Tag: news

  • Age to Purchase Nicotine Raised to 21 in Indonesia

    Age to Purchase Nicotine Raised to 21 in Indonesia

    Vapor Voice Archives

    Indonesia raised the minimum age limit for purchasing cigarettes and vaping products to 21 from 18 as part of a series of changes to health regulations intended to curb nicotine use in a country with one of the world’s highest smoking rates.

    A country of 270 million people, Indonesia is one of the world’s top producers of tobacco, and there are about 70 million adult smokers there, according to a 2021 World Health Organization survey, a media outlet states.

    In a government regulation signed by President Joko Widodo last week, Indonesia raised the minimum age for people wanting to buy cigarettes to 21. It also banned the sale of a single cigarette.

    The regulation is intended to “lower the prevalence of smokers and prevent early-age smokers.” Among the provisions is banning the sale of cigarettes within 200 meters (656 feet) of schools and playgrounds.

    The regulation took effect immediately.

    The new regulation also bans conventional and e-cigarette sales on “commercial electronic applications” and social media sites. It also bans advertising cigarettes on social media. Penalties for violations range from a written reprimand to a temporary ban on advertising cigarettes.

    The new provisions on advertising will come into force in two years.

  • California County Shutters Shop for Illegal Sales

    California County Shutters Shop for Illegal Sales

    Credit: Wesnice

    A county district attorney in California wants to keep vapes, tobacco products and other prohibited items off of store shelves out of the hands of children.

    Monterey County is handing down civil penalties to Rubystar Gems and Gifts, a local business accused of doing just that. The Monterey County District Attorney’s Office says they received word in late 2023 from the Monterey Police Department and Monterey Sheriff’s Department about complaints against the store for selling tobacco products to minors.

    The store was also allegedly selling flavored tobacco products, which are illegal in California, hallucinogenic mushroom gummies containing a substance that is illegal to sell in California and illegal weapons like “metal knuckles.”

    The mushroom gummies contain psilocybin, which is a hallucinogenic controlled substance that is illegal to sell in California. The packaging was counterfeit and did not indicate the actual product and its true manufacturer on the label, according to media reports.

    The store’s owner agreed to a civil settlement and has to pay a $25,000 penalty for the violations. In 2022 and 2023, two sales clerks were prosecuted in a criminal court for selling tobacco products to minors. Continued complaints prompted the Monterey District Attorney’s Office to investigate further.

    The store is currently closed, but Emily Hickok, a chief deputy district attorney at the Monterey County District Attorney’s Office, says it can legally continue to operate. The store owner didn’t want to go on camera but did say the store is closed because of personal health reasons and that he is retiring.

  • Top Court Upholds Philippines FDA Vapes Authority

    Top Court Upholds Philippines FDA Vapes Authority

    Photo: natatravel

    The Supreme Court of the Philippines upheld its 2021 decision to grant the country’s Food and Drug Administration regulatory authority over the health aspects of tobacco products, reports the Inquirer.

    “All products affecting health, including tobacco products, are covered by the FDA’s mandate to ensure the safety, efficacy, purity, and quality of health products,” the Supreme Court said.

    “Thus, the inclusion of tobacco products in the implementing rules of the FDA Act is in accordance with the law,” it added.

    The case stemmed from an attempt to stop the enforcement of the FDA implementing rules and regulations. In a case filed in 2011 before the Regional Trial Court of Las Pinas City, the Philippine Tobacco Institute (PTI) alleged that those rules improperly expanded Republic Act No. 9711 by classifying tobacco products as health products.

    The PTI argued that under the Tobacco Regulation Act of 2003, the Inter-Agency Committee on Tobacco (IACT) had exclusive jurisdiction over tobacco products.

    In 2012, the Las Pinas court ruled in favor of PTI and nullified the provisions of the FDA implementing rules and regulations relating to tobacco.

    The Department of Health and the FDA then petitioned the Supreme Court for review, which overturned the Las Pinas court decision in 2021. The PTI then challenged the high tribunal’s ruling, but was rebuffed.

