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  • Last-Second Petition Filed to Stop Flavor Ban in Denver

    Last-Second Petition Filed to Stop Flavor Ban in Denver

    One day before a flavored tobacco ban is set to go into effect in Denver, vape and tobacco store owners have filed a petition with more than 17,000 signatures asking to delay the ban so voters can decide on it in November’s election. Less than 9,500 signatures are required to get a question on the ballot.

    “It asks if the ban should be upheld and we are saying no, it should not be,” Phil Guerin, Owner of Myxed Up Creations and president of the Smoke-Free Alliance Colorado said about the potential ballot question. “Let’s let the voters decide. I feel like city council has made a lot of bad decisions when it comes to the economy and just the future of our city. We’re here to stand up for our city and stand up for what we believe in.”

    Vape store owners and manufacturers argued that city council members rushed the ban on flavored tobacco purchases as last year ended, and that the city will miss out on $13 million in annual revenue if the ban is upheld.

    According to KDVR’s Gabrielle Franklin, those against the ban would face major opposition, though, as “the City Council’s near-unanimous decision and signature into law by Denver Mayor Mike Johnston to end the sale of flavored tobacco reflect the will of our community, with over 100 organizations endorsing the measure and nearly two-thirds of Denver voters indicating their support.”

  • Malaysian Officials Preparing Retailers for April 1 Ban 

    Malaysian Officials Preparing Retailers for April 1 Ban 

    Beginning April 1, Malaysian retailers will not be able to display tobacco products in open displays, but instead must keep them hidden from view in closed cabinets. Act 832, the Smoking Products Control Act for Public Health 2024, covers regulations on the registration, sale, packaging, labeling, and use of tobacco products in public places, as well as the display of them in retail outlets. The Act became law Oct. 1, 2024, but retailers were given a grace period which ends in April.

    Officials from Kuala Lumpur, Penang, and Selangor have been communicating with retailers about the upcoming change in enforcement.

    “Since Act 852 came into effect, the Health Department has visited retail shops selling cigarettes and tobacco products,” said Kuala Lumpur mayor Datuk Seri Maimunah Mohd Sharif. “They have provided explanations and announcements to the sellers, such as at convenience stores.”

    Penang health committee chairman Daniel Gooi Zi Sen said the state Health Department will monitor stalls to ensure they don’t display smoking products at retail outlets.

    “Individuals can be fined from RM500 up to RM30,000 ($112 to $6,750), while organizations may be slapped with up to RM300,000 ($67,500) in fines, or jailed,” he said. “Retailers can only use designated signboards to show the availability of cigarette or vaping products and the prices. Certain specialized stores are allowed to display smoking products, but must prominently feature warning signs.”

  • Switzerland Continues Tobacco Advertising Debate

    Switzerland Continues Tobacco Advertising Debate

    In 2022, the Swiss people voted to ban “all forms of tobacco advertising accessible to children,” and today the government is closing in on the details of what exactly that entails as it pertains to print media, events, and sponsorships. The Senate called for relaxations of the original law, which the House agreed to and expanded, sending it back to the Senate for its approval.

    The House decided that advertising would be banned in the print media unless it is in an inside section of a publication that is sold mainly through subscription and has a readership of at least 98% adults. It also decided advertising would be permitted for events and sponsorships providing that the materials are neither visible nor accessible to minors.

    Lawmakers also decided to allow tobacco sales by mobile vendors in places accessible to the public that may be frequented by minors, provided that it is guaranteed that the advertising is neither visible nor accessible to minors. The Senate did not consider it necessary to restrict this activity.

  • France Extends Ban to Nicotine Pouches

    France Extends Ban to Nicotine Pouches

    Two weeks after banning disposable e-cigarettes, France notified the European Commission it would ban the sale of nicotine pouches as well, joining countries that include Austria, Belgium, Germany, and Luxembourg.

    “The French decree follows in the footsteps of the decision on 13 February to ban disposable e-cigarettes,” a tobacco industry source told Euractiv. “French regulators have been monitoring developments in the new tobacco products sector. Health authorities became alarmed, and the government decided to activate the legislative levers available to it.”

    With an expected annual growth rate of 6.2%, the European nicotine pouch market could reach €1.06 billion by 2030. Europe’s 2014 Tobacco Products Directive covered all traditional tobacco-containing products and included provisions for new tobacco products, however, nicotine pouches contain no tobacco, and thus remain unregulated at the EU level.

