AmoVape

Author: amovape

  • After the UK Vape Ban: How AI Is Hunting Illegal Vapes Across the Digital Underground

    After the UK Vape Ban: How AI Is Hunting Illegal Vapes Across the Digital Underground

    In the spring of 2025, the air over Britain suddenly looked a little clearer.

    But don’t be fooled — it wasn’t the dawn of a cleaner era. It was just the day disposable vapes officially went up in regulatory smoke.

    The government called it a “victory for youth health and environmental protection.”
    Supermarkets cleared their rainbow vape displays overnight, ads disappeared, and newspapers declared a “public health milestone.”

    Then, a few months later, came the hangover.

    According to the UK’s Trading Standards Authority, over 1.19 million illegal vapes were seized in the past year — a 59% increase from the year before.

    The black market hadn’t vanished. It had simply logged on.

    💨 When You Ban the Product, the Market Just Gets Smarter

    Walk through London, Manchester, or Liverpool today and you won’t see vapes on open display. But ask the right person at the right petrol station, and — well — business is still booming.

    Some cashiers treat illicit vapes like bonus stock.
    And for the 15-year-olds who used to buy them legally, the supply chain has simply moved online.

    Snapchat stories, Instagram DMs, and WhatsApp codes have replaced glass counters.
    Welcome to post-ban Britain: from storefront to smartphone, from daylight to digital.

    As former detective Dave Sampson, now a consultant at tech firm Altia, puts it:

    “A ban doesn’t make warehouses disappear. It just makes their shutters close tighter.”

    Before the ban, disposables made up 60% of the UK vape market.
    Now, they survive in secret — rebranded, relabeled, and resold in what insiders call the ‘stockpile economy’.
    In this business, scarcity isn’t a problem. It’s a pricing strategy.

    📲 Welcome to the Digital Black Market

    The disposable ban didn’t kill demand — it just changed the delivery method.

    The modern vape hustle runs on algorithms, anonymity, and logistics.
    Buyers use coded keywords to find sellers; sellers post disappearing stories; payments are handled through encrypted channels; and the only thing left behind is a tracking number.

    Teens still get their “first puff of the morning,” just delivered through DMs instead of corner shops.

    Behind this operation lies an intricate network of stock warehouses, freelance resellers, social media algorithms, and payment systems — the rise of what investigators now call the Shadow Supply Chain.

    🤖 Enter the Machines: AI Joins the Vape War

    Britain’s response to this invisible market?
    An equally invisible weapon — artificial intelligence.

    Tech firm Altia has built a system called OSINT Investigator — an AI-powered sleuth that scours the web for illegal vape sales.
    It crawls social platforms, spots suspicious keywords, maps out trading networks, geolocates sellers, and auto-generates evidence packets fit for court.

    Forget police raids; this is data policing.

    Investigators call it a “digital ring-fence” — a virtual perimeter that hunts sellers before the human officers even get there.

    And according to Sampson:

    “The more you look, the more you find — until the investigation practically runs itself.”

    The UK has officially entered the age of algorithmic enforcement, where the battle over vapes isn’t fought in back alleys but in databases.

    ♻️ The Messy Truth: Health, Teens, and Trash

    The ban’s goal was noble: protect young people and save the planet.
    Reality, though, is… smokier.

    Every 30 seconds, a disposable vape is tossed into a British bin — a cocktail of plastic, lithium, and leftover nicotine.
    Since the ban, unsold inventory has piled up, been stripped down, and quietly reintroduced to the underground market — adding both waste and risk.

    Regulators face a dilemma:

    • Crack down too hard, and prices soar while black markets thrive.
    • Go too soft, and underage vaping keeps spreading.

    It’s a lose-lose — a public health puzzle wrapped in a recycling crisis.

    🌍 What Chinese Vape Exporters Should Learn

    Britain’s crackdown is more than a national issue — it’s a warning shot for global manufacturers, especially in China.

    To survive the next regulatory wave, brands need to:
    1️⃣ Build “data compliance” systems — product traceability, blockchain tracking, digital serials.
    2️⃣ Prepare for standardized data-sharing with UK and EU regulators.
    3️⃣ Design re-entry strategies around sustainable, rechargeable, and recyclable products.
    4️⃣ Rebuild brand trust through transparency and responsible marketing.

