Vapers Digest 20th October
Monday’s News at a glance:
VPZ Promotes Licensing Scheme – Organisations Address Forthcoming COP – Heated European Debate – PRESS RELEASE || SCOHRE Calls for Science-Based Tobacco Policy – E-Cigarettes in Historical Context—Innovation, Risk, and Regulation – Harm reduction is ubiquitous and effective so why doesn’t Australia use it for tobacco? – Bootleggers and Bureaucrats Agree on Global Health – Warns of WHO plans: “Unelected bureaucrats control Swedish nicotine policy” – Public Health Theatre: Now Playing Across Australia – The Sequel: Prohibition Strikes Back – Heated Tobacco: Markets – Tobacco Regulation: The European Union – Total ban on vape not the right solution, says Teresa Kok – Philippines Bans Refillable Vape Pods in Response to Drug Panic – Have your say: UK government seeks evidence on vape licensing and product rules – Big Brother star claims contestants can vape – but it’s deducted from their pay – Denver Republicans urge a no vote on nicotine ban, bond debt – Tobacco in Bangladesh: Is a safer alternative possible? – WATCH: Ezra Levant asks Alberta Health Minister Question on Nicotine Regulations – Oregon’s E-Cigarette Censorship Is Illogical and Unconstitutional: The State Supreme Court Should Not Let Virtue Signaling Override Freedom of Speech – Philippines Vape Ban: Government Throws The Baby Out With The Bathwater – 2Firsts Exclusive | AVM President Allison Boughner: The U.S. Vape Market Reshapes Under a Regulatory Storm – Protection Bubble | DOJ Raids, Hypocrisy & Fight to Save Vapes | RegWatch (Live) – HOW CANADA IS FIGHTING FOR TOBACCO HARM REDUCTION? | GFN Voices
Three From Dave Cross, Planet of The Vapes
Warns of WHO plans: “Unelected bureaucrats control Swedish nicotine policy”
Stefan Mathisson, Vejpkollen
As the WHO prepares new restrictions on nicotine products, voices are being raised in the Swedish Parliament to defend Sweden’s harm reduction model. “It is unelected bureaucrats who will make the decisions. Sweden must stand up for its policy,” says Tobias Andersson (SD).
Two From Alan Gor, Australia Let’s Improve Vaping Education (A.L.I.V.E.)
Public Health Theatre: Now Playing Across Australia
Grab your popcorn, because Australia’s public health establishment has turned the vaping debate into a full-blown stage production. The actors are polished, the script is well-rehearsed, and the media always gives it five stars.
The only problem? It’s all performance, and none of it is helping real people.
If you thought the first production of Australia’s “Public Health Theatre” was wild, buckle up for the sequel, which is even more unbelievable. The curtains never really closed. The actors just changed costumes, the script got a rewrite, and the same mistakes kept playing out.
This time, the show is darker, louder, and far more expensive. It’s called Prohibition Strikes Back.
Two from Tobacco Insider
Heated Tobacco: Markets
Following years of wait, Philip Morris International (PMI) launched IQOS heated tobacco device and eight tobacco sticks for exclusive use with IQOS in Taiwan. Heated tobacco became avilable in large retail chains, including 7-Eleven and FamilyMart, at a retail price of NT$130 (US$4.25). However, the Ministry of Health and Welfare ordered the removal of all products from shelves on the same day of the release as the inspectors identified that the product packaging did not specify the nicotine content and failed to meet the statutory requirements.
Tobacco Regulation: The European Union
Germany supports efforts within the European Union to take a stronger, more coordinated stance on global tobacco control ahead of upcoming World Health Organization (WHO) negotiations. The country supports the idea of the EU presenting a unified front in pushing tougher measures and commitments internationally. However, Germany draws the line at one controversial proposal: banning cigarette filters. While some advocacy groups and member states have pushed for a ban on filters due to the environmental reasons (i.e. filters are plastic-laden waste), Germany rejects this idea1. It views a blanket filter ban as neither politically nor practically desirable.
Total ban on vape not the right solution, says Teresa Kok
The Vibes Dotcom
A GOVERNMENT MP questioned the absence of a tax on vape products in Budget 2026 despite the excise tax on cigarettes and tobacco products being increased.
