The U.S. International Trade Commission issued a final determination in its investigation into certain disposable vaporizer devices, ruling that there was no violation of Section 337 in the case brought by R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company, which targeted brands like Elf Bar and Geek Bar. This followed an earlier denial of a temporary exclusion order due to a lack of evidence regarding the likelihood of success on the merits.
R.J. Reynolds began pivoting its legal strategy with a new investigation instituted by the USITC on March 3, which shifts focus to alleged violations of the PACT Act, state flavor bans, and tax laws by Chinese manufacturers and U.S. distributors. While the previous patent-based case is closed, the commission has begun its review of these new, broader regulatory and competition-based allegations.
Following the ruling, the Vapor Technology Association’s executive director, Tony Abboud, issued a statement, saying, “The ITC’s decision represents a positive path forward for our industry. It proves that, unlike the misguided FDA, some federal agencies are still willing to stand up to corporate interests for the good of our free market and American public health. The ITC’s decision, rejecting all of the claims, is a decisive blow against those seeking to use government agencies to corner a market and a huge step for President Trump’s America First agenda.
“We appreciate the ITC referencing our submission in its final decision and take this inclusion as a sign that the ITC seriously listened to the concerns of the massive American independent vaping industry.”
The Vapor Technology Association said it welcomed the chance to participate in a recent roundtable hosted by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration focused on premarket tobacco product application (PMTA) submissions for electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS), calling the meeting an opportunity for small businesses to engage directly with regulators. In a statement, VTA Executive Director Tony Abboud said industry representatives advocated for a more transparent, standards-based regulatory framework that would allow companies to invest in vapor technology and navigate product reviews with clearer scientific expectations.
Abboud said VTA was encouraged by comments from FDA Commissioner Marty Makary acknowledging the need for predictability in regulatory standards but expressed frustration that some agency officials supported maintaining flexible or undefined scientific benchmarks.
“Small businesses made it completely clear that they wanted and needed transparent and objective scientific standards governing how vape products should be made and how they should perform,” Abboud said. “Unfortunately, we were disappointed by so many FDA representatives throughout the meeting who either argued for continued scientific ambiguity or completely rejected standards. Their comments signaled a lack of alignment among FDA leadership on providing clear and predictable scientific standards or guidance for our industry – or even benchmarks that would ensure product and consumer safety. We received no guarantee of additional clarity on the broken and opaque PMTA rule and process, which has been used to prevent access to the products that Americans who smoke want and need to quit smoking deadly cigarettes.”
The association argued that clearer regulatory guidance would align with broader free-market principles supported by Donald Trump’s policy agenda.
The Vapor Technology Association (VTA) celebrated the political currency and success of vaper voters in critical 2024 battleground election states and districts during the recent U.S. elections. According to the trade group, vaper voters helped secure electoral victories for Conservative candidates up and down the ballot.
VTA says its “I Vape I Vote” campaign activated over 360,000 low-propensity voters to support Conservative principles and candidates, including President-elect Donald Trump, in key battleground states and districts in Arizona, Michigan, Nevada, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Wisconsin.
“Vaper voters showed up in droves to support Conservative candidates who will protect and preserve the rights of Americans to use flavored vaping products,” said VTA Executive Director Tony Abboud.
“VTA’s I Vape I Vote campaign made clear that vaper voters had their voices heard at the ballot box and ensured that Conservative candidates would deliver full-throated endorsements of Americans’ right to use flavored vapes and, critically, use that support to establish a voter currency which propelled several Conservative candidates into office.
“While we are proud to have engaged in the process with several of these Conservative candidates, we are now ready to see their campaign promises committed to action as they work with President-elect Trump and the relevant federal agencies to fix the broken regulatory process by implementing a streamlined regulatory process that ensures access to flavored vapes is protected and companies and distributors have transparent, rational and affordable rules of the road when it comes to this regulatory framework.”
Representatives of the U.S. vapor industry expressed mixed feelings at the four-year anniversary of the filing of the first premarket tobacco product applications (PMTAs).
Since the Sept. 9, 2020, deadline, the Food and Drug Administration’s Center for Tobacco Products (CTP) has received applications for 26 million novel tobacco products, mostly electronic cigarettes or e-cigarettes.
