LATEST ALERTSUS - Federal: Brian King, the new director of the US Food and Drug Administration’s Center for Tobacco Products (CTP) said in an interview that his priorities include reaching populations that have been affected by tobacco, informing young people about the dangers of vaping, and making policies, such as flavour restrictions. He said: “The menthol and cigar flavors rulemakings, as well as work related to making cigarettes minimally or non-addictive, are just a few examples of our ongoing work toward meaningful change to achieve health equity”.
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16th September 2022 - Asia, Philippines |
Philippines: Member of the House of Representatives Joey Salceda is seeking stricter enforcement of the Vaping Regulation Law. He says that in practice vape products are being wrongfully categorised on some online platforms as “toys” or “electronics”, therefore avoiding paying a tax of PHP47 ($0.82) per ml. Salceda also urged the Bureau of Internal Revenue to draft regulations to fight counterfeits and ensure taxes are being imposed on those products.
Germany: The Federal Association of German Waste has called for a ban on disposable e-cigarettes, press reports. According to the chief executive of the association, Peter Kurth, those products are almost never disposed of in proper recycling centres and “the incorrect use of raw materials in disposable e-cigarettes must therefore come to an end immediately”.
16th September 2022 - Europe |
EU: The European Commission has recently published the tentative agenda for forthcoming Commission meetings, which includes the list of items that will be discussed. The revision of the tobacco taxation Directive is among the items to be discussed through an oral procedure, a discussion that is expected to take place on 7th December 2022. The revision seeks to harmonise the taxation of new products, such as e-cigs.
France: Deputy Hubert Wulfranc of the Democratic and Republican Left has submitted a parliamentary question asking whether the minister for ecological transition is considering banning disposable e-cigarettes. Wulfranc describes disposables as “an ecological aberration” and says they are accessible to minors through the major online e-commerce platforms.
Sweden: Social Democrat prime minister Magdalena Andersson resigned today, conceding victory in the country’s general election to the four-party right-wing opposition bloc, led by Ulf Kristersson of the conservative Moderates. While tobacco control policies were not central to the campaign, the right-wing parties have opposed Social Democratic policies and in May voted against the proposal to ban flavoured vapour products. The far-right Sweden Democrats wish to lift the EU ban on snus, claiming Sweden has the lowest rate of tobacco-related deaths; their possible coalition partners the Christian Democrats propose an increase in excise duty on tobacco products; and the centre-right Liberals’ manifesto focuses on the introduction of more prevention and awareness campaigns.
15th September 2022 - North America, United States |
US - federal: The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued new warning letters to manufacturers and distributors of e-liquid products that are “new tobacco products” without the required FDA marketing authorisation.
Hungary: Following an investigation into two Slovak companies selling Elf Bars online, the Hungarian Competition Authority (GVH) has ordered the temporary shutdown of two Hungarian-language websites “to ensure that the businesses’ – presumably illegal – commercial practices cannot reach domestic customers during the GVH’s investigation”. Flavoured vaping products, online e-cigarette sales, and online advertising of vaping products are all illegal in Hungary.
US - New York: The state police have issued a statement on the status of Operation Vaporizer, which was launched in August, targeting sales of flavoured nicotine vapes to minors. Officers found several retailers in Herkimer and Oneida counties selling to under-21s, and charged several people with endangering the welfare of a child. The department added that further arrests were pending.
14th September 2022 - Australasia, New Zealand |
New Zealand: The association Action for Smokefree 2025 has submitted a paper on the Smokefree Environments and Regulated Products (Smoked Tobacco) Amendment Bill, proposing that general retailers should be permitted to sell e-liquids in fruit and other sweet flavours, and not be limited to tobacco, mint and menthol. The bill, which aims mainly to reduce the number of smoked tobacco products, is currently under analysis by the Health Committee.
