David Palacios Rubio, Author at ECigIntelligence

A very special relationship: US and EU
discuss co-operation in regulation

Written by David Palacios Rubio || 27th June 2018 || News analysis |

US and European Union officials have held high-level talks in Brussels on possible future co-operation over the regulation of nicotine-containing products and “a wide range of tobacco-related topics” ...

Israel to crack down on Juul before general e-cigarette regulation

Written by David Palacios Rubio || 11th June 2018 || News analysis |

A few weeks after the launch of the Juul vaping device on the Israeli market, the Ministry of Health has announced restrictive measures against its sale, claiming it contains too much nicotine ...

Russian ministries disagree over planned e-cig legislation

Written by David Palacios Rubio || 8th June 2018 || News analysis |

A draft bill to regulate the use of nicotine-containing e-cigarettesin Russia has received the approval of the Ministry of Economic Development – but the Ministry of Health considers the proposal “a conflict of laws” ...

Netherlands pulls out of international e-cig and tobacco committees

Written by David Palacios Rubio || 6th June 2018 || News analysis |

The Netherlands is pulling out of a number of international e-cigarette and tobacco committees, blaming industry interference, but will carry on with regulation of heated tobacco and nicotine-free e-cigs ...

Industry fears over possible European tax on vaping products

Written by David Palacios Rubio || 25th May 2018 || News analysis |

Concern over a future European tax on e-cigarettes is sure to rise following the launch of a second consultation on the subject by European Union (EU) authorities....

Imperial planning further pushes ahead into smokeless market

Written by David Palacios Rubio || 21st May 2018 || News analysis |

Imperial Brands will focus on its next generation portfolio and expand its e-cigarette Myblu into new markets in order to give itself a better alternative to traditional tobacco products ...

PMI: ‘no ceiling in sight for heated tobacco products’

Written by David Palacios Rubio || 18th May 2018 || News analysis |

Philip Morris International expects its reduced-risk portfolio and continued good performance in Asian countries to continue to drive growth and aims to have at least 30% of its shipment volume to consist of new tobacco products by...

PMI and Altria report cigarettes down, HnB and vapour up

Written by David Palacios Rubio || 2nd May 2018 || News analysis |

While sales of traditional cigarettes continue to decline worldwide, PMI is increasingly relying on its heated-tobacco device IQOS to buoy up its financial results, particularly through sales in Japan and Korea ...

E-cigarettes without nicotine ‘not legal’ in Greece

Written by David Palacios Rubio || 27th April 2018 || News analysis |

The Greek Ministry of Health recently published a statement on its website that electronic cigarettes without nicotine are not legal in the country “in accordance with national and European...

Vaping up, smoking down, as Iceland prepares new rules on e-cigarettes

Written by David Palacios Rubio || 17th April 2018 || News analysis |

A national survey of alcohol and tobacco use found that cigarette smoking in Iceland is decreasing, while vaping increased by a third – from 6% to 8% of the adult population – between 2016 and 2017 ...

Montenegro follows TPD as it prepares to regulate e-cigs for the first time

Written by David Palacios Rubio || 5th April 2018 || News analysis |

Montenegro’s health ministry has drafted a TPD-style proposal that will regulate nicotine vaping products in the country for the first time as it prepares to join the European Union in 2025 ...

Italian stores will have to show vaping turnover in order to get a licence

Written by David Palacios Rubio || 28th March 2018 || News analysis |

The Italian Customs and Monopoly Agency (AAMS) has issued a decree preventing anyone except licensed vape stores, pharmacies and parapharmacies from retailing e-liquids. It sets a new “prevalence criterion” to determine which shops qualify ...

Cigarette production ends as PMI turns Greek plant over to HnB consumables

Written by David Palacios Rubio || 26th March 2018 || News analysis |

Philip Morris International has ceased production of traditional cigarettes at its Papastratos factory in the Athens suburb of Aspropyrgos in Greece, which will now manufacture only Heets, the tobacco sticks for IQOS ...

Change afoot in Russia as Moscow puts forward plan for national regulation

Written by David Palacios Rubio || 22nd March 2018 || Regulatory reports , Topic regulatory reports |

E-cigarettes and heated tobacco are currently subject to very little regulation in Russia – but that could be about to change, with proposals coming from both the federal trade ministry and the Moscow City Duma ...

Belgium’s top judges reject bid to overturn online sales ban

Written by David Palacios Rubio || 19th March 2018 || News analysis |

In a ruling that will disappoint many in Belgium’s vaping industry, the country’s highest administrative court has refused a request to overturn a ban on online sales of e-cigarette products ...

The good, the bad and the unsure: Europe divided over health benefits of e-cigs

Written by David Palacios Rubio || 15th March 2018 || News analysis |

While the Tobacco Products Directive (TPD) provides a common regulatory framework for e-cigarettes across the European Union, the attitude of public health authorities still varies widely from one country to another ...

