Tag: news

  • E-cigarette Smuggling Ring Uncovered in Finland

    E-cigarette Smuggling Ring Uncovered in Finland

    Photo: Kekyalyaynen

    Finnish Customs uncovered a substantial e-cigarette smuggling operation in Helsinki, according to The Helsinki Times. The operation involved illicit imports from China.

    Customs officers discovered a shipment of about 1,000 nicotine e-cigarettes during routine inspections at a courier terminal in Helsinki. The suspect had ordered about 1,600 e-cigarettes from China in 2023.

    Finland prohibits importation of vapes through “distant communication methods” like online orders. Penalties can range from fines to imprisonment plus paying back evaded taxes and illicit gains.

    Some people are unaware of the rules, however. “Not all those persons always know that it is illegal to order and distribute e-cigarettes,” said Marko Laitinen, investigation leader, referring to young people ordering e-cigarettes. “Once you get caught doing that, it always entails criminal liability.”

  • Pax Labs Files Patent Lawsuit Against Stiizy, ALD

    Pax Labs Files Patent Lawsuit Against Stiizy, ALD

    Credit: Stiizy

    Pax Labs Inc. has filed a lawsuit against the vape brand Stiiizy Inc. and its manufacturer ALD Group Ltd. for allegedly infringing four patents with vape pens they make and sell.

    Stiiizy and Hong Kong-based ALD make vaporizing devices, including a cartridge and battery, that utilize methods similar to Pax Labs’ patents, according to separate complaints filed Monday in the US District Court for the Central District of California, according to media reports.

    Pax Labs said the companies infringed U.S. Patent Nos. 11,369,756, 11,369,757, 11,766,527, and 11,759,580, which deal with methods for leak-resistant vaporizer cartridges and apparatuses.

    The patents are all labeled as a “Leak-resistant vaporizer device.”

  • Sunak Asked to Reconsider UK Disposables Ban

    Sunak Asked to Reconsider UK Disposables Ban

    Photo: Lumos sp

    The U.K. Vaping Industry Association sent a letter to U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to “express profound dismay and disappointment” that the government decided to proceed with a disposable vape ban.

    “This decision jeopardizes the significant progress made in reducing smoking rates in the U.K. and poses a threat to the well-being of millions of adults who have successfully quit smoking with the help of vaping,” the letter reads.

    “We urge the government to reconsider the ban on disposable vapes and adopt a more balanced approach that prioritizes effective enforcement over draconian bans,” the letter says. “A distributor and retailer licensing scheme, as proposed to government repeatedly by the UKVIA, would achieve such an outcome without any cost to the taxpayer.”

  • FDA Issues Civil Penalties to 21 Small Business Owners

    FDA Issues Civil Penalties to 21 Small Business Owners

    Credit: Valiantsina

    The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has issued complaints for civil money penalties (CMPs) against 21 brick-and-mortar retailers for selling unauthorized Esco Bars e-cigarettes.

    In a press release, the agency stated that it had previously issued each retailer a warning letter for their sale of unauthorized tobacco products. However, follow-up inspections revealed that the retailers had failed to correct the violations.

    The agency now seeks the maximum penalty of $20,678 from each retailer.

    The complaints announced today represent the first set of CMPs FDA has filed for the sale of unauthorized Esco Bars e-cigarettes. “These retailers were duly warned of what could happen if they continued selling these unauthorized e-cigarettes,” said Brian King, director of the FDA’s Center for Tobacco Products (CTP). “They should have acted responsibly to correct the violations, but they chose not to do so and now must face the consequences of that decision. FDA won’t sit back and tolerate inaction to comply with the law.”

    Currently, $20,678 is the maximum civil money penalty amount FDA can seek for a single violation from each retailer, consistent with similar CMPs sought against retailers for the sale of unauthorized Elf Bar products in Sept., Nov., and Dec. of 2023.

    The retailers can pay the penalty, enter into a settlement agreement based on mitigation factors, request an extension of time to file an answer to the complaint, or file an answer and request a hearing. Retailers that do not take action within 30 days after receiving a complaint risk a default order imposing the full penalty amount, according to the release.

    “Today’s CMP actions are just the latest in the continued, comprehensive push by FDA to take action across the supply chain to remove unauthorized e-cigarettes, particularly those that are popular among youth, from the marketplace,” the release states. “As of Jan. 30, 2024, FDA has issued more than 440 warning letters and 88 CMPs to retailers, including brick and mortar and online retailers, for selling unauthorized tobacco products.

