Tag Archive for: nicotine ban

Nicotine Prohibition Fuels Illicit Markets in Australia and Thailand

The Coalition of Asia Pacific Tobacco Harm Reduction Advocates (CAPHRA) has declared that nicotine prohibition in Australia and Thailand is actively fueling massive illicit markets. Rather than eliminating demand, strict bans have handed market control to organized crime, leaving consumers with fewer protections and fewer legal alternatives to smoking.

In Australia, where strict vaping restrictions are in place, authorities have seized over 20 million illegal vapes since January 2024. Alan Gorley of ALIVE Advocacy Australia criticized the policy, stating it has “expanded the illicit market, enriched criminal networks, and left consumers with fewer protections than before.”

Similarly, Thailand’s 11-year-old vape ban has yielded identical results. Asa Saligupta from ENDs Cigarette Smoke Thailand noted that the ban did not stop vaping, but instead made products unregulated, impossible to quality-control, and highly profitable for illegal sellers.

CAPHRA Executive Coordinator Nancy Loucas warned that prohibition weakens consumer safety across the Asia-Pacific region. The coalition argues that public health is better served through strict age limits, product standards, and regulated legal access rather than ideological bans.

CA: Mill Valley Council Advances Total Ban on Tobacco and Nicotine Sales

The Mill Valley City Council has unanimously directed staff to draft an ordinance phasing out all commercial tobacco and nicotine sales. Driven by Marin County Health data showing high youth vaping rates, the impending ban threatens local retailers and sets a radical regulatory precedent for neighboring California jurisdictions.

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CAPHRA Warns: Don’t Ban Nicotine Over Illicit Vapes

The Coalition of Asia Pacific Tobacco Harm Reduction Advocates (CAPHRA) warns governments against restricting legal nicotine vapes in response to the rise of illicit, drug-laced “zombie vapes.” They argue that conflating black market criminal activity with regulated harm reduction tools will only drive adult smokers back to deadly cigarettes.

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Leaked Documents: Secret EU Push for Total Nicotine Ban at COP11

Internal documents leaked from the COP11 WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) meeting in Geneva have exposed a covert attempt by European Commission officials (DG SANTE) and the Danish EU Council Presidency to impose a sweeping, continent-wide prohibition on all novel nicotine products. This move, described by senior diplomats as a “direct violation of mandate,” reportedly defies the explicit rejection of such bans by EU member state governments just days prior in Brussels.

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California Town Tiburon Enacts Total Tobacco & Nicotine Ban

The town council of Tiburon, California, has unanimously passed what is being called the strictest and most comprehensive tobacco and nicotine sales ban in the United States. The new ordinance enacts a complete prohibition on the sale of all tobacco and nicotine products within the southern Marin County town, including cigarettes, cigars, vapes, and other e-smoking devices. The ban also extends to the delivery of any tobacco goods.

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Massachusetts Considers Statewide “Nicotine-Free Generation” Ban

Massachusetts lawmakers are debating a “Nicotine-Free Generation” bill that would prohibit the sale of all tobacco and vaping products to anyone born on or after January 1, 2006. The legislation, filed by Rep. Tommy Vitolo and Sen. Jason Lewis, was the subject of heated testimony before the Joint Committee on Public Health on Monday.

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