Author: Marissa Dean

FEELM 2.0 Boosts Puff Count

Smoore International revealed its FEELM 2.0, the first disposable vape to offer more than 1,000 puffs in 2 mL.
“There is an evident demand for increased puff counts and consistency in taste, especially at a time when the rising cost of living is a constant concern,” said Smoore’s U.K. business director, Thalia Cheng, in a statement. “FEELM 2.0 is our disposable vape solution with the call sign ‘Double the puff, double the joy.’ Based on Consumer Intelligence data, we estimate it can save consumers around £900 [$1.12 billion] annually compared to using standard disposables.”
According to Smoore, the FEELM 2.0 also heightens the actual vaping experience through enhanced vaping consistency and improved e-liquid utilization.
Inter Scientific confirmed that FEELM 2.0 shows marked improvements in both e-liquid utilization and vapor consistency when compared to industry standards. The enhanced e-liquid utilization effectively increases the number of puffs while the reduced vapor variation ensures a more consistent experience, minimizing differences with each puff.
“Smoore’s FEELM 2.0 technology provides consistent uniformity of e-liquid aerosolization over the device life and complies with TRPR 2016 requirements of a tank volume limit of 2 mL,” said David Lawson, CEO of Inter Scientific.
November 15, 2023
KT&G to Buy Back Shares

Image: Vlad Ispas
KT&G will spend KRW2.8 trillion ($2.1 billion) to buy back shares and provide dividends to shareholders over the next three years, according to Yonhap News Agency. The company will buy back KRW1 trillion in shares for cancellation and distribute KRW1.8 trillion in cash dividends.
“Seventy percent of KT&G shareholders are long-term investors who have kept KT&G stocks for more than three years. The government is known to be considering providing incentives to companies which cancel their own shares,” the company said during the Value Day 2023 event.
KT&G aims to maintain a debt-to-equity ratio in the lower 40 percent range over the next three years. At the end of September 2023, its debt-to-equity ratio was 40.6 percent.
November 15, 2023
Hyla Applies to Sell Vegan Vape in Europe

Image: Olivier Le Moal
Endexx Corp.’s Hyla division is filing an EU Tobacco Products Directive (TPD) application for its vegan formulated e-cigarette products.
“Our proprietary botanical ingredient profile, flavoring and vegan sensitive formulations created in the United States will carry through in Hyla’s nicotine-enhanced products. These factors are what differentiate Hyla’s product quality,” stated Nick Mehdi, CEO of Hyla. “Hyla’s distribution partners in Europe are the top tobacco and e-cigarette distributors in Europe and have directly requested this product expansion due to ongoing demand and need for compliance leadership provided by Hyla.”
The TPD registration accelerates Hyla’s product placement into Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Slovakia, Spain, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. Several of the listed countries have already reviewed Hyla’s non-nicotine products. The TPD registration opens the European market to all Hyla’s products.
“Endexx’s investment into Hyla has generated early success by providing non-nicotine electronic devices into the international markets. The Hyla brand represents high-quality, vegan and natural products, with attention to all regulations and compliance required to conduct commerce in each country,” said Todd Davis, CEO of Endexx. “This registration process helps secure the success of our long-term target of being a dominant player in the international age-restricted CPG markets.”
November 15, 2023
Conditional Approval for Redwood Studies

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Redwood Scientific Technologies has secured conditional approval from the Institutional Review Board (IRB) and Central Institutional Review Board to study nicotine addiction in vape devices.
The conditional IRB approval not only paves the way for the study on Redwood’s product for nicotine addiction in vape devices but also extends to a study on TBX Free, the company’s primary product designed to combat nicotine addiction in traditional cigarettes.
“It has been a long road for us, and we are working around the clock to get these products on the market as fast as possible,” said Redwood CEO Jason Cardiff. “We understand the urgency for help when it comes to the addiction of nicotine in vapes.”
November 15, 2023
Cigarette Prices Up in Egypt

Image: Mohamed
Egypt’s Eastern Co. recently announced price increases to help absorb the cost of inflation. Following this announcement, Philip Morris Misr updated its price list for all its conventional cigarettes and heated-tobacco products, reports Daily News Egypt. The company has urged retailers and distributors to comply with the price changes.
Since 2022, Philip Morris Misr has placed a QR code on all product packaging, allowing consumers to scan the code to verify official prices.
Under the changes, Merit will now sell for EGP74 ($2.39) per pack, Marlboro for EGP69 per pack, Marlboro Crafted for EGP59 per pack, L&M for EGP50 per pack, Heets Selections for EGP56 per pack, Heets Dimensions for EGP56 per pack and Terea for EGP56 per pack. The price changes mark a 15 percent to 20.5 percent increase, according to Ahram Online.
November 15, 2023
Webinar on Low-Nicotine Tobacco