    Tobacco and nicotine products are not on the EU’s agenda for 2025, however, the Polish Presidency Council (which sits atop the Commission along with Denmark and Cyprus until June) is looking to move forward with discussions for taxing alternative tobacco products and possibly revising the Tobacco Products Directive.

  • Vape Group Files to Halt KY E-Cigarette Law

    Vape Group Files to Halt KY E-Cigarette Law

    Three vapor groups filed an injunction Friday (Feb. 21) urging the Sixth Circuit to halt enforcement of Kentucky’s new H.B. 11 law regulating vaping products while their appeal plays out. The Vapor Technology Association, E-Town Marketing & Distributing LLC and Legendary Vapes Inc. brought an action in Kentucky federal court in December alleging that H.B. 11 was preempted by the federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act and that Kentucky was attempting to usurp regulatory authority that belonged to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, wrote Sam Reisman for Law360.

    The plaintiffs said that a lower district court judge erred in dismissing their suit challenging Kentucky’s law and renewed at the appellate level their effort to block the policy’s implementation, claiming it will cause them irreparable damage.

    “HB 11 continues to wreak havoc on vapor-product wholesalers and retailers in the Commonwealth,” the motion said. “Compliance with HB 11 requires removal of most (and nearly all of the most popular) products from the shelf on threat of ever-mounting penalties imposed illegally by the Commonwealth under a preempted State law.

    “HB 11 interferes with FDA’s exclusive enforcement authority and discretion by allowing the Commonwealth of Kentucky to exercise that authority,” Friday’s motion said. “This is the epitome of conflict preemption.”

    U.S. District Judge Karen K. Caldwell dismissed the action for lack of standing in January, without ruling on the plaintiffs’ bid for a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction, according to Reisman. The plaintiffs told the Sixth Circuit on Friday that it would be “impracticable” to seek an injunction from the district court, given that the court had already tossed the suit.

    The vaping interests alleged that they were likely to succeed on the merits of their preemption challenge to H.B. 11, which bans the sale of “unauthorized” e-cigarettes in Kentucky but pegs its definition of what is “authorized” to the FDA standards.

  • France Bans Disposable E-Cigarettes 

    France Bans Disposable E-Cigarettes 

    Today (Feb25), France officially banned the sale, distribution, and free provision of pre-filled and non-refillable vaping devices. It does not apply to refillable cartridges. Previously passed unanimously by France’s Parliament on Feb. 13, the law aims to curb youth nicotine use and reduce waste, Le Parisien reported.

    Proposed by former Green Party Deputy Francesca Pasquini, the ban follows two years of legislative work, including consultations with the European Commission. Lawmakers criticized the disposable devices for targeting young consumers with sweet flavors, colorful packaging, and low prices.

    The ban comes as global concerns grow over the popularity of e-cigarettes and similar devices, which are often marketed as safer alternatives to traditional smoking.

  • Washington’s Proposed Flavored Product Ban Takes Hit 

    Washington’s Proposed Flavored Product Ban Takes Hit 

    The Washington State House Committee on Consumer Protection & Business narrowly advanced House Bill 1203 by an 8-7 vote yesterday (Feb. 18), setting the stage for further legislative debate on a proposal to ban flavored tobacco, nicotine, and vapor products statewide.

    If passed, the bill would prohibit the sale, display, and advertisement of flavored tobacco, nicotine, and vapor products, including those marketed with terms like “cool,” “chill,” “ice,” or “fresh.” The bill also targets so-called “entertainment vapor products,” which include vape devices with interactive features such as music or video display capabilities. It also mandates a statewide public awareness campaign, led by the Department of Health, to educate the public on the risks of flavored nicotine products. Retailers would be required to post clear signage notifying customers of the ban, and violators would face stiff penalties enforced by the Liquor and Cannabis Board.

    While the bill moved forward, the debate in committee reflected deep divisions over the proposal, and even its main sponsor, Rep. Kristine Reeves, admitted the bill needs more work. Rep. Chris Corry voiced strong opposition, arguing that adults should have the right to make their own choices.

    “I think that this bill, while I understand the underlying merits…it’s a little paternalistic for us to say which products they can and can’t have,” Corry said. He also warned of unintended consequences, citing examples from other states where similar bans have fueled underground markets.

    The bill now moves to the House Ways and Means Committee for further consideration but is not expected to pass this year.

