Todays News at a glance…

A pre-emptive defence from Clive Bates over what will be released in a ‘study’ later today. No “Smoking” E-Cigs in Morrisons. Montreal Chest Institute Optimistic over Electronic Cigarettes. GFN 2015 Programme released. Daily Digest from NSP.

Spreading fear and confusion with misleading formaldehyde studies

A pre-emptive defence from Clive Bates over what will be released in a ‘study’ later today

Another alarmist and deeply misleading story about formaldehyde and e-cigarettes is about to break. I hope that health reporters are wising-up to this sort of scientific voodoo. I have just written to the corresponding authors, and I would like to share my open letter. I will link to their letter in the New England Journal of Medicine once the embargo has passed and the letter is published….

Customer kicked out of Morrisons, in Taunton, for smoking an e-cigarette – what’s your view?

This is provoking some interesting comments on Social Media:

A SHOPPER plans to boycott Morrisons after she was kicked out of the Tauntonstore for smoking an e-cigarette.

Lisa Watson says she is allowed to smoke e-cigarettes in other shops, bars and her daughter’s school playground and hall…..

Chest institute review says vaping helps hardcore smokers get off and stay off

In a review of their patients over year, the Montreal Chest Institute has made some optimistic findings about e-cigarettes.
43 percent of smokers who tried to quit by switching to vaping, had still quit from 3 months to a year later.

The patients they tracked are what they call “hardcore smokers” so people who have been smoking for decades and smoking heavily.
Siobhan Carney, a nurse practitioner with the project says of 75 that went the vaping route, 32 of them quit for good…

Global Forum on Nicotine

The outline programme for GFN 2015 is now online:

Preparations are under way and the programme committee has begun its work to ensure that the salient issues facing consumers, academics, regulators and industry are included in the agenda for the conference.

The science of nicotine is rapidly developing, regulatory issues are high on the political agenda and consumers are becoming anxious about long-term availability of products. There is a nascent consensus amongst a body of scientists and public health about the relative safety of new nicotine and other non-combustible products, although there is still scepticism expressed by others and the debate continues….

Nicotine Science and Policy – Daily Digest – Wed, 21 January 2015

With lawmakers and the governor suggesting greater regulation and new taxes on electronic cigarettes, Watson and other customers at Salt Lake Vapors last week questioned state leaders’ motivation.

Western Pennsylvania cancer specialists joined a national chorus to urge tighter regulation of the $2 billion electronic cigarette market, which doctors blame for a surge in calls to poison control centers.