Author: David Palacios Rubio
Ireland and the Isle of Man to join UK in bringing e-cigs into prisons
Written by David Palacios Rubio || 21st March 2017 || Regulatory briefing |
Ireland and the Isle of Man hope to cut down on prison violence – and the smoking of nicotine patches and tea-bags by inmates – by following the UK in allowing vaping in...
Hungary adopts TPD, but its regime remains the toughest in Europe
Written by David Palacios Rubio || 15th March 2017 || Regulatory briefing |
Hungary has implemented the European TPD, finally opening up its market to nicotine e-cigarettes – but its regulatory regime remains the most severe in...
Higher taxes ‘would force vapers back to tobacco’, users tell Europe
Written by David Palacios Rubio || 15th March 2017 || Regulatory briefing |
Raising taxes on e-cigarette products would cause an increase in cross-border sales and lead to some users taking up smoking again, users told a European consultation on excise...
German court rules against French exporters for TPD non-compliance
Written by David Palacios Rubio || 8th March 2017 || Regulatory briefing |
A German court has ordered three French companies to stop selling e-cigarette products that do not conform with packaging...
Drug policy reformer Nadelmann to address Global Forum on Nicotine
Written by David Palacios Rubio || 6th March 2017 || Business briefing |
Ethan Nadelmann, widely regarded as the outstanding U.S. proponent of drug policy reform around the world, is to share his views on the links between policy and harm reduction at this summer’s Global Forum on Nicotine (GFN)....
French e-cig retailer is Europe’s second fastest-growing company
Written by David Palacios Rubio || 6th March 2017 || Business briefing |
French retailer Le Petit Vapoteur has taken second place in a list of Europe's 5000 fastest-growing private companies, demonstrating the potential for spectacular success in a market threatened by newly imposed...
European e-cig product notifications expected to top 140,000
Written by David Palacios Rubio || 27th February 2017 || Regulatory reports |
Europe’s e-cigarette manufacturers and importers had submitted more than 70,000 individual products to the European Union Common Entry Gate (EU-CEG) by the end of 2016 – and that number is expected to have rapidly...
Bulgaria responds to the freedom to vape where smoking’s banned
Written by David Palacios Rubio || 27th February 2017 || Regulatory briefing |
Bulgarians have taken up vaping enthusiastically - and their chief reason for doing so is the freedom to vape indoors and in public places where smoking is...
French doctors offered advice on when to recommend e-cigs
Written by David Palacios Rubio || 22nd February 2017 || Regulatory briefing |
French doctors, officially barred from giving advice on vaping, have been offered a set of recommendations on how to answer patients' questions about e-cigarettes - and which groups of patients they can be most useful...
Czech Republic TPD implementation leaves a few uncertainties
Written by David Palacios Rubio || 20th February 2017 || Regulatory briefing |
The European Union’s Tobacco Products Directive (TPD) has been transposed into Czech law – but some issues, including the vital one of notification deadlines, remain...
Greece introduces new regulation while vaping market booms
Written by David Palacios Rubio || 15th February 2017 || Regulatory briefing |
While Greece experiences a boom in its e-cigarette market, the transposition of the European TPD means a new set of regulations for the...
Can e-cigs pay government dividends in the battle against smoking?
Written by David Palacios Rubio || 10th February 2017 || Regulatory briefing |
How effective – and in particular how cost-effective – can e-cigarettes be at a national level in the battle against smoking? These are questions governments and researchers are starting to take...
Four to go as Sweden announces draft bill to transpose TPD
Written by David Palacios Rubio || 9th February 2017 || Regulatory briefing |
Sweden, one of the last five countries to transpose Article 20 of the European Union's Tobacco Products Directive (TPD), has announced draft legislation to bring the country into line with the rest of the EU on...
New York governor proposes 10¢ per ml e-liquid tax ‘for public health’
Written by David Palacios Rubio || 31st January 2017 || Regulatory briefing |
New York state governor Andrew Cuomo has proposed a 10 cents per ml tax on all e-liquids, with or without nicotine....
Threatened vape stores play wait-and-see on Russia’s new taxes
Written by David Palacios Rubio || 31st January 2017 || Regulatory briefing |
Vape stores in Russia appear to be playing a waiting game on new e-cigarette taxes that officially came into force on 1st January – while the national consumer protection agency is calling for further regulation and...
European court will consider challenge to EU snus ban
Written by David Palacios Rubio || 27th January 2017 || Regulatory briefing |
A challenge to the UK’s snus ban has been sent to the European Court of Justice (ECJ) in Luxembourg, where judges could decide to overturn the entire EU’s prohibition on the powdered tobacco...
NNA joins UK High Court bid to overturn European snus ban
Written by David Palacios Rubio || 25th January 2017 || Regulatory briefing |
The New Nicotine Alliance is to join an attempt by manufacturer Swedish Match to overturn the UK’s snus ban. If successful, the bid could lead to the smokeless tobacco product being legalised throughout the...
Whose WHO? Tobacco low on priority list for top job contenders
Written by David Palacios Rubio || 20th January 2017 || Regulatory briefing |
Tobacco regulation is not a stated priority for five of the six candidates who have been put forward to succeed Margaret Chan as director general of the World Health Organization...
Portugal halves e-liquid tax rate blamed for vape store closures
Written by David Palacios Rubio || 13th January 2017 || Regulatory briefing |
Portugal looks set to cut the tax on nicotine e-liquids by 50%, from €0.60/ml ($0.70) to €0.30/ml ($0.35) in its budget for 2017. The country currently has the highest rate of tax on e-juices of all the European member...