    Because the future of vaping isn’t about flavors or battery life anymore.
    It’s about algorithms, compliance, and credibility.

    💭 The Last Puff

    Britain’s vape ban hasn’t cleared the air — it’s just moved the fog online.

    The new black market doesn’t lurk in alleys. It scrolls, posts, and vanishes in 24 hours.
    And as regulators arm themselves with AI, the next phase of the war on vapes might not be fought with laws or police — but with data.

    Or as one insider joked:

    “The future of vaping isn’t smoke and mirrors. It’s code and servers.”

    Bottom line: Britain may have banned disposables, but in the digital age, smoke doesn’t disappear — it just finds Wi-Fi.

  • France Declares War on Vapes: New Tax, Online Sales Ban, and Europe’s Toughest E-Cigarette Rules Yet

    France Declares War on Vapes: New Tax, Online Sales Ban, and Europe’s Toughest E-Cigarette Rules Yet

    Paris, Autumn 2025 — The French government just dropped what might be the most dramatic plot twist in Europe’s nicotine saga.

    Buried in the new 2026 Finance Bill is a bombshell:
    France will tax e-cigarettes by volume, ban all online sales, and—most controversially—reclassify vapes as “smoking products.”

    That’s right. The same gadget once hailed as the savior of smokers is now legally lumped in with the cigarettes it was supposed to replace.

    Bienvenue à la bureaucratie française.

    🏛️ From Health Solution to Fiscal Target

    For years, vaping in Europe lived under the halo of “harm reduction.”
    It was the good kid of nicotine — less smoke, fewer chemicals, and a pat on the back from public health experts.

    But the French Treasury has just staged a quiet coup.
    E-cigarettes have been snatched from the Health Ministry and handed over to the Ministry of Finance, transforming a public health tool into a taxable commodity.

    In bureaucratic terms:
    It’s no longer about saving lives. It’s about balancing books.

    💶 The New Vape Math: Taxed, Tracked, and Tamed

    The 2026 Finance Bill breaks it down with clinical precision:

    • Nicotine ≤15mg/mL → €0.03 per mL
    • Nicotine >15mg/mL → €0.05 per mL

    That’s roughly €0.50 more per 10mL bottle — not devastating, but enough to sting.

    However, the real gut punch is the online sales ban. Overnight, a third of France’s vape retailers lost their main source of income.

    Gone are the indie vape shops and scrappy e-commerce entrepreneurs. What’s left? Licensed, brick-and-mortar tobacco retailers — the same ones who sell cigarettes.

    In short, France is turning its open vape market into a government-licensed nicotine monopoly.

    🧩 The Politics Behind the Puff

    This isn’t just about taxes. It’s a political chess move wrapped in public health language.

    The policy is part of France’s 2023–2027 National Tobacco Control Plan, which aims for what officials call a “health balance” — though critics say it’s closer to a “nicotine lockdown.”

    Let’s recap France’s anti-vape timeline:

    • 2025: Ban on disposable vapes.
    • April 2026: Ban on all non-medical oral nicotine products (pouches, gums, lozenges).
    • 2026: Full tax and reclassification of e-cigarettes as smoking products.

    Translation: France is now the first country in Europe to restrict nicotine in all its forms — inhaled, chewed, or sucked.

    And yes, that makes it sound like a nicotine apocalypse.

    💰 Follow the Money: The Fiscal Fix

    Behind all the health talk lies a far simpler truth — lost tax revenue.

    For years, e-cigarettes enjoyed a regulatory honeymoon: low taxes, little oversight, fast profits. But as the industry grew, it quietly ate into France’s €14 billion annual tobacco tax stream.

    So, the Finance Ministry did what finance ministries do best — it found a way to bring vapes back into the taxable family.

    The new logic is simple:

    “If it can be sold, it can be taxed. If it can be taxed, it can be controlled.”

    Health rhetoric still decorates the press releases, but make no mistake — this is a fiscal operation disguised as a moral one.

    🌍 The European Domino Effect

    France isn’t acting alone — it’s setting the stage.

