Vapers Digest 7th May

Wednesday’s News at a glance:

US Pouch Users Quitting Smoking ~ NHS Training Is Inconsistent ~ Fake Science Denying the Relative Safety of Smokeless Tobacco Cost Millions of Lives; Don’t Repeat that Error with New Smoke-Free Products ~ Crackdown on snus-style nicotine pouches in ‘smokefree generation’ law ~ Rights4Vapers Congratulates New Liberal Government, Urges Action On Safer Nicotine Policy Reform ~ Submission In Regards to Vape Tax to Hamilton Council ~ Ex-FDA Tobacco Head Brian King Joins Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids ~ The UK’s Impending Disposable Vapes Ban Looks Unenforceable ~ FDA Scores Win in Wages, but Industry Eyes Fifth Circuit Remand in Flavored Vape PMTA Denial Challenge ~ Responsible Vaping Ireland warns that proposed vape ban could increase smoking rates ~ If Congress Wants Real Solutions To So-Called Illicit Vapes, Real Reform – Not Lip Service – Is Required ~ The city is considering a vaping tax. This is why that would be a big mistake ~ ETHRA April news roundup ~ WHO faces severe budget cuts. Will that mean less disinformation around safer nicotine? ~ Guernsey bans disposable vapes and sales to under 18s ~ Who’s Steering Indian Health Policy? COP11 Puts Foreign Interference In The Spotlight ~ Don’t punish responsible retailers: Keep vape products in convenience stores ~ CAPHRA Calls for Risk-Proportionate Taxation on Safer Nicotine Products Across Asia Pacific ~ FDA’S RELUCTANCE ON FULL SHOW

Two from Dave Cross, Planet of the Vapes

US Pouch Users Quitting Smoking

Nicotine pouch users in the United States are increasingly abandoning smoking and making the safer pouches their sole source of nicotine, according to new research from TobaccoIntelligence. According to the report, 8.5 million Americans are expected to use pouches this year.

NHS Training Is Inconsistent

A new Freedom of Information (FOI) investigation has revealed an inconsistent approach to how medical professionals are trained to support patients in quitting smoking. The research, which looked at FOI data from 17 NHS Trusts across the UK – representing over 150 hospitals – has highlighted significant gaps that could hinder ambitions for a smokefree future, according to the UK Vaping Industry Association

Fake Science Denying the Relative Safety of Smokeless Tobacco Cost

Millions of Lives; Don’t Repeat that Error with New Smoke-Free Products

Dr. Brad Rodu, Tobacco Truth

Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, recently confirmed as director of the National Institutes of Health, tweeted on November 23, 2024, “If the NIH were serious about the replication crisis, it would devote a significant chunk of its budget to funding replication studies by independent researchers and require NIH funded researchers to make research materials available to replicators.”

I welcomed that statement because, over the past decade, my colleague Nantaporn Plurphanswat and I have challenged distorted and blatantly false studies concerning safer tobacco products (examples here, here, here and the list below).

Crackdown on snus-style nicotine pouches in ‘smokefree generation’ law

Neil Pooran, Independent

Nicotine pouches, often referred to as “snus,” will be subject to a UK-wide crackdown on tobacco, a Scottish Government minister has confirmed.

The announcement follows concerns raised by MSPs after free samples of the pouches were distributed at Edinburgh’s Waverley train station earlier this year.

These pouches, designed to be placed between the lip and gum, release nicotine into the user’s system.

Two from Filter

Ex-FDA Tobacco Head Brian King Joins Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids

Kim “Skip” Murray

Dr. Brian King is a man some tobacco harm reduction (THR) advocates love to hate. They felt no sorrow when, on April 1, he was notified of his removal as the director of the United States Food and Drug Administration’s Center for Tobacco Products (CTP).

One of thousands of casualties of the Trump administration’s Department of Health and Human Services cuts, King had widely been seen by THR proponents as obstructing the authorization of products that help people quit smoking, and communicating negatively about vapes.

