Tobacco Asia

34 tobaccoasia Other Tobacco Product News 其他烟草制品新闻 The iQOS was launched at an event at an upmarket waterfront venue in Auckland in December 2016 and a job advertisement called for people to market it in centers across New Zealand, including Queenstown and Dunedin. At that time the ministry said it was in discussions with Philip Morris over the product, but stopped short of saying it was illegal. The ministry has now clarified its position, saying that while the battery- powered holder is legal, the tobacco sticks, called Heets, are not, because the tobacco in them is heated as opposed to burnt. ''In our view, Heets products are prohibited for sale in New Zealand under the Smoke-Free Environments Act.'' However, a PMI New Zealand spokesman said the company remained confident Heets complied with the Smoke-Free Environments Act. ''As previously stated, the section of the law referenced by the Ministry was put in place in the 1990s to address chewing tobacco and has nothing to do with heated tobacco or e-cigarettes,'' he said. PMI recently announced that more than 1 million smokers around the world had converted to iQOS. UK BAT Quits Voke British American Tobacco (BAT) has shelved plans to market its nicotine inhaler, Voke, to focus on consumer items like e-cigarettes rather than health products. This move reins in BAT's earlier diversified approach to cigarette alterna- tives, which are being pursued by all big tobacco companies as growing health consciousness reduces smoking rates. BAT's decision to quit Voke came after manufacturing issues delayed the launch of Voke, which was the first product approved by Britain's drug regulator to be prescribed as a medical aid to quit smoking. Voke will now be marketed by BAT's partner, Kind Consumer, which originally developed the product. BAT said it would transfer manufacturing, intellectual property and know-how assets to Kind Consumer, in return for deferred, contingent pay- ments. Financial details were not disclosed. Kind Consumer has said that it would seek a new global partner, or possibly several regional partners, to accelerate distribution of the inhaler this year. BAT's strategy on next-generation products would now focus on its Vype e-cigarette and its glo tobacco-heating product, which both create an inhalable vapor that many scientists say is less dangerous than smoking. Some E-Liquid Flavors Affect Sperm Count A new UK study has found that chemicals used in some flavored e-liquids could affect male sperm count. Researchers at University College London claimed that some flavors of vaping fluid, namely cinnamon and bubblegum, may damage sperm if inhaled. The study involved testing 30 samples, with a third of the sperm grown in a dish with propylene glycol, the main chemical used to keep e-ciga- rette liquid moist. Two of the best-sell- ing flavors, cinnamon and bubblegum, were added to the other samples and had a significantly negative effect on the number, motility, and maturity of the sperm than the normal liquid. A similar study on nine flavors by the University of Salford have also shown inhaling some flavors, namely menthol and butterscotch, can be more damaging to human lung tissue than unflavored liquid. Other specialists in the field have dismissed the research. Medical re- searcher Dr Konstantinos Farsalinos said, "The major problem of this study on airway bronchial cells and similar studies is the use of non-standardized protocols, non-standardized doses, and the lack of any comparison with tobacco cigarette smoke. In cell studies, anyone can easily generate a toxic response by increasing the exposure dose." He also called the sperm study findings "bizarre". "Flavors like cinnamon are widely available in food products, and sperm will be equally exposed to cinnamon derived from food products, since cinnamon is absorbed when ingested. The study is basically suggesting that chewing bubblegum and apple-cinnamon pies can cause sperm damage. I find this highly unlikely." MALAYSIA Three Ministries Regulate E-Cigs Malaysia's Ministry of Domestic Trade, Cooperatives and Consumerism (KPDNKK), Ministry of Health (MOH) and the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (MOSTI) have been tasked by the government to regulate the use of electronic cigarettes and vape. KPDNKK was responsible for regulating and enforcing safety standards for e-cigarette devices and batteries and vaping devices under the Consumer Protection Act 1999 (Act 599). The ministry would also regulate and enforce the marking and labelling of electronic cigarette devices and nicotine-free liquid and vapes through the Trade Descrip- tions Act 2011 (Act 730); Act 599; the Price Control and Anti-Profiteering Act (Act 723) and the Weights and Measures Act 1972 (Act 71). Under a new act, KPDNKK would monitor the licensing, production, distribution including import, export, and sale of e-cigarette devices, nicotine- free liquid, and vapes. Under the Poisons Act 1952 and Sale of Drugs Act 1952, which only permit licensed pharmacies and registered medical practitioners to sell preparations containing nicotine for medical treatment, MOH would regulate the sale of e-liquid containing nicotine, as well as the sale, promotion, and use of health-related labels for e-liquids without nicotine and vape, including enforcing a ban on its usage for under-aged consumers. MOSTI would develop standards for e-cigarettes batteries and devices and the packaging of nicotine-free, e-liquid and vapes under the Standards of Malaysia Act 1996 through the Department of Standards Malaysia Following the decision, MOH will draft a new law to replace the Tobacco Control 2004 Regulations, while KPDNKK would draft a new law relating to the control of e-cigarettes and vapes within the next two years. The sale of e-cigarettes and vapes during this two year period would be controlled by existing laws and regulations imposed by the relevant ministries and agencies. It was also decided that KPDNKK would conduct a study on regulatory mechanisms for e-cigarettes and vapes while the MOH would conduct further studies on its impact on health.

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