    Across the EU, 15 member states are already discussing revisions to the 2011 Tobacco Tax Directive. Everyone’s got their calculator out, comparing nicotine tax rates:

    CountryVape Tax RateNotable Feature
    Germany€0.32/mLHighest tax, even for zero-nicotine liquids
    Spain€0.15–0.20/mLMild, increasing annually
    Belgium€0.15/mLIncludes nicotine-free products
    Finland€0.30/mLPioneer of volume-based taxation
    Denmark€0.20–0.34/mLTiered by nicotine strength
    France€0.03–0.05/mLLow tax, maximum control

    So while France’s tax isn’t the highest, its total regulatory chokehold now ranks No. 1 in Europe.

    Industry insiders say Paris is creating a blueprint for the EU’s next wave of nicotine regulation — combining taxation with prohibition.
    In other words: “Europe, you’re next.”

    🔥 Smoke-Free? Maybe. Control-Free? Never.

    The 2026 French Finance Bill doesn’t just change how vapes are taxed — it redefines what they are.

    E-cigarettes are no longer the rebels of public health. They’re now just another taxable vice — packaged neatly under “smoking products,” right beside the Marlboros and Gauloises.

    Independent vape brands and online retailers? Collateral damage.
    Big tobacco? Conveniently ready to take over.

    What began as a harm-reduction movement has officially become a revenue-reduction maneuver — for everyone except the government.

    💭 The Bottom Line

    France’s new vape law marks a philosophical shift:
    The age of “innovation and harm reduction” is giving way to an era of fiscal order and political control.

    When the state stops asking, “Is this healthier?” and starts asking, “Can we tax it?”, you know the revolution is over.

    As one Parisian vape shop owner put it:

    “We were helping people quit smoking. Now we’re treated like we’re helping them rob the treasury.”

  • From Gold Rush to Grown-Up: The Three Booms (and Crashes) That Shaped China’s Vape Industry

    From Gold Rush to Grown-Up: The Three Booms (and Crashes) That Shaped China’s Vape Industry

    Over the past decade, China’s e-cigarette industry has lived through a full-blown business epic — complete with overnight fortunes, government crackdowns, and global adventures gone sideways.

    It started with chaos and gold fever, matured through capital frenzy, and now limps into an era of hard-earned sobriety.

    If this industry had a movie title, it’d probably be called:
    “Three Booms and Three Hangovers.”

    💰 First Boom: The Wild West Years (2014–2018)

    Once upon a time — before regulations, taxes, or anyone even asking “is this legal?” — the e-cigarette world was a paradise for hustlers.

    Factories in Shenzhen and Dongguan were cranking out vapes faster than TikTokers post selfies. A stick that cost a few yuan to make could sell overseas for dozens of dollars.

    Everyone was getting rich — or at least pretending to be.

    If you could copy fast, ship faster, and not blow up your customer’s battery, you were a legend.
    But behind the cash and chaos, the cracks were forming:

    • Fires and malfunctions made headlines,
    • Products looked and tasted the same,
    • Consumers were clueless, and
    • Regulators were quietly sharpening their pencils.

    Everyone knew the hammer would fall — but hey, when you’re sprinting through a gold rush, who’s got time for self-reflection?

    🚀 Second Boom: The RELX Era (2018–2021)

    Then came the brand that changed everything — RELX.

    In just three years, this startup turned vaping from a dusty factory product into a sleek lifestyle statement. Suddenly, vapes weren’t just “things you smoke” — they were accessories.

    Investors went feral.
    Sequoia, IDG, and every VC with caffeine in their bloodstream jumped in.

    Within two years, China had hundreds of new vape brands, thousands of stores, and an ocean of optimism. Everyone believed they were building “the next Xiaomi of smoking.”

    Then, in 2021, RELX went public. Its valuation hit $30 billion — and for one shiny moment, everyone in the industry thought they were untouchable.

    Until, of course, the National Tobacco Administration said:
    “Hold my pen.”

    A new regulation brought e-cigarettes under tobacco law.
    The party ended instantly.
    Investors vanished. Shops shut down. The “next Xiaomi” dreams went up in vapor.

    That was the industry’s first real sobering slap — the second boom was over.

    ✈️ Third Boom: The Great Escape (2021–2023)

    When domestic rules tightened, Chinese vape makers did what they do best: adapt fast.

    They went global — to Southeast Asia, the Middle East, Europe, and Latin America.
    It worked like a charm.

    Foreign markets had weak regulation and strong demand.
    Orders exploded. TikTok, Shopee, and Amazon couldn’t restock fast enough.