However, despite its acknowledgement that e-cigarettes overall are less harmful and less toxic than combustible cigarettes, the agency has rejected more than 99 percent of PMTAs for these products.
At the same time, the FDA has authorized 6,670 new combustible tobacco products to be sold in the U.S., including 3,232 new cigars, 1,291 new pipe tobacco products,1,073 new hookah tobacco products and 973 new cigarettes.
According to the Vapor Technology Association (VTA), current CTP Director Brian King has authorized only four vaping devices for as alternatives to cigarettes, compared with 1,270 combustible products.
Director King has justified his refusal to authorize flavored e-cigarettes that are widely used by American adults with the need to protect youth. Yet the most recent National Youth Tobacco Survey revealed that the youth vaping rate—the share of users who say they’ve used an e-cigarettes at least once in the past 30 days—has declined to 5.9 percent, the lowest level in more than a decade.
“Since Sep. 9, 2020, 1.93 million Americans have died from smoking cigarettes (480,000 each year), and approximately 64 million Americans suffered from smoking-related disease (16 million each year), according to the CDC, at a cost of hundreds of billions of dollars to the U.S. health care system and gross domestic product,” the VTA wrote in a statement.
“In this time, the FDA has only allowed the purveyors of these deadly combustible products to strengthen their grip on the market. Meanwhile, more and more Americans die from smoking, making this anything but a happy anniversary.”
Representatives of the U.S. vapor industry have welcomed a decision by the Biden Administration to reclassify marijuana.
“The decision clearly underscores this administration’s commitment to listening to constituents and demonstrates a willingness to recognize and accept real-world, category-wide scientific evidence, said Tony Abboud, executive director of the Vapor Technology Association (VTA) in an e-mailed statement.
“In light of today’s decision, VTA is encouraging other agencies within the Biden Administration, specifically, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, to follow the similarly overwhelming body of evidence on the use of vaping products as effective harm reduction and smoking cessation tools for adult smokers.
“In just the past year, FDA’s selective pattern of prioritizing politics over science has led to the approval of more than 650 new cigarettes. VTA reiterates its call for the FDA to follow suit with other agencies in the Administration to stop turning a blind eye to the overwhelming body of science proving the benefits of flavored nicotine options to Americans looking to quit smoking.”
The Vapor Technology Association (VTA) today announced the launch of a cable news ad buy in the U.S. targeting Senator Chuck Schumer and his proposed ban on Zyn nicotine pouches. The ad runs this week on FOX News and FOX Business during key programming slots, including “FOX and Friends,” “Kudlow,” and “The Five.”
The ad connects a proposed ban on e-cigarettes with a ban on all less harmful, tobacco-free nicotine products, such as Zyn nicotine pouches. The ad also calls out officials at the Food and Drug Administration’s Center for Tobacco Products (CTP) for repeatedly blocking access for millions of Americans to e-cigarettes as harm reduction tools.
“Sen. Schumer and the FDA are simply wrong: wrong on e-cigarettes, wrong on Zyn, and wrong on the science,” said Tony Abboud, executive director of VTA, in a statement. “Rather than give adult smokers broader access to a greater number of lower-risk alternatives, the FDA and CTP have instead imposed a de facto ban on e-cigarettes—and Zyn is next.”
The ad states that Schumer’s proposed Zyn ban mimics his attempts to eliminate e-cigarette use nationwide, amounting to an assault on Americans’ personal freedom to choose lower-risk, tobacco-free nicotine products that overwhelming scientific and medical data demonstrates are effective at helping adults quit smoking.
“Why is the FDA denying access to a wide range of less harmful alternatives to combustible cigarettes that could otherwise be used by millions of adult smokers trying to quit?” asked Abboud.
“Cigarettes kill. Rather than even acknowledging the settled science in support of e-cigarettes and other less harmful, tobacco-free nicotine products in recent years, the CTP has instead authorized nearly 900 new cigarettes for Americans’ use—but Sen. Schumer thinks it’s Zyn you need to be worried about.
“The anti-nicotine FDA and congressional establishment has simply lost its bearings on the strategy of harm reduction, which it applies to every public health crisis, yet refuses to apply to the annual crisis of nearly half a million Americans dying from smoking every single year.”
