VAPING NEWS

VAPING NEWS: P.E.I., CANADA [Flavour Ban Went Too Far]

“A Green MLA who voted in favour of legislation to restrict access to vape products on P.E.I. and ban the sale of vape flavours now says the ban goes too far. The ban on flavours came into effect March 1, restricting Island retailers to selling only tobacco-flavoured vape products. Steve Howard, the MLA for Summerside-South Drive, said his understanding was the ban would be on flavours that appealed to children, but that some options would remain for adults. The specifics around the flavours banned were drawn up in regulations after the bill was passed.”

ARTICLE LINK:   MLA who voted in favour of P.E.I.’s ban on vape flavours now says it goes too far

VAPING NEWS: CUYAHOGA COUNTY, OHIO [Art Advocates Want Vape Tax To Fund Them]

“Cuyahoga County arts advocates are leading an effort to amend the pending state budget bill to expand an existing cigarette tax that helps fund local arts programs. The advocates want to change the tax from a flat 30 cents per pack of cigarettes sold to an 8% tax on wholesale sales volumes. They also want to broaden the tax so it applies to sales on all tobacco products. Backers of the request estimate the change would effectively double the money the tax generates, which they said would make up for dwindling revenues tied to declining smoking rates. If state lawmakers agree to allow the change, it then would need approval from local voters to take effect. The arts organizations also want legislators to change state law authorizing Ohio’s 14 other most populous counties to seek approval for similar taxes. Under current law, only Cuyahoga County residents can enact such a tax.”

ARTICLE LINK:
Cuyahoga County arts advocates want permission to expand cigarette tax through state budget amendment

VAPING NEWS: NEW ZEALAND [Tobacco Tax Revenue Plummets]

“Tobacco tax revenue has fallen by almost half as Kiwis kick the smoking habit. The accounts show revenue from customs and excise duty fell almost $700 million compared to the same period the previous year. New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union spokesman Louis Houlbrooke said the Government should allow the downward trend in tax takings to continue. “Instead, new regulations currently being considered by the Director-General of Health threaten to keep New Zealanders on the durries.” Under a proposed law change, sales of vaping products to under-18s would be banned, flavours restricted and vapers barred from lighting up in smoke-free areas.”

ARTICLE LINK:   Tobacco tax revenue plunges as Kiwis kick the habit

VAPING NEWS: ALTRIA WANTS FDA TO SPEND $100M ON PRO-VAPING CAMPAIGN

“The firm that makes Marlboro cigarettes has boldly asked US health regulators to help it convince Americans that nicotine is not that bad for them – and spend $100 million toward the effort, according to a Bloomberg report. Marlboro’s maker, Altria, wants the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to back its advertising campaign to inform Americans that it’s smoking, not nicotine, that causes cancer and encourage to switch to safer nicotine products. That could be a major boon for Altria’s ‘move beyond smoking’ campaign – and sales of its e-cigarette IQOS.”

ARTICLE LINK:
Marlboro’s maker asks the FDA to spend $100 MILLION on ad campaign to convince people nicotine is NOT dangerous

VAPING NEWS: VAPING NICOTINE LESS HARMFUL THAN VAPING CANNABIS

“Adolescents who vape cannabis are at greater risk for respiratory symptoms indicative of lung injury than teens who smoke cigarettes or marijuana, or vape nicotine, a new University of Michigan study suggests. The result challenges conventional wisdom about vaping nicotine, says the study’s principal investigator, Carol Boyd, the Deborah J. Oakley Collegiate Professor Emerita at the U-M School of Nursing. “I thought that e-cigarettes (vaping nicotine) would be the nicotine product most strongly associated with worrisome respiratory symptoms,” she said. “Our data challenges the assumption that smoking cigarettes or vaping nicotine is the most harmful to the lungs. If we control for vaping cannabis in our analyses, we find there is a weaker relationship between e-cigarette or cigarette use and respiratory symptoms when compared to vaping cannabis.””