Vaping industry hopeful of a fresh start as Italy changes government

Written by David Palacios Rubio || 9th March 2018 || News analysis |

A new coalition government in Italy has been welcomed as a likely positive change for an e-cigarette industry that has been under great pressure under the country’s outgoing regime ...

Brussels consults again on plans for a European e-cig and HnB tax

Written by David Palacios Rubio || 7th March 2018 || News analysis |

A new public consultation by the tax authorities in Brussels aims to help set a standard excise duty for e-cigarettes and heated tobacco products at European level ...

French vape store chain Clopinette set for major expansion

Written by David Palacios Rubio || 5th March 2018 || News analysis |

Major French vape store chain Clopinette is planning to open 30 new stores around the country by the end of 2018, spreading its reach deeper into the south of the country ...

IQOS/Ferrari F1 partnership is confirmed – but no logo yet in view

Written by David Palacios Rubio || 27th February 2018 || Marketing & retailing |

PMI and the Ferrari Formula 1 team have confirmed their partnership for the 2018 Grand Prix season, but the IQOS logo has not yet appeared on the Italian team’s new car ...

French tobacconists turn to e-cigs as combustible sales plummet

Written by David Palacios Rubio || 22nd February 2018 || Marketing & retailing |

French tobacconists are looking to e-cigarettes to save businesses suffering from a contracting market in traditional tobacco ...

As cigarette sales fall, PMI and JT plan further HnB investment

Written by David Palacios Rubio || 16th February 2018 || News analysis |

As tobacco giants Philip Morris International (PMI) and Japan Tobacco (JT) have been hit by falling tobacco sales, revenues from their e-cigarette and heat-not-burn (HnB) portfolios have increased. As they plan further investments to increase their market presence,...

Italian tax authorities use ‘excessive’ power in clampdown on e-liquid tax avoidance

Written by David Palacios Rubio || 9th February 2018 || News analysis |

Italian vape organisations have accused the tax authorities of an “excessive” use of power in their enforcement of the tax on e-liquid ...

Spanish health authorities investigate IQOS online ad campaign

Written by David Palacios Rubio || 5th February 2018 || Marketing & retailing , News analysis |

Authorities in the Catalonia region of Spain are investigating whether PMI broke Spanish law with a series of online banner advertisements for its IQOS heated tobacco system ...

Belgium bans vaping by prisoners ‘for security reasons’

Written by David Palacios Rubio || 1st February 2018 || News analysis |

Prisoners in Belgium have been banned “for security reasons” from using e-cigarettes, in a move that could influence authorities in other countries ...

Innocigs replaces eGo model after German child-proofing problem

Written by David Palacios Rubio || 26th January 2018 || News analysis |

E-cigarette sellers in the EU should put pressure on their Chinese suppliers to improve child-proofing, according to a company which has recently withdrawn one of its products from...

IQOS could hit the motorsport trail in tie-ups with Ferrari and Ducati

Written by David Palacios Rubio || 25th January 2018 || News analysis |

Philip Morris International is strongly rumoured to be preparing sponsorship deals with Ferrari and Ducati to promote its IQOS heated-tobacco brand on the world motor-racing circuits of Formula 1 and MotoGP ...

EU’s safety agency gets on board with guidelines for lithium batteries

Written by David Palacios Rubio || 19th January 2018 || News analysis |

As the debate on the safety of lithium batteries continues, the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) has published guidelines and recommendations about the carriage of e-cig batteries on flights. The agency of the European Union with regulatory and executive...

Israel set to tackle e-cig regulation with a clampdown on advertising

Written by David Palacios Rubio || 15th January 2018 || News analysis |

Israel is in the process of taking a new approach to the advertising of new tobacco-related products, with a likely ban on all advertising of e-cigarettes and heated tobacco products anywhere but in print and at retail locations...

Brussels postpones tax decision on e-cigarettes and heated tobacco

Written by David Palacios Rubio || 12th January 2018 || News analysis |

The European Commission has said it will review the future tax situation of e-cigarettes and heated-tobacco products in 2019, and will not propose a revision of the Directive 2011/64/EU on excise duty applied to manufactured tobacco now ...

Baltic states agree to join forces in opposition to e-cigarette use

Written by David Palacios Rubio || 8th January 2018 || News analysis |

Health ministers of Europe’s Baltic states Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia have signed a joint memorandum of intent to share “strong policies” on e-cigarette trade and usage ...

European governments seeking different answers to the taxing question of e-cigs

Written by David Palacios Rubio || 21st December 2017 || Regulatory reports , Topic regulatory reports |

While the approval by Poland’s parliament of a tax on e-liquids causes consternation, much of Europe is in a state of indecision over the taxation of vaping products ...

Poland’s resisted e-liquid tax goes ahead, with approval of parliament

Written by David Palacios Rubio || 21st December 2017 || News analysis |

Poland’s parliament, the Sejm, has confirmed a tax on e-liquids – at a level below the finance ministry’s original proposal but still considerably higher than the vaping industry in the country had hoped ...

