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Author: Brent Stafford

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Incisive coverage of the issues important to vaping. Plus critical debate over the issues and impacts of regulation in both Canada and the U.S.
393 Episodes
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Déjà vu in Washington. With Donald J. Trump back in the White House, public health officials, regulators, and anti-vaping activists have renewed their war on vaping — and this time, they may succeed. The FDA’s crackdown on nicotine vapes is intensifying, thousands of vape shops have closed, and vaping advocacy is struggling to survive. But déjà vu cuts both ways. The movement that once shook Washington with the “We Vape, We Vote” uprising is surging back with one mission: freedom from FDA control. At the center of this renewed fight is a familiar warrior: Tristan Thompson, Board President of the United Vapers Alliance and Head of The Vaping Legion. Thompson returns to RegWatch to lay out “The Ask” — the clear, direct demand he believes can unite the movement and force change in Washington. Catch the full interview — only on RegWatch by RegulatorWatch.com. https://youtu.be/mhi2-dPUC_U Live Streamed: October 23, 2025 Produced by: Brent Stafford This episode is supported by DEMAND VAPE. Make RegWatch happen, go to https://support.regulatorwatch.com #RegWatch #VapeNews
In the largest vaping crackdown in U.S. history, the Department of Justice—working with the FDA and ATF—raided distributors and retailers across the country, seizing 4.7 million products worth $86 million. Officials called them “illegal Chinese vapes,” but most were American-made e-liquids from legitimate small businesses—many with PMTAs pending at FDA. So why the deception? And who’s really being protected? In this episode of RegWatch, Allison Boughner, President of the American Vapor Manufacturers and Content Manager at Mi-Pod, joins Brent Stafford to expose how political optics, media misinformation, and Big Tobacco privilege are crushing independent vapor companies. They also unpack FDA’s fast-track for nicotine pouches, the collapse of legitimate vape retail, and new court challenges that could shape the future of vaping in America. Only on RegWatch by RegulatorWatch.com https://youtu.be/zn6vTbcp_Bo Live Streamed: October 16, 2025 Produced by: Brent Stafford This episode is supported by DEMAND VAPE. Make RegWatch happen, go to https://support.regulatorwatch.com #RegWatch #VapeNews
Public health has crossed the line. In a stunning display of moral inversion, officials and mainstream media now endorse teen smoking as an acceptable way to “quit” vaping. In this searing RegWatch public statement, Brent Stafford dissects how a decade of fearmongering and misinformation brought us to this moment—where moral panic replaces science and a jihad against nicotine takes precedence over saving lives. Only on RegWatch by RegulatorWatch.com Produced by: Brent Stafford Released: October 10, 2025 https://youtu.be/piLoP5AQXyQ This episode is supported by DEMAND VAPE. Make RegWatch happen, go to https://support.regulatorwatch.com #RegWatch #VapeNews
Donald Trump campaigned on saving vaping. But under his watch, the FDA has seized more products than any previous administration and doubled down on the very anti-nicotine crusade he once promised to stop. In our ten years covering the U.S. Vaping industry never has the future looked so bleak. Joining us today to unpack the mounting contradictions of Trump’s FDA is Lindsey Stroud, THR policy expert and founder of Tobacco Harm Reduction 101 at thr101.org. Live Streamed: October 3, 2025 Produced by: Brent Stafford https://youtu.be/Av-6vcAkQJU This episode is supported by DEMAND VAPE. Make RegWatch happen, go to https://support.regulatorwatch.com #RegWatch #VapeNews
