Tag: regulation

Clifford Douglas to lead Smoke-Free Foundation

Photo: FSFW
The Foundation for a Smoke-Free World has named Clifford E. Douglas as president and CEO. Douglas most recently served as director of the University of Michigan Tobacco Research Network and as adjunct professor in the department of health management and policy at the University of Michigan School of Public Health. Prior to that he was the American Cancer Society vice president for tobacco control. Early in his career Douglas worked to eliminate smoking on airline flights and was an attorney and advisor in landmark lawsuits against tobacco manufacturers.
Douglas has also managed a $6 million campaign to eliminate smoking on college campuses, and worked to help Americans understand the relationship between smoking and Covid-19. Douglas has served as the assistant director of the Coalition on Smoking and Health; he was also the associate director of the American Lung Association national public affairs office and has been the tobacco control advisor to the U.S. Assistant Secretary for Health and the U.S. Surgeon General.
“For decades Cliff Douglas has been a strong and influential voice in the work to eliminate smoking in America and globally,” said Pam Parizek, chair of the Foundation board of directors, in a statement. “He understands both the science and societal elements of tobacco issues. His credentials are exceptional, and we are pleased he will lead our foundation effort to fund meaningful research and engage in evidence-based education efforts that help those at greatest risk stop smoking.”
The Foundation is a nonprofit, independent grantmaking organization, dedicated to ending the illness and death caused by smoking.
Douglas believes the Foundation is uniquely positioned to reduce smoking globally, “Our mission is to help end smoking in this generation,” he said. “I have committed myself to this mission for 35 years and look forward to leading this organization in innovative and impactful efforts to accelerate reductions in smoking prevalence and improve public understanding regarding the nature and health impact of nicotine, and as the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has highlighted, the continuum of risk among different tobacco and nicotine products. We will continue to be a strong and independent voice in helping people around the world find healthier lifestyles.”
“Our mission is to help end smoking in this generation. I have committed myself to this mission for 35 years and look forward to leading this organization in innovative and impactful efforts to accelerate reductions in smoking prevalence.
Clifford Douglas, CEO, FSFW
“The Foundation is about to enter a new era under the leadership of Cliff Douglas,” said Parizek. “We certainly are appreciative of those who have previously supported our work, and going forward the Foundation remains fully committed to our smoking cessation and tobacco harm reduction efforts around the world.”
Philip Morris International recently made a final grant to the Foundation and the pledge agreement between Philip Morris and the Foundation has been concluded. “Moving forward the Foundation will seek to collaborate with associations and institutions to accelerate our investments in life saving research projects based on the most up to date science,” said Parizek.
October 13, 2023
Latvia to Raise Tobacco Taxes Gradually for 3 Years

Credit: Eyeg Elb
The Latvian government has amended its Excise Tax Law to include a gradual increase in excise taxes on e-liquids and other next-generation tobacco products.
E-liquids other vaping products will see their excise tax rates increase by an average of 21 percent every year in 2024, 2025 and 2026. Other tobacco “substitute products” which include nicotine pouches, will rise by 10 percent.
The amendments will negatively impact Latvia’s efforts to curb smoking by making options to switch less attractive, according to Alberto Gómez Hernández, Community Manager of the World Vapers’ Alliance.
“Increasing the taxation of safer nicotine products will discourage smokers from switching and push users back to smoking,” Gómez Hernández said in a press release. “The international evidence has shown that increasing taxation of e-cigarettes and e-liquids has always led to an increase in smoking, particularly among young adults and low-income groups.
“Latvia should follow the steps of countries that are successfully reducing smoking rates by encouraging smokers to switch, such as the United Kingdom and Sweden, instead of making it more costly for them.”
The bill will also increase the excise tax rates of heated tobacco products and combustible cigarettes by 5 percent and 5.6 percent every year, respectively.
October 11, 2023
Disposables Claim Nearly 40% of Global Vape Market

