2Firsts analyzes vaping regulations across the Baltic states. Following Latvia’s flavor ban, tax revenues fell and the black market expanded, while similar measures in Estonia and Lithuania have also failed to deliver results. The region’s anti-vaping policies are now triggering market imbalance and policy reassessment.

According to media reports, a leaked European Commission document indicates the EU plans to push for its strictest regulatory framework on nicotine and tobacco products at COP11 in Switzerland this November, including measures such as a full ban on nicotine pouches and flavoured products.

In an interview with CNN’s Chasing Life, U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Dr. Marty Makary warned that new health risks — from emerging opioids such as 7-OH to unregulated vaping products — are slipping through regulatory cracks. His remarks reveal the FDA’s growing challenge to balance harm reduction for adult smokers with youth protection and cross-border enforcement.

A Pakistani senator has introduced a bill to ban sales of e-cigarettes and e-shisha to under-18s, prohibit their use in public places, and restrict advertising, promotions, and sponsorships to limit youth exposure to nicotine products.

British Columbia, Canada is advancing what it calls the world’s first e-cigarette Public Health Accountability law, granting the government authority to sue companies for “deceptive marketing.” The move puts public-health risks at the center of vaping industry compliance.