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The FDA says its policy restricting flavors in nicotine vaping products is for the protection of public health. But is it? With a singular focus on youth, the agency ignores tens of millions of adult Americans who still smoke tobacco or have already switched to safer nicotine—while protecting the cigarette industry and pouring fuel on an exploding, billion-dollar illicit vape market. In this episo...

After years of lawsuits, court rulings, and regulatory setbacks, the U.S. vaping industry remains locked in battle with the FDA. In this episode of RegWatch, attorney Greg Troutman breaks down the latest legal fights over FDA’s PMTA process, including the Supreme Court’s Wages & White Lion decision, the agency’s comparative-efficacy standard, and a new challenge to FDA’s enforcement machinery....

The U.S. nicotine vaping industry continues to stall as the FDA maintains its de facto ban on flavored vaping products despite recent authorizations while a booming illicit market chokes oxygen from legal trade. With millions of Americans still smoking and millions more relying on safer nicotine alternatives, many observers are left wondering: Where's the outrage? In this episode of RegWatch, Dr....

For decades, public health framed nicotine as the enemy. It was addictive, dangerous, and likened to heroin or cocaine. But what if that framing, once useful in the fight against smoking, became one of the biggest obstacles to tobacco harm reduction today? In Part 2 of our special interview with tobacco control veteran Cliff Douglas, we examine the origins of nicotine demonization, the rise of the...

Recorded on location at Keller and Heckman’s 10th Annual E-Vapor and Tobacco Law Symposium, RegWatch Briefs features short-form conversations with scientists, regulatory experts, and industry leaders discussing nicotine regulation, tobacco harm reduction, PMTAs, behavioral science, age-gating technology, and next-generation products. Guest: David J. Ettinger, Regulatory, Public Policy Lawyer, Kell...

Recorded on location at Keller and Heckman’s 10th Annual E-Vapor and Tobacco Law Symposium, RegWatch Briefs features short-form conversations with scientists, regulatory experts, and industry leaders discussing nicotine regulation, tobacco harm reduction, PMTAs, behavioral science, age-gating technology, and next-generation products. Guest: Gabriel Barnard, Co-Director, CSUR Research & Consult...

Recorded on location at Keller and Heckman’s 10th Annual E-Vapor and Tobacco Law Symposium, RegWatch Briefs features short-form conversations with scientists, regulatory experts, and industry leaders discussing nicotine regulation, tobacco harm reduction, PMTAs, behavioral science, age-gating technology, and next-generation products. Guest: Dr. Charlene Liu, President and Chief Scientist, Riskwise...

Recorded on location at Keller and Heckman’s 10th Annual E-Vapor and Tobacco Law Symposium, RegWatch Briefs features short-form conversations with scientists, regulatory experts, and industry leaders discussing nicotine regulation, tobacco harm reduction, PMTAs, behavioral science, age-gating technology, and next-generation products. Guest: Katie Skaggs, Regulatory, Food Policy Lawyer, Keller and...

Recorded on location at Keller and Heckman’s 10th Annual E-Vapor and Tobacco Law Symposium, RegWatch Briefs features short-form conversations with scientists, regulatory experts, and industry leaders discussing nicotine regulation, tobacco harm reduction, PMTAs, behavioral science, age-gating technology, and next-generation products. Guests: Rick Avila, CEO, Bonguard Naturals, LLC and Dr. Willie M...

Recorded on location at Keller and Heckman’s 10th Annual E-Vapor and Tobacco Law Symposium, RegWatch Briefs features short-form conversations with scientists, regulatory experts, and industry leaders discussing nicotine regulation, tobacco harm reduction, PMTAs, behavioral science, age-gating technology, and next-generation products. Guest: Chris Allen, CEO, Broughton Life Sciences. Only on RegWat...

Recorded on location at Keller and Heckman’s 10th Annual E-Vapor and Tobacco Law Symposium, RegWatch Briefs features short-form conversations with scientists, regulatory experts, and industry leaders discussing nicotine regulation, tobacco harm reduction, PMTAs, behavioral science, age-gating technology, and next-generation products. Guest: Dr. Jessica Zdinak, CEO & Chief Research Officer, App...

Recorded on location at Keller and Heckman’s 10th Annual E-Vapor and Tobacco Law Symposium, RegWatch Briefs features short-form conversations with scientists, regulatory experts, and industry leaders discussing nicotine regulation, tobacco harm reduction, PMTAs, behavioral science, age-gating technology, and next-generation products. Guest: Azim Chowdhury, Regulatory, Public Policy Lawyer, Keller...

