nicotine - Clearing the Air

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Sweden health minister attacks France pouch ban as ‘idiotic’

Sweden’s health minister has attacked France’s ban on nicotine pouches as “idiotic”, escalating a row over Europe’s treatment of smoke-free nicotine products. Elisabeth Lann, Sweden’s minister of health, criticised the French ban during an interview on the Swedish health and lifestyle podcast…

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Italian beach resorts extend smoking bans to vapes as tourists face €50 fines

Tourists visiting parts of Italy’s Veneto coast this summer face fines for smoking on the beach, as resorts expand smoke-free rules across some of the country’s busiest seaside destinations. Beach bans spread across Veneto The restrictions are spreading across beaches including Jesolo,…

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New UK vape tax expected to raise £565m as border rules tighten

The UK’s new vape tax is expected to raise £565 million a year by 2030/31, as ministers prepare to bring vaping liquids into the excise duty system for the first time. From 1 October 2026, Vaping Products Duty will apply to all…

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Italy fines Philip Morris €7m as smoke-free ruling clashes with FDA evidence on safer nicotine

Italy’s competition authority has fined Philip Morris Italia €7 million over its marketing of non-combustion products. The ruling targets claims including “smoke-free”, “smoke-free products” and “building/planning/accelerating a smoke-free future”. The authority said current scientific and clinical knowledge does not support claims that…

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The Swedish Snus Fight

The question for Sweden is whether it will stand up and fight, or accept a beating from the tobacco control industrial complex. The first rule in any bar fight is to always punch the biggest guy first. These are the rules the…

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OPINION: The EU Parliament doesn’t want a new nicotine tax law. But that’s not what really matters.

There’s nothing more annoying than writing an article that confidently states “either this thing will happen or that thing will happen”, only for something completely different to actually occur. But that is the position I found myself in on Wednesday afternoon. On…

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Former WHO directors warn UK not to undermine vaping with new tobacco laws

Two former WHO directors say the UK must keep its focus on smoking as new tobacco and vape laws take effect. The Lancet comment welcomes the Act’s distinction between combustible tobacco and lower-risk nicotine products. The authors warn that overly restrictive vape…

News Science

Fruit-flavoured vapes lead UK stop-smoking services as quit rates beat other support

A new study found vaping products are now widely used by UK Stop Smoking Services. In the detailed results, 27 out of 28 local authorities reported providing vapes to help smokers quit. Every service supplying vapes offered flavoured products, with fruit offered…

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82% of the Dutch think campaigning on consultations is fine. Their tobacco control movement finds that contemptuous.

TabakNee, the Dutch anti-tobacco watchdog, spent the first week of June calling Clearing the Air's EU consultation tool "manipulation," in the same paragraph as Philip Morris and British American Tobacco. Eight days later, a poll of 602 Dutch adults found 82% think…

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