Officers from Bulgaria’s General Directorate Combating Organized Crime intercepted a cigarette smuggling operation moving illicit products from Greece to Romania through Bulgaria, detaining two suspects near Pernik, Deputy Director Darin Kostov said Friday. Authorities stopped a passenger car and a truck at a gas station, where they discovered 300 boxes of smuggled cigarettes. The case forms part of Interior Ministry enforcement priorities, with cross-border information sharing underway as a formal investigation begins.
Category: Around the Industry
-
RFK Jr.’s Spokesperson Resigns Over Flavored Vape Shift
Richard Danker, assistant secretary for public affairs at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, resigned in a letter to Donald Trump after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration authorized several fruit-flavored e-cigarette products, arguing the decision could expose minors to nicotine addiction and health risks. According to ABC News, Danker said the authorization conflicted with recent department guidance on youth risks from flavored nicotine and criticized senior officials in Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s office for supporting it. An HHS spokesperson said political appointees are expected to advance the administration’s “Make America Healthy Again” agenda and that those who disagree are free to leave. The development follows the departure of former FDA commissioner Marty Makary, who reportedly clashed with the White House over pressure to approve flavored vape products. The FDA recently authorized four devices by GLAS, including mango and blueberry pods, marking a notable shift as the agency continues efforts to curb illicit youth-targeted vaping products.
-
Three Former WHO Directors Push for Harm Reduction
Three former directors at the World Health Organization say a global smoking rate below 5% by 2040 is achievable if tobacco harm reduction is formally integrated into the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control. Writing in Nature Health recently, Robert Beaglehole, Ruth Bonita, and Tikki Pang argued that progress in reducing smoking has slowed in many high-burden countries and that current policy debates increasingly conflate nicotine use with the harms of smoking. They called for a “risk-proportionate regulatory framework” that maintains strict controls on combustible tobacco while allowing regulated access to smoke-free alternatives that can displace cigarettes without encouraging youth uptake.
The authors pointed to examples including Japan, Sweden, and New Zealand, where wider adoption of heated tobacco, snus, nicotine pouches, and vaping coincided with sharp declines in smoking rates. Former WHO director Derek Yach described the commentary as significant but questioned whether large, high-smoking countries would follow those models. The paper maintains that combining established FCTC measures with broader access to regulated smoke-free products offers the most realistic path toward the 2040 goal, even as current FCTC leadership has shown little openness to revisiting its stance on harm reduction.
-
WHO’s Report on Nicotine Pouches Draws Industry Response
Today (May 15), the World Health Organization released its first global report on nicotine pouches, warning that rapid market growth and uneven regulation could increase youth exposure to nicotine. The report, issued ahead of World No Tobacco Day, says sales exceeded 23 billion units in 2024 and values the category at nearly $7 billion in 2025. WHO said, “nicotine itself is highly addictive and harmful,” and accused companies of using “widespread industry tactics” to appeal to younger audiences, and outlined policy options for governments, including limits on flavors and nicotine strength, age-verification requirements, advertising restrictions, and clearer labeling for the oral nicotine products.
In response, Dr. Marina Murphy, senior director of scientific affairs at Haypp, said the report does not sufficiently distinguish between combustible tobacco and lower-risk nicotine formats. She pointed to regulatory approaches in the United Kingdom, the United States, Germany, and Sweden as examples in which authorities have set product standards, age controls, and manufacturing requirements while allowing adult access. Murphy cited toxicological comparisons to nicotine replacement therapies and population data suggesting most pouch users are current or former smokers, arguing that regulatory frameworks can address youth concerns while preserving alternatives for adults.
“The WHO should be leading a science-based strategy to end smoking. Instead, it remains ideologically opposed to the very products helping make that goal achievable,” Murphy said. “The lesson is straightforward. Countries that follow the evidence are accelerating the decline of smoking and reducing disease.
“Those who treat all nicotine products as equally problematic risk protecting cigarettes from competition. The WHO should be helping governments distinguish between products that kill and products that can help people move away from smoking. Until the WHO embraces this reality, its reports will look increasingly detached from both the science and the real-world policy successes unfolding around it.”
-
Pakistan’s Effective Enforcement Welcomed by PMI
Philip Morris Pakistan Limited said it welcomed nationwide enforcement actions targeting the illicit cigarette trade, stating the crackdown would strengthen the documented economy, improve revenue recovery, and support fair competition for tax-compliant businesses. The company said enforcement operations during fiscal year 2025–26 led to seizures of illicit cigarettes and raw materials equivalent to about 17 billion sticks—estimated at nearly 40% of the illegal market—following strategic direction from Shehbaz Sharif to the Federal Board of Revenue and provincial authorities. During a recent visit to Pakistan, Marco Mariotti, president CIS and Central Asia at Philip Morris International, said sustained enforcement is critical for revenue collection and market compliance, noting illicit trade is estimated to cost Pakistan roughly Rs300 billion ($1.1 billion) annually.
