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Category: Science & Innovation

  • UK Awards Contract for Vaping Duty Stamps Program

    UK Awards Contract for Vaping Duty Stamps Program

    SICPA, a Swiss private technology company that specializes in digital sovereignty and secure public services, announced that it, along with partner Cartor Security Printers, received the contract from His Majesty’s Revenue & Customs to deliver a secure tax stamp and track-and-trace system for vape products in the UK.

    Selected following a multistage procurement process launched in July 2025, the consortium secured a five-year contract, with an option for a one-year extension, after a detailed technical and financial evaluation. The system will be introduced in phases, beginning with a transitional duty stamp in April, followed by an enhanced stamp integrated with a full track-and-trace solution from October.

    Cartor will produce the tax stamps with core physical security features, while SICPA will add advanced material and digital protections, manage coding and the T&T platform, and oversee stakeholder registration, stamp ordering and payments, and compliance monitoring across the vape supply chain. Digital market intelligence tools, enforcement audit devices, and consumer verification applications will further support the detection of fraud and counterfeit activity.

  • Study Warns Gen Z Getting Misinformation on Smoking, Vaping

    Study Warns Gen Z Getting Misinformation on Smoking, Vaping

    Declining smoking rates in the UK have been partly attributed to smokers switching to vaping, with daily smoking falling from 20.2% in 2011 to 9.1% in 2024, according to NHS data. However, growing misperceptions about the relative risks of vaping may be undermining that progress, particularly among younger adults. A long-term study by University College London found that the proportion of smokers who believed e-cigarettes were less harmful than cigarettes dropped from 44% in 2014 to 27% in 2023, while a majority came to believe vaping is as harmful or more harmful than smoking. Separate research from Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) reported that 56% of adults and 63% of young people now hold that view.

    Markus Lindblad, head of external affairs at Haypp, argues that sustained negative media coverage and online misinformation are contributing to confusion about relative risk, potentially discouraging smokers from switching to alternatives. He contends that for Gen Z—who may have had less exposure to traditional anti-smoking campaigns—frequent warnings about vaping, combined with less visible messaging about the harms of combustible tobacco, may distort perceptions. Public health bodies including the Royal College of Physicians have previously called for clearer communication to address false beliefs about nicotine alternatives, while continuing to support enforcement measures to curb youth uptake.

    “For Gen Z, who may not have had the same exposure to anti-smoking information as previous generations, they are encountering negative information about vapes far more frequently than negative information about cigarettes,” Lindblad said. “It is unsurprising, then, that their understanding of the relative risk between vapes and cigarettes is inaccurate.”

  • Imperial Partners with Capgemini to Boost Technology

    Imperial Partners with Capgemini to Boost Technology

    Imperial Brands announced a long-term global partnership with technology and consulting firm Capgemini to support its 2030 strategy focused on strengthening consumer engagement, improving sales execution, and becoming a “more agile, data-driven business.” The collaboration will provide access to advanced analytics, AI tools, and technology services, with initial plans including consultations on transferring finance, procurement, and supply chain teams in Poland to Capgemini.

    Imperial said the partnership is designed to accelerate innovation, enhance operational efficiency, and support its transformation into a “stronger challenger brand,” with further updates expected at its half-year results in May.

    “Our approach is about getting ever closer to our consumers and customers, focusing on our biggest opportunities and investing for agility,” said Lukas Paravicini, CEO of Imperial Brands. “Our new partnership with Capgemini will accelerate our development. It will deliver a step-up in our consumer insights and sales execution, improve our innovation capabilities, and free our people to focus on the activities which create most value.”

  • Qnovia Reports Positive Results in Phase 1 NRT Trial

    Qnovia Reports Positive Results in Phase 1 NRT Trial

    Qnovia reported positive Phase 1 clinical results for RespiRx, a handheld inhalable nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) using a vibrating mesh nebulizer to deliver nicotine via a cool mist without combustion or heating. In a 2025 randomized crossover study involving 25 adult smokers, the device demonstrated cigarette-like nicotine absorption, reaching peak blood nicotine levels in about seven minutes while producing lower overall nicotine exposure than cigarettes and showing meaningful reductions in smoking cravings. No serious adverse events were reported, with only moderate cough noted. The technology aims to address limitations of traditional NRTs, which often deliver nicotine more slowly, and is being positioned as a potential new pharmaceutical smoking-cessation option pending further clinical testing and regulatory review.

  • Survey Breaks Down Fiji’s Smoking Habits

    Survey Breaks Down Fiji’s Smoking Habits

    A survey in Fiji found that 36.3% of adults currently use tobacco, with significantly higher smoking rates among men (50.8%) than women (20.6%). Manufactured cigarettes remain the dominant tobacco product among smokers, with 80.6% of daily smokers using them, according to the Fiji STEPS Survey 2025. The survey was conducted between May 2024 and June 2025 among adults aged 18 to 69.

    Daily smoking was reported by 19.5% of adults, while smokeless tobacco use stood at 9.5%, primarily among men. The study also highlighted emerging nicotine trends, with 4.5% of adults reporting e-cigarette use, indicating growing diversification in nicotine consumption despite the continued dominance of manufactured cigarettes.

  • IKE Tech Invited to FDA Roundtable on PMTA Submissions

    IKE Tech Invited to FDA Roundtable on PMTA Submissions

    IKE Tech LLC has been invited by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to participate in an invitation-only roundtable discussion with small electronic nicotine delivery system (ENDS) manufacturers focused on Premarket Tobacco Product Application (PMTA) submissions. The news was announced by Ispire Technology, a founding partner of IKE Tech.