    “In addition to actions involving retailers, FDA has issued more than 660 warning letters to firms for illegally manufacturing and/or distributing unauthorized new tobacco products, including e-cigarettes.

    “The agency has also filed civil money penalty complaints against 48 e-cigarette firms for manufacturing unauthorized products and sought injunctions in coordination with the U.S. Department of Justice against seven manufacturers of unauthorized e-cigarette products.”

  • Kaival Brands Appeals MDO of Tobacco Bidi Stick

    Kaival Brands Appeals MDO of Tobacco Bidi Stick

    A recent marketing denial order issued for a tobacco-flavored Bidi Stick only applies to one Bidi device. The company, Bidi Vapor, currently has 10 other flavors still in the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s premarket tobacco product application (PMTA) process.

    Bidi Vapor’s “Classic” tobacco-flavored Bidi Stick ENDS device is the only product affected. Kaival Brands, parent to Bidi Vapor, holds the worldwide license to distribute products made by Bidi Vapor.

    In response to the MDO, Bidi Vapor filed a petition requesting that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit review the MDO, which Bidi Vapor believes was, among other things, “arbitrary and capricious, in violation of the Administrative Procedure Act.” Bidi Vapor will also be seeking a stay of the MDO pending the outcome of the litigation.

    “Bidi Vapor disagrees with the FDA’s decision and is taking immediate action accordingly,” said Niraj Patel, the founder and CEO of Bidi Vapor and Chief Science Officer and founder of Kaival Brands. “In the meantime, it is important to note that the decision only affects the ‘Classic’ or tobacco-flavored Bidi Stick. The remaining ten Bidi Stick flavors are still under FDA scientific review and remain in distribution in the United States through Kaival Brands, subject to the FDA’s enforcement discretion.”

    Bidi Vapor has a history of successful outcomes when contesting adverse FDA decisions, having received a favorable 11th Circuit ruling in August 2022 that set aside the original MDOs received for its 10 non-tobacco flavored products, according to a press release.

    “While we are disappointed with the FDA’s decision, we are in close contact with Bidi Vapor and laser-focused on selling the Bidi Vapor products that we are permitted to,” said Barry Hopkins, executive chairman of Kaival Brands. “Like Bidi Vapor, we are fully committed to the legal and responsible use of our products. Moreover, we are committed to increasing Kaival Brands’ revenues by strengthening our existing business and also diversifying our product portfolio, as evidenced by the intellectual property we acquired in May 2023 from GoFire, Inc.”

  • New United Kingdom Vape Rules to Ban Disposables

    New United Kingdom Vape Rules to Ban Disposables

    Photo: Mikhail Reshetnikov

    The U.K. will ban disposable e-cigarettes, the government announced today.

    According to the government, disposable vapes have been a key driver behind the rise in youth vaping, with the proportion of 11 to 17-year-old vapers using disposables increasing almost ninefold in the last two years.   

    As part of the package, the government will also acquire new powers to regulate vape flavors, e-cigarette packaging and product presentation in stores to ensure that they don’t appeal to underage users. Additionally, the government will bring in new fines for shops in England and Wales that sell vapes illegally to children. Vaping alternatives, such as nicotine pouches, will also be outlawed for underage consumers.

    In its announcement of the new measures, the government also reiterated its commitment to a generational tobacco ban. To help implement the new rules, government agencies such as the Border Force, Revenue and Customs and Trading Standers will receive £30 million ($38.1 million) in new funding a year.

     “As prime minister I have an obligation to do what I think is the right thing for our country in the long term. That is why I am taking bold action to ban disposable vapes—which have driven the rise in youth vaping—and bring forward new powers to restrict vape flavors, introduce plain packaging and change how vapes are displayed in shops,” said ,” said Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.

    “Alongside our commitment to stop children who turn 15 this year or younger from ever legally being sold cigarettes, these changes will leave a lasting legacy by protecting our children’s health for the long term.”

    While action to prevent youth access to vaping is critical, this move smacks more of a desperate attempt by the government to sacrifice vapers for votes ahead of the upcoming general election.