The UK’s Impending Disposable Vapes Ban Looks Unenforceable

Kiran Sidhu

The United Kingdom is heading for an explosion in the illicit vapes market when it bans single-use devices in June. That warning comes from analysts, politicians, vape advocates and consumer groups, who say the government is ill-prepared for the impending ban.

Projections of the policy’s other effects meanwhile vary from showing large numbers of vapers switching back to deadly cigarettes, to little impact on youth vaping—the major rationale for the disposables ban in the first place.

FDA Scores Win in Wages, but Industry Eyes Fifth Circuit Remand in Flavored Vape PMTA Denial Challenge

Azim Chowdhury, Eric P. Gotting, Neelam Gill, Keller & Heckman

On April 2, 2025, the U.S. Supreme Court issued its decision in the Wages and White Lion Investments d/b/a Triton Distribution (hereafter “Triton”) Premarket Tobacco Product Application (PMTA) Marketing Denial Order (MDO) challenge. In a 9-0 unanimous ruling, the Supreme Court held that FDA did not act arbitrarily and capriciously when it denied the PMTA for Triton’s flavored electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS) (open-system e-liquid products) under the “fatal flaw” review standard. Food & Drug Admin. v. Wages & White Lion Invs., L.L.C., 604 U.S. ___ (2025). While the decision reaffirmed the deference owed to FDA under the Administrative Procedure Act (APA), at least with respect to the agency’s ability to change its position on PMTA requirements, the Court left open several critical issues, including whether the agency committed a potentially prejudicial error by failing to consider applicants’ marketing plans.

Responsible Vaping Ireland warns that proposed vape ban could increase smoking rates

Ryan Brennan, Shelf Life

Following the establishment of the new Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health, Responsible Vaping Ireland (RVI), the national trade association for vaping retailers, recently wrote to the committee chairperson and all committee members urging them to conduct pre-legislative scrutiny of the Public Health (Nicotine Inhaling Products) Bill 2025.

The Bill proposes sweeping changes to how vaping products are regulated in Ireland, including a complete ban on flavoured vapes, the introduction of plain packaging, and a total prohibition on the in-store display and advertising of vaping products.

If Congress Wants Real Solutions To So-Called Illicit Vapes, Real Reform – Not Lip Service – Is Required

Lindsey Stroud, Issues & Insights

Another day, another congressional hearing where well-meaning but misinformed federal lawmakers grilled witnesses over the Biden administration’s handling of consumer protection issues.

On April 9, the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform held a hearing titled Restoring Trust in FDA: Rooting Out Illicit Products. Lawmakers sharply criticized the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) performance under the Biden administration, citing regulatory failures, food safety lapses, the mishandling of the infant formula crisis, and lack of clarity around hemp regulations. Of particular focus was the FDA’s inability to prevent the flood of illicit and counterfeit nicotine products into the U.S. market and its sluggish review of safer nicotine alternatives.

The city is considering a vaping tax. This is why that would be a big mistake

David Clement, The Hamilton Spectator

The City of Hamilton is considering a municipal tax on vaping, and has asked the city’s finance and legal staff to examine how exactly the city could impose such a tax.

Going this route would be a huge mistake, both from a tax revenue perspective and for harm reduction.

On the tax side, a municipal vaping tax would accomplish little but shift consumers to make their purchases online, or outside of the City of Hamilton’s boundaries. This of course isn’t a new phenomenon. We see this already in the cannabis market, where consumers shift their purchases to other jurisdictions in response to heavy-handed regulations.

European Tobacco Harm Reduction Advocates (ETHRA)

ETHRA’s monthly roundup of news: ETHRA letter to the EU Commission – SANT exchange of views – Further bans planned – Mindset Shift Needed – EU Member States to block Spanish proposals – Risk-proportionate regulation required – TPA webinar – Country updates. Read on for more.

Two from Clearing The Air

WHO faces severe budget cuts. Will that mean less disinformation around safer nicotine?

Alastair Cohen

Officials at the World Health Organisation – whose anti-vaping messaging border on disinformation to the point where they are routinely called out on Twitter/X – are staring down the barrel of 25% staff cuts in the wake of Donald Trump’s decision to withdraw the US from the organisation.

