Category: News This Week

Singapore Officials Seize Vaping Products

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Authorities in Singapore seized more than 85,000 vaping products in a warehouse raid conducted by Singapore’s Health Sciences Authority (HSA), reports Channel News Asia.
This is the largest seizure of e-cigarettes and other vaping products by HSA, surpassing a haul in 2021 where more than SGD2.2 million ($3 million) worth of products were confiscated, said HSA and the Singapore police in a joint press release. The latest seizure has an estimated value of more than $5 million.
The raid was the result of HSA following up on leads from investigating a group of people suspected of selling illegal vaping products.
On March 28, six individuals were detained by the police at a multi-story car park at Block 592 Montreal Link. “The driver of a van was allegedly found to be distributing parcels containing e-vaporizers to five persons purportedly assisting in the delivery to buyers,” said the authorities.
Under the Tobacco (Control of Advertisements and Sale) Act, it is an offense to import, sell or distribute vape products.
Those found guilty for the first time can be fined up to SGD10,000, jailed for up to six months or both.
Subsequent offenses double the penalties to a fine of up to SGD20,000, a jail term of up to a year or both.
Vaping is illegal in Singapore. The purchase, use and possession of all vaping products are also prohibited.
April 3, 2023
Vape Manufacturers Must Register

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Following the removal of nicotine e-liquid or gel from the Poisons Act 1952 to allow for e-cigarettes and vaping products to be taxed in Malaysia, local manufacturers producing e-liquid or gel products containing nicotine must register their manufacturing activities with the Customs Department by April 30, according to the Ministry of Finance (MOF), reports The Edge Markets and Free Malaysia Today.
“Early registration within this prescribed period may prevent manufacturers from being charged a compound for the offense of late registration. This early registration will ensure comprehensive industry compliance and smooth tax collection by May 2023,” the MOF said in a statement.
This follows the imposition of an excise tax of 40 sen ($0.004) per milliliter on nicotine e-liquids or gels.
Prime Minister and Finance Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim announced the government’s plan to impose an excise tax on liquid or gel products containing nicotine when he re-tabled Budget 2023 in February.
The previous government under Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob’s administration also proposed to extend tax collection from gel or liquid products containing nicotine for vapes and e-cigarettes in the tabling of Budget 2022 by imposing a tax of RM1.20 per milliliter. However, the plan was postponed because nicotine vape liquid was still classified as a Class C poison under the Poisons Act.
The new excise duty, the MOF said, would enable the government to tax the vape industry, which is estimated to be worth over RM2 billion ($454 million), and at the same time help discourage the use of vapes.
It will also help improve rules and control of excise duty goods by customs to avoid leakage of national income, according to media reports.
April 3, 2023
Nicotine E-Liquid Taken Off Poisons List

Malaysia’s government has removed e-liquid containing nicotine used in e-cigarettes and other vaping products from the country’s Poisons List of controlled substances. The move enables taxation on e-liquids.
Media reports claim the removal effectively legalizes e-cigarettes with nicotine without any regulations in place, as the current Control of Tobacco Products Regulations 2004 under the Food Act 1983 only cover conventional cigarettes and other tobacco products.
The Control of Tobacco Product and Smoking Bill 2022 – which seeks to regulate both tobacco and vape products, besides a ban on these products for anyone born from 2007 – has yet to be tabled in the current 15th Parliament, reports Code Blue.
Health Minister Zaliha Mustafa gazetted an order Friday to exempt nicotine “preparation of a kind used for smoking through electronic cigarette and electric vaporizing device, in the form of liquid or gel” from the Poisons List under the Poisons Act 1952 – overriding the Poisons Board that unanimously rejected the proposal last Wednesday.
The Excise Duties (Amendment) Order 2023 – which subjects e-liquid or gel containing nicotine to excise duty of 40 sen ($0.004 cents) per milliliter – gazetted by Finance Minister Anwar Ibrahim, who is also the prime minister, was dated last March 29, the same day as the Poisons Board meeting.
The tax on e-liquids with nicotine went into effect on April 1.
CodeBlue reported that the Poisons Board, an independent body formed under the Poisons Act, wholly objected to the government’s proposal to exclude nicotine-containing e-liquid from the Poisons List on the basis that the harm of allowing e-cigarettes to be sold to anyone, including children, outweighed the benefit of tax revenue from such products containing nicotine, a highly addictive substance.
April 2, 2023
Qnovia Adds Zeller to Advisory Board

