrible statistics about rates of oral cancers and anything we can do to reduce these rates will save lives.”
Another Labour MP, Alex Norris, spoke next and emphasized the consensus nature of the debate.
“We are all here in the spirit of cross party cooperation,” he said.
“E-cigarettes and vaping must be a feature of the TCP. I hope the minister and government generally via its role in the WHO push harder for stronger messages and clearer messages around the data and evidence at WHO level.
“I looked at the WHO website myself and could not fathom what it was trying to tell me. That makes it really hard for people thinking about alternatives to know what they’re supposed to do or not.
“Personally, I always rely on the Public Health England position from 2018, that vaping represents a 95 percent reduction in harm.
“The APPG’s report says that in 2017 vaping helped 50,000 people to stop smoking, and that concerns around children starting have not materialized.”
Bringing the debate to an end Jo Churchill (Conservative), who is also Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Prevention, Public Health and Primary Care at the Department of Health and Social Care, said: “Within our plan we will re-commit to the role of e-cigarette products. They certainly have a place in supporting smokers to quit and we will ensure they remain accessible while protecting nonsmokers and young people.”
Speaking after the session John Dunne, director general of the UK Vaping Industry Association, said:
“It was a very proud moment for the UKVIA to be quoted so extensively during this important debate and at such a crucial moment in the U.K.’s journey towards harm reduction.
“It’s not often that you witness different political parties reaching a consensus in this way but, it appears, the urgent need to reduce smoking rates in Britain and the vital role vaping can play in achieving smoke free 2030 are the issues where tribalism is put aside, and common sense prevails.”
June 11, 2021
Class-Action Lawsuit Filed by RLX Investor
RLX Technology is facing a class-action lawsuit started by an investor who claims the Chinese e-cigarette manufacturer overstated its financials and misrepresented potential regulatory risks when it filed the paperwork for its initial public offering (IPO) in the U.S.
Credit: Zerbor
The lawsuit, submitted Wednesday by shareholder Alex Garnett in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, alleges RLX’s registration statement from last October omitted the impact of ongoing efforts by Chinese regulators to tighten sales of electronic cigarettes, according to an article in The Wall Street Journal.
The case is captioned Garnett v. RLX Technology Inc., No. 21-cv-05125, and is assigned to Judge Paul A. Engelmayer. The RLX Technology class-action lawsuit charges that the company, certain members of its officers and directors, and the underwriters of its IPO with violations of the Securities Act of 1933.
Companies under rules established by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission have to disclose any known events or uncertainties that at the time of an IPO caused or were likely to not represent future earnings. RLX stock fell sharply in March after Chinese authorities announced their intent to more heavily regulate the Chinese vapor market. Garnett filed the lawsuit on behalf of other RLX investors.
The lawsuit alleges investors purchased RLX shares at artificially inflated prices, in part because the company omitted and misrepresented information in the registration statement. As the stock price dropped, RLX investors lost hundreds of millions of dollars, the lawsuit states.
At least two other law firms in recent weeks said they are investigating on behalf of investors to determine whether RLX failed to disclose relevant information to investors. Rosen Law Firm and Bronstein, Gewirtz & Grossman, among others, are reportedly seeking RLX investors who want to join the class-action suit.
RLX on June 2 reported revenue of CNY2.4 billion ($366.1 million), for the quarter ended March 31, up from CNY368.6 million the prior-year period. The company booked a net loss of CNY267 million, compared with a profit of CNY12.1 million during the prior-year quarter.
June 11, 2021
Survey: Harm Reduction Gains Momentum In Europe

Photo: Тарас Нагирняк
The concept of tobacco harm reduction is gaining momentum in Europe, according to a new report by The European Tobacco Harm Reduction Advocates (ETHRA). On July 8, ETHRA published the results of its 2020 EU Nicotine Users Survey.
Launched online by ETHRA in the last quarter of 2020, the questionnaire addressed consumer use of nicotine products. Topics included smoking and the desire to quit, use of safer nicotine products and barriers to switching caused by European and national regulations. More than 37,000 people, including more than 35,000 EU residents, participated in the ETHRA survey.
According to ETHRA, more than 27,000 of the survey participants had completely quit smoking. Vapes, snus and nicotine pouches are the main harm reduction products used to quit. Among the respondents who had ever smoked, 83.5 percent of vapers and 73.7 percent of snus users had successfully stopped smoking.
Over 93 percent of vapers and 75 percent of snus users cited harm reduction and improvements to health as their reasons for adopting these products. The report shows that the reduced cost compared to smoking, the availability of flavors, the availability of products and the ability to adjust vaping products are other major factors for consumers when switching to harm reduction products.
The lack of availability of low-risk nicotine products presents a major obstacle to consumers wishing to quit smoking.
ETHRA
However, smoking remains the predominant way of consuming nicotine in Europe. More than 67 percent of the current smokers who responded to our survey want to quit, but the ETHRA report shows they face barriers in their desire to be smoke-free.
The lack of availability of low-risk nicotine products presents a major obstacle to consumers wishing to quit smoking. The EU ban on the sale of snus (which exempts Sweden), illustrates this barrier, with 31 percent of current smokers indicating that they would be interested in trying snus if its sale were legalized in the EU.
A quarter (24.3 percent) of those who smoke but who want to quit cited the high price of safer alternatives as a barrier to quitting smoking. This number rises to 44.7 percent in countries with a high tax on vaping products, such as Estonia, Finland and Portugal.