“VTA is running this ad buy because Americans deserve to know that less harmful nicotine products exist that can help adult smokers trying to quit. VTA supports Americans’ freedom to choose,” said Abboud.
U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer’s call on the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and Federal Trade Commission to investigate the marketing practices and health effects of Philip Morris International’s Zyn nicotine pouch brand provoked a backlash among advocates of tobacco harm reduction.
“The American people have seen this movie before with less harmful e-cigarettes,” said Tony Abboud, executive director of the Vapor Technology Association (VTA).
“Congressional leaders yell at unelected bureaucrats at the FDA who scurry to remove products from the market that offend their sensibilities—even though those products are less harmful than traditional cigarettes, and have been proven to help people quit smoking deadly cigarettes altogether.
“These misguided actions deprive American adults of less harmful, non-combustible, and non-tobacco nicotine products that are a proven alternative to combustible cigarettes and that the largest clinical trial in the U.S. has found to cause them to quit smoking even if they have no intention to quit cigarettes.
“There is already a de-facto ban on e-cigarettes. Sen. Schumer simply wants this ban extended to other products he and the Washington establishment deem undesirable.
“As with e-cigarettes, Sen. Schumer falsely asserted that Zyn products are popular with younger users. Yet, the National Youth Tobacco Survey data demonstrates that only 1.5 percent of youth have even tried nicotine pouches. When will the federal government stop hiding behind an excuse that has been disproven by their own data?
“VTA stands with Zyn, and the makers of modern oral nicotine pouches, in the fight against arbitrary and capricious government action. Because cigarettes remain the No. 1 cause of preventable death and disease in the U.S., VTA insists on broad access to a wide variety of non-combustible products to preserve freedom of choice for adults who want to use nicotine – and to provide access to proven harm-reduction and smoking-cessation options essential for saving American lives.”
Tony Abboud, director of the Vapor Technology Association.
When the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s Center for Tobacco Products (CTP) issued marketing denial orders (MDOs) for Suorin and Blu PLUS+ e-cigarette products, Tony Abboud, executive director of the Vapor Technology Association (VTA), said the decision was just the latest installment of the FDA and CTP’s efforts to implement its de-facto ban on e-cigarettes in the U.S.
“The constant refrain from CTP is that e-cigarette manufacturers are not providing ‘sufficient scientific evidence’ in their PMTAs, yet CTP refused to answer the Reagan-Udall Foundation’s most fundamental criticism of CTP’s entire regulatory process: that CTP has not clearly articulated what is required to prove what is appropriate for the protection of the public health (APPH) or how it is interpreting what is APPH,” Abboud stated in a release.
He stated that the FDA has failed to objectively define the APPH standard while simultaneously using it to deny marketing authorization to critical smoking cessation and harm-reduction products, which is a “gross overreach” for any governmental institution whose mandate is to follow the science.
“Courts have found that the process has become ‘arbitrary and capricious’ in practice, with CTP leadership choosing on a case-by-case basis how the standard ought to be defined,” he stated. “Meanwhile, companies are simply trying to do the right thing by complying with and adhering to the PMTA process set forth by the FDA.”
Abboud stated that the actions of the FDA and CTP do nothing to protect public health or help Americans who smoke. “VTA once again calls on CTP to reverse course on its misguided actions and restore scientific integrity to its regulatory and decision-making process. Enough is enough,” he wrote.
A new Global Vape Alliance has been announced at the InterTabac Trade Fair in Dortmund, Germany, alongside a declaration to foster collaboration, promote responsible practices and champion the cause of harm reduction in the vaping industry.
The Global Vape Alliance brings together major international vaping bodies including the Electronic Cigarette Industry Committee of the China Electronics Chamber of Commerce (ECCC), the U.S. Vapor Technology Association (VTA), the U.K. Vaping Industry Association (UKVIA) and the Independent European Vape Alliance (IEVA).
The declaration aims to underscore the power of unity within the vaping industry. By coming together under its umbrella, industry leaders will commit to effecting responsible and positive change on a global scale, thereby signifying a new era in the industry’s dedication to public health, environmental sustainability and the well-being of smokers seeking alternatives to traditional tobacco products.
