South Korea is expanding the number of vaping-only lounges to accommodate the growing popularity of e-cigarettes, reports Korea Bizwire.
E-cigarette-exclusive lounges have emerged at airports and commercial hubs, catering to vapers who wish to avoid the strong odors and cramped conditions of traditional smoking booths.
Incheon Airport, for instance, has converted three existing smoking areas to vaping-only lounges by, among other things, removing ashtrays.
According to the airport, these lounges serve an average of 4,000 users daily, with a satisfaction rate of 4.2 out of 5, as measured by a September survey. Incheon Airport is the only top-10 international airport to provide exclusive e-cigarette smoking lounges.
“We prioritized convenience for both traditional and e-cigarette smokers by considering accessibility and foot traffic in our lounge locations,” an airport spokesperson said.
Lotte World Tower offers dedicated e-cigarette areas, as do shopping centers like Starfield Suwon and Starfield City Wirye. Local governments in districts such as Gangnam and Seongdong have also piloted separate smoking booths for traditional and e-cigarette users.
Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) will vote on a draft resolution on smoke-free and aerosol-free environments this week, according to Euractiv.
The resolution proposes extending the ban to key outdoor areas such as outdoor restaurants and cafes, workplaces, surroundings of healthcare facilities, educational institutions, care facilities and public transport, including bus stops and tram stops as well as train stations. Railway platforms, airports, recreational areas and other areas of high congregation would also be included in the rule.
The draft resolution also calls for research on the risks of secondhand exposure to heated tobacco and aerosols, including from e-cigarettes. The document highlights the need to combat illicit sales, stating that “the Commission and member states should commit to taking stricter measures.”
MEPs expect the Commission to provide member states with necessary funding to implement health policies, and the MEPs are likely to call on the Commission to present a report to Parliament and the Council on the progress and implementation of the Council Recommendations in EU countries no later than four years after the resolution is adopted.
The nation’s top court declined to hear the case in a brief written order handed down Monday.
R.J. Reynolds appealed to the high court after the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals found the warnings do not violate the First Amendment, the AP reports.
They include pictures of smoke-damaged lungs, feet blackened by diminished blood flow and a picture of a woman with an immense growth on her neck and the caption “WARNING: Smoking causes head and neck cancer.”
Nearly 120 countries worldwide have adopted more prominent, graphic warning labels. Studies from those countries suggest that image-based labels are more effective than text warnings at publicizing smoking risks and encouraging smokers to quit. The U.S. has not updated its labels since 1984.
It’s not clear when new labels might appear. Some legal claims remain, and the FDA has said it doesn’t plan to enforce any new requirements until at least December 2025.
Campaigners are urging British lawmakers to reject plans to ban the sale of cigarettes and other tobacco products to future generations of adults.
Ahead of the second reading of the Tobacco and Vapes Bill on Nov. 26, the smokers’ rights group Forest says the proposal is “unnecessarily divisive” and is not supported by the majority of the public.
According to a recent poll commissioned by Forest and conducted by Yonder Consulting, 60 percent of respondents said that if people are allowed to drive a car, join the army, purchase alcohol, and vote at 18, they should also be allowed to buy cigarettes and other tobacco products.
Fewer than a third (31 percent) said they should not be allowed to purchase tobacco when legally an adult, while 9 percent said, “don’t know.”
MPs need to think very carefully about the unintended consequences of raising the legal age of sale of tobacco.
“A generational ban on the sale of tobacco is unnecessarily divisive because it will create a two-tier society in which some adults have different rights to others,” said Forest Director Simon Clark.
“Eventually it will create the absurd situation whereby a 40-year-old can purchase cigarettes and other tobacco products, but someone born a few days later could be denied the same right.
“MPs need to think very carefully about the unintended consequences of raising the legal age of sale of tobacco.
“Denying future generations of adults the right to buy cigarettes and other tobacco products legally won’t stop people smoking.
“Creeping prohibition will simply drive the sale of tobacco underground and into the hands of criminal gangs and illicit traders.”
The U.S. Supreme Court will next week hear the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s defense of the agency’s rejection of two companies’ premarket tobacco product applications (PMTAs) to sell flavored vape products that it has determined pose health risks for young consumers.
The justices took up the FDA’s appeal filed after a lower court ruled that the agency had failed to follow proper legal procedures under federal law when it denied the applications to bring their nicotine-containing products to market.
The Supreme Court is due to hear the case in its next term, which begins in October, according to Reuters.
Two e-cigarette liquid makers, Triton Distribution and Vapetasia, filed premarket tobacco product applications in 2020 for products with flavors such as sour grape, pink lemonade, and crème brulee and names such as “Jimmy The Juice Man Strawberry Astronaut” and “Suicide Bunny Bunny Season.”
The FDA rejected the companies’ applications, along with more than 1 million other products.
Triton and Vapetasia in 2021 asked the New Orleans-based 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to review the FDA’s denial of their applications.
In January, the 5th Circuit ruled that the FDA had been arbitrary and capricious by denying the applications without considering plans by the companies to prevent underage access and use.
Spain has started a public consultation on new rules for vaping devices, reports Sur.
The proposed legislation would ban the ban on the use of non-tobacco flavorings in e-cigarettes with the goal of making these products less attractive to young people.
The decree also aims to regulate the labeling of electronic cigarettes without nicotine. As with traditional tobacco, they will have to have a list of ingredients and health warnings indicating that their consumption is harmful to health.
They will also have to include a leaflet with information on contraindications and possible adverse effects.
The French senate approved tax hikes on tobacco products, reports The Connexion.
