Indiana vape tax to go into effect July 1

According to CBS Los Angeles on August 27, 2026, California lawmakers have passed Assembly Bill 762, which would phase out disposable, battery-embedded nicotine vapes in the state. If signed by Governor Gavin Newsom, manufacturing and importation of the covered products would be prohibited beginning January 1, 2027, followed by a sales ban on January 1, 2028. Driven primarily by concerns over electronic waste, lithium-battery fires and environmental pollution, the legislation would further shift California’s legal vape market toward rechargeable, refillable or replaceable-pod devices.

Japan Tobacco (JT) will expand EVO Cacao Mint Crystal from limited channels to nationwide retail in Japan from October 6, 2026. The Ploom tobacco stick ranked first in the brand's first consumer voting campaign for new tobacco-stick SKUs held earlier this year. JT will also introduce a limited 22-stick pack at the same JPY 620 price as the standard 20-stick pack. The capsule-format product combines menthol with sweet, bittersweet cacao notes and adds a berry nuance when the capsule is crushed.

FDA’s Center for Tobacco Products detailed new PMTA review data and process changes at the 2026 FDLI conference. Pending PMTAs fell from about 450,000 at the start of 2025 to 135,000 by September 2026. CTP also discussed its 180-day review goal, current sPMTA pilot, alternate-supplier planning, more than 50,300 pending SE reports, and lessons from the nicotine pouch pilot already being applied to ENDS review.

Huabao’s H1 2026 results show the company advancing across three connected fronts: international expansion, entry into next-generation tobacco supply chains and diversification beyond its traditional tobacco-related base. Overseas revenue rose 216.08% to CNY 96.02 million, while non-flavor businesses reached 42.2% of total revenue. Huabao also said it had entered the supply chains of leading global tobacco customers, as its nutrition, food ingredient, fragrance and personal-care businesses gained ground in Europe, Southeast Asia, Australia and New Zealand. However, adjusted net profit increased only 2.78%, and next-generation tobacco revenue was not separately disclosed, showing that the transformation is reshaping revenue and customer exposure but has yet to translate fully into underlying earnings.

Germany's parliament is scheduled to hold a first reading of amendments to the Tobacco Tax Act on September 24. The government plans annual tax increases from 2027 through 2030 covering cigarettes, heated tobacco, vaping liquids and other categories. It expects the reform to generate €756 million in additional revenue in 2027, rising to €3.589 billion in additional annual revenue by 2030. Ahead of the parliamentary debate, the German Association of the Tobacco Industry and Novel Products, or BVTE, launched the "Tabaksteuer mit Augenmaß" campaign backed by BAT, JTI, Philip Morris, Reemtsma and wholesale and retail groups.

As regulators pay closer attention to child safety in nicotine pouches, manufacturers face a practical challenge: how to strengthen child-resistant packaging without unnecessarily reworking products, production lines and regulatory submissions already in place. In a written interview with 2Firsts, Chemular detailed Safeguard’s external packaging approach, its customer-specific testing requirements and possible PMTA pathways. The model remains early-stage, but it offers a new way to think about an increasingly important regulatory and manufacturing issue.