    John Dunne, director-general, UKVIA

    Public health officials welcomed the government’s decision. “We’re delighted that the Westminster government has heard our calls and is rightly prioritizing the health and well-being of our children and the planet,” said Mike McKean, vice president for policy at the Royal College of Pediatrics and Child Health. “Bold action was always needed to curb youth vaping and banning disposables is a meaningful step in the right direction. I’m also extremely pleased to see further much needed restrictions on flavors, packaging and marketing of vapes.”

    Representatives of the vape industry, by contrast, were dismayed, pointing to significant role disposable vapes have played in bringing the U.K.’s smoking rates down to a record low.

    “While action to prevent youth access to vaping is critical, this move smacks more of a desperate attempt by the government to sacrifice vapers for votes ahead of the upcoming general election,” said John Dunne, director general of the U.K. Vaping Industry Association (UKVIA), in a statement.

    “If the government thinks banning disposables will help protect young people, they are completely misguided. This counterproductive legislation will sooner put children at greater risk by turbo-charging the black market and, in turn, making it easier for them to access illicit and noncompliant vapes.”

    Pointing to recent research from University College London, the UKVIA said the answer to youth vaping doesn’t lie in counterproductive bans and restrictions, but rather in effective and proactive enforcement of the law which states that it is illegal for vapes to be sold to minors.

    We can’t have a two-tier society in which some adults are permitted to buy tobacco and others are denied the same opportunity.

    Simon Clark, director, Forest

    The government’s continued commitment to a generational tobacco ban, meanwhile, prompted a strong response from smokers’ rights activists, who said the plan infantilizes adults.

    A new poll for the smokers’ lobby group Forest found that almost two thirds (64 percent) of adults in Britain say that when people are 18 and legally an adult, they should be allowed to purchase cigarettes and other tobacco products.

    “As soon as you are legally an adult you should be treated like one and allowed to buy tobacco, if that’s your choice,” said Simon Clark, director of Forest.

    “We can’t have a two-tier society in which some adults are permitted to buy tobacco and others are denied the same opportunity.”

    Urging Downing Street to step back from the policy, he added:  “Law-abiding retailers will have the difficult job of enforcing this absurd policy that also drives a stake into the heart of traditional Conservative values such as freedom of choice and personal responsibility.”

     

  • Chemular, IGEN Team up to Streamline Compliance

    Chemular, IGEN Team up to Streamline Compliance

    Chemular and IGEN have formed a strategic alliance to create a new Compliance as a Service (CaaS) platform focused on streamlining the burden of compliance to small-sized and medium-sized companies who need turnkey solutions for Prevent All Cigarette Trafficking (PACT) Act, excise tax reporting and registration services.

    “The time and effort required to stay compliant with federal, state and local laws is increasingly burdensome for small-[sized] to mid-sized companies in regulated categories,” said Jason Carignan, chief commercial officer of Chemular, in a statement. “Except for larger players, most companies don’t have a dedicated compliance officer who can ensure every regulatory detail is addressed so their products can stay on the market—especially in industries like ours, where the rules change rapidly. Chemular, now powered by the IGEN backbone, will be able to significantly scale its turnkey compliance service offering to a growing portfolio of tobacco manufacturers and distributors.”

    In addition to saving time, utilizing the new CaaS platform can provide regulated companies with many other benefits, according to a company press release, including: streamlined remittance and reporting for excise tax, PACT Act, state registrations, and license capture; optimized growth opportunities by allowing employees and leadership to focus on what they do best: developing products and services; avoiding penalties with scaled compliance efforts that easily adapt to new markets with potentially different laws and regulations as the company grows; and reducing risk by monitoring real-time data and evolving regulations while establishing automated procedures that can minimize errors and detect fraud.

    Failure to adhere to compliance guidelines can be costly for companies, leading to large fines and expensive sanctions, regulatory scrutiny and loss of trust in the marketplace. In some cases, noncompliant companies can have their products removed from store shelves, giving space to competitors who were able to better adjust to changing regulations.

    “Compliance can be a long-term strategic advantage, yet most emerging businesses don’t have the resources and expertise to keep up with the growing complexity in regulatory requirements,” said Ryan Padget, president of IGEN. “We’re excited to bring our technology to Chemular, whose clients are regularly faced with regulatory hurdles, like PACT and excise tax reporting. This is just the beginning for our partnership—one that we see as a win for the industry as a whole.”

