TobaccoReporter logo

Blog

  • Roanoke Weighs $20K Annual Fee for Vape, Tobacco Shops

    Roanoke Weighs $20K Annual Fee for Vape, Tobacco Shops

    The City Council in Roanoke, Virginia, is considering a $20,000 annual operational fee for specialty tobacco and vape shops operating within the city limits. The fee would specifically target businesses primarily profiting from vape, tobacco, THC, and related products, meaning gas stations and convenience stores would be exempt.

    Councilman Phazon Nash says the measure would promote public health and fund economic development programs, while Councilman Peter Volosin cautions against possible discrimination if minority-owned businesses are disproportionately affected.

    The proposal is under review by the city manager and city attorney, with Nash confident it will gain enough support to pass.

  • Panama Begins Strict Vape Regulations Today

    Panama Begins Strict Vape Regulations Today

    Panama’s Ministry of Health (MINSA) announced that new rules governing the sale, promotion, and use of electronic cigarettes—both with and without nicotine—take effect today (August 13). The regulations, aimed at protecting public health and youth, ban vaping in all smoke-free areas, prohibit sales to minors, and outlaw all advertising and promotion. Products must be stored out of public view, with only closed displays allowed for the first two years. Violations can result in confiscation and fines, with health and customs authorities tasked with enforcement.

  • Senegal Plans to Raise Tobacco Taxes

    Senegal Plans to Raise Tobacco Taxes

    Senegalese Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko announced plans to raise taxes on tobacco products, a move praised by the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids as a major victory for public health. The government says the increase will both reduce smoking rates and generate additional domestic revenue, helping cut the budget deficit and fund health investments. The administration reports that tobacco costs the economy more than 40 billion CFA francs (about $70 million) in healthcare and lost productivity annually.

    Sources around the endeavor suggest the tax rate would be between 70% and 100% of the retail cost.

  • UKVIA Says Disposable Ban Driving Smokers Back to Tobacco

    UKVIA Says Disposable Ban Driving Smokers Back to Tobacco

    The UK Vaping Industry Association (UKVIA) says new research confirms fears that the UK’s ban on single-use vapes is backfiring, with 26% of former disposable vape users now smoking more, returning to tobacco, or buying illicit products. A survey of 6,000 vapers and smokers, commissioned by ELFBAR, also found that over half of adults (51%) wrongly believe vaping is as harmful as smoking, and awareness of illegal vapes has risen to 22%.

    UKVIA Director General John Dunne called the figures “deeply worrying,” warning that a blanket ban on disposables undermines efforts to achieve a smoke-free UK. The trade body is urging the government to launch a nationwide public health campaign on vaping’s relative safety, introduce a licensing scheme for vape retailers, reinvest licensing revenue into enforcement, and impose £10,000 fines on those selling to minors or trading illicit products.

    “It never made any sense to us to ban this entire category, and now we have concrete evidence that more than a quarter of vapers have either resumed smoking, increased tobacco use, or purchased illicit products since the ban,” Dunne said. “Any one of those outcomes would be bad enough, but all three combined should be deeply worrying and urgent action must be taken to reverse this trend. If these are the numbers we are seeing after two months, then I dread to think where we will be in a year’s time.”

  • Belgium Extends Plain Packaging to All Tobacco Products from 2026

    Belgium Extends Plain Packaging to All Tobacco Products from 2026

    Belgium will require cigars, cigarillos, cigarette papers, filters, tubes, and all other “herbal products intended for smoking” to adopt standardized green-brown packaging with uniform fonts and health warnings, Health Minister Frank Vandenbroucke announced. Effective June 1, 2026, the measure expands existing plain packaging rules for cigarettes and rolling tobacco, in place since 2020, to close loopholes that allow tobacco companies to market via other products. “Small retailers” would receive a one-year exception until June 2027.

    Vandenbroucke said the move aims to curb youth appeal and counter industry tactics, such as packaging cigarillos to resemble old cigarette packs. The government is also considering a ban on smoking on terraces from January 2026.

  • Former Chinese Tobacco Head Sentenced to 15 Years for Bribery

    Former Chinese Tobacco Head Sentenced to 15 Years for Bribery

    Today (August 12), the former deputy director of China’s State Tobacco Monopoly Administration, Xu Ying, was sentenced to 15 years in prison for accepting bribes, a court in Anyang, Henan Province, announced. He was fined 5 million yuan ($700,000), with over 65 million yuan ($9.1 million) in illicit gains confiscated.

    The court found that between 2010 and 2024, Xu used his positions to help others with administrative approvals, business operations, and staff recruitment in exchange for bribes.

