Belgium’s drug commissioner Ine Van Wymersch has warned that more than 80% of illegal refillable vape capsules seized in Belgium contain synthetic opioids, posing serious risks of early addiction among children. She told Euronews that these substances, which have no distinctive smell or color, could lead to opioid dependence from a young age.

The Philippine Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) has released a draft Department Administrative Order (DAO) seeking public feedback on a new permitting system for advertising and promoting vaporized nicotine and non-nicotine products.

The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) released its 2025 Community Health Survey results covering more than 230,000 adults. Traditional cigarette smoking dropped to 17.9%, down 1 percentage point from last year, while e-cigarette use increased to 9.3%, up 0.6 points. Overall tobacco product use stood at 22.1%, a slight decline from 2024 but still 0.5 points higher than 2019.

Based on combined reporting from Xinhua and Xinwen Lianbo, 2Firsts reports that Chinese Premier Li Qiang has issued a rare directive at a State Council executive meeting to launch comprehensive, full-chain enforcement against illicit tobacco activities.

Associate Health Minister Casey Costello faced renewed scrutiny in Parliament’s health select committee over her handling of tobacco-related policy and alleged ties to the tobacco industry. The government is considering allowing smokeless nicotine products such as snus and nicotine pouches, provided they meet safety and youth-access regulations.

Pakistan’s smokeless, tobacco-free nicotine pouch market has expanded rapidly in recent years, prompting major tobacco companies to accelerate local investments, with Philip Morris Pakistan Ltd. (PMPKL) set to produce ZYN at its Sahiwal facility.

Imperial Tobacco Canada, a subsidiary of British American Tobacco, has urged the federal government to respond to the spread of illegal nicotine pouches by allowing approved products to be sold through a wider range of adult retail channels. The company is also calling for stronger retail inspections, enhanced digital tracking, and closer coordination among provinces to build a consistent regulatory framework and restore the accessibility of the legal market.

Less than two weeks after Queensland police raided and shut down tobacconists suspected of selling illegal e-cigarettes, at least one supplier has moved its business online. Flyers with QR codes advertising same-day delivery of vapes, tobacco, and nicotine pouches were found taped to electricity poles across the Gold Coast.