IQOS Smoking Room at Manila International Airport

Seoul city authorities inspected 339 tobacco vending machines at e-cigarette retailers and found that 168, or 49.5%, allowed purchases using fake IDs, showing that unmanned retail terminals and adult-verification systems remain a major enforcement gap after e-cigarettes were brought under tobacco regulation.

NielsenIQ and Goldman Sachs data show U.S. smokeless nicotine product sales rose more than 8% year over year in the 52 weeks ended May 30, making it the only major nicotine category to record growth.

North Carolina’s new state budget introduces additional vape retail regulations, including a $1,000 tax on vape shops and mandatory age verification requiring customers to be at least 21.

British American Tobacco (BAT) plans to cut about 5,500 jobs globally and shift around 3,500 roles to strategic partners by the end of 2026, affecting about 9,000 roles in total, as the company seeks to simplify operations, strengthen technology capabilities and deliver £600 million in annual savings by 2028.

Australian authorities have disclosed two major enforcement actions that go beyond product seizures and retail closures to examine how illicit tobacco and vape networks operate. On Aug. 14, the Multi Agency Strike Team said seven people had been charged and two criminal networks were valued by authorities at a combined A$80 million, or about US$56.8 million. Investigators allege the groups used bonded warehouses, freight businesses and “trusted insiders” in legitimate industries to circumvent border controls. In a separate operation on Aug. 11, more than 100 service stations were targeted as authorities sought information on illicit tobacco importation, distribution networks and the movement of sales proceeds.

UK consumer goods group Supreme said its vaping revenue rose 15% to £148.1 million in the year to March 31, 2026, despite the UK disposable vape ban taking effect during the period, while the company identified the Vaping Products Duty due in October as the next major industry milestone.