Category: Featured

  • Illegal Levels of Liquid in U.K. Disposables

    Illegal Levels of Liquid in U.K. Disposables

    Photo: YarikL

    Nearly all major disposable vaping brands on the U.K. market that are not produced by a major tobacco manufacturer contain illegal levels of e-liquid, reports Better Retailing, citing BAT testing data shared by senior wholesale sources.

    In a letter sent to wholesalers seen by Better Retailing, BAT said it had commissioned  an independent accredited laboratory to test Elf Bar 600 products purchased from supermarkets and independent retailers between Sept. 6, 2021, and March 7, 2023.

    The evidence reportedly revealed that the tested products contained significantly more than the U.K. legal limit of 2 mL of nicotine-containing e-liquid from 2.76 mL to 3.88 mL, with an average overfill of 58 percent.

    Tests performed on Lost Mary, Found Mary, IVG Bar, Klik Klak, SKE Crystal, Smok Mbar Pro and Solo disposable vapes also showed illegal levels of e-liquid, according to the report.  

    Together, the brands account for nearly all disposable vaping sales in independent shops by both revenue and volume.

    Senior wholesale sources welcomed BAT’s efforts to “clean up” the disposable vaping market but also challenged the claims made, stating they would wait on independent testing and regulatory guidance before taking action. The sources noted that BAT would likely see its market share of the disposable vaping market increase significantly if regulators took action against its rivals.

    BAT stated that the results of tests have been shared with the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Authority.

  • COP Delegations Urged to Include Consumers

    COP Delegations Urged to Include Consumers

    Photo: Oleg

    Country delegations to the 10th Conference of the Parties (COP10) to the World Health Organization’s Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) should include at least one consumer of safer nicotine products, according to the Coalition of Asia Pacific Tobacco Harm Reduction Advocates (CAPHRA).

    In a letter to their respective countries’ FCTC delegations, CAPHRA member organizations stressed the importance of listening to consumers. “Consumers are an untapped experience and knowledge base who are not represented inclusively in the FCTC process,” the letter states. “Delegates to COP10 should be representing the rights and aspirations of the citizens.”

    CAPHRA insists that adults have the right to make choices that help them avoid adverse health outcomes, and people who smoke have the right to access less harmful nicotine products as alternatives to combustible and unsafe tobacco. What’s more, they have the right to participate in the policymaking process that directly impacts their right to health and well-being, the letter notes.

    CAPHRA Executive Director Nancy Loucas said that exclusion of consumer voices has contributed to misinformation, disinformation and failures of tobacco control policy.

    “Millions have successfully used vaping to move away from combustibles and unsafe oral nicotine products, yet the FCTC looks set to bury its head in the sand again at COP10. CAPHRA believes visiting delegations must include a consumer voice to give at least some balance to all the misinformation,” says Loucas.

    COP10 will be held in Panama in November.

  • Kaival Reports First-Quarter Results

    Kaival Reports First-Quarter Results

    Photo: Bidi Vapor

    Kaival Brands Innovations Group, distributor of Bidi Vapor products, reported revenues of approximately $2.5 million for the first quarter of fiscal year 2023 compared to revenues of approximately $2.8 million in the same period of the prior fiscal year.

    Gross profit was approximately $500,000 compared to approximately a $700,000 gross loss for the first quarter of fiscal year 2022. The net loss for the first quarter of fiscal year 2023 was approximately $3 million compared to a net loss of approximately $2.8 million for the first quarter of fiscal year 2022.

    “Despite a slight decrease in revenues versus the comparable quarter last year and our fiscal fourth quarter, primarily due to an unusually large amounts of credits, discounts and rebates to customers, which we do not expect to continue, we are continuing to focus on broadening distribution channels and driving revenue, all with the goal of materially expanding our business and increasing shareholder value,” said Eric Mosser, president and chief operating officer of Kaival Brands, in a statement.

    On March 9, 2023, Kaival announced it had signed an agreement with a prominent national broker, increasing distribution by upward of 40,000 retail stores.

