TIM Alerts
Tobacco Industry Marketing (TIM) Alerts provide weekly newsletters to subscribers to keep up to date with tobacco industry marketing and emerging tobacco products. Below are excerpts from the five most recent TIM Alerts. To see an archive of all previous alerts, click here.
Excerpt from the Apr 25, 2025 TIM Alert
ENDS
GEEK BAR is advertising two new lines of disposable e-cigarettes on their website: A new edition of their Pulse disposable e-cigarette, Savers Edition (referring to Life Savers® gummy candy) which comes in five flavors: Drop Sour Savers, Orange Mint Savers, Pineapple Savers, Strawberry Savers, and Wild Berry Savers. A new edition of their Pulse X disposable e-cigarette, Jam Edition, which is offered in Blueberry Jam, Orange Jam Slush, Peach Jam, Raspberry Jam, and Strawberry Jam.
MODERN ORAL NICOTINE PRODUCTS
A number of online retailers have been promoting a new line of nicotine pouches (“G-Pulse”) that they state are from the popular e-cigarette brand, Geek Bar, although the product is not yet featured on Geek Bar’s website. However, in a post on Geek Bar’s branded Instagram account on April 17, the brand seemingly teased G-Pulse pouches by showing an image of someone holding the pouches with a caption stating, “can you guess that that guy’s holding?”
Excerpt from the Apr 11, 2025 TIM Alert
CIGARS
In a prior alert from January 2025, we shared that 22nd Century Group, the makers of VLN low nicotine cigarettes, planned to enter the filtered cigar business through their partnership with Smoker Friendly. More recently, the company has “announced new agreements to supply filtered cigars, signaling an expansion in production.” The company expects shipments to begin in the second quarter of 2025. The press release can be found here.
ENDS
In a recent email, Vuse announced its new rewards program, Vuse All Access, in which consumers can earn points that can be redeemed for "digital gift cards, extra coupons and more" by entering rewards codes found in Vuse packs.
Excerpt from the Apr 4, 2025 TIM Alert
CIGARETTES
Natural American Spirit promoted their new Earth Day pack designs in an email, highlighting the menthol packs, the color of which is “inspired by the fresh leaves of our organic mint plant.”
ENDS
Loon returned from a long Instagram hiatus to promote the availability of the Mega Maxx collectable in their online store. The large hollow prop, shown below compared to a normal Loon vape, fits two Loon devices under the lid, allowing users to vape from both devices at once, as shown in this older Instagram reel. The props’ designs mimic the colors of popular Loon flavors like Blue Lightning and Creamy Frostbite.
Excerpt from the Mar 28, 2025 TIM Alert
CIGARS
Dutch Masters posted on Instagram about their event in partnership with designer Scotty ATL and musicians Bun B and Cory Mo at the SXSW festival in Austin, Texas.
ENDS
A product recently collected in Maine as part of CRST’s work monitoring products used in K-12 schools brought our attention to the availability of solar-powered disposable vapes by Solaris. Although this product may have been on the market for several months, it seems to be the only device available with this technology at the moment. The brand highlights the solar panel as an eco-friendly innovation, although the device can still be charged with a cord.
Excerpt from the Mar 21, 2025 TIM Alert
CIGARETTES
An Alert earlier this year covered the new agreement between 22nd Century Group and the Smoker Friendly convenience chain; now, the brands have revealed rebranding for VLN packs and new Smoker Friendly-branded SF VLN cigarette packs. According to the press release, the companies are awaiting state approval before shipping these products.
ENDS
Geek Bar promoted their presence at upcoming music festivals on Instagram, highlighting EDC Vegas, one of the biggest electronic music festivals in North America. The brand uses the booths at these events to share flavor samples, let visitors test products, and hand out merch.