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October 19, 2023 by thefinancialexpress.com.bd

Electronic cigarettes are new in Bangladesh. But they are making their presence felt in the capital city as well as in the countryside. These battery-powered cigarettes are now very popular with young people as they are marketed as a 'safer' alternative to traditional cigarette smoking. The use of e-cigarettes is now higher among university students than adults. And their use has increased dramatically in the past five years. The e-cigarette market in Bangladesh is also growing every year. According to Statista, an online platform specialised in data gathering and visualisation, the revenue generated from the country's e-cigarette market amounted to $94.8 million so far in 2023.

October 17, 2023 by indiatoday.in

For smokers trying to quit but with little success, news that genetic science may have come up with a tobacco plant with 60-70 per cent less nicotine is nothing short of a dream come true. [...] the institute discovered a biosynthetic pathway for nicotine in the root of the tobacco plant, which is what synthesises nicotine and transports it to the leaves used in cigarettes. By regulating this pathway or completely blocking it, the amount of nicotine being transported to the leaves can be altered.

October 10, 2023 by galencentre.org

The delisting of liquid nicotine is morally dehumanising and Islamically wrong! The health minister is now facing a lawsuit brought against her by the Malaysian Council for Tobacco Council (MCTC), the Malaysian Green Lung Association (MGLA), and Voice of the Children (VOC) over the delisting of liquid and gel nicotine used in e-cigarettes and vaporisers as a scheduled poison from the Poisons Act, 1952. 

September 18, 2023 by bangkokpost.com

Most parents of students agree the new government should maintain the current ban on the import and sale of e-cigarettes, citing the potential health risk, according to the Research Centre for Social and Business Development (SAB). Suriyan Boontae, deputy director of the SAB, said 91% of the 5,582 respondents nationwide supported a continuation of the ban, saying it would limit young people's exposure to smoking. The survey was conducted among 4,087 parents of students from upper primary to high schools. The other respondents were teachers and school administrators.

September 14, 2023 by manilatimes.net

TOBACCO and nicotine products sale and advertising still persist within the proximity of schools in the Philippines despite government regulations, a study shows. An observational study conducted by the Institute for Global Tobacco Control (IGTC) at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health also finds that enforcement of the comprehensive ban on tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship near schools is "one of the most cost-effective and high-impact ways to reduce demand for tobacco

September 08, 2023 by freemalaysiatoday.com

The Kuala Lumpur High Court has rejected the bid by anti-tobacco and child rights interest groups to stay the declassification of liquid nicotine as a scheduled poison. The Malaysian Council for Tobacco Control, the Malaysian Green Lung Association, and Voice of the Children had sought a judicial review to quash the removal of liquid and gel nicotine from control under the Poisons Act 1952, gazetted by the health minister in an exemption order on March 31. According to CodeBlue, Justice Wan Ahmad Farid Wan Salleh said the applicants needed to demonstrate special circumstances to justify the stay of the exemption order.

September 04, 2023 by filtermag.org

Bangladesh is close to imposing a total ban on nicotine vapes, which have helped tens of millions of people around the world quit smoking. The planned ban reportedly also includes oral nicotine pouches, another important harm reduction alternative in South Asia. If confirmed, it will be another major blow to harm reduction, when several Asian governments have enacted similar prohibitions. With almost 170 million people, Bangladesh is the eighth most populous country in the world. And it’s a major tobacco consumer. A national smoking rate of over 20 percent—often traditional bidi, as well as cigarettes—contains a large gender split. [...]

August 31, 2023 by 2firsts.com

According to data released by the Russian Federal State Statistics Service (Rosstat) on August 28th, the sales volume of regular cigarettes in Russia is declining as smokers are shifting from traditional cigarettes to e-cigarettes and heated tobacco products. According to the data, the per capita retail sales volume of various types of cigarettes in Saint Petersburg, Russia, showed an average year-on-year decline of 47% from January to June 2023.

August 30, 2023 by malaymail.com

The Consumers Association of Penang (CAP) today urged the government to ban vape and e-cigarettes amid continued debate over a move that aims to end the habit among future generations of Malaysians. CAP president Mohideen Abdul Kader said there are now two million vape smokers in the country. “According to the latest National Health and Morbidity Survey 2022, Malaysian teens aged 13 to 17 using e-cigarettes and vape rose from 9.8 per cent in 2017 to 14.9 per cent in 2022,” he said in a press conference at the CAP office here.

August 29, 2023 by sundayguardianlive.com

A seasoned lawmaker has said India needs to seriously take a relook at its tobacco laws, and those relating to e-cigarettes and heated tobacco because the health ministry’s ban on e-cigarettes is a missed public health opportunity. MV Rajeev Gowda, vice-chairperson, State Institute for Transformation of Karnataka and former Rajya Sabha member strongly feels e-cigarettes could have been an option to help smokers wean themselves off tobacco in India, the world’s second largest consumer of tobacco.