Tag: regulation

Digital Age Checks Deployed in the Netherlands

Similar technology has also been trialed in Italy. (Photo: Innovative Technologies)
Parts of the Netherlands have implemented face scanners to check consumers’ ages before selling cigarettes to them, according to Dutch News.
About 100 outlets have opted for face scanners so far. The camera uses artificial intelligence to scan a customer’s face and estimates their age based on features such as skin condition and wrinkles. If the customer is thought to be over 25, the transaction can continue, but if not, the machine will ask to scan the customer’s ID.
“The process is similar to that at airports,” said Theo Snijders, CEO of H@nd, the scan-making firm.
The legal framework was devised with product safety organization NVWA, privacy watchdogs and lawyers to ensure that customers’ personal data are not compromised. The scanners do not store data and only record the number of scans. According to Snijders, a scan is not a condition for buying tobacco as that would be illegal.
Sellers caught not complying with age check requirements could face fines up to €9,000 or a temporary loss of their license to sell tobacco products.
Beginning July 2024, tobacco products can only be legally sold at specialist stores and gas stations.
Tech firms and vape stores have been experimenting with digital age-verification tools in various markets. Tobacco Reporter profiled one such project in Italy in its December 2023 edition. (See “Beyond Face Value”).
April 5, 2024
Ireland to Consider Disposables Ban, 21 Minimum Age

The Minister for Health in Ireland wants to raise the minimum age for smoking to 21. He would also like to ban disposable vaping products.
Stephen Donnelly said the Government is also looking at a range of legislative measures “to come down hard” on vaping.
He made the remarks at an event to mark the 20th anniversary of the workplace smoking ban in Ireland, which prohibited smoking in indoor commercial spaces.
The process for legislating new restrictions, which involves a public consultation, is complicated by Ireland’s inclusion in the EU single market, according to media reports.
Donnelly said he would personally recommend raising the smoking age and that legislation was being prepared in the event it was agreed upon at the Government level.
“It’s a measure aimed at people who are 15, 16, 17 years of age that – with a smoking age of 18 – they find it relatively easy to go to either buy the cigarettes themselves or get a friend or an older sibling to get them.
“But if you move to 21, it makes it much more difficult.” The country raised the age to 18 last year.
A public consultation will also examine issues such as banning disposable vapes and extending prohibited smoking zones to outdoor seating areas.
April 3, 2024
Virginia Vape Registry, Flavor Ban on Governor’s Desk

Credit: FotoMak
Flavored vaping products lacking authorization from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration could be pulled from Virginia shelves, as a pair of identical bills head to Governor Glenn Youngkin’s desk for his signature. The governor has previously said he would sign the bills.
Del. Rodney Willett, and Sen. Creigh Deeds, say their bills would help eliminate the 50 percent of illegal, unregulated vapor and e-cigarette products currently being sold in the commonwealth. Both lawmakers said the bill’s intent are to also curb underage vaping, as no flavored e-cigarettes or vapes are currently authorized by the FDA.
“It’s a very serious situation and what this bill is intended to do is protect children,” Willett told the Virginia Mercury in an interview last week. “It’s to protect adults who are lawful consumers and then also the wholesalers and retailers themselves.”
Willett said the bills would create a registry of non-flavored products that can be sold in the Commonwealth. These products must be FDA-authorized or under the agency’s application process.
Both legislators said several businesses have sent them letters in support of the bill because they want to make sure they’re selling legal products. Willett said the businesses also “want to protect legal consumers from ingesting undisclosed, harmful chemicals that are found in the unlawful vaping products.”
Representatives from tobacco company Altria emphasized that the bill would clarify for retailers which devices they can and cannot sell. Altria spokesman Steve Callahan told the House of Delegates’ ABC and Gaming Subcommittee in February the legislation “is a common sense solution.”
However, opponents of the bill said it serves to only benefit big tobacco companies at the expense of small businesses and Virginians trying to quit smoking through vapor products.
Tony Abboud with the Vapor Technology Association said there are currently 13 million vapers across the U.S.. Yet, only six different types of FDA-authorized e-cigarettes are currently on the market. He said tobacco companies like Altria would reap the benefits from the legislation and compared the bill to a scenario in which all beer except for Bud Lite and Miller Lite are removed from stores.
“Bud and Miller would love it, right, because they are definitely going to pick up some more customers,” Abboud said.
April 1, 2024
Job Ads Suggest IQOS Set to Debut in Austin, Texas

Image: Alexander
The resolution of an IP dispute with BAT has removed a major hurdle to selling the product in the U.S.
Philip Morris International is preparing to launch its IQOS heated-tobacco device in Austin, Texas, USA, reports U.S. News. The city will be a testing ground for PMI’s re-entry into the United States after the company resolved an intellectual property dispute with British American Tobacco that had prompted the International Trade Commission to ban imports of IQOS in the United States.
PMI previously announced that it planned to launch IQOS in four cities in two U.S. states beginning with one city in the second quarter before a larger rollout in 2025. The company did not, however, release details.
According to U.S. News, LinkedIn job advertisements suggest that PMI is planning to launch the product in Austin. The advertisements were posted this month and include positions such as field sales representatives, territory managers and retail sales advisors.

