FLER at APE

An Indian investigation found that duty-free shops at Mumbai international airport operated by billionaire Gautam Adani’s business group sold nicotine pouches in breach of the law, Reuters reported, in a case that could shape how India regulates sales of new nicotine products at airport retail outlets.

China’s State Tobacco Monopoly Administration (STMA) has released a draft mandatory national standard for heated cigarettes, setting out detailed requirements for tobacco sticks, heating devices and aerosols. The proposal treats the stick and device as parts of the same product system, focuses on minimum safety and quality requirements, and leaves several heating architectures within scope.

The UK government has launched a nationwide consultation on vape packaging, appearance and retail displays, proposing tighter rules to reduce youth appeal while industry groups warn of significant compliance costs.

CTT Pharmaceutical Holdings said it has signed a letter of intent with a U.S. company to conduct clinical trials and testing for several potential nicotine products using its patented oral thin-film technology.

Bank of America upgraded Imperial Brands to “buy” from “neutral,” saying investors have overreacted to the tobacco group’s Australian business downturn and that the share-price pullback has created a more attractive entry point.

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.