Oral health: Vaping inflicts damage and can lead to ‘irreversible’ problems

According to VitalLaw on August 27, 2026, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit vacated an FDA marketing denial order (MDO) against NicQuid LLC, ruling that the agency’s comparative-efficacy standard for electronic nicotine delivery system (ENDS) applications had become a substantive rule requiring notice-and-comment rulemaking under the Administrative Procedure Act (APA). The court did not reject FDA’s authority to compare the public health benefits and risks of flavored vapes, but held that the agency could not establish a broadly binding standard through informal adjudications. The case was remanded to FDA for further proceedings.

French vaping company Kumulus Vape reported first-half 2026 revenue of €25.5 million, down 8.3% year over year, as its core B2B distribution business fell 11% to €21.6 million. B2C and store-network revenue rose 5.6% and 17.8%, respectively. Commercial margin increased to 26.3% from 21.7%, while net profit rose 24.1% to €0.8 million. The company attributed the profitability improvement to catalog optimization, logistics restructuring and the ramp-up of Labster, its in-house production unit for proprietary brands.

AIR’s first half-year results as a listed company offer a new test of how far a traditional hookah business can transform. H1 2026 revenue rose 3.7%, even as Flavored Shisha Molasses shipments fell 9%, with pricing and mix supporting growth. Traditional shisha still generates almost all revenue, while OOKA, Crown Switch, Greentank and U.S. regulatory spending point to accelerating diversification. The next test is whether those investments can become a second business of meaningful scale and profitability.

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.

Mesa Underwriters Specialty Insurance Company has asked a federal court in Washington to declare that it has no duty to defend or indemnify vape distributor i5 Distribution in a product liability case involving an Elf Bar BC5000. The plaintiff alleges that the disposable vape caught fire and exploded in his pocket, causing severe burns and ultimately requiring an above-the-knee amputation of his left leg. MUSIC is relying on a tobacco, nicotine or nicotine replacement products exclusion and a premises limitation endorsement. The court has not ruled on the coverage dispute.

Australia’s Coalition has unveiled a national illicit-tobacco policy that would cut tobacco excise by 80% and create legal, regulated and taxed adult markets for vaping products and nicotine pouches if it wins government. The plan proposes an excise of A$0.50 per millilitre of e-liquid and A$0.025 per milligram of nicotine in pouches, alongside A$200 million in additional enforcement and a A$60 million three-year public-awareness campaign. The Coalition says the package would narrow the price advantage of illicit products and undermine organised crime, while Labor and public-health groups warn that dramatically cheaper cigarettes could reverse long-term declines in smoking.