Vapers Digest 6th September
Friday’s News at a glance:
The Case (Study) For Flavours – Vaping Needs To Be Boring – WVA on the BMA – NZ Attracts Global Criticism – UK vows to clamp down on ‘scourge of vaping’ – Vapes Among Top Quitting Aides: Cochrane – CDC releases youth numbers – “The Forgotten Substance”—Harm Reduction Vaping Groups in Portugal – What Epidemic? Youth Vaping Dropped 23% in the Past Year – Minnesota AG Threatens to Prosecute Retailers of Legal Vapes – Briefs on “Poisonous” Vape Flavors – De Facto Prohibition on Vaping Drives Illicit Market – U.S. voters broadly support a new approach to tobacco regulation – Labour’s Law Vaporises Millions of Dollars – Failing Australian Approach to Vaping – Senator calls for different approach to vaping laws
Five from Dave Cross, Planet of the Vapes:
The Case (Study) For Flavours
A retired mechanical engineer contacted the UK Vaping Industry Association (UKVIA) when he heard that the British Medical Association (BMA) was calling for a complete ban on all vape flavours except ‘tobacco’. Mark Buchanan’s journey from smoking to vaping provides a typical case study showing how flavours are essential in successful smoking cessation attempts. “I could well end up smoking again”, Mark warns.
Mark Buchanan is a 58-year-old retired mechanical engineer from Cumbria. He reached out to the UKVIA to express his desperate concern that such a measure could drive him and many others back to deadly smoking.
Vaping Needs To Be Boring
Dr Lion Shahab is Professor of Health Psychology at University College London and past President for the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco. He has led or worked on many excellent pieces of vape related research, making him a true expert in the field. Troublingly, when responding to the British Medical Association’s report, Dr Shahab says that vaping needs to be made “boring again”.
Speaking to the BMA’s report, Professor Shahab said: “The BMA report highlights the need for action to curb unnecessary use of vapes by youth, which may result in addiction. The report makes a number of sensible recommendations, including restrictions on marketing to youth, standardised packaging, point-of-sale display bans and tackling the illegal sale of vapes….”
Timely Flavoured Vapes Survey
The UK Vaping Industry Association (UKVIA) has sent Freedom of Information (FOI) requests to 45 local authorities and NHS trusts across England about the use of vapes in their stop smoking service. Results from the survey show the importance of flavoured eliquids and how they are helping adult smokers to quit. The findings come as the British Medical Association (BMA) has called for an all-out ban.
A new investigation has reinforced the instrumental role of flavoured vaping products in securing a smokefree future, just one day after the British Medical Association called for a total ban on all non-tobacco flavoured vapes.
WVA on the BMA
The World Vapers’ Alliance (WVA) has expressed its significant concern over calls by the British Medical Association (BMA), the Standing Committee of European Doctors (CPME) and the European Public Health Alliance (EPHA) to ban disposables and non-tobacco flavours. These measures, the WVA says, are aimed at curbing vaping among youth but ignore the experience of tens of thousands of Europeans and risk compromising the broader public health achievements made possible by the use of vaping as a harm reduction tool.
Alberto Gómez Hernández, Policy Manager at the World Vapers’ Alliance, stated: “The EU’s approach to smoking is failing, and further restrictions on safer alternatives will only delay the achievement of smoke-free targets….”
NZ Attracts Global Criticism
The Coalition of Asia Pacific Tobacco Harm Reduction Advocates (CAPHRA) is raising alarm over New Zealand’s proposed changes to the Smokefree Environments and Regulated Products Amendment Bill 2024. The proposed legislation, which includes a ban on disposable vapes, poses a significant risk to New Zealand’s progress towards its Smokefree 2025 goal.
New Zealand has been recognised as a global leader in tobacco harm reduction, with vaping playing a crucial role in reducing smoking rates. The proposed ban on closed system vapes, which are popular among those transitioning from smoking, threatens to reverse this progress.
UK vows to clamp down on …
‘scourge of vaping’ – Ali Anderson
The UK government will ‘tackle the scourge of vaping’ once it has clamped down on smoking, a senior minister has said. Vaping has been promoted by the NHS as an effective tool for helping smokers kick the deadly habit, which kills around eight million people per year worldwide.
But yesterday, Commons Leader Lucy Powell vowed that it will be next in line for far tighter restrictions. She said: “We also want to tackle the scourge of vaping, which is a real blight for many young people.”
Vapes Among Top Quitting Aides:
Tobacco Reporter
E-cigarettes are among the Top-3 most effective tools to stop smoking, according to a new review of evidence by a team of scientists. The other strategies are Varenicline, a prescription drug sold under brand names such as Chantix and Champix, and Cytisine, a plant-based compound sold as an over-the-counter natural health product in Canada and throughout central Europe and eastern Europe, and available under prescription in the United Kingdom.
These tools for quitting work best when combined with behavioral support, such as counseling, according to the authors. Bupropion and nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) are also effective, especially NRT patches combined with fast-acting forms like gum.
That was quick. Consider it stolen. https://t.co/prypSgHCZu
— Phil (@phil_w888) September 5, 2024
CDC releases youth numbers –
How many kids are smoking? – Kim “Skip” Murray
Published today CDC MMWR: Notes from the Field: E-Cigarette and Nicotine Pouch Use Among Middle and High School Students — United States, 2024. “During 2023–2024, current e-cigarette use among middle and high school students declined from 7.7% to 5.9%. Current nicotine pouch use (1.8%) did not change significantly during this period.”
E-Cigarette and Pouch Use Among Middle and High School Students
“The Forgotten Substance”
Harm Reduction Vaping Groups in Portugal – Helen Redmond
When more people in harm reduction are considering how to integrate tobacco harm reduction into their work with people who use drugs, it’s important to learn from those who are already doing it.