    The denial of the motions for consideration means the IACT and the FDA will continue to share authority over tobacco, with each overseeing different aspects of the trade.

    Under the Tobacco Regulation Act, the IACT is chaired by the trade secretary with the health secretary as vice chair and includes a representative of the tobacco industry as a member. The PTI previously held the position of representing the tobacco industry in the committee.

  • Nebraska Lawmaker Introduces Vaping Tax Bill

    Nebraska Lawmaker Introduces Vaping Tax Bill

    Credit: Mandritoiu

    Lawmakers in Nebraska have introduced legislation to increase the tax on vaping products.

    The tax on electronic nicotine delivery system (ENDS) products will be 40 percent of the purchase price of the device if the bill becomes law.

    The tax is to be paid by the first owner or at a price at which the first owner who made, manufactured, or fabricated the ENDS product sells the item to others, the proposed bill states.

    For ENDS products in the possession of retail dealers for which tax has not been paid, the bill states that the tax shall be imposed at the earliest time the retail dealer “brings or causes to be brought into the state” any ENDS device for sale.

    The bill is currently with the Revenue Committee in Nebraska’s House of Representatives.

  • Vaporesso to Celebrate 9th Anniversary in Vaping

    Vaporesso to Celebrate 9th Anniversary in Vaping

    A legendary brand in the vaping industry announced its 9th anniversary, which will be celebrated with special events. Vaporesso invites its community to participate in “exciting activities that embody the spirit of competition and achievement.” 

    According to a press release, on Aug. 18, Vaporesso will hold a music party featuring extreme sports in Nice, France. Bringing together top athletes from the sea (surfing), land (BMX), and air (paragliding).

    “Inspiring to ‘Push the Envelope,’ vapers are encouraged to share their personal ‘Championship Moments’ in the comments section of the Vaporesso website for our community to celebrate together,” a press release states. “Share the moments when our vapers took up the challenge to try to break through their upper limits. Let’s celebrate victories, big or small, and inspire one another to reach new heights. Anyone has the right to become their own champion through determination and resilience.”

    For a chance to win prizes, including a grand prize of a round-trip flight ticket to Paris, visitors can participate in a trivia game to learn facts about the three showcased extreme sports: BMX, paragliding, and surfing.

    “Our 9th anniversary is a testament to the passion and dedication of our team and the unwavering support of our fans. We hope that through the anniversary celebration, everyone can learn about meaning behind Vaporesso’s ‘Move Beyond Ordinary.’ Our spirit of continuous breakthroughs and challenging limits will continue to be reflected in Vaporesso’s business,” said Jimmy Hu, VP at Vaporesso. “We also hope to give back to our community with prizes that represent our spirit. A thank you for 9 years of companionship in the vaping journey.”

  • Taiwan: No Approved Vape, Heated Tobacco Devices

    Taiwan: No Approved Vape, Heated Tobacco Devices

    Vapor Voice Archives

    Taiwan’s Health Promotion Administration (HPA) has reminded suppliers and consumers that it has not approved any e-cigarettes or tobacco heating products (HTPs), reports the Taipei Times.

    The warning came after security footage showed a lawmaker using a THP in the legislature’s corridors.

    Novel tobacco and nicotine products require government approval in Taiwan. To date, the HPA has received applications for authorization for HTPs from 12 companies. It has rejected the applications of eight, while two of the remaining four have been asked to furnish additional information.

    The HPA has a panel of toxicology, public health and addiction experts to assess requests for authorized use of THPs. The panel has so far convened 30 meetings.

    Taiwanese law punishes the manufacture, import, sale, supply, display or advertisement of unauthorized novel tobacco products by a maximum penalty of TWD5 million ($152,263), while users may be fined TWD10,000.

  • CAPHRA: Vape Misinformation is ‘Propaganda’

    CAPHRA: Vape Misinformation is ‘Propaganda’

    Credit: Hafakot

    The Coalition of Asia Pacific Tobacco Harm Reduction Advocates (CAPHRA) is denouncing the widespread misinformation surrounding tobacco harm reduction as biased propaganda perpetuated by “certain factions” within the tobacco control community.

