Welcome to another roundup of the month's top articles on vaping and tobacco harm reduction. As usual, there are a lot of interesting and informative articles to satisfy your craving for news and updates. Each article is linked so that you can read it in full. Brief excerpts are included for your browsing convenience. Enjoy!
Reactions to sales restrictions on flavored vape products or all vape products among young adults in the US, Heather Posner, Katelyn Romm, et al., PubMed
Young adult e-cigarette users indicate low support for e-cigarette sales restrictions (both for flavored products and complete restrictions). Moreover, if vape product sales were restricted to tobacco flavors, 39.1% of users reported being likely to continue using e-cigarettes but 33.2% were likely to switch to cigarettes. If vape product sales were entirely restricted, e-cigarette users were equally likely to switch to cigarettes versus not (~40%). Those most likely to report positive impact of such policies being implemented were less frequent users, never-smokers, and those with greater e-cigarette-related health concerns.
Tobacco Harm Reduction Goes Live on Community Radios in Malawi, Morton Manjawira, THR Malawi
Another incremental victory in the many leading up to the big one for THR Malawi! Under the auspices of Knowledge-Action-Change Scholarships, we have launched radio jingles that seek to disseminate the utility and substitute value of Nicotine and Safer Nicotine Products (SNP) respectively. These Jingles are strictly on Community Radios in select districts and are set to run for a year. For context, Community radios are the easiest way to reach the rural populace.
Vaping Laws and the Treachery of Good Intentions, Gilbert Berdine, Quadrant Online
Ancient wisdom says the road to hell is often paved with good intentions. Modern experience shows that government is often paves this road with regulation. Only time will tell whether Australia’s new vaping regime will end in ‘heaven’ or ‘hell ‘or perhaps just ‘purgatory’. Economics and history suggest, however, that the chief beneficiaries of the vaping regulations will be the underworld.
Tobacco Control’s Latest Self-Fulfilling Prophecy, Michelle Minton, CEI
Predictably, as more teens believed all their friends were vaping, more became curious about this thing their parents, teachers, and other authority figures seemed so worried about. If we don’t want the same thing to happen with heated tobacco products, journalists, activists, and health authorities must use extreme caution to avoid starting yet another unwarranted and likely-to-backfire moral panic.
Washington, D.C.’s Foolish Flavored-Tobacco Ban, Mazen Saleh and Chelsea Boyd, National Review
Mayor Muriel Bowser signed into law a ban on the sale of all flavored tobacco products in the District of Columbia, the latest in a long line of bans limiting the sale of tobacco. Though noble in intent, lawmakers — on both sides of the aisle — who promote such bans fail to consider the pitfalls and consequences of prohibition, which we saw a century ago.
The Vape Industry Can’t Advertise to Kids, But Anti-Tobacco Crusaders Are Doing It For Them, Brad Rodu, Tobacco Truth
The vape industry is accused of enticing youth with kid-friendly flavors, cartoons and images, however, it may not be industry advertising that’s driving young vapers. Anti-vape organizations are running pervasive information campaigns that inundate youth with cartoons and other hip images, photos of kids vaping, and attractive illustrations of vape flavors. Anti-tobacco forces are actually encouraging kids to try e-cigarettes by underscoring how easy it is to use the products, the array of available flavors, and the enticing nicotine buzz that accompanies their use.
Nicotine And Cancer: Are You Among The Misinformed? Soko Directory Team, Soko Directory
Most damage to health caused by smoking is due to tar. Researchers from United Kingdom’s National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) stated that “…it is primarily the toxins and carcinogens in tobacco smoke — not the nicotine — that cause illness and death.”
In fact, other chemicals in smoke, such as benzo[a]pyrene, tobacco-specific nitrosamines, and benzene, are the primary causes of smoking-related diseases.
WHO abdicating its responsibility with clampdown on vaping, Ross Anderson, Arab News
More seriously, in its determination to punish the tobacco companies for having the temerity to switch from a lethal product to a benign one, the WHO is not only flying in the face of all available evidence, it is actually endangering the health of the people it is supposed to protect.
In its report on vaping, published on Tuesday, the WHO speaks approvingly of the 32 countries where the sale and use of vaping devices is banned. For a public health body, that is an utterly preposterous position to take. In those 32 countries, people are still free to endanger their lives by smoking tobacco, but prohibited by law from using devices that, in survey after survey, have been shown beyond doubt to be the most effective method currently available to enable smokers to quit.