The EU Tobacco Product Directive (TPD) restrictions of a maximum nicotine concentration of 20mg/ml and a maximum bottle volume of 10ml have driven vapers to very low nicotine e-liquids. More than 30 percent of people who vape and smoke (“dual users”) believed they could completely quit smoking if the EU nicotine limit were increased.
Meanwhile, harm reduction advocates are anxiously awaiting pending amendments to the TPD. If the EU bans flavors, 28 percent of vapers are likely to restart smoking, and 71 percent would consider using the black market or other alternative sources, according to the survey. In the 16 EU countries without a vape tax, only 1 percent of vapers are currently using alternative sources.
If the EU repealed the 10 ml bottle limit, 89 percent of vapers said they would buy larger bottles of e-liquid to reduce plastic waste. 83 percent of vapers are in favor of having access to an EU database on e-liquid ingredients.
Considering the results from the EU Nicotine Users Survey 2020, ETHRA recommends the lifting of the EU ban on the sale of snus, revising upwards the 10 ml refill bottle and 20 mg/ml nicotine concentration limits, and the publication of databases on vaping products.
The organization also urges a repeal of vaping taxes in 12 countries and the lifting of flavor bans in Estonia, Finland and Hungary to give European smokers the freedom to quit smoking using low-risk products.
June 10, 2021
SBA Wants FDA to Ask Judge for PMTA Extension

Photo: Grispb
The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) has urged the Food and Drug Administration to allow nicotine products to remain on the market for another year while their premarket reviews are in progress, reports Vaping 360.
In a letter sent to the FDA on June 7, the SBA Office of Advocacy asked the agency to seek a court order extending for an additional year the current freeze on enforcement actions against small vape manufacturers who submitted Premarket Tobacco Applications (PMTAs) before last year’s Sept. 9 deadline.
In the current situation, manufacturers who submitted PMTAs on time may leave those products on the market until Sept. 9, 2021. The SBA advocacy office is asking the FDA to request that U.S. District Court Judge Paul Grimm allow the agency to extend the deadline until September 2022.
Considering the large volume of PMTAs submitted—the FDA says it received more than 6 million applications—It is unlikely that the agency will be able to process all submissions before manufacturers are required to pull their products off the market.
“Small ENDS manufacturers cannot afford to have their products pulled from store shelves while the FDA continues to review the timely submitted PMTAs for millions of ENDS products,” the SBA writes. “Most small ENDS manufacturers do not have the resources to absorb the losses from having their products pulled from the marketplace for several months or more. Once the FDA orders small ENDS manufacturers’ products removed from the market, those small businesses will close permanently.”
The letter also urges the FDA to end its current practice of processing PMTAs in order of manufacturer market share. By doing so, the FDA all but guarantees that small vaping companies will be unable to have their reviews completed in time to remain on the market, according to the SBA.
The SBA is a federal agency represents the views of small business to the various branches of government.
June 10, 2021
Ohio Indoor Ban Allows Exemption for Vape Shops
The Ohio Senate passed its version of the two-year state operating budget, House Bill 110. In Governor Mike DeWine’s budget proposal, he wants to expand the statewide indoor smoking ban to include vaping. James Jarvis, president of the Ohio Vapor Technology Association (OHVTA) said the organization did not oppose this measure. Both the House and the Senate retained the language. The Senate, however, included an amendment to provide and exemption to stand-alone vapor stores from the indoor ban.
Credit: Spirit of America
“This exemption is about consumer education and safety. The devices that stand-alone stores sell are technical pieces of electronics and if not used properly can cause harm,” said Jarvis. “Our store owners pride themselves on providing customers a full wealth of knowledge on how to not only use the device, but also change our important components of the device. This exemption allows our store owners to continue this education to properly advise consumers on how to use their device, whether with or without nicotine, in the store.”
The exemption only applies to stores who’s gross receipts are from sales of 80 percent or more of electronic smoking devices and accessories as currently defined in Ohio Law. The rule would not apply to convenience, grocery or other multi product stores.
The bill now moves on to a Conference Committee where the House and Senate will find common ground before sending it to Dewine’s desk for final approval.
June 10, 2021