Leading U.S. websites stay in front despite slowing of traffic
Written by David Palacios Rubio || 12th January 2017 || Business briefing |
Convenience and lower prices make the internet one of the most important distribution channels for e-cigarettes in the U.S., according to a new ECigIntelligence market...
Countering the counterfeiters as online sales provide market for fakes
Written by David Palacios Rubio || 6th January 2017 || Business briefing |
E-cigarette manufacturers are keeping their eyes open for fakes as the popularity of online marketing makes them a prime target for...
Malta lays down the law: no vaping in cars carrying under-16s
Written by David Palacios Rubio || 5th January 2017 || Regulatory briefing |
The smallest country in the European Union has taken a lead in attempting to clear up a common ambiguity in e-cigarette regulation by making it specific that a law against smoking in cars when a child is present...
Taiwan braced for legal U-turn on nicotine vs non-nicotine
Written by David Palacios Rubio || 20th December 2016 || Regulatory briefing |
The legal status of e-cig products could be set for a radical overhaul in Taiwan, with nicotine-containing products becoming legal while nicotine-free products, currently widely available, are brought under pharmaceutical...
Heart and lung trial will help doctors understand e-cig effects
Written by David Palacios Rubio || 20th December 2016 || Regulatory briefing |
While few European medical bodies have provided guidance on e-cigarettes for general practitioners, the British Heart Foundation is hoping to fill that gap in the UK through a new...
Study calls for smokers to be moved toward e-cigs and smokeless tobacco
Written by David Palacios Rubio || 17th December 2016 || Business briefing |
A new study claims there is no evidence that nicotine “causes or promotes” cancer and calls for health authorities to try and move smokers towards less harmful nicotine delivery products as quickly as...
Offline sales lead the way in Russia, but online market is growing
Written by David Palacios Rubio || 17th December 2016 || Business briefing |
Online and offline channels are of almost equal importance in generating sales for the e-cigarette market in Russia, the latest ECigIntelligence market report has found....
France reduces TPD notification fees and relaxes calendar
Written by David Palacios Rubio || 17th December 2016 || Regulatory briefing |
France says it has reduced manufacturers’ notification costs for new vaping products. Manufacturers will now need to pay just €295, instead of the €550 that was set when the country transposed the TPD in...
Vaping products under new classification in Belgium
Written by David Palacios Rubio || 8th December 2016 || Business briefing |
A few months after being suspended, a Royal Decree published on 28th October 2016 has finally transposed the European Tobacco Products Directive (TPD) – but with a very important change in the classification of vaping products in Belgium....
London launch of iQOS is another step towards a smokeless future
Written by David Palacios Rubio || 6th December 2016 || Business briefing |
Philip Morris International (PMI) this week launched its heated tobacco device iQOS in the UK, claiming: “We certainly see a future where Philip Morris no longer will be selling...
European Commission seeks views on harmonising e-cig taxes
Written by David Palacios Rubio || 29th November 2016 || Regulatory briefing |
The European Commission is gathering views on the taxing of e-cigarettes, as it continues to ponder the implications of differing tax rates across the...
Australia urged to consider permitting nicotine e-liquids
Written by David Palacios Rubio || 29th November 2016 || Regulatory briefing |
Next year could mark a breakthrough for the Australian e-cigarette market, with a decision due on whether or not low-nicotine e-cigarettes are to be...
Enthusiast users are mostly satisfied with their e-cigs, survey finds
Written by David Palacios Rubio || 28th November 2016 || Business briefing |
The most advanced vapers in both Europe and the U.S. tend to prefer lower nicotine strength in their e-liquid, according to a recent ECigIntelligence survey of hobbyist-type...
Hungary moves to ban flavoured e-liquids, but Greece denies plans
Written by David Palacios Rubio || 24th November 2016 || Regulatory briefing |
With flavoured e-liquids continuing to be targeted by those campaigning against e-cigarettes, Hungary has moved to ban all flavouring additives in e-liquids as part of their implementation of the EU's Tobacco Products...
UK asks EU to clarify TPD rules on maximum tank size
Written by David Palacios Rubio || 24th November 2016 || Regulatory briefing |
The UK's Department of Health has asked the European Commission to “provide its interpretation” of the Tobacco Products Directive (TPD) with respects to the 2ml limits on e-cigarette...
New Royal Decree will overhaul regulation of e-cigs in Belgium
Written by David Palacios Rubio || 24th November 2016 || Regulatory briefing |
A newly-issued Royal Decree will regulate the market for e-cigarettes in Belgium and introduce some substantial changes from the early 2016 decree, which was suspended in March. One of the main points of this new document published in the Belgian official journal...
Notifications accelerate as TPD deadline approaches fast
Written by David Palacios Rubio || 17th November 2016 || Regulatory briefing |
Regulatory authorities across Europe are experiencing a rush of notifications as the TPD November 20th 2016 deadline...WHO continues focusing on risk, suggests stringent regulation
Written by David Palacios Rubio || 17th November 2016 || Regulatory briefing |
The World Health Organization has recommended wide-ranging restrictions on the sale and promotion of electronic cigarettes, even suggesting countries should consider a total ban – and immediately come under fire for doing...
UK local governments force e-cig users to vape in smoking areas
Written by David Palacios Rubio || 16th November 2016 || Regulatory briefing |
Local councils in the UK are flouting government advice by forcing e-cigarette users to vape in designated smoking areas. A request under Freedom of Information law found 87% of councils make no distinction between vaping and...
Even “never-smoking” U.S. vapers mostly used nicotine products
Written by David Palacios Rubio || 15th November 2016 || Regulatory briefing |
Even the tiny proportion of e-cig users who have never been smokers have mostly used other nicotine products, according to a study of U.S. vapers....