Russia: A bill introducing a combined excise tax for disposable e-cigarettes and the e-liquid contained in them came through its first reading in the State Duma yesterday. It would set an initial rate of RUB62 ($1.03) per device plus RUB17 ($0.28) per ml of e-liquid, to rise over the next few years. If adopted, it will come into force three months after its official publication. However, deputy finance minister Alexei Sazanov reportedly told the State Duma Budget Committee that the bill needed to be modified, eliminating the tax on the device, leaving a tax only on the liquid, which should apply to both disposable and reusable e-cigs. Currently, both e-cig devices and e-liquids are subject to excise tax; however, under the principle of one-time taxation, disposables are taxed only at the devices rate.
US - Alaska: The anti-taxation think tank Americans for Tax Reform (ATR) has applauded governor Mike Dunleavy’s decision to veto Senate Bill 45, which would have raised from 19 to 21 the legal age to purchase, sell, exchange or possess tobacco, nicotine-containing products, or e-cigarettes. The bill would also have levied a 35% tax on the wholesale price of all e-cigarette products. ATR’s director of consumer issues, Tim Andrews, said: “Rejecting the tax hike will also make it easier for those who currently smoke to achieve cessation using vapour products.”
13th September 2022 - Europe, United Kingdom |
UK: Unofficial Elf Bar social media accounts that allegedly target minors had a 15% increase in followers between March and September, rising from 557,960 to over 650,000, according to Vape Club data reported by the media. However, the number of unofficial Elf Bar accounts selling the devices on TikTok has decreased from 205 in March to 53 in September. For the past year, ECigIntelligence has repeatedly reported on increased oversight of the market by Trading Standards.
Sweden: With more than 90% of the ballots counted from yesterday’s (11th September) national elections, the right-wing bloc formed by the Moderates, Sweden Democrats, Christian Democrats and Liberals has a slight advantage over the centre-left parties, led by the ruling Swedish Social Democratic Party. However, the official results will not be available before Wednesday, 14th September. Although tobacco control policies have not been central to this campaign, the right-wing parties have not supported some of the Social Democratic policies and, for example, in May voted against the proposal to ban flavoured vapour products. The Sweden Democrats aim to lift the EU ban on snus, claiming that Sweden has the lowest rate of tobacco-related deaths; while the Christian Democrats propose to increase excise duty on tobacco products, and the Liberals’ manifesto focuses on the introduction of more prevention and awareness campaigns.
Jordan: Today, 12th September, the House of Representatives approved the Child Rights bill. The new law considers smoking in the presence of children, even by parents or other family members, an attack on their health and physical well-being. The law dictates fines ranging from JOD100 ($140) to JOD300 ($425) for smoking or vaping in front of children. Vaping is considered smoking according to Public Health Law No. 47/2008 and the “standards for tobacco and nicotine products, including electronic ones”.
Spain: In October, for the first time in 18 years, new 25-year licences (a total of 203) to operate a state-owned tobacconist will go out to tender. According to the law, state-owned tobacconists are the only retail outlets allowed to sell tobacco-containing products (sales are also allowed in vending machines located in fuel stations, restaurants, and other adult-only facilities). Vaping products can currently be sold outside tobacconists; however, the government plans to ban sales outside tobacconists in the coming years. This initiative has been harshly criticised by anti-tobacco organisations, namely the president of Nofumadores, Raquel Fernández Megina, who has said it is a “suspicious” move and a consequence of the economic situation, as she found it contradictory to the government’s tobacco control plans (which reportedly have stalled).
12th September 2022 - North America, United States |
US - Federal: Democratic senator from Illinois Dick Durbin has called on the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to complete its premarket review of e-cigarettes, claiming the agency has failed to meet the one-year court-ordered deadline to review them. The FDA has said it does not anticipate completing its review of the most popular e-cigarette products on the market until 2023, which Durbin finds a very harmful delay. Specifically, Durbin states that the FDA is not using its enforcement authority to stop the sale of illegally marketed e-cigarettes, even after having sent them warning letters. The senator further wrote that the agency refused to use its authority to regulate the synthetic nicotine marketplace; while the FDA has not authorised a single one of those products, they remain widely available.
