FLER at APE

A provision in France’s 2026 finance bill intended to regulate vaping products was abandoned after Sébastien Lecornu used Article 49.3 on January 20 to commit the government’s responsibility on the “revenue” section of the state budget.

Swedish Match, a unit of Philip Morris International (PMI), will close its office in Richmond, Virginia, in April 2026 and eliminate 135 positions. PMI said the move is tied to adjustments in its U.S. operating footprint.

Nicoventures Trading Ltd., a subsidiary of British American Tobacco (BAT), has won an appeal at the European Patent Office (EPO), convincing the appellate board that examiners had violated its right to be heard by failing to review all of its submissions.

Melaka’s local authorities are intensifying enforcement against unlicensed e-cigarette retailers by issuing notices, imposing fines, and seizing illegal products. State executive councillor Datuk Ngwe Hee Sem said only premises meeting the required conditions will be granted trading licences under the Licensing of Trades (Local Authorities) By-Laws 2010.

South Korea’s Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS) said it has established its 2026 work plan to systematically manage harmful constituents in tobacco products and disclose related information under the Tobacco Harmfulness Management Act, which took effect in November 2025.

Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds is proposing higher taxes on cigarettes and new taxes on vaping and consumable hemp products, arguing tobacco use is a key driver of lung cancer. The proposal comes as University of Iowa researchers release preliminary findings suggesting Iowa’s late-stage lung cancer burden is higher—and improving more slowly—than in neighboring states.