    On March 7, 2023, the company announced it entered into new retail distribution agreements representing potential new distribution to approximately 13,500 locations.

  • FDA Denies Marketing Applications for Vuse Menthol

    FDA Denies Marketing Applications for Vuse Menthol

    The U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued marketing denial orders (MDOs) for two menthol e-cigarette products currently marketed by R.J. Reynolds Vapor Company under the Vuse Solo brand.

    Reynolds is expected to challenge the order.

    The currently marketed products include the Vuse Replacement Cartridge Menthol 4.8% G1 and the Vuse Replacement Cartridge Menthol 4.8% G2, according to a statement. The company may resubmit applications or submit new applications to address the deficiencies for the products that are subject to these MDOs. 

    The FDA evaluates premarket tobacco product applications (PMTAs) based on a public health standard that considers the risks and benefits of the product on the population as a whole.

    After reviewing the company’s PMTAs, the FDA determined that the applications lacked sufficient evidence to demonstrate that permitting the marketing of the products would be appropriate for the protection of the public health, which is the applicable standard legally required by the 2009 Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act.

    Specifically, the evidence submitted by the applicant did not demonstrate that its menthol-flavored e-cigarettes provide an added benefit for adult smokers relative to tobacco-flavored e-cigarettes.

    In October last year, the FDA issued MDOs for several menthol-flavored vaping products marketed by Logic Technology Development. It was the first time the FDA issued MDOs for menthol products after receiving a scientific review.

    A few days after the order was issued, Logic obtained a court order from the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit that temporarily stayed the order.

    The case continues.

  • Holography Trade Body Adds General Secretary

    Holography Trade Body Adds General Secretary

    Micaal Sidorov | Image courtesy of the IHMA

    The International Hologram Manufacturers Association (IHMA) has appointed Micaal Sidorov as its new general secretary.

    Sidorov brings experience in business development, sales and marketing, market research and intellectual property management, working widely across the ID document and security printing sectors.

    He will work to develop and expand the membership base of the IHMA, in particular to include more nontraditional members coming from outside the security and brand protection industries. Developing collaborative initiatives with the Counterfeit Intelligence Bureau, which includes expanding the Hologram Image Register to include images for other optically variable devices besides holograms, Secure Identification Union in China and Intergraf, the security printers trade association, will also be priorities. Other plans include a series of workshops, with the first one to be held in Abu Dhabi this spring.

    “The IHMA board looks forward to working with Micaal to continue to promote the best interests of holography, which is an important and growing sector, across the world,” said Paul Dunn, chair of the IHMA. “Despite the economic, social and global supply chain challenges, we continue to see strong activity for holography with brand manufacturers and countries bringing forward their anti-counterfeiting plans. Micaal will help the industry to continue to grow and innovate, which remains the mission of the IHMA as well as supporting the sector [to] meet the challenges it faces.”

  • Elf Bar Avoids Recall Notice

    Elf Bar Avoids Recall Notice

    Image: Veranika | Adobe Stock

    Authorities are satisfied with Elf Bar’s response to the controversy over the company’s products that did not meet legal requirements, reports ECigIntelligence, and there was no need for a mandatory recall.

    Elf Bar worked quickly to recall the product with retailers, and the company has confirmed that it was not subject to any formal recall or withdrawal notice issued by regulators.

    The products in question cannot be legally sold, however.

  • Modified-Risk Orders for Copenhagen Snuff

    Modified-Risk Orders for Copenhagen Snuff

    Photo: Altria Group

    The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has authorized U.S. Smokeless Tobacco Co.’s (UST) Copenhagen Classic Snuff, a loose moist snuff smokeless tobacco product, to be marketed as a modified-risk tobacco product (MRTP). Copenhagen’s moist snuff smokeless tobacco product has been marketed in the U.S. for years without modified-risk information.

    The FDA’s action now allows UST to market the product as a modified-risk product with the claim: “If you smoke, consider this: Switching completely to this product from cigarettes reduces risk of lung cancer.”