Calls for legal clarity in Tunisia as customs seize €100k of vaping goods

Written by David Palacios Rubio || 19th December 2017 || News analysis |

Tunisian customs officers have confiscated vaping material – including e-cigarette devices, accessories, bases and aromas – that were intended to be sold in some of the country’s 30 vape stores ...

Switzerland tries again with fresh proposal to regulate e-cigs and HnB

Written by David Palacios Rubio || 14th December 2017 || News analysis |

The Swiss Federal Council has put forward a second draft of its proposed Tobacco Act, which aims specifically to regulate e-cigarettes and heat-not-burn (HnB) devices ...

Switzerland set for another step on the slow road to legal nicotine e-cigs

Written by David Palacios Rubio || 6th December 2017 || News analysis |

Switzerland is about to take another step on the road towards legalising nicotine e-cigs – but it’s a long, slow road that could lead to tough regulation ...

Heated tobacco on the agenda as European Commission mulls next TPD

Written by David Palacios Rubio || 2nd December 2017 || News analysis |

Tighter regulation “is on the way” for e-cigs, according to the European Commission’s commissioner for health and food safety, Vytenis Andriukaitis, who sees “possibilities” for “stronger regulation” to “stop advertising and online sales” ...

Sweden heads for restrictions on public vaping in line with smoking ban

Written by David Palacios Rubio || 29th November 2017 || News analysis |

Sweden is to join its Scandinavian neighbours Finland and Denmark in adding vaping to its ban on smoking in a variety of public places. The country is also preparing to tax e-liquids, with or without nicotine ...

EU-wide tax on e-cigs remains on back burner as report is delayed

Written by David Palacios Rubio || 27th November 2017 || News analysis |

The European Commission is considering whether to propose an EU-wide tax on e-cigarettes and heated tobacco products, but may choose not to do so for now, following a public consultation ...

European Commission overwhelmed by number of e-cig product notifications

Written by David Palacios Rubio || 23rd November 2017 || Regulatory reports , Topic regulatory reports |

Nearly 150,000 e-cigarette products have been notified to authorities in EU countries since the transposition of the Tobacco Products Directive (TPD) in member states – far more than officials expected ...

Spain moves to ban cross-border sale of nicotine products and limit e-cig ads

Written by David Palacios Rubio || 20th November 2017 || News analysis |

Spain has taken a crucial step towards banning cross-border sales of nicotine-containing products, including e-cigarettes, and imposing a number of other new marketing restrictions ...

The way ahead: Big Tobacco looks to a smoke-free next generation

Written by David Palacios Rubio || 20th November 2017 || News analysis |

Big Tobacco is moving towards a smoke-free future, with all the leading companies indicating a focus in 2018 on next generation products, whether e-cigarettes or heated tobacco products ...

Italy’s Constitutional Court rules that it’s OK after all to tax nicotine-free e-liquid

Written by David Palacios Rubio || 16th November 2017 || News analysis |

The Italian Constitutional Court in Rome has ruled that taxing non-nicotine e-liquids is legitimate, ending a temporary suspension imposed in 2015 by a lower court ...

Web traffic shows global interest in HnB since Big Tobacco product launches

Written by David Palacios Rubio || 10th November 2017 || Marketing & retailing |

A new market report from ECigIntelligence reveals the growth in global internet traffic to heated tobacco websites since the launch of heat-not-burn products by some Big Tobacco companies ...

German TV channel deletes programme after linking vaping with drugs

Written by David Palacios Rubio || 9th November 2017 || Marketing & retailing |

A German TV station has deleted an episode of a popular series from its website because it inadvertently used the name of a real e-liquid company in a storyline involving the vaping of drugs ...

The Arabian Gulf and Maghreb – widely separated on e-cig regulation

Written by David Palacios Rubio || 8th November 2017 || News analysis |

There are enormous differences between the so-called Arab nations of the Gulf and the Maghreb – not least in their very different approaches to e-cigs and their users ...

Russia’s five-year plan to come down hard on tobacco and e-cigs

Written by David Palacios Rubio || 2nd November 2017 || News analysis |

The Russian health ministry’s new five-year plan to reduce tobacco consumption includes a “continuous increase” of excise duties on tobacco-related products, including e-cigarettes ...

Vaping continues to grow in Belgium, where one in seven have tried it

Written by David Palacios Rubio || 2nd November 2017 || News analysis |

A survey of Belgian smoking and vaping habits shows 14% of the country’s population have tried e-cigs, and 3% vape at least once a week ...

Poland considering lower e-liquid tax proposal

Written by David Palacios Rubio || 24th October 2017 || News analysis |

A proposed lower tax rate for e-liquids is not getting a positive reception among Poland's e-cig industry, with manufacturers continuing to claim that if the proposal is passed it will destroy the vaping...

Glo ‘could transform’ tobacco consumption in Russia, says BAT

Written by David Palacios Rubio || 23rd October 2017 || News analysis |

British American Tobacco (BAT) has announced the launch of its Glo heat-not-burn (HnB) device in Russia, where the device can be bought online and Neosticks consumables will be available in branded stores ...

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