Weekly hot news in the global vaping industry (4th week of August)

1. The 2024 Bahrain International E-Cigarette Exhibition Global Recruitment Officially Launched

Organized by Sawa Services Co. and exclusively represented in China by Chiyang Exhibition (Shenzhen) Co., the Bahrain International E-Cigarette Exhibition is officially scheduled for January 18-20, 2024, with global recruitment now underway. (Click to read the original article)

The Bahrain International E-Cigarette Exhibition is one of the largest and most important e-cigarette exhibitions in the Middle East. This year's exhibition has received official support from the Bahrain Ministry of Health and will be held at the Bahrain World Trade Center, marking the first indoor event with an exhibition area of over 8000+ square meters, expected to attract over 150 brands and more than 15,000 visitors from around the world.

2. Over 100 Million Case Value: Xiamen Police Eliminate Full Chain of Counterfeit E-Cigarette Production and Sales Gang

On August 30, the Xiamen Public Security Bureau announced a case of counterfeit e-cigarette production and sales. This is the first case in the province to be prosecuted for producing and selling counterfeit products, with the first batch of suspects having been legally transferred for prosecution by the end of July.

To crack this case, Xiamen police collaborated with tobacco authorities to conduct four cross-province concentrated operations, capturing 22 suspects, dismantling one illegal e-cigarette production site, six storage sites, and ten sales points, cutting off five illegal e-cigarette production lines, and confiscating over 100,000 illegal e-cigarettes (sets), 36 sets of production equipment, and a large quantity of raw materials and spare parts, valued at over 100 million yuan.

3. Innokin Announces Strategic Partnership with Bahrain Duty-Free

The e-cigarette brand Innokin has announced a strategic partnership with the renowned Middle Eastern retailer Bahrain Duty-Free, which will introduce Innokin's INNOBAR e-cigarette products to the premium stores of Bahrain Duty-Free to meet the growing demand for e-cigarettes in the Middle East.

4. A Man in the UK Powers His Scooter with Discarded E-Cigarette Batteries

Recently, a man from Wiltshire, UK, Tobias Stanford, used 80 discarded e-cigarette batteries to power his electric scooter. He stated that manufacturers and e-cigarette consumers need to pay more attention to e-cigarette waste, as it not only wastes valuable resources (especially lithium batteries) when discarded carelessly but also causes serious environmental damage.

5. Experts from Multiple Countries Co-Author New Book, Claiming E-Cigarettes Are Less Harmful than Cigarettes

Recently, public health experts from the UK, US, and Australia pointed out in their co-authored new book, "The Comparative Politics of E-Cigarettes and Harm Reduction: History, Evidence, and Policy," that e-cigarettes have significant harm reduction effects. However, not all countries, like the UK, support e-cigarettes based on scientific evidence; public health agencies in the US, Australia, and other countries even smear e-cigarettes for special purposes, misleading public judgment.

6. Indonesia Writes E-Cigarettes into Law

According to foreign media reports, the Indonesian Parliament has passed the "2023 Health Law No. 17," which includes e-cigarettes in the law, categorizing them as addictive substances. The chairman of the Indonesian Electronic Nicotine Industry Alliance stated that including e-cigarettes as solid and liquid tobacco products in the law not only legalizes the participants in this industry but also helps Indonesian smokers find alternatives.

7. Thailand May Consider Legalizing and Taxing E-Cigarettes

Recently, the chairman of the Thai Tobacco Management Board expressed hope that all parties could address the issue of rampant illegal e-cigarettes by legalizing them. Currently, there are a large number of untaxed illegal e-cigarettes available in the Thai market, which can be easily purchased, preventing Thailand from gaining more fiscal revenue. Therefore, he suggested that relevant departments quickly resolve this issue.

8. Switzerland Launches E-Cigarette Recycling Program

In recent years, as e-cigarette sales in Switzerland have continued to grow, the environmental damage caused by discarded e-cigarettes has become an urgent issue to address. To this end, SENS eRecycling has collaborated with various partners to develop an industry solution for environmentally friendly disposal of e-cigarettes.

According to this program, SENS eRecycling will deliver e-cigarette recycling bags to all e-cigarette sales points for collecting returned e-cigarettes, which can be mailed back to SENS eRecycling. Sales points and consumers can also drop off discarded e-cigarettes at SENS collection points across Switzerland to prevent them from being carelessly discarded or landfilled.