March was a big month for vaping (and tobacco harm reduction more generally) in the news. There are a lot of great articles to peruse and even a video in the mix. As always, an excerpt is provided for your convenience. Follow the links for the full content.
Why Are Congress Members Demanding That the FDA Halt Its Evaluation of Flavored Vapes? Alex Norcia, Filter
“To seek to deny access to such products and to override the FDA’s regulatory framework in doing so would please abstinence-only campaigners, protect the cigarette trade and deny harm reduction options to tens of millions of Americans who smoke cigarettes,” David Sweanor, a tobacco industry expert and chair of the Advisory Board for Centre for Health Law, Policy and Ethics at the University of Ottawa, told Filter.
Smart Youth Drive Enormous Vaping Declines, Ian Irvine, CD Howe Institute
If vaping were really a gateway to tobacco use, as argued by some health officials, smoking rates should increase among 20-year-olds as vapers move from their teens. But the data show exactly the opposite; vaping is a reverse gateway.
Scandal in Mexico, Editorial Office, The Vaping Today
In addition to the arbitrariness in the legislative process, it was discovered thanks to the document metadata that a prediction of the Mexican Parliament that proposes bans on vaping was written by an Argentine lawyer advising the Campaign For Tobacco Free Kids, an anti-vaping NGO financed by Michael Bloomberg.
Smoking may disappear within a generation, analysts predict, Lisa Pham, Medical Press
In 10 to 20 years there could be no smokers left in many markets, according to analysts at Jefferies. Governments and tobacco companies are on the same side in this shift, as more countries adopt smokefree targets and companies push smokers over to reduced-risk products such as vaping and oral nicotine.
87% tobacco users don't support proposal to ban sale of loose cigarettes, MENAFN
PRAHAR (Public Response Against Helplessness and Action for Redressal), an NGO dedicated to finding solutions for problems of the helpless on Thursday released findings of the first-ever survey among actual users of tobacco products conducted to understand the likely impact of the proposed COTPA Amendment Bill 2020.
This Time We Really Mean It: Cambodia Bans Vaping Again, Jim McDonald, Vaping 360
The government of Cambodia hates vaping so much that the country’s leaders have prohibited the practice twice. Apparently not satisfied with its original 2014 ban on use, sales and imports, the Cambodian National Authority for Combatting Drugs (NACD) has banned the products again.
Vermont’s Dilemmas in Bid to Ban Both Flavored Vapes and Menthol Cigarettes, Alex Norcia, Filter
The implications are two-fold: First, a ban on menthol cigarettes, as we’ve seen with prohibitions of flavored vapes in Massachusetts and New York, would probably force consumers to an illicit market where they use these products without regulatory protections; and second, such laws would be enforced, potentially increasing the number of interactions between police and people of color.
Bloomberg’s Millions Funded an Effective Campaign Against Vaping. Could It Do More Harm Than Good? Marc Gunter, The Chronicle of Philanthropy
Bloomberg Philanthropies used its money and influence to curb vaping, to be sure. But others who have worked for decades to reduce deaths from smoking say the ongoing campaign against e-cigarettes is misguided, built on unsound science and likely to do more harm than good.
March 2021 with special guest Dr. Caitlin Notley, University of Oxford podcasts
Jamie Hartmann-Boyce and Nicola Lindson discuss emerging evidence in e-cigarette research and interview Dr Caitlin Notley. This podcast is a companion to the electronic cigarettes Cochrane living systematic review and shares the evidence from the monthly searches.
Spitless Shines in 2020, CDS Staff, CStore Decisions
“While vaping is capturing all of the attention, laws are being proposed that would sweep all tobacco and nicotine products under flavor bans — even products that are granted a modified risk order from the Food and Drug Administration,” said Alex Clark, CEO for Consumer Advocates for Smoke-Free Alternatives Association (CASAA), a nonprofit advocacy organization for consumers seeking reduced-harm tobacco products.
A World-Class Case of Corporate Self-Cannibalization May Save Millions of Lives, Brad Rodu, Tobacco Truth
PMI risked its core cigarette business when the company launched the multi-year, multi-billion-dollar IQOS research and development effort. Five years ago, it rolled the dice again when it marketed the products in Japan.
Why banning alternatives to smoking will do more harm than good, Joseph Magero, Enviro News Nigeria
“The hundreds of millions of people who smoke in these countries should have the ability to make decisions about safer nicotine products, particularly when their own health is on the line,” said Samrat Chowdhery, president of INNCO’s governing board. “Overly simplistic policy solutions, such as The Union’s proposed ban on all ENDS and THR products, will continue to be offered as a blunt and impractical tool for a situation that requires pragmatism and nuance, making meaningful and sustainable change more difficult,” Chowdhery added.
Study Shows How Much Vapes Can Help Smokers With Schizophrenia, Helen Redmond, Filter
A groundbreaking study from Italy with adults who have schizophrenia spectrum disorders found that using JUUL vapes helped some 40 percent of participants to stop smoking traditional cigarettes by the end of 12 weeks.
