Tobacco Asia

8 tobaccoasia Issue 4, 2025 July / August From the Associate Editor © 2025 October Multimedia Co Ltd. TOBACCO ASIA (ISSN 2773-8701) is published bi-monthly by October Multimedia Co Ltd in January, March, May, July, September, and November. Printing and distribution of TOBACCO ASIA is overseen by October Inter Co. Ltd., Thamatee Building, 159/19 Soi Ramkhamhaeng 110, Ramkhamhaeng Road, Sapansung, Bangkok 10240 THAILAND. E-mail: info@octobermultimedia.com, web: www.tobaccoasia.com, WeChat/WhatsApp: +19178430000 Representation for Tobacco Asia Asia/Middle East/Australasia Southern Europe/Eastern Europe China/Italy/Spain/France October Inter Co. Ltd. Thamatee Building, 159/19 Soi Ramkhamhaeng 110, Ramkhamhaeng Road, Sapansung, Bangkok 10240 Tel +66 812861103. info@octobermultimedia.com WhatsApp/WeChat: +19178430000 The Americas/Benelux/UK Germany/Scandinavia Switzerland/Austria Cardinal Media LLC 2 Glenfield, Barrington RI 02806 United States Contact: Emerson Leonard Tel +1 917 680 1050 edl@octobermultimedia.com Printing/Distribution overseen by: October Inter Co. Ltd. Published by: October Multimedia Co., Ltd. Printed in Thailand © 2025 October Multimedia Co., Ltd. All rights reserved. Bylined or initialed articles represent the opinion of the author. All articles published in Tobacco Asia or www.tobaccoasia.com are copyrighted. No part of this publication may be reproduced or in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system without written permission. Subscriptions to TOBACCO ASIA magazine Subscription Rates: 1 Year – US$75.00 2 Years – US$145.00 3 Years – US$210.00 For inquiries, contact: malisa@tobaccoasia.com Secure online payment: https://www.tobaccoasia.com/subscribe Nattira Medvedeva Associate Editor The war on tobacco is evolving—but not necessarily in the way public health advocates had hoped. As cigarettes contin- ue their slow decline in many parts of the world, a new enemy has emerged in the eyes of the WHO, COP delegates, pub- lic health bureaucrats, and a growing chorus of anti-nicotine ideologues: next generation products. Despite growing scientific evidence pointing to significantly lower health risks compared to smoking (see our story on p.34 for some examples), products like vapes, heated to- bacco, and nicotine pouches are being painted with the same brush by WHO, regulators, anti-nicotine advocates, and a compliant mainstream media. In fact, in some circles, they're not just seen as equally bad—they're seen as worse, if only because they challenge the longstanding "quit or die" dogma that has dominated tobacco control efforts for decades. The message from many health authorities, especially those toeing the WHO line, seems to be: "If you're not quitting nicotine entirely, you're doing it wrong". And if you're a manufac- turer—no matter how innovative or reduced-risk your product may be—you're the enemy. WHO's approach to next generation products has been particularly single-minded. Any dis- tinction between product categories is erased. Any scientific evidence that points to reduced risk or adult consumer benefit is dismissed. In its place are sweeping statements about "undoubted harm" and urgent calls for governments to restrict, ban, and tax. Take a look at how HTP and nicotine pouches are being handled in policy discussions across multiple regions. In the EU, for example, the rhetoric has turned from cautious regulation to outright hostility, with calls to ban flavored HTP and restrict pouch use, as well as proposed tax rates that raise the question: "what are these regulators smoking?" (see p.44 to find out how high those rates are and other regulatory challenges). Looking at vape regulations today, we can probably get a pretty good idea of what's com- ing next for HTP and nicotine pouches. Take Australia, for example—vapes are technically legal but basically impossible to get without jumping through a confusing prescription-only system, which has pushed a lot of users straight into a booming illicit market. Even the UK, once known for its sensible approach to vapes, has jumped on the panic bandwagon with its ban on disposable vapes. In Asia, home to the largest number of smokers and the two larg- est markets for heated tobacco globally, regulation on next generation products varies from legalization to restricted permission to sweeping bans (see p.24 for details). Let's be clear: no one's arguing these products are risk-free. They're not. But they are fun- damentally different in design and use, and that distinction matters—unless you've built your entire worldview around the premise that all nicotine is evil and any innovation by the indus- try is a trick. In that case, why complicate things with science or nuance when you've already decided the villain never changes, just its costume?

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