Call To Ban Disposable E-cigarette Puff Bar
The disposable e-cigarette Puff Bar has been on my radar for a while now and as expected there’s a growing call for the brand to be banned in the USA.
I said back in February the rabid anti-vape crowd needed another ‘bogey man’ after JUUL became less popular with America’s young people, and they’ve found it.
A loophole in the law means throwaway devices like Puff Bar are not covered in the current sealed flavour ban.
Now anti-e-cigarette politicians are calling on the FDA to remove Puff Bar from sale.
Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, Democrat of Illinois wrote to the FDA stating:
Puff Bar is quickly becoming the new Juul.
He also attacked Puff Bar’s recent advertising campaign saying:
…this advertisement is designed to convince children home from school to vape in their rooms without their parents noticing.
Robin Koval, the chief executive and president of Truth Initiative – a tome that attacks vaping regularly joined in saying:
It is an outrage that during a pandemic that attacks the lungs, Puff Bar is freely targeting our nation’s youth, putting their lives at even greater risk.
These egregious ads from Puff Bar are the latest example.
Puff Bar has so far refused to be drawn into the argument…
Watch this space because once these anti-vapers get their teeth into something they rarely let go until there’s blood in the water…
Alberta New Anti-Vape Regulations
Politicians in Alberta Canada are inching closer to a complete e-liquid flavour ban as new legislation gets the green light.
Bill 19, the Tobacco and Smoking Reduction Amendment Act – places vaping in the exact same category as smoking and will include public vape bans.
However the politicians as per usual seem to have had their collective heads filled with the usual anti-vaping nonsense.
Health Minister Tyler Shandro said:
Evidence shows that vaping has immediate and long-term health risks, such as lung damage, nicotine poisoning, and addiction.
Albertans who smoke or vape also appear to be at higher risk of developing more severe symptoms if they contract COVID-19.
I think the minister might need to do a bit more research rather than quoting baseless scare stories…
Worryingly the Bill opens the way for a flavour ban IF flavours aren’t covered by any future legislation on a federal level.
In other words if the Government doesn’t impose one, Alberta might.
Worrying…
New Zealand’s New “Jeckyll and Hyde” Vape Bill
Opponents to New Zealand’s new vape bill says it makes it harder for smokers to switch to e-cigarettes and may force established vapers back to smoking.
The country’s Health Select Committee has just submitted the Government’s Smokefree Environments and Regulated Products (Vaping) Amendment Bill.
However vape advocacy group Vaping Trade Association of New Zealand (VTANZ) isn’t happy and neither is Big Tobacco’s Imperial Brands.
It’s spokesperson, Kirsten Daggar-Nickson, was scathing:
It’s a ‘Jeckyll and Hyde’ Bill; it appears to be a world-leading progressive acknowledgement of the harm minimisation strategy of switching smokers to vaping but lashes out against vaping in bizarre ways.
A harm reduction public health approach acknowledges that it’s better for smokers to switch to vaping. Public health experts said vaping products should be more attractive and available to smokers than cigarettes, and needless caution would mean smokers kept up their habit.
The Bill looks like a progressive public health law, but it will act like a reactionary restriction on choice and access; preventing smokers from buying the products easily, and even dictating what people can say about vape products, to whom and where.
The Bill needs to be straightened out in Parliament before it hands an impossible and legally uncertain job to regulators of instituting rules that contravene the law’s purpose.
VTANZ agreed and spokesman Jonathan Devery said:
The Government’s bill to regulate vaping won’t bring New Zealand any closer to its smokefree ambition, unless MPs now get in behind the many submitters and intervene to drive down the country’s smoking rates.
The hundreds who submitted, calling for changes to help more Kiwis quit smoking, are really disappointed.
What’s more, 200,000 adult vapers in New Zealand are set to be unnecessarily inconvenienced – so much so that without easy access to a specialist vape store, to buy their preferred flavours, many will sadly return to smoking.
The Bill still has to pass through two more hoops in the NZ Parliament giving advocates time to force through the changes they need.
For more info and how to get involved check out the VTANZ website.
JUUL Asks For Legal Help
Beleaguered vape giant JUUL is, as you know by now, facing multiple law suits and is asking they are all put on hold.
I don’t have much more as the full story is hidden behind Bloomberg Law’s paywall and they ain’t exactly a fan of mine…given they recently placed myself and EcigClick on it’s ‘wall of vaping shame‘ lol.
What we do know is last Friday, JUUL asked a San Francisco judge to ‘stay’ the lawsuits until the FDA deems the product can still be sold in the USA.
I’m assuming that means ‘hold fire’ on the legal cases until JUUL passes the PMTA process which could be way into next year.
I’ll have more info if and when the judge makes the decision.
Vapor Technology Association Vape Business Survey
The Vapor Technology Association needs help from USA vape businesses no matter how big or small.
It’s produced a survey looking at the impact the COVID-19 pandemic and lock down has had.
VTA says:
As we continue to confront the challenges presented by both the COVID-19 pandemic and the approaching FDA PMTA regulation deadline, we would like to hear from you about how your business has been affected during this time.
We ask that you please take 5 minutes to respond to our survey.
Your participation and insights will help inform our advocacy efforts.
After completing the survey, please share this survey with all the vapor business owners you know to help us aggregate the collective impact of these events on the industry as a whole.
Complete the VTA Vape Survey Here.
and finally…Vapers Fined For Vaping In Shenzhen!
It might be the spiritual home of vaping, manufacturing 90% of the world’s vape products, but there’s tough vape laws in Shenzhen.
Last week a shop owner in the city was fined $280 for not having signs warning about the dangers of smoking.
Whilst two people were fined $7 for vaping inside the same shop!
Shenzhen has a strict no vaping and smoking policy in public places and these are the first such fines in China!
Crazy when you think about it lol.
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More Vape News on Sunday
is it legal to sell puff bars in the uk
Yes it is 🙂