The U.S. would be a significant market for IQOS. Euromonitor estimates that total U.S. nicotine sales excluding nicotine-replacement therapies were $143.6 billion in 2022. Cigarettes accounted for the majority of sales, but Euromonitor predicts that their value will drop by 30 percent by 2027 and the value of smoking alternatives such as e-cigarettes and nicotine pouches, will increase by 36 percent in the same period.

Investors are waiting to see if PMI can create a heated-tobacco market in the U.S., where vaping is dominant.
According to Brett Cooper, managing partner and analyst at equity research firm Consumer Edge, Texas offers an interesting trial market due to broad demographics. He noted that diverse cities like Austin, Houston and Dallas provide access to a wide range of consumer groups.

U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data shows that tobacco taxes in Texas are relatively low, with the excise tax rate on a pack of cigarettes standing at $1.41 in September 2023.
In January, Texas introduced new e-cigarette laws, banning products that resemble food or that include symbols or celebrities targeted at minors or that depict cartoon-like fictional characters.
PMI believes IQOS can capture a 10 percent share of the U.S. tobacco and heated-tobacco unit volume by 2030.

March 29, 2024
Airscream Readies to Invest in Malaysia Vape Market

Photo: Airscream
Airscream UK plans to invest MYR100 million ($21.12 million) in its operations over the next five years and move its headquarters to Malaysia, reports the Business Times.
The company has already set up administrative, sales and marketing operations as well as a showroom in Shah Alam, with close to 40 employees locally and 100 globally.
Airscream founder and CEO Sam Ong cited a robust market and vaping industry ecosystem as reasons for the company’s decision.
Over the past decade, Malaysia’s vaping industry has grown into a MYR3 billion business, providing employment to more than 30,000 Malaysians, according to the Malaysian Vape Chamber of Commerce.
Ong believes the market is poised for further growth, potentially driving more foreign direct investments into the country and bolstering job creation.
“We are also encouraged by the passing of the Control of Smoking Products for Public Health Bill 2023, which brings Malaysia on par to other countries around the world, including the U.K., Australia, Thailand and Singapore, which have standalone legislation on tobacco and vape,” Ong was quoted as saying.
Airscream was established in 2018 as a manufacturer and retailer of the AirsPop vape product.
March 27, 2024
FDA Warns 61 Small Businesses for Selling Elf Bar

The U.S. Food and Drug Administartion has again issued warning letters to several small businesses for selling illegal vaping products.
The warning letters handed to 61 brick-and-mortar retailers cite the sale of disposable e-cigarette products marketed under the brand names Elf Bar/EB Design and Lava.
“These warning letters were a result of FDA’s ongoing monitoring of multiple surveillance systems to identify products that are popular among youth or have youth appeal,” the agency wrote in a release. “Findings from the 2023 National Youth Tobacco Survey found that more than 50 percent of youth who use e-cigarettes reported using the brand Elf Bar.
“In 2023, the manufacturer of Elf Bar began marketing the product under the name “EB Design.” In addition, the brand Lava was identified as popular or youth-appealing by the agency following review of retail sales data and emerging internal data from a survey among youth.”
According to the agency, the retailers receiving these warning letters sold or distributed e-cigarette products in the United States that lacked authorization from the FDA, in violation of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act.
Warning letter recipients are given 15 working days to respond with the steps they will take to correct the violation and to prevent future violations. Failure to promptly correct the violations can result in additional FDA actions such as an injunction, seizure, and/or civil money penalties.
To date, the FDA has issued more than 550 warning letters and more than 100 civil money penalty actions to retailers for the sale of unauthorized e-cigarettes. However, few retailers respond to the FDA’s actions.
March 26, 2024
Belgium to Ban Sale of Disposable Vape Devices