    The February 10 forum, limited to 30 companies nationwide, is designed to gather direct industry feedback on the PMTA process, with IKE Tech selected to participate in the Manufacturing Controls panel examining operational challenges and compliance practices. The company is developing a blockchain-enabled, Bluetooth-based age-gating system intended to verify legal-age access at the point of use, which has been submitted as a component PMTA for an interoperable age-verification technology. The FDA session is expected to inform future regulatory guidance and potential refinements to the PMTA review framework.

  • ‘Reverse Spin Bias’ Impacting Vape Studies

    ‘Reverse Spin Bias’ Impacting Vape Studies

    A newly published academic commentary highlighted potential inconsistencies in how evidence on vaping for smoking cessation is interpreted, introducing the concept of “reverse spin bias.” Published last month in Research Integrity and Peer Review, authors Renée O’Leary, Giusy Rita Maria La Rosa, and Riccardo Polosa, reviewed 16 systematic reviews published between 2021 and 2025 and found that 13 reported e-cigarettes as significantly more effective than comparators such as nicotine replacement therapy or placebo. However, only three of those reviews ultimately recommended e-cigarettes as a cessation tool, while others either discouraged their use or declined to make recommendations despite reporting positive findings. The authors argue that this disconnect between statistical outcomes and policy-facing conclusions may undermine evidence-based decision-making in public health and clinical guidance.

    The paper suggests several mechanisms behind the trend, including discounting positive evidence as low quality without formal evaluation, emphasizing hypothetical long-term risks, and selectively omitting favorable subgroup outcomes. For the vape sector, the findings reinforce concerns that harm-reduction evidence may not be consistently reflected in academic and regulatory discussions. The authors are calling for greater scrutiny from journal editors and peer reviewers to ensure that study conclusions accurately reflect underlying data, warning that failure to address such reporting bias could limit the adoption of potentially effective smoking cessation tools.

  • Secondhand Vape Plumes May Form Lung-Damaging Free Radicals: Study

    Secondhand Vape Plumes May Form Lung-Damaging Free Radicals: Study

    A laboratory study published in Environmental Science & Technology raised new questions about the potential risks of secondhand exposure to e-cigarette aerosols, finding that aged vape emissions may contain ultrafine particles, metals, and highly reactive compounds capable of generating free radicals linked to lung tissue damage. Researchers from the University of California, Riverside, led by Ying-Hsuan Lin, simulated indoor vaping conditions and found that aerosol particles contained metals including iron, aluminum, zinc, and trace levels of lead, arsenic, and tin. The study also reported that ultrafine particles, which can penetrate deep into the lungs, showed significantly higher concentrations of reactive peroxide compounds and produced substantially greater levels of free radicals when exposed to simulated lung fluid.

    The findings add to the growing body of research examining indoor air chemistry associated with vaping, particularly interactions between aerosol emissions and environmental ozone. While conducted under controlled laboratory conditions using simplified e-liquid formulations without nicotine, the researchers said the results highlight the need for further real-world and epidemiological studies to better understand potential health impacts of secondhand vape exposure.

  • AIR Study Finds New Hookah Lowers Indoor Toxicants

    AIR Study Finds New Hookah Lowers Indoor Toxicants

    AIR Limited said a newly published, peer-reviewed study found significantly lower levels of indoor air pollutants from its OOKA electronic waterpipe and from e-cigarettes compared with conventional hookah and combustible cigarette use. The research, published in December 2025 in Contributions to Tobacco & Nicotine Research, was authored by cardiovascular researcher Dr. Ian M. Fearon and based on testing commissioned by AIR and conducted by Al Futtaim Element Materials Technology Dubai LLC in an unventilated facility.

    According to the study, conventional charcoal-heated waterpipes and cigarettes generated the highest increases in carbon monoxide, formaldehyde, particulate matter (PM10 and PM2.5), and other toxicants. By contrast, AIR’s OOKA device, which does not use charcoal, produced negligible carbon monoxide and roughly 40% lower particulate matter than conventional hookah in single-user scenarios, while e-cigarettes produced the lowest particulate levels overall. In multi-occupant scenarios, elevated volatile organic compounds and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons were observed primarily during cigarette smoking.

    AIR CEO Stuart Brazier said the findings support the view that electronic delivery systems may reduce secondhand exposure risks in indoor environments while maintaining social smoking traditions. The study comes as AIR prepares for a proposed business combination with Cantor Equity Partners III, which would take the company public on Nasdaq under the ticker “AIIR” in the first half of 2026, pending regulatory approvals.

  • Seoul Rolling Out Public Smoking Booths

    Seoul Rolling Out Public Smoking Booths

    Seoul’s Gangnam District began rolling out newly designed “separated smoking booths” along major commercial streets to curb secondhand smoke and reduce friction between smokers and pedestrians, officials said today (January 22). The first installations physically separate smokers from passersby and also distinguish between conventional cigarettes and e-cigarettes, assigning each to different structures. Fully enclosed cigarette booths feature smoke-control systems, air purifiers, and air curtains, while semi-open e-cigarette booths emphasize ventilation and filtration. District officials said the initiative aims to improve street cleanliness and walkability in high-traffic areas, with expansion to be considered based on public response.