  • N.Y. Lawmakers Want to Ban Zyn for its Flavors

    N.Y. Lawmakers Want to Ban Zyn for its Flavors

    New York lawmakers have introduced a bill in the legislature that would ban flavored oral nicotine pouches such as Zyn, which recently received FDA approval. The pouches do not contain tobacco and are the fastest-growing product on the U.S. tobacco market, but lawmakers are comparing their flavors to flavored vape cartridges that were banned in the state in 2020 because they are attractive to children.

    “You always have to keep on top of this industry,” said Assemblywoman Linda Rosenthal, who is sponsoring the bill. “Because as we extinguish some of the availability to youth in particular, the industry comes up with more ways to entice people to be addicted to nicotine and their products.”

    The legislation — which is sponsored in the Senate by state Sen. Brad Hoylman-Sigal — asserts that minors could turn to nicotine pouches as flavored vapes become harder to find under New York’s ban.

    Zyn is manufactured by Swedish Match, a subsidiary of Philip Morris International, which maintains that Zyn is intended and marketed only for those 21 and older, and that the vast majority of Zyn’s clientele are not new nicotine users, but adults switching to a safer delivery method.

    “Almost everyone has come from another product,” Brian Erkkila, Swedish Match’s director of regulatory science, said. “That’s who the product is designed for. If you think about the flavors our product comes in, they come in flavors that have been in smokeless tobacco products like moist snuff and dip, for decades. These aren’t new flavors. They’ve been around for a long time.”

    Alan Mathios, a professor at Cornell University who studies the economics of tobacco regulation, called the potential ban shortsighted and said it could lead to the proliferation of illicit products, make the market more difficult to regulate, and have the opposite result in terms of keeping them away from underage users.

    “A lot of menthol smokers really like their menthol,” Mathios said. “If they don’t have an alternative menthol product, they’re unlikely to move away from cigarettes. So even if you do see some youth movement into menthol-flavored pouches, you have to weigh that against the role that menthol-flavored products play in helping adults switch.”

  • Northern Ireland Moves Toward Generational Ban

    Northern Ireland Moves Toward Generational Ban

    Yesterday (February 10), Northern Ireland moved a step closer to a generational tobacco ban with Members of the Legislative Assembly voting in favor of the Tobacco and Vapes Bill. The bill would progressively raise the age to buy tobacco, meaning that people born after December 31, 2008 would never be able to purchase it legally.

    The bill is currently going through the Westminster legislative process, and as health is a devolved matter, each devolved legislature votes on whether they consent to pass the bill in their nation through a Legislative Consent Motion (LCM). The bill was first introduced in May 2024, however, because of the general election, had to be introduced by the new UK Government, and needed a second LCM to take place. 

    “To achieve a smoke-free UK, we also need to start the stop of smoking, ensuring that people who currently smoke have access to the support they need to quit,” Smokefree UK said in a statement. “We’ll continue to fight for this vital legislation to be implemented in Northern Ireland and across the rest of the UK and together, we can help end cancers caused by smoking.”

  • Small Business Owners Fighting Denver’s Flavor Ban

    Small Business Owners Fighting Denver’s Flavor Ban

    Phil Guerin, the owner of Myxed Up Creations, a small tobacco, nicotine, and accessory shop that has been operating in Denver since 1992, is leading a fight among small business owners to send the city’s upcoming ban on flavored tobacco products to a vote in November’s election. Previously, the Denver City Council voted 11-1 to ban such products beginning March 18. 

    “We really are advocates for our customers and advocating for doing things in a safe way, and we’ve been able to really stay ahead of these trends,” Guerin said. “But we are not the problem, and we really regret being blamed for this whole situation and we are not big tobacco. We are family-owned businesses that are just trying to survive in an anti-small business climate that’s been created by municipal government.”

    Guerin said he is working with other small business owners around the city, and they have filed the paperwork needed to circulate a petition that would delay the ban until voters could weigh in. He says they have already gathered more than 2,000 of the needed 9,494 valid signatures for the city’s election division to deem the petition sufficient.

    “The greatest thing that’s happened is small businesses across the entire Denver city limits, we’ve all come together,” Guerin said. “Before, we were all kind of rivals and we were all competing against each other, and now we’ve all come together to really fight this misinformation and this ban.

    “We think this will be on the ballot in November and we’re excited for a campaign, and we’re really excited to inform the public because there has been so much bad information put out there about this, [it] is really big tobacco doing this. It’s actually small business people that are being responsible and really trying to do the responsible thing and give adults the right to choose an alternative to smoking cigarettes.”