12th September 2022 - Europe |
EU: Today (12th September) Virginijus Sinkevičius, European commissioner for the environment, oceans and fisheries, answered a parliamentary question submitted by member of the European parliament (MEP) Chris MacManus in which the MEP asked for the Commission’s plans to deal with the environmental impact of disposable e-cigs. The commissioner answered that these products do not fall within the scope of the Single-Use Plastics Directive, as they do not contain a filter or tobacco, and that the executive does not intend to propose any specific measures for these products under said directive. However, the commissioner stated that the proposed new batteries regulation “should ensure that portable batteries in DEC [disposable e-cigarettes] are properly disposed and recycled at their end of life”.
9th September 2022 - North America, United States |
US - Federal: The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has launched a non-tobacco nicotine (NTN) product website that includes up-to-date information about premarket review progress and enforcement actions. As of 6th September, the FDA has issued refuse-to-accept (RTA) letters for more than 800,000 NTN products in applications submitted by 14th May that do not meet the criteria for acceptance; this includes more than 700,000 new RTAs since 3rd August. In total, the FDA has accepted over 350 applications for NTN products, with the vast majority being for e-cigarette or e-liquid products.
Malaysia: Minister of Health Khairy Jamaluddin said today, 9th September, that “if there are no obstacles, the parliamentary special select committee report [on the Tobacco and Smoking Control Bill 2022] will be completed by the end of this month to allow it to be tabled again in the next Parliamentary session”.
9th September 2022 - Europe |
EU: A draft of the 2022 version of the Data Dictionary on Electronic Cigarettes has been published on the CIRCABC (Communication and Information Resource Centre for Administrations, Businesses and Citizens) website, a platform developed by the European Commission that serves as an information exchange tool used by its directorates-general, committees and advisory bodies, as well as by relevant stakeholders. The Data Dictionary on Electronic Cigarettes, the final version of which is due to be published on 15th September, provides guidelines on what information must be submitted to notify e-cigarettes via the EU Common Entry Gate (EU-CEG).
Malaysia: The parliamentary special select committee (PSSC) responsible for assessing the Tobacco and Smoking Control Bill 2022 that proposes a ban on the sale of vaping products to anyone born after 2007 generally agreed yesterday to drop Section 17(1)(c) on the ban of possession of vapour products for anyone born from 1st January 2007, but to retain Sections 17(1)(a) and (b), which prohibit these individuals from using said products, press reports.
9th September 2022 - Europe, Netherlands |
Netherlands: The Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport announced a consultation on the regulation that would limit the range of permitted flavours for e-liquids. Users, sellers, importers and manufacturers of nicotine-free and nicotine-containing e-liquids may give their responses to the consultation until 28th September 2022. If further adopted, the new rules will come into force as of 1st January 2023, allowing for products that are produced before this date to be placed on the market until 1st July 2023.
US - General: Altria stated that “a jury in the US District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina found that Reynolds Vapor Company’s Vuse Alto e-vapor product infringed three patents owned by Altria Client Services”. The jury has awarded Altria $95,233,292 in past damages, and post-trial proceedings will address ongoing damages. The jury also accepted Altria’s petition to find a royalty rate of 5.25%.
UK - Scotland: The Minister for Public Health, Women’s Health and Sport, Maree Todd, said that vaping is concerning everyone. “We are seeing solid statistics coming through now that are showing that possibly up to 20% of our young people are vaping, and people are vaping who have never smoked.” She said that what’s needed is to strike a delicate balance between providing information on vaping as a potential method of cessation and protecting children and young people from unnecessary harm.
8th September 2022 - Europe, United Kingdom |
UK: Junior health secretary Maggie Throup said that the new Tobacco Control Plan will be published “in due course”.
Russia: Sergey Leonov, deputy head of the State Duma Committee on Health Protection, said that the Liberal Democratic Party, which is formally an opposition party, is developing a draft law on labelling vapes with a warning about their dangers and creating packaging for them featuring frightening images, media reports. Although the Ministry of Health is in favour of such changes, it believes that first such labelling requirements need to be included in the draft technical regulation of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU - an economic union of Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Russia) for nicotine-containing products, which is currently being developed.