    “Going overseas means instant profit,” people said — and for a while, it was true.

    But 2023 brought a rude awakening:

    • The UK, France, Australia, and the US all tightened laws.
    • Taxes rose, import licenses got messy, and “gray exports” turned red flags.

    By 2024, even overseas, the gold rush was fading.
    Those who hadn’t built real brands or long-term systems were back where they started — fighting price wars for survival.

    🧩 Three Booms, Three Lessons: From Luck to Logic

    Every surge in this industry came from external opportunities, and every crash came from internal weakness.

    For ten years, success meant being fast:
    Fast to launch, fast to ship, fast to cash in.

    Now?
    Speed has turned into a burden.
    The new game isn’t “who runs fastest,” but who builds strongest.

    The key questions have changed:

    • Can you operate efficiently under tight regulation?
    • Can you build a recognizable brand when advertising is banned?
    • Can you grow steadily instead of just quickly?

    Welcome to vaping’s fourth phase: the era of long-term value.

    🏗️ From Fast Money to Firm Foundations

    The golden age of shortcuts is over.

    Regulation, investor caution, and global policy shifts are forcing vape makers to evolve from “opportunity businesses” to “system businesses.”

    The next winners won’t be those who sprint — they’ll be those who endure.
    Those who:

    • Think strategically,
    • Build real brands based on trust and culture,
    • Develop safer, more consistent products, and
    • Create organizations that don’t collapse when the founder sneezes.

    It’s less flashy, less frenzied — but far more sustainable.

    💭 Epilogue: The Marathon After the Sprint

    Three booms gave birth to giants.
    Three crises humbled them all.

    The vape game is no longer about “who gets rich fast” — it’s about “who stays alive longest.”

    The bonus rounds are over. The real test begins now.

    Because when the smoke clears, the future belongs to those who can build, not chase.

  • Japan’s Heat-Not-Burn Boom: Half of Smokers Switch to Flameless Tobacco as IQOS and Ploom Dominate

    Japan’s Heat-Not-Burn Boom: Half of Smokers Switch to Flameless Tobacco as IQOS and Ploom Dominate

    In a plot twist that would make any public-health official smile, Japan’s heat-not-burn (HNB) tobacco products have quietly taken over nearly 50% of the nation’s cigarette market.
    According to a report from Sankei, HNB devices like IQOS, Ploom, and glo now outsell traditional smokes across Tokyo and Kyushu — the country’s trendiest and smokiest corners.

    So yes, Japan didn’t just kick the cigarette habit. It upgraded it.

    🚛 Corporations and City Halls: Teaming Up to Snuff Out Smoke

    Japan’s anti-smoking movement has turned into a tag-team match between companies and local governments — with a mix of corporate incentives and municipal engineering.

    Take Fuji Transport Co., for example.
    Truck drivers — historically heavy smokers — were encouraged to switch to HNB devices years ago. The company even pays half the price of these devices for employees, arguing that cleaner air inside trucks means happier drivers (and fewer complaints about the “ashtray on wheels” smell).

    The results?
    Most of Fuji’s smokers have ditched traditional cigarettes entirely — proof that sometimes it takes a discount to detox.

    Meanwhile, Suita City, near Osaka, has declared itself a “Smoke-Free City” and built new enclosed “Quit-Support Booths” where people can vape or heat their tobacco in peace — no open flames, no angry pedestrians.

    Other local governments are catching on fast.
    World-heritage towns like Hiraizumi in Iwate Prefecture and Shirakawa Village in Gifu are also designating flame-free smoking areas — not just for public health, but to cut fire risks around their precious wooden landmarks.

    The message is clear: keep your heritage, not your ashes.

    📈 Japan’s Big Three: IQOS, Ploom, and glo Blaze Ahead

    Japan’s heat-not-burn race is dominated by three major brands — and all are heating up (pun very much intended).

    • Philip Morris International’s IQOS remains the reigning champion.
      According to PMI data, since its 2014 launch, IQOS has grown its market share to 47.1% nationwide by the end of last year — and in Tokyo, it’s already past the halfway mark.
      Sales were up 13% year-on-year, and the number of Japanese IQOS users hit 9.5 million.
    • Japan Tobacco’s Ploom X is catching up fast. CEO Masamichi Terabatake says sales are climbing steadily, and the company plans to double down on Ploom investments as a long-term growth priority.
    • British American Tobacco’s glo rounds out the top three, holding its own in Japan’s east-west divide — with Kanto (Tokyo and beyond) leading adoption, while the Kansai region remains a little more old-school about its smoking habits.

