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  • UK Smoking Rate Falls as Vaping Remains More Common

    UK Smoking Rate Falls as Vaping Remains More Common

    The UK’s adult smoking rate fell to a record-low 9.8% in 2025 from 10.6% in 2024, with about 4.9 million people aged 18 and over reporting that they smoked, according to data released Oct. 6 by the Office for National Statistics. In Great Britain, 5.4 million adults, or 9.9% of those aged 16 and over, reported using e-cigarettes daily or occasionally, compared with 4.8 million current smokers, continuing a trend that began in 2024 when vaping overtook smoking. E-cigarette use was highest among 25- to 34-year-olds, at 16.4%.

    John Dunne, director general of the UK Vaping Industry Association, said the figures demonstrate the role vaping is playing in reducing smoking but criticized government policies, including the Vaping Products Duty that took effect Oct. 1. Dunne cited UKVIA research showing 50% of surveyed vapers feared the duty could push them back to smoking or the black market, while industry-backed analysis estimated 946,000 vapers and dual users could switch exclusively to smoking. He called for a “Fair Deal for Vaping” that protects young people while maintaining access to vaping products for adult smokers seeking to quit.

  • Eight EU Countries Seek Broad Nicotine Restrictions

    Eight EU Countries Seek Broad Nicotine Restrictions

    Eight EU member states — the Netherlands, Belgium, Finland, France, Hungary, Latvia, Slovenia, and Spain — are urging the European Commission to significantly expand the bloc’s tobacco and nicotine rules as part of the review of the Tobacco Products Directive and Tobacco Advertising Directive. In a letter to Health Commissioner Olivér Várhelyi, the countries called for maximum nicotine limits, standardized products and devices, plain packaging, and broad flavor restrictions across authorized nicotine categories. They also want the regulatory framework to allow individual countries to ban nicotine pouches and disposable e-cigarettes.

    The governments are also seeking a ban on advertising for nicotine products, including influencer and creator content, along with restrictions on cross-border online sales. Their proposal would prohibit new nicotine and nicotine-like products, as well as nicotine-free products designed to resemble nicotine products, from entering the EU market. The countries said the revised framework should keep pace with product and marketing developments and support the EU’s goal of becoming smoke-free by 2040.

  • French Retailers Cite Cross-Border Tobacco Trafficking

    French Retailers Cite Cross-Border Tobacco Trafficking

    French tobacconists near the Spanish and Italian borders are calling for action against what they describe as growing “nicotrafficking,” as lower cigarette prices in neighboring countries fuel cross-border purchases and resale in France. A pack that costs nearly €13 in France can be purchased for about €5.50 in Italy and between €5 to €6.25 in Spain, according to TF1. In the Alpes-Maritimes region, authorities administratively closed 32 establishments in 2025 for involvement in the illicit tobacco market.

    Claude Ferreri, vice president of the Alpes-Maritimes tobacconists, said legal tobacco sales have fallen 10% to 15% since 2024 and argued that narrowing the price gap with Italy could curb trafficking. Ferreri claimed that about half of cigarettes consumed in France bypass the legal tobacconist network, representing roughly 26 billion cigarettes annually.

  • Germany Steps Up Enforcement Against Illegal Vapes

    Germany Steps Up Enforcement Against Illegal Vapes

    According to an article by Stuttgarter Zeitung published today (Oct. 7), German authorities are stepping up enforcement against illegal disposable e-cigarettes amid concerns over products that bypass regulatory and tax requirements and are increasingly marketed to young people. The report on enforcement efforts in Berlin highlighted a raid targeting businesses selling unauthorized disposable vapes, while authorities continue broader investigations into illicit vape distribution.

    The scale of the market was underscored by a separate investigation that found more than 7.6 million nicotine-containing disposable vapes had been imported illegally into Germany between January 2024 and March 2025, resulting in an estimated €33.3 million in lost excise tax. Authorities have also seized large quantities of illegal vapes in raids as they target distributors and organized networks behind the trade.

  • Netherlands Calls for EU ‘Market Freeze’ on New Nicotine Products

    Netherlands Calls for EU ‘Market Freeze’ on New Nicotine Products

    Dutch Health Minister Sophie Hermans is calling on the European Commission to prevent new products containing nicotine or nicotine-like substances from entering the EU market, as part of a joint proposal with seven other member states. The countries are also seeking mandatory plain packaging for nicotine products, an EU-wide flavor ban, stricter requirements for social media platforms to remove tobacco advertising, and tighter controls on cross-border purchases.

    The initiative comes as the Netherlands prepares to further restrict domestic tobacco sales, with specialty tobacco shops set to become the only legal retail outlets for tobacco from 2032. Hermans also wants tighter rules on advertising in tobacco shops, while the Dutch regulator has raised concerns about tobacco companies providing financial support for specialty-store renovations that could promote nicotine products.

