An update on flavoured vaping liquids.

In June 2021 Health Canada said it intended to restrict vaping flavours, and circulated draft regulations which banned sweeteners and flavourings other than tobacco and mint-menthol.  The 75-day consultation period on this proposal ended 14 months ago. 

The absence of signals from the department or Minister about their current intentions were identified in a post last August, as were the activities of vaping industry lobbyists to defeat flavour restrictions in Canada and developments elsewhere. 

Today's post covers provides an update on related events.

1) Industry Actions

In Canada, tobacco and vaping interests continue to gain access to officials and consumers

In the late summer and early fall, Philip Morris' Canadian subsidiary (Rothmans, Benson and Hedges, RBH) was granted meetings with the Prime Minister's office (August 11) and with the chair of the House of Commons Standing Committee on Health (Sept 26). (RBH sells two flavoured vaping systems in Canada.) 

Other multinationals also met with decision-makers. Representatives of JUUL met with the office of the Minister of Mental Health and Addiction, MPS from the New Democratic and Conservative parties and a Senators. (JUUL does not market flavours other than mint and menthol in Canada). 

The possibility of flavour restrictions did not deter BAT-Imperial Tobacco from investing in the disposable vaping market in Canada, as reported here last month.Seven of the 9 flavours would be disallowed under the proposed flavour restrictions.

In November, Rights4Vapers launched its second road tour to "share the facts" about vaping. They characterize flavour bans as  'experimental measures' that are a 'threat to public health'.  Appearances in cities in Quebec and Ontario were scheduled between November 16 and 29.

2) Regulatory Actions

Californians vote for a flavour ban.

During last week's mid-term elections, California voters were also asked to vote on whether flavours shoudl be banned in tobacco products (including e-cigarettes). The 2-to-1 decision was in favour of maintaining the ban that had been adopted by the Legislature 2020. The referendum was the result of an industry-led petitioned to force a plebiscite on the question. Immediately following their referendum loss, RJ Reynolds launched a court challenge to the law, seeking an injunction to delay implementation. (RJ Reynolds is the U.S. branch of British American Tobacco and sells menthol cigarettes and VUSE branded e-cigarettes). 

European Commission bans flavours in heated tobacco. 

On November 3rd, the European Commission published a "delegated directive" which expanded the regional ban on flavourings in tobacco products to include heated tobacco (e.g. IQOS), and to waterpipe tobacco. (Commission Delegated Directive (EU) 2022/2100 of 29 June 2022 amending Directive 2014/40/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council as regards the withdrawal of certain exemptions in respect of heated tobacco products)

The flavouring ban was applied to cigarettes in EU countries in May 2020. The Commission cited the growing use of heated products as a reason for the new regulation. 

Netherlands narrows its list of permitted flavourings to 16. 

Through the EU Technical Regulation Information System (TRIS), this summer the Netherlands circulated a draft Order which set down the 16 flavouring additives it proposed to allow for e-cigarettes.

The comment period for the Netherlands' regulation ended on October 20 - the objections of 22 vaping industry organizations are available as 'contributions' on the EU's TRIS system. 

With 16 authorized chemicals, the Netherlands has the smallest "whitelist" of the three countries that are using the approach of restricting ingredients instead of regulating the "characterizing" flavour that results from the ingredient use. The two other countries are Canada (which proposes to allow more than 80 chemicals), and China, which now allows around 100. There are small differences in how chemicals are categorized between Canada and the Netherlands. 

A comparison of the whitelist of permitted ingredients among China, Canada and the Netherlands can be downloaded here: 

The U.S. FDA finds no public health benefit to menthol flavoured product.

As discussed here earlier nother significant event last week was the announcement by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration that it would not allow the sale of menthol-flavoured Logic vapes. (The Logic device was marketed in Canada, but withdrawn in the summer of 2021 after Canada imposed restrictions on nicotine concentration.)

This was the first decision by the FDA regarding menthol flavourings. Under U.S. law, since September 2020, each product has been separately evaluated before being authorized for sale (although unauthorized products remain widely available). Authorization can only be issued if evidence is provided to the FDA that the product will protect public health - in effect that it will support smoking cessation and will not increase youth use.

Estonia and Latvia identify need for regional cooperation.

Health ministeres in the Baltic are working to cooperate in regulating the vaping market, where restrictions on vaping flavours are a key regulatory concern. Legislation is advancing in Estonia and Latvia. The Latvian legislature is looking at a proposal to ban on all flavours but tobacco. Concerns in Estonia focus on regaining control of a market in which there has been significant illicit sales of flavoured liquids, with a proposed bill that would allow more flavours by only banning sweet and soft-drink flavours. Lithuania has a ban on flavours in place.  

3) Research

Research on the impact of e-liquid flavourings continues to grow. 

This month the journal Tobacco Control published a Supplement edition containing 15 articles on the "Impact of Flavour Restricting Policies on Non-Cigarette Tobacco Products". Among the diverse research findings reported in this supplement are:

* flavour restrictions implemented at the state level are undermined because of non-compliance with regulations, for both youth and adults. 

* many e-cigarette users are willing to purchase flavoured products from illegal sources. 

* commercial producers adapt to flavour restrictions through social media posts, product design and product modification - and DIY flavours can make e-cigarettes as harmful as commercially flavoured products.     

* the number of chemicals used as flavourants is increasing.

* the FDA restrictions on flavours in pod-style products resulted in "few changes in smoking and vaping behaviours" among adults, although there was significant switching among products used.

* adults using e-cigarettes to quit smoking who lived in jurisdictions where flavors were restricted did not differ in their quitting outcomes than those who did not.