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Tag: online ban

  • Laos Vape Ban Crackdown Affects 759,000 Online Members

    Laos Vape Ban Crackdown Affects 759,000 Online Members

    The Lao Ministry of Health, with support from WHO and Meta, shut down 288 online e-cigarette stores with more than 759,000 members, intensifying enforcement of the country’s 2021 ban on vaping products. Officials hailed the move as a public health success, but industry voices warn that consumers are being left without regulated alternatives.

    “Digital platforms must not become safe spaces for harmful products,” said Dr. Timothy Armstrong, WHO Representative to Lao PDR. “We are proud that these recent efforts have significantly reduced the visibility and availability of these products.”

    Critics argue the crackdown pushes demand underground, forcing adult users to rely on unregulated black-market channels where product quality and safety cannot be guaranteed.

  • Online Cigar Sales Back Out in Connecticut

    Online Cigar Sales Back Out in Connecticut

    Vapers and cigar smokers in Connecticut continue to watch with interest as House Bill 7275 is adjusted in committee before potentially being put in front of the state’s House of Representatives. Introduced last month, the bill would outlaw the online sale of e-cigarettes and other vaping products, and could potentially do the same for cigars.

    “As it was originally written, the bill would have outright banned the shipment of all cigars to consumers in Connecticut,” Charlie Minato wrote for Halfwheel. “Two weeks ago, the bill’s text was modified to include an exemption for premium cigar shipments, except few cigars will meet the current definition of ‘premium cigar.’ And yet, last week that exemption was removed.”

    The amended text was predictably straightforward in defining a “premium cigar” through five parts, however, the sixth part added that the cigar must sell for $30 wholesale, meaning typically $60 retail, which would exempt about only 1% of the cigars on the market.

    “None of that seems to matter now,” Minato said. “There’s no longer an exemption for cigar shipments, meaning if the bill were to pass, customers in Connecticut would no longer be able to order cigars from a retailer and have them shipped to addresses in Connecticut. It would apply to all shipments, regardless of where they originated in- or out-of-state.”