VAPING NEWS

VAPING NEWS: SAN DIEGO [Flavor Ban Enforcement]

“After several revisions and two months of debate, the San Diego County Board of Supervisors Tuesday approved a tobacco retail license ordinance intended to reduce usage by minors and hold retailers more accountable. The measure allows the county to enforce minimum age laws and a previously adopted ban on flavored tobacco products; and prohibits the sale of tobacco products at pharmacies. The vote was 4-1 in favor of the ordinance, with outgoing Supervisor Kristin Gaspar opposed. The ordinance — which will take effect on July 1 and applies only to unincorporated areas within the county — does not affect hookah tobacco use. Unlike previous meetings, there was little discussion among the supervisors before the final vote.”

ARTICLE LINK:

Supes OK Ordinance Intended To Further Curb Youth Tobacco Use

VAPING NEWS: SOMERVILLE, NEW JERSEY [Plaza Event Ban]

“In a compromise solution, the borough council has introduced an ordinance that bans smoking in the Division Street pedestrian plaza only during public events. Last month the council tabled an ordinance that would have prohibited smoking entirely in the plaza, which has become a centerpiece for the county seat’s downtown area. The new ordinance would only place a temporary ban on smoking during events sponsored either by the borough or the Downtown Somerville Alliance. In 2018, New Jersey adopted a law prohibiting smoking or vaping on any boardwalk in the state, with fines up to $250 and $1,000 on the third offense. Towns, however, can designate areas along the boardwalk where smoking will be permitted.”

ARTICLE LINK:

Somerville considers partial smoking ban on Division Street

VAPING NEWS: SAN FRANCISCO [Proposed Apartment Ban Sent Back For Refining]

“In a second vote, San Francisco supervisors Tuesday made the unusual move to send back proposed legislation that would ban tobacco smoking multi-unit housing buildings. Last week, supervisors voted 10-1 in the first reading of the legislation, with Supervisor Dean Preston in dissent. In the second vote, supervisors voted 6-5 in favor of sending the proposal back to the board’s committee so the legislation can be refined and the public can weigh in. Supervisors Catherine Stefani, Ahsha Safai, Sandra Lee Fewer, Rafael Mandelman and board President Norman Yee voted in dissent. Supervisor Aaron Peskin said he is looking to fix, not scrap, the legislation in committee.”

NOTE: Using E-liquid Vaping Products [EVP] is included in the proposed ban

ARTICLE LINK:

San Francisco supervisors send smoking ban proposal back to committee

VAPING NEWS: MALAYSIA [Customs Excise Duty For Vape Products]

“Excise duty for electronic cigarette devices, non-electronic cigarette devices as well as electronic cigarettes and vape gel or juices, including non-nicotine types, will be imposed during importation, with exceptions given to local manufacturers, said Royal Malaysian Customs Department director-general Datuk Seri Abdul Latif Abdul Kadir. He said excise duty will be imposed on those items beginning 2021. Devices will be charged excise duty at an ‘ad valorem’ rate of 10 per cent, while liquids and gels will be charged a rate of 40 sen for each millilitre, he added.”

ARTICLE LINK:

Customs D-G: Excise duty to be imposed on vaping devices, gels and fluids starting 2021

VAPING NEWS: UK [Study Concludes COVID-19 Not Associated With Vaping Status]

“In this study, the research team from the University College London, UK, highlight: 1) there is no difference found in diagnosed/suspected COVID-19 in between never, current, and ex-vapers; 2) half of the current vapers changed their vaping consumption since COVID-19; 3) motivation to quit vaping was partly related to COVID-19. This is an important study in real-time investigating the differences in diagnosed/suspected COVID-19 between vapers, ex-vapers, and never vapers, after adjustment for sociodemographic characteristics, smoking status, and health conditions. It also reports changes in vaping during the COVID-19 pandemic and factors associated with these changes. The study involved 2791 UK-based adults, aged 18 and over, who completed the baseline survey of the HEBECO study between 30th April 2020 and 14th June 2020. This period covers the first national lockdown in the UK to mitigate the COVID-19 infection spread. Of the whole analytic sample (2792 participants), three quarters were never smokers and the rest were current or ex-vapers. The participants self-reported their data on sociodemographic characteristics, diagnosed/suspected COVID-19, vaping status, changes in vaping, and motivation to quit vaping since COVID-19. In conclusion, the study found that the diagnosed/suspected COVID-19 is not associated with vaping status, when assessed by self-report in a UK population sample.”

ARTICLE LINK:

Associations between vaping and COVID-19: cross-sectional findings from the HEBECO study

VAPING NEWS: NOVEMBER 2020 TOBACCO & VAPING LEGISLATIVE & REGULATORY ROUNDUP

“Tobacco legislation and regulation is constantly under review at the local, state and federal levels. In this monthly roundup, Convenience Store News highlights the latest proposals and approved changes happening across the United States.”

ARTICLE LINK:

November 2020 Legislative & Regulatory Roundup

VAPING NEWS: NEW YORK [Attorney General Going After Vaping & Vapers]

“New York Attorney General Letitia James ordered dozens of retailers across the state to immediately stop selling e-cigarette products to underage customers and to stop selling flavored vaping products in violation of New York state law. Attorney General James’ office issued cease and desist letters to 47 retailers that were illegally selling tobacco products throughout New York state. “

ARTICLE LINK:

Attorney General James Cracks Down on Shops Illegally Selling E-Cigarettes to Underage Users and Flavored Vaping Products

VAPING NEWS: MALAYSIA [Increase Vape Regulations To Protect Tax Revenue]

“The ministry was replying to Kapar MP Datuk Abdullah Sani Abdul Hamid, who had asked the ministry to state its commitment in helping the vape industry which he said was worth more than RM500 million annually and had allegedly created job opportunities for 50,000 Malaysians while also voicing the potential for this industry to generate income for the country through tax. The ministry however responded by saying that such a claim on the alleged economic benefits of the vape industry in Malaysia has to be re-evaluated, before pointing out the additional costs that the government may have to bear as a result of the vape industry and activities. “It is feared that the government’s intentions to generate revenue from taxing electronic cigarettes will not give the returns as hoped for”

ARTICLE LINK:

MOH fears vaping will cost Malaysia more than potential tax income, seeks tight controls on industry

VAPING NEWS: SPAIN [Anti-Vaping Agenda]

“The Spanish Ministry of Health has been slammed by Spain’s ANESVAP and the European Tobacco Harm Reduction Advocates consumer groups for releasing a report on vaping that is “horrifyingly biased”. The Ministry appears to be lining itself up to support much harsher EU legislation restricting vaping flavours and making it prescription-only. Then, in an act that ought to be criminal, they advertised the report’s release on social media with an image showing a man vaping with a stick of dynamite.”

ARTICLE LINK:

Spain’s Shame

VAPING NEWS: U.S. COURT UPHOLDS FDA CLASSIFICATION OF E-CIGS AS TOBACCO PRODUCTS

“A federal appeals court has upheld the Food and Drug Administration’s decision to regulate e-cigarettes as tobacco products, rejecting challenges from the e-cigarette industry claiming the agency had violated the Constitution. A unanimous panel of the D.C. Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals ruled Thursday that the regulation did not run afoul of the Constitution’s Appointments Clause because the FDA official who promulgated it was not appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate. The case is Moose Jooce et al v. FDA, U.S. Court for Appeals for the D.C. Circuit No. 20-5048.”

ARTICLE LINK:

Court upholds FDA regulation of e-cigarettes as tobacco products