Vape Weekly: KMOSE Gets Funding; Guangchang Tobacco Bureau Surveys Market

The weekly newspaper will take stock of and share major events that have occurred in the domestic and foreign e-cigarette industry in the past week, striving to make readers become senior figures in the e-cigarette industry.

1. Domestic developments

01. KMOSE Kermi e-cigarette completed a ten-million-yuan angel round of financing
 
On August 20, Blue Hole learned that the new e-cigarette brand KMOSE Kermi had completed a 10 million yuan angel round of financing. This round of financing will be mainly used for the research and development and production of KMOSE rice products, the construction of channels and channel brands.

According to KMOSE Kermi, its core founding team has many years of experience in Internet, FMCG and media trading. At present, a sales channel network has been established.

KMOSE Kermi was established in March 2019 and is an e-cigarette brand under Shenzhen Quxin Technology Co., Ltd. It is understood that the K1 series of disposable e-cigarette products launched by the brand achieved revenue of 3 million yuan in the first month of launch, and the main ammunition replacement product will be launched in the near future.

02. Taipei will ban smoking in front of 15 convenience store chains starting from September 1 and will not contain e-cigarettes
 
According to Taiwanese media reports, starting from September 1, smoking has been completely banned in 15 chain convenience stores and coffee shops in Taipei City, but the announcement did not clearly record the ban on smoking emerging e-cigarettes and heated cigarettes.

Relevant reports believe that Taipei's failure to ban e-cigarettes highlights the contradictions and shortcomings of smoking bans. Lin Qingli, director of the Tobacco Prevention and Control Center of the Dong's Foundation, an anti-smoking group, emphasized the need to completely ban e-cigarettes to meet the current social situation.

Regarding the announcement that only cigarettes can be banned, relevant official Luo Suying believes that at present, we can only start with a ban on cigarettes, and then seek gradual progress. In the future, more publicity will be made to remind people not to smoke in arcade buildings, even e-cigarettes and heated cigarettes, and respect non-smokers. The health of non-smokers is harmful to health. Smoking is harmful to health.

03. Jiashan Public Security Bureau cracked a case of illegally selling IQOS cigarettes and bombs, involving a total amount of 10 million yuan
 
Recently, the Public Security Bureau of Jiashan County, Jiaxing City, Zhejiang Province cracked a major case of illegal operation of e-cigarettes, successfully destroying a complete gray industrial chain from overseas purchase, tour guide bringing them into the country, Internet distribution to express delivery, and price increases at different levels. The case involved 23 provinces (cities) including Liaoning, Shanghai, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Guangdong, and Shaanxi, involving more than 600 people and the amount involved was as high as more than 10 million yuan.

According to Jiashan Public Security, from the beginning of the arrest in April to July, the police have arrested three main suspects from Jiashan, Chongqing, Chengdu and other places. More than 200 e-cigarettes involved in the case were seized on the scene. At present, the three people have been taken criminal coercive measures by Jiashan police on suspicion of illegal business operations. The case has been transferred to the Jiashan County People's Procuratorate for review and prosecution.

04. Jiangxi Guangchang County Tobacco Monopoly Bureau strengthens supervision of new tobacco products
 
According to Jiangxi Net, in order to further strengthen the supervision of new tobacco products, Jiangxi Guangchang recently conducted a survey on the business situation of new tobacco products in the county. Tobacco monopoly law enforcement officers of the county bureau asked the e-cigarette experience hall in the jurisdiction in detail and recorded the formulas, manufacturers, sales conditions, etc. of the merchants 'e-cigarette products. At the same time, they conducted publicity and education on the tobacco monopoly legal system for each merchant.

05. Zhangjiakou will include comprehensive tobacco control of e-cigarettes into the scope of smoking bans
 
According to Great Wall. com, on August 21, the Standing Committee of the Zhangjiakou City People's Congress, the Municipal Government Information Office, and the Municipal Health and Health Commission jointly held a press conference on the promulgation and implementation of the "Regulations on Smoking Control in Public Places of Zhangjiakou City" to comprehensively interpret the "Regulations."# p#pagination title #e#

According to the "Regulations", smoking will be prohibited in outdoor areas of the following public places and workplaces:

1. Kindergartens, primary and secondary schools, children's palaces, children's welfare institutions and other places with minors as the main activity group;

2. Cultural relics protection units open to the society;

3. Competition areas and seating areas of stadiums and fitness grounds;

4. Maternal and child health care institutions and children's hospitals;

5. Outdoor platforms of public transportation vehicles and areas where waiting queues are located.

It is reported that this regulation will include lit cigarettes, cigars, cut tobacco, tobacco leaf and other tobacco products as well as electronic cigarette products into the scope of smoking bans. The regulations will come into effect on January 1, 2020. By then, Zhangjiakou will enter the era of comprehensive tobacco control.

06. Former Mars Wrigley National Vice President Joined Xuejia Electronic Cigarettes
 
Blue Hole reported on August 22 that Xuejia SNOWPLUS confirmed that Liu Chaohua, the former vice president of sales of Wrigley Candy (China) Co., Ltd., joined Xuejia in July as the vice president of national offline sales, responsible for national offline sales business.