Adriana Curado is a harm reductionist and community researcher with Grupo de Ativistas em Tratamentos (Group of Activists in Treatment) in Lisbon, Portugal. She was previously a coordinator of a mobile overdose prevention center there.
Two from Jim McDonald, Vaping 360:
What Epidemic?
Youth Vaping Dropped 23% in the Past Year
Teen vaping has declined again, crushing persistent claims by tobacco control groups and their political allies that we are still experiencing a “youth vaping epidemic.” Adolescent use of nicotine pouches also remained low.
Data published today from the 2024 joint FDA-CDC (Centers for Disease Control) National Youth Tobacco Survey (NYTS) show that past-30 day use of vaping products by middle and high school students dropped from 7.7% in 2023 to 5.9% this year—a 23% decline.
Minnesota AG Threatens to Prosecute..
Retailers of Legal Vapes
Over 5,000 nicotine product retailers and distributors have received a letter from Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison threatening to prosecute them for selling vapes and nicotine pouches that have not received marketing authorization from the FDA.
“Our goal is voluntary compliance,” Ellison said at a press conference (and in a press release). “Most Minnesota business-owners are good people trying to do right by their communities, so I expect most will take swift action after receiving a reminder of the law.”
UKVIA welcomes growing support
For vape licensing proposals
The UK Vaping Industry Association welcomes the support for introducing a vape licensing scheme shown by Baroness Merrion this week.
Speaking during a House of Lords debate on youth vaping, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Department of Health and Social Care said the government was ‘actively considering’ a vape licensing scheme.
Interview mit Harry Shapiro & BVTE
Briefs on “Poisonous” Vape Flavors
Flood Supreme Court – Kastalia Medrano
On September 3, attorneys general representing 19 states and the District of Columbia filed an amicus brief with the Supreme Court of the United States, claiming that vaping is linked to lung cancer and heavily implying that health risks are higher than with combustible cigarettes.
“Over the last decade, the proliferation of new flavored e-cigarettes has created a youth vaping epidemic that has resulted in a whole new generation of tobacco users,” it stated. “These e-cigarettes are addictive, poisonous, and lead to long-term negative health consequences.”
De Facto Prohibition on Vaping
Drives Illicit Market
We all know that smoking kills, and many smokers know that switching to vaping is the best way to get their nicotine fix without the cancer risks of burning tobacco. The UK government is so convinced that vaping is the best off-ramp from smoking that they’ve sent vaping kits to more than a million smokers.
But the U.S. regulator—the Food and Drug Administration—has failed to give regulatory approval to the vaping products consumers want. The result has been an influx of illicit Chinese products of uncertain quality. In a recent analysis of vaping packs discarded in several U.S. states, 97% were illegally imported.
Episode 24: Allison Boughner
U.S. voters broadly support new approach
To tobacco regulation
New survey reveals widespread dissatisfaction with the FDA’s job performance when it comes to regulating the tobacco industry and new nicotine-containing products, with strong majorities of likely voters expressing support for FDA reform.
Likely voters in the U.S. deliver mixed reviews of the FDA’s effectiveness in recent years. A large majority agrees that real reform of the FDA is needed.
Labour’s Law Vaporises Millions of Dollars
Cam Slater
Following the 2020 election Labour looked at new policies to bring into the Smokefree Environments and Regulated Products Act (SERPA) to fix what they saw as some outstanding issues with the Act.
One of these issues was disposable vapes. They received advice that they couldn’t just ban disposable vapes out right. So, they looked at ways to ban it by the back door.
Failing Australian Approach to Vaping
World Vapers’ Alliance
I’ve been witness to the unintended consequences of Australia’s harsh vaping regulations. For the past month, I’ve been staying at my house here, away from Melbourne, and what I’ve observed has been both shocking and disheartening.
To my surprise, a new tobacco shop had opened up in our quiet little town, taking over a space that was previously a florist. It seemed out of place but harmless enough. However, within a week of opening, the store was ram-raided. The owners, clearly determined, installed bollards to prevent future attacks.
Michel Landl discusses vaping
And THR on LBC Radio
Michel Landl, Director of the World Vapers Alliance, speaks with LBC Radio about the critical role of tobacco harm reduction and how vaping is helping people quit smoking. Tune in to hear his insights on this important topic!
Senator calls for different approach
To vaping laws
Launceston based Tasmanian senator Tammy Tyrrell says she’s concerned Tasmania is becoming a ‘nanny state’ after the Liberal government revealed tougher vaping laws.
Tasmania has decided to go a step further than the Federal government introducing laws that require person to be 18 years old and have a prescription to purchase nicotine vapes from locations such as pharmacies.
Korean study finds more smokers …
Switch to heated tobacco products
A study by researchers in South Korea suggests that switching to heated tobacco products (HTPs) can significantly increase the likelihood of smokers quitting smoking entirely.
HTPs are smoke-free products designed to eliminate combustion in nicotine delivery. The US Food and Drug Administration said tobacco smoke contains thousands of chemicals. “This mix of chemicals—not nicotine—is what causes serious disease and death in tobacco users.”
On this Day…2023
A look back at how things have moved on or otherwise….
NRT Study Published:
Sparks Hope for More Research
Snusforumet
A new US study shows that Nicotine Replacement Therapy (NRT) doesn’t change important health biomarkers. This gives hope to people trying to quit smoking and suggests other nicotine products might help too.
“While the results can be interpreted in favor of nicotine products, we cannot yet conclude that other nicotine products show the same effect. Therefore, researchers must show greater interest in the entire spectrum of nicotine products,” says Patrik Strömer, Secretary-General of the Swedish Snuff Manufacturers Association.
Visit Nicotine Science & Policy for more News from around the World