Mitch Zeller, the former head of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s Center for Tobacco Product, has joined the advisory board of a company developing a first-of-its-kind smoking cessation inhalation product.
Zeller said Qnovia’s nicotine inhalation product, RespiRX, has the potential to be a “game changer” in lowering the use of combustible cigarettes.
The former director of the Center for Tobacco Products (CTP) from March 2013 until his retirement in April 2022, Zeller is now providing policy and regulatory strategy consulting to Qnovia, Inc.
The company is currently preparing an application to the FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER) for a cessation therapy which, if approved, will be the first inhaled prescription therapy to help tobacco smokers quit.
Zeller’s addition to the company’s advisory board comes as the FDA aims to finalize proposed bans on menthol cigarettes and flavored cigars by August. The FDA also plans to propose a rule limiting nicotine levels in cigarettes and some other tobacco products.
Zeller said access to Qnovia’s product can be one essential tool along with an administration-wide effort to provide support to those with nicotine addictions once those product standards take effect.
“Some people will be able to quit cold turkey, but a whole bunch won’t, and they will be seeking nicotine elsewhere,” Zeller said in an interview, told Bloomberg Law.
“The last thing that we want smokers to do if any of those policies go into effect is to simply switch to another tobacco product,” he added.
Qnovia’s goal is for RespiRx to be the first inhaled prescription smoking cessation therapy product, according to Qnovia CEO Brian Quigley. Instead of using heat to create vapor, the RespiRx device uses an orientation-agnostic vibrating mesh nebulizer. The aerosolizing engine is nothing like a traditional e-cigarette that heats a coil to atomize nicotine based in PG and/or VG.
RespiRx is activated when a user inhales on the device. To aerosolize the nicotine, it sends an electrical current that causes the perforated piezo mesh to vibrate more than 100,000 times a second. “It’s that vibrating action of the mesh that then forces the liquid to the holes, creating an aerosol that appears vapor-like, allowing it to be inhaled,” says Quigley. That, he says, is fundamentally different from a traditional e-cigarette product, where the heating process can create undesired thermal byproducts.
RespiRx uses proprietary software to deliver a precise dose of nicotine. Every time it’s activated, the device fires for three seconds and delivers a targeted dose of the drug. The base is reusable and serves as the housing for the battery and software. The RespiRx nebulizer sits within the pod that houses the nicotine drug product.
“The nebulizing unit (cartridge) gets replaced by the patient every one to two days. That interface means that the patient doesn’t have to clean the nebulizer,” explains Quigley. “The biggest challenge with other vibrating mesh products is that they require cleaning if used over an extended period. We’re mitigating that through the design of the interface. There is no cleaning required. We do believe that this will result in RespiRx having a very long use life.”
Late last year, Qnovia raised $17 million to continue the development of its RespiRx nicotine replacement product.
In June of 2020, the company appointed Quigley, a 16-year veteran of Altria Group, as its Chief Operating Officer. At Altria, Quigley served as CEO of its smokeless tobacco business from 2012 to 2018, a $2.3 billion business with over 800 employees,
March 31, 2023
U.K. Considers Banning Nontobacco Flavors

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The U.K. government will consider banning fruit-flavored vapes in order to combat youth usage, reports ITV News.
Public Health Minister Neil O’Brien is expected to make a speech next month calling for an investigation into the issue with the possibility of banning fruity flavors that have exploded in popularity in recent years.
In the U.K., it is illegal to sell vapes to those under 18; there are also strict limits on nicotine content, refill bottle and tank sizes as well as restrictions on advertising and labeling.
Justice Secretary Dominic Raab said the Department of Health and Social Care is exploring ways to tackle youth vaping in response to a question in the Commons.
The government is still keen to promote vaping among adults as an alternative to smoking.
March 31, 2023
Belfast Considering Vaping Ban

