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Hosted by Brent Stafford

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462

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Oct 2026

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About the show

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.

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60 recent

October 7, 2026Episode 59423 min

RULE RESET | FDA Signals Major Overhaul of PMTA Process | RegWatch

The U.S. vaping industry is on the cusp of monumental change. Following detailed reports by the Wall Street Journal and Reuters, FDA has formally announced its intention to evaluate a possible overhaul of the PMTA framework, including new rulemaking to replace the existing system. In this episode of RegWatch, tobacco control policy expert Cliff Douglas examines the developments driving the shift: mounting legal pressure, new CTP Director Bret Koplow’s embrace of harm reduction, and FDA commissioner nominee Dr. Heidi Overton’s defense of flavored vape authorizations. With youth vaping sharply down and an enormous illicit market operating outside FDA oversight, the case for change is hard to ignore. But Douglas warns that faster approvals alone won’t help smokers who still misunderstand the risks of safer nicotine. Is FDA about to rewrite the rules governing nicotine vapes? Find out. Only on RegWatch by RegulatorWatch.com. Released: October 7, 2026 Produced by: Brent Stafford https://youtu.be/-49rzlMoz54 This episode is supported by DEMAND VAPE. CELEBRATE WITH US | RegWatch 10th Anniversary Fundraising Campaign GoFundMe: https://www.gofundme.com/f/regwatch-10th-anniversary-fundraiser #RegWatch #VapeNews

September 26, 2026Episode 59329 min

DECISIVE MOVE | Haypp Goes All-In on U.S. Nicotine Pouch Market | RegWatch

America’s nicotine pouch market is booming. With millions of adults already using lower-risk nicotine products and tens of millions more still smoking, Haypp Group is going all-in on the United States. In Part 3 of our RegWatch special series on nicotine pouches in America, Gabriel De Prado, President of Haypp’s U.S. Market, explains why the world’s leading online retailer of nicotine pouches is dramatically expanding its American operations and why the company believes online sales can become the trusted channel for adult consumers. De Prado breaks down explosive market growth, Haypp’s rapidly expanding U.S. team, the shift from brick-and-mortar to online sales, and the importance of product choice, independent testing, and age verification. He also tackles FDA regulation, state restrictions, illicit products, and the anti-nicotine opposition confronting a category he believes is only beginning to realize its potential. Is America’s nicotine market undergoing a fundamental transformation? Find out. Only on RegWatch by RegulatorWatch.com. https://youtu.be/MpAX7J1TFgE Released: September 26, 2026 Produced by: Brent Stafford CELEBRATE WITH US | RegWatch 10th Anniversary Fundraising Campaign GoFundMe: https://www.gofundme.com/f/regwatch-10th-anniversary-fundraiser #RegWatch #VapeNews

September 19, 2026Episode 59228 min

SCIENCE INSIDE | NicoLeaks Supercharges Nicotine Pouch Testing | RegWatch

Nicotine pouches are among the fastest-growing nicotine products in the U.S. and UK, yet most people know little about what they contain, how they are tested, or how their risks compare with smoking. That knowledge gap leaves the door wide open to the same misinformation and moral panic that’s plagued nicotine vaping for more than a decade. In this episode of RegWatch, Dr. Lindsay Reese and Dr. Marina Murphy of Haypp Group introduce the expanded NicoLeaks website, a free public resource containing independent laboratory results for more than 1,000 nicotine pouch products. We examine what testing reveals about nicotine content, pH, moisture, and heavy metals, why consistent testing matters, and how easier access to the results could benefit consumers, researchers, and regulators. They also discuss FDA’s modified-risk authorization for Zyn and warn progress against smoking could stall if the public believes low-risk products are more harmful than smoking. Will better evidence lead to better nicotine policy? Find out. Only on RegWatch by RegulatorWatch.com. https://youtu.be/_rGREDue424 Released: September 19, 2026 Produced by: Brent Stafford CELEBRATE WITH US | RegWatch 10th Anniversary Fundraising Campaign GoFundMe: https://www.gofundme.com/f/regwatch-10th-anniversary-fundraiser #RegWatch #VapeNews

September 10, 2026Episode 59132 min

YES, IT IS A WAR | Health Economist Rebukes FDA’s Campaign Against Vaping | RegWatch

