IQOS Smoking Room at Manila International Airport

The Maldives Customs Service has confiscated the largest single shipment of vapes since the national import ban took effect in November 2024. Officials searched a sea freight shipment on December 4 and seized 10,800 vape cartridges valued at approximately MVR 2.7 million (USD 175,000).

British American Tobacco’s (BAT) Vuse Ultra vaping product has been listed among winners on the U.S. GOOD DESIGN Awards website, in the “Personal Experience” category, according to the project page. The page identifies the award year as 2025 and names BAT (London) as both the entrant and the manufacturer.

OXVA has released its Artio 2 pod device featuring the Liquid Tobacco Intelligent (LTI) platform. It offers around 400 puffs per charge, pods equivalent to about 35 cigarettes, five tobacco and shisha flavors, and a 900mAh battery with 30-minute fast charging. The company positions the device as distinct from HNB and traditional flavored e-cigarettes.

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.

A filing in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia (Richmond Division) shows NJOY and Altria entities submitted a plaintiffs’ reply supporting their motion for summary judgment, arguing the challenged ITC proceeding is unconstitutional on multiple grounds, including ALJ appointment authority, removal protections, and Article III limits under the Jarkesy framework. The plaintiffs seek summary judgment and a permanent injunction barring continuation of the ITC proceeding.

According to Gulf News, Sweden is nearing the World Health Organization’s smoke-free threshold, with daily smoking falling below 5%. Two decades of public health efforts and the growing use of lower-risk alternatives such as Snus and tobacco-free nicotine pouches have contributed to this shift, alongside declines in tobacco-related deaths and lung cancer cases.