Photo: Alexander Gavrilichev
Disposable e-cigarettes account for almost 40 percent of the vape sector, according to new analysis from ECigIntelligence.
After an initial boom in the United States, the disposables market is now growing at a faster pace in other countries.
Consumers are attracted to disposables mainly by convenience and low price, but there are variations in products internationally.
For example, due to the EU Tobacco Product Directive’s (TPD) restrictions on the amount of e-liquid in vape products, the size of disposables has increased much more in non-TPD countries.
On the other hand, in some TPD markets there has been an increase in zero-nicotine products, as these are allowed to have a larger tank capacity.
Another notable recent development is the emergence of products that address the environmental concerns associated with disposables, for example products made mostly of paper, or with biodegradable components.
To provide further insight into the global disposables market, ECigIntelligence has now launched a disposable e-cigarettes tracker.
The data shows how disposable vape pricing, technical features, flavors and nicotine strengths have developed since 2020 across brands carried by leading online retailers. Users can even select specific models and see their closest competitors in the market in terms of features such as number of puffs, e-liquid capacity, battery capacity, and physical shape.
“The disposables market has ballooned at such a rate that there is an urgent need for reliable, in-depth data,” said Tim Phillips, managing director of Tamarind Intelligence, which produces ECigIntelligence. “This new tracker will provide the intelligence that players at every level in the industry have been crying out for as they formulate their strategy on disposable products.”
October 11, 2023
Ireland Announces Vape Tax, Raises Cigarette Costs

Ireland increased the price of a pack of 20 cigarettes by €0.75 ($0.80) and announced a new tax on vaping products for next year, reports The Irish Times. Other tobacco products will be subject to a pro-rate increase.
The move “supports public health policy to reduce smoking levels in Irish society,” according to Finance Minister Michael McGrath.
“In light of public health interests, continuing delays to the revision of the Tobacco Products Tax Directive and the Program for government commitment to tax e-cigarettes and vaping products, I am proposing to introduce a domestic tax on these products [e-cigarettes and vaping products] in next year’s budget,” said McGrath.
“Considerable preparatory work” by the Department of Finance and Revenue will be necessary to draft the underpinning legislation, he said.
“Nicotine is one of the most addictive substances on the planet, and there has been an explosion in youth use of e-cigarettes that has been further fueled by the advent of disposable vapes,” said Chris Macey, director of advocacy with the Irish Heart Foundation. “We can’t afford to wait a moment longer than necessary to impose this tax.”
The Irish Heart Foundation called on the finance minister last week to introduce a €0.10 per milliliter tax on e-liquid.
Smokers’ rights group warned against unintended consequences. “Annual tax hikes on tobacco are punishing consumers for enjoying a perfectly legitimate habit,” said John Mallon, spokesperson for Forest Ireland. “Not only does it discriminate against consumers on lower incomes, [but] it will drive even more smokers to the black market.” Mallon said smokers “don’t deserve” the excise increase.
“Legitimate retailers will lose business to criminal gangs, and smokers who stay within the law will be further punished compared to those who, understandably, buy their tobacco from illicit traders,” he said.
October 11, 2023
U.S. Supreme Court Declines to Hear Avail Vapor Case

Credit: Avail Vapor
The U.S. Supreme Court declined Tuesday to hear arguments against the Food and Drug Administration’s regulatory authorization process.
The denial order comes in one of several cases questioning the FDA’s oversight of the vaping industry.
The US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit sided with the FDA, finding that Avail hadn’t shown that its products had benefits for adults that offset the risk to youth.
The case is connected to the FDA’s 2021 determination to deny all of Avail Vapor’s requests to approve fruit and dessert-flavored e-cigarettes. The company claimed that the agency made the application process intentionally difficult, which led to mass denials of new product submissions.
In a Supreme Court brief filed Aug. 3, the company claimed the FDA failed to inform companies of a change in policy that would only allow for approval if the applications included data from studies conducted over time comparing the effectiveness of the multi-flavored products to that of tobacco flavored ones as an aid in adult smoking cessation.
Avail Vapor had asked the U.S. Supreme Court to examine a lower court’s refusal to review a marketing denial order issued by the FDA to Avail products.
In its petition, known as a Writ of Certiorari, Avail asked the Supreme Court to consider the lower court’s legal reasoning and decision.
Among other things, Avail argues in its petition that the FDA’s decision making was arbitrary and capricious; that another court sided with a different petitioner against the FDA on the same basic arguments; and that the case is significant not only for Avail but for the entire industry and its customers.
October 10, 2023
Chill Brands to Sell CBD Vapes in WH Smith Stores