Youth smoking in the United States has collapsed to historic lows, yet public health remains silent. At the same time, adult smokers are moving in record numbers to safer nicotine products, signaling a profound market shift that regulators struggle to keep pace with. In this episode of RegWatch, Dr. Chris Junker, Group Head of Life Sciences at British American Tobacco and former VP of Scientific & Regulatory Affairs at Reynolds American, discusses the FDA’s slow-moving PMTA process, the collapse of youth smoking, and the importance of scientific transparency in tobacco harm reduction. From the unprecedented decline in youth smoking to the missed opportunities in public health, Junker provides a rare insider’s perspective on how science, regulation, and consumer behavior collide in America’s smokeless transition. Only on RegWatch by RegulatorWatch.com. https://youtu.be/Nw9WETlQQuQ Released: September 27, 2025 Produced by: Brent Stafford This episode is supported by DEMAND VAPE. Make RegWatch happen, go to https://support.regulatorwatch.com #RegWatch #VapeNews
Donald Trump promised to save vaping. Twice. Once during his first term and again before winning the 2024 election. But in 2025, America’s vapers are feeling burned. Instead of delivering on his promise, Trump’s FDA staged the largest vape seizure in U.S. history while fast-tracking Big Tobacco’s nicotine pouches. Flavored vapes remain locked out and independent vaping shut out. It’s betrayal, and it stings. Joining RegWatch to cut through the smoke is Martin Cullip, International Fellow at the Taxpayers Protection Alliance and longtime harm-reduction advocate. Cullip dissects FDA’s contradictions, the politics behind the crackdown, and why vapers in the U.S. feel abandoned. Globally, the World Health Organization is sharpening its knife. Having failed to kill vaping outright, WHO is now going after all nicotine — elevating “nicotine addiction” above combustible harm, a sly corruption of science that effectively declares vapes and pouches more dangerous than smoking itself. Is there hope? Find out. Only on RegWatch by RegulatorWatch.com. https://youtu.be/Bg0LydzqPA4 Released: September 18, 2025 Produced by: Brent Stafford This episode is supported by DEMAND VAPE. Make RegWatch happen, go to https://support.regulatorwatch.com #RegWatch #VapeNews  
Vaping has long been under attack, smeared by myths and fear-driven campaigns. But now, one of North America’s leading public health physicians has stepped forward with a powerful rebuttal. In his newly released book Vaping Behind the Smoke and Fear, Dr. Mark Tyndall delivers a rare and authoritative critique of public health’s war on vaping. A veteran of HIV prevention and harm reduction, Tyndall argues vaping is a safer, faster, more effective path away from cigarettes. Shot on location in Warsaw at the 12th Global Forum on Nicotine, this wide-ranging conversation explores the book’s central themes: how fear-based messaging distorts the science on vaping; how myths like “popcorn lung” and “nicotine harms the developing brain” persist despite the lack of evidence; and how public health agencies and the media weaponized the so-called vaping-related lung illness (EVALI) to mislead the public. Tyndall warns that with millions of people still smoking, refusing to recommend vaping as a first-line alternative is nothing short of neglect and squanders a historic opportunity to reduce disease and death. For smokers, policymakers, and health professionals alike, Tyndall’s message is clear—the truth about vaping has been buried under fear, and it’s time to set the record straight. Only on RegWatch by RegulatorWatch.com Released: September 7, 2025 Produced by: Brent Stafford https://youtu.be/w4H_FfN-hzY This episode is supported by DEMAND VAPE. Make RegWatch happen, go to https://support.regulatorwatch.com #RegWatch #VapeNews
Tobacco control is all virtue, no restraint. And when it deploys power, it does so as if it holds absolute moral authority: unquestionable, unforgiving, and unshakably certain of its final destination. It doesn’t ask “Does this reduce harm?” In this RegWatch public statement, we expose the divide between tobacco harm reduction and the ideology driving tobacco control. Moral absolutism rooted in resentment, not science, has shaped a global war on safer nicotine products that smears vaping, discredits researchers, and marginalizes anyone who refuses to walk the path of abstinence. It was never about tobacco. It was always about control. In the tobacco control movement, there’s no grace. No nuance. No end in sight. Only on RegWatch by RegulatorWatch.com. https://youtu.be/tSB82ITsNGI Released: July 28, 2025 Produced by: Brent Stafford This episode is supported by DEMAND VAPE. Make RegWatch happen, go to https://support.regulatorwatch.com #RegWatch #VapeNews
