A first for time for
everything
Iceland is to become the first nation to adopt
a specific law for vaping with zero links to
tobacco products. The law, due to come
in February 2019, also covers advertising,
making it legal to advertise vaping products
in the Nordic country. However, it will also
limit nicotine concentration to two percent
and stipulates that a 0.9 percent tax be applied
to all vaping product sales, which will fund
anti-smoking initiatives. The Icelandic Health
Directorate are crediting e-cigarettes for a
40 percent drop in smoking rates since 2014.
Decade old decree
The Belgian Vaping Union is appealing
to the nation’s government to abandon
a 2009 royal decree which opposes the
development of a Belgian vape industry.
At the time, the decision proved unpopular
among the Belgian vape community and
almost a decade later, the country’s main
vape advocacy group has raised funds take a
lawsuit against the health ministry. It is hoped
these measures will help Belgian officials to
recognise the benefits of vaping to public
health and the economy. Meanwhile, Health
Minister Maggie de Block has announced
the introduction of a new, neutral cigarette
pack which is said to be rolled out in the
near future.
Come back later
A gang of would-be thieves were foiled by a
quick-thinking shop owner who told them
to come back later if they wanted to rob his
vape store in Charleroi, Belgium. The store
owner, known as Didier, refused to give them
either cash or stock and spent nearly 15
minutes chatting to them to try and win their
trust. He eventually got them to leave by
suggesting they could either rob him now
or they could return after the store had
closed when the takings would be higher.
Amazingly they agreed to return at 6.30pm
the same evening. In the meantime Didier
called the police. He told reporters: “Clearly
they weren’t the brightest. It was like it was
a comedy. They are being called the worst
robbers in Belgium.” At 5.30pm – an hour
before closing time – the group came back
but Didier was having none of it. Finally,
on schedule, the gang returned for a third
time and seemed genuinely surprised when
police were waiting for them in the back
of the store. Five males, including a minor
were arrested at the scene, while the sixth
member of the group managed to flee.
Viagra & Vape?
The US Food and Drug Administration
has written to a vape company having
discovered their e-liquids contain chemicals
active in Viagra.
HelloCig Electronic Technology received a
warning from the FDA as the company’s
e-liquids were found to contain tadalafil
and sildenafil. These chemicals are active
ingredients in erectile dysfunction drugs
Cialis and Viagra. The letter followed FDA
officials seeing the products advertised
online. FDA commissioner Scott Gottlieb
MD said: “There are no e-liquid products
approved to contain prescription drugs or any
other medications that require a doctor’s
supervision.” Vapouround reached out to
the vape company for comment but hadn’t
received a response at the time of printing
this issue.
Unicorns & Decacorns
JUUL Labs has become the fastest start-
up in history to reach a $10 billion valuation
and did so four times quicker than previous
record holder Facebook. It took just seven
months after its first venture-capital raise
to smash through the decacorn valuation.
JUUL also got there almost five times faster
than Snapchat and 11 times faster than
Dropbox. According to data obtained by
Yahoo Finance, JUUL, which is currently
valued at $15 billion, accounts for 73 percent
of all e-cigarette sales in the US. Unicorns
are companies that quickly achieve a billion-
dollar valuation while a decacorn is a
company that achieves a $10bn valuation.
Vapotage
Tobacconists in France are embracing
the e-cigarette in the hopes of retaining
business. Lead market research hub
Ecigintelligence reports buralistes are helping
existing customers convert to vaping as they
quit smoking. Since 2010, e-cigarettes
have been sold in more than half of French
tabac stores making up around 15 percent
of the French vape market. The market
intelligence resource also cites a drop in
the number of tabac stores across France.
In 2002 there were 32,000, this year there
are 24,500. Meanwhile the cost of a pack
of cigarettes in France is expected to reach
€10 by 2020.
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