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The Belfast Council in Northern Ireland is considering banning anyone under the age of 18 from vaping at its sites and premises around the city, according to Belfast Live.
UUP John Kyle has forwarded a motion to be debated by the full council next week, calling upon the Belfast City Council to convene a working group with other stakeholders considering measures to strengthen current legislation and enforcement in relation to vaping.
The motion also calls for a ban on the use of vapes by all individuals under the age of 18 inside all council premises.
At the recent meeting of the council’s Standards and Business Committee, Kyle said, “Part of the purpose of this motion is that people, particularly parents of young people, are unaware of the dangers of vaping. It has become such a common practice with kids at school.
“Part of the purpose is to publicize the issue, make people aware of it, so I propose it is aired at full council before going for consideration to the committee to work it through. It would be beneficial if we as a council give some air space to what is a growing public health problem.”
March 31, 2023
Paper Addresses Harm Reduction of Pouches

Knowledge-Action-Change (KAC) has published the latest in a series of briefing papers as part of its Global State of Tobacco Harm Reduction (GSTHR) project.
What are nicotine pouches? provides an overview of the latest information about the scientific evidence, market data, regulatory landscape and tobacco harm potential for this relatively new safer nicotine product, according to KAC.
Nicotine pouches are thumbnail-sized sachets that are placed under the lip. They are made from vegetable fibers infused with nicotine and a range of flavors. Nicotine pouches are sometimes confused with Swedish snus, another safer nicotine product that was the subject of a previous GSTHR briefing paper. Both products are placed under the lip, but while Swedish snus contains tobacco, nicotine pouches do not contain any raw or processed tobacco leaves.
As a new product category, the body of evidence examining their safety is still growing, but preliminary findings indicate that nicotine pouches offer people who use nicotine a significantly safer alternative to smoking.
“This briefing paper aims to increase knowledge about, and awareness of, the tobacco harm reduction potential of nicotine pouches,” said Gerry Stimson, director of KAC and emeritus professor at Imperial College London. “Good quality information about the full range of different safer nicotine products is essential for consumers, policymakers and regulators.
“Nicotine pouches could make a significant contribution to tobacco harm reduction. This is particularly the case for the more than 300 million people worldwide who use smokeless tobacco products, most of whom live in low-[income] and middle-income countries where health systems are less well-resourced to diagnose and treat noncommunicable diseases. High-risk oral tobacco products such as betel quid, paan or gutkha contain relatively high levels of carcinogenic and toxic compounds and increase the risk of oral, esophageal and pancreatic cancers. In contrast, nicotine pouches have been found to have a similar risk profile to nicotine replacement therapy.
“Nicotine pouches may not yet be as widely used as nicotine vapes, but the global market for these products is already worth $1.5 billion. This provides good evidence that tobacco users find these products acceptable and will switch to them. In comparison to some other safer nicotine product categories, nicotine pouches are low cost and have minimal start-up and on-costs for consumers, meaning they offer significant hope to many low-[income] and middle-income countries where high-risk oral tobacco use is prevalent.”
March 31, 2023
Philippines President Blocks International Probe of Duterte

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Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has shut the International Criminal Court (ICC) out of the country as it attempts to investigate former President Rodrigo Duterte’s War on Drugs, reports Filter, citing Reuters. “That ends all our involvement with the ICC …. At this point, we essentially are disengaging from any contact, any communication,” Marcos said.
The ICC opened an investigation into drug war killings under Duterte’s leadership in September 2021, focusing on two periods: November 2011 to June 2016, when Duterte spearheaded a similar campaign as mayor of Davao City, and up to March 2019, after Duterte became president but before he withdrew the country from the Rome Statute, the founding international treaty that created the ICC.
The ICC temporarily suspended the investigation in November 2021, stating that the Philippines was conducting its own investigation and that the court would decide how to proceed at a later point. The investigation was reopened in January 2023 after the ICC stated that the Philippines government was not conducting a serious investigation of its own. President Marcos appealed the decision, asking for another suspension, but that request was not granted.
“We cannot cooperate with the ICC,” Marcos said, “considering the very serious questions about their jurisdiction and about what we consider to be interference and practically attacks on the sovereignty of the republic.”
ICC rules dictate that it can investigate any crimes that happened in the country while it was still a treaty member.
“As of 2021, we still hear from local activists that extrajudicial killings are taking place,” said Ajeng Larasati, human rights lead for Harm Reduction International. “The Philippines in the past few months is still debating reinstating the death penalty for drug offenses as well. It doesn’t seem Marcos has taken any steps to make its drug policy better and more respectful of human rights.”
“Just the fact the ICC is reopening the case is already a good step,” said Larasati. “Although it may not end up in an investigation, it still gave the Philippines government a sense that the international community is watching.”
March 30, 2023
Push to Exempt Liquid from Poisons Act

