As of February 2022, subscribers can view and filter individual regulatory alerts per region. If you want to get our monthly compilations, visit our alerts round-up section.
US - Federal: The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has denied RJ Reynolds Vapor Company permission to continue selling two menthol e-cigarette products in the US. The agency issued marketing denial orders (MDOs) today against the Vuse Vibe Tank Menthol 3.0% and the Vuse Ciro Cartridge Menthol 1.5%. Brian King, director of the FDA’s Center for Tobacco Products (CTP), said: “The applications for these products did not present sufficient scientific evidence to show that the potential benefit to adult smokers outweighs the risks of youth initiation and use.”
US - general: A US district judge has granted Juul Labs preliminary court approval of a $255m settlement resolving claims by consumers that it deceptively marketed e-cigarettes, Reuters reports. Judge William Orrick said the deal to settle almost 10,000 lawsuits filed by local governments across the US seemed “fair and reasonable.” He must still give final approval to the deal.
Tunisia: E-cigarette importers and manufacturers have until 13th December to place a health warning on their products. Last year, the health ministry imposed health warnings covering 70% of the packaging, with an original deadline of 21st January 2023. Since 2014, e-cigarettes are treated as a tobacco product and subject to the monopoly of the National Administration of Tobacco and Matches.
US - Oregon: House Bill 3090 has been introduced, which would ban the sale of flavoured “tobacco products”, including e-cigarettes, containing either natural or synthetic nicotine.
UK - Scotland: The Scottish government has commissioned an urgent evidence review on the environmental impact of disposable e-cigarettes, which could lead to a ban. Other approaches to be considered may include increasing access to responsible disposal options, improved product design, or public communications campaigns. Circular economy minister Lorna Slater said: “Not only are single-use vapes bad for public health, they are also bad for the environment.” The review will influence the new tobacco action plan, which is due in the autumn.
Lithuania: The Consumer Rights Protection Service has imposed fines of €1,600 and €750 on two e-cigarette distributors for failing to specify all the chemical substances contained in their e-cig products.
UK: More than 60% of Trading Standards officers say their biggest worry is shops selling illicit e-cigarettes or selling vaping products to children, according to research by the Chartered Trading Standards Institute (CTSI). The CTSI says there has been a surge in illegal sales of e-cigs by specialist vape shops, convenience stores and corner shops over the past year, with more than 1.4 tonnes of illegal vapes seized in the last six months of 2022 in the northeast of England alone.
US - New York: Senate Bill S2133 has been introduced. It would ban the sale of e-cigarettes that contain certain toxic metals, and require the state Department of Health to study the long-term health effects of vaping.
Italy: Health minister Orazio Schillaci told a meeting of the Chamber of Deputies Social Affairs Committee that he intends to update the anti-smoking law by extending the smoking ban to public places frequented by children and pregnant women, eliminating smoking rooms in public places, and equating vaping with smoking. A bill to that effect may be introduced in Parliament soon.
UK: Asked about the implementation of further tobacco harm reduction strategies, junior health minister Neil O’Brien said yesterday the government currently had no such plans.
Russia: Vyacheslav Volodin, chairman of the State Duma, parliament’s lower chamber, today reportedly instructed the relevant committees to study the possibility of a total ban on e-cigarettes and to put forward proposals on the issue. Meanwhile, the Duma fully adopted the government’s plan to scrap the tax on e-cigarette devices while raising the excise tax on e-liquids from RUB18 (€0.24) per ml to RUB20 (€0.27) per ml on 1st March, with further rises in 2024 and 2025. The proposal still has to pass the upper chamber and the Federation Council, and be signed by president Vladimir Putin.
US - Hawaii: Senate Bill 148 has been introduced, which would prohibit the sale or furnishing of a tobacco product or e-cigarette to anyone born on or after 1st January 2003.
Australia: The Australian Heart Foundation has called for an import ban on e-cigarettes. In a submission to a public consultation by the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA), the foundation said that e-cigarettes, with or without nicotine, should be declared “prohibited imports”. It also said the TGA should ban all e-liquid flavours other than tobacco, reduce the nicotine concentration, and establish labelling and packaging requirements.
United Arab Emirates (UAE): The Ministry of Industry and Advanced Technology has told ECigIntelligence that a new fee is now being charged to issue the conformity certificates for regulated products. The fee is AED670 ($182) for the certificate and AED620 ($169) for the technical review of documents. It now takes one and a half working days to resolve an application instead of three, and applications are submitted per model type or per stock keeping unit (SKU).