Cambodia bans e-cigarettes, Sar Socheath, Khmer Times
Electronic nicotine delivery system (EDNS), or e-cigarettes and heated tobacco products (HTPs) have been banned by Cambodian authorities, according to the National Authority for Combatting Drugs’ (NACD) instruction.
To Address Youth E-Cigarette Use, We Must Rely on Data, Lyndsey Stroud, Inside Sources
In San Francisco, which banned the sale of flavored e-cigarettes in 2018, youth vaping still increased after the ban, but so did youth smoking rates. In fact, current combustible cigarette use among high school students increased from 4.7 percent of San Francisco high school students in 2017, to 6.5 percent in 2019.
Letter: Making menthol-flavored tobacco illegal would lead to unintended consequences, Wayne P. Harris, Times Union
I do not smoke nor do I write this in support of smoking. However, I come to ask: What happens when we prohibit a historically legal product making that product now illegal in the eyes of regulators, police and the communities of color that primarily favors it?
Reducing the smoking-related health burden in the USA through diversion to electronic cigarettes: a system dynamics simulation study, Arielle S Selya, PubMed
Conclusions: The simulation suggests that the promotion of e-cigarettes as a harm-reduction policy is a viable strategy, given current evidence that e-cigarettes offset or divert from smoking. Given the strong effects of implementation challenges on policy effectiveness in the short term, accurately modeling such obstacles can usefully inform policy design. Ongoing research is needed, given continuing changes in e-cigarette use prevalence, new policies being enacted for e-cigarettes, and emerging evidence for substitution effects between combustible cigarettes and e-cigarettes.
Bloomberg’s misguided push to outlaw vaping in developing nations, Yael Ossowski, Brussels Times
Though there is a commitment to reduce tobacco use in middle and low-income countries, a significant part of Bloomberg’s philanthropic fortune has ended up going to global efforts to clamp down on novel vaping products, which do not contain tobacco, and have been proven to be instrumental in getting smokers to quit.
Canada’s Proposed Nicotine Cap for Vapes Earns Sharp Criticism, Alex Norcia, Filter
“By setting a nicotine cap, Health Canada would be throttling the nicotine delivery of the most compact and easy-to-use alternatives to cigarettes,” Bates told Filter. “The proposal is a gift to the cigarette trade and another reason to keep people smoking.”
Bates and David Sweanor—an industry expert and chair of the Advisory Board for Centre for Health Law, Policy and Ethics at the University of Ottawa—were among those who recently submitted comments to the Canadian government.
Govt v Tobacco: The Tale of the Vape, Dr. Eric Crampton, Newsroom NZ
In the classic Simpsons’ episode “The Old Man and the Lisa”, young environmentalist Lisa Simpson finally convinced the rather evil Mr Burns of the merits of recycling. Of course, it did not go well. And it reminds me, just a little, of the Ministry of Health’s conversion to supporting vaping as a way of reducing smoking. Like Burns, the government took on the message but utterly missed the point.
Opinion: Health Canada's nicotine caps will kill people, Ian Irvine, Financial Post
If Health Canada has its way, this year vaping will be dealt three knockout blows that will see, not just the end of the business as we know it, but an increase in smoking-related deaths nation-wide.
Vaping’s Image Problem in the EU, Christopher Snowdon, New Europe
A recently published Eurobarometer survey reveals widespread ignorance about e-cigarettes. Most people do not smoke or vape and therefore have little reason to educate themselves about these products, but it is nevertheless troubling that public understanding has gone backwards in recent years.
King’s College London Study Confirms Harm Reduction Characteristics of E-Cigarettes, Michael McGrady, The Vaping Post
A new study published in the journal Addiction shows that using electronic cigarettes to quit smoking “supports their effectiveness compared to other methods of quitting, including nicotine replacement therapy or medication.”
INNCO Opposes Bloomberg’s “Philanthropic Colonialism,” Jim McDonal, Vaping 360
American vapers are familiar with Michael Bloomberg and his support for bans of flavored vaping products. But Bloomberg and the tobacco control organizations he funds are even more active in other parts of the world, especially in countries willing to sacrifice their own autonomy in exchange for public health funding.
Banning Sweeteners In Vapes Would Be ‘catastrophic’, Press Release VAPO, Scoop NZ
“Our analysis shows over 95% of the 200-plus flavour concentrates in our manufacturing facility contain some form of sweetening agent. An all-out ban on sweeteners is essentially a total flavour ban, with nearly every vaping product immediately outlawed. Effectively, this proposed regulation kills the industry and local businesses will have no other option but to fold,” says Jonathan Devery.
