In the News 19th October

Mondays News at a glance:

Indoctrinating the children – EU enjoyed a Big T party – Can E-Cigarettes Save Lives? – Why Not Let E-Cigarette Companies Tell the Truth? – Nocera and Myers Hit Nail on the Head – Public Health Divisions Likely at E-Cigarette Summit III –  Win For Vapers: Facebook Reverses Censor Of Ads For E-Cigarette Film – Outside smoking ban consultation criticised for including e-cigarettes – Why U.S Vapers Should Care About the Remote Transactions Parity Act – Nicotine Science and Policy – Daily Digest – Mon, 19 October 2015

Hope And Terror At #Battleofideas

Dick Puddlecote

As such, I never ventured from the 4th floor with all but one ‘battle’ being in the same place. Very convenient. First up was a session entitled “Planet of the Vapes: Why is there a war on e-cigarettes?” in the Frobisher Auditorium 2, a wonderful room with banked seating which was great for the audience, but with almost radioactive spotlighting blinding panellists and making for some pretty shocking iPhone pics….

Indoctrinating the children

Facts Do Matter

When it comes to anti-smoking campaigns and organisations one of the key mantras is “protecting the kids”, the ever-present “think of the children”. Trouble is, whenever an organisation says to policy makers “thinking of the children” it inevitably tugs on said policy makers heart-strings. Everyone wants their kids to grow up and lead good, healthy, normal lives don’t they? Let’s face it, I grew up to lead a relatively normal healthy life. I made choices along the way, some good and some not so good, it’s all part of this little thing called “growing up”….

EU enjoyed a Big T party

Mawsley – Planet of the Vapes

Article 20 of the Tobacco Products Directive places unreasonable demands on small to medium electronic cigarette businesses. It will drive many to the wall and leave the market wide open for Big T companies with deep pockets. News that they have had direct access to European decision makers is both shocking and sadly predictable…..

Win For Vapers:

Facebook Reverses Censor Of Ads For E-Cigarette Film – Guy Bentley: Daily Caller

“We are making a film to help people discover what’s going on in the world,” Biebert wrote. “We’re trying to use Facebook to make the world more open, to stay connected, and to give people the power to share what matters most to them…a way to save the lives of their families, friends, and themselves.”

Can E-Cigarettes Save Lives?

Joe Nocera – New York Times

One reason many adult smokers haven’t switched to e-cigarettes is that most e-cigarettes don’t provide the same nicotine kick as a real cigarette. With some 42 million American adults still smoking, and 480,000 of them dying each year as a result, this is tragic. Though nicotine is addictive, it is the tobacco that kills…

Why Not Let E-Cigarette Companies Tell the Truth?

Jacob Sullum – Reason

New York Times columnist Joe Nocera once again calls attention to the lifesaving potential of electronic cigarettes and bemoans resistance to this form of harm reduction by the anti-smoking movement. Describing a new e-cigarette model from NJOY that is designed to more closely simulate smoking by delivering more nicotine and a stronger “hit to the back of the throat,” Nocera writes:

Nocera and Myers Hit Nail on the Head:

FDA Should be “Pilloried” for Forcing E-Cigarette Companies to Hide the Truth from Consumers – The Rest of the Story

This is a critical commentary, and I’m glad that it received prominent attention in the New York Times. It exposes what I think is the most serious problem regarding the treatment of e-cigarettes, by both the anti-tobacco movement and the government…

Public Health Divisions Likely at E-Cigarette Summit III

Ashtray Blog

Perhaps the most controversial presentation will made by the Royal Society of Public Health. The society will ask if we should encourage all smokers towards safer nicotine products, making cigarettes as we know them today illegal.

The reason for this?

They feel that now we have e-cigs, there’s no need for tobacco cigarettes…..

Outside smoking ban consultation criticised for including e-cigarettes

Swansea Council is facing criticism for asking if e-cigarettes should be banned in outside public spaces in a consultation which could impact pub gardens.

Peter Black, assembly member for South Wales, has questioned Swansea Council’s inclusion of e-cigarettes in a smoking ban consultation, arguing that e-cigarettes should not be equated with tobacco….

Why U.S Vapers Should Care About the Remote Transactions Parity Act

The Remote Transactions Parity Act (RTPA) poses a major threat to sellers of e-cigarette and vapor products across the country. The legislation, sponsored by Rep. Jason Chaffetz (Utah-03), changes the way online products are taxed in a way that is ultimately a form of higher taxation without representation….

Nicotine Science and Policy – Daily Digest