“The refusal of the U.S. to pay its assessed contributions for 2024 and 2025, combined with reductions in official development assistance by some other countries, means we are facing a salary gap for the 2026–27 biennium of between US$ 560 and US$ 650 million” the WHO’s Director General, Dr Tederos Adhanom Ghebreyesus, told Member States at a briefing on 22 April.

“[T]he sudden drop in income has left us with a large salary gap and no choice but to reduce the scale of our work and workforce” he continued.

Guernsey bans disposable vapes and sales to under 18s

Tim Hong

The UK island of Guernsey has passed new legislation banning disposable vapes and the sale and marketing of vapes to under 18s.

The new regulations were passed unanimously, by 40 votes to zero, by the assembly last week.

Deputy Al Brouard, president of the Committee for Health and Social Care, said: “The committee is delighted that this legislation was passed by the assembly in what is a positive health promotion policy, particularly for children and young people in Guernsey.”

Who’s Steering Indian Health Policy? COP11 Puts Foreign Interference In The Spotlight

Abhishek Tiwari, Republic

As India steps up to the global stage, the question of foreign influence over domestic policy making has come under scrutiny. Across sectors — from agriculture to digital regulation — India has consistently asserted its right to adapt global frameworks to local realities. As the country prepares for the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) COP11 later this year, this principle must now be brought to the forefront of global health diplomacy.

Concerns are growing that the WHO FCTC process is no longer guided purely by science or multilateral consensus. Instead, a small group of powerful international NGOs, heavily funded by private philanthropic interests, appear to exert disproportionate influence over the treaty’s direction and decision-making processes. Their policy positions often influence regulatory environments, bypassing traditional democratic channels of public consultation.

Don’t punish responsible retailers: Keep vape products in convenience stores

Rex Jones, Alabama Political Reporter

Alabama lawmakers are considering a sweeping proposal to ban the sale of all vape products in convenience stores and restrict them exclusively to 21+ access smoke shops. While the intent may be to reduce youth access to nicotine, this policy overreach would do more harm than good—for consumers, communities, and the local economy.

Alabama’s convenience store operators are already committed to keeping vape products out of minors’ hands. We support and actively implement strict ID verification policies. In fact, many of us favor mandatory ID scanning technology at the point of sale—a measure that would virtually eliminate underage purchases.

CAPHRA Calls for Risk-Proportionate Taxation on Safer Nicotine Products Across Asia Pacific

Coalition of Asia Pacific Tobacco Harm Reduction Advocates (CAPHRA)

The Coalition of Asia Pacific Tobacco Harm Reduction Advocates (CAPHRA) has today released a position paper urging governments across the region to adopt risk-proportionate taxation for safer nicotine products. The paper warns that current tax regimes, often imported from Western models, are failing Asia Pacific’s unique needs and are undermining tobacco harm reduction.“High taxes on safer nicotine products, set at the same level as cigarettes, simply protect the cigarette trade while punishing adults trying to make healthier choices,” said Nancy Loucas, Executive Coordinator of CAPHRA. “Public health policy must empower informed choices, not restrict them through fear and financial barriers.”

FDA’S RELUCTANCE ON FULL SHOW

On this Day…2021

A look back at how things have moved on or otherwise…

EU SCHEER report misses the mark

Michael Landl

The EU Scientific Committee on Health, Environmental and Emerging Risks (SCHEER) final opinion on e-cigarettes is a step backwards for vaping and for public health. It is based on weak data, ignores crucial scientific evidence and experience from consumers, and has been designed in such a way that it ignores vaping’s biggest strength – its power to reduce the harm from smoking.

Evidence Links “EVALI” Misinformation..

With Increased Cigarette Smoking – Alex Norcia

As kids went back to school in the fall of 2019, parents, educators, public health experts and lawmakers were growing more concerned by the day. A string of “e-cigarette or vaping product use-associated lung injuries,” or EVALI, was appearing across the United States, and no one—not even the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)—had a handle on what was happening.

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