    After a rigorous review of the available evidence, including recommendations from the Tobacco Products Scientific Advisory Committee, public comments and other available scientific information, the FDA says it concluded that the specific claim related to lung cancer risk is scientifically accurate with respect to Copenhagen Classic Snuff. The review also found the public health gains are unlikely to be offset by nonusers starting to use the product.

    UST will be required to conduct post-market surveillance and studies that include an assessment of product users’ behavior, understanding and any previous use of cigarettes as well as a scientific model to assess continued impact on population health.

    This modified-risk granted order will expire in five years.

  • U.K. Tobacco Duty Increased

    U.K. Tobacco Duty Increased

    Image: weyo | Adobe Stock

    Chancellor Jeremy Hunt raised the U.K. tobacco duty in his spring budget, reports The Independent. A 20-pack of cigarettes will now cost more than £14 ($16.86).

    The cigarette tax increased by 10.1 percent in line with the retail price index plus an additional 2 percent.

    Hand-rolling tobacco will increase by 10.1 percent plus an additional 6 percent.

    Smokers-rights activists were aghast.

    “Punishing smokers for their habit during a cost-of-living crisis is heartless and cruel,” said Simon Clark, director of the smokers’ campaign group Forest. “It discriminates against poorer smokers and will drive many more consumers to the black market.

    “This is bad news for legitimate, law-abiding retailers and bad news for the Treasury, which could lose billions of pounds in revenue if more smokers buy their tobacco from illicit traders.”

    The last cigarette price increase was in October 2021.

    The price increase is part of the effort to make the U.K. smoke-free by 2030.

    Alcohol taxes are also set to increase with inflation.

  • Experts Address Health Professionals on Vaping

    Experts Address Health Professionals on Vaping

    Image: Maren Winter | Adobe Stock

    Three experts from King’s College London and the public health charity Action on Smoking and Health recently addressed health professionals, seeking to dispel what they describe as “myths about e-cigarettes and vaping,” according to the Independent European Vaping Alliance (IEVA).

    “E-cigarettes (vapes) are currently the most popular aid used to quit smoking in England and are used by around 4.3 million adults in Great Britain, the majority of whom are ex-smokers,” the authors stated, emphasizing that “… vaping poses only a small fraction of the health risks of smoking and that smokers should be encouraged to use vaping products … for stopping.” The experts fear that myths about vaping “risk undermining the use of these products as cessation aids.”

    “The facts about harm reduction are on the table,” said Dustin Dahlmann, president of the IEVA. “If many more smokers who cannot quit by other means were to switch to e-cigarettes, millions of people worldwide could live better and longer lives. Health policy in the U.K. should be a shining example to all policymakers.”

  • Hawaii Lawmakers Propose ‘Endgame’ Bill

    Hawaii Lawmakers Propose ‘Endgame’ Bill

    Image: Mercedes Fittipaldi | Adobe Stock

    A new bill introduced in the Hawaii Senate would make it illegal for anyone born after 2002 to possess, purchase or use tobacco or vaping products. 

    S.B. 148 would change the state’s tobacco rules to deny anyone born after Jan. 1, 2003, from purchasing and consuming these products.

    Those caught selling or providing tobacco or vaping products to consumers covered by the law would be subject to a $500 fine for a first offense and a fine of between $500 and $2,000 for any offense after that.

    In addition, anyone born after 2002 caught violating the law as a consumer would be subject to a $10 fine for the first offense, a $50 fine for a subsequent offense, or the option to do between 48 hours and 72 hours of community service.

    If passed, the change would take effect on Jan. 1, 2024. S.B. 148 currently has six sponsors.

    The concept of a generational sales ban was introduced in New Zealand in 2021 and was approved by that country’s government late last year. It has also been proposed in Malaysia, California and Nevada.

    In 2015, Hawaii became the first U.S. state to increase the minimum age to purchase tobacco products to 21 years old, which has since become the federal standard.

    In 2019, Hawaiian lawmakers proposed a bill that would slowly increase the age to purchase tobacco products, starting with raising the minimum age for buying cigarettes from 21 to 30 in 2020.

    By 2022, no one under 50 would have been able to buy cigarettes.