E-cigarettes versus nicotine replacement treatment as harm reduction interventions for smokers who find quitting difficult: randomized controlled trial, Katie Myers Smith, Anna Phillips-Waller et al., Wiley Online Library
Conclusions: In smokers unable to quit using conventional methods, e-cigarettes were more effective than nicotine replacement therapy in facilitating validated long-term smoking reduction and smoking cessation when limited other support was provided.
The WHO’s bizarre war on e-cigarettes, Christopher Snowdon, The Spectator
Despite growing evidence that e-cigarettes are the most effective stop-smoking method available and are nearly harmless, the WHO has doubled down on its opposition. Last year, as Covid-19 spread around the globe, it put out a series of bizarre tweets, falsely claiming that e-cigarette fluid burns skin and that second-hand vapour harms bystanders. One tweet even questioned whether e-cigarettes could be more dangerous than regular cigarettes. Almost unbelievably, it gave a special award to India’s health minister this year as a thank you present for banning the sale of e-cigarettes.
The lying, incompetent World Health Organisation, Christopher Snowdon, Velvet Glove, Iron Fist
The chances of a report written by the WHO and funded by Bloomberg saying anything useful about e-cigarettes are negligible. Sure enough, it presents tiny and/or hypothetical risks as proven and proven benefits as hypothetical. In the process, it resurrects several objections to vaping from the stone age. Remember when anti-smoking groups said vaping needed to be banned indoors because it's hard to tell the difference between vaping and smoking (it isn't)? That's in there. Remember the nonsense about how vaping 'renormalises' smoking (it doesn't)? That's in there too.
BAT first-half sales top estimates buoyed by cigarette alternatives, Siddharth Cavale, Reuters
British American Tobacco (BATS.L) on Wednesday backed its full-year outlook after reporting stronger-than-expected rise in first-half revenue, driven by strong demand for its vaping and oral nicotine products. The FTSE-listed company said 2.6 million more customers took up its cigarette alternative products such as Vuse e-cigarettes and Velo oral nicotine pouches in the first half bringing its total user base of non-combustible products to 16.1 million, a record.
How Can a Syringe Program Reject Harm Reduction for Smoking? Kevin Garcia, Filter
“The sign pissed me off and without talking to anyone about it I just took it down one day because it wasn’t conducive to what we were doing,” said Sam. “Why can’t cigarettes give me strength? It doesn’t take away from your value as a person … Staff would drink coffee around the clock just to do their work. If I instead needed to smoke, vape or chew to work, how is that any different? Shaming someone for the substance they use to ‘give them strength’ takes away from the innate strengths and autonomy participants hold.”
13 fined for illegal online sale of e-vaporisers, including one jailed for selling unregistered medicines, Johannes Tjendro, Channel News Asia
SINGAPORE: Thirteen people have been fined S$3,000 to S$53,500 for selling electronic vaporisers and related components online in Singapore, said the Health Sciences Authority (HSA) on Wednesday (Jul 28).
Letter to the Editor: In Defense of Flavored Tobacco and Personal Liberty, Joel Newton,Edgewater Echo
Dear leaders, thank you for protecting us from ourselves — but where will you stop? You could substitute almost anything you don’t like (but which people enjoy) for the words “flavored tobacco” and justify infringing on all manner of individual choice.
BAT reports soaring demand for cigarette alternatives, Alice Hancock, Financial Times
The maker of Lucky Strike and Dunhill cigarettes said on Wednesday that non-combustible products such as its vaping brand Vuse and heated tobacco line Glo make up 11.8 per cent of group revenue, “up from about zero six years ago”. The number of consumers using BAT’s “new categories” increased by 2.6m to 16.1m in the first half of this year, 80 per cent of the customer acquisition in 2020 as a whole, even as leading health agencies such as the World Health Organization have voiced concerns about the safety of cigarette alternatives.
Bloomberg-Funded WHO Report Doubles Down Against Vaping, Jim McDonald, Vaping 360
Worldwide, smoking hasn’t declined since the launch of the FCTC nearly two decades ago. Indeed, the number of people who currently smoke (1.1 billion), and the number who die annually from smoking (eight million), has increased in that time. It is in countries where low-risk nicotine products like vapes and snus are allowed that smoking rates have dropped the farthest and fastest. Only if you convince yourself that non-combustible nicotine products pose the same risks as cigarettes can vaping be considered the danger the WHO and its patron Bloomberg say it is.
Anti-vaping advice by World Health Organisation ‘risks lives of millions’, Kat Lay, The Times
Gerry Stimson, emeritus professor at Imperial College, London, and director at the agency, said: “That the [WHO] is now seeking to re-energise lacklustre tobacco control efforts by encouraging nation states to enact bans or overly restrictive policies on safer nicotine products is both irresponsible and illogical. It will lead to millions continuing to smoke, millions continuing to die prematurely and millions more cigarettes being sold.”
Tobacco: Australia's new drug war, Christopher Snowdon, Velvet Glove, Iron Fist
Minister for Home Affairs Karen Andrews said the federal government remained committed to stopping the illegal trade at the border. “Every time someone uses illicit tobacco, they’re denying the community legitimate tax revenue that funds our schools, hospitals, and roads,” she said.
It's not legitimate tax revenue though, is it Karen? It's extortion. Your government has set it at such a punitive rate that many smokers have no choice but to buy illicit and none of them have a moral duty to send more money to a government that openly despises them.
WHO distracts from decades of failed efforts to reduce smoking with misguided war on safer alternatives, GSTHR Press Release, GSTHR
On closer inspection, even progress on the MPOWER measures is underwhelming. The WHO reports that 104 countries have introduced ‘one or more MPOWER measures at the highest level of achievement’ since 2007, but also states that 41 of the 49 countries that have not implemented a single measure are low and middle income countries (LMIC). 80 per cent of the world’s smokers live in LMICs. These are the countries least able to cope with the disease burden of smoking or implement the most expensive and effective of the MPOWER measures – ‘offering help’ to quit.
WHO calls for better regulation of ‘harmful’ e-cigarettes to protect children, Aine Fo, Evening Standard
The emeritus Professor of Epidemiology at University of Nottingham said: “This report demonstrates that, sadly, the WHO still doesn’t understand the fundamental difference between addiction to tobacco smoking, which kills millions of people every year, and addiction to nicotine, which doesn’t. “The WHO is also evidently still content with the hypocrisy of adopting a position which recommends the use of medicinal nicotine products to treat addiction to smoking, but advocates prohibition of consumer nicotine products which do the same thing, but better.
The WHO Emphasizes Its Mission to Destroy Safer Nicotine Alternatives, Alex Norcia, Filter
The FCTC was drafted before the advent of vaping. Yet the WHO appears to want to apply those measures to nicotine products across the board—with no differentiation between combustible cigarettes, the world’s number one cause of preventable death, and safer alternatives like vapes and oral tobacco products. This strategy tends to translate to the WHO advocating for, if not outright prohibition, regulatory policies that will render less-dangerous alternatives to smoking obsolete—especially in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) that are more susceptible to philanthropic influence, and where a majority of nicotine users live.
Will WHO wake up to realities of tobacco? Shantanu Guha Ray, Times of India
The WHO report seeks to deprive lower and medium income countries of access to reduced risk nicotine products like snus, heated tobacco products and e-cigarettes through bans and prohibitions. Over 100 million ex-smokers use these to cut their risks. The USFDA authorizes snus and heated tobacco products for use on the grounds that they benefit public health. And UK authorities actively encourage the use of e-cigs as a means of quitting especially among the poorest groups and among those with mental health issues.
Criminal groups farm illicit tobacco as authorities confiscate imports, Laura Chung, The Sydney Morning Herald
As authorities target illicit tobacco imports, criminal groups are turning their attention to farming their own crops across regional Australia. Illicit Tobacco Taskforce Australian Border Force Commander Greg Linsdell said that in the past 12 months there had been a significant increase in seizures involving the domestic growth of illicit tobacco as criminal groups look to maintain their supply after COVID-19 impacted imports.
UK report slams Bloomberg for undermining rights of consumers in LMICs, Manila Bulletin
A report issued by a parliamentary group in the United Kingdom criticized anti-vaping groups funded by Bloomberg Philanthropies for being hostile to tobacco harm reduction (THR) and for diminishing the rights of consumers and vapers in low and middle-income countries (LMICs) such as the Philippines.
