Author: Bill Tarling

“The Jharkhand government on Wednesday imposed a complete ban on all types of tobacco products to prevent spitting in public places that could increase the spread of coronavirus infection. A notification issued during the day prohibited cigarette, e-cigarette, bidi, paan-masala, hookah, gutka besides jarda and khaini consumption in public places. The offence will be punishable under section 188 IPC (disobedience to an order lawfully promulgated by a public servent) that would attract imprisonment of six months or fine of Rs 1,000, an official release said quoting Principal Secretary (Health) Nitin Madan Kulkarni.”

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Jharkhand bans use of tobacco products in public places

“A Belgian news outlet is reporting that a crisis is taking place in addition to the COVID pandemic. Belgian ex-smokers are returning to smoking cigarettes as vape supplies dry up because their option to reduce tobacco-related harm has been removed through store closures and online sale bans. Belgium politicians deemed that vape stores were non-essential and ordered their closure. Without stores, vapers found their access to liquid refills vanished. RTL reports that the risk of vapers returning to smoking is “real”.”

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Belgium Failing Ex-Smokers

“President of Indonesia, Joko Widodo, has been sent an appeal to urgently strengthen the response to coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in the country, by stronger enforcement of comprehensive and evidence-based tobacco control measures, which includes immediate ratification of the global tobacco treaty (World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control). The appeal to the President of Indonesia, strongly recommends some of the following actions: Immediately enforce a ban on sale, rent and use of waterpipes, shisha, electronic cigarettes, heated tobacco products (such as IQOS) and chewing tobacco. Prohibit tobacco industry donations and partnerships and reject pseudo-science funded by the tobacco industry and its allies, and prohibit the sale of tobacco products and vape during the COVID-19 pandemic.”

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Will Indonesia Mitigate COVID-19 By Enforcing Stronger Tobacco Control?

“As New Jersey officials watch for the forecasted peak in coronavirus cases later this month, another date looms: April 20, the day when vape shops must stop selling flavored products. Gov. Phil Murphy signed the law banning the sale of of flavored vaping products, which include candy and fruity flavors that may attract teens, in January. It came with a 90-day waiting period before going into effect. Vape shops, largely small businesses employing a few thousand people across the state, have promised the ban will thrust them into bankruptcy. The stress on the industry was exacerbated when Murphy ordered non-essential businesses to close in an effort to contain the coronavirus outbreak. In mid-March, the vape shops suddenly found themselves fighting a tighter deadline to unload the products, but had no customers walking through their doors.”

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Vape shops said a flavor ban would end them. Coronavirus has only made things worse.

“Bexley Council made the call on Thursday for residents to quit smoking altogether, although the authority added smokers should weigh up a switch to E-cigarettes if quitting wasn’t possible. “There have been suggestions in some media sources that e-cigarette use could increase risks from coronavirus. There is no clear evidence for this and we continue to encourage smokers to think about switching to e-cigarettes to reduce their risk of respiratory infections,” the authority stated.“”

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Quit smoking or consider switching to vaping during coronavirus crisis, authority urges Bexley residents

“British American Tobacco is suing two of its longtime rivals, Altria Group and Philip Morris International, for copyright infringement. In the lawsuit filed in a Virginia federal court on Thursday, British American alleges that certain features of IQOS, a smoking device made by Philip Morris and distributed in the U.S. by Altria, infringe on its patents. British American makes a similar product called Glo, which, like IQOS, heats tobacco rather than burning it. British American says it has also filed a similar complaint with the International Trade Commission.”

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British American Tobacco Sues Altria and Philip Morris for E-Cigarette Patent Infringement

“Aarhus Municipality yesterday passed a comprehensive ban on the consumption of tobacco in public areas including bus stops, libraries and the city’s cultural centre. The ban also applies to electronic cigarettes and vapours.”

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Extensive public smoking ban introduced in Aarhus

“Reynolds American (“Reynolds”) announced today that it has submitted two new Premarket Tobacco Product Applications (“PMTAs”) to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”). Reynolds is seeking marketing orders for their Vuse Vibe and Vuse Ciro vapor products, which would allow these products to remain on the market after the FDA’s May 12, 2020 deadline for PMTA applications for Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems (“ENDS”). The PMTAs include multiple flavor variants for each brand style. The PMTAs for Vuse Vibe and Vuse Ciro are the second and third complete grouped PMTA applications submitted by Reynolds to the FDA for review, following the initial PMTA applications for Vuse Solo submitted in October 2019. While these applications may include relative safety information, it should be noted that the marketing orders sought are not statements of modified risk.”

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Reynolds Submits Second And Third Complete Premarket Tobacco Product Applications

“The Vaping Trade Association of New Zealand (VTANZ) is warning the Health Select Committee that the Government’s vaping bill creates barriers for Kiwi smokers’ keen to quit tobacco and could see others return to cigarettes. The bill proposes limiting vape flavours to just menthol, mint and tobacco for all non-specialist vape retailers. Although VTANZ’s research shows only 10% of flavour sales in their own members’ stores are for those three. Instead, fruit, dessert and sweet flavour variations are the most popular for adults and key to smokers successfully quitting tobacco.”

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Vaping Bill Plays Into Big Tobacco’s Hands

“The results of a first-of-its-kind survey highlighted the potential of electronic cigarettes as an additional option for tobacco control and how vaping could have a substantial impact on public health. Peter Paul Dator, president of The Vapers, a vaping advocacy group, was referring to the interview-based survey involving 3,000 vapers aged 18 and older from eight of the largest metropolitan cities in India. The vast majority of respondents (71.3 percent) used e-cigarettes to quit (30 percent) or reduce (41.3 percent) smoking.”

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Vaping ideal in tobacco control