    These factions refuse to accept the proven role of reduced-risk products in helping people quit smoking, thereby undermining public health efforts.

    Recent commentary and reports have highlighted a disturbing trend of disinformation about safer nicotine products, according to an emailed CAPHRA press release.

    “It is spread by those who are ideologically opposed to harm reduction strategies, despite mounting evidence that safer nicotine products (SNPs) can significantly reduce smoking rates and associated health risks,” said Nancy Loucas, executive coordinator of CAPHRA. “The quantity and depth of this campaign makes it clear that certain factions within the tobacco control community are more interested in maintaining their prohibitionist stance than in embracing evidence-based harm reduction strategies that can save lives.”

    Studies have consistently shown that vaping and other SNPs are far less harmful than smoking combustible tobacco.

    Furthermore, countries that have adopted harm reduction strategies, such as the UK and New Zealand, have seen significant declines in smoking rates.

    “The refusal to acknowledge the benefits of SNPs is not just misguided; it is dangerous. By spreading disinformation, these groups are effectively discouraging people who smoke from switching to less harmful alternatives, thereby perpetuating the smoking epidemic,” said Loucas.

    CAPHRA is calling on governments and public health bodies to promote accurate information, ensure that public health messaging about SNPs is based on the best available scientific evidence, and embrace harm reduction strategies as a key component of tobacco control policies.

  • Study Finds CBD Cream Helps Repair Skin Damage

    Study Finds CBD Cream Helps Repair Skin Damage

    Credit: ZayNyi

    Topically applied nanoparticle-encapsulated cannabidiol cream helped prevent and repair damage to the skin from ultraviolet A radiation, according to a study.

    “The impacts of ultraviolet (UV) radiation are well described from accelerated skin aging to skin cancer and, while sunscreens and other protective measures are certainly helpful, none of them are full proof,” Adam Friedman, professor and chair of dermatology at George Washington University School of Medicine & Health Sciences and a member of Healio Dermatology’s Peer Perspective Board, told Healio. “We need other ways to address these exposures and cumulative exposures to UV radiation.”

    According to a study conducted by Friedman and his colleagues and published in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology, CBD has anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties that could potentially mitigate damage from ultraviolet A exposure, according to reports.

    “UVA radiation is, in some cases, more dangerous than ultraviolet B,” Friedman explained. “For one, it doesn’t burn even close to as much as UVB, so you don’t really know you’re getting exposure.

    “It also gets through clouds and penetrates deeper into the skin, which causes accelerated skin aging by destroying the support structures in the skin like collagen [and] elastin, as well as preventing rebuilding,” he added.

    As a result, Friedman and his colleagues evaluated the potential of CBD as a topical photoprotective and possible reparative agent against UVA-induced skin damage in a prospective, single-center, pilot clinical trial.

    In the study, 19 participants (age range, 22 to 64 years; Fitzpatrick skin types I-III) applied nano-CBD cream, formulated for the skin, or vehicle cream to random, blinded areas of the buttocks twice-daily for 14 days. The treated sites were then irradiated with three or less UVA minimal erythema doses. After 24 hours, the researchers obtained and examined punch biopsies for histology, immunohistochemistry and real-time polymerase chain reaction.

    Results showed that 21% of the participants had less observable erythema on the parts of their skin that were treated with CBD cream vs. the areas that were treated with vehicle. Histology results confirmed that CBD-treated skin had reduced UVA-induced epidermal hyperplasia — a thickening of the epidermis — compared with the vehicle-treated skin (mean change from baseline, 11.3% vs. 28.7%; P = .01).

    Immunohistochemistry also detected reduced cytoplasmic/nuclear 8oxo-guanine glycosylase 1 staining in CBD-treated skin vs. vehicle-treated skin, meaning the CBD-skin experienced less oxidized DNA modification (P < .01).

    According to Friedman, their study also showed that in 50% of individuals, CBD cream stopped UVA-induced deletion of ND4 — a specific injury to DNA that occurs from UVA exposure — compared with vehicle-treated skin. Additionally, no side effects were reported.

