FLER at APE

Singapore will introduce new laws in the first half of 2026 to address e-vaporisers, with provisions also covering the anaesthetic agent etomidate. Etomidate was temporarily listed as a Class C drug under the Misuse of Drugs Act from Sept 1, 2025, amid a rise in reports of etomidate-laced vapes (Kpods). Shanmugam said the Class C listing will continue while MOH drafts amendments, and a Bill will be tabled in Parliament in the first half of 2026.

Law360 reports that a Fifth Circuit panel expressed skepticism about the FDA’s claim that it has no de facto ban on flavored refillable e-cigarette products, noting that only six applications had been approved out of hundreds of thousands and that near-100% denials look like a ban.

California Assembly passed bill to ban disposable e-cigarettes, aiming to reduce waste and facility fires. New Jersey legislature reintroduced EPR bill.

A court in Russia’s Stavropol region convicted four local residents of illegal sales of disposable vapes, with the seized products valued at more than 26 million rubles (about $338,000). The regional prosecutor’s office said the organized group operated from March 2022 to June 2023, selling disposable electronic vapes in Stavropol, Nevinnomyssk and Mikhaylovsk, while the products lacked mandatory information required by law.

Estonia’s Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Tax and Customs Board are urging the government to address a thriving illicit vape market that undermines fair competition and makes vapes easily accessible to minors.

As nicotine pouches gain global traction as a lower-risk alternative to smoking, questions are emerging about their potential oral health effects. In a 2Firsts interview, Stingfree AB founder Bengt Wiberg discusses why gum irritation and oral lesions warrant closer scrutiny within the broader framework of tobacco harm reduction.