Tag: news

P.E.I. Lawmaker: Flavor Ban Could Boost Cigarette Sales
A Green MLA on Canada’s Prince Edward Island (P.E.I.) who voted in favor of a private member’s bill to restrict the sale of flavored vaping products now says he believes vaping could be an important tool to get Islanders to quit smoking.
During question period on March 4, Green MLA Steve Howard said there is evidence that vaping could be considered a form of “harm reduction” for Islanders attempting to give up smoking. Smoking is often described by health officials as one of the leading causes of preventable deaths on P.E.I., according to a story in the Journal Pioneer.
Steve Howard / Credit: cbc.ca
Howard suggested that a bill that came into effect at the beginning of March, which banned flavored vaping products, would encourage youth to seek out flavored products on the black market.
The bill, introduced by Progressive Conservative backbencher Cory Deagle in 2019, also increased the legal age for tobacco and vaping products from 19 to 21 and limited the sale of vaping products to tobacco shops. The bill did not restrict the sale of tobacco products to tobacco shops. It passed unanimously in fall 2019.
“Many of the severe vaping illnesses we saw last year and in 2019 were linked to black market products. These black market products most often appear and become commercially viable when governments introduced wide-ranging restrictions on legal products,” Howard said.
“Are you concerned your regulatory approach will increase the availability and use of dangerous black market products?” Howard asked Minister of Finance Darlene Compton.
The question drew a rebuke from Compton. “I would suggest the Opposition pick a lane – pick any lane – and they’re all paved,” Compton said. “You do not want regulated gambling but you’re happy with regulated cannabis and you’re happy with regulated liquor. And now, you want regulated vaping or you want people to use unregulated vaping. I mean, pick a lane.”
In an interview, Howard said he had initially voted for the 2019 bill because he agreed it was important to ban flavored vaping products that are marketed to youth, such as cotton candy. But Howard said the regulations put in place ended up banning all flavored products, except those that resembled tobacco products.
He said this effectively nullified any possibility Islanders could transition to vaping as a means of quitting smoking. “Of course, the best option is to not use vaping or smoking,” Howard said. “But as far as a harm reduction tool goes, vaping is a powerful tool that we should not be discouraging people from using. And the flavors are a key component to uptake.”
Howard pointed to a posting on the Health Canada website that suggested there is evidence vaping could help with smoking cessation. He said the regulations should be changed to target vaping flavors targeted to youth. But he also suggested schools have a role to play.
“We don’t have anything in our curriculum in the education system right now to do with vaping. We have tobacco use, we have opiates, we have cannabis, we have alcohol. But we don’t have any education in there on vaping itself,” Howard said.
March 7, 2021
TSFA Leader Says PACT Act Impacts Older Vapers More
When former President Donald Trump signed the amended Prevent All Cigarette Trafficking Act, or PACT Act, into law late last year, the goal was to stop teenagers from buying nicotine vape products online.
However, the Tennessee Smoke Free Association’s (TSFA) executive director Dimitris Agrafiotis cited the “Youth source of acquisition for E-Cigarettes” survey from 2019 that shows most teenagers don’t get their e-cigarette products online. Instead, the survey, published in Science Direct, found that most kids get them from friends.
Dimitris Agrafiotis Credit: TSFA
A quarter of youth surveyed reported living with someone who uses e-cigarettes (26.1 percent). The most common location or source for getting e-cigarettes was a friend (51.5 percent), followed by a family member (16.4 percent), a vape shop (16.2 percent), and a retail location (12.3 percent).
Few of the survey participants reported getting e-cigarettes from another person that was not a family member or a friend (6.1 percent), the Internet (3.8 percent), or another place not listed (3.5 percent). The majority of adolescents reported getting e-cigarettes from one place (92 percent, data not shown), according to the survey data.
Agrafiotis says this law will do more harm to the older generation who rely on vape products to quit smoking cigarettes.
“The main point that I wanted to get across in this story is that in every corner of America you can buy cigarettes and a much less harmful product … [than] smoking is being squashed and eliminated,” Agrafiotis said.
If anyone wants to try to make a change, there are two things you can do, says Agrafiotis. First, call your representatives in Congress. Second, submit a comment to the U.S. Postal Service. Interested parties have until March 22nd to comment.
The PACT Act requires the Postal Service to begin enforcement starting on April 26, 2021.
March 7, 2021
Germany: Plans For Vapor Taxation a ‘Disaster’

