Tag: news

  • New Briefing Details THR Success for IQOS in Japan

    New Briefing Details THR Success for IQOS in Japan

    Photo: wachiwit

    Knowledge Action Change (KAC) has released a briefing paper on the rapid fall in cigarette sales in Japan following the introduction of heated-tobacco products (HTP).

    Titled “Cigarette Sales Halved: Heated-Tobacco Products and the Japanese Experience,” the paper explores some of the social and cultural factors that have made Japan particularly suited to HTP and provides a case study showcasing the potential of tobacco harm reduction through the adoption of safer nicotine products.

    As well as referencing a number of peer-reviewed science papers, the briefing paper, available in 12 languages, also includes some new Global State of Tobacco Harm Reduction research, which compares up-to-date sales figures that emphasize the changing nature of cigarette and HTP consumption.

    According to KAC, the success of HTP in Japan offers significant hope of their potential to reduce cigarette sales in other similar countries.

    “The speed and scale of the change in Japan shows just how quickly things can improve when those people already consuming nicotine are given access to a safer alternative,” said KAC Director David MacKintosh in a statement.

    “This is not the result of a specific government policy or initiative, yet the benefits to individuals and society are significant. There are lessons to be learnt from Japan by all those who wish to see the use of combustible tobacco consigned to the history books. Harm reduction is about giving people the opportunity to improve their own health and the health of those around them. Given the chance, most people will do just that.”

  • John Verbeten to lead CTP Compliance Office

    John Verbeten to lead CTP Compliance Office

    Image: Tada Images

    John Verbeten is the new director of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration Center for Tobacco Products’ Office  of Compliance and Enforcement.

    Verbeten has more than 20 years of experience leading field operations, compliance and enforcement, and national-level program management. In his latest role within Office of Import Operations, Verbeten served as the principal advisor to the Office of Regulatory Affairs’ (ORA) leadership on import operations and enforcement activities, and oversaw the FDA’s field import operations, which includes a staff of more than 700 people.

    He also provided leadership in the development, implementation and evaluation of new laws, regulations and policies related to ORA’s global and national programs and activities.

    Most recently, he led the agency’s development of a memorandum of understanding between the FDA and U.S. Postal Service (USPS), which established a framework that provides a basis for the development of bilateral data exchange and provides the FDA access to the USPS advanced electronic data for imported mail shipments.

  • Age Rising to 21 to Purchase Vape, Tobacco in Ireland

    Age Rising to 21 to Purchase Vape, Tobacco in Ireland

    Image: FM2 | Adobe Stock

    New legislation is due to come before the Cabinet in Ireland, raising the legal age to buy tobacco and vaping products from 18 to 21.

    The Minister of Health, Stephen Donnelly, is due to seek Cabinet approval this week for the legislation to increase the legal age by three years, according to media.

    While less young people in Ireland are smoking cigarettes, the numbers seem to have plateaued in recent years. The hope iraising rising the age from 18 to 21 will deter younger from smokingo smoke cigarettvapingd vapes, lowering numbers once again.

    Minister Donnelly announced his intention to introduce this legislation back in March.

    “Really, it’s a measure aimed at people who are 15, 16, 17 years of age that with a smoking age at 18, they find it relatively easy to buy cigarettes…but that if you move to 21 it makes it much more difficult,” he said.

    A ban on the sale of tobacco and vape products from vending machines is also set to be introduced.

    Further legislation is planned to ban disposable vapes and address issues related to the flavors and bright colors of vape packaging.

  • Foundation for a Smoke-Free World Changes Name

    Foundation for a Smoke-Free World Changes Name

    Photo: Dzmitry

    The Foundation for a Smoke-Free World has relaunched as Global Action to End Smoking (GAES).

    The charitable organization says its rebrand reflects a new approach to achieving its mission to end the smoking epidemic. While GAES’ grantmaking will continue to focus on advancing health and science research for robust smoking cessation and reduced-risk solutions, it will also disseminate research findings and information to support people who smoke through its new cessation education program.

    Additionally, GEAS’ agricultural transformation Initiative will continue to assist smallholder farmers in moving away from dependence on tobacco growing to achieving more healthful and sustainable livelihoods in Malawi. (Also see Tobacco Reporter‘s special report on diversification in Malawi.)

    Through September 2023, the organization received charitable gifts from PMI Global Services while operating as an entirely independent entity. In October 2023, the organization ended its funding agreement with PMI. GAES has since adopted a formal policy that it will not seek or accept funding from any industry that manufactures tobacco products or non-medicinal nicotine products.

    In one of its first initiatives under its new name, GEAS announced that it will fund research by the Urban Institute to study tobacco-use disorder and nicotine dependence among low-income individuals in all 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia.