We’re entering a period of significant risk in the European Union, warns Peter Beckett. He’s the Brussels-based publisher behind Clearing the Air, a flagship news outlet covering tobacco harm reduction with deep reporting across Europe and growing impact in the UK, North America, and beyond. In this spontaneous episode of RegWatch, filmed on location at the 2025 Global Forum on Nicotine in Warsaw, we explore media disinformation, Europe’s looming crackdown, and the war on safer nicotine products—from Bloomberg to Brussels. Only on RegWatch by RegulatorWatch.com. https://youtu.be/t_0kaP185N8 Released: July 15, 2025 Produced by: Brent Stafford This episode is supported by DEMAND VAPE. Make RegWatch happen, go to https://support.regulatorwatch.com #RegWatch #VapeNews  
A new study from Philip Morris International reveals that widespread misconceptions about nicotine are undermining tobacco harm reduction in clinical care. Nearly two-thirds of U.S. healthcare professionals, including primary care doctors, nurse practitioners, and physician assistants, mistakenly believe that nicotine causes cancer. In this episode of RegWatch, filmed on location at the 2025 Global Forum on Nicotine in Warsaw, we unpack the findings with Dr. Pritika Kumar, U.S. Director of Scientific Engagement at Philip Morris International. We explore why these misconceptions persist, how they impact patient counseling, and what role the FDA could play in helping healthcare providers better understand the continuum of risk across nicotine products. Dr. Kumar also discusses the science behind PMI’s successful application for a Modified Risk Tobacco Product order for General Snus and IQOS, and what that says about the quality of industry-funded research. Only on RegWatch by RegulatorWatch.com. https://youtu.be/wEdLeotVjgA Released: July 10, 2025 Produced by: Brent Stafford This episode is supported by DEMAND VAPE. Make RegWatch happen, go to https://support.regulatorwatch.com #RegWatch #VapeNews  
With all the trade tensions and tariff spats, there’s one U.S. export Europe could do without: the moral panic over vaping. Inexplicably, American-inspired fearmongering over safer nicotine products is reshaping EU policy and threatening tobacco harm reduction the world over. In this episode of RegWatch, filmed on location at the 2025 Global Forum on Nicotine in Warsaw, we sit down with Bill Wirtz, senior policy analyst at the Consumer Choice Center and creator of The Fun Police podcast. Wirtz explains how Bloomberg-funded NGOs, WHO-orchestrated pressure campaigns, and “Save the Children” messaging are fueling a crackdown on vaping in Europe and jeopardizing the rights of millions who’ve already quit smoking. Only on RegWatch at RegulatorWatch.com Released: June 28, 2025 Produced by: Brent Stafford https://youtu.be/LsH0vPFDQXw This episode is supported by DEMAND VAPE. Make RegWatch happen, go to https://support.regulatorwatch.com #RegWatch #VapeNews
The U.S. nicotine market is undergoing a historic upheaval, with safer nicotine products poised to outsell cigarettes for the first time ever. But instead of celebration, there is only silence. No fanfare from regulators. No cheers from tobacco control. Just business as usual: bans, moral panic, and an ongoing war on vaping. Why? In this episode of RegWatch, Dr. Derek Yach pulls back the curtain on a decades-old PR playbook that reshaped global tobacco policy. Yach was instrumental in the development of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, the first global treaty aimed at reducing tobacco-related disease and death. From the birth of Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids to the collapse of FDA’s Center for Tobacco Products, this is the story of how “saving the children” became the moral wedge that redirected regulation, sidelined science, and threw adult smokers under the bus. System failure wasn’t an accident. It was engineered. Only on RegWatch by RegulatorWatch.com. Released: June 5, 2025 Produced by: Brent Stafford This episode is supported by DEMAND VAPE. https://youtu.be/Zf2Nds8X764 Make RegWatch happen, go to https://support.regulatorwatch.com #RegWatch #VapeNews