Photo: Steve Buissinne from Pixabay
Plans by Germany’s governing coalition to tax vapor products are a disaster for public health and the economy, according to the country’s e-cigarette trade association, VdeH. The move will make vapor products more expensive than combustible cigarettes, which are widely acknowledged to be considerably more harmful to health.
Under the plans, e-liquids will attract a tax of €4 per 10 mL bottle from July 1, 2022. On Jan. 1, 2024, the tax will increase to €8 plus VAT, i.e. €9.52 per 10 mL bottle. Based on an average sales price of about €5 per bottle, this amounts to a tripling of the retail price, says VdeH.
“These tax plans leave you stunned, and one initially suspects a calculation error,” said Michal Dobrajc, executive chairman of the VdeH, in a statement. Such a price increase, he added, could only have been passed with the intention to kill off vaping.
While not opposing e-cigarette taxation as such, the VdeH said fiscal measures should weigh the risks of vaping against those of smoking. Based on what is known about those relative risks, the tax on vapor products should not exceed 5 percent of that on tobacco products, according to the association. The governing coalition’s plans amount to 75 percent of the tobacco tax in Germany.
The VdeH urged the German government to heed the experience of other countries.
A similar tax policy in Italy caused the vapor market to collapse even as tobacco sales increased. Tax collections shriveled and the black market thrived. The Italian government was eventually forced to reduce the tax burden on vapor products by 90 percent. Estonia and Hungary had comparable experiences.
The biggest losers of the governing coalition’s plans, according to the VdeH, are former smokers who successfully quit their habit with the help of e-cigarettes and current smokers who will not attempt to switch under the new tax regime. A police union has already described the tax plans as a “startup for smugglers,” the association noted.
March 5, 2021
Howard: CBD Market to See Regulatory Uptick in 2021

