Tag: news

Diversity and Inclusion Discussed During TMA Women and Leadership Webinar

Women make up roughly half of the population, yet they remain underrepresented in many industries, especially among the senior echelons. In the tobacco industry, for example, women account for only 30 percent of the workforce, 21 percent of management and 20 percent of boards.
That represents a missed opportunity, not only for the individuals involved, but also at the corporate level. Research carried out by the FP Analytics Division of the U.S.-based Foreign Policy Group reveals that companies with more women in executive management and on boards outperform those with fewer women in such positions.
Companies with higher shares of women in senior management are not only more profitable, they also are more transparent and have significantly higher environmental, social and governance ratings. According to a 2019 report by the International Labour Organization, enterprises that promote gender diversity are 59 percent more likely to achieve greater creativity, innovation and openness than their more homogenous counterparts.
In the tobacco industry, women are helping drive the much-needed transformation to a more sustainable and inclusive future. Among other things, they are pushing their companies to focus on harm reduction, promoting greener farming practices among tobacco growers and advocating for equal pay.
During TMA’s 2020 virtual conference, an expert panel moderated by Regulation Strategy’s Patricia Kovacevic examined the barriers facing women throughout the employment pipeline and explored possible solutions. Drawing on research and personal experiences, the panelists agreed that the goal should not be to ‘fix’ women but rather to change the way people think about the workforce and leadership.
They also stressed the importance of mentorship, gender pay gap reporting and accountability. And they called on industry leaders to signal that gender equality and inclusivity matters to them—not just because it is ethical but also because it is good for business.
Click here to view this inspiring discussion.
July 6, 2020
Online E-liquid Retailer Vapester Rebrands Itself as VapeKit

Yurenia85 | Dreamstime.com
Online UK e-liquid store Vapester.co.uk has rebranded itself. The company’s online e-liquid store, which serves customers across the United Kingdom, has moved to a new domain name to coincide with the change.
As a result, Vapester.co.uk customers can now visit the company’s online store at VapeKit.co.uk to shop online for vaping supplies, according to a press release.
“While the company’s name and online address have both changed, the company continues to provide the same great service to customers across the UK, providing convenient access to e-liquids, vape kits, nicotine shots, and everything else a vaper needs to keep on vaping,” the release states. “Existing customers can continue to use their existing accounts, as login details for customer accounts remain the same.”
July 2, 2020
UKVIA Wants Tax Parity With NRTs for Vapor

A vapor industry advocacy group is calling for the UK government to consider a similar VAT rate for vaping that currently applies to nicotine replacement therapies (NRT). The UK Vaping Industry Association (UKVIA) is calling upon government as the Chancellor of the Exchequer is widely reported to be looking at reducing the VAT rates in the wake of the coronavirus as the Government last did during the 2008 economic downturn, according to a press release.
In a letter to the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rishi Sunak, the UKVIA urges the government to consider a level playing field in regard to the VAT rate between NRT and vaping products, to support adult smokers who would otherwise not quit smoking to make the switch to vaping, the release states.
The letter points to the recent Public Health England (PHE) Vaping in England Report that found that when vaping products were used in an attempt to quit, either alone or with licensed medication, success rates were comparable to, if not higher than, NRTs alone.
The current VAT chasm between NRT products (5 percent) and vaping (the full 20 percent VAT and the same as conventional cigarettes) despite the fact that e-cigarettes, whilst not considered a cessation product, have significant potential to have a positive impact on public health. “This is backed up by research commissioned by the NHS last year which revealed that e-cigs are twice as effective as nicotine patches, gum or sprays for quitting smoking,” according to the release.
John Dunne, director at UKVIA, said the vaping sector has been a “major retail success story this century and is playing a major role in getting smokers to quit, thereby helping cut the huge annual cost of healthcare” that is often associated with smoking.
“Yet according to research nearly 1 in 10 smokers do not switch to e-cigarettes because they considered them to cost too much,” he said. “Ensuring that the price of vaping products remains much lower than cigarettes is vitally important in continuing to encourage the some 7m smokers in the UK, who otherwise do not quit, to make the switch.”
He goes on to explain that the UK is still in the recovery phase of Covid-19 and a significant VAT reduction for vape products would pay back both economically and from a healthcare perspective.
“A VAT rate for vaping on par with NRT would also support the call in the recent PHE report for smokers to be encouraged to try regulated nicotine vaping products along with smoking cessation medications and behavioural support to increase their chances of successfully stopping smoking,” he said.
July 2, 2020
Nicotine Effective for Covid-19 at Most Virulent Stage