    Along with this announcement, the Chemular and IGEN teams will be appearing at the tobacco industry’s largest trade show, TPE24, providing resources and education to the show’s retail attendees. Chemular will be hosting the “Fortify Your Future” educational sessions of the show from Jan. 30, 2024, to Jan. 31, 2024, and will be available to speak with attendees at their second-floor meeting room located next to the educational session.

    Companies interested in becoming compliant or streamlining their current processes can visit www.chemular.com for more information.

  • Disposables Ban Could Thwart Cessation: Study

    Disposables Ban Could Thwart Cessation: Study

    Image: Viktoria Ostroushko

    A ban on disposable vapes, currently being considered by the U.K. government, could discourage the use of e-cigarettes among people who are trying to quit smoking, according to a new study led by researchers from University College London (UCL) and funded by Cancer Research U.K.

    Published in the journal Public Health, the study looked at survey responses from 69,973 adults in England, Wales and Scotland between January 2021 and August 2023.

    The researchers found the proportion of adults using disposable e-cigarettes rose from 0.1 percent to 4.9 percent during that period. The increase was particularly pronounced among 18- to 24-year-olds, with 14.4 percent using disposable vapes in 2023, as well as among smokers (16.3 percent) and people who had stopped smoking in the past year (18.2 percent).

    Use among people who had never regularly smoked was relatively rare (1.5 percent) but was higher among 18- to 24-year-olds, of whom 7.1 percent used disposable e-cigarettes and had never regularly smoked tobacco.

    “Our study suggests a ban on disposable e-cigarettes would affect an estimated 2.6 million people in England, Wales and Scotland,” said lead author Sarah Jackson, of the UCL Institute of Epidemiology & Health Care, in a statement.

    “This group includes about 316,000 18- to 24-year-olds who currently use disposables but who have never regularly smoked tobacco. However, it also includes 1.2 million people who currently smoke and would benefit from switching to e-cigarettes completely, and a further 744,000 who previously smoked and may be at risk of relapse.

    “While banning disposables might seem like a straightforward solution to reduce youth vaping, it could have substantial unintended consequences for people who smoke.

    “In the event of a ban, it would be important to encourage current and ex-smokers who use disposables to switch to other types of e-cigarettes rather than going back to just smoking tobacco.

    “In addition, we found disposable use to be particularly prevalent among recent ex-smokers with a history of mental health conditions. This group may require targeted support to help them avoid relapse.”

    While banning disposables might seem like a straightforward solution to reduce youth vaping, it could have substantial unintended consequences for people who smoke.

    Lead author Sarah Jackson, UCL Institute of Epidemiology & Health Care

    The research team used data from the Smoking Toolkit Study, in which a different sample of 2,450 adults in Great Britain (who are representative of the general population) are interviewed each month.

    They found disposable e-cigarette use was significantly higher among adults living in England than Wales or Scotland (5.3 percent vs. 2 percent and 2.8 percent at the end of the study period) and among those from less (vs. more) advantaged social grades (6.1 percent vs. 4.0 percent), those with (vs. without) children (6.4 percent vs. 4.4 percent), and those with (vs. without) a history of mental health conditions (9.3 percent vs. 3.1 percent).

    Until recently, the researchers noted, very few adult vapers in Great Britain used disposables, but in 2021 new disposable e-cigarettes entered the market with designs and branding that appealed to young people, causing use of disposables to quickly rise in the U.K. and elsewhere. These products are available widely, for instance in corner shops, and are sometimes promoted via colorful in-store displays.

    While they are convenient to use, with a very low upfront cost, they have also become an environmental problem, with millions of the devices reportedly thrown away in the U.K. each week.

    A ban may discourage use of e-cigarettes among people trying to quit smoking and may induce relapse among those who have already used disposables to quit.

    Senior author Jamie Brown, UCL Institute of Epidemiology & Health Care

    “There is a need for action to reduce disposable vaping among young people who have never smoked,” said senior author Jamie Brown, a professor at the UCL Institute of Epidemiology & Health Care. “However, trade-offs need to be carefully considered. A ban may discourage use of e-cigarettes among people trying to quit smoking and may induce relapse among those who have already used disposables to quit. Cigarettes are far more harmful to our health and are not currently banned and a ban on disposable e-cigarettes may signal to large numbers of people that these products are worse for our health or that their harm is comparable to that caused by smoking tobacco. I favor a range of alternative policies, in the first instance, allied with rapid evaluation to judge whether these are sufficient to achieve reductions in youth vaping.”