The FDA’s mandate is to follow the science, but in practice that’s now in question. According to a Wall Street Journal exclusive, flavored vape products approved by the FDA’s Office of Science were ultimately blocked by the office of FDA Commissioner Marty Makary. Today on RegWatch, Cliff Douglas, a veteran of America’s tobacco wars, breaks down the conflict, the role of FDA Commissioner Marty Mak...

A Wall Street Journal exclusive has raised serious questions about whether the White House and FDA are truly aligned on flavored vape approvals. The White House is reportedly pushing to allow more flavored vaping products on the market, yet FDA Commissioner Marty Makary blocked the move, preventing the authorization of menthol, mango, and blueberry flavored products from Los Angeles-based vape mak...

Canada’s approach to vaping regulation is showing signs of strain. Excise taxes meant to curb smoking are now being applied to nicotine vaping products, driving up prices, shrinking the legal market, and opening the door to illicit trade. Today on RegWatch, Canadian Vaping Association President Sam Tam breaks down how flavour bans and punitive excise taxes are driving down legal sales, forcing ret...

Actions by anti-tobacco harm reduction advocates and organizations are “outrageous” and “disgusting,” says Ethan Nadelmann, legendary drugs harm reduction campaigner. Why are the lessons learned in the fight to end the war on drugs ignored in the battle to end the war on vaping? Guest: Ethan Nadelmann, Founder & Former Executive Director, Drug Policy Alliance / Podcast Host, PSYCHOACTIVE RegWa...

Despite extensive regulatory barriers and massive misinformation on relative risk, consumers are transitioning from cigarettes to safer nicotine products at an extraordinary pace. In today’s episode tobacco control policy expert David Sweanor guides us through the remarkable growth of the U.S. vaping market and issues a warning to those who seek to stand in the way. Guest: David Sweanor, Adj. Prof...

The FDA recently issued new draft guidance clarifying how the agency evaluates whether a flavored nicotine vaping product is appropriate for the protection of public health. But while the agency says it’s providing clarity, the new framework may do little to change the outcome for the U.S. vaping industry. In this episode of RegWatch, regulatory attorney Azim Chowdhury breaks down how FDA’s new gu...

The UK’s ban on disposable nicotine vapes demonstrates the many misbeliefs surrounding the “gateway” theory are thriving. But isn’t the theory that youth e-cig use is a gateway to smoking de-bunked? According to Dr. Arielle Selya it is and there’s no room for doubt. Guest: Dr. Arielle Selya, Behavioural Scientist, PinneyAssociates RegWatch on GFN.TV (Rewind) Produced by Brent Stafford Original Air...

Tobacco control promised bans and restrictions on e-cigarettes and other novel nicotine products for COP10, the Conference of the Parties to the WHO’s Framework Convention on Tobacco Control. But instead, frustrated by a handful of countries calling for a harm reduction approach to tobacco use, the global health regulator punted. Guests: Lindsey Stroud, Dir. Consumer Center, Taxpayers Protection A...

Nicotine regulation in the United States has entered a strange phase. The FDA says it’s protecting public health. But in practice, it’s blocking safer nicotine products while leaving deadly cigarettes on the market. In Part 1 of this RegWatch special, independent scientist Dr. Ian Fearon breaks down the mechanics behind that contradiction. From the overwhelming volume of PMTA applications to the a...

With an estimated 7 million smokers out of a population of 19 million, the Eastern European country of Romania has a lot of work to do to help its citizens quit the deadly habit. Instead, Romania plans to enact a new excise tax that would double the cost of safer nicotine products, like vaping. Guest: Alex Gogoana, President, ACPAN, Consumer Assoc. of Nicotine Products, Romania RegWatch on GFN.TV...

What happens when ideology meets science? Look at the debate over nicotine vaping products for the answer. Just a decade ago tobacco control made great strides towards eliminating cigarette smoking. But in a bizarre effort to undermine nicotine vapes, public health is now contorting science and pushing people back to smoking. Guest: Dr. Ian Fearon, Director, Independent Research Scientist RegWatch...

Where’s the parade for all the people who quit smoking thanks to nicotine vapes? This is the question Janine Timmons wants tobacco control bureaucrats to answer when they gather next month in Panama for the World health Organization’s COP10 conference. She’s afraid attendees will continue to dig for the worst possible excuse to ban vaping, when they should be celebrating its success in helping smo...

Mexico’s ban on nicotine vaping leaves consumers caught in the crossfire. While the “tobacco wars” narrative is obsolete, it continues to cause damage, says physicist and tobacco harm reduction advocate Dr. Roberto Sussman. While the tobacco industry today is no longer the villain it once was, public health campaigners continue to wage war, striking disruptive technologies like nicotine vapes that...