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Tag: United Arab Emirates

  • UAE Sets Minimum Excise Price for E-Liquids

    UAE Sets Minimum Excise Price for E-Liquids

    The United Arab Emirates will introduce a minimum excise price of AED1 ($0.27) per milliliter for liquids used in electronic smoking devices beginning Sept. 1, as part of efforts to strengthen enforcement of the country’s excise tax system. The Ministry of Finance said the measure is designed to improve tax compliance and ensure consistent standards across tobacco and electronic smoking products.

    The new rule does not change the UAE’s existing 100% excise tax rate on tobacco products but establishes a minimum price threshold for calculating excise tax on e-liquids. Minimum excise prices for cigarettes, waterpipe tobacco and other tobacco products will remain unchanged.

  • Air Global Launches R&D Facility in Dubai

    Air Global Launches R&D Facility in Dubai

    Photos: Air Global

    Advanced Inhalation Rituals (AIR Global) has launched a new research, design and development (RDD) lab in Dubai.

    Backed by an AED100 million ($27.23 million) investment, the facility will be used to develop and hire tech talent, drive innovation in the shisha industry and speed up the development of new products.

    The global hub will develop new inhalation products that build on the success of OOKA, a charcoal-free, pod-based shisha device, which, according to AIR Global, provides a cleaner alternative.

    OOKA currently delivers approximately 30 percent of AIR Global’s revenue in the United Arab Emirates region.

    The lab will boast newly designed laboratories and deliver purpose-built workshops; new products are in early phases of testing and intended for launch in 2025.

    “I have always drawn personal inspiration in my career from the power of technology—to create entirely new industries, disrupt existing sectors and develop products that no one else has thought of,” said AIR Global Chief Product Officer Paul Dawson.

    “And it’s this exact mindset and ethos that we will achieve through the RDD Lab. With an aspirational team from around the world and cutting-edge technology at our fingertips, we’ll be creating new prototypes and combining them with our existing range of products to fundamentally change how people experience shisha. It’s an exciting time to be part of such a talented team that will drive forward innovation.”

    The RDD Lab will employ 26 people and 19 different nationalities, with equal numbers of men and women in its workforce.

    “The business is embarking on the next phase in its growth journey at an incredibly exciting time, where consumers are showing appetite for more eco-conscious, reduced-risk shisha experiences. The RDD lab will not only create new products that put sustainability, science and technology at the forefront but enable us to break ground into new global regions,” said Chief Legal and Corporate Officer Ronan Barry.

    “The recent launch of OOKA in Germany, a significant shisha market, was a milestone moment for us as we aspire to bring new inhalation experiences to a European market. The launch of this lab gives us even more momentum to build on as we expand our product range and presence globally.”

  • Vaporesso Licensed to Sell in UAE

    Vaporesso Licensed to Sell in UAE

    The United Arab Emirates Ministry of Industry and Advanced Technology (MoIAT) has licensed Vaporesso to sell in the country, the company announced in a press release.

    After nearly a year of strategic planning and application, Vaporesso received MoIAT certification for over 10 models of its products, including the Luxe XR, XROS 3 Mini, XROS 2, XROS 3, XROS Mini, XROS Nano, Zero S, Luxe X, Luxe QS, OSMALL 2, and GEN PT 60.

    “As the first open-system vaping device brand licensed by the MoIAT, we will continue our commitment to providing market-leading vaping products with unmatched quality and functionality,” said Jimmy Hu, vice president of Vaporesso.

    The first batch of MoIAT-certified products with compliant packaging has now arrived in the UAE and gone through taxation. This allows distributors, retailers and consumers to legally sell, stock and buy Vaporesso products with assured quality. Meanwhile, all future Vaporesso products will undergo MoIAT registration, ensuring quality and innovation for partners and consumers.

    The UAE government has enforced strict regulations to govern all nicotine-containing components used in e-cigarettes, refill packages, e-liquids and tobacco products sold in the country. The regulations demand that manufacturers and companies of vaping devices must meet Emirates Authority for Standardization and Metrology standards, which set out strict quality and safety requirements for e-cigarettes and related products before placing them on the market.

