Tag: regulation

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.
July 30, 2024
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.
July 30, 2024
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.
July 30, 2024
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.”
July 29, 2024
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.
July 29, 2024
Vape Products Tied to Reduced Smoking Prevalence

Photo: Rain
A new analysis conducted on the latest available U.S. National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) data through 2022 showed that population-level data suggest that smoking prevalence has declined at an accelerated rate in the last decade in ways correlated with increased uptake of e-cigarette use.
Since their market introduction, the question of whether combustion-free products could be a useful tool in the fight against cigarette smoking or simply a substitute has divided the scientific community. Over the years, technological innovation and the development of various products on the market have modified the health risk parameters related to the use of these tools, creating the basis for a redefinition of public health policies.
To date, vaping is at the center of scientific debate: both for adult smokers who cannot quit and see these products as a way to reduce exposure to toxic substances released by cigarette smoke, and for the concern over use by at-risk groups, such as younger individuals. Many experts believe that vaping represents a gateway to smoking.
According to the Center of Excellence for the acceleration of Harm Reduction, evidence for the gateway effect has not been detected in population-level studies on the prevalence of e-cigarette use and smoking among young people; indeed, smoking prevalence remains at an all-time low among U.S. adolescents and young adults, despite increases in e-cigarette use.
The new analysis “Increased e-cigarette use prevalence is associated with decreased smoking prevalence among U.S. adults” published in the Harm Reduction Journal is an update on a previous analysis modeling population-level prevalence that assessed whether and how much the introduction of e-cigarettes in the U.S. may be correlated with declining smoking prevalence among populations of U.S. adults using the NHIS .
Results showed that population-level data continue to suggest that smoking prevalence has declined at an accelerated rate in the last decade in ways correlated with increased uptake of e-cigarette use.
“We found that as ecig use increases at the population level, smoking prevalence tends to decrease, which is what you’d expect to observe if e-cigarettes were used as an alternative to cigarette smoking in the real world” said Floe Foxon, Pinney Associates researcher and author of the analysis, in a statement
“We also found that this possible substitution between e-cigarette use and smoking was most pronounced in groups that used e-cigarettes the most, which again would be expected if e-cigarettes were being used instead of cigarettes. While it is important to note that the study does not infer causality and that these methods have limitations noted in the paper, they do appear to support a growing body of literature including other simulation studies, econometric research, and randomized controlled controls which suggest that e-cigarettes substitute for cigarettes among adults.”
July 26, 2024
BAT Chief Says US Needs Crackdown on Illegal Vapes

Credit: Iama Sing
A surge of illegal vaping products originating from China is negatively impacting the sales of legal alternatives to cigarettes in the U.S., according to the CEO of British American Tobacco.
Tadeu Marroco advocated for stricter penalties for individuals importing unauthorized vapes into the U.S. “What we are seeing with the lack of enforcement is a reduction of the legal market of vapor,” the CEO said.
BAT is one of the tobacco producers waiting for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s long-delayed completion of its review of marketing applications for vaping products. BAT is a major player in the vaping industry worldwide and in the U.S. with its Vuse brand.
The delay is leading manufacturers of illicit products to take advantage of the uncertainty by continuing to sell them, Marroco said. The FDA needs to “decide publicly what are the products that are allowed to stay in the market and the products that need to be taken out of the market,” he added, according to Bloomberg.
The FDA and the U.S. Department of Justice have formed a federal task force spanning multiple agencies to stop the distribution of illegal e-cigarettes. As of early June, the FDA had issued 1,100 warning letters to makers, importers and distributors of unauthorized new tobacco products, including e-cigarettes, and fined more than 55 manufacturers and 140 retailers.
BAT has launched two claims with the International Trade Commission, one related to patent infringement and another about the importation and marketing practices of illegal vapes.
The company reported first-half results earlier Thursday, in which it said it’s unlikely to hit a £5 billion ($6.4 billion) revenue target in 2025 for vapes, heated tobacco and nicotine pouches, blaming the lack of a U.S. clampdown on illicit products.
July 25, 2024
County in Oregon Pushing State to Ban Vape Flavors