Over the past decade, tobacco control has waged war on vaping. They have demonized, taxed, restricted, and banned safer nicotine products. They’ve misrepresented science and misinformed the public, all in a misguided effort to eliminate nicotine use entirely. But U.S. consumers aren’t buying it. They’re rejecting the panic, sidestepping the bans, and switching to nicotine vapes by the millions. According to Goldman Sachs, sales of smoke-free nicotine products will overtake combustible cigarettes in the U.S. this year. It’s a seismic shift in the nicotine market, and yet public health remains silent. Joining RegWatch to break down this realignment is Dr. Charles Gardner, a key figure in tobacco harm reduction and a relentless advocate for evidence-based public health. Gardner says the age of smoking is ending and almost nobody knows it. Only on RegWatch by RegulatorWatch.com. https://youtu.be/PYM99Zfa6OM Released: May 20, 2025 Produced by: Brent Stafford This episode is supported by DEMAND VAPE. Make RegWatch happen, go to https://support.regulatorwatch.com #RegWatch #VapeNews
In public health, truth is supposed to be sacred. For decades, tobacco control defined and promoted the truth about combustible tobacco: cigarettes kill, nicotine is addictive, and the only path forward is to quit or die. But that truth, once necessary and urgent, has hardened into dogma. In this revealing episode of RegWatch, Dr. Jeff Willett, a 25-year tobacco control veteran and former senior leader at the American Heart Association and Truth Initiative, confronts what he calls “the dangerous game” being played by some in the tobacco control movement: conflating nicotine with the deadly harms of smoking. Now serving as Vice President of Strategic Engagement at Global Action to End Smoking, Willett speaks candidly about tobacco control’s unwillingness to recognize the continuum of risk. He tackles head-on the misinformation swirling around safer nicotine products and exposes how tobacco Master Settlement Agreement funds are being diverted—from the critical work to end smoking—into state general coffers. Are governments dependent on tobacco revenue? Find out! Only on RegWatch by RegulatorWatch.com https://youtu.be/TkM3-UR_QP8 Released: May 7, 2025 Produced by: Brent Stafford Make RegWatch happen, go to https://support.regulatorwatch.com #RegWatch #VapeNews
The FDA’s anti-vaping regime—once thought untouchable—is being dismantled. Mass layoffs, shuttered offices, and the removal of Brian King as Director of the Center for Tobacco Products all signal a massive restructuring the U.S. vaping industry has long called for. Joining RegWatch to unpack the scope and significance of these unprecedented moves is Tony Abboud, Executive Director of the Vapor Technology Association. We dig into the broken PMTA process, the Supreme Court’s decision in FDA v. Wages and White Lion, and the role of misinformation in shaping nicotine policy. Along the way, the hypocrisy of a regulatory system that blocked flavored vapes while authorizing hundreds of new cigarettes comes into full view—as does the question of whether President Trump is finally making good on his promise to save vaping. Only on RegWatch by RegulatorWatch.com. https://youtu.be/G6swiLqvvRc Released: April 9, 2025 Produced by: Brent Stafford Make RegWatch happen, go to https://support.regulatorwatch.com #RegWatch #VapeNews
Two seismic shocks have rocked the vaping industry. On Tuesday, Brian King—the embattled Director of the FDA’s Center for Tobacco Products—was ousted, signaling a major shake-up at an agency widely blamed for sabotaging tobacco harm reduction. Then today, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear FDA v. Wages and White Lion, extinguishing hopes for judicial relief from the FDA’s broken PMTA process. King’s removal—reportedly part of a broader Trump-led overhaul of federal health leadership—is a pivotal moment. Under his watch, the FDA blocked flavored vaping products, sidelined cessation science, overruled its own Office of Science, and approved hundreds of cigarettes while denying nearly all vapor products. His regulatory stance inflicted lasting damage on small businesses, former smokers, and public trust in the FDA. Joining RegWatch to break down the implications of both King’s ouster and the SCOTUS decision is Jim McCarthy, President of Counterpoint Strategies and lead communications advisor to the American Vapor Manufacturers (AVM). Only on RegWatch, by RegulatorWatch.com. Released: April 2, 2025 Produced by: Brent Stafford https://youtu.be/xtLg9PT8dsQ This episode is supported by DEMAND VAPE. Make RegWatch happen, go to https://support.regulatorwatch.com #RegWatch #VapeNews