The outbreak of lung injuries often known as "EVALI" was nothing to do with nicotine vaping, Clive Bates, Qeios
The characteristics of the lung injury outbreak are consistent with localised supply chain contamination. The contaminant has been identified and is known to be Vitamin E Acetate. This had been used a thickener or cutting agent in illicit Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) cannabis vape pens. This agent cannot be added to nicotine vaping liquids and would serve no useful purpose if it could be. No other or cause or causal agent has been identified that would implicate nicotine liquids and that would be consistent with the geographical and temporal pattern of this lung injury outbreak.
Giving up smoking through vaping complex, Nina Foley, Otago Daily Times
Lead author of the study, Associate Prof Tamlin Conner said persistence was crucial for transitioning away from cigarettes. “Not any one person’s journey to quit smoking is the same”.
“Some people take up exclusive vaping relatively quickly in several weeks, others take longer, from 12 to 20 weeks, or do not transition at all and continue smoking”. The results were a part of a larger study on vaping to smoking transitions, carried out by Prof Janet The results and colleagues, who also found variability in vape use.
Vaping flavour bans prove own goal for public health advocates, Louis Auge, EU Reporter
The bill’s intended purpose is to protect public health by making vaping less appealing to young people. The available evidence, however, suggests that not only could the measure fall short of the mark, it could actually cause more problems than it solves, prompting both young people and adults to take up smoking conventional cigarettes, a far more harmful practice than vaping.
“Epidemic” Teen Vaping Based Only on NYTS, FDA-Funded PATH Survey Ignored, Brad Rodu, Tobacco Truth
For over a decade, I have noted how government agencies cherry pick their sources for smoking statistics. Sometimes, when they want to emphasize lower smoking rates among adults, they choose a source (NHIS) that undercounts smokers by 9 or 10 million. This time, the government is straining to sustain the “teen vaping epidemic” narrative in order to justify prohibitive policies.
Not a fair COP: A two cops story, INNCO.org
Over the past 20 years, since the FCTC treaty was signed, it has veered far beyond the original intent of the signatories. They refuse new strategies to prevent tobacco-related death and disease, including Tobacco Harm Reduction (THR), despite the fact that the FCTC treaty’s Art. 1 explicitly defines “tobacco control” as including harm reduction.
Mexico Supreme Court Nixes Import Ban on “Heat-Not-Burn” Harm Reduction Products, Helen Redmond, Filter
A fatal blow to the HTP ban came when it was leaked that the draft of the decree was written by a lawyer working for the nicotine prohibitionist group Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids (CTFK.)
“It was an embarrassment for President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, who has expressed opposition to foreign NGOs and agents meddling with Mexican government regulations,” Dr. Roberto Sussman, a researcher at the National University of Mexico and president of Pro-Vapeo Mexico, told Filter.
Philippines Senate looks set to approve progressive vaping law, 24 Share Updates
Peter Dator, president of consumer group Vapers PH and CAPHRA member, hopes the Senate will pass the legislation by September. He describes it as a massive turn around. The Philippine government tried to ban the use of e-cigarettes, HTPs, and other smoke-free alternatives in 2019. Then there were proposals to raise the purchase age to 25 and ban all vape flavours other than menthol and tobacco.
Re-examining the Association Between E-Cigarette Use and Myocardial Infarction: A Cautionary Tale, Clayton R. Critcher, PhD, Michael Siegel, MD, MPH, American Journal of Preventive Medicine
There is no reliable evidence that e-cigarette use is associated with ever having had a myocardial infarction among never smokers. Contrary to concerns that the harms associated with e-cigarettes are only now emerging after more years of possible product use, the only evidence of time-dependent variation in the association between e-cigarette use and myocardial infarction ran counter to this possibility. The scientific community must insist that researchers engage in accurate public communication of peer-reviewed findings.
Journey from smoking to vaping variable - Otago academics, University of Otago
"Not any one person's journey to quit smoking is the same. Some people take up exclusive vaping relatively quickly in several weeks, others take longer from 12 - 20 weeks, or do not transition at all and continue smoking. People who wish to switch to exclusive vaping should view this variability as typical and should persevere in their efforts to switch," Associate Professor Conner says.
Industry warns of health risks as fake vaping products increase, Nick Webster, The National News UAE
Fake vaping products and less harmful smoking alternatives are creeping into the emerging e-cigarette market and pose a real health risk to consumers, retailers say. The market for vaping devices, liquids and e-cigarettes is booming in the UAE after the black-market industry was brought into the mainstream by regulators in April 2019.
Patent for ‘Bulb’ Technology Vaping Cartridge, Tobacco Reporter
Holman compared the technology to a light bulb. “A light bulb has a metal filament inside, but you can only touch the outer glass, which gets hot from the heat of the filament,” he said. “Similarly, the metal coil being encased in a quartz “bulb” prevents the liquid or oil from coming in direct contact with, or “touching” the metal coil. The metal coil heats the quartz, the substance is in contact with the heated quartz, and the vapor is produced without the substance ever touching the metal coil directly.”
Brookline, Mass. Adopts Radical Tobacco-Free Generation Law, Jim McDonald, Vaping 360
How does it work? Simple: if you were born before Jan. 1, 2000, you are able to buy vapes, snus, cigarettes, or any other tobacco product. If you were born on or after that date, you’re still a legal adult but you will never have the right to buy tobacco products in Brookline—not even when you’re 50-years-old.
Tobacco Harm Reduction: Time to Change Attitudes, Dr. Derek Yach, Dr. Derek Yach Medium
In a speech I gave to the Global Forum on Nicotine in June, I noted that when it comes to harm reduction, policy lags far behind the science. For years, decades, even, politicians and health authorities who should know better have ignored, derided and undermined such measures, stuck in a past in which the tobacco industry played a big, bad role. The result is that much of the public wrongly believes that nicotine causes cancer, e-cigarettes are more dangerous than combustible ones, and there is no leeway between the extremes of ‘quit or die.’
Biomarkers of Inflammation and Oxidative Stress Among Adult Former Smoker, Current E-Cigarette Users Results from Wave 1 PATH Study, Carol H. Christensen, Joanne T. Chang, et al., National Library of Medicine
Conclusions: Dual users have greater concentration of F2-isoprostane than smokers. Exclusive e-cigarette users have biomarker concentrations that are similar to those of former smokers who do not currently use tobacco, and lower than those of exclusive cigarette smokers.
Norwegian Government Proposes Flavour Ban, Dave Cross, Planet of the Vapes
The Norwegian government is proposing to ban e-liquid flavours, among other anti-vape measures, according to consumer group Nikan. The organisation, that works to promote reduced harm nicotine products, says the plans will take away the attraction of switching away from tobacco products.
Canada: July 22nd is Last Day to Buy High-Nic E-Juice and Pods, Jim McDonald, Vaping 360
Thursday, July 22, is the last day Canadians can legally buy e-liquid in strengths above 20 mg/mL (2%). Health Canada announced the rule last December. The existing rule allows sales of products containing up to 66 mg/mL.
P.E.I. man fined after business sold banned flavoured vape product, Ryan Ross, Saltwire
A P.E.I. man was fined recently after his business sold flavoured vape product despite a provincial ban. John David Wincey Jr. before Chief Judge Jeff Lantz in provincial court in Charlottetown where he pleaded guilty to one count of selling tobacco or an electronic smoking device that contains a flavouring agent. Wincey appeared on behalf of Stogies Convenience. The offence was a violation of the Tobacco and Electronic Smoking Device Sales and Access Act, which went into effect in March and banned flavoured vaping products.
Plain packaging not the panacea policymakers have been looking for, EU Reporter Correspondent, EU Reporter
Professor Oriani: We found that the introduction of plain packaging has had no impact on cigarette consumption trends in the UK or France. The estimation of the structural model showed that after controlling for alternative influencing factors , plain packaging has had no statistically significant impact on cigarette consumption in both countries. Finally, the difference-in-differences regression shows that plain packaging has had zero effect in the UK, while it is associated with a statistically significant increase in per capita cigarette consumption of 5% in France, which is contrary to the intended goals of the regulation.
The new prohibitionists, Marc Gunther, The Great Vape Debate
No matter that the drug war was rooted in racism and xenophobia, and sustained by lies. It took a heavy toll on African Americans and poor people, and helped make the US the world leader in incarceration. It fostered violent drug cartels, while keeping psychedelic chemicals with the potential to heal away from those who might have benefited from their use. Why, then, do people want to ban e-cigarettes? Or flavored e-cigarettes? Have anti-tobacco warriors like the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids and the Truth Initiative and their political allies forgotten history?
Utah Nicotine Caps Derail Harm Reduction Efforts, Steven Greenhut, Inside Sources
“A foundational belief that informs this effort is the idea that nicotine should only be delivered in concentrations that relieve the symptoms of withdrawal from smoking, but not enough to create a pleasurable sensation,” argues the Consumer Advocates for Smoke-Free Alternatives Association (CASAA). That approach is counterproductive from a harm-reduction standpoint.
Vaping liquid flavour preferences, oral nicotine pouch and cannabis use: A survey of participants in the 2019 Oceania Vape Expo [version 1; peer review: awaiting peer review], Marewa Glover, Carl V. Phillips, Kyro Selket, Yolande Jeffares
Results: This research suggests restricting the sale of liquid flavours may have negative unintended consequences. 57% of respondents indicated they would circumvent a ban on popular liquid flavours by mixing their own and/or buying liquids from overseas or the black market. Over a third (36%) would likely be restricted in their choice of a low-risk substitute for tobacco smoking if products such as snus and oral nicotine pouches were banned. A further 36% had heard of these options but were currently not using them.
Discussion Reveals Abuse of THR Advocates, Dave Cross, Planet of the Vapes
Discussion held on The Advocates’ Voice revealed the level of abuse tobacco harm reduction advocates are suffering at the hands of anti-vaping groups. The full and frank international panel conversation revealed that the public attacks are increasingly personal, derogatory, and defamatory.
Asia asked to follow Japan’s model in addressing smoking problem, Manila Bulletin
A public health policy expert urged Asia-Pacific countries to follow Japan’s model in tobacco harm reduction that led to a 42-percent decline in smoking rate in just five years. “Japan is showing us what can be accomplished. A 42-percent decline in cigarette sales in the first quarter of this year, compared to five years ago is unprecedented. I mean, that is so far beyond what any other major market has ever seen. It can happen,” Prof. David T. Sweanor said during the 4th Asia Harm Reduction Forum held virtually from Manila on June 28, 2021.
LSD and nicotine could be more important to healthcare than we think, Shane MacGuill, EuroNews Next
Public misunderstanding of the properties and impact of nicotine consumption is shaped by its predominant delivery system, the combustible cigarette. But awareness of nicotine as a possible cognitive function enhancer, potentially to treat conditions such as Parkinson's disease, has been present in the background for some time.
How to make a submission about the proposed vaping flavour ban, John Oyston, Dr. John’s Blog
Unless we protest, Canada will ban all vape flavours except deliberately unpleasant tobacco, menthol and mint flavours with no sweeteners. The ban will apply across the country, with no exceptions, even for people who smoked for decades and have been vaping with flavours safely for many years. This is a guide for Canadian citizens to make their voice heard by making a submission to Health Canada, based on advice from Christina Xydous, Spokesperson, Coalition des droits des vapoteurs du Québec.
U.S. to allow temporary rise in impurities in anti-smoking drug, Trisha Roy, Reuters
The U.S. drug regulator said on Friday it will temporarily allow manufacturers to distribute the anti-smoking drug varenicline with elevated levels of an impurity that may cause cancer, to maintain availability after Pfizer Inc (PFE.N) halted distribution of its Chantix branded varenicline.
Closure of Outdoor Smoking Booths Prompts ‘Secret Smoking’ in Yeouido, The Korean BizWire
“When I smoked in smoking areas, I paid attention to others’ eyes and tried to maintain proper social distancing. After the ban took effect, however, I pay less attention to such rules since I smoke sneakily in hidden areas like flower beds,” an office worker said. As the closure of the smoking booths prolongs, some smokers are walking long distances to find areas where they can use smoking booths.
“I Rarely Vape Until Cocktail Hour”—Patt Denning’s THR Journey, Helen Redmond, Filter
“The problem for me was that I really gave up on quitting smoking,” Denning said. “I had quit so many times. One time I quit for five years. That was the longest time. Sometimes I’d make it for a month or two, sometimes a week. It was just misery. And I thought, okay, I’m just going to die from fucking lung cancer. I’m not going to make myself miserable anymore. My motivation to quit was not very high. Maybe those products would have worked better for me if I was really trying.”
How NIH Funding Undermines Tobacco Harm Reduction, Brad Rodu, Tobacco Truth
Have you ever considered the recent years’ tsunami of research that emphasizes the dangers of e-cigarette and vaping products? Was this work spontaneously generated? How was it funded?
To Eradicate Youth Vaping, We Need Only Copy the UK, Dave Morris, Inside Sources
Unfortunately, anti-vaping lobbyists have since changed their tune and are now lobbying to ban the very products they once accurately compared to coffee. Despite the fact that youth vaping is down by 33 percent in the last year, marking the second year of double-digit declines, these so-called public health “advocates” continue in their quest to force over nine million adult vapers back to smoking, which will inevitably kill two-thirds of them.
India Banned Vapes but Will Profit from Nicotine Sales Venture, Jim McDonald, Vaping 360
Ironically, vapers and smokers in India will not have access to legal products that use the purified nicotine made by ITC, because the Indian government banned vaping products two years ago. Even more ironic: the government is a major stakeholder in ITC.
Fines on the cards as Australia tightens vaping product standards, Emma Koehn,The Sydney Morning Herald
Businesses will face fines of up to $11 million from later this year if they supply nicotine vaping products that fall foul of a strict new set of safety guidelines from the medicines regulator.
Retailers issue warning over excise increases on tobacco, By Reporter, Leinster Express
Continuous excise increases on tobacco are driving Irish smokers towards a growing black market, fuelling significant growth in smuggling activity. That is according to Retailers Against Smuggling (RAS), who have today outlined why Budget 2022 should not increase excise on tobacco products considering the unfair "competition" legitimate retailers face from criminal gangs exploiting the demand for illegal tobacco products.
Doctor says vape, heated tobacco products viable solutions to smoking problem, Ian Ocampo Flora, SunStar Pampanga (translated)
Citing the conclusion of a 2021 Toxicology Report Journal review from the University of Occupational and Environmental Health in Japan, Mata said the “use of electronic cigarettes and heated tobacco products could lead to a significant reduction in exposure to harmful substances compared to combusted cigarettes.” “These are just some of the many scientific studies supporting the less-harmful claims regarding electronic vaping products. The bottom line is this: the deadly effect of cigarette smoking is due to combustion of tobacco that produces smoke which contains carbon monoxide and more than 7,000 chemicals,” he said.
Health Canada coughs up counterintuitive vape policy, Mark Bonokoski, Toronto Sun
Just when it was thought to be safe to vape rather than smoke cigarettes, the Trudeau Liberals are unwittingly conspiring to resurrect the age-old sin of cigarette smoking. They don’t think this will happen of course, but it will.
Panama Assembly Votes to Prohibit Vape Sales, Jim McDonald, Vaping 360
Panama’s National Assembly has passed a bill that would prohibit sales of vaping products and restrict where they can be used. The vape product ban will not become law until signed by President Laurentino Cortizo, who vetoed an earlier version of Bill 178.
'What About The Children?' We Can Discourage Teen Vaping And Accept The Benefits Of E-Cigarettes, Cameron English, American Council on Science and Health
For whatever reason, tobacco control advocates and lawyers aren't impressed by all these people who gave up cigarettes. Why we can't discourage children from vaping and embrace e-cigarettes as a useful quit-smoking tool for adults is beyond me.
Singapore: More Prison Sentences for Smuggling Vapes, Jim McDonald, Vaping 360
Fourteen people have been sentenced to prison for smuggling vaping products into Singapore. The products were concealed in seven trucks that were transporting live chickens from Malaysia into Singapore.
The British Medical Journal Falsely Claimed “Harm Reduction Advocates and the Tobacco Industry Capitalised on the Pandemic to Promote Nicotine”, Brad Rodu, Tobacco Truth
The journal has a rapid-response comment system that is managed by the editors. I submitted a comment on June 9, detailing specific scientific problems with the article’s content. It was not published, so I present it here. (Follow link to read the full response.)
Experts suggest tobacco harm reduction approach to reduce smoking, The Sun Daily
In England, health authorities support smokers to switch to vaping to quit smoking and vape is now the most popular quit aid. According to a June 2021 report by Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) in the UK, nearly two thirds of current vapers in Great Britain are ex-smokers (64.6%), and this proportion continues to grow.
Officials’ efforts to cap nicotine levels in Utah will send tobacco users back to cigarettes, Shellie Villarreal, The Salt Lake Tribune
Like those who enjoy their caffeine first thing in the morning, for a pick-me-up in the afternoon or after a good meal, I enjoy nicotine. For years, I got my nicotine fix from traditional cigarettes. At one point, I was up to a pack a day. But, now, I’ve quit.