Image: Michael Barkmann
CORESTA is holding an agro-phyto webinar on “Low Nicotine Tobacco—Current Insight and Perspectives for the Agricultural Production of Raw Materials.”
The webinar will be held on Dec. 5, 2023, from 2 p.m. CET to 3:30 p.m. CET. The registration deadline is Dec. 4, 2023.
“This webinar seeks to highlight our current understanding of low nicotine production capabilities as well as the successes and failures of applied research in the areas of genetics and agronomy,” according to CORESTA.
November 10, 2023
More Waste From Toys Than Vapes: Study

Image: Przemek Klos
New research from the United Nations suggests that toys are a much larger contributor to electronic waste than vaping products, according to New Scientist.
The Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Forum recently collaborated with the United Nations Institute for Training and Research to quantify how much electronic waste the world disposes of without realizing it has the potential to be recycled.
According to the analysis, 9 billion kg of so-called “invisible” e-waste, worth nearly $10 billion, is thrown away yearly. Around one-third of this waste comes from children’s toys containing some 3.2 billion kg of hidden electronics.
Toys contribute 77 times more to the world’s invisible e-waste than vapes, which account for 42 million kg annually. The U.N. estimates that 844 million vapes are thrown away every year.
“Electronic waste is our fastest-growing waste stream,” says Oliver Franklin-Wallis, the author of Wasteland, a book on waste disposal. “It’s also by far our most valuable waste stream when it comes to household waste.”
However, very few people realize that many common items they dispose of contain e-waste. Magdalena Charytanowicz, at the WEEE Forum, highlighted that this was the purpose of the research.
“We’re trying to make people understand that the items they may not suspect are electronics actually do contain a lot of precious materials, like copper and lithium,” Charytanowicz said.
November 10, 2023
Eastern Raises Prices

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Egypt Eastern Co. has raised prices of its tobacco products to absorb part of the increase in production cost following the devaluation of the Egyptian pound, said Hany Aman, the company’s chairman, according to Ahram Online.
The company is coordinating with oversight authorities to control the market and is canceling contracts with vendors that do not adhere to official prices, according to Aman. Eastern Co. has also increased production to increase supply of all tobacco types in order to ensure market stability and contain prices.
Local cigarette brand Cleopatra has increased in price from EGP24 ($0.77) to EGP27 for a 20-cigarette pack. Brands Boston, Belmont and Mondial have increased from EGP24 to EGP27 per pack, and Moreover, Viceroy and Pall Mall have increased from EGP35 to EGP42. Hookah tobacco prices have also increased to EGP50 for 250-gram packs and EGP85 for 500-gram packs of the Muʽassel Saloum brand.
Egypt’s Parliament approved an amendment to the VAT law on Oct. 30, imposing a tax of EGP0.50 on tobacco products sold in the local market.
November 10, 2023
U.K. Mulls Vape Tax

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U.K. ministers are considering a new vapor tax as part of the move to create a “smoke-free generation” that would also include a gradual total ban on smoking, according to The Guardian.
Documents that were published along with Rishi Sunak’s first king’s speech show that an eight-week consultation on smoking and vaping is planned and will “explore a new duty” on vapor products.
There is an “important balance” that needs to be met to make sure cigarettes are taxed higher than vapes, The Guardian noted, citing Downing Street.
Ministers plan to introduce the new tobacco and vapes bill next month. It will include tighter restrictions on vaping and phase out the sale of cigarettes, making it so that children currently aged 14 or younger will never legally be able to purchase the products.
November 10, 2023
FDA Sends More Warnings

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The U.S. Food and Drug Administration sent warning letters to seven online retailers for selling unauthorized e-cigarette products. The warning letters cite the sale of popular and youth-appealing disposable e-cigarette products marketed under the brand names Elf Bar, EB Design, Bang, Cali Bars and Lava.
These warning letters were informed by the FDA’s ongoing monitoring of multiple surveillance systems to identify products that are popular among youth or have youth appeal, according to the agency. Findings released last week from the 2023 National Youth Tobacco Survey found that more than half of current youth e-cigarette users reported using the disposable e-cigarette brand Elf Bar; earlier this year, the manufacturer of Elf Bar began marketing the product under the name EB Design. In addition, the brands Bang, Cali Bars and Lava were identified as popular or youth appealing by the agency following review of retail sales data and emerging internal data from a survey among youth.
“FDA’s robust surveillance of the e-cigarette landscape helps us to identify youth-appealing products and to act quickly to protect public health,” said Brian King, director of FDA’s Center for Tobacco Products. “The goal is to identify, prevent and reduce these risks to our nation’s youth before they escalate further.”
The retailers receiving warning letters sold or distributed e-cigarette products in the United States that lack authorization from the FDA in violation of the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act. Warning letter recipients are given 15 working days to respond with the steps they’ll take to correct the violation and to prevent future violations. Failure to promptly correct the violations can result in additional FDA actions, such as an injunction, seizure and/or civil money penalties.
To date, the FDA has authorized 23 tobacco-flavored e-cigarette products and devices. The distribution or sale of unlawfully marketed products is subject to compliance and enforcement action. For retailers looking for information on which e-cigarettes are legal to sell, the FDA created a printable, one-page flyer of these authorized products. This information is also available on the FDA’s website.
November 10, 2023