Taiwan’s executive branch has proposed a broad ban on vaping, including sales, manufacture, import, and even the use of e-cigarettes. The cabinet (or Executive Yuan) will send its amendment to the country’s Tobacco Hazards Prevention Act to the legislature for debate.

Descriptions of the law in news reports are confusing, suggesting that some products may be eligible for approval after being submitted to the government for assessment. But it would be nearly impossible to ban personal use only of products not approved for sale. (The provision allowing some legal products may only apply to heated tobacco products (HTPs) and not e-liquid-based vapes.)

“The bill mentions that unapproved new tobacco products, such as heated tobacco products or those already in the market, will have to be submitted to the authorities in the central government for health risk assessments, and only when they are sanctioned, can they be manufactured or imported,” the Taiwan News reported yesterday.

The proposed law provides steep fines for commercial violators, ranging from 10-50 million New Taiwan Dollars (NT), according to Focus Taiwan. That is equivalent to about $365,000 to $1.8 million U.S. Individuals breaking the law would face fines of NT2,000-10,000 ($72-362).

The amendment was proposed by the Ministry of Health and Welfare, and includes hiking the legal smoking age from 18 to 20. The bill also expands the list of places smoking is not allowed.

Existing laws regarding vaping in Taiwan are confusing, and some people argue that vapes are already banned. The Customs Administration issued a press release in 2019 stating that importing e-cigarettes—even for personal use—is not allowed. And nicotine-containing products are illegal to sell in Taiwan without permission from the country’s pharma regulator.

Several cities and counties in Taiwan—including the capital Taipei—have already banned sales of e-cigarettes and HTPs, according to ECig Intelligence. Outright vape bans, like the proposed Taiwanese law, are common in Asia.

Taiwan, which is officially called the Republic of China (ROC), has a population of about 24 million. About 19 percent of adults are believed to smoke. However, it is difficult to find reliable and current smoking rate estimates because most organizations that gather such information don’t recognize Taiwan as a country. The World Health Organization (a United Nations agency) simply lumps Taiwan with the People’s Republic of China. (The PRC claims Taiwan is a breakaway province and not a sovereign nation, and Taiwan is not recognized by the UN or most other countries.)

The government does not want to discourage tobacco smokers from switching from smoking to vaping, and therefore it proposes a tax rate that is 77% lower than the one imposed on regular cigarettes.

The Federal Council is proposing extending the current tax on tobacco onto vaping liquids, and plans to do so at a rate that reflects the lower toxicity levels of the products. The government does not want to discourage tobacco smokers from switching from smoking to vaping, and therefore it proposes a tax rate that is 77% lower than the one imposed on regular cigarettes.

Additionally, the e-liquid tax is planned to be relative to the different nicotine contents in the products. In fact one idea is to tax the nicotine content in vape liquids for open systems, which means that taxes would increase with with rising nicotine content. While for disposable devices or ones using cartridges, the tax would be based on the quantity of liquid contained in them regardless of the nicotine content.

The government believes that such a tax could be easy to enforce and would generate around CHF 15.5 million a year, which could go towards social services. The Federal Council’s proposal, which will be discussed until 31 March 2022, responds to a motion approved by the parliament and the Council of States in March 2021.

Effects of tobaccco tax rates on adult consumption

Meanwhile, a recent study published in the Journal of Risk and Uncertainty, looking at the effects of traditional cigarette and e-cigarette tax rates on adult tobacco consumption rates, found that increased tax rates on vaping products are directly proportional to increased smoking rates.

The study titled, “The effects of traditional cigarette and e-cigarette tax rates on adult tobacco product use,” analysed the effects of taxes on traditional cigarettes and vaping products, on use patterns of these same products among adults in the United States. The researchers examined data from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System and National Health Interview Survey (NHIS), over the period from 2011 to 2018.

The research found evidence that higher taxes on traditional cigarettes reduce adult smoking and increase adult e-cigarette use. Similarly, higher e-cigarette tax rates increased traditional cigarette use and reduced vaping.

“Cross-tax effects imply that the products are economic substitutes. Our results suggest that a proposed national e-cigarette tax of $1.65 per millilitre of vaping liquid would raise the proportion of adults who smoke cigarettes daily by approximately 1 percentage point, translating to 2.5 million extra adult daily smokers compared to the counterfactual of not having the tax,” read the study Abstract.

Read Further: Le News

Economist Report Indicates Proposed Vape Tax Will Hurt Smokers and Economy

The tobacco giant British American Tobacco has announced the launch of a plant-based biotechnology company called KBio in the United Kingdom.

