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Category: Around the Industry

  • Former Top Cop Warns of Chinese Exploiting Vape Loophole

    Former Top Cop Warns of Chinese Exploiting Vape Loophole

    Illicit Chinese vape manufacturers are exploiting regulatory gaps by replacing nicotine with synthetic alternatives such as 6-methyl nicotine (6MN) (also known as NIX) to continue selling flavored disposable vapes in the U.S. market, former Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives Deputy Director Edgar Domenech told Fox News Digital. He warned that the products use similar branding, packaging, and flavors while substituting ingredients to avoid existing oversight, creating challenges for regulators and law enforcement.

    Domenech said the unregulated nicotine analog, which some manufacturers claim falls outside the Food and Drug Administration’s authority, represents an “unknown variable” with limited research on its health effects and potential addictiveness. Domenech called for stronger enforcement, clearer regulatory guidance, and greater awareness among lawmakers, schools, and consumers, arguing that illicit operators are targeting youth through flavored disposable products and exploiting legal loopholes to maintain access to the market.

  • India Seeks to Quash Adani’s Duty-Free Pouch Challenge

    India Seeks to Quash Adani’s Duty-Free Pouch Challenge

    India’s government is seeking to dismiss Adani Group’s legal challenge over the sale of nicotine pouches at Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport, arguing that the products represent a “substantive violation” of drug laws and a public health risk. Authorities said nicotine pouches, which are classified as drugs under Indian law, remain unapproved and cannot be sold simply because they are imported, stored in customs-bonded warehouses, or marketed to departing international passengers. “The fact that they are stored in a customs-bonded warehouse does not mean they ⁠are not physically present in India,” the government said.

    Adani argued that drug regulations should not apply to duty-free sales and has challenged the regulatory interpretation in court, a case that could set a precedent for how India handles the sale of nicotine pouches at international airports. The government maintained that nicotine is an addictive chemical and warned that allowing unapproved products could expose consumers to products with unverified safety and quality standards.

  • CAPHRA Calls New Bloomberg Program ‘Philanthropic Colonialism’

    CAPHRA Calls New Bloomberg Program ‘Philanthropic Colonialism’

    The Coalition of Asia Pacific Tobacco Harm Reduction Advocates criticized a new Bloomberg Philanthropies-funded tobacco cessation grant program administered by Vital Strategies, arguing that it risks undermining national sovereignty over public health policy in nine priority countries across Asia-Pacific and other regions. CAPHRA described the initiative as an example of “philanthropic colonialism,” claiming that donor-funded tobacco control frameworks can shape regulatory policies before meaningful domestic debate occurs, discourage consideration of tobacco harm reduction products, and drive consumers toward illicit markets while prolonging cigarette use.

    CAPHRA executive coordinator Nancy Loucas called on governments to disclose foreign-funded tobacco control partnerships, maintain regulatory independence, and evaluate the full range of evidence — including safer nicotine alternatives — rather than relying solely on donor-backed approaches.

  • Puro Sabor Opens Registration

    Puro Sabor Opens Registration

    Registration for the 2027 Puro Sabor Festival in Nicaragua opens today (July 10) at 7 p.m. ET for the event, which will take place Jan. 25-30, 2027. The annual festival offers attendees an in-depth look at Nicaragua’s premium cigar industry through visits to tobacco farms, processing facilities, and more than 20 participating cigar manufacturers, including AJ Fernandez, Drew Estate, Joya de Nicaragua, My Father Cigars, Oliva, Padrón, Perdomo, Plasencia, and Scandinavian Tobacco Group. Tickets are priced at $3,000 for a single attendee or $5,600 for two sharing a room, covering accommodations, meals, local transportation, premium cigars, and festival activities, but excluding airfare.

  • Oregon Extends ‘Tobacco’ Definition to All Oral Nicotine Products

    Oregon Extends ‘Tobacco’ Definition to All Oral Nicotine Products

    Oregon’s Senate Bill 1571 (signed into law June 5) expanded the state’s definition of tobacco products to include oral nicotine pouches, lozenges, and gum containing either natural or synthetic nicotine, bringing the products under the same age-verification and retail requirements as cigarettes and vaping products. Retailers must now verify purchasers are at least 21, aligning Oregon law with federal regulations.

    The legislation follows concerns over increasing youth use of flavored oral nicotine products, which the Oregon Health Authority has identified as widely promoted through retail discounts.