Key highlights of the Global Vape Alliance declaration include:
Regulatory Compliance: The alliance will facilitate the sharing of best practices to ensure member companies adhere to existing laws, regulations and industry standards, with a strong focus on responsible marketing and protecting youth.
Industry Promotion: The alliance aims to elevate the vaping industry’s professionalism, importance and sustainability by fostering communication among industry stakeholders and encouraging technological innovation.
Public Health: Emphasizing harm reduction, the alliance will actively promote the adoption of vaping products among conventional smokers to reduce harm, while openly providing information about their impact on physical health.
Environment Protection: In pursuit of a greener future, the alliance will advocate for eco-friendly strategies, promote recycling, low-carbon design and urge compliance with environmental laws.
Our goal is clear—to make a significant impact on public health, support those looking to quit smoking and contribute to a sustainable, environmentally friendly future.
The Global Vape Alliance firmly believes that unity and cooperation within the vaping industry can lead to a world without smoking.
“Our goal is clear—to make a significant impact on public health, support those looking to quit smoking and contribute to a sustainable, environmentally friendly future. With this declaration, we are combining the international forces of the industry to achieve important goals for the benefit of consumers,” said Dustin Dahlmann, president of the IEVA.
“The signing of the declaration, as I believe, will guide the global vaping industry to the future of healthy development and prosperity. In this regard, ECCC will continue to deepen the cooperation with other partners,” said ECCC Secretary-General Will Ao.
“The vaping sector is entering a critical chapter in its history with increased scrutiny from policy makers, regulators, public health officials, academics and campaigners,” said John Dunne, director general of the UKVIA. “It has to stand up and be counted, show strong leadership and the greatest levels of responsibility. The launch of the Global Vape Alliance and the declaration sets out to show the world that we are committed to best standards, practices and above all making smoking history.”
“Despite the enormous body of science that has declared vaping nicotine dramatically safer than smoking, the vapor industry’s detractors around the globe push a dramatically misinformed narrative,” said Tony Abboud, executive director of the VTA. “Declaring a shared commitment to furthering sound science, truthful information, and a commitment to meaningful regulations, industry leaders around the world can better serve companies and, more importantly, millions of consumers using vaping products to reduce and/or quit smoking cigarettes.”
With Republicans in control of the U.S. House, some experts expect the vape industry to thrive.
By Timothy S. Donahue
The next two years should be better than the past two years. That was the overall outlook from vapor industry experts speaking during the Vapor Technology Association’s (VTA) 2022 Post-Election Round-Up webinar in late November. Tony Abboud, executive director of the VTA, told attendees that his organization has been working diligently with two Washington, D.C.-based firms, West Front Strategies, a lobbying group, and FORA Partners, a public affairs agency, to promote the interests of the vaping industry as Republicans take over the U.S. House of Representatives in 2023. “We have a very specific agenda, some of which we’ve discussed (as an overview of what) we are pursuing,” he said. “We’ve done an enormous amount of groundwork.”
Shimmy Stein
Shimmy Stein, a partner with West Front Strategies, said the change in leadership at the House could have a positive impact on the vaping industry until at least the next election cycle. “Anytime you can take over the gavels, take over the control of the messaging, take over control of the chairmanships and the legislation, that is an important piece of governing,” he explained. “And so, while it was not to the extent or to the size which Republicans were hoping for in terms of the majority in the House of Representatives, it’s still pretty significant and will change the manner in which Washington will function.”
Over the next two years, the vaping industry should feel “a little more comfortable, a little more secure” going into a divided Congress (the U.S. Senate leadership did not change), according to Craig Kalkut, a partner with West Front Strategies. However, the vaping industry has always faced threats from both Democrats and Republicans due to their concerns over teen vaping. “We still need to work with both parties. We still could face issues and threats of overregulation and poorly conceived legislation. But the bottom line is that we will have a more comfortable environment with Republicans controlling one house of Congress,” said Kalkut.
Craig Kalkut
Reconciliation, a way for Congress to enact legislation on taxes, spending and the debt limit with only a majority vote, is no longer a threat to the vapor industry, according to Kalkut. He said that’s just not something that can happen in a divided Congress. “What that means, ultimately, is that anything that passes will need to have bipartisan support,” said Kalkut. “And because of that, [legislation] will likely be more limited, more moderate, and hopefully, if there’s any legislation passed in our area, that will be something that allows us to thrive, which addresses the concerns that linger over teen vaping but does not overregulate and drive people away from vaping.”
