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Category: News This Week

  • UK Opens Consultation for Potential Vape Restrictions  

    UK Opens Consultation for Potential Vape Restrictions  

    Today (July 10), the UK Department of Health and Social Care announced the launch of a 12-week consultation on sweeping new restrictions covering the packaging, appearance, and retail display of vaping, tobacco, and nicotine products under powers granted by the Tobacco and Vapes Act 2026. Running through Oct. 2, the consultation proposes requiring vapes to be sold in standardized white packaging with limited branding; restricting devices to black, white, or gray; banning cosmetic lighting and non-essential digital screens; and limiting flavor names to simple descriptors such as “berry” or “mint.” The proposals would also prohibit the public display of vapes at retail, requiring them to be kept out of sight, while extending standardized packaging rules to all tobacco products, including cigars, pipe tobacco, rolling papers, and heated tobacco kits. Tobacco packs would also be required to include government-specified quit-line inserts, and duty-free stores and airports would lose exemptions allowing tobacco displays.

    If adopted, the measures would require manufacturers and retailers to redesign packaging, update product portfolios, and modify store layouts, while further reducing opportunities for brand differentiation. The government said the proposals are intended to curb youth vaping while preserving access for adults using vaping products to quit smoking. Health Secretary James Murray said the consultation aims to make vaping “less attractive for children and young people,” citing concerns over colorful packaging and youth-oriented product names. According to Action on Smoking and Health, 19% of 11- to 17-year-olds in Britain have tried vaping.

    Observers who advocate for harm-reduction methods, however, were critical of the announcement.  

    “Most people wrongly believe that vaping is at least as dangerous as smoking,” said Christopher Snowdon, Head of Lifestyle Economics at the Institute of Economic Affairs. “This ignorance has led to vapers switching back to cigarettes and to smokers not switching to vapes. The government should be hammering home the message that vaping is a much safer alternative. Instead, it is sending the message that vapes are as bad as cigarettes by treating the two products the same. The forthcoming vape tax combined with a display ban and plain packaging will keep people smoking.”

    “A one-size-fits-all approach that treats reduced-risk, smoke-free products in the same way as cigarettes risks making it harder for adult smokers to identify and switch to better alternatives,” said Dr. Marina Murphy, Head of External Affairs UK and Scientific Affairs at Haypp Group. “The most effective way to prevent youth access is through robust age-verification, enforcement of existing laws, and action against illicit sales. Packaging should support informed adult choice without undermining these measures or reducing the ability of smokers to identify less harmful alternatives.”

  • 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.

  • Belarus Raising Tobacco Excise Stamps

    Belarus Raising Tobacco Excise Stamps

    Belarus increased the cost of excise tax stamps on tobacco products in two stages, with standard stamps rising from 2 kopecks to 3 kopecks ($0.007 to $0.011) through the end of 2026 and to 4 kopecks ($0.014) beginning Jan. 1, 2027. Self-adhesive stamps used for certain imported products marked at customs warehouses increased from 2 kopecks to 8 kopecks ($0.028) and will rise to 10 kopecks ($0.035) next year.

    Despite the higher stamp costs, the changes are not expected to affect retail cigarette prices because prices are state-controlled and the stamp cost remains minimal compared with tobacco excise taxes. Current excise duties amount to 133.94 Belarusian rubles ($46.50) per 1,000 cigarettes in the first price category and 175.09 rubles ($60.80) for the second category.

  • Alabama Denies Injunction Fighting Vape Regulatory Laws

    Alabama Denies Injunction Fighting Vape Regulatory Laws

    The Alabama Supreme Court upheld a lower court’s decision denying a preliminary injunction against the state’s 2025 law regulating electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS), allowing the law to remain in effect while litigation continues. The court ruled that the Vapor Technology Association and retailer Southside Vape had standing to challenge the law, but were unlikely to succeed on their claims that it is preempted by federal law or violates the dormant Commerce Clause.

    The justices found that the federal Tobacco Control Act preserves states’ authority to regulate the sale and distribution of tobacco products more stringently than federal requirements, and that Alabama’s restrictions serve a legitimate public health purpose rather than unlawfully discriminating against interstate or foreign commerce. The law establishes certification requirements, fees, and an ENDS product directory, with penalties for retailers selling products not listed on the state-approved directory.

  • 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.

  • Malaysia Confiscated 700kg of Drug-Laced Vapes Since 2023

    Malaysia Confiscated 700kg of Drug-Laced Vapes Since 2023

    Malaysian authorities seized more than 718 kg of illegal vape and e-cigarette products suspected of containing prohibited substances between 2023 and June 2026, according to the Home Ministry. The products were found to contain substances including synthetic drugs, tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), mushroom extracts, and other psychoactive compounds. Over the period, authorities recorded 400 cases and arrested 585 individuals.

    The ministry said the illicit products were primarily marketed to youths and students through social media, e-commerce platforms, and courier services, and announced plans to strengthen intelligence gathering, cyber monitoring, and forensic laboratory capabilities to identify and disrupt the illegal trade.

  • 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.

  • Japan Shelves Tightening HTP Regulations

    Japan Shelves Tightening HTP Regulations

    Today (July 9), Japan’s Ministry of Health said it will postpone tightening secondhand smoke regulations for heated tobacco products, concluding that current scientific evidence is insufficient to determine the health risks of secondhand exposure. The ministry will continue reviewing emerging research and revisit the issue in about three years, while moving ahead with stricter oversight of designated smoking facilities by requiring qualifying bars and similar venues to register with municipal authorities.

    The decision follows a five-year review of the revised Health Promotion Act, which bans cigarette smoking in most indoor public spaces but permits HTP use in designated rooms. Although a recent review found some HTPs may emit higher levels of certain carcinogens than conventional cigarettes, the ministry said evidence on health effects for bystanders remains inconclusive. Public health experts on the advisory panel urged a more precautionary approach, while the ministry noted that HTPs now account for about 40% of all tobacco users in Japan, one of the world’s largest markets for heat-not-burn products.