Tag: news

New Advisors to Support 1account’s Plans for Vapor

Simon Bazalgette

Murray Perkins

Ralph Topping

Mark Aylwin
1account, a technology provider to online vendors of age-restricted products and services, has created a new advisory board to support its ambitious plans in the vaping sector, which includes the rollout of a new business-to-consumer ID app to prevent underage access to vape devices and e-liquids online and offline.
Joining the new board are Mark Aylwin, former managing director of Booker; Ralph Topping, former chief executive of bookmaker William Hill; Simon Bazalgette, former CEO of the Jockey Club; and Murray Perkins, former policy director at the British Board of Film Classification.
Following 1account’s success in providing age verification technology to the vaping and gambling sectors, Aylwin will help drive the continued rollout of the company’s online technology and help businesses in the vaping sector make the transition to accepting the company’s new consumer digital ID app, 1account ID, for their online and offline commerce.
The new B2C product will help to prevent unlawful access to vaping products online and in vape retail outlets, convenience stores and supermarkets, aligning with the British government’s strategy to build a Digital Identity Trust Framework.
“The creation of a digital ID for the purchase of vape products online and offline represents a major step forward and will enable vape retailers to take the most proactive stance possible in preventing underage sales of vape devices and e-liquids,” says Aylwin. “1account can offer vape retailers a solution both online and offline that enables compliance for now and the future.”
March 3, 2021
Puff Bar Tests FDA Power Over Tobacco-Free Nicotine
In July 2020, Puff Bar announced that it would cease all online sales and distribution in the U.S. until further notice. However, the brand resumed sales on its website last month with a changed product. To get around the ban, Puff Bar is now using tobacco-free nicotine, according to The Wall Street Journal.
Credit: Puff Bar
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has started investigating Puff Bar’s redesigned fruit-flavored disposable vaporizers because of the changes, reports The Hill. The regulatory agency said it was aware of Puff Bar’s actions but would not say whether the agency’s ban was still applicable, citing the ongoing investigation.
In mid-2020, the FDA told Puff Bar to stop selling its fruity vaporizers as part of a broader crackdown on underage vaping. In a letter to Puff Bar, the FDA’s Center for Tobacco Products said Puff Bar products hadn’t been authorized for sale by the agency and that the company had made unauthorized claims on its website that its vaporizers were less harmful than traditional cigarettes.
In early 2020, the Trump administration banned fruity flavored e-cigarettes in reusable devices like Juul, the blockbuster brand that helped trigger the teen vaping craze in the U.S. Under that policy, only menthol and tobacco flavors were allowed for those devices. But the flavor ban did not apply to disposable vaping products like Puff Bar, which is offered in more than 20 flavors, including pina colada and pink lemonade.
Following the ban, Puff Bar quickly emerged as the vape of choice among young people. Puff Bar has fallen to No. 3 in the disposable category this year, after Bidi Stick and Blu, according to Nielsen data.
It’s unclear who owns Puff Bar. Previous owners include Cool Clouds Distribution in California and DS Technology Licensing in China.
March 3, 2021
South African Researcher Urges Vapor Regulation