For nearly a decade, the U.S. vaping community has called the FDA’s campaign against nicotine vapes a war on vaping. Beginning with the deeming rule, the agency’s aggressive action against Juul, the so-called teen-vaping epidemic, the “Real Cost” campaign, the denial of millions of PMTA applications, and FDA’s steadfast refusal to counter misinformation and set the record straight on the relative risks and benefits of vaping versus smoking—it certainly feels like a war. But is it? In this episode of RegWatch, Dr. Raymond March, Director of FDAReview.org and Research Fellow at the Independent Institute, says: “Oh, absolutely. It might be the biggest war the FDA has waged.” March argues FDA regulation has protected Big Tobacco, enabled selective enforcement, and distorted public understanding of relative risk. Rather than protecting public health, he says the agency’s approach has been self-serving, politically malleable, and extraordinarily destructive. Could the FDA be winning its war on vaping, or is the war finally nearing its end? Find out. Only on RegWatch by RegulatorWatch.com. Released: September 9, 2026 Produced by: Brent Stafford https://youtu.be/sv4To6UxRcE This episode is supported by DEMAND VAPE. CELEBRATE WITH US | RegWatch 10th Anniversary Fundraising Campaign GoFundMe: https://www.gofundme.com/f/regwatch-10th-anniversary-fundraiser #RegWatch #VapeNews

August 22, 2026Episode 59031 min

MAJOR WIN | Court Ruling Could Dismantle FDA’s De Facto Flavor Ban | RegWatch

After years of bruising court battles, the U.S. vaping industry has finally scored a major win against the U.S. Food & Drug Administration. The Fifth Circuit ruled this week that FDA violated the Administrative Procedure Act when it imposed its comparative-efficacy standard without notice-and-comment rulemaking. FDA used that standard to issue more than one million marketing denial orders, producing what the court calls a “de facto ban” on nicotine-vape flavors other than tobacco. In this breaking-news episode of RegWatch, Keller and Heckman attorney Eric P. Gotting, who represented NicQuid and argued the case, explains why the court vacated the MDOs and sent the applications back to FDA. If the ruling sticks, could it dismantle FDA’s mass-denial system for flavored vapes and finally provide relief to the entire industry? Find out. Only on RegWatch by RegulatorWatch.com. https://youtu.be/owItgmtkrDs Released: Aug 22, 2026 Produced by: Brent Stafford This episode is supported by DEMAND VAPE. CELEBRATE WITH US | RegWatch 10th Anniversary Fundraising Campaign GoFundMe: https://www.gofundme.com/f/regwatch-10th-anniversary-fundraiser #RegWatch #VapeNews

August 12, 2026Episode 58959 min

PLAYING OFFENSE | U.S. Vape Industry Rejects All-or-Nothing Regulation | RegWatch

For years, the U.S. vaping industry played defense against fear-driven headlines, political pressure campaigns, flavor bans, and state registry bills designed to eliminate nearly every nicotine vaping product from the legal market. But now, some industry leaders say it’s time to play offense. In this wide-ranging RegWatch interview, Geoff Habicht, President and Co-Founder of Mi-One Brands, explains how the vaping industry helped craft a new regulatory framework in Arizona that strengthens youth-access enforcement, recognizes responsible businesses, and targets genuine bad actors. He challenges the misleading use of the term “illicit,” considering many of the best-known vaping products sold by independent retailers have entered the FDA’s premarket review process and may remain on the market under the agency’s new enforcement guidance. He also breaks down Shopify’s disastrous decision to pull the plug on U.S. vape retailers. Can the vaping industry move beyond playing defense and change the way America sees vaping? Find out. Only on RegWatch by RegulatorWatch.com. Released: Aug 11, 2026 Produced by: Brent Stafford https://youtu.be/azUtEf3ogjw This episode is supported by DEMAND VAPE. CELEBRATE WITH US | RegWatch 10th Anniversary Fundraising Campaign GoFundMe: https://www.gofundme.com/f/regwatch-10th-anniversary-fundraiser #RegWatch #VapeNews