LONDON — Multinational tobacco giant British American Tobacco (BAT) announced that they have launched a company called KBio Holdings Limited (KBio) to “accelerate the research, development, and production of novel treatments” in plant oriented processing.

This company is meant to leverage the “extensive plant-based technology capabilities” of BAT and the U.S.-based plant biologics organization Kentucky BioProcessing (KBP), in Owensboro.

“I am excited by the opportunity to build on the significant accomplishments made by BAT and KBP,” said Patrick Doyle, the chief executive officer of KBio. “I am confident in the potential of KBio’s powerful plant-based platform, capabilities, and emerging early-stage pipeline. To date, the technology has demonstrated its ability to produce novel antibody and vaccine candidates with high purity at a fraction of the time and cost of current technologies.”

BAT’s director of scientific research, Dr. David O’Reilly, added that the establishment of KBio is a crucial step for his company’s long-term efforts to move away from combustible cigarette products.

“Science and innovation are fundamental to BAT and delivering on our purpose of building A Better Tomorrow,” said O’Reilly in a statement. “We recognize the potential of our innovative plant-based technology and have established KBio to maximize that potential. We are excited to see what the future holds.”

In a statement, BAT said that Doyle brings “over 20 years of global executive leadership experience in pharma and biotech.”

“He is a proven leader with a track record of innovation, talent development, and a deep knowledge of pharmaceutical development, M&A and pathways to successful commercialization,” notes the same statement.

“KBio will look to form innovative R&D collaborations and financing aimed at expanding its pipeline and future portfolio, with an ambition of financial self-sufficiency,” adds BAT.

A bill passed this week in New Jersey will require vape shops and most tobacco retailers to keep nicotine gum or other nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) products in stock and available for sale. The bill exempts cigar shops from the requirement.

The bill, A6020/S4114, was passed Monday by the state Senate on a 25-12 vote. It was approved by the state Assembly on a 50-18 vote in December. The bill will now go to Governor Phil Murphy to be signed into law or vetoed.

If the bill becomes law it will require “any entity that sells, offers for sale, or distributes for commercial purpose any tobacco product to maintain a stock of, and offer for retail sale, at least one type of nicotine replacement therapy drug, device, or combination product that has been approved by the federal Food and Drug Administration for cessation of tobacco use.”

Retailers can choose from all FDA-approved NRT products, which include nicotine patches, gum, and lozenges. All approved NRT products are over-the-counter (OTC) drugs, meaning they can be sold in any retail outlet without a prescription.

The bill doesn’t mandate which products must be available for sale or how many packages must be kept on hand. However, retailers that sell out of NRT products must place a refill order within five days and must be restocked within 14 days, or face a $250 fine.

The NRT products must be kept behind the counter. Retailers must display a printed notice that NRT products are available in the store, and another notice containing information about the New Jersey Smoking Quitline.

A randomized controlled trial published in 2019 found vaping twice as effective as NRT products in helping people quit cigarettes when both were offered with some counseling. The Cochrane Review also concluded that vaping is effective for smoking cessation, based on its review of 50 studies. A recent study showed that 28 percent of smokers with no intention of quitting stopped smoking when they vaped daily.

There is no scientific evidence that NRT products help vapers quit e-cigarettes. However, there is strong anecdotal evidence that most vape shop customers have already unsuccessfully tried NRT products to quit smoking before they discovered vaping.

The bill has no provision for reimbursing vape shop owners’ cost to replace NRT products that expire on store shelves.

The nomination of Dr. Robert Califf to lead the FDA will move to a vote in the full Senate after being advanced by a Senate committee today. But while Califf sailed through confirmation in his previous stint as FDA commissioner, he may be in for a fight this time.

The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee voted 13-8 to recommend President Biden’s nominee to the full Senate. The vote margin, however, was closer than expected, which could signal trouble in the final Senate vote.

Democrats Bernie Sanders and Maggie Hassan joined six Republicans in voting against Califf. Sanders has been outspoken in his opposition to Califf, who he says epitomizes the FDA-to-pharma revolving door. Four other Republicans—Richard Burr, Susan Collins, Lisa Murkowski, and Mitt Romney—supported Califf’s nomination, along with nine Democrats.

In Califf’s 2016 full Senate vote, only four Senators voted against his nomination, and just one Republican. This year significant opposition to Califf from anti-abortion groups could change that, pushing many more Republicans to oppose the Biden nominee. That along with opposition from several Democrats—mostly based on concern over the FDA’s response to the opioid crisis and the nominee’s industry ties—could mean a close vote for Califf.

Several Democrats—including Sanders, Hassan, Joe Manchin, Richard Blumenthal, and Edwatd Markey—have already declared themselves no votes for Califf.

Califf served as FDA commissioner during President Obama’s last year in office, presiding over the agency’s 2016 rollout of the Deeming Rule, which gave FDA authority over e-cigarettes. Califf has generally opposed vaping as a harm reduction tool for people who smoke, and supports banning all flavored vaping products.

See our previous coverage of the Califf nomination:
Biden Could Pick Vaping Foe Robert Califf as FDA Chief (Oct. 15, 2021)
Biden Announces Nomination of Califf as FDA Commissioner (Nov. 12, 2021)
Califf Hearing Offers Few Clues to Future FDA Vape Regulation (Dec. 14, 2021)

A recent US study, had indicated that teens who crave excitement and are inclined to experiment and are more likely to use multiple illicit substances, including tobacco and/or vaping products.

Titled, “Exploring the gateway hypothesis of e-cigarettes and tobacco: a prospective replication study among adolescents in the Netherlands and Flanders,” the study was published in BMJ.

The longitudinal study consisted of 2839 at baseline, 1276 at six months and 1025 at twelve months. “The analyses involved (1) associations of baseline e-cigarette use and subsequent tobacco smoking among never smokers; (2) associations of e-cigarette use frequency at baseline and tobacco smoking frequency at follow-up; and (3) the association of baseline tobacco smoking and subsequent e-cigarette use among non-users of e-cigarettes,” reported the researchers.

From the gathered data, the researchers concluded the relationship between vaping and smoking was bi-directional. “More frequent use of e-cigarettes at baseline was associated with more frequent smoking at follow-ups. Baseline tobacco smoking was associated with subsequent e-cigarette use.”

The link between vaping and smoking explained

Meanwhile, several other studies looking into this relationship have identified an explanation for this relationship. A recent study of high school seniors in the U.S., had indicated that teens who crave excitement and are inclined to experiment, are more likely to use multiple illicit substances, including tobacco and/or vaping products.

Moreover, a research team from the University of Michigan analyzing nationwide data on tobacco product use among 8th, 10th and 12th-graders, from 1991 to 2019, concluded that the “Gateway Theory” holds no ground. The compiled data indicated that daily smoking rates among 12th-grade boys rose by 4.9% a year between 1991 and 1998, but fell by 8% a year between 1998 and 2006, and by 1.6% from 2006 to 2012.

Moreover there was a 17% annual decline in smoking between 2012 and 2019. This positive pattern was consistent amongst boys and girls in all grades and for both black and white teens, corresponding to an increase in vaping rates amongst the same age groups.

Study author Rafael Meza emphasized that given these data, there is no indication of a gateway effect. “So I think the good news is that the rapid increase in e-cigarette use has not yet resulted in a reversal of the decreasing trends of cigarette smoking and smokeless tobacco use, and if anything, those trends have accelerated.”

Another Study Finds That Teen Vaping Mainly Depends on Lifestyle and Personality Factors 

Press Release

E-cigarettes are battery-powered devices that work by heating e-liquid into an aerosol that users can inhale.

A typical e-cigarette has an atomizer with a small heating element that vaporizes e-liquid and wicking material that draws in liquid. At the heart of the atomizer is the coil. Its resistance wire and absorbent material allow it to heat the e-liquid into vapour. When activated, the resistance wire coil heats up and vaporizes the e-liquid, which users then inhale.

Can an e-cigarette work without a coil? The answer is yes; it works very well.

Ultrasonic vaping technology makes e-cigarettes coil free. Surge, a new ultrasonic vaping brand, has developed an ultrasonic chip that vibrates at a super-high frequency of 3 million hits per second to split e-liquid into a cloud of vapour.

Ultrasonic heating creates smaller particles that deliver nicotine content more efficiently for increased vaping satisfaction. This is particularly suitable for smokers who seek alternatives from traditional cigarettes.

No wires are heated to produce vapour which prevents harmful dry hits and burnt taste. Vapour is created at a lower working temperature, producing fewer potential toxins and chemical by-products.

Ultrasonic atomization technology is commonly used in the medical treatment. Now it is being introduced into the vaping industry. We eagerly await the market’s feedback and inclusion of this technology into the vaping application.

Find out more at the Surge Vapor website.