  • Ireland to Raise Tobacco and Vape Duties

    Ireland to Raise Tobacco and Vape Duties

    Ireland will increase excise duty on a pack of 20 cigarettes by €1 and raise the duty on e-liquid products by 20 cents per milliliter from Jan. 1, 2027, Finance Minister Simon Harris announced today (Oct. 6) as part of Budget 2027. The vape-duty increase will add €2 to the cost of a 10ml bottle. The Asthma Society welcomed the measures, while Retailers Against Smuggling warned the higher tobacco tax could push consumers toward the illicit market.

    Responsible Vaping Ireland said the e-liquid tax increase will add pressure to retailers already facing higher operating costs and could make regulated vaping products less competitive with illegal alternatives. The group also argued that tax policy should support smokers seeking alternatives, noting that more than 23,000 adults have quit smoking with the help of vaping products.

  • Portugal Moves to Regulate Nicotine Pouches

    Portugal Moves to Regulate Nicotine Pouches

    Portugal’s Parliament is set to debate tomorrow (Oct. 7) a bill authorizing the government to establish rules governing the manufacture, import, distribution, sale, labeling, advertising, taxation, and enforcement of nicotine pouches. The products are already sold and taxed in Portugal under a category created in the 2026 State Budget, but their regulatory status has prompted debate among health experts and other stakeholders. Pulmonologist Daniel Coutinho of the Portuguese Society of Pulmonology called for tighter restrictions, including on flavors and nicotine concentrations, while other health professionals cited in the consultation process said nicotine pouches could provide a lower-risk alternative to cigarettes and urged regulations that protect adult smokers while preventing youth access.

  • South Korea Sees Surge in Nicotine-Free Vape Imports

    South Korea Sees Surge in Nicotine-Free Vape Imports

    Imports of nicotine-free e-cigarette liquid in South Korea more than doubled to $9.2 million in the first eight months of 2026 from $4.5 million a year earlier, as consumers shifted toward products that remain outside the country’s tobacco regulations. The increase follows an April amendment to the Tobacco Business Act that brought products containing natural or synthetic nicotine under the tobacco regulatory framework, while nicotine analogues and nicotine-free liquids remain largely unregulated.

    Online listings for liquid e-cigarettes also increased 86.3% to 42,437 as of Aug. 8 from 22,774 before the law took effect, according to the Korea Center for Tobacco Control Research and Education. Meanwhile, imports of synthetic nicotine liquid plunged 97% to $2.8 million from May through August, compared with $89.3 million in the first four months of the year. Government officials are considering broader regulation after the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety completes an assessment of nicotine analogues by the end of 2026.

  • Austria’s Tobacco Industry Defends Vapes, Pouches

    Austria’s Tobacco Industry Defends Vapes, Pouches

    Austria’s tobacco industry is defending e-cigarettes and nicotine pouches as tools to move adult smokers away from combustible cigarettes as the country introduces new regulations for alternative nicotine products. Die Presse reports that Austria collected more than €2 billion in tobacco taxes in 2025, with more than 10 billion taxed cigarettes sold, while companies including Imperial Brands and Japan Tobacco are expanding their alternative-product portfolios. Imperial Brands Austria spokesperson Simone Pibernik said incentives, including flavor and pricing, are needed to encourage smokers to switch, while acknowledging the need for stronger youth protections.

    The industry’s comments come as nicotine pouches have been brought under Austria’s tobacco-monopoly system, with sales restricted to licensed tobacconists, while e-cigarettes are moving into a regulated distribution system. Imperial has said it supports age restrictions and responsible marketing, but argues that regulation should balance youth protection with access to potentially lower-risk alternatives for adult smokers.

  • NCR Voyix Integrates TruAge Digital Age Verification

    NCR Voyix Integrates TruAge Digital Age Verification

    NCR Voyix and the National Association for Convenience Stores (NACS) announced an integration of TruAge’s digital age-verification solution with NCR Voyix point-of-sale technology for U.S. convenience and fuel retailers. The integration allows retailers to verify customers’ ages, identify fraudulent or expired IDs, and check purchase limits using physical or digital driver’s licenses. NCR Voyix said the solution is designed to strengthen compliance for age-restricted purchases without adding steps for store employees.

    The integration is available to NCR Voyix RPOS customers through Cullinan Group, while the company’s new Voyix POS for CFR solution includes native TruAge support. NACS said the addition of NCR Voyix brings TruAge access to technology platforms serving approximately 75% of the convenience retail market, while Cullinan said the certified integration is currently available to more than 20,000 NCR Voyix RPOS stores.