Author: James Anderson
James Anderson
With over a decade of dedicated experience in the e-cigarette industry, James Anderson is a seasoned expert in both the production and usage of vaping products. His extensive background encompasses all facets of e-cigarette manufacturing, providing him with deep insights into the intricacies of the vaping world.
European Union negotiations on a revised tobacco and vaping excise tax stalled on November 9 after Malta and Finland blocked the package during the Ecofin meeting. The postponement leaves current retail prices unchanged at the bloc level, maintaining fiscal autonomy for individual member states to set domestic rates. Irish Finance Minister Simon Harris, serving as President of the European Council, explained that delegates agreed on general reform principles but could not reach a consensus on tax rates. Because EU tax policies demand unanimous support, dissent from Malta and Finland prevented formal adoption. Disputes Over Alternative Nicotine Rates The primary conflict…
The Senate of Colombia passed Bill 135 of 2025 during its final debate on Wednesday, November 4, in a 79-1 vote. The legislation updates Colombia’s national tobacco regulatory code and creates the country’s first specific consumption tax on electronic cigarettes, vaporizers, and oral nicotine products. The project completed its legislative transit through the Colombian Senate following an earlier approval in the House of Representatives. Lawmakers specified that the policy does not raise existing taxes, but establishes a statutory levy on an alternative nicotine market that previously paid zero national consumption taxes. Structuring Colombia’s Dual Vape Tax The approved framework applies…
Turkey now ranks second in the world for tobacco use, with one in three adults smoking and more than 100,000 citizens dying from tobacco-related causes each year. Turkish Health Minister Kemal Memişoğlu detailed the statistics during hospital opening ceremonies in Zonguldak and Düzce, identifying tobacco addiction as a primary threat to national health. According to Memişoğlu, Turkey also leads the world in lung cancer incidence among men. The health crisis starts early: more than half of Turkish tobacco users pick up the habit before turning 18. Furthermore, 73.3% of teenagers aged 13 to 15 purchase cigarettes directly from retailers without…
The Belgian federal government has postponed its planned ban on smoking and vaping across outdoor cafe and restaurant terraces following formal observations from the Council of State. Initially scheduled for January 1, 2027, the measure now faces an uncertain timeline with no new enforcement date announced. The office of Federal Health Minister Frank Vandenbroucke confirmed the delay on Monday, corroborating initial reports published by the newspaper Het Laatste Nieuws. Officials stated that moving forward requires reviewing and resolving the specific points raised by the advisory body. The proposed restrictions stem from the Arizona coalition agreement and form a core component of…
Moroccan authorities plan to double excise duties on e-cigarettes and expand levies across alcohol and sugary drinks under the proposed 2027 Finance Bill. Minister of Economy and Finance Fouzi Lekjaa presented the fiscal package to the parliamentary Finance and Economic Development Committee on Friday, outlining steps to boost treasury receipts while curbing health-related consumption risks. Doubling Internal Consumption Taxes on Vaping Products The draft legislation targets the rapidly growing vaping sector by increasing the domestic consumption tax (TIC) on electronic cigarettes from 50 dirhams to 100 dirhams per unit. The measure also expands the tax base to encompass all product…
A report published on September 30, 2026, by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) reveals that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) continues to struggle with review backlogs for Tobacco Harm Reduction (THR) applications. These persistent delays prevent regulated, reduced-risk alternatives from entering the market while hampering efforts to control illegal sales. When the FDA asserted regulatory authority over e-cigarettes and alternative nicotine products in 2020, the agency received roughly 25 million applications across 2020 and 2021. Although staff processed the bulk of these filings, the GAO confirmed that 132,000 applications remained unreviewed as of December 31, 2025. Staggering Backlogs…
A cross-sectional analysis of 124,610 schoolchildren from Brazil’s 2019 National School Health Survey found that 16.8% of adolescents aged 13 to 17 had experimented with e-cigarettes. The findings, released in an early-access article abstract, link youth vaping to specific interpersonal, behavioral, and sociodemographic factors. Social and Environmental Drivers of Youth Vaping The statistical model identified several personal and environmental conditions that correlated with higher odds of e-cigarette experimentation. Older teenagers aged 16 to 17 showed higher odds than younger students, while adolescents from wealthier households also faced an elevated likelihood of trying these devices. Conversely, female students had lower odds…
Turkish Health Minister Kemal Memişoğlu confirmed that the government is drafting legislation to block tobacco sales to individuals under 18 through electronic age verification systems. The measure aims to eliminate retail non-compliance while protecting personal data privacy. Minister Memişoğlu emphasized that tobacco use remains a major public burden, noting on social media that youth prevention is the ministry’s top focus. “Our primary goal is to verify age and prevent tobacco sales to youth under 18,” Memişoğlu stated, confirming that authorities are exploring user-friendly digital systems to achieve this. Enforcing Law No. 4207 Through Retail Audits The upcoming legislation does not…
The Office for National Statistics has confirmed that more than 1.1 million people in Great Britain who have never smoked a cigarette are now regular vape users. This steady shift has driven the national vaping rate to 9.9% among individuals aged 16 and older, surpassing the 8.7% who smoke traditional cigarettes. Vaping Rises Among Young Adults as Uptake Expands E-cigarette adoption continues to concentrate heavily among young adults. Among 25-to-34-year-olds, 16.4% were active vape users in 2025—up from 12.5% in 2024 and just 8.3% in 2020. For individuals aged 16 to 24, usage stood at 12.9% in 2025. While this…
Pennsylvania retailers must remove unapproved electronic cigarettes from store shelves by Oct. 17 as the state begins enforcing Act 57. The law establishes an official directory managed by the Attorney General’s office, restricting sales to authorized nicotine products to curb youth access and clear unregulated devices from retail shelves. How the Pennsylvania Vape Registry Works Passed with bipartisan support, Act 57 requires all manufacturers of nicotine-containing e-cigarettes to secure state approval to remain on the market. The Attorney General’s office updates the directory monthly. Currently, the list contains 159 approved products from select manufacturers, including Juul Labs, NJOY, and R.J.…