-
Caloocan City Adopts Anti-Illicit Tobacco Ordinance
Caloocan City, Philippines, enacted City Ordinance No. 1193, Series of 2026—the Anti-Illicit Tobacco Trade Ordinance—becoming the first local government unit in Metro Manila to formally prohibit the manufacture, distribution, and sale of tobacco products that do not comply with national regulations. Mayor Dale Gonzalo Malapitan said the measure targets cigarettes lacking Internal Revenue stamps, graphic health warnings, or those sold below government-mandated pricing, with penalties that include fines, business permit suspension or revocation, and imprisonment of up to one year. The city’s Business Permits and Licensing Office has been directed to enforce compliance among retailers.
Orlando Oxales, convenor of CitizenWatch Philippines, called the move “strong and timely,” noting similar local actions this year in Mariveles, Bataan, and ongoing discussions in Davao City aimed at strengthening anti-illicit trade enforcement at the LGU level.
-
Swiss Groups Launch Passive Smoke Awareness Platform
The Swiss Association for Tobacco Prevention and the Swiss Lung League launched Passivesmoke.ch, described as Switzerland’s “first national platform dedicated to the risks of passive smoking and vaping.” The initiative follows newly published “Health and Lifestyle” survey data from Addiction Switzerland, indicating rising nicotine product use among young people, with campaigners highlighting that 45% of 18–24-year-olds report using e-cigarettes, snus, nicotine pouches, or other products. The groups say unintentional exposure to smoke and vapor remains common in shared indoor spaces and communal housing.
The organizations linked the launch to Switzerland’s continued refusal to ratify the World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), noting that parliament in March declined ratification despite prior government support. Prevention advocates argue the platform is intended to refocus attention on secondhand exposure risks amid shifting consumption patterns toward vaping and oral nicotine products.
-
CBP Seizes $175M in Illicit Vapes from Maritime Cargo
The U.S. Customs and Border Protection, working with the U.S. Coast Guard and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, announced that it has seized more than 18 million vape units valued at over $175 million over the last few weeks under a targeted initiative known as Operation Red Mist. The ongoing operation focuses primarily on maritime cargo shipments originating from the People’s Republic of China and is aimed at disrupting the illicit importation, transport, and distribution of unauthorized vape products and related hazardous components.
According to CBP, inspection teams identified shipments that were misclassified or improperly labeled to evade detection, duties, and regulatory scrutiny, and that failed to meet U.S. import requirements for tobacco products, electronics, and hazardous materials transport. Officials said all e-cigarette products seized lacked the required FDA premarket authorization, making them illegal for sale in the United States. CBP said the operation reflects a broader, government-wide effort to keep noncompliant and potentially dangerous vaping products out of U.S. commerce and away from youth, while disrupting the revenue streams that often support broader criminal activity.
-
Hong Kong Customs Busts $1.5M Illicit Cigarette Ring
The Hong Kong Customs and Excise Department arrested three people following a months-long investigation into an illicit cigarette distribution and money laundering syndicate that led to the seizure of about 2.2 million untaxed cigarettes and HK$11.3 million ($1.5 million) in suspected criminal proceeds. The case stems from a January raid on a remote warehouse in Ngau Tam Mei, where investigators discovered the cigarettes—valued at HK$9.9 million ($1.3 million)—along with detailed records documenting brands, storage dates, and volumes.
A follow-up financial probe found that one of the suspects used his own bank accounts, as well as those of his girlfriend, to process payments from customers buying illicit cigarettes, while a third suspect is believed to have supplied the products. Investigators identified thousands of transactions between 2021 and 2025 involving more than 1,000 third parties, with rapid fund movements and low balances characteristic of money laundering activity. The suspects have been released on bail pending further investigation. Under Hong Kong law, trafficking illicit cigarettes carries penalties of up to HK$2 million ($260,000) in fines and seven years’ imprisonment, while money laundering convictions can bring fines of up to HK$5 million ($650,000) and 14 years in prison.
-
FDA Makes ENDS PMTA Roundtable Materials Available
Today (May 14), FDA released materials from its Feb. 10 Roundtable on Premarket Tobacco Application Submissions for Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems Products, providing the public and industry with a detailed look at discussions between agency officials and small manufacturers. Led by Dr. Matthew Farrelly and moderated by Dr. Todd Cecil, the sessions focused heavily on product characterization, manufacturing controls, pharmacological and toxicological data, and how applicants can demonstrate adult benefit through longitudinal or randomized studies. FDA said the purpose of the roundtable was to solicit feedback on how to improve the efficiency and clarity of PMTA reviews while remaining bound by statutory requirements under the Tobacco Control Act.
Industry participants used the forum to reiterate concerns about the lack of objective scientific benchmarks guiding ENDS applications, arguing that uncertainty around testing parameters—particularly for open-system products—and the inability to update long-pending PMTAs create significant barriers for small businesses. The Vapor Technology Association, through Executive Director Tony Abboud, said members appreciated the opportunity for dialogue but left the meeting seeking clearer standards and more predictable regulatory expectations.
Find the FDA’s resources below: