Thursday’s News at a glance:

Smoking Rates Decline, Again – ONS Smoking Data – Vaping may help explain record fall in UK smoking rates – Bates and Satel Take on Politicians – Attitudes of Europeans – New CDC Data – Living in Cloud Cuckoo Land – GFN: I would if I could but I can’t – #GFN17

Smoking Rates Decline, Again

Paul Barnes, Facts Do Matter

Today saw the release of the latest set of data for smoking prevalence within the UK from the Office of National Statistics Annual Population Survey and the Opinions and Lifestyle Survey.

As you would expect from the UK, with its generally liberal stance on e-cigarettes, and despite the shitstorm of piss poor media reporting on various studies, stupid legislation proposals, daft bans, and general bullshit; e-cigarettes remain the most common aid for people to move away from tobacco.

ONS Smoking Data

New Nicotine Alliance

Today saw the latest release of adult smoking rate data from the Office of National Statistics based on the Annual Population Survey and the Opinions and Lifestyle Survey. The data shows that over the last 12 months, the overall smoking rate has fallen at a historical rate of 1.5%, to a new historical low of 17.2%.

Worth celebrating are the specific age group declines – 18-24 fell from 20.7% to 19.3%, 25-34 fell from 23.0% to 20.8%, 35-44 fell from 19.5% to 18.1%. Among the respondents included in this survey, 5.6% stated they were current e-cigarette users, equating to approximately 2.9 million users.

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Vaping may help explain..

Record fall in UK smoking rates – UKCTAS

Today’s new figures indicate UK smoking is falling faster than would be expected from conventional tobacco control approaches. While all the policies put in place will have made a difference, the most likely explanation for the recent rapid decline is the increasing use by smokers of electronic cigarettes as a substitute for tobacco. Data released by ASH last month estimated that there are now 1.5m people in the UK who used to smoke but now instead use electronic cigarettes.

Adult smoking habits in the UK: 2016 – ONS

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Bates and Satel Take on Politicians

Mawsley, Planet of the Vapes

Democrat senators have written to the new Commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration, pleading with him to stick with the old deeming rule in order to “keep tobacco products out of the hands of our children”. Their point ran contrary to the notion of harm reduction, so Clive Bates and Sally Satel have set out to tell them so.

Attitudes of Europeans

Towards tobacco and electronic cigarettes

The European Commission’s 2017 Eurobarometer has been published and presents what they think people across Europe think about tobacco and vaping. It highlights the failure in the Union’s current approach to tobacco harm reduction and offers some very distinct fears for the future. Those who backed Brexit may well welcome the UK being able to escape possible future restrictions on ecig packaging and liquid flavours.

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Follow #GFN17 on Twitter

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New CDC Data

Should Put to Rest the Contention that E-Cigs are a Gateway to Youth Smoking

Michael Siegel – The rest of the Story

New data released moments ago by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) should put to rest the contention that electronic cigarettes are a gateway to smoking among youth. These new data show that the prevalence of smoking among high school students was cut in half in just five years – from 2011 to 2016 – at the same time as the use of e-cigarettes among these very same students increased dramatically from 1.5% to a peak of 16.0% in 2015.

Tobacco Use Among Middle and High School Students – CDC

Living in Cloud Cuckoo Land

Head Rambles

The drought is finally over. Some say it’s the longest drought since records began, having been running for nearly two weeks.

Anyways, yesterday I called into the shop and asked if my Condor had arrived, and they apologised and said it was definitely on order and should be in the next day. Now I have been hearing that for the duration of the drought and went home feeling somewhat despondent.

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58 vaping quotes to share with the world!

Jim McDonald

We have statements from vapers, advocates, scientists, politicians, and even some vaping enemies. What makes them great is that each one makes an important point about vaping that might gain us supporters, or at least make people think about this thing we know has improved or even saved our lives.

GFN: I would if I could but I can’t

Simon Clark

Sadly I can’t make the Global Forum on Nicotine that began in Warsaw today. I had prior commitments including our Burning Issues dinner in Dublin (see previous post) so I had to decline the invitation.

Sent by one of the co-founders of this annual event, now in its fourth year, it read:

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On this Day…2016

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

ASH Attempts To Grind Vaping Into The Dirt

Dick Puddlecote

Their latest huge effort managed to sway Labour into opposing Lord Callanan’s fatal motion and downgrade it to one merely expressing regret. You’d think Arnott and her pals would be happy with that, wouldn’t you?

Not so, unfortunately, because it seems they won’t rest until they see vaping ground into the dirt. Thanks to fellow jewel robber NT by email, you can read what ASH has been sending to MPs in the run up to the (pretty impotent) amended ‘regret’ motion….

The One-Puff “Gateway Effect:”

Three Studies, One Fatal Error – Lindsay Fox

A new study has led to some predictable, tiresome claims that e-cigarettes are a gateway to smoking, and it does a pretty good job of following the set of instructions I laid out previously for unscrupulous researchers looking to “prove” that e-cigarettes are a gateway to whatever the hell they want.

Online vape shops are severely threatened

Nathalie Dunand – Vaping Post

Brussels: An important information session was organized yesterday morning by the Federal authority (Service Public Fédéral – SPF) in charge of the regulation of vaping products. The stakeholders are now aware of the forthcoming decisions about their business. A deception point is reached…

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