Nicotine can help battle Covid-19, according to new research. A Spanish study found that the drug that can be found in vapor products can be an effective tool in stopping coronavirus in its most virulent phase.
Researchers at the University of Castilla-La Mancha, working with the public hospitals of Alcazar de San Juan, Avila and Salamanca, made the discovery. According to the study, while smokers are more vulnerable to catching Covid-19 due to damaged and weakened lungs, less of them end up in hospital or ICUs compared to non-smokers.
Researchers say this is because the nicotine in their system can act as an inhibitor, stopping Covid’s cytokines from inflaming the lungs, which often proves fatal. The study analyzed patients across the three hospitals during the peak of the pandemic, according to a story on politicopathy.com.
Investigators discovered that there were far fewer numbers of habitual smokers than expected. This, the study suggests, is because the chemical can prevent a so-called cytokine storm, which can lead to respiratory failure and the attack of healthy tissues, causing multi-organ failure.
Several other studies, including in Israel, the U.S. and the U.K., have also suggested that nicotine could be beneficial in fighting the virus. “Nicotine has effects on the immune system that could be beneficial in reducing the intensity of the cytokine storm,” said Dr. Konstantinos Farsalinos, from the University of West Attica, Greece, writing in Internal and Emergency Medicine in June.
“The potential benefits of nicotine…. could explain, at least in part, the increased severity or adverse outcome among smokers hospitalised for COVID-19 since these patients inevitably experience abrupt cessation of nicotine intake during hospitalization,” says Farsalinos. “This may be feasible through repurposing already approved pharmaceutical nicotine products such as nicotine patches.”
July 1, 2020
Boulder, Colorado: 40% Vapor Tax Begins Today
Credit: Alexander Mills
All vaping products sold in the U.S. city of Boulder, Colorado will be subject to an additional city sales and use tax of 40 percent. City leaders say its part of an effort to curb use among young people.
Nearly 80 percent of voters approved the additional tax last November. It applies to any refill, cartridge and component of an electronic smoking device, according to a story by CBS4 in Denver.
Additional measures to curb youth tobacco use were passed by City Council in 2019, including:
Raising the age to purchase to 21 for vaping and tobacco products
Limiting any one retailer from selling more than two electronic cigarettes or four associated products including refills to any one person in any 24-hour period
Banning the sale of flavored vaping products (with a temporary exception for menthol-flavored products)
Restricting the ability to sell menthol-flavored vaping products only to businesses that have 21 and over age restrictions for entry until Dec. 31, 2019. After Jan. 1, 2020, the sale of menthol flavored electronic cigarettes in the city of Boulder is completely prohibited.
July 1, 2020
Hawaii Sues Juul For Misleading Marketing

Photo: jessica45 from Pixabay
Hawaii Attorney General Clare E. Connors has filed a lawsuit against Juul Labs seeking penalties, damages and injunctive relief for violations of the state’s Unfair and Deceptive Acts and Practices Law.
The complaint alleges that, for a period of more than five years, the defendants misleadingly marketed Juul e-cigarettes, intending to hook users on the product in the same manner used by tobacco companies in the marketing of cigarettes.
According to the attorney general, the defendants used marketing strategies that targeted teenagers, making Juul products seem desirable, all while falsely understating the nicotine content of the product and its addictiveness.
“In marketing their e-cigarettes to Hawaii’s children, these companies ripped pages directly out of the tobacco company playbook and resurrected Joe Camel for a 21st Century audience,” said Connors. “By misrepresenting nicotine content and by presenting their products as healthy alternatives to cigarettes, they deceived the public and created a new generation of nicotine addicts.”
The state seeks civil penalties of up to $10,000 per violation and damages along with an injunction requiring the defendants to halt their deceptive advertising practices and fund mitigation programs, including vaping-cessation programs.
July 1, 2020
Respira Adds Former Altria Exec to Leadership Team

Credit: Respira
Respira Technologies has appointed Brian W. Quigley, a 16 year veteran of Altria Group, as its Chief Operating Officer effective July 1. At Altria, Quigley served as CEO of its smokeless tobacco business from 2012 to 2018, a $2.3 billion business with over 800 employees, according to a press release.
Quigley will be responsible for driving Respira’s operational strategy, regulatory strategy, and commercial efforts with a focus on disrupting the tobacco market, nicotine replacement therapy market, and developing pharmaceutical applications through partnerships.
Respira has developed two proprietary drug delivery platforms, RespiRx, a zero heat aerosol technology, and Wave, a low heat aerosol technology. Both technology platforms are designed for safe aerosol-based delivery of drugs to patients and end users, without the creation of harmful by-products and compounds.
The company’s device platforms have applications in nicotine replacement therapies, reduced harm tobacco products, and pharmaceutical drug delivery with a total addressable market opportunity of greater than $1 trillion, according to the release.
Brian Quigley/Credit: Altria