    “We’re thrilled to work with the experts at the Urban Institute, who will carry out the important work of quantifying the magnitude of the problem of the smoking epidemic among low-income individuals in the U.S.,” said GAES President Cliff Douglas in a statement. “Understanding the barriers to cessation is the first step to overcoming them. This work reflects our commitment to end the smoking epidemic worldwide by helping us better understand how best to empower those at the greatest risk of suffering illness and premature death from smoking.”

  • IQOS MRTP Renewal Application Filed for Review

    IQOS MRTP Renewal Application Filed for Review

    Photo: elenavah

    The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on May 9 filed for scientific review modified risk tobacco product (MRTP) renewal applications submitted by Philip Morris Products for the following IQOS products: 

    • IQOS 2.4 System Holder and Charger
    • IQOS 3.0 System Holder and Charger
    • Marlboro Amber HeatSticks (formerly named Marlboro HeatSticks)
    • Marlboro Green Menthol HeatSticks (formerly named Marlboro Smooth Menthol HeatSticks)
    • Marlboro Blue Menthol HeatSticks (formerly named Marlboro Fresh Menthol HeatSticks)

    In 2020 and 2022, the FDA issued modified risk granted orders for products. These orders are valid for a fixed time period. To continue marketing the MRTPs after the authorized term, the company submitted MRTP renewal applications to FDA.

    Starting May 10, 2024, people may submit public comments on these applications on regulations.gov to docket FDA-2021-N-0408 for the IQOS 3.0 device and docket FDA-2017-D-3001 for the IQOS 2.4 device and the Marlboro HeatSticks products.

    The FDA will post application documents, including amendments; given that the documents will need to be redacted for any confidential information, they will be posted on the Center for Tobacco Products’ website on a rolling basis.

    Once all materials for these MRTP applications, including amendments, have been made publicly available, FDA will announce a closing date for the comment period. The closing date will be no earlier than 180 days from the date of the Federal Register notice and at least 30 days from the date FDA posts the last application materials.

  • Scientist Urges Caution With AI Vaping Studies

    Scientist Urges Caution With AI Vaping Studies

    Marina Murphy is a scientific communications and engagement expert with more than 20 years of experience.

    Scientists should be aware of the “illusions of understanding” when relying on artificial intelligence for their research, warned Marina Murphy, industry veteran and scientific adviser to the U.K. Vaping Industry Association.

    A recent study, published in Scientific Reports, claims to have uncovered potentially harmful substances that are produced when e-liquids in vaping devices are heated for inhalation.

    The research team at the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI) University of Medicine and Health Sciences, Dublin, used artificial intelligence to simulate the effects of heating e-liquid flavor chemicals found in nicotine vapes.

    The analysis revealed the formation of many hazardous chemicals, including 127 that are classified as “acute toxic,” 153 as “health hazards” and 225 as “irritants.” Notably, these included a group of chemicals called volatile carbonyls (VCs), which are known to pose health risks. Sources for VCs were predicted to be the most popular fruit-flavored, candy-flavored and dessert-flavored products.

    Lead author Donal O’Shea, professor of chemistry and head of the department, said the findings are concerning. “Our findings indicate a significantly different profile of chemical hazards compared to what we are familiar with from traditional tobacco smoking. It is plausible that we are on the cusp of a new wave of chronic diseases that will emerge 15 [years] to 20 years from now due to these exposures.”

    Murphy countered that the effects of overheating e-liquids have been studied extensively. “This can lead to the production of carbonyls, for example, but these compounds make the vapor so caustic as to be un-inhalable,” she wrote in response to the RCSI study. “Newer e-cigarette devices are designed with built-in temperature control systems.”

    She warned that “scary headlines” could prompt smokers thinking of switching to less harmful e-cigarettes to stick with conventional cigarettes instead.

    “Vaping has proven to be the most popular quit aid, and we need to focus less on problems and more on solutions to ensure that vapers continue to get the flavors they need to successfully quit cigarettes in the safest way possible,” said Murphy.

  • Illinois Moving Ahead With ‘Highlighter’ Vape Ban

    Illinois Moving Ahead With ‘Highlighter’ Vape Ban

    Credit: Sharafmaksumov

    Illinois is one step closer to cracking down on e-cigarettes disguised as school supplies.

    Lawmakers in the state propose banning e-cig ads that could confuse adults into thinking they are everyday items, like highlighters and erasers.

    The Illinois Department of Revenue, Attorney General, and local law enforcement would enforce the legislation, media oulets are reporting.