It is understood that Liu Chaohua has successively served as vice president of sales for Colgate and Wrigley Candy (China), and head of sales integration for Mars Wrigley. While responsible for the national sales of Wrigley Candy, he led an executive team of more than 10,000 people and opened up direct coverage of 1.3 million retail terminal stores in more than 300 cities across the country.

07. The CEO of e-cigarette brand VFOLK started an infighting and several executives resigned
 
On August 22, Blue Hole learned that there had been an infighting incident in Shenzhen-based e-cigarette brand VFOLK recently, and many senior executives, including Sunny Lee, CEO of VFOLK China, resigned. This infighting incident was either triggered by a dispute between the management, major shareholders and the trading management team over the company's business development. At present, the relevant person in charge of VFOLK has completed the replacement of the CEO position.

According to the official website, VFOLK was founded in 2016 and defines itself as a "California local brand popular on the West Coast of the United States." It has received investment from investment companies such as IMO, Boxin Capital and Walnut. It is jointly launched by several executives from Silicon Valley Internet companies and senior R & D teams in the e-cigarette industry. Launched, it announced its entry into China in April 2019.

2. Foreign developments

01. Thailand's Deputy Prime Minister announced that he would control e-cigarettes: 100% ban on the import of e-cigarettes
 
Tobacco Online According to top news reports in Thailand, Thai Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Health Anutin announced at the Board meeting of the Health Promotion Foundation that he would take the lead in controlling e-cigarettes and ban 100% imported e-cigarettes to prevent Thai teenagers or more from contracting e-cigarettes. Bad habits. This approach is supported by youth organizations and expert organizations.

Pachampan, secretary-general of the National Youth Research Institute, said that youth organizations are very grateful to Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Health Anutin for publicly stating that e-cigarettes are harmful and illegal, and that imports and domestic sales should be banned to avoid adverse effects on Thai youth and avoid letting More people develop bad habits. As a representative of national youth organizations, the institute actively cooperates with the government to prevent young people from smoking e-cigarettes.

02. JUUL filed a lawsuit against a company that made compatible cigarettes
 
Juul stopped selling most of its flavors of nicotine bombs last fall under pressure from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, vaporvoicemagazine reported. However, its competitors seized the opportunity to offer fruit and candy-flavored cigarettes compatible with Juul's equipment.

Juul Labs has filed multiple lawsuits and complaints with the U.S. International Trade Commission in an attempt to defeat these cheap and unreliable imitation devices and cigarettes. ldquo; If the tobacco rod is not around, parents will say it's a Juul cigarette bomb, but it's not us, said Matthew Hult, a lawyer for Jul's laboratory. ldquo; The tobacco oil it injects is very confusing, which greatly damages Juul's brand image." rdquo;#p#pagination title #e#

“We are taking aggressive action against counterfeit and compatible products because they pose a direct threat to our plan to combat youth use, Juul Labs spokesperson Joshua Raffel said

03. FDA is investigating 127 reports of using e-cigarettes or causing epilepsy
 
In April, former Food and Drug Administration Administrator Scott Gottlieb, M.D., and Chief Deputy Commissioner Amy Abernethy issued a statement requiring the public to report any cases of epilepsy following a seizure. Currently, the agency has reported that it is investigating 127 such cases.

“We are very grateful for the public's response to our original report, and we strongly encourage the public to submit new or subsequent reports in as much detail as possible, Acting FDA Commissioner Ned Sharpless said in a statement.

In addition, the FDA noted that the evidence analyzed so far does not establish a clear pattern or cause for these cases. Mentions in additional reports do not necessarily indicate an increase in the frequency or prevalence of seizures among e-cigarette populations.

“Additional reports or more detailed information about these incidents are critical to helping us analyze the information, which can help us identify common risk factors and determine whether any specific e-cigarette product attribute, such as nicotine content or formulation, is more likely to cause seizures, Ned Sharpless added.

04. Report says smoking among young people in the UK is 16%, reaching a record low
 
British teenagers are less likely to smoke than in previous generations, and their number has dropped to a record low, according to a new survey report quoted by the Independent.

It is reported that the British Health Service conducted a biennial poll of 13,000 students aged 11 to 15 in nearly 200 schools in England, asking them about their smoking, drinking and drug habits. Data showed that only 16% of participants said they had smoked before or were smoking. This smoking rate is lower than 19% in 2016 and 49% in 1996.

05. U.S. Congressional review team launches investigation into e-cigarette companies

The U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee on Wednesday questioned the research and marketing practices of four e-cigarette manufacturers: Marlboro owned Juul Labs Inc, Fontem Ventures, Japan Tobacco, and British American Tobacco's Reynolds USA, and launched an investigation into the health effects of their products.

Democratic Rep. Frank., chairman of the committee Frank Pallone said that a recent report by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention mentioned lung diseases related to e-cigarettes. He asked to receive answers and documents from the investigation by September 20.