Vapers Digest 19th January
Monday’s News at a glance:
Compromise proposal on tobacco ‘is opposite of harm reduction’ ~ Consumers turn to nicotine pouches to cut smoking harm—survey ~ Launching a YouTube Channel ~ Freedom of Choice as Public Health ~ When smokers switch to e-cigarettes ~ What Should a Vape Shop Look Like? ~ CAPHRA Warns Australian Senate: Prohibition Has Failed, Regulation Is The Only Way Forward ~ Lower Rates, Same Disaster: EU Tobacco Tax Plan Lives On ~ EXCLUSIVE: EU countries discuss lower rates for smokes, vapes and iQOS; pouches rates remain sky high. ~ A hotline to report vapers and caning if you’re caught: Singapore’s e-cigarette crackdown ~ Appraisal of exposure studies on high-powered e-cigarette aerosols | #GFN25 Science Discussion
Compromise proposal on tobacco ‘is opposite of harm reduction’
Carl Deconinck, Brussels Signal
A leaked compromise proposal from the Cypriot presidency on the European Union’s Tobacco Excise Directive has drawn sharp criticism for undermining harm reduction.
That has come despite it lowering some tax rates on vaping and heated tobacco compared to the European Commission’s original plan.
Consumers turn to nicotine pouches to cut smoking harm—survey
Manila Bulletin
Most consumers use nicotine pouches, a smoke-free alternative, to reduce the harm from smoking, according to a Spanish study.
Nicotine pouches are smoke-free products that deliver nicotine by placing a small pouch between the gum and upper lip. They do not contain tobacco leaf and produce no smoke or vapor.
The Spanish report, “Regulation of Nicotine Pouches,” by the Tholos Foundation in collaboration with Dynata, presents findings from a consumer survey conducted in Spain in March 2025. The survey included 515 current users of nicotine pouches.
When smokers switch to e-cigarettes
Charles A. Gardner, PhD, Medium
What happens when smokers switch to e-cigarettes? Peer-reviewed studies covering (1) cancer, (2) cardiovascular and (3) lung health. NOTE: 36% of smoking related deaths are from cancer (29% lung cancer); 36% cardiovascular disease; 21% chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)
1) Cancer risk plummets when smokers switch to e-cigarettes
Excess Lifetime Cancer Risk (ELCR) drops >10,000-fold. The ELCR value measured in e-cigarette vapor is “lower than guideline values defined by EPA and WHO”
What Should a Vape Shop Look Like?
Kim “Skip” Murray, Filter
I am allergic to dust, mold and pollen. My husband has COPD and sometimes struggles to breathe. So we took steps to improve the air quality in our home. To figure out what would actually help, I turned to some local shops for guidance.I chose stores that looked clean and professional. Inside, well-trained staff taught me what we could do to filter our air. They helped me decide which furnace filters, vacuum cleaner, air conditioner and air purifiers to purchase.
CAPHRA Warns Australian Senate: Prohibition Has Failed, Regulation Is The Only Way Forward
The Coalition of Asia Pacific Tobacco Harm Reduction Advocates (CAPHRA)
The Coalition of Asia Pacific Tobacco Harm Reduction Advocates (CAPHRA) has delivered a blunt message to the Australian Senate: the country’s illegal tobacco crisis is a policy failure, not an enforcement problem, and no amount of additional resources will solve a problem created by prohibition.
In a submission to the Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs Committee inquiry into Australia’s illegal tobacco crisis, CAPHRA warned that organised crime now controls a A$4 billion black market fuelled by policies that removed legal access to safer nicotine products while demand remained unchanged.
Lower Rates, Same Disaster: EU Tobacco Tax Plan Lives On
EXCLUSIVE: EU countries discuss lower rates for smokes, vapes and iQOS; pouches rates remain sky high.
Peter Beckett, Clearing The Air
Europe’s new taxes on vapes and heated tobacco – scheduled to come in from 2030 – would be significantly lower than originally proposed for vapes and heated tobacco products, under a compromise proposal tabled by Cyprus yesterday, seen by Clearing the Air and available to download here.
A hotline to report vapers and caning if you’re caught: Singapore’s e-cigarette crackdown
Appraisal of exposure studies on high-powered e-cigarette aerosols | #GFN25 Science Discussion
Global Forum on Nicotine
Link to the paper: https://doi.org/10.2478/cttr-2025-0019 “Critical Appraisal of Exposure Studies of E-Cigarette Aerosol Generated by High-Powered Devices*” Contributions to Tobacco & Nicotine Research, vol. 34, no. 5, Institut für Tabakforschung GmbH, 2025, pp. 202-221 In another Science Lab session Dr Roberto Sussman provides a critiques of e-cigarette aerosol studies and discusses the methodological problems that persist with emission studies, such as overheating coils to produce aldehydes and manufacturing harms.
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