Ukraine: Parliament yesterday rejected amendments N20 and N21 to Bill 5616 “On the legal protection of geographical indications for agricultural products”, which would have allowed vaping and heated tobacco use in some “specially designated” public areas, media reports. The amendments had been criticised for attempting to introduce matters unrelated to the main subject of the bill, which is prohibited under parliament regulations.
Slovakia: The National Smoke-Free Day festival will take place tomorrow in the capital, Bratislava. Among other activities, adult visitors will reportedly be instructed about the main risks associated with nicotine and tobacco use, including smoke-free alternatives.
6th September 2022 - North America, United States |
US - general: Juul Labs is set to pay $438.5m in a settlement of 34 states’ and territories’ investigations into the company’s marketing practices. Under the settlement, Juul will also agree to a range of restrictions on its marketing activities. They include an undertaking not to market to youth, no advertising on billboards or public transportation, stringent limits on social media advertising, and an end to “misleading representations about nicotine content”. “The terms of the agreement are aligned with our current business practices which we started to implement after our company-wide reset in the Fall of 2019,” the company said. It had previously reached separate settlements with some individual states.
6th September 2022 - Europe, United Kingdom |
UK: The National Health Service (NHS) today published figures showing that 9% of 11- to 15-year-olds vape, either regularly or occasionally, a 50% increase since 2018. A similar result was reported earlier this summer by the charity Action on Smoking and Health (Ash). At the same time, the NHS reports that 3% of pupils are current cigarette smokers, down from 5% in 2018.
Russia: Yaroslav Nilov, head of the State Duma Committee on Labour and Social Policy, has drawn attention to online selling of e-cigarettes to minors, media reports. Nilov has reportedly asked the prosecutor’s office to check on online stores and their compliance with the law.
6th September 2022 - Europe, United Kingdom |
UK: Responding to MPs’ questions about e-cigarettes and young people, junior health minister Maggie Throup said the Department of Health and Social Care is considering banning cartoon characters, images and flavour names which might be appealing to children. Throup added that the department was working with the Environment Agency to remind vape suppliers who place more than five tonnes of products on the UK market per year that they are obliged to register with the waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) producer compliance scheme.
Slovakia: As of 1st September, following an amendment to the Act on the Protection of Non-Smokers, e-cigarettes can no longer be sold via vending machines.
5th September 2022 - North America, United States |
US - general: RJ Reynolds has asked for a midtrial end to the suit brought by Altria, which claimed Reynolds had stolen its designs for a pod-style vape without paying a royalty, legal media reports. Reynolds said its product lacked some specifics in the design, which made it different from the patent.
Ireland: Research by the Tobacco Free Research Institute Ireland shows that 39% of young people aged between 16 and 17 have tried vaping, while 32% have tried smoking, press reports. The main reasons given for trying e-cigarettes were primarily curiosity (66%) and having friends who vape (29%).
Bahrain: The National Bureau for Revenue announced yesterday that from 16th October all cigarettes available for sale must be marked with distinctive digital stamps as laid down by decree No. 3/2022, issued in May. From that date any cigarettes not having the digital stamp will either be destroyed or confiscated. The system is to be extended later to include other tobacco products such as e-cigarettes, heated tobacco and hookahs.
5th September 2022 - Brazil, South America |
Brazil: Stefania Piras, general manager of tobacco products inspection for the National Public Health Surveillance Agency (Anvisa), has defended the national ban on e-cigarettes and said use in the country is still low, press reports. The Anvisa board voted unanimously in July to maintain the existing ban on e-cigarettes and heated tobacco. The agency is still discussing whether a new draft regulation will go out to public consultation.
Belarus: Following inspections in August of 118 retail outlets selling nicotine-containing e-liquids and disposable vapes, the Ministry of Antimonopoly Regulation and Trade has reported that in 77 instances products were found to be on open display, in violation of current legislation. Products were also found without certificates of conformity. All offending sellers were told to cease illegal activities.