Credit: Manuel Mata
Leaders of Deschutes County, Oregon, are asking the state Legislature to ban flavored tobacco products to protect kids from smoking or vaping. “Nine out of ten adults who smoke reported that they started smoking before the age of 18,” Deschutes County Tobacco Prevention Specialist Jasmine Gerraty told Commissioners Monday.
Commissioner Tony DeBone was the lone ‘No’ vote, saying he doesn’t believe the county has much authority on the matter: “There’s a lot of good information here. There’s a legislative choice at the Legislature.” In 2020 and ’23, with the commissioners’ approval, Deschutes County public health officials testified in Salem in support of statewide bans that later failed.
Commissioner Phil Chang read part of a proclamation he approved Monday, saying, “Whereas ‘Big tobacco’s’ use of candy flavors like bubblegum, blue raspberry, root beer and minty menthol have an increased likelihood of attracting new and existing consumers – especially students and other targeted groups – on the massive hits of nicotine their tobacco products can deliver.”
Commission Chair Patti Adair also approved of the proclamation, reading in part, “Be it resolved that Deschutes County strongly encourages the Oregon Legislature to pass legislation ending the sale of flavored tobacco products. This action is necessary to protect our children, students and other targeted groups from starting or continuing the use of candy-flavored and minty-menthol tobacco products.”
July 23, 2024
Vapes, Modern Oral Product Sales Boost PMI Income

Photo: PMI
Philip Morris International’s operating income jumped 34.2 percent to $3.44 billion for the quarter that ended June 30. On an adjusted basis, operating income rose 3.5 percent to $3.66 billion. Net revenues were $9.47 billion, compared with $8.97 billion in the comparable 2023 quarter.
During the quarter, PMI shipped 157.6 billion cigarettes, 35.5 billion heated tobacco units and 4.2 billion oral smoke-free products, a category that excludes snuff, snuff leaf and U.S. chewing tobacco.
The smoke-free business accounted for 38.1 percent of PMI’s total quarterly revenues, up 2.7 percentage points from the comparable 2023 period. Oral smoke free products experienced the largest volume gains, growing by 20 percent from second quarter last year.
This growth was driven by primarily the popularity of Zyn nicotine pouches in the U.S., where shipments reached 135.1 million cans, representing growth of 50.3 percent versus the prior-year quarter. The company expect Zyn sales to reach 580 million cans in 2024.
Scrambling to fulfill ferocious U.S. demand for Zyn, PMI recently announced a $600 million investment in a new nicotine pouch factory in Aurora, Colorado.
Quarterly heated tobacco product sales were strong in Japan, following an expansion of the IQOS product range, as well as Greece, Hungary and Spain. In Japan, Philip Morris grew its market share for heated tobacco by more than 3 percentage points to more than 29 percent.
The company will begin a trial of IQOS in Austin, Texas, USA, in the fourth quarter of this year, according to Chief Financial Officer Emmanuel Babeau.
“The excellent momentum of our smoke-free business continued with an outstanding second-quarter and first-half performance,” said PMI CEO Jacek Olczak in a statement.
“The powerful combination of excellent underlying performance and proactive measures across all categories enabled our business to outperform once again, and we are on track for a strong 2024. As a result, we are raising our full-year guidance, despite currency headwinds.”
July 23, 2024
Missouri Boosts Legal Levels of Vitamin E Acetate

Credit: Sean Pavone Photo
Missouri regulators have raised the allowable limit for vitamin E acetate in regulated marijuana products from 0.2 parts per million to 5 parts per million, sparking concern from stakeholders, including the state’s chapter of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML).
Previous regulations required vitamin E acetate testing for cannabis concentrates and inhalables, but the updated rule applies to concentrates, infused plant material, pre-rolls and vapes, according to media reports.
Vaping industry operators might remember vitamin E acetate as having caused the EVALI (e-cigarette or vaping use-associated lung injury) crisis of 2019-20, when nearly 70 people died and more than 2,500 vape consumers were hospitalized for a mystery lung illness eventually tied to the chemical, which some product manufacturers used as a thickening agent for vape oil.
After medical professionals sounded the alarm in 2019 about patients becoming gravely ill from vaping, it took months before scientists were able to identify the culprit.
According to Kansas City TV station KCTV, the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services’ rules for licensed marijuana operators took effect March 1 and allow 25 times more vitamin E acetate in finished marijuana products, including vapes.
Missouri NORML Coordinator Dan Viets told KCTV that “there appears to be no rational explanation for why the state of Missouri would dramatically increase the amount of a very toxic substance in legal cannabis products when none of it whatsoever should be present in them.”
The health agency wrote in a letter to state marijuana business license holders that the Missouri Division of Cannabis Regulation “determined the good cause for granting this variance is that it provides accurate standardization of the method reference material for testing licensees, reduces the risks for false failures, and to ensure Vitamin E Acetate is not added to marijuana product.”
July 21, 2024