August 8, 2026Episode 58831 min

LUMPED IN | Nicotine-Free Vapes, Guilt by Association? | RegWatch

Nicotine-free vapes. At first glance, they sound like the answer to many of public health’s concerns over vaping. No tobacco. No nicotine. One would think that after all the harping, shaming, and demonization of nicotine, tobacco control and public health would embrace nicotine-free vapes. But after nearly eight years in business, the experience of one American company suggests otherwise. In this episode of RegWatch, Cyclone Pods founder Conrad Kurth reveals what it’s like to operate a vape company with no tobacco and no nicotine—yet still be lumped in with nicotine vape flavor bans, advertising restrictions, shipping barriers, and relentless demonization. Is this guilt by association? Find out. Only on RegWatch by RegulatorWatch.com.Released: August 7, 2026 Produced by: Brent Stafford https://youtu.be/YJ_7GNH33BA CELEBRATE WITH US | RegWatch 10th Anniversary Fundraising Campaign GoFundMe: https://www.gofundme.com/f/regwatch-10th-anniversary-fundraiser #RegWatch #VapeNews

July 25, 2026Episode 58740 min

STRIKING CONTRAST | Science, Politics & the Battle Over Nicotine Pouches | RegWatch

The deadliest nicotine products in America remain the easiest to buy, while lower-risk alternatives face the toughest fight for regulatory approval and political acceptance. It’s a striking contrast. Despite recent progress at the FDA, nicotine pouches remain caught in vaping’s regulatory and political wake. They are inheriting the regulatory paralysis, legislative backlash, and moral panic created by the battle over vaping. In Part 1 of this three-part RegWatch special series, Laura Leigh Oyler, Vice President of Regulatory Affairs for Haypp Group, draws on 17 years in tobacco harm reduction to explain the stakes for adult consumers, responsible retailers, and public health. Oyler breaks down the FDA’s years-long PMTA delays, its failure to provide pouch-specific guidance, the growth of illicit and counterfeit products, and the landmark modified-risk authorization permitting the claim that using ZYN instead of cigarettes reduces the risk of serious disease. She also warns that tobacco control is already branding nicotine pouches as “the next Juul,” driving fear and misinformation into state legislation. With more than 1,200 combustible tobacco products authorized since 2020 and millions of Americans still smoking, why do the lowest-risk alternatives continue to face the greatest resistance? Find out. Only on RegWatch by RegulatorWatch.com. Only on RegWatch by RegulatorWatch.com. Released: July 25, 2026 Produced by: Brent Stafford https://youtu.be/3M-05qpX70w CELEBRATE WITH US | RegWatch 10th Anniversary Fundraising Campaign GoFundMe: https://www.gofundme.com/f/regwatch-10th-anniversary-fundraiser #RegWatch #VapeNews

July 4, 2026Episode 58643 min

UNTETHERED | FDA’s Flavor Policy Defies Reality | RegWatch

The FDA says its policy restricting flavors in nicotine vaping products is for the protection of public health. But is it? With a singular focus on youth, the agency ignores tens of millions of adult Americans who still smoke tobacco or have already switched to safer nicotine—while protecting the cigarette industry and pouring fuel on an exploding, billion-dollar illicit vape market. In this episode of RegWatch, tobacco control expert Clive Bates dismantles FDA’s flavor guidance, the absurd comparative-efficacy standard, and the growing global push to eradicate nicotine rather than reduce smoking. What happens when the world’s most powerful food and drug regulator becomes untethered from the reality it oversees? Find out. Only on RegWatch by RegulatorWatch.com. Released: July 5, 2026 Produced by: Brent Stafford https://youtu.be/E2XYMXG087Q This episode is supported by DEMAND VAPE. CELEBRATE WITH US | RegWatch 10th Anniversary Fundraising Campaign GoFundMe: https://www.gofundme.com/f/regwatch-10th-anniversary-fundraiser #RegWatch #VapeNews

June 30, 2026Episode 58532 min

BATTLEGROUND VAPE | U.S. Vaping Industry Continues Court Fight | RegWatch

After years of lawsuits, court rulings, and regulatory setbacks, the U.S. vaping industry remains locked in battle with the FDA. In this episode of RegWatch, attorney Greg Troutman breaks down the latest legal fights over FDA’s PMTA process, including the Supreme Court’s Wages & White Lion decision, the agency’s comparative-efficacy standard, and a new challenge to FDA’s enforcement machinery. After years of litigation and very few wins, what legal arguments remain? Find out. Only on RegWatch by RegulatorWatch.com. Released: June 30, 2026 Produced by: Brent Stafford https://youtu.be/dmBDag7hUrA This episode is supported by DEMAND VAPE. CELEBRATE WITH US | RegWatch 10th Anniversary Fundraising Campaign GoFundMe: https://www.gofundme.com/f/regwatch-10th-anniversary-fundraiser #RegWatch #VapeNews