“We are thrilled to have Brian join the Respira team as we prepare to enter the commercial phase of our company’s growth,” said Mario Danek, Respira’s founder and CEO. “Brian’s vocal leadership for responsible industry practices and harm-reduction combined with his impressive track record of driving business performance in FDA regulated businesses make him the perfect leader for the next phase of growth for our unique product platforms.”
Quigley said he is excited to be joining Respira Technologies at this critical moment in the company’s journey. “I look forward to working with our team, investors, and partners as we prepare to commercialize our proprietary drug delivery platforms,” said Quigley. “My goal is to help improve public health and patient outcomes across a range of inhalable therapeutic applications, including tobacco cessation and the reduction of risk associated with tobacco use.”
Respira is backed by leading venture investment firms, including Evolution VC Partners, Poseidon Asset Management, and DG Ventures.
June 30, 2020
Last Day: New York State Vapor Ban Starts July 1

Credit: A Billion Lives
Tomorrow, July 1st, a ban on the sale of flavored vapor products, other than tobacco and menthol, goes into effect for the State of New York. Pharmacies will also no longer be permitted to sell any tobacco or nicotine product that isn’t an approved smoking cessation therapy.
Online sales of any e-liquids–regardless of flavor–are banned (vapor products are folded into the same provision that bans shipment of cigarettes to consumers). This does not include components or devices. The penalty for selling or shipping a vapor product to a consumer in NY is a Class A misdemeanor and carries a fine of $5000 or $100 per vapor product, according to the Consumer Advocates for Smoke-free Alternatives Association (CASAA), a non-profit, grassroots organization.
A person other than a common or contract carrier can still transport vapor products, but there is now a limit of 500 milliliters or 3 grams of nicotine. Additionally, coupons or “price reduction instruments” for tobacco products are banned.

“Vapor manufacturers must post a detailed ingredient list including a disclosure of ‘the nature and extent of investigations and research performed by or for the manufacturer concerning the effects on human health of such product or its ingredients.’” writes Casaa. “Manufacturers are also required to list ‘each byproduct that may be introduced into vapor produced during the normal use of such e-cigarette.’ (this requirement does not apply to any other tobacco product).”
In April, New York became the fourth state in the U.S. to restrict the sale of flavored vaping products. The New York Assembly reluctantly passed S. 7506-B, a budget bill, which banned the sale of vapor products in flavors other than tobacco. The budget bill was heavily criticized because it debated and passed under cover of darkness, according to CASAA. “There were no opportunities for the public to weigh in on the bill unless you diligently followed the constantly changing bill numbers and language,” the organization wrote at the time.
June 30, 2020
Dutch Plan to Ban Flavored Vapor in 2021

The Netherlands plans to ban flavored vapor products beginning sometime next year. The goal is to make vaping less attractive to young people, the government said on Tuesday.
Flavors currently available range from mojito and strawberry ice cream to mango and chocolate, the government said. With its sweet tastes and perceived lower health risks, vaping has rapidly become popular among young non-smokers, who are often seen to use them as a stepping stone to regular tobacco products, according to an article from Reuters.
“It is unacceptable that 20,000 people die every year in our country from the effects of smoking and that every day around 75 kids start smoking”, deputy health minister Paul Blokhuis said. “The smoke-free generation we see coming also needs to be free of electronic cigarettes.”
The government will refine the tobacco law to include the ban on flavored e-cigarettes, which is likely to take effect in the first half of next year, the government said. Tobacco-flavored vaping products will remain available, mainly to help regular smokers kick their habit, it said.
A Dutch government report in 2017 said that over a quarter of people aged 12-16 said they had tried vaping at least once. Electronic cigarettes and water pipes have been banned in the Netherlands for anyone under the age of 18 since 2016.
June 23, 2020
Youth Ignorant About Nicotine Levels
Many U.S. youth don’t know how much nicotine is in the vapor products they are consuming, according to a recent study.
The study looked at 17-year-olds to 24-year-olds in California, asking them about their tobacco and nicotine usage, specifically pod-based e-cigarettes. The study showed that 26 percent of respondents had used Juul products, 24 percent had smoked combustible cigarettes, 23 percent had used nonpod-based e-cigarettes and smaller percentages had used other pod-based products.
Users didn’t know how much nicotine was in these products, though. At the time of the study, packaging for Juul products simply said “5 percent”; this has since changed to read “5 percent nicotine,” but that hasn’t helped young users determine what this means in terms of quantity or how it compares to nicotine content in combustible cigarettes, according to the study’s authors.
“These young people had no idea how much nicotine they were consuming,” said senior author Bonnie Halpern-Felsher, a professor of pediatrics at Stanford University. “If we asked how many milligrams of nicotine are in a Juul pod, for example, we found the answers were all over the place.”
According to the study, young users chose pod-based e-cigarettes because of their ability to easily hide them (58 percent of respondents) and because the smell is less noticeable than other e-cigarettes (55.6 percent of respondents).
March 17, 2020