  • CAA Gives Inaugural Leadership Award to NC Rep

    CAA Gives Inaugural Leadership Award to NC Rep

    The Cigar Association of America named North Carolina state Rep. Kyle Hall (R-91) as a recipient of its inaugural Leadership in Commerce Award, recognizing his role in establishing the North Carolina General Assembly’s bipartisan Cigar Caucus. CAA President Scott Pearce said the caucus strengthens ties between lawmakers and the state’s tobacco agriculture, manufacturing, and premium cigar retail sectors, while Hall said it will help give small cigar-related businesses a stronger voice in state policymaking. The association, which is backed by registered lobbyists in 47 states, said additional Leadership in Commerce Award recipients will be announced following the 2026 legislative sessions.

  • FDA Faces $10M Lawsuit from Cigar Companies Over User Fees

    FDA Faces $10M Lawsuit from Cigar Companies Over User Fees

    Nine premium cigar manufacturers filed a lawsuit in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims seeking at least $10 million plus interest in refunds of FDA user fees paid between 2016 and 2023. The lawsuit follows the cigar industry’s victory in a separate legal challenge that resulted in premium cigars being exempted from FDA regulation, with the companies arguing they should not have been required to pay user fees on products the agency ultimately lacked authority to regulate.

    Arturo Fuente, Ashton, CLE Cigar, J.C. Newman, Oliva, La Flor Dominicana, My Father Cigars, Padrón, and Rocky Patel contend they paid the fees despite premium cigars being excluded from most FDA requirements and are now seeking reimbursement after the FDA stopped collecting user fees on premium cigars following a key 2023 court ruling. Court filings in the earlier litigation suggested the government could face more than $100 million in past user fee refunds. The case has been assigned to Judge Edward H. Meyers, with the plaintiffs represented by Morgan Lewis, including attorney Michael Edney, who led much of the industry’s successful challenge to the FDA’s premium cigar regulations.

  • Netherlands Makes One of the Largest Illicit Nicotine Busts in Its History

    Netherlands Makes One of the Largest Illicit Nicotine Busts in Its History

    Dutch authorities seized 277,000 illegal flavored vapes and 150,000 nicotine pouches in one of the country’s largest enforcement actions against illicit nicotine products. The Dutch Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority (NVWA) said customs officers discovered the flavored vapes during a routine inspection of a haulage company’s warehouse in Rotterdam, while the nicotine pouches were found at storage facilities in Rotterdam and Utrecht.

    Officials believe the products were destined for the Dutch black market. All seized products were destroyed, with disposal costs charged to the warehouse owners.

  • Spain Busts Syndicate Making 8M Illicit Cigarettes a Day

    Spain Busts Syndicate Making 8M Illicit Cigarettes a Day

    Spanish authorities dismantled two international criminal organizations operating six clandestine cigarette factories capable of producing nearly eight million counterfeit cigarettes per day. The operation, led by the Guardia Civil in coordination with Europol and law enforcement agencies in Poland and Lithuania, resulted in 50 arrests following raids across Alicante, Cuenca, Huelva, Murcia, Sevilla, and Toledo. Authorities seized more than 20 million counterfeit cigarettes, 38.4 metric tons of tobacco, 18 vehicles, encrypted electronic devices, firearms, and €170,000 in cash, with the tobacco products valued at more than €10 million. Two Polish fugitives were extradited, while seven suspects were remanded in custody.

    Investigators said the criminal networks manufactured counterfeit versions of well-known cigarette brands for distribution across Spain and other European markets, including Portugal, France, and potentially the United Kingdom. The factories also supplied third-party criminal groups and housed exploited workers in makeshift living quarters inside production facilities. The investigation began seven years ago after intelligence from Europol and authorities in Poland and Lithuania identified a Polish-led criminal network operating from Spain.

  • Human Smuggling Case Should Make UK Consider Dutch Bibob Act: Opinion

    Human Smuggling Case Should Make UK Consider Dutch Bibob Act: Opinion

    Following a BBC investigation into a convicted human smuggler operating vape shops in the UK, Dr. Marina Murphy, the senior director of scientific affairs at Haypp, called for the adoption of a licensing framework modeled on the Netherlands’ Bibob Act. She argued that incorporating enhanced background checks into the UK’s proposed licensing scheme for nicotine and vape retailers would allow authorities to deny licenses where there are credible links to organized crime, rather than waiting for illegal activity to occur.

    Under the Dutch system, licensing authorities can assess applicants and associated individuals using public records and law enforcement information before approving or revoking business licenses.