Photo: Hazem Mohamed | Dreamstime
Health researchers have called on the South African government to revive legislation intended to regulate e-cigarettes, saying the products don’t help people quit smoking as advertised, reports Business Day.
The Control of Tobacco Products and Electronic Delivery Systems Bill was released for public comment in 2018, but the legislation has yet to be submitted to Parliament. As a result, e-cigarettes and other nicotine-delivery devices remain unregulated in South Africa.
Presenting recent research on e-cigarette use in South Africa, Lekan Ayo-Yusuf, director of the Africa Centre for Tobacco Industry Monitoring and Policy Research at the Sefako Makgatho Health Sciences University, said that more than 95 percent of e-cigarette users continued to smoke and few of them managed to stop smoking for more than six months.
Compared to people who had never used e-cigarettes, the likelihood of kicking the smoking habit for six months to 12 months was 77 percent lower among regular e-cigarette users.
“While the tobacco and e-cigarette industry likes to position e-cigarettes as cessation aids, the limited effectiveness of these products for long-term quitting, the health harms associated with usage and the industry’s clear and targeted marketing to youth are facts which are conveniently omitted from their narrative,” said Ayo-Yusuf.
According to one of the prevalence studies, 2.71 percent of adults, or 1.09-million people, used e-cigarettes daily or occasionally during 2018. Almost all these people (97.5 percent) were regularly smoking cigarettes as well. A separate study found vape shops were clustered in the wealthier parts of urban centers, and two-thirds were within a 20 km radius of a university or college campus.
E-cigarettes have been available in South Africa for more than 10 years but remain untaxed. Recently, the treasury department said it plans to release a discussion paper on tax proposals for electronic nicotine devices.
The recent research has not been published in a peer-reviewed journal.
March 2, 2021
WHO Advises Countries to Ban Open System Devices

Photo: Vaperesso
Vapor advocates have expressed concern about recent recommendations made by the World Health Organization (WHO) study group on Tobacco Product Regulations to prohibit electronic nicotine and non-nicotine delivery systems where the user can control device features and liquid ingredients. The WHO has also called for a ban on vaping systems that have a higher “abuse liability” than conventional cigarettes, for example by controlling the emission rate or flux of nicotine.
Clive Bates
Clive Bates, a tobacco harm expert and former director of Action on Smoking and Health (ASH), called the advice irresponsible and bizarre. “If governments take it seriously, they will be protecting the cigarette trade, encouraging smoking and adding to a huge toll of cancer, heart and lung disease,” he said.
The U.K. Vaping Industry Association (UKVIA) said the WHO is out of touch with growing evidence on the public health potential of vaping. “Certain WHO positions are now so out of date, and so thoroughly refuted by the experts, that they may as well be saying the earth is flat,” said John Dunne, director general at the UKVIA, in a statement. “They deviate dramatically from leading experts, including Public Health England and Action on Smoking and Health.”
Dunne cited the WHO’s assertion that there is “little evidence” for vaping’s role in helping people quit smoking. As early as 2019 clinical trials were finding vaping to be almost twice as effective as nicotine replacement therapy, he noted.
This month, Public Health England (PHE) found in its Vaping Evidence Review 2021 that smoking quit rates involving a vaping product were higher than with any other method in every single English region.
John Dunne
“For the WHO to hold such contrary views is either bad science or bad faith. Both risk it becoming an enemy of harm-reduction,” said Dunne.
“Vaping’s success as an industry, and its potential for public health improvements, is built on empowering personal choice,” he added. “Different systems, styles and flavors give consumers the options they need to leave combustible cigarettes behind. I would urge the WHO to engage with vapers, to hear their stories and discover the life-changing decisions they’ve made in their lives. Prohibition is simply not the answer.”
The WHO is scheduled to hold a summit on vaping, during the Conference of Parties to the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (COP9) in The Hague in November 2021. Following its exit from the European Union, the U.K. will send a national delegation the meeting. The UKVIA was among expert guests invited by the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Vaping to advise on the COP9 delegation’s approach.
“The UK has a genuine opportunity to promote harm-reduction as a valid, progressive strategy for public health on the world stage,” said Dunne. “We must not allow misinformation to undermine this potential, irrespective of the source.”
March 2, 2021
Public Supports Innovative THR Approach

Photo: PMI
A new international survey commissioned by Philip Morris International (PMI) and conducted by independent research firm Povaddo reveals a public appetite for a better approach to reducing the societal harm caused by cigarettes. Seven in 10 respondents (71 percent) believe that encouraging those adults who would otherwise continue to smoke to switch to smoke-free alternatives instead can complement other efforts to reduce harm.
Conducted in December 2020 among 22,500-plus adults in 20 countries and territories, the survey explores attitudes regarding the role of smoke-free alternatives in improving public health. The results reveal broad support for novel approaches to accelerating the decline of cigarette smoking. Specifically, the survey found that: 73 percent of adults agree that governments should consider the role alternative products can play in making their country smoke-free; 77 percent agree that adult smokers should have access to and accurate information about smoke-free alternatives that have been scientifically substantiated to be a better choice than continued smoking; and 67 percent of respondents say that if it is possible to end cigarette sales in their country within 10 to 15 years (through smokers quitting tobacco or switching to better, science-based alternatives), their government should dedicate time and resources to making that a reality.
Three in four respondents (76 percent) believe it is important for governments to dedicate time and resources to reducing smoking rates. However, a majority (58 percent) believe that more regulation and taxation of cigarettes will not be enough to achieve a smoke-free future.
Jacek Olczak
“Smoke-free products have already started to play an important role in lowering smoking rates,” said Jacek Olczak, chief operating officer at PMI, in a statement. “With the right regulatory encouragement, support from civil society and the full embrace of science, I believe it is possible for the public’s call to be answered and for cigarette sales to be a thing of the past in many countries within a decade to a decade and a half.”
Most adults surveyed want to see a shift in the societal approach to tobacco harm reduction, including more collaboration between governments and tobacco companies. Moreover, nearly seven in 10 respondents (68 percent) support tobacco companies working with governments, regulators and public health experts to ensure smokers have access to and accurate information about the better, smoke-free alternatives science has made available. Further, eight in 10 respondents believe both governments (88 percent) and businesses (81 percent) have a responsibility to embrace the latest scientific and technological developments.
March 2, 2021
U.S. FDA Sends Another Round of Warning Letters
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued warning letters to 18 manufacturers selling unauthorized e-liquids. The companies did not submit premarket tobacco product applications (PMTAs) by the Sept. 9, 2020, deadline. It’s the second time in February 2021 that the agency has sent warning letters for illegal e-liquids.
Peanut Butter Crunch Time from California Vaping Co.
The companies that received warning letters include Square Vape Labs, The Vapor Emporium, Tally Ho Vapor Tonic, The Vape Corner., Dripco d/b/a Dripco Vape Co., VaporIce, Vapor Maven E-Juice, Vapor City Plus, Vapor Invasion, Vaporatory, Chuckin’ Clouds Vape Shop, Black Dog Reserve, California Vaping Company, The Chubby Baker, Smooth, Bulldog Vapor, Adore eLiquid and E-Cig Outlet.
While each warning letter issued cites specific products as examples, collectively these companies have listed a combined total of more than 234,000 products with the FDA.
Per a court order, applications for premarket review for certain deemed new tobacco products on the market as of Aug. 8, 2016—including e-liquids—were required to be submitted to the FDA by Sept. 9, 2020. For companies that submitted applications by that deadline, the FDA generally intends to continue to defer enforcement for up to one year pending review unless there is a negative action taken by the FDA on the application.
The FDA recently published an update on its progress on the processing and review of the applications received by Sept. 9, including a list of companies that submitted timely applications.
March 1, 2021
P.E.I. Flavor Ban for Vapor Products Starts Today
Flavored vaping products are banned on Prince Edward Island in Canada. The regulation changes were passed by cabinet in August of last year. It comes as part of a private members bill from PC MLA Cory Deagle, which received unanimous support from the legislature in 2019, to crack down on nicotine use among young people.
Manager J-K Thorne holds some of the flavored products that are no longer available at Wild Impulse vape shop. (Shane Hennessey/CBC – image credit)
“The only flavor you’ll be able to use would be tobacco flavored so all those other flavors will be gone,” Deagle said. “This is probably one of the biggest steps that we’re going to see trying to get rid of, or at least reduce, the amount of youth that are vaping.”
Vendors were notified of the upcoming ban on flavored products in August 2020, in a letter distributed by the Department of Health and Wellness, according to the CBC. The letter said the department believed that with six month advance notice, “tobacconist shops have sufficient time to deplete their inventory of flavored electronic smoking device products.”
At Wild Impulse, a vape shop in Charlottetown, the shelves were still full of flavored products last Friday afternoon, with the ban just days away. Manager J-K Thorne said the store carries more than 45 flavors for vaping, but as of March 1st, they will only be able to sell ones that are tobacco flavored, flavorless or labelled clear, adding that the flavor ban is also pushing former smokers back to combustible cigarettes.
“Customers are a little disappointed. They feel that they have something to lean on if they wanted to get off cigarettes,” Thorne said. “They found that the tobacco flavor actually reminded them of cigarettes, but it wasn’t good enough, and it actually brought them back to buying cigarettes, which is a little unfortunate.”
March 1, 2021
Kaival Expands Distribution for Bidi Stick to 46,000 Stores
Kaival Brands has three new distribution partners for its Bidi Vapor products: Smoker Friendly International, Avail Vapor and Hilmes Distributing. These three additional distributors push the potential U.S. store count for Bidi Vapor products above 46,000, up from 10,000 in 2020.
According to Bidi Vapor, distributor interest in its products has increased greatly following its receipt of a premarket tobacco product application filing letter from the Food and Drug Administration. As the company’s product moves into the substantive review phase, Bidi Vapor anticipates it will continue to update investors on additional new distribution agreements.
“These new partners will become a large new revenue stream for Bidi and Kaival,” said Niraj Patel, CEO of Kaival Brands, in a statement. “It is important to note our 2020 sales of just under $100 million were achieved with a distribution network of 10,000 stores and in less than 10 months of operation.
“Today’s new distribution partner announcements bring our network to over 46,000 store locations. The strength and breadth of these partnerships fuels our confidence in our ability to meet or exceed our 2021 projection of $400 [million] to 450 million in sales.”
March 1, 2021
U.S. Senator Romney Calls for Federal Flavor Ban
Utah Sen. Mitt Romney on Thursday pushed for flavored vaping products to be pulled from shelves across the United States. Romney introduced legislation in Sept. 2019 that would have banned the sale of all flavored vape products except tobacco flavors, but it was never taken up for a vote.
Credit: Office of Mitt Romney
Romney’s comments during the confirmation hearing for President Joe Biden’s nominee for surgeon general, Vivek Murthy, echo similar statements the senator has made in the past, according to kutv.com.
“The analysis shows that nearly one fourth of high school kids are vaping on a regular basis — tobacco products — and in many cases marijuana, as well,” Romney said, adding that the government needs to do everything it can to stop the sale of flavored vaping products and implement a robust public education campaign to warn kids about the dangers of vaping.
In Oct. 2019, the Utah Department of Health issued an emergency order banning the sale of flavored vape products in Utah, which was met swiftly with a lawsuit from tobacco retailers. The products remain available for sale today.
In 2019, the legal age to purchase tobacco products in the U.S. was raised from 18 to 21.
February 26, 2021
TPE Still Planned for May 12-14 in Las Vegas
The vapor industry may find a semblance of normalcy in Las Vegas this Spring. The Tobacco Plus Expo (TPE) tradeshow is scheduled to take place May 12-14. The TPE is traditionally been the first vapor and alternative products tradeshow of the year.
Team Innokin / Credit: TS Donahue
The industry only show includes numerous vaping nicotine hardware and e-liquid suppliers, as well as numerous members of the cannabis industry. Owned by Kretek International Inc., the TPE was originally to be held in January.

A press release states that the show will be following Covid-19 protocols to ensure the safety of both exhibitors and attendees. Masks will be mandatory on the show floor (meaning attendees cannot walk around and vape) and there will be temperature checks, sanitizing stations and social distancing.
Exhibitors will be permitted to vape at their booths, and there will be designated vaping areas for those attending the show. For more information, visit tobaccoplusexpo.com.
February 26, 2021