NOTE: “Vaping Nicotine” refers to nicotine based finished e-liquid products, not raw concentrated liquid nicotine

ARTICLE LINK:
Vaping marijuana associated with more symptoms of lung damage than vaping or smoking nicotine

VAPING NEWS: AGE VERIFICATION TECHNOLOGY

“1account, a technology provider to online vendors of age-restricted products and services, has created a new advisory board to support its ambitious plans in the vaping sector, which includes the rollout of a new business-to-consumer ID app to prevent underage access to vape devices and e-liquids online and offline. The new B2C product will help to prevent unlawful access to vaping products online and in vape retail outlets, convenience stores and supermarkets, aligning with the British government’s strategy to build a Digital Identity Trust Framework.”

ARTICLE LINK:   New Advisors to Support 1account’s Plans for Vapor

VAPING NEWS: OVERSIGHT & REFORM SUBCOMMITTEE [FDA Must Prevent Puff Bar Sales]

“Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, the Chairman of the Subcommittee on Economic and Consumer Policy, sent a letter to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) providing new evidence of illegal e-cigarette sales, and urging immediate action to remove all flavored e-cigarette products sold by Puff Bar from the market and prosecute violators. The Subcommittee previously wrote to FDA regarding this issue on March 6, 2020 and June 1, 2020. In response to the Subcommittee’s investigation: Puff Bar claimed to have ceased all online sales and distribution in the United States, and FDA sent a warning letter to Cool Clouds Distribution, which conducts business as Puff Bar, declaring its sales to be illegal. In today’s letter, the Subcommittee provided new evidence that Puff Bar has resumed sales and launched new vaping products, in violation of FDA’s previous warning letter. In addition, the Subcommittee pointed FDA to a Delaware company called DS Technology Licensing, LLC, to which Puff Bar has handed off ownership of its trademarks.”

ARTICLE LINK:
Subcommittee Calls on FDA to Crackdown on Puff Bar for Illegal Sales of E-Cigarettes

VAPING NEWS: LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA [Constitutionality Of Flavor Ban Challenged]

“A group of tobacco companies has told the Ninth Circuit that Los Angeles County’s ban on flavored vapes was preempted by the Federal Control Act, urging the court to reverse a lower court’s decision to toss their suit against the county. R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co., American Snuff Co. and Santa Fe Natural Tobacco Co. Inc. said in an opening brief Monday that even though state and local governments have the power to regulate the sale of tobacco products under the TCA, they can’t prohibit the sale of tobacco products because they disagree with federal tobacco product standards.”

ARTICLE LINK:   LA’s Flavored Vape Ban Unconstitutional, 9th Circ. Hears

VAPING NEWS: FDA [Investigating Puff Bar For Ignoring Regulations]

“The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is investigating Puff Bar, an e-cigarette seller, after it began selling fruit-flavor disposable vaporizers on its website despite an FDA ban. The agency put a ban on fruity e-cigarettes due to the high popularity of the addictive substance among teenagers. Puff Bar maintains it did not violate the policy because it used tobacco-free nicotine. The FDA told The Wall Street Journal that it is investigating the new move by Puff Bar and did not say if the tobacco-free nicotine was enough to get around the FDA’s ban.”

ARTICLE LINK:   FDA investigating e-cigarette maker selling fruit-flavor vaporizers despite ban

VAPING NEWS: FDA [Finalized PMTA & SE Rules]

“Two recently finalized rules provide tobacco product manufacturers with additional information on federal requirements they must meet to get their products on the market. Then-FDA Commissioner Stephen Hahn, MD, said finalization of the rules “is an important milestone in the FDA’s regulation of tobacco products.” The rules apply to 2 of the pathways manufacturers can use to pursue marketing authorization for their products.”

NOTE: JAMA is a Pay-to-Publish service

ARTICLE LINK:   Rules Finalized for New Tobacco Product Approvals