What’s the Real REason Why the US Postal Service is No Longer Allowed to Ship Vaping Products? Dana Smith, Cannabis Net
Though PACT was designed to curb shipment of nicotine products, the law is structured in such a way that it casts a wide net, and thus includes cannabis vapes. They make use of legal language such as “electronic nicotine delivery system,” which refers to any product that “delivers nicotine, flavor or any other substance to the user inhaling from the device,” and the usage of “any other substance” is vague enough that it can be used against cannabis businesses.
Cash for honours at the W.H.O., Christopher Snowdon, Velvet Glove, Iron Fist
The trouble is that the agenda of the WHO - and the FCTC specifically - is diametrically opposed to that of the British government. While the UK encourages smokers to switch the e-cigarettes, the WHO wants to ban them. With the possible exception of Mike Bloomberg - who was also bestowed with an honour after giving the WHO lots of money - the FCTC is the biggest threat to tobacco harm reduction on the planet.
Overreactions and tunnel vision: Americans should think twice about vape flavor bans, Tanner Aliff, The Bulletin
“In the spirit of hasty overreaction, states like Maryland and Oregon have seized the momentum of last year’s federal ban on flavored vapes and are looking to take it a step further, effectively halting the sale, manufacturing and distribution of all flavored vaping products. Legislation like this is only going to open the floodgates for black market exploitation and strip away another alternative pathway for tobacco smokers to leave traditional cigarettes.”
Vitamin E Acetate is not Soluble in Nicotine E-liquids, Shannon Kozlovich, Arit M. Harvanko, et al, Ingenta Connect
Conclusions: Vitamin E acetate is not soluble in formulations of nicotine e-liquids and if mixed into a nicotine e-liquid will form a visibly distinct layer. Therefore, it is unlikely that nicotine-only e-cig users will be exposed to vitamin E acetate.
What Made This Rhode Island Legislator Change Her Mind About Vaping? Alex Norcia, Filter
Only a few weeks after calling for a ban, Casimiro—along with Mike Runshe, the CEO of Giant Vapes, and Dino Baccari, the White Horse Vapor owner—wrote an op-ed for The Providence Journal advocating for “sensible vaping policies.”
Leicester woman kicks 60 year smoking habit after cancer diagnosis, Francesca Wright, Leicester News
“I quit immediately, using patches and a vape. That was seven months ago, and I haven’t smoked a single cigarette since.”
Daily e-cigarette use shows 'clear benefit' in helping smokers to quit, study finds, King’s College London, Science Daily
"The WHO is especially concerned about refillable e-cigarettes, as these could allow the user to add harmful substances or higher levels of nicotine. However, we've shown that refillable types in particular are a very effective quitting aid when used daily, and this evidence should be factored into any future guidance around their use."
Hull dad switches to vapes to stop young son copying his smoking, Sophie Kitching, Hull and East Yorkshire News
Mike believes vaping will mean he lives longer and will be there for his family. "I just feel better in myself since I gave up smoking," he said. "I’m not coughing. I’m not breathless. I feel alive. My dad was a smoker, my grandad was a smoker. My granddad died of emphysema, my dad died of cancer. "
Study highlights the 'clear benefit' of using e-cigarettes daily to quit smoking, Reviewed by Emily Henderson, News Medical Life Sciences
Daily use of e-cigarettes was also more effective for quitting than other evidence-based methods of quitting - including nicotine replacement therapy, medication such as bupropion or varenicline, or any combination of these aids. None of these methods were associated with abstinence from smoking at follow-up, compared to using no help at all. However, in a secondary analysis, prescription medicine was associated with achieving at least one month of abstinence from smoking. Mar 10
Critical appraisal of the European Union Scientific Committee on Health, Environmental and Emerging Risks (SCHEER) Preliminary Opinion on electronic cigarettes, Renee O’Leary, Riccardo Polosa, et al. BMC Harm Reduction Journal
Changes in the trends of smoking prevalence are the best indicator of the absence or presence of renormalization [49]. Based on WHO data [6, 7], between 2016 and 2018, 24 of 27 EU member states experienced declines in the prevalence of cigarette use for the population 15 years old and older. Seven member states had cigarette prevalence declines of 6% or better and three member states had declines over 10% during the 2-year period.
How Much Nicotine is in a Cigarette? Jim McDonald, Vaping 360
Nicotine is a complex topic. We’re a vaping publication, and most of our nicotine articles are focused on vaping. But because most vapers were once smokers, and because lots of smokers are looking for low-risk alternatives to cigarettes, we want to explore all aspects of nicotine usage.
How Old Do You Have To Be To Vape? Jim McDonald, Vaping 360
As with alcohol, enforcing a legal minimum sales age for e-cigarettes isn’t a perfect solution, but it is the most reliable way to reduce teen vaping. For legislators, deciding how old you have to be to vape, how old to buy a vape, the penalties for retailers who break the law, and how to enforce an age-to-purchase law isn’t easy. After all, lawmakers who get it wrong may accidentally increase youth or adult smoking, or help create a black market.