Kalkut also confirmed that gridlock is a concern in a divided Congress; however, gridlock could also provide incentives for both parties to compromise. “They’re both seen as in charge, so they both sometimes want to get something done. And that will bring people to the table and often over issues that are not central to either party’s ideology,” he said. “It’s hard to come to a compromise on taxes, or it’s hard to come to a compromise on healthcare … but something like vaping, perhaps there will be opportunity for common sense provisions to prevail in an area where Democrats and Republicans can come together.”
Max Hamel
Max Hamel, founding partner of FORA, said when Congress is split, the White House typically relies heavily on its executive privilege. There is no known administration agenda on vaping, so a vaping-related rule is unlikely. With Republicans in control of the House, they also head committees. The House oversight committee and its subcommittees could present opportunity for the vaping industry, according to Hamel.
“We do have new personalities on both the majority and the minority side, so they’ll probably have some growing pains,” he said. “The big question is, how does this new authority, especially in the House, get wielded[?] … whether it’s one seat or 40 seats, the authority with the majority is the same, and it is substantial from [an] investigation and oversight standpoint; [that’s] probably not necessarily true from a legislative standpoint … the oversight subcommittee, we do have the opportunity to surface some things, but it’s really an opportunity for us now to not be on defense and [to] put forth an agenda and some messaging that really focuses on the things that are advantageous to us.”
Additionally, with Juul losing its stranglehold on the vaping market, Hamel said the vaping landscape is changing. Juul became the focus to save youth from vaping, and today, Juul isn’t the focus. The market is made up of a more diverse group of companies with different technologies dedicated to harm reduction. Hamel said this is the message that should be projected. “I think our priority will be focusing on the messages that really emphasize the harm reduction aspects,” he said.
Kalkut then added that the vaping industry has an opportunity now to change the conversation, particularly with Democrats but also Republican critics and skeptics of vaping through the ever-expanding body of science that shows the relative safety and incredible potential for harm reduction that next-generation tobacco products have. “That has become more and more clear as time has gone on over the last couple of years,” he said. “I think once we show that, once we demonstrate our commitment as an association in the industry to addressing teen vaping, we have a real chance of changing the narrative.”
Ashley Davis
Ashley Davis, a founding partner at West Front Strategies, told attendees that, looking back on industry challenges, there has been success. However, her concerns going into the last Congress (2020–2022) were that she didn’t really know in what direction or how forcefully Biden would lean on the vapor industry. She says the industry “dodged a bullet.” The industry could have suffered more than it did those first two years in a Biden administration. She also said the issue of youth use will remain at the forefront of any discussion concerning electronic nicotine-delivery system products.
“We do have to still deal with the youth issue. And I think we all realize that any negative press that comes up is around the youth issue … Everyone loves a microphone. It’s a member of Congress. If there’s an issue to discuss, that’s what they’re going to discuss,” explained Davis. “[We are] trying to make sure that any bad legislation is not passed—it’s much more unlikely in this Congress than it was before.”
Taking a question from the audience, Abboud closed the session speculating on the impact of the Reagan-Udall Foundation’s external review of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s Center for Tobacco Products, the results of which are expected in mid-December.
Abboud said that numerous comments from staffers of the FDA for the Reagan-Udall assessment suggest the regulatory agency is in a state of disarray and is being influenced by outside forces not scientific research. He said he hopes the foundation will advise the FDA that premarket tobacco product application (PMTA) decisions should be free from any external pressures, especially political pressure.
“[The review should recommend to the FDA that PMTA] decisions must be made based upon the science that is submitted as well as making sure that the agency does, in fact, review all of the science that has been submitted as part of any applications as well as [reviewing] all of the applications that have [been] submitted,” said Abboud. “Because that was another big failing of the current process where applications have been rejected [without a full review].”
The Vapor Technology Association (VTA) celebrated the political currency and success of vaper voters in critical 2024 battleground election states and districts during the recent U.S. elections. According to the trade group, vaper voters helped secure electoral victories for Conservative candidates up and down the ballot.