    In the paper, the researchers outlined other measures to strengthen the regulation of disposable vapes that had a reduced risk of unintended consequences, such as causing relapse among ex-smokers.

    These included prohibiting branding with appeal to children (e.g., bright colors, sweet names and cartoon characters), prohibiting promotion of e-cigarettes in shops, putting e-cigarettes out of sight and reach of children, and putting an excise tax on disposables to raise the price to the same level as the cheapest reusable e-cigarettes. Defining disposables may prove problematic so a minimum unit price may be more a straightforward alternative to reduce their affordability and is something that could be implemented quickly.

    The researchers noted that their data might underestimate prevalence of disposable vape use. This is because survey respondents were asked which type of e-cigarette they mainly used, so people who used disposables as a secondary product were not captured.

    In addition to Cancer Research UK, the study received support from the U.K. Prevention Research Partnership.

  • Activists Protest ‘Misguided’ Zyn Pouch Probe

    Activists Protest ‘Misguided’ Zyn Pouch Probe

    Photo: Swedish Match

    U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer’s call on the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and Federal Trade Commission to investigate the marketing practices and health effects of Philip Morris International’s Zyn nicotine pouch brand provoked a backlash among advocates of tobacco harm reduction.

    “The American people have seen this movie before with less harmful e-cigarettes,” said Tony Abboud, executive director of the Vapor Technology Association (VTA).

    “Congressional leaders yell at unelected bureaucrats at the FDA who scurry to remove products from the market that offend their sensibilities—even though those products are less harmful than traditional cigarettes, and have been proven to help people quit smoking deadly cigarettes altogether.

    “These misguided actions deprive American adults of less harmful, non-combustible, and non-tobacco nicotine products that are a proven alternative to combustible cigarettes and that the largest clinical trial in the U.S. has found to cause them to quit smoking even if they have no intention to quit cigarettes.

    “There is already a de-facto ban on e-cigarettes. Sen. Schumer simply wants this ban extended to other products he and the Washington establishment deem undesirable.

    “As with e-cigarettes, Sen. Schumer falsely asserted that Zyn products are popular with younger users. Yet, the National Youth Tobacco Survey data demonstrates that only 1.5 percent of youth have even tried nicotine pouches. When will the federal government stop hiding behind an excuse that has been disproven by their own data? 

    “VTA stands with Zyn, and the makers of modern oral nicotine pouches, in the fight against arbitrary and capricious government action. Because cigarettes remain the No. 1 cause of preventable death and disease in the U.S., VTA insists on broad access to a wide variety of non-combustible products to preserve freedom of choice for adults who want to use nicotine – and to provide access to proven harm-reduction and smoking-cessation options essential for saving American lives.”

    Earlier, Schumer’s call for an investigation prompted PMI to publish a video clarifying its marketing practices.

  • Consumer Group Supports Indonesian Vape Tax

    Consumer Group Supports Indonesian Vape Tax

    Image: Deacon docs

    The Indonesian Consumers Foundation (YLKI) expressed support for a recently implemented tax on e-cigarettes, reports Tempo.

    The new tax took effect Jan. 1 and aims, in part, to discourage e-cigarette use. Vaping prevalence in Indonesia increased from 0.3 percent in 2011 to 3 percent in 2021, according to the Global Adult Tobacco Survey. The prevalence of cigarette smoking among adolescents aged 13-15 years increased by 19.2 percent over the same period.

    Previously, the Indonesian National Vape Association (Pavenas) asked the Finance Ministry to postpone the implementation of the tax on e-cigarettes. Secretary General of the Indonesian Personal Vaporizer Association (APVI), Garindra Kartasasmita, said that the combination of the tax and the excise tax hike would be a heavy blow to entrepreneurs, consumers and industry players.

    “This needs to take into consideration that the e-cigarette industry is a relatively new industry, and most of the industry players are from communities and MSMEs [Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises],” Garindra said in a statement published ahead of the tax.

     YLKI chairman Tulus Abadi rejected industry assertions that  vaping can help smokers give up of conventional cigarettes. “On the contrary, people will get double health burden due to the use of electronic cigarettes,” he said.