The Covid-19 pandemic slowed the regulatory process in 2020, creating an expected uptick in 2021.
By Chris Howard, special to VV
After CBD’s explosive growth in 2019 following the passage of the 2018 Farm Bill that legalized hemp, 2020 began navigation of a regulatory environment in flux. Burgeoning federal and state regulation, as well as increased research into consumer trends and tastes, begins outlining the future of CBD.
The Covid-19 pandemic slowed progress in the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) decision making around CBD, setting up 2021 as a crucial year for the industry, although it is unlikely that any FDA regulations will be finalized this year. Vapor industry veterans, who witnessed the regulatory battles with the FDA, are rightfully wary of the government’s efforts to oversee CBD, but the initial steps seem promising. It is still early days for the CBD industry, and the FDA appears willing to collaborate with the industry on many issues that are important to manufacturers and retailers alike.
As we look ahead, I offer some thoughts on the current CBD market, where regulatory efforts are and finally, what to expect as the CBD space matures.
State of the market
After CBD’s rise to prominence in 2019, last year represented more incremental growth. According to the Brightfield Group, a leading cannabis and CBD market research provider, the United States CBD market grew from $627 million in 2018 to over $4 billion in 2019, an increase of over 650 percent. In 2020, market growth slowed to 14 percent as CBD could be found in more stores and additional uncertainty caused retailers to tread carefully. Despite this recent modest growth, the Brightfield Group projects the CBD market will continue to grow from $4.7 billion in 2020 to nearly $15 billion by 2024.
Driving this growth is a mixture of increased consumer awareness and interest as well as improved access. Sales continue to increase in key market areas, especially e-commerce, creating more competition for CBD specialty stores and vape shops selling these products. C-stores were previously well positioned to capitalize on the market, but research from Technomic, a management consulting company, shows that consumers are being selective where they shop to better hand-pick CBD products.
Chris Howard
Consumer form factor preference (the types of products available containing CBD) has been another important area of analysis. Tinctures remain popular, especially with new CBD users. Lotions have become a huge source of interest for consumers with many over-the-counter topical, beauty and skin care companies investing heavily in these products. Refining offerings will be a key part of crafting common sense regulation and helping CBD companies make more confident investments in their product lines.
Regulations in 2021
It is no surprise that the FDA took significant interest in CBD as it quickly grew from an industry valued in the hundreds of millions to one worth billions. Yet, the agency has been slow to definitively rule on any regulations apart from taking a firm stance against companies making therapeutic or health claims, especially during the pandemic.
Where does that leave us now? The FDA’s studies into CBD are ongoing, both analyzing the effects of the compound as well as auditing the contents of current products, although progress has slowed due to Covid-19. Meanwhile, there remains some pressure from congress to create policy around CBD to act as a stopgap while the FDA creates long-term guidance.
I remain optimistic that the FDA will introduce a framework for the specific purpose of regulating products containing CBD that permits the marketing and sale of all form factors in the U.S. This includes food and dietary supplements, a source of much back and forth between CBD advocates and regulators. That said, it is unlikely that a rule will be finalized in 2021. I expect this to be subject to a lot of discussion this year. We will find out more based on how the Biden administration addresses CBD in the year ahead.
In the meantime, CBD companies are forced to navigate a labyrinth of state-by-state regulations. CSP and Grocery Business research indicates 46 states have created CBD laws. State laws can run directly counter to existing federal guidelines, such as those concerning food and beverage products—which are prohibited federally but which are permissible for sale within some states. The patchwork created by these various regulations continues to make national distribution of CBD products a challenge and in some cases even threatens the supply chain of hemp growers and manufacturers.
Looking ahead
While we await final FDA guidance on CBD, I see companies in this industry dealing with many of the same issues we’ve seen over the years in the vapor industry.
The cost of entry for many in the space will become increasingly burdensome once the FDA begins setting regulations, forcing many smaller CBD companies to exit the market. This is similar to what we have seen with PMTAs in vapor, where the larger companies have been far more well equipped to maintain a compliant product selection.
Although it has not been a concern yet, CBD companies should remain mindful and vigilant to ensure that they are taking the necessary steps to prevent youth use of CBD products. Taking a proactive stance now and preventing youth use will help avoid many of the issues faced by the vapor category over the past two years.
Although there are many complex considerations with CBD, it is hard not to get excited about this industry’s future. With continued strong market growth and an apparent pathway to sensible regulation from the FDA for sellers and consumers alike, the future remains bright. In 2021, I hope to see more progress from regulators as we continue to create a strong framework that will work to the benefit this industry and consumers for years to come.
Chris Howard is vice president, general counsel and chief compliance officer for E-Alternative Solutions.
March 5, 2021
Pandemic Leads to Rise in Combustible Tobacco Use
Pandemic-related anxiety, boredom, and irregular routines were cited as major drivers of increased nicotine and combustible tobacco use during the initial Covid-19 “lockdown,” according to research released by Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health.
Credit: Columbia University
“Pandemic response policies that intentionally or inadvertently restrict access to lower risk products – through availability, supply chains, or even postal service slowdowns – while leaving more harmful products widely accessible may have unintended consequences that should be considered during policy development,” said Daniel Giovenco, PhD, assistant professor of sociomedical sciences at Columbia Mailman School, and the study’s lead author.
The study highlights ways that public health interventions and policies can better support quit attempts and harm reduction, both during the Covid-19 pandemic and beyond. The findings are published in the International Journal of Drug Policy.
Nearly all participants reported increased stress related to Covid-19 – namely, fears about the virus, job uncertainty, and the psychological effects of isolation – and described this as the primary driver of increased nicotine and combustible tobacco use. Decreased use, while less common, was prevalent among “social” tobacco users, who cited fewer interpersonal interactions during lockdown and a fear of sharing products.
Between April-May 2020, the researchers conducted telephone interviews with adults across the US who use traditional cigarettes and/or electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS), such as e-cigarettes. Participants in the study were recruited using an advertisement campaign on Facebook and Instagram.
During this window, nearly 90 percent of the U.S. population experienced some form of state lockdown, with 40 states ordering non-essential businesses to close and 32 states enacting mandatory stay-at-home orders. At the time of their interviews, all participants were voluntarily isolating at home unless required to leave the house.
At the community level, retail access impacted cigarette and ENDS use differently. While cigarettes were universally accessible in essential businesses, such as convenience stores and gas stations, access to preferred ENDS products was more limited, since “vape shops” and other specialty ENDS retailers were typically deemed non-essential and required to close or limit hours, according to a press release.
This drove some ENDS users to order their products online, which often resulted in long wait times due to shipping delays, or product backorder as a result of high demand. As a result, some dual users of cigarettes and ENDS increased their use of readily-available cigarettes.
March 5, 2021
Asian THR Group Warns Against Open System Ban