    On Wednesday, Senate Bill 2662 was unanimously approved by the House Executive Committee. The bill is now headed to the House floor for further consideration.

  • Senator Demands FDA Testify Before Congress

    Senator Demands FDA Testify Before Congress

    Vapor Voice Archive

    After months of pressure from lawmakers to prevent the unauthorized sale of vaping devices, federal regulators may soon have to explain themselves before Congress.

    Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin, who chairs the Senate Judiciary Committee, has long urged the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to follow through on a court-ordered review of premarket tobacco product applications (PMTAs) from e-cigarette manufacturers.

    The U.S. Court for the District of Maryland mandated the survey, ruling in 2019 that the FDA had run afoul of federal law by allowing unauthorized vape sales. The review was supposed to have been completed in 2021, according to Court House News.

    Durbin, in a January letter, accused the agency of “granting a free pass to scores of vaping products that are harming the health of children in our country.”

    Now, Durbin is angling to haul FDA officials before Congress. He demanded in a letter Tuesday that Brian King, director of the agency’s Center for Tobacco Products, testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee.

    Durbin extended a similar invite to Brian Boynton, principal deputy assistant attorney general for the Justice Department’s civil division. Federal law enforcement is tasked with assisting the FDA in bringing enforcement for violations of the Tobacco Control Act, which includes marketing authorizations for vape manufacturers.

    Durbin met with Boynton and King in April during a private meeting to discuss the enforcement of unauthorized e-cigarettes. If the officials agree to testify publicly, the Judiciary Committee will hold a hearing in June.

    A spokesperson for the FDA did not immediately respond to a request for comment on whether it would comply with the request.

  • WHO: Vape Surpasses Smoking Among European Youth

    WHO: Vape Surpasses Smoking Among European Youth

    Photo: Maksym Yemelyanov

    Vaping has surpassed smoking among adolescents in Europe, according to a new report by the World Health Organization.

    The global health body found that among 15-year-olds, 32 percent had used an e-cigarette and 20 percent consumed vaping products in the past 30 days.

    “The widespread use of harmful substances among children in many countries across the European region—and beyond—is a serious public health threat,” said Hans Henri P. Kluge, WHO regional director for Europe. “Considering that the brain continues to develop well into a person’s mid-20s, adolescents need to be protected from the effects of toxic and dangerous products. Unfortunately, children today are constantly exposed to targeted online marketing of harmful products.”

    Historically, there has been a difference between boys and girls, with more boys smoking than girls. With e-cigarettes, girls reach the same level of use by 15 as boys and even outpace them after 15.

    While acknowledging that some health authorities view e-cigarettes as a positive alternative to smoking for adults, the WHO expressed concern about aggressive targeting by manufacturers of a younger market, which has contributed to a particularly sharp rise in consumption between the ages of 13 and 15, according to the organization.

    The WHO report calls for e-cigarettes to be incorporated into smoke-free policies, with similar measures to restrict marketing, reduce toxicity, remove flavors and increase taxation.

    The health body has already called for e-cigarettes to be made available only to those who are trying to quit smoking, where other proven cessation strategies have been exhausted. It has also called for e-cigarettes to be regulated like medicines rather than being sold as consumer products.

  • Regulators Urged to Distinguish Combustibles and Smoke-Free

    Regulators Urged to Distinguish Combustibles and Smoke-Free

    Photo: Finn Bjurvoll Hansen

    A study released on May 7 adds further evidence that the harm from nicotine use is determined primarily by the consumption method.

    Titled No Smoke, Less Harm, the report details rates of nicotine usage in Sweden and a number of comparable countries, finding that nicotine use was not a factor in tobacco-related disease.

    Karl Fagerstrom

    While nicotine consumption in Sweden mirrors the European average, the country reports a 41 percent lower incidence of lung cancer and fewer than half the tobacco-related deaths of its European peers. This stark contrast is attributed to the widespread adoption of smoke-free nicotine products such as snus, nicotine pouches and electronic cigarettes.

    “This distinction between smoking and the use of smokeless products is crucial,” says Karl Fagerstrom, a public health expert and contributor to the report.

    “While nicotine is addictive, it does not cause the serious diseases associated with smoking. Our findings support a shift in focus from cessation to substitution with less harmful alternatives for those unable to stop completely.”

    According to the authors, Sweden’s proactive measures in public health education and regulatory frameworks have encouraged a transition to these alternatives, significantly impacting public health outcomes. The report points out that embracing similar harm reduction strategies could be pivotal for other nations striving to reduce the health impacts of tobacco.

    “The Swedish experience demonstrates that understanding and addressing public misperceptions about nicotine can lead to health policies that better protect and inform consumers,” said Fagerstrom.