Credit: William
Chill Brands said it will sell its nicotine-free CBD vapor products in U.K.-based WH Smith stores.
The cannabidiol-products company on Monday said a range will be for sale in an initial 150 of WH Smith’s 1,700 stores, according to a press release.
“These first outlets are WH Smith U.K. travel stores located in airports, train stations and other high-traffic hubs including Heathrow, Gatwick and Kings Cross Station. These areas benefit from an estimated combined daily footfall of more than 500,000 passengers per day,” it said.
Further to the agreement, it has now secured initial orders worth more than 350,000 Pounds ($428,365) from U.K. retailers, it added.
Chill Brands said that it continues to work to expand its retail distribution network in the U.K. and the U.S.
October 9, 2023
Texas: Group Wants Dallas to Enact Public Vape Ban

Credit: Lucitanija
A citizen advisory group has recommended that the City of Dallas follow other major Texas cities with a ban on vaping in public spaces in the name of public health.
The city’s Environmental Commission has recommended adopting a policy restricting the use of e-cigarettes, citing a “correlation between vaping aerosol exposure and negative health effects for vulnerable populations,” said Candace Thompson, chair of the commission’s environmental health committee.
In August, the commission unanimously approved a recommendation to expand the city’s 2016 smoking ban to include the prohibition of vaping of nicotine and non-nicotine products in most public spaces, with a few exceptions, including bars, restaurants and parks controlled by private partners, according to the Dallas News.
Dallas City Councilwoman Kathy Stewart, who chairs the parks, trails and environment committee, said she saw the recommendation in a memo. But her committee has not discussed nor voted on the proposed ban, which would be required before City Council action.
Vaping was banned in Austin in 2017 and in Houston in 2022.
October 9, 2023
Oct. 11: Netflix to Debut Documentary on Juul Labs
The Netflix documentary Big Vape: The Rise and Fall of Juul will premiere on Oct. 11. Netflix states the docuseries is “a scrappy electronic cigarette startup becomes a multibillion-dollar company until an epidemic causes its success to go up in smoke.”
Helen Redmond of Filter wrote that she was prepared to hate-watch the docuseries, directed by R.J. Cutler, in her review of the show.
“The name alone pissed me off because of its implied conflation of Juul, which is not a tobacco company, with ‘Big Tobacco.’ The trailer is a feverish montage of talking heads and voiceover accusing the company of being ‘wildly irresponsible,’ photos of hospitalized patients with bloody chest tubes, and a clip of James Monsees, one of Juul’s founders, being called ‘a marketer of poison to young people’ at a congressional hearing,” she wrote.
She also states that she “was happily shocked” when the series presented a alternate viewpoint.
The docuseries is based on TIME journalist Jaime Ducharme’s book, Big Vape: The Incendiary Rise of Juul.
October 6, 2023
Florida Sues Juul Labs for Marketing to Youth

Credit: Insurance Journal
Florida’s attorney general, Ashley Moody, has filed a lawsuit against Juul Labs, alleging that the company improperly marketed its products to children and offered misleading information about its products’ nicotine content, reports WUSF.
The suit was filed in Hillsborough County Circuit Court. It seeks civil penalties and an injunction to prevent Juul “targeting children through their marketing and product design and from deceiving consumers with respect to the nicotine concentration.”
“Juul relentlessly marketed to underage users with launch parties, advertisements using trendy-looking and young models, social media posts and free samples,” the lawsuit states. “It created a technology-focused, sleek design that could be easily concealed and sold its product in flavors known to be attractive to underage users. Juul also manipulated the chemical composition of its product to make the vapor less harsh on the throats of the young and inexperienced consumers it courted. To preserve its young customer base, Juul relied on age verification techniques that it knew were ineffective.”
Juul responded to the lawsuit, stating that “it is disappointing to see the Florida attorney general direct her state’s resources to suing Juul Labs.”
Juul’s response sets out “a few facts that should be understood,” including that “Florida’s attorney general initially led the negotiations between the state attorneys general and Juul Labs. For reasons that have not been explained to the public, she ultimately decided not to participate in a settlement to which 48 states and territories are now party to. Had she done so, like all those other jurisdictions, Florida would have its share of millions of dollars to help combat underage use and develop cessation programs. Instead, the Florida attorney general has now embarked on a drawn-out, expensive and uncertain legal process.”
“Second,” the response continued, “Florida today suffers from the highest sales in the nation of illicit and potentially harmful disposable products emanating from China. These products are not in compliance with the [U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s] regulatory regime and, in many cases, are flagrantly targeting the state’s children. By contrast, over the past four years, Juul Labs has taken meaningful steps, including ceasing distribution of nontobacco, nonmenthol products in advance of FDA guidance on flavors, halting mass market product advertising, and restructuring our entire company with an emphasis on combating underage use. In part, due to these efforts, we have seen underage use of Juul products cut by 95 percent.”
The response went on to allege that “Florida has the highest sales of these mostly foreign-made products in the United States, with over 60 percent of vapor sales dominated by disposables whose companies often disregard responsible practices with inappropriate flavor names and questionable marketing. Over the past months, we have been engaged with the attorney general’s office to help create a best-in-class program to combat illicit products. Even though Juul Labs plans to fight this case vigorously, the company remains ready to help Florida stem the tide of the proliferation of Chinese-made disposable products that have found what amounts to be a safe haven for foreign-made illegal vapor products.”
October 5, 2023
Center for Black Equity Calls for FDA Approval of Vapes