    🔥 From Fire to Firmware: Japan’s Smokers Evolve

    It’s been 10 years since HNB products hit Japanese shelves, and what started as a niche gadget has now gone mainstream — helped by government cooperation, clever corporate strategies, and a tech-savvy population that loves anything rechargeable.

    In a country where vending machines can sell you coffee, curry, or socks, it was only a matter of time before the cigarette got its own hardware upgrade.

    🧠 The Takeaway

    Japan didn’t outlaw smoking; it out-innovated it.
    By turning heat-not-burn products into the new normal, it’s leading a quiet public-health revolution — proving that when tech meets tobacco, even an old habit can learn new tricks.

  • Smoore International’s Record Q3: Heat-Not-Burn and Vape Business Both Surge 27%

    Smoore International’s Record Q3: Heat-Not-Burn and Vape Business Both Surge 27%

    October 12, 2025 — Vape titan Smoore International (06969.HK) just dropped its unaudited Q3 financial update, and let’s just say business is smoking.
    The company posted RMB 4.197 billion in third-quarter revenue — up 27.2% year-over-year and 27.5% quarter-on-quarter — hitting an all-time high.

    Even better, both its heat-not-burn and vaporization businesses are glowing brighter than a fresh coil.

    💸 Quarter Highlights: Puff, Profit, Repeat

    • Revenue: RMB 4.197 billion — a new single-quarter record.
    • Adjusted profit: RMB 444 million, up 4% year-on-year and 4.8% quarter-on-quarter.
    • Nine-month performance: RMB 10.21 billion in revenue (+21.8%), and RMB 1.182 billion in adjusted profit (+0.1%).

    That’s not just healthy — that’s “ran a marathon while inhaling profits” healthy.

    🚀 Two Growth Engines: B2B Power + Brand Brilliance

    Smoore’s growth isn’t a fluke — it’s running on a twin-turbo system:

    1️⃣ Enterprise Business: Heat-Not-Burn + Smart Vaporization

    On the heat-not-burn front, Smoore is fueling major global clients to launch new products in key markets. The result? Big shipment gains and rapid revenue growth — proof that even when you take the fire out of smoking, the numbers can still be lit.

    Meanwhile, its vaporization division keeps shining thanks to its regulatory sixth sense. As more countries crack down on non-compliant products, Smoore has been the straight-A student of the industry — helping clients design fully compliant, region-specific devices.

    In other words: while competitors scramble to keep up with the rulebook, Smoore’s already on the next chapter.

    2️⃣ Self-Owned Brands: New Products + Local Love

    • Product upgrades: Smoore’s flagship 2025 lineup didn’t just get a facelift — it got a standing ovation. Consumers keep flocking to the updated models, driving long-term growth.
    • Localized operations: The company doubled down on cultural fit, tailoring marketing strategies to match each country’s vibe. More local presence = more market share.

    Together, these moves helped the brand division pull off strong year-on-year growth — and probably earned a few new fan clubs along the way.

    💡 What’s Driving Profit: Three Little Words — Revenue, Efficiency, and Luck

    Smoore’s not just earning more; it’s earning smarter.

    1. Higher revenue and gross margin (that’s the easy part).
    2. Controlled spending: Distribution, admin, and R&D costs all grew slower than revenue.
    3. More “other income” (aka that mysterious bonus line accountants smile about).

    When your expenses grow slower than your sales, you’re doing business right.

    🧾 A Tiny Disclaimer (Because Lawyers Exist)

    Smoore noted that these figures are based on unaudited internal accounts and may differ slightly from its final audited report.
    But honestly? Even if they’re off by a hair, the direction’s clear: up and to the right.

    🌍 The Takeaway

    In a market clouded by regulation, competition, and copycats, Smoore is still breathing easy — with record revenue, steady profits, and a double-engine strategy that keeps it ahead of the pack.

    Its latest performance isn’t just a quarterly win — it’s a message to the global vaping industry: the big dogs are still running, and they’re not slowing down anytime soon.