2nd September 2022 - North America, United States |
US - federal: The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has issued its second report on e-cigarette sales and advertising nationwide. The FTC states that it "shows sales of flavored disposable e-cigarettes and menthol e-cigarette cartridges surging dramatically in 2020". It notes that the increase suggests that youth e-cigarette use has shifted towards substitute products rather than declined, and it also shows that the distribution of free and discounted e-cigarettes has reached record highs. “Marketers of e-cigarettes have proven skillful at evading FDA regulation and hooking youth on addictive products," said Samuel Levine, director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection.
Iceland: The government has published two new regulations: Regulation 992/2022 on marketing notifications, licensing, and ingredients of nicotine products, e-cigarettes and refills containing nicotine and Regulation 991 on the packaging of nicotine products, e-cigarettes and refills containing nicotine. The regulations repeal the previous regulations on the matter, although the new ones contain mostly the same provisions. Some additions include the introduction of minor changes to the textual health warning that nicotine-containing e-cigs must carry, as well as setting out the procedure to obtain a licence to sell vaping products.
1st September 2022 - Brazil, South America |
Brazil: The Ministry of Justice has ordered 31 companies to stop selling e-cigarettes within 48 hours or face a daily fine of BRL5,000 ($960). Although the National Public Health Surveillance Agency (Anvisa) has already banned e-cigs, the ministry has seen evidence of them being sold with the appearance of legality.
1st September 2022 - North America, United States |
US - federal: The FDA Center for Tobacco Products (CTP) has sent out new warning letters to a number of e-liquid manufacturers for offering e-liquid products (listed in the letter) for sale or distribution without a marketing authorisation order.
31st August 2022 - Europe, Switzerland |
Switzerland: The Federal Council has submitted for consultation a draft bill to amend the Tobacco Products Act after a majority of voters in a referendum in February supported a proposal by the campaign group Children Without Tobacco to prevent tobacco and vaping advertising from reaching children and young people. The ban would include advertising in newspapers, at open-air events and online. The consultation will remain open until 30th November and the government expects the preliminary draft to be submitted to the Federal Assembly in the first half of 2023.
31st August 2022 - North America, United States |
US - general: Illinois-based e-liquid manufacturer Gripum’s petition for a review of its marketing denial order (MDO), filed on 8th October 2021 in the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals, has been denied. The court found that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA)’s denial of the company’s premarket tobacco product application (PMTA) for a range of flavoured liquids was not arbitrary or unreasonable. The same court issued a stay of the MDO on 4th November 2021, pending resolution of the litigation.
China (Macau): The Macau Legislative Assembly has unanimously approved a government amendment to the New Tobacco Control Law, which prohibits the manufacture, import, export, distribution and transport of e-cigarettes. Until now, e-cig sales have been forbidden in the special administrative region, while limited imports for personal use were allowed.
30th August 2022 - North America, United States |
US - general: The parent company of Philip Morris USA, Altria, has told a federal jury that RJ Reynolds stole its designs for a pod-style vape without paying a royalty, specialist legal media reports.
Germany: The Federal Office of Consumer Protection and Food Safety (BVL) has updated the list of notified e-cigarette products, which now contains 276,544 vapour products. Only products notified at least six months ago are listed.
Ukraine: Parliament was today due to consider Bill 5616 “on the peculiarities of the legal protection of geographical indications for agricultural products”, including amendments to allow vaping and heated tobacco use in some “specially designated” public areas, media reports. Although the economic policy committe supported both of these amendments, the bill has been criticised for going against a parliamentary regulation that prohibits the introduction of amendments unrelated to a bill’s main subject.
29th August 2022 - North America, United States |
US - federal: The Center for Tobacco Products (CTP) updated the term “grandfathered tobacco product” to “pre-existing tobacco product” on all of its systems. The updated terminology more clearly and appropriately describes these products. A pre-existing tobacco product has the same definition as a grandfathered product: "Specifically, a pre-existing tobacco product is any tobacco product (including those products in test markets) that was commercially marketed in the United States as of Feb. 15, 2007."