  • Myle Vape Opens Dubai Office

    Myle Vape Opens Dubai Office

    Photo courtesy of Myle Vape

    Myle Vape has opened an office and warehouse facility in Dubai to service its customers in the Middle East. The United Arab Emirates is one of Myle Vape’s most important markets in terms of brand loyalty and market share.  

    “This move has been in the works for some time, and we could not be happier to announce this opening,” said Myle Vape co-founder and CEO Ariel Gorelik in a statement. “We have been operating from afar for too long, traveling back and forth from the USA multiple times a year, and it has become critical to the growth of our business that we made a serious move to [build] a major operations center in the UAE.”

    Launched in 2015, Myle Vape manufactures disposables, pod systems, rechargeable devices and vape accessories that are distributed globally outside the United States.

  • RELX Trains UAE Customs Officials on Illicit Trade

    RELX Trains UAE Customs Officials on Illicit Trade

    Photo: F8 \ Suport Ukraine

    RELX International and SABA IP recently trained officials from the Abu Dhabi Customs Authority and Department of Economic Development to help them combat the illegal trade in vapor products.

    The session covered topics such as distinguishing legal products from illegal ones, raising awareness about the consequences of the illegal e-cigarette trade and sharing research and intelligence. The program also discussed product authentication, tracking and tracing technologies.

    According to RELX, contraband and counterfeit e-cigarettes are produced in unregulated facilities and pose a serious health risk to legal age consumers and minors. Counterfeit e-cigarettes often use inferior e-liquid formulas; capsules frequently leak and provide misleading information about the nicotine dosage in the capsules.

    “The training sessions for the Abu Dhabi Customs Authority, Department of Economic Development and Ras Al Khaimah Customs Authority showcase RELX International’s commitment, as a responsible company, to working with local authorities, investigation firms and e-commerce platforms to identify and remove contraband and counterfeit e-cigarette products from the market, as part of the RELX Pledge,” said Robert Naouss, external affairs director, MENA and Europe at RELX International, in a statement.

    In 2019, RELX International established the Golden Shield Program to prevent the production and sale of illicit goods. Since its inauguration, the program has helped remove more than 550,000 fake products from the market, plus over 77,000 websites.

    Additional training sessions are planned in countries across the Middle East, including in Egypt and Jordan. Earlier this year, RELX concluded a training session with customs officials in Saudi Arabia.

  • UAE Bans Vaping in Public Spaces

    UAE Bans Vaping in Public Spaces

    Photo: Ldprod – Dreamstime.com

    Vaping e-cigarettes is prohibited inside offices and closed spaces across the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the health ministry has confirmed. The use of e-cigarettes is now subject to the federal law on tobacco control in the country.

    This came as the Ministry of Health and Prevention (MoHAP) highlighted the dangers of consuming tobacco products, including e-cigarettes, according to the Khaleej Times.

    According to the UAE government website, the federal law also forbids and penalizes: the sale of tobacco products to those under 18; smoking in private cars when a child under the age of 12 is present; smoking in houses of worship, educational institutions (such as universities and schools), health and sports facilities; automatic vending equipment and devices for tobacco distribution inside the country; and tobacco advertisement.

    The MoHAP said it has collaborated with the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority to block websites that advertise and promote electronic nicotine-delivery systems.

    The UAE had originally planned to ban vaping products because UAE-based doctors had said that e-cigarettes would create a whole new generation of smokers. However, the country changed course after advocacy groups pushed for the harm reduction products.

    Meanwhile, citing the National Health Survey, the ministry said the prevalence of adult tobacco smoking has declined from 11.1 percent in 2010 to 9.1 percent in 2018.

    The latest edition of the Tobacco Atlas suggests that the UAE has among the lowest cigarette consumption rates. A graphic shared as part of the report shows that an adult smoker consumes 438 cigarettes a year in the country.