Photo: Bennphoto
Belgium will ban the sale of disposable e-cigarettes effective Jan. 1, 2025, making it the first EU country to do so, reports The Brussels Times, citing Federal Health Minister Frank Vandenbroucke. The country has received approval from the European Commission for the ban.
“The disposable e-cigarette causes a lot of damage to society and the environment,” said Vandenbroucke. “This harmful product mainly targets our young people. I am therefore pleased that we can remove this from the market.”
Vandenbroucke said that marketing for vapes is “very savvy” and “youth-oriented” despite sales of vapes to minors being banned in Belgium. Youth use is widespread, and in 2023, about three in four points of sale sold disposables to minors, according to an inspection.
“Belgium is playing a pioneering role in Europe to break the power of the tobacco lobby,” Vandenbroucke said upon receiving approval for the ban from the European Commission. “This is another milestone in our fight against tobacco.”
“We strive for a smoke-free generation and want people, especially young people, to be better protected and to come into less contact with tobacco or alternative smoking methods,” Vandenbroucke said. “With this measure, we ensure that we remove an extremely harmful product from the market, which is also cheap and therefore attractive to young people.”
Nondisposable e-cigarettes will still be allowed as many use them to quit smoking combustible cigarettes. “Still, we have been able to agree that they can no longer be offered with lights and other things to make them attractive,” Vandenbroucke said. “It should not be a product to start smoking but to stop smoking.”
March 25, 2024
Solicitor General Asks SCOTUS for Review of Ruling

The Office of the Solicitor General filed a petition for certiorari in the case of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration v. Wages & White Lion Investments LLC, asking the Supreme Court to review the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit’s en banc decision concluding that the FDA’s denial of some premarket tobacco product applications (PMTAs) was arbitrary and capricious.
According to the SG, a Supreme Court review of the Fifth Circuit’s decision is warranted because the court relied upon “legal theories that have been rejected by other courts of appeals that have reviewed materially similar FDA denial orders.”
At one level, the federal government’s decision to seek Supreme Court review is what one might expect, according to Reason. However, there is a circuit split on whether the FDA acted in an arbitrary and capricious fashion when it refused to consider certain materials submitted with PMTAs and departed from previous guidance it had given the industry. Most circuits to hear such claims turned them away.
The Fifth Circuit (along with the Eleventh Circuit) did not. Certiorari would thus be warranted to resolve the circuit split and remove any cloud over the FDA’s continuing ability to review (and deny) PMTAs for vaping products. Without Supreme Court review, vaping product manufacturers would be incentivized to seek review of any PMTA denials in the Fifth and Eleventh Circuits, which could undermine the FDA’s regulatory authority.
March 23, 2024
Switzerland: Illegal E-Liquid Levels in Disposables

Credit: Anthony Brown
The Swiss Association for Smoking Prevention has said that most disposable electronic cigarettes sold in Switzerland do not comply with the law. The quantity of liquid and nicotine levels exceed the authorized thresholds.
The standards in force in Switzerland are based on a 2014 European directive. This stipulates that each “electronic cigarette with a so-called closed system”, also known as “puff bars”, may not contain more than 2ml volume of liquid. This corresponds to around 600 puffs.
However, according to the association’s study, more than half the products sold on the Swiss market exceed this value. Puffs offering 1500 or 2500 puffs are “commonly available” on online sales sites or in stores, according to media reports. But it’s even possible to order puffs online with a 30 ml tank, i.e. 16,000 puffs. That’s 15 times more than the legal limit.
The survey also denounced excessive nicotine percentages, even though the law stipulates that a disposable electronic cigarette may not contain more than 20 mg/ml of nicotine. Some cantons had reacted and forced certain stores to withdraw these products from sale following a study published in March 2022.
The association does, however, mention a site where puffs containing a concentration of 50 mg/ml can be purchased. It is also “easy” to order puffs directly from Chinese sites, with no restrictions on volume or nicotine concentration, and have them delivered to Switzerland.
March 23, 2024
U.S. State Attorneys General Want Action on Hemp

A bipartisan group of 20 state attorneys general are imploring Congress to take action to address a looming public health “crisis” due to the burgeoning multibillion-dollar market for intoxicating hemp products.
Congress legalized hemp under the 2018 farm bill, touting it as a boon for struggling farmers. However, the market has become increasingly dominated by what some call “intoxicating products” that are largely unregulated and often sold at gas stations and convenience stores.
“The reality is that this law has unleashed on our states a flood of products that are nothing less than a more potent form of cannabis, often in candy form that is made attractive to youth and children — with staggering levels of potency, no regulation, no oversight, and a limited capability for our offices to rein them in,” reads the letter, shared exclusively with POLITICO, which was sent to the chairs and ranking members of the House and Senate agriculture committees.
Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita and Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin, both Republicans, led the letter. But it also includes many notable Democrats, including California Attorney General Rob Bonta and Colorado Attorney General Philip Weiser.
The attorneys general are calling on federal lawmakers to address the issue in the next farm bill, which has been repeatedly pushed back potentially to 2025. They want Congress to alter the definition of hemp under federal law—currently cannabis with no more than 0.3 percent Delta-9 THC—although they don’t provide any specific recommendations for how it should be changed. In addition, they want federal lawmakers to clarify that states have the authority to regulate and restrict hemp and other cannabinoids.
March 22, 2024