    Earlier this year, former China National Tobacco Corporation general manager Ling Chengxing was sentenced to 16 years in prison for similar charges between 2006 and 2023.

  • Study: Nicotine-Free Vape Liquids Linked to Fetal Skull Changes in Mice

    Study: Nicotine-Free Vape Liquids Linked to Fetal Skull Changes in Mice

    A new Ohio State University study suggests that even nicotine-free e-cigarette liquids can affect fetal development. Researchers exposed pregnant mice to two common vape humectants—propylene glycol (PG) and vegetable glycerin (VG)—at different ratios. Offspring exposed in utero to a “safer” 30/70 PG/VG blend were born lighter and had narrower faces and shorter skulls than those exposed to filtered air or a 50/50 mix.

    “This had no nicotine, and it’s still having effects on the development of the skull in our model, which was not anything we expected,” said lead author James Cray, professor of anatomy. Cray said that propylene glycol has been associated with enhanced nicotine absorption in e-cigarettes, prompting many companies to increase glycerol content in newer formulations in an effort to market them as safer.

    The findings, published in PLOS One, challenge assumptions that high-VG formulations are safer and highlight potential risks for people unaware they are pregnant. Cray said the results underscore the need to study nicotine-free vaping products as closely as those that contain nicotine.

  • Procigar Opens 2026 Registration

    Procigar Opens 2026 Registration

    The Association of the Dominican Cigar Manufacturers announced that registration is open for the 18th Procigar Festival 2026 will be held February 15—20, 2026. Combining educational opportunities, entertainment, and access to numerous exclusive premium cigars, the Festival promotes the Dominican tobacco industry and its position as “exporters of the finest premium cigars in the world.”

    The festival is broken into two parts, with the first portion taking place Feb 15—17 in La Romana and the second portion taking place Feb 17—20 in Santiago. Registration packages begin at $2,500 and include transportation around the island, tours, meals, and a goodie bag, but not airfare or hotel expenses.

    Click here for more information.

  • USPS Blocks National Vape Distributor

    USPS Blocks National Vape Distributor

    Today (August 11), Reuters reported that the U.S. Postal Service has blocked New York-based vape distributor Demand Vape from using its services after evidence showed the company was shipping unregulated e-cigarettes lacking FDA approval and violating local flavor bans. This crackdown, prompted by New York City’s Law Department, targets unregulated vape shipments and further tightens restrictions on the multi-billion-dollar industry. Only 39 vape products currently have FDA authorization, and USPS is reviewing other distributors’ mailing privileges.

    “Unregulated vapes lack the authorization from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration that is required for them to be legally sold in the United States, the world’s largest market for smoking alternatives,” Emma Rumney wrote for Reuters. “USPS revoked Demand Vape’s mailing exception last month after it received evidence the company shipped vapes lacking FDA authorization and that violated a local flavor ban, a letter from USPS to the company, dated July 15, showed.”

    Demand Vape said it complied with relevant laws and was contesting the revocation, adding the industry operates in a “regulatory grey zone” with only a small number of FDA-authorised products that do not meet consumer demand.

    “We reject any characterization that paints Demand Vape as anything other than a transparent, lawful, and reputable business,” it said in a statement.

    USPS did not respond to a request for comment.

  • PCA Appoints Ricardo Carioni as Director of International Affairs & Education

    PCA Appoints Ricardo Carioni as Director of International Affairs & Education

    Today (August 11), the Premium Cigar Association (PCA) announced the appointment of Ricardo Carioni as its new director of international affairs and education. “This position signals the PCA’s continued commitment to advancing premium cigar advocacy, education, and global engagement,” the organization said in a press release.

    Carioni’s career spans over 18 years across seven countries, where he has lived and worked in senior roles. He served as head of development at Casa Turrent, chief operating officer of Tor Imports—the leading premium cigar distributor in Great Britain—and CEO of Gesinta, Spain’s foremost distributor of premium cigars. He is also the co-founder of The Cigar Academy, an educational institution that fosters knowledge and appreciation of premium cigars. He is also a former deputy ambassador and official representative of Nicaragua to the United Nations Maritime Organization, and worked for several multilateral institutions in the coffee, sugar, and cocoa sectors.

    “Ricardo is a catalyst who brings a ton of energy and passion to any project,” said says Joshua Habursky, executive director of the PCA. “His expertise will allow the PCA to refine existing projects and help service our growing membership ranks. He will be working in a versatile role to help grow membership outside of the United States, create programs for U.S. retailers in the Caribbean Basin, and develop universal education programs for all membership categories.”