FLER at APE

Argentina’s Ministry of Health has updated its health warning rules for tobacco and nicotine products, adding e-cigarettes, vapes, heated tobacco products, sticks and nicotine pouches to mandatory warning requirements.

The FDA has authorized four additional on! nicotine pouches, bringing the U.S. total to 30. The decision marks another outcome of the agency’s nicotine pouch review pilot, whose communication and review practices are now being applied more broadly across the category. It also extends Helix’s authorized portfolio from on! PLUS to the earlier on! line. Yet all FDA-authorized nicotine pouches still come from subsidiaries of PMI or Altria, underscoring how concentrated U.S. regulatory access remains.

The U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) has stopped using Webloc, a commercial phone-tracking tool, after lawmakers, a prosecutor and a judge raised legal and privacy concerns over warrantless use of ad-tech location data, a development that may affect data-use boundaries in U.S. enforcement against illicit tobacco, nicotine products and cross-border distribution networks.

Shanghai Tobacco Group Co., Ltd., a tobacco manufacturing company under China National Tobacco Corporation (CNTC), has launched a public tender for heated tobacco products (HTPs) production utility equipment at its Shanghai Cigarette Factory. The project is valued at CNY 10.98 million and covers six combined air-conditioning units, electrical cabinets and control systems for production facilities. The procurement includes equipment design, supply, installation, commissioning and related training services.

Julia Neumaier, general manager of Seita, Imperial Brands’ French subsidiary, said France should focus vaping regulation on access control, age verification, online sales and distribution channels, rather than applying tobacco-style plain packaging to vaping products.

According to The Moodie Davitt Report, PMI Global Travel Retail and Frankfurt Airport Retail have launched new IQOS and VEEV retail spaces at Frankfurt Airport. The installations, located inside and outside duty-free areas, showcase IQOS heated tobacco products and VEEV e-vapor products through product education, consumer interaction and brand experiences. Frankfurt Airport Retail, operated by Fraport Group and Gebr. Heinemann, manages key retail activities at Frankfurt Airport. The initiative follows PMI’s broader strategy of expanding smoke-free products through global travel retail channels. PMI has previously introduced VEEV products across multiple European airports while continuing to expand IQOS and VEEV availability in international markets.