Teresa Kok (PH-Seputeh), said the absence of a proposal to increase the tax raises questions as the product is increasingly widely used and is often associated with various controversies.
Philippines Bans Refillable Vape Pods in Response to Drug Panic
Jim McDonald, Vaping 360
The Philippines government has summarily banned the import and sale of refillable vape pods and pod-based devices, based on a panic over recent reports of bottled e-liquids possibly containing synthetic cannabinoids.
The action was taken because the government says refillable pods can be filled with illicit, cannabinoid-laden e-liquids. (The ban, however, appears not to apply to traditional refillable open-system products like mods and tanks.)
Big Brother star claims contestants can vape – but it’s deducted from their pay
A former Big Brother housemate has lifted the lid on the show’s behind-the-scenes rules for smoking and vaping – and the details are more surprising than your average reality show twist.
Lily Benson, who appeared on Big Brother 2024, recently featured on a podcast hosted by Love Island alumni Jessie Wynter and Will Young.
Denver Republicans urge a no vote on nicotine ban, bond debt
Sherrie Peif, Complete Colorado
It comes as no big surprise that the Denver County Republican Party’s official recommendation on Referendum 310 — which asks voters if the flavored nicotine ban recently passed by city council should remain in place — is a no.
The flavor ban, passed in 2024 and signed into law by Mayor Mike Johnston, has faced much backlash by retailers and residents since its passage, enough so that a group of citizens gathered sufficient signatures to put the issue on the November ballot.
Tobacco in Bangladesh: Is a safer alternative possible?
The Daily Star
Several countries, including New Zealand, have achieved success by adopting realistic policies to reduce tobacco-related harm. However, Bangladesh still lacks such policies or strategies. As a result, despite strict regulations, due to a lack of endorsements, tobacco poses a significant health risk. To overcome this situation, it is essential to formulate an effective and practical harm reduction policy for tobacco that is applicable to a country like Bangladesh, where existing laws are yet to be properly implemented.
Oregon’s E-Cigarette Censorship Is Illogical and Unconstitutional: The State Supreme Court Should Not Let Virtue Signaling Override Freedom of Speech
Daily Editorials
In the stock room at Division Vapor in Portland, Oregon, a sign affixed to a metal rack holding various nicotine solutions reminds employees to “Censor Before (You) Stock!” The sign alludes to state regulations that require merchants to obscure allegedly child-enticing images and words before displaying vaping products to their adult customers.
Philippines Vape Ban: Government Throws The Baby Out With The Bathwater
Coalition of Asia Pacific Tobacco Harm Reduction Advocates, Scoop
CAPHRA Condemns Reckless Policy That Strips Filipino Consumers Of Safer Alternatives.
The Coalition of Asia Pacific Tobacco Harm Reduction Advocates condemns the Philippine government’s move to ban refillable open pod vapes as a reckless assault on consumer choice and public health. Current restrictions have already shuttered compliant shops and limited options for adult vapers, but this blanket prohibition on refillable pod systems will devastate access to regulated harm reduction tools.
WATCH: Ezra Levant asks Alberta Health Minister Question on Nicotine Regulations
Ezra Levant, Rebel News
Rebel News’s Ezra Levant questioned Alberta Health Minister Adriana LaGrange about the federal ban on nicotine pouches, like Zyn, which are used to quit smoking.
Nicotine pouches are tobaccoless oral pockets designed to help users stop smoking. They have been approved for use in Canada since October 2023 and are regulated under the Food and Drugs Act.
2Firsts Exclusive | AVM President Allison Boughner: The U.S. Vape Market Reshapes Under a Regulatory Storm
2 Firsts
Since the second half of 2024, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has intensified enforcement actions against unauthorized e-cigarette products.
Lawmakers, federal and state officials, and major international tobacco companies have all joined the debate—calling not only for tougher crackdowns on illegal vapes but also for improvements to the PMTA (Premarket Tobacco Application) review process.
These combined forces are fundamentally reshaping the structure and dynamics of the U.S. vaping market.
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