    So, what is the future of CBD cream in this indication? Will it replace sunscreen? According to the researchers, it absolutely will not.

    “This isn’t a sunscreen,” Friedman emphasized. “The idea here is not that this will replace sunscreen but that it will prevent or repair damage.”

    Friedman explains that the sun harms the skin by breaking it down and inhibiting the mechanisms that allow collagen to rebuild. However, CBD may be able to regulate that damage.

    “It’s not just that CBD is inhibiting the sun,” he said. “I think it’s actually having a biological effect on the skin and helping move things just like how our own endocannabinoid system would do this.”

    Practically applied, Friedman describes that the use of CBD cream to combat UVA rays could be akin to a moisturizer that is put daily on the skin.

    While this study showed CBD’s potential as a sun-protectant for the skin, Friedman believes that its indications could expand.

    “This isn’t simply about UV exposure,” he said. “We used UV exposure as a way to induce injury to show that CBD can be reparative and protective. But I think it’s not just in the setting of UV, it’s also in general in terms of overall skin health.”

  • Kentucky Judge Dismisses Vape Registry Lawsuit

    Kentucky Judge Dismisses Vape Registry Lawsuit

    Credit: Andreykr

    A Kentucky judge has dismissed a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of a 2024 law banning the sale of some vaping products.

    In doing so, Franklin Circuit Court Judge Thomas Wingate sided with the lawsuit’s defendants — Allyson Taylor, commissioner of the Kentucky Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control, and Secretary of State Michael Adams — who filed a motion to dismiss.

    Greg Troutman, a lawyer for the Kentucky Smoke-Free Association, which represents vape retailers, had argued that the law was too broad and arbitrary to pass constitutional muster because it is titled “AN ACT relating to nicotine products” but also discusses “other substances.”

    The state constitution states that a law cannot relate to more than one subject. Wingate found the law doesn’t violate the state constitution, according to media reports.

    The law’s title “more than furnishes a clue to its contents and provides a general idea of the bill’s contents,” stated Wingate. He wrote that the law’s “reference to ‘other substances’ is not used in a manner outside of the context of the bill but rather to logically indicate what is unauthorized.”

    The lawsuit centers around House Bill 11, which passed during the 2024 legislative session and goes into effect Jan. 1. Backers of the legislation said it’s a way to curb underage vaping by limiting sales to “authorized products” or those that have “a safe harbor certification” based on their status with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

    Opponents have said it will hurt small businesses, lead to a monopoly for big retailers and could drive youth to traditional cigarettes.

    Altria, the parent company of tobacco giant Phillip Morris, lobbied for the Kentucky bill, according to Legislative Ethics Commission records. Based in Richmond, Virginia, the company is pushing similar bills in other states. Altria, which has moved aggressively into e-cigarette sales, markets multiple vaping products that have FDA approval.

    “The sale of nicotine and vapor products are highly regulated in every state, and the court will not question the specific reasons for the General Assembly’s decision to regulate and limit the sale of nicotine and vapor products to only products approved by the FDA or granted a safe-harbor certification by the FDA,” Wingate wrote in a Monday opinion. “The regulation of these products directly relates to the health and safety of the Commonwealth’s citizens, the power of which is vested by the Kentucky Constitution in the General Assembly.”

  • Poland Mulls Minimum Sales Age for Vape Products

    Poland Mulls Minimum Sales Age for Vape Products

    Credit: Velishchuk

    Polish Health Minister Izabela Leszczyna wants to ban e-cigarette sales to minors starting Jan. 1, 2025, reports Polskie Radio.

    The government is currently soliciting public input on a draft amendment to the Act on Protection of Health Against the Consequences of Tobacco and Tobacco Products, which would prohibit e-cigarette sales to people under 18, irrespective of nicotine content.

    The authors of the draft stress that this measure is essential to curb e-cigarette use among young people. They also note that nicotine-free e-liquids are not without risk as they may contain substances like formaldehyde and acetaldehyde.

    Proponents of the legislation also worry that flavored e-cigarettes may entice youths who might otherwise avoid tobacco products.