Tobacco Asia

32 tobaccoasia Other Tobacco Product News 其他烟草制品新闻 US Apple Patented Vaporizer Apple, developer of modern innovations such as the iPhone, iPod, and Macbook, has submitted a patent application for a vaporizer. The application is titled simply "Sublimator/Vaporizer" and describes a device that allows for the vaporization of an unidentified substance via a dual- chamber system. The abstract says, "A chamber body is to receive therein a substance that is to be vaporized or sublimated into a vapor. A plate whose bottom face rests on the substance inside the chamber body is temperature regulated, e.g., using a heater therein, which releases heat directly above the substance that lies below. The plate slides downward as the substance is consumed by vaporization or sublimation." The device described in the application is cylindrical in shape, including a thermal jacket and a body unit as well as a lid. Altria Recalls Smokeless Tobacco US Smokeless Tobacco Co., a unit of Altria Group, recalled some of its smokeless tobacco products after consumers found metal objects in some cans. Eight consumers in Indiana, Texas, North Carolina, Tennessee, Wisconsin, and Ohio lodged complaints with the company. The metal objects found were visible to the consumers, and no injuries were reported. The recall involved products under brands Cope, Copenhagen, Husky Brands, and Skoal, which were made in the company's Franklin Park, Illinois, facility. However, the company said that its Copenhagen Fine Cut in a fiberboard can, Copenhagen Long Cut in a fiberboard can, and Copenhagen Long Cut Wintergreen in a plastic can were not affected. The company has notified the US Food and Drug Administration of the recall and was working with federal authorities on the issue. Indiana Vaping Regulation Unconstitutional The Seventh Circuit has ruled that Indiana's law regulating the production of vape liquids for e-cigarettes imposes broad requirements on out-of-state manufacturers that are unprecedented and unconstitutional, The Enroll Act 1432 had detailed requirements for manufacturers to qualify for a permit to sell their product in Indiana, including requiring manufactur- ers to hire an independent security firm rather than use in-house security, which must provide 24-hour video monitoring, and dictating details for the construction and operation of the facility, such as a clean room that abides by Indiana commercial kitchen standards. Three out-of-state makers of e-liquids – Legato Vapors, Rocky Mountain E Cigs, and Derb E Cigs – challenged the law as an unconstitutional regulation of non-Indiana businesses in a 2015 federal complaint. They asserted that the law's stringent permitting requirements discriminate against small companies in favor of Big Tobacco. The law has benefited in-state e-liquid makers, as only six companies may now lawfully sell their vaping products in the state, as opposed to more than 100 before the act's passage. Four of those six are Indiana-based companies. A federal judge found for the state, but the Seventh Circuit reversed and ruled the law unconstitutional for violating the US Constitution's Com- merce Clause. Judge David Hamilton wrote, "The Act is written so as to have extraterrito- rial reach that is unprecedented, imposing detailed requirements of Indiana law on out-of-state manufactur- ing operations. The Act regulates the design and operation of out-of-state production facilities, including require- ments for sinks, cleaning products, and even the details of contracts with outside security firms and the qualifications of those firms' personnel." Big Tobacco Reaches Settlement Subsidiaries for Imperial Brands and Altria jointly filed to end two patent infringement lawsuits even as Reynolds American Inc. has made progress in challenges to two of Imperial's e-ciga- rette patents. Altria Group's Nu Mark LLC and Imperial Brands' Fontem Ventures B.V., filed a joint stipulation in the US District Court in early January for the Middle District of North Carolina to dismiss two suits brought by Fontem against Nu Mark last year. Fontem also sought a cut from sales of NuMark's MarkTen XL and Green Smoke brands. Fontem and Altria told the court they had reached a settlement. However, three other patent infringement lawsuits filed last year by Fontem against Reynolds's subsidiary R.J. Reynolds Vapor Co., seeking royalties on revenue from its Vuse Solo e-cigarettes, remain ongoing in the same federal court. E-Cigs Could Be Bad for Heart A new study by researchers at at the University of California, Los Angeles' David Geffen School of Medicine has found that certain markers for heart disease risk were higher in e-cigarette users than in non-users. Said markers include higher levels of adrenaline in their hearts, compared with non-users, and elevated levels of inflammation and oxidative stress in their bodies. Study co-author Dr. Holly Middle- kauff said, ""This suggests that e-ciga- rettes have a more complicated effect than just the direct pharmacological effect of nicotine," and that nicotine and other e-cigarette compounds "may set in motion a constellation of physiologic effects that persist, even when nicotine is out of the system." In the study, 16 e-cigarette users (defined as those who had been using e-cigarettes for at least one year) and 18 non-users were studied. Study partici- pants were ages 21 to 45 and included both men and women. None of them smoked tobacco cigarettes at the time. Researchers took the participants to a quiet, temperature-controlled room, and measured the participants' heart- beats for 5 minutes while they rested and for another 5 minutes while they practiced controlled breathing. Also, a separate blood test looked at markers of oxidative stress and inflammation, which told researchers how well the body was responding to harmful toxins. Study results indicated that the e-cigarette users showed increased adrenaline levels in their hearts, as well as higher levels of oxidative stress. The researchers said that both increased adrenaline levels in the heart and oxidative stress are ways in which tobacco cigarettes can contribute to

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