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Malaysian e-cigarette and vapor industry stakeholders have lauded the federal government’s move to exempt nicotine as a controlled substance ahead of new taxation on vape products, reports Malay Mail.
Excluding liquid nicotine under the Poisons Act will allow the government to introduce proper regulatory frameworks like those in the U.K., New Zealand and Canada, according to the Malaysia Retail Electronic Cigarette Association (MRECA).
“Continuing to subject vape products containing nicotine under the Poisons Act does not help as it is not a suitable framework and does not work for the products,” said Datuk Adzwan Ab Manas, MRECA president. “With the exemption, vape liquids containing nicotine can be regulated appropriately, and this is where amendments to existing laws, such as the Control of Tobacco Product Regulations 2004, are required. This is important as it will then see controls in place instead of allowing the products to remain unregulated.”
“This is long-awaited news from the entire local vape industry,” said Malaysian Vape Chambers of Commerce Secretary-General Ridhwan Rosli. “The move to exempt liquid nicotine is crucial because now there are rules governing the unregulated industry.”
“Vape can be further controlled through existing legislation such as the Control of Tobacco Product Regulations 2004, whose revision would ensure they are not sold to those under the age of 18,” said Malaysian Vape Industry Advocacy president Rizani Zakaria.
The Ministry of Health has not consulted industry players since the proposed regulation was announced in the 2023 budget, according to Adzwan and Rizani.
“We have been in the dark since that announcement with no discussions nor consultation held with the ministry,” said Adzwan. “And the news about the potential exemption on nicotine for vape liquid should be discussed with industry players instead of it being communicated to the health NGOs [nongovernmental organizations]. At the same time, MRECA is of the opinion that the Generational Endgame (GEG) proposal requires further in-depth studies and consultations with all stakeholders, especially the industry players.”
Healthcare professionals have expressed discontent with the possibility of nicotine being removed from the controlled substances list.
March 30, 2023
Minnesota AG Opens Juul Lawsuit

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Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison personally opened his state’s case against Juul Labs on Tuesday, accusing the e-cigarette maker of using “slick products, clever ads and attractive flavors” to hook children on nicotine as the first of thousands of cases against the company reached trial, reports AP.
Minnesota is seeking more than $100 million in damages, accusing Washington, D.C.-based Juul of unlawfully targeting young people to get a new generation addicted to nicotine, according to the Federal News Network.
“They baited, deceived and addicted a whole new generation of kids after Minnesotans slashed youth smoking rates down to the lowest level in a generation,” Ellison said. “Now, Big Tobacco is back with a new name but the same game. Juul wiped out the work of our state with their slick products, clever ads and attractive flavors.”
Juul has faced thousands of lawsuits nationwide but most have settled, including 39 suits with other states and U.S. territories. Minnesota, which won a landmark $7.1 billion settlement with the tobacco industry in 1998, has not settled. Minnesota added tobacco industry giant Altria, which formerly owned a minority stake in Juul, as a co-defendant in 2020.
David Bernick, an attorney for Juul, promised jurors an “intense and interesting” trial. He said the purpose of Juul was always to convert adult smokers of combustible cigarettes to a less dangerous product that would still provide a satisfying nicotine experience—not to lure kids to the products. E-cigarettes aren’t safe but aren’t deadly either, he said; they’re somewhere in between. And Juul did nothing to intentionally drive youth demand, he argued, suggesting that the growth in youth vaping was more likely due to increasing adult demand resulting in “leakage” to kids.
William Geraghty, an attorney for Altria, denied Ellison’s assertions that Altria invested heavily in Juul because it ultimately wanted to hook kids on its cigarettes, which include Marlboro. He said Altria bought its passive stake because Juul had found the key to successfully switching adult smokers of conventional cigarettes to a less harmful product while Altria’s competing e-cigarettes had failed in the marketplace.
The lawsuit against Juul, filed in 2019, alleges consumer fraud, creating a public nuisance, unjust enrichment and conspiracy with Altria. The jury trial before Hennepin County District Judge Laurie Miller is expected to last about three weeks.
March 29, 2023