Nicotine doesn’t cause cancer—yet safer nicotine products like vapes and pouches remain under relentless attack. This, despite the role these products play in driving smoking rates to historic lows across the Western world. Why is the war on smoking turning into a war on nicotine? In this episode, Dr. Jonathan Foulds, Professor of Public Health Sciences and Psychiatry at Penn State University, joins us to unpack the contradictions at the heart of public health’s approach to nicotine. We discuss the scientific evidence behind vaping and nicotine pouches, the FDA’s inconsistent regulatory decisions, and how misinformation is fueling a war on harm reduction. Dr. Foulds also shares insights from his new book Treating Addiction to Tobacco and Nicotine Products, and breaks down his recent research showing that even smokers with no plans to quit can benefit from switching to lower-risk nicotine products. Only on RegWatch by RegulatorWatch.com https://youtu.be/Wfx057N6KOM Released: March 25, 2025 Produced by: Brent Stafford Make RegWatch happen, go to https://support.regulatorwatch.com #RegWatch #VapeNews
Earlier this year, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration granted marketing orders for 20 Zyn flavored nicotine pouch products—the first time the agency has authorized such products. The decision left many in the vaping world stunned—not just by the range of flavors greenlit, from cinnamon and citrus to coffee and peppermint—but by the FDA’s continued foot-dragging on e-cigarette approvals. Why the disparity when both pouches and vapes are considered safer nicotine alternatives? Joining us to break it all down is Kevin Schroth, J.D., Associate Professor at Rutgers School of Public Health and the Institute for Nicotine and Tobacco Studies. Find out why the FDA’s uneven treatment of these products comes down to a risk-benefit analysis entirely focused on youth. What does this mean for the future of vaping? Find out—only on RegWatch by RegulatorWatch.com. https://youtu.be/gJicJ76To7w Released: March 10, 2025 Produced by: Brent Stafford Make RegWatch happen, go to https://support.regulatorwatch.com #RegWatch #VapeNews
New York Attorney General Letitia James has filed a lawsuit targeting Demand Vape, a major distributor of flavored vaping products and an anchor supporter of RegWatch. The lawsuit accuses the company of fueling an illegal market, but critics argue that the real culprit is New York’s prohibitionist policies. RegWatch breaks down the case, exposes the dangers of vaping bans, and responds to this latest attack on harm reduction. Only on RegWatch, by RegulatorWatch.com. Released: February 20, 2025 Produced by: Brent Stafford https://youtu.be/zkVYO5bGaeo Make RegWatch happen, go to https://support.regulatorwatch.com #RegWatch #VapeNews
For many within public health, the war on tobacco is over—and the new enemy is nicotine. It’s an uncomfortable pivot, one that requires ignoring what may be the greatest public health achievement of the century: the collapse of smoking rates across the Western world. Instead of celebrating, tobacco control, regulators, and activists have turned their guns on safer nicotine products—demonizing vaping, banning flavors, and destroying small businesses. In the U.S., independent vape companies are under siege, and in the UK—once the world’s leader in evidence-based policy—new laws are paving the way for outright prohibition. Joining us today to break down the lies, bans, politics, and betrayal in the war on nicotine are two of the most prolific voices in tobacco harm reduction: Lindsey Stroud, and Martin Cullip from the Taxpayers Protection Alliance out of Washington, D.C. Is nicotine control going to win this fight? Find out—only on RegWatch, by RegulatorWatch.com. Released: February 11, 2025 Produced by: Brent Stafford This episode is supported by DEMAND VAPE. https://youtu.be/6rLWvcYoxA4 Make RegWatch happen, go to https://support.regulatorwatch.com #RegWatch #VapeNews
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