Photo: Olgacanals | Dreamstime
Millions of vapers could feel forced to return to smoking if national governments adopt a proposal from the World Health Organization (WHO) on e-cigarettes, warns the Coalition of Asia Pacific Tobacco Harm Reduction Advocates (CAPHRA)
A new report published by WHO’s tobacco regulatory committee recommends nearly all vapes—especially “open systems”—be banned. It also demands existing restrictions on cigarettes be applied to emerging products, presumably so smokers won’t learn about them.
In the open system, which is the preferred way of vaping for many people across Asia, the consumer manually refills the liquid to be vaporized. According to the WHO, this system allows for the addition of substances which could make the product more harmful.
“The latest recommendation from WHO defies all logic,” said Nancy Loucas, the executive coordinator of CAPHRA, in a statement. “If countries adopt the recommendation to ban open-system vapes, years of hard work by ex-smokers as well as good public policy will be rendered meaningless.”
“Let there be no doubt: vapers will then go back to cigarettes, which is the worst possible outcome.”
“Banning any product is not the answer, nor is applying blanket cigarette rules to all emerging products. Bans encourage the black market. Bans do not allow for proper consumer protection,” Loucas said.
CAPHRA is calling on governments to adopt evidence-based, common sense regulations for all vaping products.
“Just last week, the U.K.’s leading health agency, Public Health England (PHE), concluded that nicotine vaping products were the most popular aid used by smokers trying to quit,” Loucas said.
“On the one hand, you have a local public health agency looking into the evidence and ways in which smokers can be encouraged to quit smoking and vape, and on the other you have a global agency stuck in their old ways of believing prohibition is the answer to everything.”
“WHO’s attitude to e-cigarettes has been devastating for millions and millions of smokers and vapers alike all around the world,” Loucas said.
CAPHRA said it’s only through regulating products can vapers remain protected, encouraged to stop smoking, and as a result, achieve good public health outcomes.
March 5, 2021
Altria: FDA Must Clarify Nicotine Misperceptions
The Altria Group Inc. asked the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for its help in convincing Americans that nicotine isn’t linked to cancer. In a letter to the regulatory agency, the maker of IQOS and Juul products asked for the FDA to assist in combatting misperceptions about nicotine as part of a proposed $100 million advertising campaign to reduce the harm caused by tobacco.
According to a letter seen by Bloomberg, Altria states that nearly three-fourths of U.S. adults incorrectly believe nicotine causes cancer, citing government research. Clearing up the drug’s health risks will be key to the agency reducing smoking combustible cigarettes because it will help convince cigarette users to switch to noncombustible options for nicotine, the company said.
While there are at least 60 well-established carcinogens in cigarette smoke, it’s been known for years that nicotine isn’t the direct cause of many of smoking’s ills. The drug has even been touted as a way to ease tension and sharpen the mind. But nicotine is the ingredient that addicts people to tobacco products, and it has risks, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, a government agency.
The FDA “should commit resources and expertise to correct the deeply entrenched public misperceptions regarding the health risks of nicotine,” Paige Magness, Altria’s senior vice president of regulatory affairs, said in the letter dated Feb. 25. Such a campaign would help the agency by getting more smokers to use noncombustible offerings that “may present lower health risk,” according to the letter.
The FDA declined to comment, according to Bloomberg.
March 4, 2021
Logic Ending All U.S. Online Product Sales March 16
Logic brand e-cigarettes will end the online sales of its products, according to an email to customers. “Unfortunately, as of March 16, 2021, we will discontinue online sales of Logic products. Due to recent regulations, Logic will be unable to ship online orders after this date,” the email states. “Logic has worked tirelessly to make sure we provide you with the best possible vaping and shopping experience. Always have, always will.”
Credit: Logic
The company states that the recent amendment to the 2009 All Cigarette Trafficking (PACT) Act prevents the company from being able to mail its products to consumers. In late December, former President Trump voted into law a $2.3 trillion coronavirus relief bill that contained a provision banning the USPS from delivering vapor products.
The USPS was already prohibited from delivering cigarettes and smokeless tobacco products to consumers under the PACT Act. The law passed in December extends the act’s original definition of “cigarette” to include electronic nicotine-delivery systems (ENDS).
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.
Critically for the vapor industry, the most popular carriers, Federal Express (FedEx) and United Parcel Service (UPS), have recently announced that they would cease all deliveries of vapor products.
Age-verified adult consumers can order Logic products at logicvapes.us until March 16 at 11 a.m. Eastern Standard Time. In order to help consumers locate Logic products, the company has updated and improved its online store locator.
“We believe that all age-verified adult vapers and smokers should have the choice to purchase vapor products online to be delivered to their home. However, as a responsible company, we always remain committed to regulatory compliance,” the email states. “We’re dedicated to doing whatever it takes to deliver pleasurable vaping moments you can truly enjoy.
Acquired by Japan Tobacco in 2015, Logic is not the first vapor company to cease online sales in the wake of the shipping ban. In February, Securience, which manufactures Durasmoke, Forge and other brands, announced it would be closing its doors in March due to the restrictions. Lizard Juice e-liquids also said it would stop mailing products to consumers.
When the legislation took effect, experts predicted that small companies would bear the brunt of the measure.
March 4, 2021
Study: THC Vapes More Risky Than Nicotine Vapes
A new study shows that teens who vape pot are more likely to wheeze and cough than those who smoke cigarettes or vape nicotine. Appearing in the March 3 Journal of Adolescent Health, the study found that U.S. youth aged 12 to 17 show they have a higher risk of wheezing, suffering from a dry cough and having their sleep, speech or exercise impeded by wheezing if they vape marijuana products.
Credit: Clear Cannabis
The results are from the U.S. federally funded Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health Study. It states that all symptoms are strongly related to lung injury, and it’s unclear how long they will last, said lead researcher Carol Boyd, co-director of the University of Michigan’s Center for the Study of Drugs, Alcohol, Smoking and Health.
“We found, and it was something that surprised us a bit, that it was the lifetime vaping cannabis that was associated with a far greater number of symptoms and a higher likelihood of having each of these symptoms than using either e-cigarettes or cigarettes,” Boyd said. “Lifetime” referred to any past use.
Survey responses from nearly 15,000 teens showed that vaping pot increased their risk of wheezing or whistling in the chest by 81 percent compared with a 15 percent increased risk from cigarettes and a 9 percent increased risk from nicotine e-cigarettes.
Vaping pot also increased teens’ risk of:

Sleep disturbed by wheezing by 71 percent;

Speech limited due to wheezing by 96 percent;

Wheezing during or after exercise by 33 percent; and

Dry coughing at night by 26 percent.
Smoking and nicotine e-cigarette use also increased risks for these indications of lung injury, just not by as much, Boyd said, according to an article on usnews.com.
“I think that industry would probably like to show that vaping e-cigarettes is healthier, that it’s the cannabis vaping causing these respiratory symptoms not the e-cigarettes. This is not true. E-cigarette vaping also causes symptoms among youth,” Boyd said. “However, in our study, and when we took into account their e-cigarette use, we found higher odds of having these respiratory symptoms among youth who had vaped cannabis.”
The survey was taken between December 2016 and January 2018—prior to the wave of lung injuries among young people that occurred in 2019. It was given the name EVALI, or e-cigarette or vaping use-associated lung injury.
Boyd thinks some of these lung problems reported in the survey were probably due to EVALI, which has been linked to pot-laced e-liquids and particularly those containing vitamin E acetate. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), four out of five patients with EVALI had vaped cannabis versus only about 16 percent who said they only vaped nicotine.
The CDC has stated that vitamin E acetate was found in the lung fluid of all patients with EVALI.
March 4, 2021
22nd Century to Speed Up Marketing of Cannabis IP

Photo: Tobacco Reporter archive
22nd Century Group has secured an exclusive agreement with CannaMetrix for the use of that company’s proprietary human cell-based testing CannaMetrix EC50Array technology. The technology will enable 22nd Century to accelerate the commercialization of new disruptive hemp/cannabis plant lines and intellectual property.
Since reporting third quarter earnings, 22nd Century has refocused its hemp/cannabis strategy to target the upstream segments of the cannabinoid value chain. In particular, the company seeks to accelerate the delivery of valuable commercial-scale plant lines and intellectual property for the life science, consumer product and pharmaceutical end-use markets.
With the addition of CannaMetrix, 22nd Century has now secured four out of the five key partnerships needed to maximize each component in the upstream segment of the cannabinoid value chain: plant profiling (CannaMetrix), plant biotechnology (KeyGene), plant cultivation (Panacea-Needle Rock Farm) and ingredient extraction/purification (Panacea). The company is also in final discussions with top-tier plant breeders that will be announced soon.
“22nd Century is extremely excited to add CannaMetrix into our secured network of value chain partners to increase the speed at which we develop and offer disruptive plant lines and intellectual property for the hemp/cannabis industry. For example, a plant line that would typically take 10 years or longer to develop can now be achieved in two years,” said James A. Mish, CEO of 22nd Century Group, in a statement.
“We are thrilled to collaborate with 22nd Century Group,” stated Harold Smith, founder and CEO of CannaMetrix. “They are the ideal partner, bringing decades-long experience in plant biotechnology with unmatched ability in developing valuable commercial plant lines. We believe that through this exclusive partnership, the development of new hemp/cannabis lines for large-scale cultivation and production will advance at a rapid pace and transform the hemp/cannabis industry.”
March 3, 2021