Groups reveal report on Bloomberg’s meddling in PH, Manila Bulletin
Consumer groups asked Congress to look into a report by an American think tank about Bloomberg Philanthropies’ repeated meddling in the affairs of low and middle-income countries (LMICs) including the Philippines.
DC convenience store owners brace for hit from ban on menthols, David Hogberg, Yahoo News
Alloy expects his bottom line to take a big hit based on his experience with the nearly $5-per-pack tax the city government imposed on cigarettes in October 2018. “My gas volume dropped by nearly one-third when that went into effect,” Alloy said. “Commuters realized they could just go up the road to Maryland or Virginia where [cigarettes] are cheaper.” Alloy said he expects customers to do the same when the ban on flavored tobacco goes into effect.
The WHO Risks Being Labelled an “Enemy of Tobacco Harm-Reduction”, Diane Caruana, Vaping Post
“This vested interest has coloured the information in order to serve the political and financial interests of Bloomberg Philanthropies and the Gates Foundation who provide nearly half of all the funding for the WHO-FCTC. The WHO is lying to you to protect their own financial interests and keep their private donors happy. They are not objective. They are not focused on their own mandate under FCTC to promote the health of the people and their right to have information to make informed choices regarding their health,” said Loucas.
Young smokers not deterred by ban on cigarette sales, swissinfo.ch
Researchers at the universities of Basel and Lausanne found that young people are not deterred by bans put in place in Switzerland over the past 15 years. However, bans do not make smoking more attractive, a Basel University statement said on Monday.
Vape shop owner is worried that government may be pushing people back to cigarette smoking, Len Gillis, Sudbury.com
The battle continues in the vaping industry to try to fend off interference from Health Canada and other public health agencies that regard vaping as a less-than-desirable substitute for smoking tobacco.
Coalition Letter On PMTA Enforcement, Grover Norquist, Christopher G. Sheeron, et al.
Without these entrepreneurs, the vape industry will be consolidated into a few large corporations, causing prices to rise and consumer choice to decrease.
Maine's Proposed Flavored Tobacco Ban Loses Support, Convenience Store News
A ban would come at cost. According to Maine Wire, a fiscal note attached to the bill details that it would reduce revenue to the General Fund by $15.2 million in fiscal year 2021-2022 and nearly $22.9 million in fiscal year 2022-2023 if it became law. Additionally, it would reduce the Local Government Fund revenue by $100,027 in fiscal year 2021-22 and $150,697 in fiscal year 2022-23.
Tobacco Harm Reduction: Polar Opposition Must be Resolved, Brad Rodu, Tobacco Truth
To put it mildly, the tobacco harm reduction (THR) issue in the United States is polarized. According to Professor Lynn Kozlowski, on one side are “THR supporters”, scientists and policy makers who want to inform smokers about vastly safer smoke-free substitutes for combusted cigarettes, including American moist snuff and chewing tobacco, Swedish snus, a wide array of e-cigarettes and vape products, plus new heat-not-burn tobacco products. On the opposite side are “abstinence-only (AO) supporters” who reject any divergence from their vision of a tobacco-free society.
Germany Passes E-Liquid Tax as EU Decision Looms, Jim McDonald, Vaping 360
German vapers will pay more for e-liquid beginning next year after legislators approved a tax that will apply to both nicotine-containing and nicotine-free e-juice. The Tobacco Tax Modernization Act passed the Bundestag (the lower house of parliament) June 11, and was approved by the Bundesrat (the upper house, or “federal council”) on June 25.
Vaping, Police and Race, Jillian Snider and Chelsea Boyd, The Crime Report
What lawmakers must realize about product bans, is that people will “find a way” to access their preferred product, something that 50 percent of long-term e-cigarette users indicated they would do in the event of a ban on their preferred product. Be it alcohol, cannabis or tobacco products, prohibition does not stop people from obtaining and using the banned product. Those same bans, which aim to improve health outcomes, will also lead people to illicit markets that result in negative effects on health outcomes.
From junk food ad bans to new smoking bans: the UK is in an age of state intervention, Jason Reed, City AM
The World Health Organisation has declared war on vaping, and our government is listening – despite it being by far the most effective item in the tobacco harm reduction toolkit, given its remarkable record of doubling a smoker’s chance of quitting and weaning more people off cigarettes than any other method.