With the measure, lawmakers want to raise funds for France’s social security budget, which faces a deficit of €16 billion next year, and reduce the strain on healthcare services by discouraging smoking.
The measure is expected to raise around €200 million per year. The government wants a pack of cigarettes to cost €13 by 2027.
Lawmakers are also considering tax increases for nicotine pouches, nicotine sachets and oral gum/beads, although the health minister is looking to ban some of these products.
The increased taxes should be in place until the products are banned.
President Sadyr Japarov signed a law prohibiting the import, circulation and use of electronic cigarettes.
After July 1, 2025, those caught vaping will risk a fine $115 and sellers of e-cigarettes will be subject of a penalty ranging from $230 to $750.
Importing electronic cigarettes will result in correctional labor for two months to one year or a fine of up to $1,390. Meanwhile, importing electronic cigarettes in large quantities will result in a fine of up to $2,300 or imprisonment for up to two years.
The law, titled “On Amendments to Certain Legislative Acts in the Sphere of Protecting Citizens’ Health,” will come into force on July 1, 2025.
New research by leading international health experts has found that more than 400,000 Nigerian lives could be saved if policymakers adopt a progressive approach to tobacco harm reduction (THR).
The report, released on Nov. 19, outlines how integrating alternative nicotine products such as vapes and nicotine pouches into Nigeria’s tobacco control framework could dramatically reduce the nation’s smoking-related death toll.
According to the report, Saving 600,000 Lives in Nigeria and Kenya, 3.5 million Nigerians currently smoke, and each year 26,851 Nigerians die from smoking-related illnesses. While the World Health Organization (WHO) projects that smoking-related deaths will drop to 18,000 annually by 2060, experts argue that the number remains far too high.
By adopting THR strategies, the researchers estimate that the annual smoking-related death toll could be reduced to 7,600 by 2060, saving over 416,000 lives in the process.
Derek Yach
“We have a clear opportunity to reduce the burden of smoking-related diseases in Nigeria significantly,” said Derek Yach, one of the report’s authors and former leader of the Foundation for a Smoke Free World. “By embracing safer alternatives like vapes and nicotine pouches, Nigeria can drastically lower smoking-related deaths and help people who smoke quit more effectively. Tobacco harm reduction is the key to saving lives and improving public health in Nigeria.”
The use of THR products has already been proven to reduce smoking rates in countries such as the UK, Sweden, Japan and New Zealand. In these nations, the widespread adoption of e-cigarettes and other nicotine alternatives has led to a marked decline in cigarette consumption, the leading cause of smoking-related diseases, according to an emailed press release.
Delon Human
“The success stories from other countries are undeniable,” said Dr. Delon Human, co-author of the report and founder of the African Harm Reduction Alliance. “In nations where tobacco harm reduction is embraced, smoking rates are dropping, and lives are being saved. Nigeria can achieve similar results by adopting a more inclusive tobacco control policy incorporating standard measures and access to these life-saving alternatives.”
The report calls on Nigerian policymakers to take bold steps in reducing smoking-related harm by considering the introduction of safer nicotine products into the national health strategy. Nigeria could make significant progress toward its public health goals by offering people who smoke alternatives that are far less harmful than combustible cigarettes.
“As Nigeria’s leaders continue to refine tobacco control measures, they have a unique opportunity to reduce smoking-related harm while empowering people who smoke with the tools to quit,” Yach added. “With the right policy choices, Nigeria can not only improve the health of its citizens but also set an example for the rest of Africa.
A new report from the CDC Foundation and Truth Initiative showed that from 2019 to 2023, there was a 47 percent increase in e-cigarette unit sales at U.S. retail outlets. Flavors like fruit, candy, mint, menthol and desserts accounted for more than 80 percent of sales.
The report, Monitoring E-Cigarette Trends in the United States: Urgent Action Needed to Protect Kids from Flavored E-Cigarettes, urges states to adopt comprehensive statewide policies restricting flavored e-cigarette sales. The report found that the most effective policies to restrict these sales clearly define products and include comprehensive flavored tobacco restrictions without flavor or product exceptions, incorporate community and retailer education and are supported by enforcement.
“The rise in e-cigarette sales, particularly those with youth-appealing flavors and graphics, is deeply concerning, especially as manufacturers evolve e-cigarette products to feature gamified devices and increased nicotine strength,” said Judy Monroe, president and CEO of the CDC Foundation, in a statement. “However, the data from states like Massachusetts, California and New York demonstrate how comprehensive policies can effectively curb youth access. This report underscores the urgent need for widespread adoption of similar measures to protect our young people from the risks associated with e-cigarette use.”
“E-cigarette sales have skyrocketed in recent years, with an explosion of new products—many designed to attract and addict our youth with increasingly high levels of nicotine,” said Kathy Crosby, CEO and president of Truth Initiative. “Today’s e-cigarettes are available in a vast array of enticing flavors and feature sleek, colorful designs. They’re also bigger, stronger and cheaper than previous devices, which only heightens their appeal. Even more concerning, over 80 percent of e-cigarettes are on the market illegally. While enforcement is vital to ending the youth e-cigarette crisis, retailers also must do the right thing, take responsibility to protect their young customers and remove all illegal products from store shelves.”
“While the latest data from the CDC Foundation and Truth Initiative show a dangerous rise in sales of e-cigarettes, they also reveal a notable decline in sales where strong policies restricting flavored e-cigarettes are implemented,” said Kelly Henning, public health program lead for Bloomberg Philanthropies. “The progress in states with strong policies underscores the urgent need for more action to swiftly and successfully combat the flavored e-cigarette epidemic among youth across the United States.”