The Center for Black Equity (CBE) called on the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the Center for Tobacco Products to grant broad approval to a full range of nicotine e-cigarettes, also known as vapes, in a major step toward closing the significant harm reduction and health equity gaps perpetuated by current FDA tobacco policies, according to a press release. The approval of vaping products would benefit Black and LGBTQ+ populations disproportionately impacted by the negative health effects of smoking, including cancer, according to the CBE.
The CBE’s call for expansive regulatory approval of e-cigarettes, including flavored vaping products, comes as the CBE released an econometric report that, for the first time, quantifies the benefits of switching from smoking to vaping in terms of lives saved, GDP benefit and healthcare savings.
The report was authored by Robert J. Shapiro, former undersecretary of commerce for economic affairs and advisor to former President Clinton, former President Obama and President Biden. Shapiro’s report found that between 2010 and 2022, shifting from smoking to vaping saved 113,000 lives, preserved $137 billion in GDP and saved $39 billion in healthcare costs—and that the availability of e-cigarettes reduced the number of smokers in the U.S. by 6.1 million during that same period.
“Championing meaningful harm reduction initiatives for Black and LGBTQ+ communities has been an elusive but essential aspect of effective public health advocacy for decades,” said Earl Fowlkes, president and CEO of the CBE. “If the Biden administration and the FDA are serious about health equity and harm reduction, especially when it comes to the president’s Cancer Moonshot initiative, the science is clear: Broad approval of flavored vaping products will save Black and LGBTQ+ lives, reduce smoking and drive meaningful progress in lowering preventable cancer rates in the U.S., especially among the most vulnerable populations.”
The report also reviewed existing academic and medical literature on vaping versus smoking to examine and verify the substantial scientific evidence that e-cigarettes have a drastically lower risk profile than cigarettes and can help individuals successfully reduce smoking or quit altogether.
“The single most effective way to help people stop smoking, which kills 480,000 people per year, is to encourage them to switch to vaping, which kills no people per year,” said Shapiro.
“The Center for Tobacco Products needs to be honest with American smokers—especially those in Black and LGBTQ+ communities who smoke at disproportionately higher rates—and proactively convey the substantial health benefits of shifting from smoking to vaping,” Shapiro said. “Future FDA policy on tobacco and nicotine products should draw on the well-established scientific evidence regarding the relative risks of e-cigarettes versus cigarettes and the utility of people using vaping to stop or reduce their smoking.”
The report also squarely examined the primary concern of critics of e-cigarettes, the supposed “youth vaping epidemic,” to which formal FDA approval of vaping products would allegedly contribute. “The supposed ‘youth vaping crisis’ narrative that has existed for some time in the media and, curiously, in public health conversations at the FDA is unfounded,” Shapiro continued. “The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s own data show that adolescent vaping has declined substantially in recent years—receding to 2014 levels, well below the 2019 peak—and that most young people who vape do so on an irregular or occasional basis without becoming dependent on nicotine.”
“The FDA and the Center for Tobacco Products have an obligation to follow the science, support harm reduction and health equity, and advance—rather than stall—President Biden’s Cancer Moonshot,” concluded Fowlkes. “The FDA must acknowledge the evidence-based benefits of switching from smoking to vaping and aggressively educate Black, LGBTQ+ and other smokers about those benefits. Failure to approve a wide range of vaping products is an abdication by the FDA of its public health responsibility to Black and LGBTQ+ individuals across the country who desperately want to access a way to quit smoking that actually works.”
October 5, 2023